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Post by cusefan2016 on Feb 4, 2021 9:44:53 GMT -5
Watching Villanova last night it is crazy to me they were #3 in the country. Obviously they were LOADED and dominate in their title 2 years ago, and I am not even beginning to compare the state of both our programs. But just watching them this year and the past two they in no way stick out to me, specifically physically.
I think if we were still in the Big East recruiting would not of dipped as much as we would land more Northeast big boys and there are just way more winnable games within the conference schedule. Maybe I am nuts, but I do think that between an uptick in talent because of recruiting and playing the Big East schedule the last 4-5 years would of been more like a fringe top 25 team that is ranked for parts of the season opposed to the perennial bubble.
Obviously the move had to happen from a $$$ and football standpoint. But just interesting to view our struggles through a different lens. And again this is no excuse, we are in the ACC it is JB and the staffs job to figure it out. Just sort of more of a what if?
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Post by sobecuse on Feb 4, 2021 13:22:30 GMT -5
Interesting. Personally, I think we would be bubble there as well. Over the past five years they have had pretty strong Xavier/Marquette/Creighton squads as well as the household teams. Those teams are better than Wake/BC/GT/Miami generally, imo. Those Seton Hall teams as well with Delgado and their main scorer guy a few years ago would’ve handled us as well. We would have had trouble with Providence as well when they had Kris Dunn and their current players.
Recruiting, IMO, is mostly about the system and losing Hopkins/botched succession plan. We haven’t changed our recruiting much since Boeheim mostly sticks to the NE. The Philly pipeline has been taken over mostly by Villanova who have some real juice in their program unlike ours now. There is just a ton of negative recruiting (most justified) against us and many kids were committing to Hopkins not Boeheim. Hopkins had the connects. He had the energy. He was basically running the program for the majority of this decade to be frank. JB alienated himself from a lot of coaches/handlers (partly to stay clean) because of the botched succession plan as well as his treatment of players to the media in pressers. He has burned bridges there with some H.S. coaches/programs in that regard. We still wouldn’t be getting any other SGs as long as Buddy is still around even if we were in the Big East. ACC has probably a little more skill and finesse all around with better coaches. The Zone really can’t account for how shooting has evolved especially if you have the wrong kinds of personnel playing it. We just don’t dictate much of anything these days. We play the same defense, have no Centers, shoot jumpers with some talented shooters but an awful simplistic scheme, and slap on a press when we are down. Just not good enough.
College ball is a bit watered down this year. There are only a couple of truly dynamic freshmen as well. They are on some teams that are rarely on national TV and don’t have huge followings nationwide. Gonzaga/USC/Oklahoma St for the most part. How Virginia lost to VT was baffling though we probably made them look better than they are. I think Gonzaga and Baylor are a class above everybody else. Michigan/Texas/Texas Tech/Virginia/Iowa/Villanova are solid and I don’t think we could beat them. We shouldn’t theoretically and personnel-wise. But the rest is a crap shoot. If we hit our shots and find a team that stagnates/looks inept against the Zone without the rebounding brutes then we can win.
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Post by cusefan2016 on Feb 4, 2021 15:23:05 GMT -5
Yea not saying I was right or wrong. More of just an interesting "what if".
What I do think holds true is that in the Big East the league could be much deeper where there are no BC's, Wake, and some others. But the top is not as lethal (exception maybe this year). So if you have the top of the middle tier pack talent like we would I think it would give us a better chance to finish above .500 because there are substantially more winable in the conference like we seemed to of had in the ACC.
I'm an avid cuse fan (clearly evident) and I follow recruiting and what not closely. But I am no insider (why I read these boards) so I cant speak to a lot of what you have said regarding JB and recruiting relationships. I do know that Hop ran the show when he was here and his loss certainly hurt on that front.
Just when I see the uptick in recruiting UCONN has had regionally and maybe some added success we would have in the Big East I think it could make a difference.
Again just a total "what if" conversation.
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Post by sobecuse on Feb 4, 2021 18:52:35 GMT -5
Yea not saying I was right or wrong. More of just an interesting "what if". What I do think holds true is that in the Big East the league could be much deeper where there are no BC's, Wake, and some others. But the top is not as lethal (exception maybe this year). So if you have the top of the middle tier pack talent like we would I think it would give us a better chance to finish above .500 because there are substantially more winable in the conference like we seemed to of had in the ACC. I'm an avid cuse fan (clearly evident) and I follow recruiting and what not closely. But I am no insider (why I read these boards) so I cant speak to a lot of what you have said regarding JB and recruiting relationships. I do know that Hop ran the show when he was here and his loss certainly hurt on that front. Just when I see the uptick in recruiting UCONN has had regionally and maybe some added success we would have in the Big East I think it could make a difference. Again just a total "what if" conversation. No it’s interesting for sure. No question the top of the ACC will always hold more weight with some major powerhouse teams up there most years. I don’t know...this botched succession plan did a TON of damage as well as some of those pressers and the berating of some players. He recruited these guys. Take responsibility. Now, who knows if Hop would’ve had success here. Recruiting would be a LOT better, though. I don’t get UConn. Kids just buy what Hurley is selling I guess. No doubt he’s a grinder with intense energy. His family lineage probably doesn’t hurt either.
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