DiMauro: “The ‘new’ Big East: Is that all there is?“

[Blue Idiaco]

The Big East has one of the strongest crops of recruits coming in next year out of any league in Division 1. If you want to chat garbage, do it somewhere else. Otherwise, learn before you talk.

Wake me up when there's more than two NBA-caliber players in the conference and more than one team that is favored to make the second round of the tournament. it won't be next year.

 

[CL82]

I really don’t understand why Connecticut papers employ guys who hate UConn to write about UConn. It’s a failure. I know DiMauro simply isnt good enough for the Boston papers but maybe he could go to Worcester or something. No paper in CT should employ avowed BC or Syracuse guys to cover UConn. Let him write about the Red Sox and Patriots.

Jacobs whining about the national guys on Twitter when he should look in the mirror. I want critical and objective reporting. But these guys confuse that with stirring up controversy and the result is too often just garbage designed to get clicks. The whole financial paradigm of modern newspapers is so broken that the result is too often trash. There is a reason why The Athletic is now the best in the business.

2020-21 was a messed up year. Not much went according to plan for anything, including UConn basketball. At least they played some games and won more than they lost. Remember when we weren’t sure they’d play? I criticize Dan for some things, but everybody gets a Mulligan from last year. Had fans been in the stands and every game played, it might have been very different.

Largely agree, except Dan does not need a Mulligan for last year. He had us playing successful basketball and would’ve had a better year but for James‘s injury. We got back to the dance and, as you pointed out, managed to keep playing under very challenging circumstances. Yeah, we didn’t win a national championship, or even a single game in the NCAA’s, but it was a successful season.

Yes, just getting to the NCAA’s isn’t enough in the long term, but there is zero evidence that he’s plateaued there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Largely agree, except Dan does need a Mulligan for last year. He had us playing successful basketball and would’ve had a better year but for James‘s injury. We got back to the dance and, as you pointed out, managed to keep playing under very challenging circumstances. Yeah, we didn’t win a national championship, or even a single game in the NCAA’s, but it was a successful season.

Yes, just getting to the NCAA’s isn’t enough in the long term, but there is zero evidence that he’s plateaued there.

I agree and that is what I meant. Dan definitely gets a Mulligan, like others should. Even with that it certainly wasn't a bad year, just disappointing.

 

[Waquoit]

Even with that it certainly wasn't a bad year, just disappointing.

Really? From the toilet to the tourney in 3 years with your best player injured during the meat of the season. Tough grader.

 

[Husky25]

I really don’t understand why Connecticut papers employ guys who hate UConn to write about UConn. It’s a failure. I know DiMauro simply isnt good enough for the Boston papers but maybe he could go to Worcester or something. No paper in CT should employ avowed BC or Syracuse guys to cover UConn. Let him write about the Red Sox and Patriots.

DiMauro is a humungous fish in a little pond at The Day. He'd get lost even in Worcester.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Really? From the toilet to the tourney in 3 years with your best player injured during the meat of the season. Tough grader.

It was disappointing in part because Bouk and Jackson got hurt. Because we lost a couple games where we were the better team. Because we stunk it up in our one game in the tournament. Yeah, disappointing. I'm not laying blame. The grade is based on what we could have been.

 

[MU in MKE]

Wake me up when there's more than two NBA-caliber players in the conference and more than one team that is favored to make the second round of the tournament. it won't be next year.

So were you awake last year when BE had the third most players join the NBA?

Seems like an odd take on judging the quality of a conference though... one of the two conferences that had more was the PAC12. Did you see how atrocious they were last year?

 

[cap10dingus]

Like DiMauro or not he always writes controversial takes. Having everyone agree with him is never his goal. I don't know that next year is the NOW year for Hurley but he's not wrong. The days of talking up the 'progress' will be behind us soon. We don't have a ton of results yet but it still is pointing in the right direction!

 

[Vuce]

but he's not wrong.

Yeah he is wrong. Dumb article and he is definitely a bitter and envious bcu alum/fan. Make no mistake he WANTS UConn hoops, hockey and football to fail.

 

[YellowMamba]

Close this thread! That troll does not deserve further attention

 

[August_West]

Its pretty funny that Ive never paid attention to Dimauros twitter before, but now have the last few days. The people who go after him on twitter are seemingly dumber than he is. I mean it's fine to go after the guy , he deserves it, but a lot of the retorts are really cringeworthy that he just swats away like Mutombo.

 

[Northbound]

He's right and wrong:

Right
1) Hurley has got to stop bitching about the dumpster fire that was here after every loss. Stop with the "look at what a great job I'm doing" - it's brutal - everyone gets this. Hell, we've heard it for three years. Perhaps this is just a pet peeve of mind.

Wrong
1) The NBE is infinitely better than the AAC, there's no way about it. His ridiculous comments about Jay Wright/MSG are so mind boggling dumb that even I have a hard time understanding where they come from. It's so over the top speculative that it's like saying if Duke and UNC left the ACC then it might not be as strong of a conference (current season excepted).

Trend line matters and it's going in the right direction

 

[CallMeBruce]

He's right and wrong:

Right
1) Hurley has got to stop bitching about the dumpster fire that was here after every loss. Stop with the "look at what a great job I'm doing" - it's brutal - everyone gets this. Hell, we've heard it for three years. Perhaps this is just a pet peeve of mind.

Wrong
1) The NBE is infinitely better than the AAC, there's no way about it. His ridiculous comments about Jay Wright/MSG are so mind boggling dumb that even I have a hard time understanding where they come from. It's so over the top speculative that it's like saying if Duke and UNC left the ACC then it might not be as strong of a conference (current season excepted).

