Spring Break
The Daily OrangeBerman: Little success after national titles burden SU, Maryland
Abstract:
The NCAA Tournament will captivate the nation's attention for the next three weeks, and Syracuse won't be involved for the second season in a row.
Many of the elite programs of college basketball will advance beyond this weekend. Syracuse hasn't done this in five years....
- Displaying 1 - 3 of 3
g33k
posted 3/20/08 @ 10:07 AM EST
They didnt deserve to be in the Tourney, and thats that. I agree with one thing though, when the smaller conferences have their tourneys and some unsuspected teams wins when the better team that conquered the season titles gets left out it does water out the competition in the tournament. But thats the way it goes....so oh well. But cuse reaped donkey this year.
Originally posted byS. Grzelak
Well written article that could be supplemented with two key points.
First, the NCAA tournament has clearly moved from representing the BEST 64-65 teams to one that has remained loyal to smaller, less talented conference winners. These have taken "up tournament bracket seeds" that, based upon talent, would not be the case in a true NCAA championship. To further this weakness, some conferences with dominant teams are won by an unexpected team; gaining yet another seed. These conditions result in a decreasing number of available seeds for "the best AT LARGE teams." There is no question about this. The AD's and administrator's on the Selection Committee (65% or so with no basketball experience) make this a political/educational equality/fairness issue that doesn't belong in a what is incorrectly promoted as the national championship.
Second, Syracuse' record cannot be compared to other champions without an RPI and SOS reference. Maryland, in the ACC is a fairer comparison than most. But Syracuse in the BIG EAST BEAST has more top-to-bottom game quality than most other recent "recurring bubbles."
A great reminder of the Syracuse quality would be a dream of KANSAS versus PITT in the NCAA finals; which woould mean PITT would have gotten by some big teams like Duke. If PITT could, and even maybe win, a replay of the young Syracuse team play against Pitt would be a good reminder of the talent (albeit young) that the team has. Plus add some 3's from Andy and DD.
Marc LeVine
posted 3/21/08 @ 11:48 AM EST
Problem with an article like this is that it often comes back to haunt the writer in the future.
I remember reading an article about the Boston Red Sox back in '86, after the Mets beat them in the World Series. I think it was in the NY Post (figures!). In that article, a major syndicated columnist wrote that the Sox, as a franchise, had reached its high watermark and that they would never again be a competitive team due to baseball economics in a smaller broadcast market. Something like that.
Well...in the 2000's, the Boston Red Sox have already won two World Series and are very much alive in the competition for best sports team in America. Until the NY Giants came along, they were competing with the New England Patriots for that title.
A few years ago, another article was written about SU Football being doomed by it's own gold charm - the Carrier Dome. That piece said that SU was finished as a football power because top recruits no longer wanted to play in an indoor stadium. I beg to differ with that writer. Top recruits don't want to play for Coach R., because he can't recruit in the northeast and can't coach a winning team, period. Change him out and you go from a (Frank) Maloney-day to a Coach Mac day in no time.
Dire predictions like Berman's are really designed to fire up the SU Boosters and get the team's juices flowing. But, they also send the wrong message to college basketball fans, sportscasters and, even worse, our recruiting prospects. These kids don't need to hear that the program they are considering is fading away.
SU won a national championship in 2003. We nearly won others in '87 and '96. These years are still in the modern era. We're not talking Vic Hanson or even Dave Bing. We're talking Rony Seikely and John Wallace. Many of us still remember them at SU and in the NBA.
SU B-Ball is not done. We're just reloading. We're hunting bear again in 08/09.
I remember reading an article about the Boston Red Sox back in '86, after the Mets beat them in the World Series. I think it was in the NY Post (figures!). In that article, a major syndicated columnist wrote that the Sox, as a franchise, had reached its high watermark and that they would never again be a competitive team due to baseball economics in a smaller broadcast market. Something like that.
Well...in the 2000's, the Boston Red Sox have already won two World Series and are very much alive in the competition for best sports team in America. Until the NY Giants came along, they were competing with the New England Patriots for that title.
A few years ago, another article was written about SU Football being doomed by it's own gold charm - the Carrier Dome. That piece said that SU was finished as a football power because top recruits no longer wanted to play in an indoor stadium. I beg to differ with that writer. Top recruits don't want to play for Coach R., because he can't recruit in the northeast and can't coach a winning team, period. Change him out and you go from a (Frank) Maloney-day to a Coach Mac day in no time.
Dire predictions like Berman's are really designed to fire up the SU Boosters and get the team's juices flowing. But, they also send the wrong message to college basketball fans, sportscasters and, even worse, our recruiting prospects. These kids don't need to hear that the program they are considering is fading away.
SU won a national championship in 2003. We nearly won others in '87 and '96. These years are still in the modern era. We're not talking Vic Hanson or even Dave Bing. We're talking Rony Seikely and John Wallace. Many of us still remember them at SU and in the NBA.
SU B-Ball is not done. We're just reloading. We're hunting bear again in 08/09.
- Displaying 1 - 3 of 3
S. Grzelak
posted 3/20/08 @ 9:47 AM EST
First, the NCAA tournament has clearly moved from representing the BEST 64-65 teams to one that has remained loyal to smaller, less talented conference winners. These have taken "up tournament bracket seeds" that, based upon talent, would not be the case in a true NCAA championship. To further this weakness, some conferences with dominant teams are won by an unexpected team; gaining yet another seed. These conditions result in a decreasing number of available seeds for "the best AT LARGE teams." There is no question about this. The AD's and administrator's on the Selection Committee (65% or so with no basketball experience) make this a political/educational equality/fairness issue that doesn't belong in a what is incorrectly promoted as the national championship.
Second, Syracuse' record cannot be compared to other champions without an RPI and SOS reference. Maryland, in the ACC is a fairer comparison than most. But Syracuse in the BIG EAST BEAST has more top-to-bottom game quality than most other recent "recurring bubbles."
A great reminder of the Syracuse quality would be a dream of KANSAS versus PITT in the NCAA finals; which woould mean PITT would have gotten by some big teams like Duke. If PITT could, and even maybe win, a replay of the young Syracuse team play against Pitt would be a good reminder of the talent (albeit young) that the team has. Plus add some 3's from Andy and DD.