We can solve Problem #1, we can't solve Problem #2

[Jaker]

Most of the talking heads/ tv analyst are saying that Uconn being on the AAC is hurting the program.

 

[StunningSteve]

Yeah, keep telling that to yourself to validate your stupid argument. Cincy has clearly demonstrated that a Top 5 team could come from the AAC. There's absolutely no reason why UConn could not be in the same position.

This.

And the SEC is a “Southern Football league”... The Identity in the AAC is actually pretty Metropolitan and basketball centric when you understand the big city locations and the pedigree of the programs in the conference.

You look at Memphis, and they are much better at Football right now, but they are a BASKETBALL school (especially now with Penny, and future sellouts at the FedEx Forum.
Same with Houston. They’ve been making more noise in football, lately, but their identity is basketball.
Same with Temple. They won league in Football, but their identity is basketball.

I actually think it’s advantageous in basketball to be in the Philadelphia, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Tulsa, Wichita, markets.

A TON of good basketball is played in those cities. This idea that it’s Southern football is missing the mark. It’s actually nice to see very strong basketball cultures collide. The Shockers, for instance, have that old Indiana-esquee Kansas vibe of the farm boys who eat/breath/sleep the game from the cradle.. It’s fun to see how they deal with other basketball focused locales.

UConn chose to build a conference and its working. Whenever you promote teams it is a process that entails hiring better staffs and investing. The Big City footprint was always the foundation to attracting coaches and talent, to make something new and built to last.

Now that the coaching staffs have been upgraded in the league across the board (the three hires at Memphis, ECU, and UConn will further enhance the league) the conference is finally starting to realize the vision of a strong all-sports league.

 

[StunningSteve]

Most of the talking heads/ tv analyst are saying that Uconn being on the AAC is hurting the program.

They weren’t saying that in 2014.
Fact is, the conference would be very stout this year if Memphis and UConn were firing on all cylinders.
Memphis is about to address that and so is UConn.
Both UCF and SMU would have been dancing if they had all their guys as well. It could have easily been a 5 bid league (judging by OOC records) without the Huskies and Tigers contributing to that.
It may surprise you to know that there are talking heads that want to craft a narrative that UConn is dead. Guys like Adam Zagoria and Pete Thamel. Weaving that narrative helps the schools that they care about. A strong alternative brand takes recruits away. They are fighting to make Syracuse better, or St Johns...

 

[browndog319]

Most of the talking heads/ tv analyst are saying that Uconn being on the AAC is hurting the program.

In other breaking news, it’s cold in the winter in the Northeast and a broken watch is right twice a day...

 

[dibster]

Good piece until last sentence. “Everlasting shame...”? The State and it’s leaders have a lot bigger problems than college basketball.

 

[shizzle787]

They weren’t saying that in 2014.
Fact is, the conference would be very stout this year if Memphis and UConn were firing on all cylinders.
Memphis is about to address that and so is UConn.
Both UCF and SMU would have been dancing if they had all their guys as well. It could have easily been a 5 bid league (judging by OOC records) without the Huskies and Tigers contributing to that.
It may surprise you to know that there are talking heads that want to craft a narrative that UConn is dead. Guys like Adam Zagoria and Pete Thamel. Weaving that narrative helps the schools that they care about. A strong alternative brand takes recruits away. They are fighting to make Syracuse better, or St Johns...

In 2014 Louisville and Rutgers were in the conference and ECU, Tulsa, and Tulane weren't. That was a different league.

 

[tzznandrew]

In 2014 Louisville and Rutgers were in the conference and ECU, Tulsa, and Tulane weren't. That was a different league.

Tulsa has been better than Rutgers.

Tulane and Rutgers weren't that dissimilar this year.

ECU is a trainwreck.

 

[UConnNick]

This.

And the SEC is a “Southern Football league”... The Identity in the AAC is actually pretty Metropolitan and basketball centric when you understand the big city locations and the pedigree of the programs in the conference.

