CHICAGO – With all things considered, the inaugural Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in Chicago at the United Center was somewhat of an accomplishment.Big Ten Conference Commissioner James Delany said that he feels that the tournament went well.”I feel like the first year was successful and we’re looking forward to next year,” he said. “It’s not easy to do it for the first time, but I think the city and the conference worked in a way to produce an experience for the players and the fans that was very good, very high quality and we’re pleased.””I think our staff did a great job considering they had never done this before. They spent 18 months in preparation.”Delany also praised the staff at the arena and the city for their help in keeping things running smoothly.”My gut reaction is that the city of Chicago and the United Center delivered in every way they said they would deliver,” he said. “That’s not to say that this thing was picture perfect, but to whatever extent their shortcomings were, they got to resolving them immediately.”The Big Ten tournament is also slated to take place at the United Center in Chicago in 1999, but Delany said that he has not made a decision on whether it will stay there beyond that.”We’ll evaluate in a pretty quick sense what happened here, we’ll have staff meetings, we’ll critique, we’ll get feedback from the athletics directors, the coaches,” he said. “Then we will make some decisions about whether we want to think about a long-term situation here, or whether or not we want to go to bid again and see what’s out there.”One importance of the Big Ten Tournament, according to Delany, is that a good showing in the Big Ten tournament might boost a team’s seed in the NCAA tournament “I think that it’s very important and I think that improves your seed,” he said. “Michigan was ranked 17th going into the tournament and they played exceptionally well in the games and they were on national T.V., and they beat one highly-ranked team and the fact of it is, the way they played, the momentum they picked up is going to impress the committee.”I don’t know where they are going to end up, but I think they’re going to end up a lot higher than if they didn’t play in the tournament.”But on the downside, as much as a good showing in the Big Ten tournament can help a team, a first round upset, like Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartan squad suffered at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 76-73, it can also hurt.”It’s damaging, especially from the media because you’re only as good as your last game,” Izzo said. “The Big Ten tournament is great and we needed it as a conference, but today the Big Ten tournament wasn’t good for us.”Delany said that a vote was taken earlier among the Big Ten coaches, and they supported the tournament 9-2 with the two dissenters being Minnesota’s Clem Haskins and Indiana’s Bob Knight. Even after they got to view the overall product, the two coaches are still against it.Haskins said that he is still opposed to the tournament even though an impressive run in the Big Ten Tournament, that included knocking off No. 1 seed Michigan State, might have helped his team clinch a berth in the NIT Tournament.”I don’t change what I believe in, I have old ways, I think that if you play a regular season, that’s enough basketball for us,” he said. “I still feel the same way when I made the statement that I’d like to see us pay for the parents to the Big Ten tournament.”Delany said that paying for the parents’ way is not a Big Ten issue, but a violation of NCAA rules.”There are NCAA rules that prohibit the kind of things that he is asking for,” he said. “We have kids playing all over the place, and I don’t think that we can be in the business of picking and choosing which events we’re going to provide transportation for the parents.”To no one’s surprise, Knight has not changed his mind either.”The thing you have to understand is that if I vote tonight at 8:30, I would still say no,” he said. “But I had my say, and the majority of people wanted it and that’s the way that it should be.”Northwestern Wildcats coach Kevin O’Neill seemed to voice the majority of the coaches’ opinions when he said that the Big Ten tournament was one of the most positive steps that the Big Ten has ever made.”It’s great for the fans, I think it helps our teams get ready for the post season and I think you can always play yourself up in the seedings,” he said. “I think it’s a win-win in a lot of ways and the bottom line is it’s going to make a lot of money. “It’s a great event, it’s good for fans, it’s great to generate national T.V. coverage, it’s great for the players and it’s a first-class event that I hope continues. I think it’s a plus for us.”