The Orange Are Getting Back to Where They Should Be

[dollarbill44]

I lived in Durham when Jordan. Perkins and Worthy played at UNC
NC State won the "Cardiac Pack" national championship over Houston
Viriginia had Ralph Sampson
And K was building Duke with Alarie, Bilas, Dawkins and Amaker.

Every matchup was great.
NCSU fans hated UNC and Duke.
And Valvano was viewed by non NCSU fans as a northern interloper.
But DUKE -UNC was the rivarly.
That was THE game that mattered for both schools.

And at the same time it was Syracuse-Georgetown.
Syracuse-Georgetown was up there with the top 3 rivalries in all of sports, in addition to UNC-Duke and Red Sox - Yankees.
Orange fans back then know what it was like...the passion and the excitement.
Newer fans have heard about it.

We're not in the same conference any more...so the intensity has waned.
Todays students have no idea.
They print up silly "Beat Duke" shirts.
The pusuit of football $ ruined things.

But there is tradition.
The SU- G-town game still matters a lot to a lot of us.
If the schools were smart they'd fan the flames to keep the rivalry alive,
Because genuine rivalries can't be created and can't be forced.
They happen spontaneously...usually because of specific incidents and geographic proximity.

And stop looking for phony "rivals" in the ACC.
The Orange are cultural misfits there.
Rivalries spontaneously happen...they're not planned crcreations.

You spent a lot of time saying how you can't create rivalries; how they just happen. Thenyou say SU and Georgetown should fan the flames to keep the rivalry alive. So what is it?

 

[jdubs30]

Man I am so glad there is a clear delineation between the end of the JB era, and the start of the Red era. Thank god for the transfer portal.

If JB had left 5 years ago, we would have had a rough transition - most guys would have left. Red is left with a bare cupboard. At that point, Syracuse basketball is on the brink of disaster.

But since JB left during the portal, Red was able use previous relationships and get multiple high level transfers to come in that he chose for his system.


Might honestly be a good thing JB held on as long as he did. Now Red can hit the ground running with a roster he was able to choose.

 

[Col. Bleep]

You spent a lot of time saying how you can't create rivalries; how they just happen. Thenyou say SU and Georgetown should fan the flames to keep the rivalry alive. So what is it?

If you don't play you can't be rivals...at least not on the court.
Keep the games going.

 

[dollarbill44]

If you don't play you can't be rivals...at least not on the court.
Keep the games going.

We do play Georgetown almost every season. Unfortunately, the games have very little meaning other than sentiment to us old timers.
What really fueled the fire between SU and GU were:
1. Importance of the games in the conference standings
2. Players staying 4 years, so they built up personal rivalries (Pearl v Ewing)
3. Conference tourney matchups

None of those aspects apply anymore, sadly.

 

[Col. Bleep]

We do play Georgetown almost every season. Unfortunately, the games have very little meaning other than sentiment to us old timers.
What really fueled the fire between SU and GU were:
1. Importance of the games in the conference standings
2. Players staying 4 years, so they built up personal rivalries (Pearl v Ewing)
3. Conference tourney matchups

None of those aspects apply anymore, sadly.

You're right.
That is sad.

It is possible for schools to (appropriately) fan the flames and help a bit in that way.
Unfortunately, they don't play it up.
We don't see any talk of tradition and special promotions, etc.

The emotions, the passion, the excitement and usually the level of play of the rivalry can't be replicated.
We shoudln't lose it completely.

Today's students don't know what they missed with the old Big East.

 

[longtimefan]

Competing with Duke & UNC at the highest level.
This is in recruiting but soon it will happen on court as well.

Where ACC basketball programs stand in 2024 recruiting rankings (Mid May)

Here is where ACC programs rank with the 2024 recruiting class including the UNC basketball program at No. 1.

www.yahoo.com

Unless you are regularly getting 5-star, one-and-done players, high school recruiting is considerably less important than it has been. The next tier of players are likely to be gone after 2 years or even after one--recruited over if they disappoint, looking for NIL if they have over-performed. It's about the portal.