Was the first year of the new Big East a success?

 The footage was great. The amount of skirmishes in the old big east. Could never get away with that today.  Ewing threw a punch at someone almost every game it seemed. In today's world, half the team would be suspended every other week.

 

Quote from: goredmen on March 17, 2014, 11:34:07 AM

I think the success/failures of this season will be close to the norm going forward for this conference. Some teams will have good seasons while others will have bad seasons. Creighton, Butler, and DePaul will most likely struggle for the next few years at least, Xavier will probably fluctuate between good and bad, who knows how its going to work out with SHU, no reason to believe we will have sustained success, and gtown and Marquette aren't going to be the every year power that the conference needs them to be.

I'd say our conference will be pretty comparable to the mountain west going forward. They have a couple teams in SDSU and New Mexico that have become NCAA tournament fixtures and then there's decent programs after that have experienced intermittent success lately. We are pretty close to UNLV in that we recruit some serious talent but poor coaching leads to underachieving seasons

Why will Xavier fluctuate between good and bad?  They have missed the NCAA tourney only twice in the last decade.  They have been to the Sweet 16 4 of the last 6 years.  They made the dance in their first year in the new BE.  They always seem to have an up and coming coach.  Xavier was a fantastic addition, just like Marquette was years ago. 

The A-10 got 6 teams this year.  Everyone who's so D&G about the BE needs to realize that if St. John's and GTown even merely had slightly better seasons, we probably get 5 teams in the dance.  Getting half your league in is no small feat.  Getting 40% of your league in is not bad...better than the SEC who has tons of football money, so explain that?

Yes, the SEC had a bad basketball year this year much like the PAC 12's previous 2 seasons. This conference is going to have good seasons and bad seasons as well. I'd classify this year as slightly above average for the conference, could be better or worse depending on what happens in the NCAA tournament. We arent the ACC or Big 10 that will always have strong years.

Xavier is obviously a very good program but do you really want to rely on them being one of the teams carrying the conference going forward? Georgetown, who is supposed to carry the conference has 2 NCAA tournament wins in the last 7 years. Butler isn't Butler anymore, and we now see that Marquette is capable of having a mediocre season. Outside of Nova there really isnt anybody that you can count on for year after year success. Whether you like it or not this is a tier 2 conference

In my favorite performance in the BE by a non SJU player Pearl Washington punched Ewing in the gut and I do not believe was even called for a tech. That same game he destroyed the Press and Thompson had to call it off. Best part was when he broke Michael Jackson's ankles on a crossover and motioned for him to get up so that he could do it to him again.

In my favorite performance in the BE by a non SJU player Pearl Washington punched Ewing in the gut and I do not believe was even called for a tech. That same game he destroyed the Press and Thompson had to call it off. Best part was when he broke Michael Jackson's ankles on a crossover and motioned for him to get up so that he could do it to him again.

  They had that clip where Pearl wound up and drilled Ewing in the ribs.. It was awesome.  Pearl is the only player that I rooted for in Orange.  He was that good.  Except when they played STJ, or course.

Earlier this year, a fan of one of the new teams was complaining about rough play in the Big East.  I laughed.  These guys have no idea.  Now you can't even hand-check on the perimeter.

 One other thing...As much as I absolutely despised John Thompson and, to a lesser degree Jim Boeheim, back then , I came away with much more respect for them as coaches and leaders of men after watching that documentary.    Love the fact that JT and JB hated each other back in the 80s..

You need true hatred amongst rivals to have a great league..Somhow, and I don;t know how, the BE needs to get that back... Unfortunately, I think that was a once in a lifetime thing, the old big east..  Football destroyed it.. God,  I hate college football.

One other thing...As much as I absolutely despised John Thompson and, to a lesser degree Jim Boeheim, back then , I came away with much more respect for them as coaches and leaders of men after watching that documentary.    Love the fact that JT and JB hated each other back in the 80s..

