2014 and Beyond...

[freescooter]

I expect ECU to be better than Rutgers,

I think that's called damning with faint praise!

 

[upstater]

I think that's called damning with faint praise!

Rutgers has some good players coming back, Poole, Mack and Jack are all back. I see them having their best season in eons, esp. without the head lunatic in charge. On the other hand, they are woefully thin up front.

 

[Danzz]

Rutgers has some good players coming back, Poole, Mack and Jack are all back. I see them having their best season in eons, esp. without the head lunatic in charge. On the other hand, they are woefully thin up front.

On the other hand they are Rutgers and they always seem to disappoint.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

On the other hand they are Rutgers and they always seem to disappoint.

So True...

 

[Marty Jackson]

Unfortunately I don't think you're correct on that. You eventually become what your conference is. Gonzaga, Butler Memphis, are all viewed as something of exceptions to the rule as really good mid-majors, but mid-majors none the less. All the bitching about Gonzaga being a 1 seed was based on the fact that they play in a mid-major league. It is going to be an issue ofr UConn going forward as well. You'll start seeing it with things like rankign and then seeding come Tourney time. Instead of a 2-3, a really good UConn team will be a 4. A team that would have been a 5 in the "old days" will be a 7-8. It might not happen in 2014, and it might happen gradually, but over time, it will be tougher to get good seeds, tougher to make deep runs if only because we'll have tougher early round games. The difference between playing a 15 and a 7 in the first two rounds and playing a 12 and a 3 is like night and day. The world of mid-majors is full of schools tha once were "somebodies." Houston comes to mind. LaSalle, San Francisco, UNLV, Villanova and Georgetwon will have a similar fate to us I think. The NCAA Championship has become the property of major power programs from major power conferences. We currently fit the former, but not the latter and it will be progressively more difficult to stay up with the major programs as time goes on.

if the AAC can send 3-4 teams to the dance regularly and they go deep into the tourney, the perception of the league will be fine.
I don't think you can compare Uconn to memphis, butler or Gonzaga. They are mid-majors that have never competed in a BCS league.
Uconn is an elite program that has dominated the best BB for almost 20+ years. Suggesting that Uconn is now a mid-major or will become a mid-major is a little over the top.
Uconn is easily in the top 50 and probably top 30 programs regarding size of athletic budget and overall facilities.
It's more likely Uconn will help to define the AAC as a major BB power as opposed to the AAC definining Uconn as a mid-major...

 

[UConnSwag11]

a nc, an aac tourney title and a reg. season title... nothing less we dont play for seconds

 

[Senore]

If I may, if Bazz is back, I expect you to finish in the Top 3 of the conference. Your OOC schedule will reveal an awful lot about later prospects, but I also expect UConn to be UConn and contend at the National level. Kevin O will have a chance to groom and teach a la Jim C - and, let's face it - as good a job as he did last season keeping everyone's heads in the season, there is no reason NOT to expect a good season, much improved in March when it matters most.

 

[7774]

Freescooter:

[X] Has mastered the myriad of complex variables that play a role in determining a program's national perception.

[X] Has determined with certainty how our new national perception will affect our NCAA tournament seeding over the course of the next decade.

[ ] Knows the teams playing in our conference next year.

 

[intlzncster]

a nc, an aac tourney title and a reg. season title... nothing less we dont play for seconds

That's an acceptable result? And therefore anything else is unacceptable. Man, you must be disappointed pretty much every year.

(question wasn't what you expected btw)

 

[intlzncster]

Unfortunately I don't think you're correct on that. You eventually become what your conference is. Gonzaga, Butler Memphis, are all viewed as something of exceptions to the rule as really good mid-majors, but mid-majors none the less. All the bitching about Gonzaga being a 1 seed was based on the fact that they play in a mid-major league. It is going to be an issue ofr UConn going forward as well. You'll start seeing it with things like rankign and then seeding come Tourney time. Instead of a 2-3, a really good UConn team will be a 4. A team that would have been a 5 in the "old days" will be a 7-8. It might not happen in 2014, and it might happen gradually, but over time, it will be tougher to get good seeds, tougher to make deep runs if only because we'll have tougher early round games. The difference between playing a 15 and a 7 in the first two rounds and playing a 12 and a 3 is like night and day. The world of mid-majors is full of schools tha once were "somebodies." Houston comes to mind. LaSalle, San Francisco, UNLV, Villanova and Georgetwon will have a similar fate to us I think. The NCAA Championship has become the property of major power programs from major power conferences. We currently fit the former, but not the latter and it will be progressively more difficult to stay up with the major programs as time goes on.

