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For our resident Gtown fan....

"I think it's taken a hit. Unfortunately, the conference lacks the luster with a lot of these kids. They're in with the top players with every other major program. But the league doesn't bring a lot of national prominence. The rivalries are new; it's a new league trying to find itself. Connecticut is still going after the top-echelon kids in the U.S., and they've got some pretty good players, too."

"It's very difficult for those guys to compete against the Big 10, the Big East, the ACC. If you ask the same question to the people at East Carolina or Tulane - nothing against them, but they're not going after the same kids UConn is going after."

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2017/ ... conns.html

2 coaches. you posted 1 coach.

the other coach:
"It's still definitely one of the premier programs in the country. Coach Ollie is tremendous, and I think they made a fantastic hire. Coach (Raphael) Chillious is one of my closest friends in the business, one of the coaches I communicate with most frequently."

"I know they've had some hiccups the last month or two, but that's part of how recruiting goes in cycles."

"They're gonna be more than fine. Coach Chillious, Dwayne Killings are two of the most respected assistant coaches in the business. Coach Ollie's proven to be a championship-caliber coach himself. I think UConn is one of the premier programs in the country. Everything goes in cycles. You'll see them bounce back, have a great year, then continue to recruit great guys."

I linked to the source and pulled out what was relevant to a BE board.... It's harder to recruit to the AAC and the BE is listed with the Big Boy conferences....

There's something schizophrenic about this obsession with UConn. Half the posts about them trash them and the other half are about how badly they are wanted as an addition to the Big East. Crazy stuff.

ZERO TOP 100 AAC Recruits for 2017, still waiting for stever to explain that....

KO is a stand up guy, but I want to see uconn suffer considerably more for a few years before letting them in the Big East. Gotta give PC, SJU, and SHU a chance to elevate their programs without uconn around.

kayako wrote:KO is a stand up guy, but I want to see uconn suffer considerably more for a few years before letting them in the Big East. Gotta give PC, SJU, and SHU a chance to elevate their programs without uconn around.

A few more years sucking in that conf and they may lose their luster and no longer be a desirable add. Also, SJU and SHU success is not affected by uconns midmajor status. Especially not SJU. Prov is more of a regional New England rival, so they have benefited from Uconns descent a bit for that reason.

RedStorm wrote:

kayako wrote:KO is a stand up guy, but I want to see uconn suffer considerably more for a few years before letting them in the Big East. Gotta give PC, SJU, and SHU a chance to elevate their programs without uconn around.

A few more years sucking in that conf and they may lose their luster and no longer be a desirable add. Also, SJU and SHU success is not affected by uconns midmajor status. Especially not SJU. Prov is more of a regional New England rival, so they have benefited from Uconns descent a bit for that reason.

How has Providence benefitted from UConn's descent?

Jet915 wrote:ZERO TOP 100 AAC Recruits for 2017, still waiting for stever to explain that....

He's too busy rooting for Georgetown

UConn's struggles with recruiting should not be surprising. They play in a national non-power conference. No one in the Northeast cares about playing teams in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, et al. When they were in the Big East, they were able to use the regionality of the conference, and the geographic rivals, to incite excitement and intrigue for all of the teams. No matter how you cut it, Houston, SMU, Tulane, ECU, Tulsa, USF, and UCF doesn't inspire excitement for fans or recruits. Even if you give it ten years, it won't be able to sell.

UConn very much needs the Big East brand to rebound and get back to elite status. Sadly, it appears they have sold their soul for the unlikely chance for football to carry them into a power conference. That, too, doesn't look likely anytime in the near future.

In the meantime, we shall enjoy our successful and strong basketball conference. Let that other one figure out a new marketing slogan or another way to get included in the club.