You need true hatred amongst rivals to have a great league..Somhow, and I don;t know how, the BE needs to get that back... Unfortunately, I think that was a once in a lifetime thing, the old big east..  Football destroyed it.. God,  I hate college football.

Speaking of Boeheim, who I hate, how can he NOT be blamed for Syracuse's demise this year?  After their first loss to BC, they play a close controversial Duke game that ends with and because of him running on the court like an insane person and getting 2 Ts and getting ejected.  From that point on, Syraucse has sucked.  Not just against good teams, but against everyone.  In the defining moment of their season where they could rebound from their first loss by showing they can still beat a top 10 team in one of the toughest places to play in basketball, he lost his cool, and his team has never regrouped.  Have to consider that to be the turning point of their season, and their leader set a bad example of let's complain about shit if it doesnt go our way rather than lets be tough and show the world we are the best team in the country and annihilate everyone.

For all our knocks against Lavin, I can tell you if Lavs pulled with Boeheim pulled here in an amazing season and we downward spiraled after that, I'd want his head.  Boeheim obviously has a lot of goodwill as he deserves, but just pointing out even the country's "best" coaches are really damn stupid sometimes and can trainwreck their team's season in a variety of ways.

i would give this year a C+.  As with all things, the 1st year is always the toughest. Key will be next year and how we take the learnings.  Here are my takeaways for next year:

1.  all BE teams must play a tougher OOC schedule.  will give greater exposure and increase chances of at-large bid.
2.  fox needs to replay the games.
3.  more original Big East content produced by Fox
4.  fox needs to create a "big monday" type day for "must see" games

Living in SA it was great watching SJU play every game. People making fun of Fox is the same as people making fun of a 24Hr sports channel or news channel in the 80s. What makes things more difficult is that ESPN is a juggernaut and has not been challenged and there are too many channels on TV today.

-That being said getting 40% of the field is not a bad first yer and I was very suprise on how MSG was buzzing for a Providence vs Creighton final. If the BET is healthy I think twit will be OK.
-Round Robin is counter productive because all you do is beat up on each other which means that at least half the league needs to be ranked for league games to help the conference...
-The league needs to have a tougher OOC schdule though it did back fire on Marqutte this year...BE needs to be fearless and willing to face anybody.
-SJU needs to be consistently good and really needs to replace what Cuse did for NYC....I Lavin is a perfect spokesman and media guy of his team can just consitantly freakin win!
-Whatever your feelings on FOX, overall they are succesful and don't take things lying down. Also they have NFL and MLB to help get folks to watch FS1/2. Fox will show sone MLB on FS1 and Francesca should help at least in NYC.
-BE has to play it cool with expansion the league would look even worse if they offered bids and were rejected from "mid majors".

Ultimately College football brings more exposure to a league but it is killer on the rest of the league. SJU can take back the city and bring buzz back to the Garden if they can only win. The best gift that Cuse gave us was leaving the BE and playing less games at the MSG.

Big LEAST...

- ESPN Reporters.  Man they are funny

ESPN is pulling a fox news and killing their comp with negative comments....

The conference is stable and it made a whole lot of money for its member schools.    That's a success.   
Foxsports is an overwhelming success.   They thought it would take 10 years for the network to be profitable, I've heard from people they'll be turning a profit in two years.    And they keep adding more properties: future World Cups, US Open (golf) from 2015-2025, plus their MLB, NCAA, NASCAR, and UFC events.     Fox is in great shape. 

This conference will never be what it was.  But it gives St. John's the resources to compete for the foreseeable future.  That makes it a success. 

Quote from: boo3 on March 17, 2014, 02:00:45 PM

One other thing...As much as I absolutely despised John Thompson and, to a lesser degree Jim Boeheim, back then , I came away with much more respect for them as coaches and leaders of men after watching that documentary.    Love the fact that JT and JB hated each other back in the 80s..

You need true hatred amongst rivals to have a great league..Somhow, and I don;t know how, the BE needs to get that back... Unfortunately, I think that was a once in a lifetime thing, the old big east..  Football destroyed it.. God,  I hate college football.

