(10-31-2023 01:01 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 12:33 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  UConn men's hoops would be better off in many respects in the A10 than the current AAC.

As I've posted many times (and, yes, I have admitted Memphis has contributed to the "badness" of AAC men's basketball with the Tigers having underachieved), AAC men's basketball has been a semi-flop since the league was started.

Hypothetically, and as a fan of both Memphis and DePaul, I would almost rather be the head coach DePaul (the worst program in the Big East) than the head coach of Memphis (arguably the "best" program in the AAC).

Why has AAC basketball been a semi-flop in your opinion, bill dazzle???

IMO it has been a flop because i think comparisons with the Big East are inevitable. And at the time of the split 10-11 years ago, i think the consensus was that the AAC and Big East had gotten basketball assets of essentially equal quality.

But the Big East has routed the AAC, has IIRC been the better hoops league every year since, so IMO the AAC looks like a failure by comparison.

(10-31-2023 01:01 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Why has AAC basketball been a semi-flop in your opinion, bill dazzle???

I think the fact that UConn chose to go football independent and move to the Big East to protect its basketball program is all you need to know about that.

(11-03-2023 01:23 PM)OneSockUp Wrote:  

(11-01-2023 06:05 PM)Realignment Wrote:  I think UConn will get into the ACC eventually. Once Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina leave.

I think Syracuse will get back into the Big East eventually. Once Clemson, Florida State and North Caroline leave.

Do you also think Alabama will get back into the SoCon?

(11-03-2023 01:33 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 01:01 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 12:33 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  UConn men's hoops would be better off in many respects in the A10 than the current AAC.

As I've posted many times (and, yes, I have admitted Memphis has contributed to the "badness" of AAC men's basketball with the Tigers having underachieved), AAC men's basketball has been a semi-flop since the league was started.

Hypothetically, and as a fan of both Memphis and DePaul, I would almost rather be the head coach DePaul (the worst program in the Big East) than the head coach of Memphis (arguably the "best" program in the AAC).

Why has AAC basketball been a semi-flop in your opinion, bill dazzle???

IMO it has been a flop because i think comparisons with the Big East are inevitable. And at the time of the split 10-11 years ago, i think the consensus was that the AAC and Big East had gotten basketball assets of essentially equal quality.

But the Big East has routed the AAC, has IIRC been the better hoops league every year since, so IMO the AAC looks like a failure by comparison.

The "comparison factor" is very noteworthy. Good point from Quo.

There was simply no way the AAC was ever going to be as good in men's hoops as the Big East, in part, because the Big East has no deadweight compared to the AAC.

As bad as DePaul has been for years (and as a Blue Demon fan since 1987, I've seen this play out), it is still more like Duke (in terms of history, resources, fan base, etc.) compared to the bottom third of the AAC programs. That is huge for the Big East. Its worst is nowhere near as bad as the AAC's worst..

Another factor, and as I've said before (and this is not to take diminish the impressive productivity and success of the Big East): When you are not an all-sports power league, it is far easier to be outstanding in basketball when you don't sponsor football. The Big East has a built-in advantage over the AAC in that regard.

(11-03-2023 01:52 PM)OneSockUp Wrote:  

(10-31-2023 01:01 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  Why has AAC basketball been a semi-flop in your opinion, bill dazzle???

I think the fact that UConn chose to go football independent and move to the Big East to protect its basketball program is all you need to know about that.

Interestingly, as bad as AAC men's hoops has been, AAC baseball and football have been very respectable — and perhaps better than anticipated when the league formed.

UConn had a tough choice to make (which is one reason it stayed in the AAC as long as it could).