Pete Iorizzo published a story yesterday that should be getting a lot of attention.

I don’t know what they spend, what their approach is, how they staff, what they pay their staff. There are too many things.” That’s why nobody should be saying Siena is the “Gonzaga of the East,” McCaffery said.

“It makes me laugh when people want to compare us to Gonzaga, who charters planes,” he said. “They spend more money on one plane flight than my recruiting budget. Yet we’re supposed to be Gonzaga.

“I don’t look at anybody else. I take what they give me here, try to maximize that and try to beat everybody on our schedule. That’s it.”

One reader even points out that about a year ago, McCaffery welcomed this comparison.

I think honestly our goal is to be a Gonzaga or a Xavier,” says McCaffery. “We have made steps in that direction, but I don’t think we have accomplished as much over the same length of time. You’re talking about programs that are over 10 years.
– Fran McCaffery on Boston.com (3/22/09)

Now many fans are speculating that the first quote could represent McCaffery’s frustration with the school and it’s inability to invest as much as the larger Mid Major schools. It’s either that or you can interpret that as a gloat.

I’m fine with this, what McCaffery is saying is all true, he and his staff do it all with much less in resources than these schools. It’s got to be easier to recruit if you have all these perks, we know it’s easier to get better schools to play you, he’s right– the comparison is unfair.