Syracuse Can't be replaced...

[jr4750]

Says Larry Brown... From Zagsblog

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/06/13/brown-syracuse-is-irreplaceable-in-big-east/

Sorry if posted already... didn't see it!

 

[bballbeadle]

This still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I can't fathom that we have one year left in the "Big East," or whatever it is we are leaving. Yeah yeah, I know all things change, but I don't have to like it. And damn right, we are irreplaceable! Idiots!

I will say that I just got back from North Carolina, and people there were actually quite interested in the impending absorption of Syracuse into the ACC. Or, at least they pretended to be interested. I had the feeling it was like a small pebble being dropped into a large-ish pond.

 

[albanycuse]

Sad day, the conference we all mocked will one day be home because of money : (

 

[cuseincincy]

Sad day, the conference we all mocked will one day be home because of money : (

I would say that once SU & Pitt join the ACC it will no longer be the same "conference we mocked."

 

[Orangeyes]

The one thing the Big East Conference and all of us strived for R-E-S-P-E-C-T finally arrived and we put every other conference in the rear view mirror and especially, the ACC, our longtime nemesis.

All of those years of listening to Billy Packer and Dick Vitale as well as the folks along "Tobacco Row" crow about ACC basketball was behind us.

Then, suddenly, everything that was built up over 32 years, was torn down in a nanosecond on a Sunday just before noon in September of 2011 when the shocking news that Syracuse and Pittsburgh were heading to the ACC.

Suddenly we were them and not us anymore. A hard pill to swallow but one which had to be endured for financial reasons, all tradition aside. All of those epic Georgetown games, the 6 overtime
classic, the 34,000 plus for Villanova, all history.

Now we look forward to building the ACC into what it once was, the most respected basketball league in the nation.

Move forward, one step at a time.

 

[Nerlo Rangel]

with SU and pitt, the acc instantly becomes a top two league that will battle the big ten, year in and year out, for the best conference in basketball.

i think the mid-tier acc teams will know that they need to step it up in order to compete. it's also hard to ignore the fact that we now will face unc and dook on a regular basis. i see no reason why SU can't vault to the level of a top-tier program.

 

[cuseincincy]

i see no reason why SU can't vault to the level of a top-tier program.

So...are you trying to say SU is not already a top-tier program?

 

[DoctorBombay]

Yes, it was unavoidable and had to be done.
And no, given the choices this was the best one, by far.
The BE is dead/dying and all thats left is the post-mortem.
Regardless, I can't seem to shake the "be careful what you wish for" feeling.
Here in Charlotte, there is a HUGE SU presence, but we will always be 2nd banana to UNC/Duke, whether we like it or not.
In the BEast, we had the history to always claim the top-spot, but in the ACC, we're carpetbaggers looking to cash in.
It's a sad situation.

 

[bballbeadle]

In the BEast, we had the history to always claim the top-spot, but in the ACC, we're carpetbaggers looking to cash in.
It's a sad situation.[/quote]

This is so very true, and the worst aspect of joining the ACC. We are not even on their radar in terms of importance. I remember being in NC in 2003. I was wearing my SU tee shirt and my nephew and this guy behind the counter were totally absorbed in discussing Carolina basketball. They never acknowledged that SU had won the championship that year.

Although it's possible we'll change that dynamic slightly, the best we can hope for is 3rd behind Carolina and Duke. We could certainly transform from being an interesting new opponent to irksome rival, as Maryland has been to Duke at times. But we will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride.

 

[albanycuse]

When you guys realize what people think in NC is not important you guys will be ok, thats like going to Syracuse and people caring about Duke, UNC.

 

[bballbeadle]

When you guys realize what people think in NC is not important you guys will be ok, thats like going to Syracuse and people caring about Duke, UNC.

I don't know... I think in the Big East we haven't always been on top, but we've always been acknowledged as one of the consistent Greats year in, year out. We have been respected and regarded as worthy rivals. In the ACC, we will be regarded as interlopers and Not Worthy, even if we beat the pants off NC and Duke year after year. Which we won't. I take your point, Albanycuse. You are saying reality is what we perceive, so just don't notice that we are beneath Duke and Carolina's notice!