UConn Smoke

[MullinMayhem]

The only real criticism our conference has is:

1) Not getting enough teams deep into the tournament consistently (Sweet 16 and beyond)
2) We will keep getting our good coaches poached for the most part because we can't outbid F5 schools

[Django]

The only real criticism our conference has is:

1) Not getting enough teams deep into the tournament consistently (Sweet 16 and beyond)
2) We will keep getting our good coaches poached for the most part because we can't outbid F5 schools

Are you saying that all the other criticisms are not valid? I know the ratings are cited often but that's just because FS1 is so new and it's getting better.

And the two statements above are absolutely untrue and not valid, as Jay Wright has two NCs and isn't going anywhere soon (unless you know something we dont)

[GoldenWarrior11]

The only real criticism our conference has is:

1) Not getting enough teams deep into the tournament consistently (Sweet 16 and beyond)
2) We will keep getting our good coaches poached for the most part because we can't outbid F5 schools

Fair observations, but I would argue that March Madness is full of unpredictability and randomness. One year, you can have a Loyola go on a Cinderella run and advance to the Final Four; another year, Georgetown can run into a buzz saw like FGCU, or Virginia with UMBC. Anything can happen. If you were to play a select March Madness ten times, it's not inconceivable that you could have a multitude of winners. Instead of critiquing teams of how far they get into the tournament consistently, I would present 1) how many bids does the league get in a given year (as the more teams a conference has, the more odds of one of those teams going on a run) and 2) how high those seeds are (again, the odds play into the favor of the higher ranked teams). At present, Villanova, Xavier, Creighton, Butler and Georgetown are the schools that have had a top-4 seed (with Marquette likely to have a top-4 seed this year). However, only Villanova, Butler and Xavier have only made the Sweet 16 or further. It'll take some time, but I am confident that we will have other programs go deep in the coming seasons. Having one season where multiple teams make the Sweet 16 and/or beyond is the leagues next goal, IMO. It is quite possible that it could be this year (with Villanova and Marquette), but anything can happen in the next six weeks.

Regarding the poaching of our coaches, we have had Buzz (Virginia Tech), Holtmann (Ohio State), and Mack (Louisville) leave their respective positions. However, McDermott was pursued by Ohio State, he turned them down. Allegedly, Willard was pursued by Pittsburgh, he turned them down. I believe UConn sent feelers out to Cooley, and he turned them down. Wright routinely gets pursued for NBA-level gigs, he turns those down. Coaches do not stay forever, whether you are at Butler or North Carolina. The strength (and beauty) of our programs is that we are defined by a collection of coaches and have created sustained success. That is not on the cusp of changing any time soon. It will be very interesting to see how some programs (like Syracuse and Duke) evolve without their legendary, hall-of-fame coaches. They can quite possibly sustain that success, or they can morph into a version of Indiana/UCLA (schools that were once at the top of the mountain, but have failed to regain past glory).

[sju88grad]

I find it so funny how it feels like the Big East needs to defend itself constantly about criticisms that we are somehow not a major conference. We've won 2 of the last 3 NC's. The Big 10 hasn't won a championship since 2000 (Michigan State) and the Pac 12 hasn't won since 1997 (Arizona). Rarely do you see the media suggesting that these are not major conferences. (Although maybe the Pac 12 is heading that way).

[adoraz]

Eh let the haters keep hating. Hasn't negatively impacted us one bit. Our recruiting is very strong and we keep winning NCs. What is missing?

Sure, it'd be nice for more teams to go further in March... and they will because our recruiting is so strong. Law of averages with Nova VASTLY over performing relative to expectations. If you asked people 5 years ago how many NCs we'd have at this point, nobody would've said 2. Ten years from now we'll probably have no new NCs but a bunch of FF/E8 teams, and the narrative will shift back to how we can't win NCs. Just the way it is.

We offer a great niche (smaller basketball only schools), while also having blue blood Nova and waking up sleeping giants Marquette/Georgetown/St. John's (hopefully lol) at the top. As long as we keep recruiting well, all is good.

[ProprietyofLeyluken]

UConn’s new President, Thomas Katsouleas, has come out with a statement. UConn is committed to football and the AAC.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-UCo ... otball-aac

https://www.theuconnblog.com/2019/2/5/1 ... h-football

[MullinMayhem]

Might as well say the USS UConn is committed to sinking like the Titanic LOL. Stupidest school ever with their decisions to try to fix something that wasn't broken. Could've still been a blue blood in hoops but decided they were Texas in football all of a sudden. The problem? They're Stony Brook but less successful.

[adoraz]

After thinking about it, while UConn might help the Big East overall, St. John's would be worse off if they joined. Our recruiting obviously overlaps. I expected Hurley to turn the team around quicker, but now I believe their turnaround is no guarantee if they stay in the AAC. Hey, if they want to suffer then let them.

[MullinMayhem]

After thinking about it, while UConn might help the Big East overall, St. John's would be worse off if they joined. Our recruiting obviously overlaps. I expected Hurley to turn the team around quicker, but now I believe their turnaround is no guarantee if they stay in the AAC. Hey, if they want to suffer then let them.

They already overlap our recruiting. That won't change and hasn't changed regardless of what they do. I still think Hurley turns them around starting next year but obviously rooting against them. They are the first case study I know of that went from major program to garbage within just 5 years of winning a title. That's how important conference affiliation is. They used to say they "carried" the Big East, but now they're seeing they need us more than we need them. Funny how things change.

[ArmyVet]

UConn’s new President, Thomas Katsouleas, has come out with a statement. UConn is committed to football and the AAC.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/NBH-UCo ... otball-aac

https://www.theuconnblog.com/2019/2/5/1 ... h-football

Assuming this is accurate, and there's no direct source with better information than him, can we stop the discussion about UCONN joining the Big East?