ST Johns declines NIT bid | Page 3 | The Boneyard

ST Johns declines NIT bid

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nomar said:
My guess is that Pitino didn't want to do that and told his players why they didn't want to do it.

You think these kids wouldn't want an opportunity to finish the 2024 season by winning at MSG? What senior wants his career to end?

I think this is portal-related. Pitino's got bigger fish to fry.

And, yeah, the fact that the portal opens now is downright ridiculous. What morons thought that was a good idea?
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Yes.
 
nomar said:
Was it dead when UConn won the '88 NIT or when Rip and K-Free and Rickey and Jake went to the NIT Final 4 in 1997? Seemed pretty damn alive to me.

I appreciate things are different now, with the portal, but I find it incredible that schools want to end their seasons. As Crean said, in football, there are tons of guys sitting out. You don't want to play, then don't play. But you're going to tell me the guys who are out of eligibility want to end their season on a conference tournament loss? I haven't played competitive sports for a long time, but I just can't imagine ever wanting that.
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You don’t get anymore NIL, so go get that Turkish or Argentinian cheddah
 
whosurdaddy2720 said:
Not surprised at all.

The NIT is the basketball version of non-playoff bowl games in football. They just don’t matter anymore.
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Yep. I've always heard it referred to as the No Interest Tournament. (I was born in '88, for reference.)

Though UConn football winning the Great Value Bowl would be more interesting and meaningful to me than UConn MBB winning the NIT.
 
Stiffing the NIT is the right move. Especially for St John's since they move the NIT out of the Garden.
 
uconnbill said:
My feeling is that players want to play and get more exposure. Why wouldn't they, even in the NIT
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What exposure are they going to get in the NIT? Hardly anyone watches it.
 
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nomar said:
My guess is that Pitino didn't want to do that and told his players why they didn't want to do it.

You think these kids wouldn't want an opportunity to finish the 2024 season by winning at MSG? What senior wants his career to end?

I think this is portal-related. Pitino's got bigger fish to fry.

And, yeah, the fact that the portal opens now is downright ridiculous. What morons thought that was a good idea?
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The NIT is not at MSG anymore
 
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Hi-Low said:
Pitino is done with this current team...he's out for revenge and on to the portal. Hide the UConn player phones & block calls from Pitino cell#

His team probably mostly didn't care about NIT either...would have been an early exit.
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Why any player would want to play for him is beyond me. He ditches all the players he inherited, hand picked his team in the portal, and publically trashes them and now whines about not making the tournament.
 
How Sway?! said:
The NIT is not at MSG anymore
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Oof. Where is it? A high school gym in Staten Island?

Edit: I see it’s Hinkle. I hear the hoops are 12 feet above the ground there.
 
NIT isn't going to pause the transfer market. Not worth it for any team looking ahead to next season. Agree with Pitino on this one. One reason for him to play is a run to the final would help build the local fanbase. He's going to turn his roster over again so may as well get one with it.
 
Hi-Low said:
Pitino is done with this current team...he's out for revenge and on to the portal. Hide the UConn player phones & block calls from Pitino cell#

His team probably mostly didn't care about NIT either...would have been an early exit.
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I would have picked a 12 seed st John's over Wisconsin or Gonzaga, absolutely, and I think they'd give injured Kansas a run if they had a shot.
 
Hi-Low said:
Pitino is done with this current team...he's out for revenge and on to the portal. Hide the UConn player phones & block calls from Pitino cell#

His team probably mostly didn't care about NIT either...would have been an early exit.
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is there anything Pitino can offer?
This coaching staff has done pretty well getting the underclassmen minutes and getting them developed.
Look at Clingan from last year to this year as obvious example.
Also Stewart’s contributions of late are hard to ignore. I remember early in year posts about him not getting enough time. Seems like there was a plan behind scenes because everyone is healthy and he’s earning more minutes.

It shows that the staff is open to flexing minutes with player development. And is there a better staff than UConn right now for player development?
 
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Pitino didn’t seem all that disappointed honestly. I bet he smoothed talked them and had a 1-2 minute conversation with his team along the lines of this “Unfortunately we missed out on the tournament fellas we won’t play in the NIT it’s a waste of time and it’s definetly a waste of your time, we’re better then that your better then that”.

I bet he will be behind the New Mexico bench when/if they get eliminated he will probably go from network to network.
 
From Dan: "To me, the whole thing is kind of shell game," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "In the end, it just comes down to what the committee values.

"I just don't understand how a Providence team that can beat Wisconsin in the nonconference, Creighton, Marquette and have those quality of wins and not get in. How does Seton Hall do what they did in the second-rated conference in the country and win 13 games and not get in? How is St. John's so far off the cutline [to get in] too?"

The selection committee said Oklahoma, 28-win Indiana State, Seton Hall and Pittsburgh were the first four teams left out.
 
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CL82 said:
Well really, the NIT isn't what it once was. I could see why teams with some self-respect would choose not to play in what is an essence a participation trophy.
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The NCAA now owners the NIT.

Strange concept that they would be taking these steps the kill the darned thing.
 
prankster said:
The NCAA now owners the NIT.

Strange concept that they would be taking these steps the kill the darned thing.
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What "steps" would those be exactly?

Yes, the NCAA owns the NIT. Do you think that they intend for it to compete against March madness which is their cash cow for the year? Do you think they intend for it to dilute that product? Or does it make sense that it is intended to be a chance to earn a few dollars off of schools that don't qualify for the tournament very minimal investment by the NCAA?
 
That last thing. Heck, it is a long time tradition. In 1988 it was truly UConn's stepping stone and it was embraced.

In that vein, it remains the showcase for all of those first four outs, and others who felt they were left behind on Selection Sunday.

After all, at a given level, the NIT winner can claim, rightly, to be the best of the rest.
 
So university of southern canada at syracuse also declined the NIT? That seems strange especially with a new coach with all of 1 post season game under his belt, and they have a very young team, some of whom might even stay.

SHU, Nova, PC, Xavier, Butler, BC, Wake, Va Tech
SJU, Pitt, SU - declined
throw in Ohio state, Kansas State, LSU, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, Utah, Indina State

The top teams in the NIT are better than half the NCAA Field. I say, go play.
 
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