You don't hear his name mentioned that often, but Tim Buckley does an outstanding job at Ball State. But forget about the x's and o's for a second. Coach Buckley is one of the really down to earth guys in the profession. I can give you countless examples of his humility. We need more guys like Tim Buckley in coaching.

DAVE MAGARITY: On a personal note, I want to begin by thanking you for all your help while I was interviewing for the position with the MAC. My man Joe Dwyer speaks really high of you and a lot of coaches echo those thoughts. Of course, this doesn't mean I am going to give you an easy questions.

If I am not mistaken, you have been a voter in the mid-major Top 25 for the past three seasons. Personally, I think it's not only great exposure for programs, but it's also a tool that can help coaches. Hell, it might save some coaches their jobs. Now we coaches can say they beat "x" number of teams ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25. I'd like your thoughts on the Mid-Major poll and your participation?

TIM BUCKLEY: Well coach first, thank you for the kind words. I think you would have been a great fit for us. As for the Top 25, I am a big fan of the Mid-Major poll. I think it gets people talking about programs that are not in the major conferences. There is some really good basketball played by these teams and players. To steal a line from Jim Valvano, there are no levels of programs there are only levels of players.

MAGARITY: Exempt games are so important to programs like Ball State, but there continues to be talk that these tournaments may go the way of the dinosaur. What are your thoughts on exempt tourneys?

BUCKLEY: Exempt tourneys are terrific for schools like us. Basically, it is another March Madness. It also gives players some educational experiences outside of the playing field. They probably work more in our favor than the major conference schools because they normally get to play those games on their floor.

MAGARITY: As coaches we are all sponges. What coaches have you absorbed the most from?

BUCKLEY: Stan Van Gundy, whom I worked with at Wisconsin when Stu Jackson was the head coach. Also Ray McCallum. I was an assistant to Ray here at Ball State. And Tom Crean, who I was an assistant to in his first year at Marquette. I also learn a lot from the coaches that we play against.

MAGARITY: Kelvin Sampson said, "These are tumultuous times for coaches." Our profession has taken a number of hits in recent years by the media. What are some things you would like to put in place that could help coaches? I told you the questions wouldn't be simple!

BUCKLEY: I think that we coaches need to stick together in a positive way. We also need to do the right thing. Twenty, maybe even ten years ago you could do some things that you just cannot do now, even if they are not necessarily wrong because of the 24 hour news and sports channels, the internet, etc. It is a different time and we all have to adjust. I think the biggest thing is that we all need to support one another.

MAGARITY: Lastly, an easy one...What is your all-time favorite movie and why?

BUCKLEY: "Miracle." It is an incredible, too good to be true true story! Does that sound right?

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