See, we are not a Gonzaga or Butler, because they have never been majors. Some of the schools you mentioned who were previous players, like San Fran, and LaSalle aren't all that big, nor are that popular Universities to begin with. UNLV was only a somebody when Tark made them so. That was all Tark. Houston, I don't have anything.

Thing is, this is a different day and age. The internet and ESPN change marketability, presence, brand recognition. And fortunately, we are in the same state as ESPN. We've got a billion dollar institution (taking into account buildouts) now in UConn. It's a different era.

Note, I don't want to stay in this conference, nor do I think the conference is "good" for UConn.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

In most seasons this is a 4 bid league with UConn, Memphis, Cincy and Temple.

The regular season and conference tourney obviously mean much less from a fan's perspective but in terms if being a viable league into getting into the tourney with a good seed I'm not concerned.

 

[hungry husky]

Dom Amore ‏@AmoreCourant 4m
Samuel to facey for the alleyoop #uconnmen sign of things to come

 

[Irishboy9780]

This should be Uconns conference to lose, that being said it will be a very solid conference most years. Especially next year with Louisville. Realistically i think Uconn should finish inside the top 3, and atleast make the sweet 16 with this group. Uconn will be tested in the OOC as well though so we shall see. Will be a fun year.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

a nc, an aac tourney title and a reg. season title... nothing less we dont play for seconds

Are you talking about the WOMEN's TEAM? It is harder for the MEN's team to win an NC!! Swag, you must be disappointed every year we don't win a men's NC!!

BTW, Swag, were you on the BB bandwagon when we were playing 'powers' like Maine, Vermont and Holy Cross??

 

[freescooter]

Freescooter:

[X] Has mastered the myriad of complex variables that play a role in determining a program's national perception.

[X] Has determined with certainty how our new national perception will affect our NCAA tournament seeding over the course of the next decade.

[ ] Knows the teams playing in our conference next year.

Sadly, You almost need a scorecard to keep track of the dreck in this league....and SMU, Tulane, Houston, Central Florida East Carolina...we might as well see if we can re-create the old Yankee conference. At least there were some rivalry games that fans cared about. I can't imagine ever caring about the big East Carolina matchup. Tulane would lose to Depaul. We're going to travel to places with 3500 seat gyms now. I've been to a game at Devlin Field House...It is like going back to 1975.

 

[7774]

Sadly, You almost need a scorecard to keep track of the dreck in this league....and SMU, Tulane, Houston, Central Florida East Carolina...we might as well see if we can re-create the old Yankee conference. At least there were some rivalry games that fans cared about. I can't imagine ever caring about the big East Carolina matchup. Tulane would lose to Depaul. We're going to travel to places with 3500 seat gyms now. I've been to a game at Devlin Field House...It is like going back to 1975.

 

[LIUCHusky]

Sadly, You almost need a scorecard to keep track of the dreck in this league....and SMU, Tulane, Houston, Central Florida East Carolina...we might as well see if we can re-create the old Yankee conference. At least there were some rivalry games that fans cared about. I can't imagine ever caring about the big East Carolina matchup. Tulane would lose to Depaul. We're going to travel to places with 3500 seat gyms now. I've been to a game at Devlin Field House...It is like going back to 1975.

Free, what other places other than Tulane seat in the 3500 range. None that I can find. SMU is in the process of spending 40 Million to renovate their arena. East Carolina is building a state of the art basketball practice facility. Houston is supposedly spending in the area of 40 Million to renovate their arena. Central Florida plays in a 6 year old facility. My point is that all of these schools are spending money to compete in basketball. I for one am optimistic these schools will soon be competing on a very high level.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Free, what other places other than Tulane seat in the 3500 range. None that I can find. SMU is in the process of spending 40 Million to renovate their arena. East Carolina is building a state of the art basketball practice facility. Houston is supposedly spending in the area of 40 Million to renovate their arena. Central Florida plays in a 6 year old facility. My point is that all of these schools are spending money to compete in basketball. I for one am optimistic these schools will soon be competing on a very high level.

I believe that what the AAC will do is to get Tulane to spend $$ on its athletics, and maybe Tulane-UConn in both BB and FB, will be like an UGA-UF FB game. Tulane should be able to get FB players in a hotbed of HS FB..