The decision by the administration of George Washington University over the weekend to relieve Mike Lonergan of his head coaching duties just 13 days prior to the start of practice does more than just dampen the image of this program.
It also dampens any real chance the Colonials had of having a successful season.
It's hard enough to win in college basketball when outside variables aren't intervening with everything that's going on with your program and George Washington's bizarre parting with Lonergan ensures that there's a minimal chance of normalcy existing in the Colonials' immediate future.
Say what you want about Lonergan, but you can't dispute the notion that he was a heck of a coach.
In the past three years, GW won a combined 74 games, which included a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a Postseason NIT title last March.
George Washington was again set up to be a top-five team in the Atlantic 10 next season, but it's hard to see any interim head coach excelling under the current working conditions in Foggy Bottom.
Providence's Bullock will be one of Big East's top scorers
Kris Dunn is not walking through that door.
In fact, Ben Bentil isn't either.
What does that mean for Providence in 2016-17?
A bigger piece of the pie for Rodney Bullock.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 11.4 points on 9.3 shots last season as a redshirt sophomore and now with Dunn and Bentil both in the NBA, Bullock looks primed to become Providence's alpha dog.
Ed Cooley has always done a tremendous job at getting his best players as many shots as possible and that's definitely going to happen again with Bullock.
The Friars are a bit of a mystery team heading into next season and it remains to be seen if guys like Kyron Cartwright, Jalen Lindsey and George Mason transfer Isaiah Jackson can step into bigger roles for Providence.
The one certainty though?
Bullock is in position to take a major step forward during his second season of college basketball.
Saint Mary's schedules tough non-conference teams
Saint Mary's had to settle for the NIT last March after falling to Gonzaga in the WCC title game despite 29 victories, which included a regular season sweep of the Bulldogs.
Will the same thing happen in 2017 if the Gaels fail to win their conference tournament and earn an automatic bid to the field of 68?
That's to be determined, but Randy Bennett has clearly put together a non-conference schedule that specifically features several mid-major teams that have a chance to have strong seasons.
Saint Mary's will host Nevada, UT Arlington, UC Irvine, and Western Kentucky -- four teams that have a legitimate chance to win their respective leagues. The Gaels will also play a neutral site game against UAB in Las Vegas and travel to face both Dayton and Stanford.
Another good thing for this team?
The two regular season meetings with Gonzaga should carry more weight statistically because the Bulldogs should be stronger than they were last season.
Saint Mary's needs to beat the teams it plays early and then needs those same teams to have strong years in their respective leagues.
If that happens then this team should have a chance at an at-large bid next March if it fails to win the WCC Tournament.
