I Gotcha ... But ...

To get it out of the way, yes, I had a good birthday. 28 aint so bad. Now onto your reply.

I completely understand where you are coming from. When you are looking at an upgrade you always want to take it. Now in my opinion there are 12 elite basketball programs in basketball. They are Duke, UNC, Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Syracuse, Georgetown, UConn, Michigan State, Maryland and Indiana. I may have missed one or two as well but lets stick with the dirty dozen for right now. These are the absolute top tier. They have tradition, they have the funding, they have everything you want if you are the head coach. If you have the opportunity to have one of these schools you have to really look into it.

The point I was trying to make was this. Tom Izzo and Billy Donovan looking to leave Michigan State or Florida to go to Kentucky is what really ticked me off. You are already the Head Coach at a top school. Stay there and do what you can at your school. You have the resources to create that type of history. Dont ride someone elses coattails, create your own legacy.

I do not disagree with guys at B and C level programs wanting to move up. They worked hard and they earned it. I actually put them in my first grouping. Guys that are making a name for themselves and are taking the "upgrade". Mark Few, Paul Hewitt or even Billy Gilespie to an extent, those are guys that I dont mind if they leave for Kentucky. They have been building a resume and would be reaping the benefits. Now me personally, I crave the challenge and if I am in a position to be at a B school that has been very successful as of late, why not stay and try to turn my school into an Elite program.

Now in your analogy to retail. I will put it like this. I would not leave Guess at Crossgates to be the store manager at Express at Crossgates. To me that seems like a lateral move. For me to have the opportunity to be the GM at Best Buy or Macy's ... I'm Out!! But someone who is the store manager at Clairs gets the shot at Express you better beleive they are out.

It all comes down to one thing. Your opinon of what is bigger and better. To me, a school that is a 20 win program and goes to the NCAA's every year. You have a chance to be something great, do it yourself and be a legend (Kudos to Billy Donovan). Roy Williams going from Kansas to UNC, i dont see the point. I know it was his alma matter and im sure that plays a big part in it and on a personal level I understand that. Bascially I will sum up my past two blogs in one sentence... Im all about the upgrade, kinda annoyed with the latteral move.

Im not sure how happy I am that I can sum up two full blogs in one sentence. Makes me think I am really not that good at this after all, LOL.