Speaking of Boeheim, who I hate, how can he NOT be blamed for Syracuse's demise this year?  After their first loss to BC, they play a close controversial Duke game that ends with and because of him running on the court like an insane person and getting 2 Ts and getting ejected.  From that point on, Syraucse has sucked.  Not just against good teams, but against everyone.  In the defining moment of their season where they could rebound from their first loss by showing they can still beat a top 10 team in one of the toughest places to play in basketball, he lost his cool, and his team has never regrouped.  Have to consider that to be the turning point of their season, and their leader set a bad example of let's complain about shit if it doesnt go our way rather than lets be tough and show the world we are the best team in the country and annihilate everyone.

For all our knocks against Lavin, I can tell you if Lavs pulled with Boeheim pulled here in an amazing season and we downward spiraled after that, I'd want his head.  Boeheim obviously has a lot of goodwill as he deserves, but just pointing out even the country's "best" coaches are really damn stupid sometimes and can trainwreck their team's season in a variety of ways.

They're 27-5 and ranked 14th in the country. That's quite a demise. I blame Boeheim.

Quote from: Tha Kid on March 17, 2014, 02:27:14 PM

Quote from: boo3 on March 17, 2014, 02:00:45 PM

One other thing...As much as I absolutely despised John Thompson and, to a lesser degree Jim Boeheim, back then , I came away with much more respect for them as coaches and leaders of men after watching that documentary.    Love the fact that JT and JB hated each other back in the 80s..

You need true hatred amongst rivals to have a great league..Somhow, and I don;t know how, the BE needs to get that back... Unfortunately, I think that was a once in a lifetime thing, the old big east..  Football destroyed it.. God,  I hate college football.

Speaking of Boeheim, who I hate, how can he NOT be blamed for Syracuse's demise this year?  After their first loss to BC, they play a close controversial Duke game that ends with and because of him running on the court like an insane person and getting 2 Ts and getting ejected.  From that point on, Syraucse has sucked.  Not just against good teams, but against everyone.  In the defining moment of their season where they could rebound from their first loss by showing they can still beat a top 10 team in one of the toughest places to play in basketball, he lost his cool, and his team has never regrouped.  Have to consider that to be the turning point of their season, and their leader set a bad example of let's complain about shit if it doesnt go our way rather than lets be tough and show the world we are the best team in the country and annihilate everyone.

For all our knocks against Lavin, I can tell you if Lavs pulled with Boeheim pulled here in an amazing season and we downward spiraled after that, I'd want his head.  Boeheim obviously has a lot of goodwill as he deserves, but just pointing out even the country's "best" coaches are really damn stupid sometimes and can trainwreck their team's season in a variety of ways.

They're 27-5 and ranked 14th in the country. That's quite a demise. I blame Boeheim.

Considering they had 0 losses in mid February they have been pretty damn awful in losing to national powers like Boston college

Quote from: Foad on March 17, 2014, 05:55:37 PM

Quote from: Tha Kid on March 17, 2014, 02:27:14 PM

Quote from: boo3 on March 17, 2014, 02:00:45 PM

One other thing...As much as I absolutely despised John Thompson and, to a lesser degree Jim Boeheim, back then , I came away with much more respect for them as coaches and leaders of men after watching that documentary.    Love the fact that JT and JB hated each other back in the 80s..

You need true hatred amongst rivals to have a great league..Somhow, and I don;t know how, the BE needs to get that back... Unfortunately, I think that was a once in a lifetime thing, the old big east..  Football destroyed it.. God,  I hate college football.

Speaking of Boeheim, who I hate, how can he NOT be blamed for Syracuse's demise this year?  After their first loss to BC, they play a close controversial Duke game that ends with and because of him running on the court like an insane person and getting 2 Ts and getting ejected.  From that point on, Syraucse has sucked.  Not just against good teams, but against everyone.  In the defining moment of their season where they could rebound from their first loss by showing they can still beat a top 10 team in one of the toughest places to play in basketball, he lost his cool, and his team has never regrouped.  Have to consider that to be the turning point of their season, and their leader set a bad example of let's complain about shit if it doesnt go our way rather than lets be tough and show the world we are the best team in the country and annihilate everyone.

