Are we seeing the decline of the blue bloods | Syracusefan.com

Are we seeing the decline of the blue bloods

Cusefan0307

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Obviously JB won't be around much longer and we will have to solve that, but I think it's interesting what is going on at UNC, Duke, KU, and UK right now. They all have some pressing issues that won't be easily solved.

Calipari had a player transfer that is the best player on a Sweet 16 team. He couldn't even get to double digit wins this year.

UNC seems to finally be getting hit by transfers and departures with no top talent coming in next year.

Kansas was absolutely crushed yesterday and has the NCAA breathing down their necks and not their usual top class coming in next year.

Duke had a player leave midseason this year and the lack of veterans seem to be catching up with K's focus on one and dones. He's also near the end of the line.

It appears more and more over the past few seasons that March is dominated by veterans or a new generation of coaches in the tournament. I know each of the above schools will probably be ranked to start next season, but as much as I complained about JB this year I am happy where we currently sit.
 
Meh.

I don't think you can make ANY sound judgements based on a truncated year during a pandemic.

And the resulting free-for-all with transfers.

Let's see what happens at the end of next season, and the year after that, and then we'll know a lot better if this was just an anomaly, or the beginning of a new era in college hoops.
 
The thing is, for the most part when the gray beard coaches at the blue blood schools retire, those next tier coaches who are experiencing success will fill their places. Circle of life.
 
Obviously JB won't be around much longer and we will have to solve that, but I think it's interesting what is going on at UNC, Duke, KU, and UK right now. They all have some pressing issues that won't be easily solved.

Calipari had a player transfer that is the best player on a Sweet 16 team. He couldn't even get to double digit wins this year.

UNC seems to finally be getting hit by transfers and departures with no top talent coming in next year.

Kansas was absolutely crushed yesterday and has the NCAA breathing down their necks and not their usual top class coming in next year.

Duke had a player leave midseason this year and the lack of veterans seem to be catching up with K's focus on one and dones. He's also near the end of the line.

It appears more and more over the past few seasons that March is dominated by veterans or a new generation of coaches in the tournament. I know each of the above schools will probably be ranked to start next season, but as much as I complained about JB this year I am happy where we currently sit.

I have no idea what the right answer is, but I suspect teams will have an easier time handling recruiting once the NBA lifts the high school ban and/or keeps pulling the top kids into an expanding G-League.

Once those top 10-20 kids are out of the college stream and into getting drafted or going to the G League, I think we'll have a reset on where every team is.

I also think we have to remember this year was in a pandemic. Things are going to be weird.
 
angry no way GIF by CBS

Blue Bloods Jamie Reagan GIF by CBS
 
Definitely looks like the end of an era. Some of these programs will prolly hire great coaches but it's not a guarantee
 
Unpopular post alert:
As much as I really, really dislike those teams, I think it's bad for college basketball as an entertainment product for them to struggle long-term. You need the big, bad villains to be relevant.
 
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Meh.

I don't think you can make ANY sound judgements based on a truncated year during a pandemic.

And the resulting free-for-all with transfers.

Let's see what happens at the end of next season, and the year after that, and then we'll know a lot better if this was just an anomaly, or the beginning of a new era in college hoops.

Yeah... I tend to agree. Frankly, there have been times when I've thought that Calipari might have poor teams, but they right the ship and end up formidable. But its a risk when you are wholesale replacing the team year after year with new guys. Sometimes, the pieces just don't fit.

I don't think UNC has great backcourt / perimeter talent, and that was their undoing. But I also think it's fair to question whether Roy Boy is beginning to show his "old age" [similar to some of the troubles we've had here with JB].

Kansas has had the spectre of probation / major NCAA outcomes looming over them for awhile -- I think that's beginning to take a toll, even though the hammer has not dropped yet.

But it might be a quick bounce-back for all of them, or none of them. The free agency to come is unprecedented.

And I do think that this tournament is reinforcing [just like SDSU and Dayton last year] that every year, there are some mid-major teams that are really freaking good, and who are capable of playing with the big boys. I don't expect that to change.

I think Boeheim talked about it in his press conference the other night, when he said [paraphrasing] that there are some really good coaches out there that the general public doesn't know about, and some really good players that play for them. And when those two factors combine, teams that people don't traditionally expect to be good end up being really, really good.
 
My take is tis more than that. I believe NCAA as we know it has at most 10 years to run. Now with players getting more power and the money no longer free flowing once NCAA has to share that with the players. Then the top schools will think, why do I need to share this with mid-majors and Oral Roberts of the world. I see top 5-6 Conferences depart and leave NCAA without their primary revenue stream. It will be the downfall of March Madness. But we see the schools aligned themselves into the Power 5 already. Why not just take NCAA out of it altogether. Not good for March Madness and the fans but for money we have Rutgers and Maryland playing in the Big10.
 
We don't have that issue here. Boeheim will die before he stops coaching.
 
Tell that to Indiana and UCLA. They both have been looking for coaches for 20 years. This stuff isn’t set in stone.
UCLA was doing pretty good under Howland, but they didn't like the style and the boosters are looking for a return to an era when Wooden was running things that just can't ever be repeated.

Indiana cursed themselves when they hired Crean.
 
I wouldn't whistle past their graves too much but the G league nonsense will hit these schools directly and they are the most prone to transfers out becuase a kid who doesn't play year 1 can make no expectations to see the court year 2. I think the new rules will hurt them as much as it helps.
 
UCLA was doing pretty good under Howland, but they didn't like the style and the boosters are looking for a return to an era when Wooden was running things that just can't ever be repeated.

Indiana cursed themselves when they hired Crean.

Jim Harrick had UCLA humming in the nineties until whatever happened with expense accounts.
 
UNC and Kansas will reload with new coaches.

The others, not so sure
 
When the top kids go directly to the NBA or the G league the money bags will be smaller. Probably won't help the usual suspects.
 
Talent is still flowing into the NCAA at the rate it used to, it just isn't staying as long. The top schools are still getting the best players, but they have to rely on them as freshmen and freshmen are unpredictable, which has created parity at the expense of quality basketball. One-and-done made a 1 losing to a 16 a matter of time.

When the top players are free to go the NBA out of high school, the most prestigious schools will still get the best recruits, most often. They will just be the kind of players that are either going to mid-majors or lesser P5 schools, now. If players that go to the college game stay for longer I could see the parity trend reversing. Right now you see schools with veteran, less recruited upperclassmen going up against elite but inexperienced talent. If it changes the way I think it will everyone will have more veteran rosters made up of less talented players.
 
UCLA was doing pretty good under Howland, but they didn't like the style and the boosters are looking for a return to an era when Wooden was running things that just can't ever be repeated.

Indiana cursed themselves when they hired Crean.
I would like to think they cursed themselves(and are finally being punished) for enabling a psycho a-hole like Knight for so many years
 
Watch the transfer portal. Let's see how those schools do with that. I suspect it will be very good.
 
Watch the transfer portal. Let's see how those schools do with that. I suspect it will be very good.
Yupp Kentucky already landed Oscar Tshiebwe from West Virginia
 

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