The Big East move is paying off. As has been said here and elsewhere, it isn't that the AAC is a bad conference. It was just a bad conference for us. Being a geographical outlier with football-centric southern and midwestern schools wasn't getting us the talented northeastern basketball recruits that we were used to getting. Also, Mike Aresco pushed the narrative of some of the former CUSA schools more than ours as he was trying to sell every school as "major" when the conference was formed (and that has worked well for other AAC schools to our detriment to some extent as Mike downplayed our brand more than he should have).

I am beginning to think that the Big East may actually be a better basketball fit for UConn than the ACC would have been (if you take the cash out of it and just look at performance ceiling). First off, all of the Big East schools unanimously approved UConn's entry including old local rivals like Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Providence. Those schools "get it" and didn’t perceive our addition as a threat - they know that having an additional strong brand makes their already strong brands stronger, not weaker. That stands in stark contrast to the ACC, where former rivals like Syracuse and Boston College opposed us so that they could claim their “turf”. That is hurting them more than helping them.

Syracuse will soon learn that having nearby neighbors makes it easier to recruit NYC, not harder. Part of the reason Andre Jackson chose UConn (in addition to the coaches and opportunity for playing time) is that his family could easily attend conference road games in addition to home games. All games in Storrs and games at Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova, and Georgetown are all driving distance. Throw in the opportunity for his family to be at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tourney, and it is a no-brainer.

At Syracuse, his family could have seen him play home games and maybe driven to Boston College for a game or two a year. That is it. Pitt and Notre Dame are too far to drive to for games and the rest of the schools are in the south as the ACC is a southern conference. At its heart its center of power and sense of identity will always lay in North Carolina. Their tournament rotates, but is more often than not in Greensboro, Charlotte, or Raleigh. Most NYC area recruits would rather play their conference tournament in storied Madison Square Garden in front of friends and family versus traveling to some far flung southern town where the crowd is all Duke and UNC fans.

(10-03-2019 11:48 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

The Big East move is paying off. As has been said here and elsewhere, it isn't that the AAC is a bad conference. It was just a bad conference for us. Being a geographical outlier with football-centric southern and midwestern schools wasn't getting us the talented northeastern basketball recruits that we were used to getting. Also, Mike Aresco pushed the narrative of some of the former CUSA schools more than ours as he was trying to sell every school as "major" when the conference was formed (and that has worked well for other AAC schools to our detriment to some extent as Mike downplayed our brand more than he should have).

I am beginning to think that the Big East may actually a better basketball fit for UConn than the ACC would have been (if you take the cash out of it and just look at performance ceiling). First off, all of the Big East schools unanimously approved UConn's entry including old local rivals like Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Providence. Those schools "get it" and didn’t perceive our addition as a threat - they know that having an additional strong brand makes their already strong brands stronger, not weaker. That stands in stark contrast to the ACC, where former rivals like Syracuse and Boston College opposed us so that they could claim their “turf”. That is hurting them more than helping them.

Syracuse will soon learn that having nearby neighbors makes it easier to recruit NYC, not harder. Part of the reason Andre Jackson chose UConn (in addition to the coaches and opportunity for playing time) is that his family could easily attend conference road games in addition to home games. All games in Storrs and games at Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Villanova, and Georgetown are all driving distance. Throw in the opportunity for his family to be at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tourney, and it is a no-brainer.

At Syracuse, his family could have seen him play home games and maybe driven to Boston College for a game or two a year. That is it. Pitt and Notre Dame are too far to drive to for games and the rest of the schools are in the south as the ACC is a southern conference. At its heart its center of power and sense of identity will always lay in North Carolina. Their tournament rotates, but is more often than not in Greensboro, Charlotte, or Raleigh. Most NYC area recruits would rather play their conference tournament in storied Madison Square Garden in front of friends and family versus traveling to some far flung southern town where the crowd is all Duke and UNC fans.