For all our knocks against Lavin, I can tell you if Lavs pulled with Boeheim pulled here in an amazing season and we downward spiraled after that, I'd want his head.  Boeheim obviously has a lot of goodwill as he deserves, but just pointing out even the country's "best" coaches are really damn stupid sometimes and can trainwreck their team's season in a variety of ways.

They're 27-5 and ranked 14th in the country. That's quite a demise. I blame Boeheim.

Considering they had 0 losses in mid February they have been pretty damn awful in losing to national powers like Boston college

It was Boeheim's masterful coaching job that kept them undefeated. They fell back to earth despite his genius.

They managed to finish ahead of DoOk. Do you blame Schrewshreskny for the Blue Devils demise?

Why this question is even asked gives you the answer

40% of their teams danced.  That's not bad.

Coach K said under his breath that BC should have been in the NCAA instead of Xavier. 

It was a bad year, yet we got 40% our teams into the NCAA tourney and the #1 seed in the NiT.  It wasn't a smashing success because tradition powers like Georgetown, Marquette weren't there, and SJU failed to make it but otherwise it was pretty successful.  First year is always going to be rocky in a new league like this with only 10 teams. 

That said,  6 of 10 teams are playing in either the NCAA or NIT right now.  Now sure how much better we could have done which would have made this look like a true failure.  8 teams in?  Big east has also recruited well this season outside of SJU of course. 

In addition, we have more money and a much better tv contract than before with great coverage of games.  We have secured the Big East Tourney for the next 12 years and that was a big success as well, especially thwarting the acc's attempts to take over.  They thought we'd not meet attendance numbers which was totally false.

Not sure how it was a massive failure.  We don't have as many marquee teams as before.  That isn't going to change.  Everything else points to this being quite a successful first season, except for St. John's and Georgetown of course. 

I would've mind adding a few more teams, but we should wait until some compelling choices open up when the AAC splits different directions which will happen eventually.

It was a bad year, yet we got 40% our teams into the NCAA tourney and the #1 seed in the NiT.  It wasn't a smashing success because tradition powers like Georgetown, Marquette weren't there, and SJU failed to make it but otherwise it was pretty successful.  First year is always going to be rocky in a new league like this with only 10 teams. 

That said,  6 of 10 teams are playing in either the NCAA or NIT right now.  Now sure how much better we could have done which would have made this look like a true failure.  8 teams in?  Big east has also recruited well this season outside of SJU of course. 

Not sure how it was a massive failure.  We don't have as many marquee teams as before.  That isn't going to change.

Agree. To me that is Step 1. Step 2 is to do reasonably well in tourneys. Flaming out will only give critics more fodder. That could be justified I hate to admit.

Quote from: MCNPA on March 18, 2014, 06:36:54 PM

It was a bad year, yet we got 40% our teams into the NCAA tourney and the #1 seed in the NiT.  It wasn't a smashing success because tradition powers like Georgetown, Marquette weren't there, and SJU failed to make it but otherwise it was pretty successful.  First year is always going to be rocky in a new league like this with only 10 teams. 

That said,  6 of 10 teams are playing in either the NCAA or NIT right now.  Now sure how much better we could have done which would have made this look like a true failure.  8 teams in?  Big east has also recruited well this season outside of SJU of course. 

Not sure how it was a massive failure.  We don't have as many marquee teams as before.  That isn't going to change.

Agree. To me that is Step 1. Step 2 is to do reasonably well in tourneys. Flaming out will only give critics more fodder. That could be justified I hate to admit.

Maybe we should let our bubble team win the conference tourney every year for the first few years... Lol. Then we will guarantee the Big East an extra team in every season and pump up our profile while rebuilding.