re: What is the MSB's opinion of Jimmy V?

I will always love Jimmy V and his time at Iona, but he was no saint. When he left for NC State it was right before a scandal involving Jeff Ruland taking money from him during the recruiting process and while he played as a Gael came to light. It was also right before it became public that Big Jeff had signed with an agent while at Iona. Ruland left Iona at the end of his Junior year and was drafted in the second round.

In 1980 the Gaels, led by Ruland, beat the eventual national champion at Madison Square Garden by 17 points. Iona was ranked as high as 19 that season, but Jeff never felt he got the notoriety he deserved on a national level. When Jimmy accepted the job at NC State (before telling his players) the friendship between he and Valvano ended and the bad press started to come out. I am not sure that they ever repaired that rift, although, Jimmy always credited Jeff for putting him on the big stage.

Iona is what it is, a good mid-major basketball team. We have an undergraduate enrollment of less than 3500 and have to compete for NYC talent with the Big East. It's former coaches, such as Valvano, Pat Kennedy, Tim Welsh, Kevin Willard and several former MAAC coaches have moved up. It won't be long before our present coach, Tim Cluess, is snatched up by a big. In his 3 years at Iona he has had 3 20+ win seasons and has guided the Gaels to two consecutive NCAA appearances (and our first at large bid 2 seasons ago). We at Iona will enjoy his stay, but we know it's probably not for the long run, just like Jimmy V.