You look at Memphis, and they are much better at Football right now, but they are a BASKETBALL school (especially now with Penny, and future sellouts at the FedEx Forum.
Same with Houston. They’ve been making more noise in football, lately, but their identity is basketball.
Same with Temple. They won league in Football, but their identity is basketball.

I actually think it’s advantageous in basketball to be in the Philadelphia, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Tulsa, Wichita, markets.

A TON of good basketball is played in those cities. This idea that it’s Southern football is missing the mark. It’s actually nice to see very strong basketball cultures collide. The Shockers, for instance, have that old Indiana-esquee Kansas vibe of the farm boys who eat/breath/sleep the game from the cradle.. It’s fun to see how they deal with other basketball focused locales.

UConn chose to build a conference and its working. Whenever you promote teams it is a process that entails hiring better staffs and investing. The Big City footprint was always the foundation to attracting coaches and talent, to make something new and built to last.

Now that the coaching staffs have been upgraded in the league across the board (the three hires at Memphis, ECU, and UConn will further enhance the league) the conference is finally starting to realize the vision of a strong all-sports league.

I agree about HS basketball being a strength in large metro areas, but Houston has never been a basketball school and likely never will be. If you look at their respective sports programs statistically, their football team has been ranked top 20 or 25 far more often than their BB program. Except for the two great but relatively short lived eras in the late 60's with the Big E, and the early 80's with Phi Slama Jama, Houston basketball has been moribund. Up until this season they routinely drew home crowds of 1,500 - 3,000 in an 8,500 seat arena. Their football team sells out or comes close for most of its games.

Houston is a pro sports town. Even this season as a top 25 team they were lucky to attract more than half capacity crowds at their home games (4,000).

Memphis is an outlier as a Southern school because it always has been a BB school. Other than them, and to a lesser extent SMU because of the death penalty, the other southern schools in the AAC are all about football, and even Memphis is now trending in that direction after being awful in football forever. The AAC is the best thing that has ever happened to the Memphis football program.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Most of the talking heads/ tv analyst are saying that Uconn being on the AAC is hurting the program.

I don't think UConn being in the AAC is hurting the program. It's not helping, but I don't think it's hurting the basketball program. This is a different story re: UConn football, but frankly, as much as I love college football, I don't care about that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't think UConn being in the AAC is hurting the program. It's not helping, but I don't think it's hurting the basketball program. This is a different story re: UConn football, but frankly, as much as I love college football, I don't care about that.

Oh it hurts it compared to the old Big East. But so would the new Big East by comparison. But that hasn’t been our problem. Our wounds are self inflicted. There is no reason why the American can’t become a very good basketball conference.

 

[Lefty2one]

The AAC obviously hurts us but it's not completely debilitating or why we're in the mess we're in. We're still a national brand who can schedule OOC home-and-homes against pretty much anyone in the country. We can get Arizona, Michigan State, Syracuse, Villanova, etc. You aren't doing that at URI.

 

[willie99]

Our recruiting has been and will be just fine

 

[ASweet3781]

Our recruiting has been and will be just fine

Losing records the last 2 seasons but yeah totally killing it in recruiting.

BTW Cincinnati is having one of the worst meltdowns in tournament history. Yeah being in this league doesn't hurt at ALL.

 

[tzznandrew]

Losing records the last 2 seasons but yeah totally killing it in recruiting.

BTW Cincinnati is having one of the worst meltdowns in tournament history. Yeah being in this league doesn't hurt at ALL.

You're blaming the meltdown on the league?

 

[ASweet3781]

You're blaming the meltdown on the league?

YES. These teams are small time. These schools are pathetic. No good basketball player in his right mind would ever play in this league. No league worth a damn would ever have a conference champion unravel like this.

Only small time mid major schools choke like this. This is a MID MAJOR Basketball league and we will never be what we once were in the Big East.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I don't want to see another poster defend this crappy league ever again.