Syracuse's recruiting has dropped since Mike Hopkins went to Washington. Hopkins has recruited very well at UW, and - since his departure - Syracuse has had the 43rd (7th, ACC), 32nd (7th, ACC) and, presently 52nd (10th, ACC) recruiting classes. Now, there are so many recruits left on the board that the 2020 rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, but in the last years of Hopkins' tenure, Syracuse had the 18th and 8th overall classes (and they were getting 5*'s).

It will be very interesting to see where Syracuse turns after Boeheim inevitably retires.

(10-03-2019 11:48 AM)UConnHusky Wrote:  I am beginning to think that the Big East may actually a better basketball fit for UConn than the ACC would have been (if you take the cash out of it and just look at performance ceiling). First off, all of the Big East schools unanimously approved UConn's entry including old local rivals like Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Providence. Those schools "get it" and didn’t perceive our addition as a threat - they know that having an additional strong brand makes their already strong brands stronger, not weaker. That stands in stark contrast to the ACC, where former rivals like Syracuse and Boston College opposed us so that they could claim their “turf”. That is hurting them more than helping them.

This is going to sound a lot like I'm going into spin mode (so be it), but I agree for a much simpler reason: Conferences largely exist as launching pads for individual programs, and in the ACC you're only ever a second- or third-tier program if you aren't UNC or Duke. There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

The one thing the current Big East needs more than anything else is a consistent foil to Nova, and if UConn can deliver on the court then UConn-Nova can become the northeast's best college rivalry in much the same way UConn-Syracuse was a decade ago. MSG is even more or less halfway between the two schools. That's what I think about in regards to this conference more than anything else - the potential to be regularly playing Villanova on Saturday night in the Tournament for the conference crown.

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  This is going to sound a lot like I'm going into spin mode (so be it), but I agree for a much simpler reason: Conferences largely exist as launching pads for individual programs, and in the ACC you're only ever a second- or third-tier program if you aren't UNC or Duke. There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

The one thing the current Big East needs more than anything else is a consistent foil to Nova, and if UConn can deliver on the court then UConn-Nova can become the northeast's best college rivalry in much the same way UConn-Syracuse was a decade ago. MSG is even more or less halfway between the two schools. That's what I think about in regards to this conference more than anything else - the potential to be regularly playing Villanova on Saturday night in the Tournament for the conference crown.

Great points about the better potential for success in the Big East and having a foil to Villanova. I am really pumped up for this move to the Big East. While UConn fans have been disappointed over the years with our lack of receiving an ACC invite, the Big East may end up being better for us in the long run (if we value winning more than just receiving a huge paycheck - which is what should matter more in amateur sports anyway). Basketball is our bread and butter and the Big East allows us to do our thing as a member of it. In the ACC, we would have been subservient to Duke and UNC in basketball based on geography and the history of that league. Our football program would have had just as many recruiting headaches in trying to recruit against those southern schools and the few northern schools in that conference with longer FBS football tradition than us. The reality is that we moved up to FBS too late and it was a mistake in hindsight. There was no sense in tanking our core identity (basketball) waiting around for an ACC invite just to try and elevate a sport that we likely weren't ever going to be good in anyway....solely for money, not athletic glory.

The Big East is a better basketball fit for geography, history, and opportunity for success.

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

Oh my sweet summer child... you will bend the knee

(10-03-2019 01:54 PM)scoscox Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

Oh my sweet summer child... you will bend the knee

Win the tournament once before trying to tell us about it. You're the new guy.

(10-03-2019 01:54 PM)scoscox Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

Oh my sweet summer child... you will bend the knee

The Big East feels more fluid as all the teams are good, but Nova currently stands out as a superstar. There is room and equal opportunity for all conference members to challenge them, though.

In the ACC, Duke and UNC will never not be kings except for an occasional freak year.

(10-03-2019 02:01 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 01:54 PM)scoscox Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

Oh my sweet summer child... you will bend the knee

Win the tournament once before trying to tell us about it. You're the new guy.

Bogg, my friend, i am happy to have you and welcome you back, but you will pay the toll

(10-03-2019 02:04 PM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 01:54 PM)scoscox Wrote:  

(10-03-2019 12:15 PM)Bogg Wrote:  There's a lot more oxygen available at the top of the Big East.

