Cronin

[SaltineWarrior]

I always thought he was a good coach. Came into a tough situation, the program remained decent, teams always seemed to be tough and he handled the aftermath of the fight with Xavier very well.

Then he spoke last night after the win. What a classless comment. While it is true that programs like Georgetown, St. Johns, Villanova, UConn and even BC have all helped to form the image of the Big East as well as the annual affair at the garden, it has been Syracuse who has been there all along and is probably the single biggest reason it has been a success. The electricity that the announcers mentioned were when Syracuse fans rose up and cheered. It happens every year. Same with the otehr schools. Never really knew Cincy fans showed up other than looking right behind their bench.

Cronin's team just made the semifinals for the first time (and of course the finals) so he and Cincinnati have a long, long, long way against watered-down competition in order to have a voice. Yes, the garden is a special place. However, between playing in a preseason tournament there every other year and what I believe to be an inevitable OOC series with St. Johns, SU will remain a garden fixture down the road. And don't kid yourself, the ACC has teh 'big picture' as far as eastern sports. I really can't imagine they won't try to go the garden. The many Duke, UNC, Maryland and UVA fans in the area will certainly support.

Staying in the Big East for the garden is like dating that fat chick because she has a nice car. Just makes no sense. Pitino said it best: "Conference USA is now the Big East." We know UConn is trying very hard to get out and so is Louisville. The Big East is the Big East in name only.

 

[Macho Uno]

I actually agreed with what he said. He said the big east tournament was the best (100% true statement, are you excited about going to the booming metropolis of Greensboro) recruits would want to play in it (true statement) and why would a basketball program want to leave? Also a true statement, I don't think our coach wants to leave... I think most people on this board are just pissed about the game and over sensitive right now. You are bringing a football arguement (in case you didn't know all the schools leaving are leaving due to football, not a basketball issue) to a statement about how great Big East basketball is.

 

[Townie72]

I actually agreed with what he said. He said the big east tournament was the best (100% true statement, are you excited about going to the booming metropolis of Greensboro) recruits would want to play in it (true statement) and why would a basketball program want to leave? Also a true statement, I don't think our coach wants to leave... I think most people on this board are just pissed about the game and over sensitive right now. You are bringing a football arguement (in case you didn't know all the schools leaving are leaving due to football, not a basketball issue) to a statement about how great Big East basketball is.

Pretty obviously the reason we got the ACC invite had a lot to do with basketball.

The reason we accepted it was for all sports.

 

[Macho Uno]

Pretty obviously the reason we got the ACC invite had a lot to do with basketball.

The reason we accepted it was for all sports.

Do you honestly believe that if we weren't going to the ACC in football we would still go for basketball??? No way, this was 100% a football decision. Syracuse is leaving the Big East due to football reasons, period.

 

[jdubs30]

Do you honestly believe that if we weren't going to the ACC in football we would still go for basketball??? No way, this was 100% a football decision. Syracuse is leaving the Big East due to football reasons, period.

I think he meant our basketball success was a reason we got an ACC invite.

 

[RF2044]

I always thought he was a good coach. Came into a tough situation, the program remained decent, teams always seemed to be tough and he handled the aftermath of the fight with Xavier very well.

Then he spoke last night after the win. What a classless comment. While it is true that programs like Georgetown, St. Johns, Villanova, UConn and even BC have all helped to form the image of the Big East as well as the annual affair at the garden, it has been Syracuse who has been there all along and is probably the single biggest reason it has been a success. The electricity that the announcers mentioned were when Syracuse fans rose up and cheered. It happens every year. Same with the otehr schools. Never really knew Cincy fans showed up other than looking right behind their bench.

Cronin's team just made the semifinals for the first time (and of course the finals) so he and Cincinnati have a long, long, long way against watered-down competition in order to have a voice. Yes, the garden is a special place. However, between playing in a preseason tournament there every other year and what I believe to be an inevitable OOC series with St. Johns, SU will remain a garden fixture down the road. And don't kid yourself, the ACC has teh 'big picture' as far as eastern sports. I really can't imagine they won't try to go the garden. The many Duke, UNC, Maryland and UVA fans in the area will certainly support.

Staying in the Big East for the garden is like dating that fat chick because she has a nice car. Just makes no sense. Pitino said it best: "Conference USA is now the Big East." We know UConn is trying very hard to get out and so is Louisville. The Big East is the Big East in name only.

This is the second thread I've seen on the topic.

What did Cronin say that was so offensive? What I heard on the ESPN post-game coverage was that he said that the BET was the best, and that there is no other conference tournament experience like it--was there something else? Because I don't see how that could be labeled "classless?"

 

[jec1521]

Nothing wrong with what Cronin said. He has an obligation to represent not only his school, but his conference. Boeheim would say the same thing if we werent leaving.

 

[PoppyHart]

This is the second thread I've seen on the topic.

What did Cronin say that was so offensive? What I heard on the ESPN post-game coverage was that he said that the BET was the best, and that there is no other conference tournament experience like it--was there something else? Because I don't see how that could be labeled "classless?"

He said:
"If you're a recruit, I don't know why you wouldn't want to play in this conference.
If you're in the conference, I don't know why you'd want to leave the conference."

Murder him.

 

[SaltineWarrior]

Just seemed like he was a poor sport. Even Boeheim and this fan base agree, NYC & MSG is the preferred place to play a post-season tournament. He and his staff made some great adjustments to beat the #2 team in the country and that is what he says when interviewed? Come on coach, talk about your kids or talk about the unpredictable nature of college basketball. That comment just seemed to be that of a "sore winner." His comment was an obvious jab at SU.

Tell recruits you get to play in the garden (at least for the immediate future). Thats fine. Just don't rub it in someone's faces on national TV after such a great win.

 

[OttoMets]

He said:
"If you're a recruit, I don't know why you wouldn't want to play in this conference.
If you're in the conference, I don't know why you'd want to leave the conference."

Murder him.

If Syracuse hadn't gagged away that first-round game against Boston College in 2004 and Boeheim had said the same thing in his post-game, everyone on here would have been high-fiving and praising him for sticking it to Skinner and those ACC bastards.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I always thought he was a good coach. Came into a tough situation, the program remained decent, teams always seemed to be tough and he handled the aftermath of the fight with Xavier very well.

I thought he handled that like a punk. I heard his post game rants about the fight on all the major media outlets and it seemed like he got it and was going to bust heads, bench players, and possibly give some the boot. I was ready to be a big fan of him as a coach at that point. The next week when the wrist slaps were handed out I wasn't surprised but was a bit disappointed.

 

[bpo57]

I went to the game with somebody that until recently was an assistant at a D-1 school. He said Cronin has a reputation around the college game as a whiner.