 

[willie99]

Losing records the last 2 seasons but yeah totally killing it in recruiting.

BTW Cincinnati is having one of the worst meltdowns in tournament history. Yeah being in this league doesn't hurt at ALL.

the master of the straw man I see

Gilbert is a 5 star McDonald's AA
Wilson is a 4 star
We had a 4 star committed for next year until Ollie was fired
We had a 4 star committed this year until Miller was fired
Our classes in recent years have been just fine, they just transferred

We just need stability, and you can take your sophomoric BS elsewhere, don't have time to waste with scholars like you

 

[fatlucy]

I don't want to see another poster defend this crappy league ever again.

Tell that to North Carolina and Michigan State. Thier leagues are totally holding them back. Right

 

[ASweet3781]

Tell that to North Carolina and Michigan State. Thier leagues are totally holding them back. Right

Yeah the only problem is the ACC and Big Ten are already in the club and the AAC is not. The difference beings tens of millions of dollars.

Good luck ever getting a top AAC team a high seed after this debacle.

 

[shizzle787]

Yeah, keep telling that to yourself to validate your stupid argument. Cincy has clearly demonstrated that a Top 5 team could come from the AAC. There's absolutely no reason why UConn could not be in the same position.

Now 14 years of suck...

 

[ASweet3781]

the master of the straw man I see

Gilbert is a 5 star McDonald's AA
Wilson is a 4 star
We had a 4 star committed for next year until Ollie was fired
We had a 4 star committed this year until Miller was fired
Our classes in recent years have been just fine, they just transferred

We just need stability, and you can take your sophomoric BS elsewhere, don't have time to waste with scholars like you

Oh stars! Good one.

I'll look at our record.

And the fact we are in a mid major league with choking losers as opposed to the top basketball conference in America like we were from 1979-2013, You know. When we were good.

 

[fatlucy]

Oh stars! Good one.

I'll look at our record.

And the fact we are in a mid major league with choking losers as opposed to the top basketball conference in American like we were from 1979-2013, You know. When we were good.

Keep blaming “the league”. We won a championship from this league a couple years ago. It’s a lame excuse. And we can’t do shat about is so just let it go. You sound like such a broken freaking record. Just stop. It’s Ollie. Not the league, we had a coach who game up or was resting on his laurels but it wasn’t the league.

 

[ASweet3781]

Keep blaming “the league”. We won a championship from this league a couple years ago. It’s a lame excuse. And we can’t do shat about is so just let it go. You sound like such a broken freaking record. Just stop. It’s Ollie. Not the league, we had a coach who game up or was resting on his laurels but it wasn’t the league.

We won a championship in 2014 with guys recruited when we were in the BIG EAST.

I love how like half the board thinks Ollie's divorce is why he went belly up and never considers the league we are currently in.

The AAC champion was so unprepared throughout the year for a run at the end of a 2nd round NCAA game against the Mountain West champion that they unraveled in spectacular fashion.

 

[tzznandrew]

We won a championship in 2014 with guys recruited when we were in the BIG EAST.

I love how like half the board thinks Ollie's divorce is why he went belly up and never considers the league we are currently in.

The AAC champion was so unprepared throughout the year for a run at the end of a 2nd round NCAA game against the Mountain West champion that they unraveled in spectacular fashion.

The rigors of the MWC prepared them to make that run!

Also, amazing how the ACC didn't prepare Virginia for the rigors of the America East champion...

 

[fatlucy]

We won a championship in 2014 with guys recruited when we were in the BIG EAST.

I love how like half the board thinks Ollie's divorce is why he went belly up and never considers the league we are currently in.

The AAC champion was so unprepared throughout the year for a run at the end of a 2nd round NCAA game against the Mountain West champion that they unraveled in spectacular fashion.

The rigors of the MWC prepared them to make that run!

Also, amazing how the ACC didn't prepare Virginia for the rigors of the America East champion...

Right, and it’s because of the league that Auburns down by 30. They just didn’t prepare for each other.