Boeheim wants to keep playing some Big East teams

[JOPO]

Jopo, I agree that playing Rutgers is not optimum for you as a Seton Hall fan. But do you really want Pittsburgh visiting New Jersey every other year and playing in front of your New Jersey high school recruits? Same thing for Syracuse. G Burrito, what you said is exactly what I meant. Boeheim wants to play there to recruit the New York and DC players. Being able to tell a kid that he'll be able to play in front of his family and friends every other year will certainly make that easier. Pittsburgh and West Virginia, who for years feasted on the players from the northeast, no longer have any presence at all . We all have to play quality non-conference games and I realize scheduling is difficult, but as petty as it may be, I still hold a grudge against these teams that basically caused the breakup of the best basketball conference there ever was.

78 Friar, have you seen our OOC schedule? It sucks! Playing Rutgers every year is the same as playing St. Peter's every year. We already have one St. Peter's on the schedule, we don't need another one. I would love to see us set up home and homes with schools like Kansas and/or UNC. If we can't do that then home and homes against Syracuse or Pitt would not bother me too much. However, a home and home against Rutgers is meaningless (not to mention that I do not feel that, much like our set up with St Peter's, SHU should not be traveling to Rutgers). We need a major upgrade in our OOC and playing RU does not give us the level of competition we need and should be playing.

[Dave]

Here's my take...
Other than the dysfunctional Presidents keeping the old Big East together,the ACC was actually the best move for Cuse. And they will be fine with or without scheduling Big East teams. Their biggest variable is the looming coaching change, not whether or not they get shunned by the Big East for OOC. The attraction of their fan support, the large venue, their past success - they won't start having trouble landing big recruits because they are now playing UNC and Duke instead of GTown and Nova. This continuing rivalry between Nova and Cuse is good for both programs, and was never centered around the MSG BE tourney, it was all about the regular season games with both teams usually highly rated. It doesn't have the hate of GTown - Cuse, but it has a great rivalry vibe. Maybe a little more mutual respect and sportsmanship. But still a very competitive rivalry. I think Nova has a good share of Cuse's largest attendance games to date.

BC - I'm not sure I'd blame their woes on their ACC membership. More on program management, coaching hires, etc. Not that I have any tears for them.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Here's my take...
Other than the dysfunctional Presidents keeping the old Big East together,the ACC was actually the best move for Cuse. And they will be fine with or without scheduling Big East teams. Their biggest variable is the looming coaching change, not whether or not they get shunned by the Big East for OOC. The attraction of their fan support, the large venue, their past success - they won't start having trouble landing big recruits because they are now playing UNC and Duke instead of GTown and Nova. This continuing rivalry between Nova and Cuse is good for both programs, and was never centered around the MSG BE tourney, it was all about the regular season games with both teams usually highly rated. It doesn't have the hate of GTown - Cuse, but it has a great rivalry vibe. Maybe a little more mutual respect and sportsmanship. But still a very competitive rivalry. I think Nova has a good share of Cuse's largest attendance games to date.

BC - I'm not sure I'd blame their woes on their ACC membership. More on program management, coaching hires, etc. Not that I have any tears for them.

Not sure I agree with this... I think you need to look at motivations. Boeheim usually does not like to leave the confines of upstate NY for his preseason games, let alone schedule home and homes with strong programs from other "power" conferences. Yet the first thing he wanted was to keep the Nova-Gtwn-SJU rivalries? Why? What's in it for Jim?

Let's look at who Boeheim has successfully recruited over the past 8 years:

Philly:
Rakeem Christmas
Rick Jackson
Scoop Jardine
BJ Johnson
Dion Waiters

DE (25 miles south of Philly)
Trevor Cooney

NYC/NJ:
Chris McCullough
Tyler Roberson
James Southerland

DC / Baltimore
Jerami Grant
CJ Fair
Kris Joseph
Donte Green
(Carmelo)

So if you think that good 'ole Jimmy B just wants to maintain some nice rivalries, you are sorely mistaken. I didn't hear him say: "We really need to get Uconn, Providence, WVU and Cinn on our schedules to maintain historic rivaliries. Uconn & Syr has have as many great games over the years as Gtwn, Nova and SJU. But why was JB so eager to schedule these 3? Hmm....

