I'm glad the FF this year is comprised of teams from ALL of the power conferences

[Tenspro2002]

I was referring mostly to the Thad Matta Era, where OSU has been a #1 or #2 seed in 5 of the past 7 years (something we've only done once -- 5 out of 6 years from 1994-1999) and now have their second FF appearance in the last 6 years (about how often we've been there in the last 15 years).

I think their program is about where ours was about 10 years ago. They're definitely a top-10 program right now and will become a top-10 program historically if they keep it up for another decade.

 

[Kitaman]

It was a question of being elite. there are a lot of teams out there with talented "amateurs" but the elite teams (the top 5-8) have top quality talent. I can't think of any teams in the top tier that don't regularly put guys in.

I hear you but, my point is that I will take a FF team with the Ricky Moore's and Kevin Freeman's of the world over 1st/2nd round selections. As for the elite programs its about winning percentages not top talent or NBA talent. Sure putting kids in the NBA is a goal, but I hope we don't lose sight of the true nature of amateur ball (even thought the NCAA did). I'm just old skool.

 

[upstater]

I hear you but, my point is that I will take a FF team with the Ricky Moore's and Kevin Freeman's of the world over 1st/2nd round selections. As for the elite programs its about winning percentages not top talent or NBA talent. Sure putting kids in the NBA is a goal, but I hope we don't lose sight of the true nature of amateur ball (even thought the NCAA did). I'm just old skool.

Oh, I totally agree with this. I wasn't countering, but just saying they coincide.

 

[Gregory Koch]

The grittier, mid-major conferences (such as the MAC, the Ohio Valley, the Horizon League and the ACC) will have to go back to the drawing board for next year...

How is the ACC a mid-major conference? They've got Duke and UNC. Of course, they don't have anybody else (yet) but UNC is a national powerhouse. NC State, not so much. But that's like saying the Big East is a mid-major conference because of South Florida, or that the SEC is a mid-major conference because Auburn is a terrible basketball school, and then the Big 10 of course has Minnesota and Penn State, and you could look at the Big 12 and say Texas A&M (for this year) and TCU for future years are terrible. But those aren't mid-major conferences, we agree. While NC State isn't a powerhouse, the ACC is not a mid-major conference. And UNC is a powerhouse. They were a #1 seed, for crying out loud!

 

[Tenspro2002]

How is the ACC a mid-major conference? They've got Duke and UNC. Of course, they don't have anybody else (yet) but UNC is a national powerhouse. NC State, not so much. But that's like saying the Big East is a mid-major conference because of South Florida, or that the SEC is a mid-major conference because Auburn is a terrible basketball school, and then the Big 10 of course has Minnesota and Penn State, and you could look at the Big 12 and say Texas A&M (for this year) and TCU for future years are terrible. But those aren't mid-major conferences, we agree. While NC State isn't a powerhouse, the ACC is not a mid-major conference. And UNC is a powerhouse. They were a #1 seed, for crying out loud!

I think you may have missed a little tongue-in-cheek there.

 

[uconn_jack]

Call me a traitor I'm sure, but I am not sold on UConn being considered a blueblood just yet. Calhoun is the man and has certainly got us in the discussion, but I wouldn't call UConn a blublood until we can prove we can compete at the same level post-Calhoun.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

 

[caw]

Call me a traitor I'm sure, but I am not sold on UConn being considered a blueblood just yet. Calhoun is the man and has certainly got us in the discussion, but I wouldn't call UConn a blublood until we can prove we can compete at the same level post-Calhoun.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

UConn is not a blue blood in the sense that UConn doesn't have the history of the true blue bloods.

UConn is just as elite as those blue bloods.

 

[selles]

Call me a traitor I'm sure, but I am not sold on UConn being considered a blueblood just yet. Calhoun is the man and has certainly got us in the discussion, but I wouldn't call UConn a blublood until we can prove we can compete at the same level post-Calhoun.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk

Traitor!

Kidding. But in seriousness I do think we tend to underrate ourselves a little bit. What was Kentucky pre-Rupp? This isn't a situation where a hot coach stuck around 5-10 years and temporarily built a program (see: Pitino at Providence or Squid-boy at UMass). Our coach has stuck around 25 years and permanently built a program. That's the type of longevity you need to build something real. It's easy to unravel a 5 year flash in the pan (hi Bruiser!) but it takes a lot more to unravel a 20 plus year goliath. That's what we are.

Nothing is guaranteed, particularly with the conference turmoil. But I remain pretty confident in the future.