Oh my sweet summer child... you will bend the knee

The Big East feels more fluid as all the teams are good, but Nova currently stands out as a superstar. There is room and equal opportunity for all conference members to challenge them, though.

In the ACC, Duke and UNC will never not be kings except for an occasional freak year.

I agree, but i enjoy giving you grief

There is no question that the Big East might be much better for UConn men's hoops than the Atlantic Coast Conference hypothetically. And I feel it will be in reality. But will Big East membership be better for UConn's overall athletics program and its academic endeavors than the ACC would have been? Hard to say.

But one theme some of you have suggested in this thread — and I agree. UConn men's basketball can step into the BE and be outstanding very quickly. And a heated UConn vs. Nova rivalry would be stellar for the league and for Northeast college hoops fans (and for all fans, for that matter).

As a long-time DePaul follower, I would prefer (and I acknowledge this is an insane hypothetical) the university be a member of the ACC. If you're going to bad period, at least be bad in the most prestigious and comprehensive conference as possible.

Conversely, if you have an outstanding program (like UConn) in a strong league (like the Big East) — or even like Gonzaga in the West Coast — your program will be fine.

I guess it depends on how you look at it. Single program? All athletics programs? Academics? Etc.

On the ACC theme, our family follows three universities in the ACC and we sometimes have friendly banter about which one is "better" than the other (athletics, academics, location, campus feel, etc.). Sometimes we even discuss if the ACC is "better" than, say, whatever other conference. There are always ways you can spin a situation in a positive or a negative manner. But it's often very subjective.

The internet rumor mill has made a bit of smoke about this guy and UConn, but they've been wrong before. Would be nice to close on a big this fall.

Seems to be a bit of a battle going on between providence and seton hall (among others) for Earl Timberlake and between Seton Hall and UConn for Kadary Richmond

Butler just got a commit from Jakobe Coles, a forward in the 100-150 range out of Texas. Kind of impressive, considering they beat out TAMU, TCU, SMU, and Notre Dame for him.

Expect some more good news from Marquette in coming weeks.

(10-06-2019 01:06 PM)Bogg Wrote:  Butler just got a commit from Jakobe Coles, a forward in the 100-150 range out of Texas. Kind of impressive, considering they beat out TAMU, TCU, SMU, and Notre Dame for him.

Butler has done well recruiting. Still don't trust the actual in game coaching though.

(10-06-2019 03:12 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Expect some more good news from Marquette in coming weeks.

Swing and miss. Marquette had been in the lead for RJ Davis the past few weeks, but he took a visit to UNC and committed there today. Roy apparently promised a 2-PG offense (to go with Caleb Love). Davis would have just slid into Markus Howard's role next year. If either Cade Cunningham or Bryce Thompson commit to UNC as well (as both are still targets by UNC), it would most definitely push Davis to their bench. Oh well.

We are still in on Dawson Garcia, but I would guess we would now be looking into the grad transfer and transfer market for next year for a couple of the remaining schollies. McEwen, Elliott, Torrence and Akanno can all be serviceable Gs for next year's team.

Will be curious to see if JStackhouse this time in 2020 can sign the "equivalent of RJ Davis" (in terms of talent, hometown location, competition vs. other good programs, etc.) — or at least get a home visit, which was not the case with Davis.

We're in the final 3 for 4* C Javonte Brown-Ferguson (along with Kansas and Texas A&M). Will reclassify to 2020 and make his decision in a few weeks. Underrated due to playing in Canada.

Fingers crossed.

(10-21-2019 04:34 PM)HuskyU Wrote:  We're in the final 3 for 4* C Javonte Brown-Ferguson (along with Kansas and Texas A&M). Will reclassify to 2020 and make his decision in a few weeks. Underrated due to playing in Canada.

Fingers crossed.

We were trying to get in on JBF in the past few weeks. Always knew it would be a long shot. It sounds like he very much wants to play near family (in Canada). He specifically highlighted UConn's return to the Big East as an opportunity to play near friends and family.

Will be rooting for you guys to nab him, Huskies.

Dawson Garcia picks Marquette. Great add for the Big East.