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It's somewhere in my brain ... probably from 40+ years of listening to Al McGuire, Bill Raftery, Billy Packer & my Dad ... that there are a few things that come through in March in this tournament. Now, you tell me that OUR AAC conference didn't produce the following:
(i.) Defensive Intensity? I think we saw, in Louisville & Cincinnati & SMU, some of the best defenses we have seen in this college basketball season. I think, watching the OLD BE/C7, I did not see that. I watched St. John's specifically in person. Not close to what I remember. Creighton & Villanova? Their Standard Bearers? Not good defenses ... let alone what I think of Louisville or Cincy this year. I think this year we saw defensive work & competitiveness like any we have seen at UConn over the last 15 years.
(ii.) Future Pro's on the floor. It was said, by one of the above, that you need 2-4 NBA guys to win the NCAA. I think we saw plenty of talent on the top 5 AAC programs. Certainly, at least 2 guys each from Louisville, UConn & Memphis will be NBA guys. Not 4. That's why I don't think this is an elite class for this league ... but certainly any of those 3 PLUS A Larry Brown could be at that level. Virginia? St. Joseph's? Villanova? I don't see that. Houston, BTW (for our Providence friends), have some of the most impressive raw athletes you will see. When we came out and got behind by 20 ... you saw that they had a stock of shooters past their 5 starters. Just not cohesive though, in the last look.
(iii.) Guards win it for you in the NCAA. The AAC has the best collection of guards, compare and contrast, of all the top 6 conferences. Just not even close. Memphis, UConn, Louisville are all among the top 7 groups in CBB. And, you know that Nick Moore with Larry Brown's tutelage (and others on that roster) are coming on.
There is your eye test Mr. Wellman. I expect the Conference to get a few wins. But, you sir, have no business speaking about hoop and portraying that you ran a fair process.
Lastly, I point to Temple and Rutgers in contrast to where they were last year. Did Rutgers get 200% worse? No ... they faced a lot of tough games. After, 6 years in a row as a NCAA participant out of the Great Atlantic 10 Conference ... what happened to the Owls. Did they walk into a Sunbelt/CUSA type conference? What do you think Fran Dunphy would say about the relative strength of the 2. YES ... I think ... we know what is going on here.
(i.) Defensive Intensity? I think we saw, in Louisville & Cincinnati & SMU, some of the best defenses we have seen in this college basketball season. I think, watching the OLD BE/C7, I did not see that. I watched St. John's specifically in person. Not close to what I remember. Creighton & Villanova? Their Standard Bearers? Not good defenses ... let alone what I think of Louisville or Cincy this year. I think this year we saw defensive work & competitiveness like any we have seen at UConn over the last 15 years.
(ii.) Future Pro's on the floor. It was said, by one of the above, that you need 2-4 NBA guys to win the NCAA. I think we saw plenty of talent on the top 5 AAC programs. Certainly, at least 2 guys each from Louisville, UConn & Memphis will be NBA guys. Not 4. That's why I don't think this is an elite class for this league ... but certainly any of those 3 PLUS A Larry Brown could be at that level. Virginia? St. Joseph's? Villanova? I don't see that. Houston, BTW (for our Providence friends), have some of the most impressive raw athletes you will see. When we came out and got behind by 20 ... you saw that they had a stock of shooters past their 5 starters. Just not cohesive though, in the last look.
(iii.) Guards win it for you in the NCAA. The AAC has the best collection of guards, compare and contrast, of all the top 6 conferences. Just not even close. Memphis, UConn, Louisville are all among the top 7 groups in CBB. And, you know that Nick Moore with Larry Brown's tutelage (and others on that roster) are coming on.
There is your eye test Mr. Wellman. I expect the Conference to get a few wins. But, you sir, have no business speaking about hoop and portraying that you ran a fair process.
Lastly, I point to Temple and Rutgers in contrast to where they were last year. Did Rutgers get 200% worse? No ... they faced a lot of tough games. After, 6 years in a row as a NCAA participant out of the Great Atlantic 10 Conference ... what happened to the Owls. Did they walk into a Sunbelt/CUSA type conference? What do you think Fran Dunphy would say about the relative strength of the 2. YES ... I think ... we know what is going on here.