I agree that Syracuse and L'ville are two national programs, and will probably be fine in the long run. But you are absolutely kidding yourself if you think that both Boeheim and Pitino are not trying to do whatever they can to remain relevant in the recruiting areas that they have been so successful (from DC to NYC).

[TheHall]

Agreed...Yesterday the Prov AD admitted that cuse has turned down their request to continue playing each other...Why, probably b/c there's not much recruiting benefit for JB in Rhode Island. That is his only motivation in playing BE schools, why should he be accommodated?

Instead of trying to recreate the past, BE teams need to be concerned w/fostering new or deeper rivalries like:

1) SJU vs. SHU (Isaiah Whitehead should spice this one up)
2) Butler vs. X (they are battling on the recruiting trail already)
3) Hoyas vs. Marquette (East vs Midwest)
4) SJU vs. Nova (NY vs. Philly)
5) Nova vs. Hoyas (much potential here)
6) Creighton vs. Marq (Potential best in the midwest title)

[FriarJ]

He also stated though that none of the old schools will play PC until they won't be considered a bad loss.

[TheHall]

He also stated though that none of the old schools will play PC until they won't be considered a bad loss.

He did but I call BS on that excuse! Sounds more like don't call us we'll call you...

[Noonzy]

Agreed...Yesterday the Prov AD admitted that cuse has turned down their request to continue playing each other...Why, probably b/c there's not much recruiting benefit for JB in Rhode Island. That is his only motivation in playing BE schools, why should he be accommodated?

Instead of trying to recreate the past, BE teams need to be concerned w/fostering new or deeper rivalries like:

1) SJU vs. SHU (Isaiah Whitehead should spice this one up)
2) Butler vs. X (they are battling on the recruiting trail already)
3) Hoyas vs. Marquette (East vs Midwest)
4) SJU vs. Nova (NY vs. Philly)
5) Nova vs. Hoyas (much potential here)
6) Creighton vs. Marq (Potential best in the midwest title)

Jimmy B. and the "Cuse fans will miss the great food up on the hill.

[Dave]

Of course there is a benefit to Cuse. As I said in Nova's case, both sides benefit.

I have to laugh a bit at the comments on who to punish and who not to play. On one side, schools have an arrogance not to play schools from the A10 (such as X vs Dayton). On the other, boycott Cuse. Next, don't play anyone that has an FBS team.

With Cuse, there is a benefit for Nova. And one for Cuse. So play.

For Nova, No benefit to playing Pitt or WVU so don't play.

For Cuse, no benefit to playing Prov, so don't play...

Nova would be wise to keep a yearly game with Cuse. And add Louisville and UConn as well.

[redmen9194]

Last year, Boeheim said what he would like to see is playing two of the three (St. John's, Nova, G'Town) each year. I don't care about playing 'Cuse either way. If we play them fine, if we don't that's fine too. I would like to see a bunch of different schools come in to the Garden and Lavin likes playing schools from across the country. I expect that we will play Syracuse on a regular basis since both schools want to. UConn just stated that they will be trying to set up series with Syracuse, Georgetown and St. John's. I like the UConn series and hope that one works out. It looks like there is opportunity to keep some of these games going in any event.

[GumbyDamnit!]

I bet, gun to their heads, Pitino, Boeheim & Dixon would all preferred to have stayed in the oBE (for purely BB reasons), if all others stayed. I found it interesting that watching the ACC media day interviews that Dixon and Boeheim both commented that "they were part of the the best conference in the country" and are now in a new conference that "is the best in the country." I agree with both statements. When Boeheim said it Coach K made a point of saying after that "the oBE was the best one year, the ACC other years, and Big10 too." He seemed mildly annoyed by JB's comments. When Dixon said it I saw Leonard Hamilton overtly squirm in his seat, and frown. Not sure how comfortable those guys are with the newbies getting so much attention.