"At its core, grabbing the Garden would be a long-term asset that would separate the ACC from its rivals. It would strengthen its basketball profile and make it more attractive for the long term. It would ingratiate the ACC in the country's best media market and one of the most fertile recruiting grounds.
Other than its BCS bid, having MSG was the Big East's most valuable asset for years. In a time when even Mike Krzyzewski worries about the ACC being vulnerable, wouldn't building up your assets make sense? Even worse, imagine sticking around Greensboro for the Tobacco Road loyalists only to have them leave the ACC for more lucrative pastures?
I polled a half-dozen coaches and athletic directors around MSG on Wednesday about this topic. None hesitated in responding that the ACC taking over MSG was a no-brainer. They all have felt the energy and relished an environment that needs to be experienced to appreciated. The Big East Tournament is an event. Every other conference tournament is just a tournament.
Greensboro is certainly quaint, but this isn't a time in college sports for quaint. Missouri and Kansas aren't playing these days. Neither are Syracuse and Georgetown. Or Texas and Texas A&M.
No one knows the high stakes of college sports better than the ACC, as the league already cannibalized the old Big East to the brink of irrelevancy. Why not rob the new Big East of its second biggest asset (behind its Fox TV contract) before it even begins?
Let Delany and the Big Ten settle for Brooklyn or Newark. Bludgeon the Catholic Seven before they even tip off.
Now is the time for the ACC to make a power play for Manhattan."
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