(08-27-2013 07:54 AM)stever20 Wrote: We'll see about the AAC. They are in a lot of years going to be in that 5-7 range. And, that's if the recruiting with the exposure doesn't pick up, which is doubtable.
As far as folks that say their lack of depth hurts them- I don't think folks look at the 8th place team and because they suck, they look at them as a bad conference. What matters to folks is how they are at the top, and the AAC has that covered.
The AAC has the top covered with UConn and Memphis - assuming that Ollie can follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. Both are off to a good start.
I'm really not sure what we have with Cincy and Temple. They still haven't quite established themselves. I have more faith in Cincy because Cronin has them headed in the right direction and because he had them competitive in a very tough Big East. With the easier schedule, they will probably soar. Still have to do it, but I'm buying them.
Temple OTOH lost major pieces from last year and hasn't brought in any big time recruits, so I don't expect much from this year. They could succeed with those 3* recruits in the A10 but the lack of talent showed in the tournament as they flamed out every year. Fran Dunphy has proven that he can coach, but he is not a proven that he can recruit. Temple is going to have to upgrade it's recruiting if they're going to prove that they're anything more than a paper tiger who beats up on mid majors but falls flat against major national competition.
This could easily be a 2 bid conference with 3 in a good year. Lack of depth hurts because no one else gets to the tournament except for your top teams and even they take a year off occasionally. And when someone else makes the occasional run to the tournament, they're one and done. People do notice that kind of stuff.
The ACC may be only a 2 team conference, but they have enough depth that a different somebody always seems to rise up and make a major impact whether it's been Maryland in the past, or Georgia Tech, or Virginia, or NC State, or Wake, or Clemson. Miami looked like last year like they'll be the latest program in that conference to step up. Obviously the additions of Syracuse, Louisville, etc. mean that they'll be even deeper in the future.
Same is true for the SEC. While Kentucky and Florida are the ones who sustain success year in and year out, there always seems to be an LSU or a Mississippi State who also makes a deep run into the tournament occasionally. Not to mention Vandy, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and newcomers Missouri and TAM. Other than the hopeful signs at SMU, that's the kind of depth that the AAC is lacking.
Depth is precisely why the Big East is so much better a conference than the AAC. Every one of those teams has had major success in the modern era, so it will be no surprise if they do it again. They all have fans with memories of past triumphs who will turn out to celebrate new ones.
