Read Lenn Robbins story
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/coll...not_going_down_without_5LFVe2CfRZvVcbDvRcsbxN
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/coll...not_going_down_without_5LFVe2CfRZvVcbDvRcsbxN
Big East not going down without a fight
- Thread starter otis
- Start date
I still think the basketball league will be fantastic, especially in a few years when the new teams start to pick up recruiting. I think people are understating the additions of Temple and Memphis which are two excellent bball programs with huge upside and fan support. Houston is actually recruiting really well right now and SMU made a committment to bball by hiring Larry Brown. It's a good start. USF has gone from a nobody in bball to being a competitive bball program in the Big East. I think you'll see some of the same with the additions.
Marcus I know you are an eternal optimist, but I just don't see it. None of those schools will ever be at the level of Syracuse. If we are lucky someone might replace Pitt, but there are maybe only 15 schools that have been more consistent than Pitt over the past decade. I think Temple can be that team. Memphis can certainly recruit, but Pastner doesn't seem like he is a good game coach and I don't trust any apples off the Cal tree. I don't buy the SMU program. Larry Brown is only a short-term situation there. Houston will never be a consistent top-tier program.
Yeah, but we really don't have to replace Syracuse to remain an excellent conference. Cuse is Boeheim, plain and simple. They will go through a big transition when he steps down. Pitt has been consistently good in our league but has done nothing at tourney time. They've just beat up on Big East teams for a long time.
Memphis has everything it takes to be successful on the Big Stage. Their season ticket sales are off the charts and Pastner is an excellent recruiter. Game coaching will come. The guy is our age and has lots of growing to do. You might not buy SMU now, and I agree Larry Brown isn't a long term solution, but he was a good short term hire to bring publicity and recruits to the program. It is a good effort to step up their program and i think you'll see those dividends in a few years. Houston has some history there and the current coach can also recruit. Time will tell, but I think our league as far as basketball goes, won't lose much of a step.
I'll add that that programs like St. John's , Rutgers, Cincy and let's are really improving. Cronin will have Cincy playing good ball for a long time and I can see them move into Pitt's place with their hard-nosed style. Rice at RU annoys me, but the guy is a good coach and relentless. Even Providence under Cooley seems to be a good hire. He'll have them improving and solid.
I think from top to bottom, our conference is getting stronger, even if we lose Cuse and Pitt. Certainly we lose a top tier school in Cuse, but like I said, lots of schools including SJU are stepping up after taking 2 decades or so off. Things are changing, but lots of new teams will be taking their place. This conference will be by tough over next few years and in no way an obvious second-fiddle to the ACC.
Moon Mullen
Active member
While you are certainly the eternal optimist, I think your spot on with this your assessment of the future of the basketball league MCNPA.
While it would be nice if the Big East would remain a #1 or #2 conference in the country, it is hardly necessary. Teams can have plenty of individual success in conferences that are not one of the top two. i.e. see the Big 12, SEC or even Pac 10 (though i hope it doesn't get as bad as the recent Pac 10).
So, hopefully as long as we have our floor general in Lavin, a conference that is in top 5, and we have NYC/MSG in our pocket - we should be able to recruit solidly to our school and thus ensure our revival and long-term success.
So, hopefully as long as we have our floor general in Lavin, a conference that is in top 5, and we have NYC/MSG in our pocket - we should be able to recruit solidly to our school and thus ensure our revival and long-term success.
I don't think the league is going to fall off, but I do think we are worse off as a league. I think the ACC just leap frogged us. They are no longer a two trick (and sometime three trick) pony. They have 3 legitimate top 5 caliber teams in Duke, UNC, and Cuse year in and year out. I just think this is a slippery slope and the Big East will continue to slide further. As long as we keep playing at the Garden and playing a competitive schedule we'll be fine. I just hate college football and how it is killing basketball rivalries, that's probably where my pessimism is coming from.
Even if the BE falls in stature, it still will be very competitive in BB. It wasnt to long ago the BE was written off as dead. Of coarse we will have to worry about future defections. But unfortunately that is the nature of college sports these days. Loyalty is a thing of the past.
Class of 72
Active member
Not the biggest threat but maybe the biggest joke on ESPN!
The ACC just signed a 15 year contract with ESPN and ESPN actually upped the $$ when the ACC picked off Cuse and Pitt. If I were an ESPN exec I would say "Hey, are we paying the ACC twice what we offered the Big East when they had Syracuse, Pitt, W.V., Uconn, Rutgers, Sincinnati.....and once had Miami, VaTech, BC...????"
Smack me silly but isn't that the old Big East?
If football drives the bus and FlaSt and Clemson bolt, then the ACC gets weaker where it could not afford to get weaker while Boise, Houston, Temple, Navy and UCF made the Big East stronger.
Add to the equation that college basketball is rebuilt rather quickly with 2 recruiting classes there is no reason to think a Big East with Marquette, Villanova, Temple, Memphis, Houston, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, Louisville etc. cannot become one of the top 3 basketball conferences in America.
I understand both sides Conor, but in a way I agree with Marcus. If Temple and Memphis can leverage their BE affiliation to take the next step before the league loses it's luster there is a great opportunity for them. Take away the last 4 years of John Chaney, when he was pretty much insane, the first couple years of Dunphy, when he was rebuilding, and Temple has been in the NCAA's every year but one since 1984. Think about that. It's pretty astounding. Temple has a very high hoops profile and stepping up in class can be a great opportunity for them to get even bigger.
Memphis hasn't had the consistency but they had a great, if dirty, run from the 80's through the mid 90's and have of course have been in the dance 8 of the last 10 years. Pastner has continued to get top 10 recruiting classes almost every year. Again a step up in class should just help him. He's already been recruiting against BCS schools for the majority of his recruits.
Both programs could be better than Pitt real fast and though neither will be Syracuse any time soon they'll be integral in keeping the BE as the conference with the most teams in the dance every year. The BE didn't get its top reputation from having the best teams all the time, but having the most good to great teams all the time and Temple and Memphis can keep that going.