Trend line matters and it's going in the right direction

He's wrong and wrong. Hurley doesn't do that after every loss. He brought it up a couple of times, and he did it because disingenuous trolls like DiMauro, hacks with an axe to grind, like to pretend he isn't getting the job done because he's not Jim Calhoun.

 

[Northbound]

He's wrong and wrong. Hurley doesn't do that after every loss. He brought it up a couple of times, and he did it because disingenuous trolls like DiMauro, hacks with an axe to grind, like to pretend he isn't getting the job done because he's not Jim Calhoun.

He’s done it for three years more than once a year - but if you feel differently you’re entitled to do so.

If you do it more than once you're just complaining and trying to make yourself look good be it intentionally or not - just fix it.

Nobody that comes to work for me gets to piss and moan about the past and they are making 150-200k. You get paid millions, handle it.

i like DH, will he have a lot of success here - jury’s out - trending in the right direction for sure.

 

[Husky25]

Nobody that comes to work for me gets to piss and moan about the past and they are making 150-200k. You get paid millions, handle it.

Great analogy, because that's the exact same thing.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

ive always wondered why, with our rabid fanbase, that we get so many mediocre or bad news reporters....Borges is good, but after that.... remember a guy yrs ago, i think peter abraham, who was great with scoops...now we get Dom "yawn" amore and the like...whoever said that dimauro was skip bayless-ish is accurate

 

[Psolo12]

He’s done it for three years more than once a year - but if you feel differently you’re entitled to do so.

If you do it more than once you're just complaining and trying to make yourself look good be it intentionally or not - just fix it.

Nobody that comes to work for me gets to piss and moan about the past and they are making 150-200k. You get paid millions, handle it.

i like DH, will he have a lot of success here - jury’s out - trending in the right direction for sure.

Yeah, because re-building a prestigious basketball program from the ground up is the exact same as whatever the hell job the people that work for you do. If you can listen to Hurley and say he's pissing and moaning you must live a depressing life. The guy has literally said this is his dream job and how thankful he is constantly. Sorry you can't handle his realistic assessment of HIS basketball program.

 

[CallMeBruce]

UCLA was pretty unremarkable for most of the season, including their conference tournament. They had a nice run in the tournament which is fantastic but it's revisionist history to pretend that everyone was thrilled with Mick Cronin prior to about 2 weeks ago.

This is a factor of the weird season, though. With so little inter-conference play, the conference power rankings were largely arbitrary. Once the tournament came around, it became clear that the PAC-12 was probably better than people realized, and the Big 10 was worse than people realized. Reframing UCLA's season that way makes a huge difference, which is one of the big reasons they ended the season at 13 in KP as the PAC went from #6 to #3 in the league power rankings, just a shade behind the Big 12.

 

[jibsey]

Hurley is not to be harassed after 3 years but IMO he doesn't have an endless amount of rope to play with. The biggest thing is to get quality guards to work with. His recruiting has been good..

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Not for nothing, but every time I've come in contact with him at one of our basketball games he's been incredibly pleasant. That's kind of his shtick though, he waits until you're gone and then sticks it to you...

Not going to defend his comment on Hurley not giving much to the local media, but he and others have kind of dug their own grave with this one - at the same time it's not TOTALLY their fault as Hurley seems to have his guys already that he gives information to (Zagoria) and you can understand why because of the NY/NJ connection. I could go on a MUCH longer rant about Zags than DiMauro.. Zags is an absolute loser in every sense of the word.

My final point is that the NL Day is not a 4th tier paper. They have stayed afloat in a completely dying market when the Bulletin and Courant have jettisoned entire departments one by one. Also, what The Day does for high school sports in Eastern CT is unmatched throughout the rest of the state. The quality and quantity of their high school sports broadcasts trumps everything the rest of the state does for their high schools.

How many high schools are in Eastern CT? Fewer than the city of Hartford

 

[Dean Wormer]

Hurley is not to be harassed after 3 years but IMO he doesn't have an endless amount of rope to play with. The biggest thing is to get quality guards to work with. His recruiting has been good..

If in another couple of years we’re looking at 1st or 2nd round losses to lower seeds, his seat starts to get warmer.

 

[M.S.G.]

How many high schools are in Eastern CT? Fewer than the city of Hartford

My conference has 19 schools, that doesn't take into account the half dozen tech schools in Eastern CT.

Nice try though.

 

[billybud]

There are 556 high schools in Connecticut....

431 public, 125 private


Less than Virginia (623 high schools)...more than South Carolina (469).

About the same number of public HS as Massachusetts (437) but Mass. has more private (204).

 

[Waquoit]

If in another couple of years we’re looking at 1st or 2nd round losses to lower seeds, his seat starts to get warmer.

So the hot seat gets hotter even with making the tournament every year? Because that worked so well at Cincy.

 

[freescooter]

So the hot seat gets hotter even with making the tournament every year? Because that worked so well at Cincy.

Yes. Eventually you need to do more than just make the tournament. Sorry but this is UConn, not Cincinatt. Not Xavier. Not Seton (yuck) Hall. Making the Tournament isn’t the goal. There are probably 20 teams, maybe fewer, for whom “making the tournament” isn’t the goal. Teams like Duke, UNC, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova Louisville and a handful more. UConn has been one of that elite group. My sense among the fan base and the administration is that it is no longer the case. We have lowered our expectations. In some ways being in the New Big East is perfect because for all but one other team, hearing their name called on selection Sunday is a successful season.

Now that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bad year here or there, or can’t lose a game or need to make the Final Four. But you need to be in the conversation in a serious way, and need to make regular runs deep. Otherwise you are just Providence. And it is hard. Really hard. Sadly I suspect we are closer in Outlook to Seton Hall than to Villanova now.