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Post by dex on Jun 27, 2019 11:35:08 GMT -5
Not to worry ...this won't help Hurley with Northeast recruiting...talking like 4 years $140 mill
Adrian Wojnarowski The Boston Celtics have emerged as the frontrunner to sign Charlotte All-Star guard Kemba Walker once free agency opens Sunday at 6 PM ET, league sources tell ESPN.
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Post by dex on Jun 27, 2019 11:46:02 GMT -5
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Post by pcbb7777 on Jun 27, 2019 12:02:47 GMT -5
The inferiority complex is just so annoying. It's like these writers are just ready to roll over and die. It's a challenge but one we are equipped to handle. These cowardly headlines are not doing us any favors. It makes us look small. We are so afraid of being trampled that we trample ourselves preemptively. Enough at the school has changed for the better than the mere arrival of UConn will no longer overshadow us and relegate us to irrelevancy as McGair's doomsday article fears.
Furthermore, this whole "New England" thing continues to be overblown. Whether in recruiting or in attention, we will more than hold our own as both schools reach well out of New England for recruits. This isn't the 1980s where you went after local kids. There are only a few local kids now due to the proliferation of prep schools in New England. Playing a national brand like UConn will only help Providence achieve a higher profile nationally, making it an easier sell to non-New England kids to come to PC. Of course, looking at our present roster, this was already our focus. Being "New England's team" means nothing. I want to be a good team, which we are and will be despite UConn in the league.
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Post by dex on Jun 27, 2019 12:04:45 GMT -5
For Danny a Dream Come True...a recruiting bonanza
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Post by johnnypc on Jun 27, 2019 12:09:59 GMT -5
Just go play and beat them. Why the paranoia.
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friar82
Administrator
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Post by friar82 on Jun 27, 2019 12:22:32 GMT -5
Consider yourself blessed, Dex
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Post by rooster on Jun 27, 2019 12:25:53 GMT -5
I guess a big positive in this - is now we do have a "hated rival". With the "new" Big East, I never really hated any of the teams. Xavier maybe a little because Chris Mack seemed like a jerk, and never really had anything against Villanova - Jay Wright always has nice things to say about PC, they did well for the conference, etc. But now, I couldn't stand anything about UConn before, and it's the same now.
Looking forward to seeing Hurley lose it, and get kicked out of many games.....
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Post by connfriar on Jun 27, 2019 13:13:56 GMT -5
Imagine if this expansion happened AND our coach left for Michigan? Yikes...it would be beyond awful here.
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Post by TheInfoMan on Jun 27, 2019 13:32:16 GMT -5
Part of the problem is the size of our (my former) state. RI is small and other than Projo, we have coverage from the Woonsocket Call and Sun Chronicle. Meanwhile, I once read that our new league member has a throng of 22 newspapers that follow their team. The population in CT is about 3.5x of RI and we all know PC's enrollment is tiny. All that conversation and media attention translates into a LOT more traffic on the internet for them than for us. It can't be helped. For the past few years we had elbow room. No we have none. That's not "inferiority" that's demographics.
Prospective players hear the chatter. At least with them in the AAC it was down several notches. But now it will return to full blast. In fact, it's almost there again now. Think I'm not right? Question: Would a move by PC to the AAC (for example sake) have created a national story? I think not. And as I said...prospective players hear the chatter, and Hurley will take full advantage of it on the recruiting trail.
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Post by pcbb7777 on Jun 27, 2019 14:22:24 GMT -5
Part of the problem is the size of our (my former) state. RI is small and other than Projo, we have coverage from the Woonsocket Call and Sun Chronicle. Meanwhile, I once read that our new league member has a throng of 22 newspapers that follow their team. The population in CT is about 3.5x of RI and we all know PC's enrollment is tiny. All that conversation and media attention translates into a LOT more traffic on the internet for them than for us. It can't be helped. For the past few years we had elbow room. No we have none. That's not "inferiority" that's demographics. Prospective players hear the chatter. At least with them in the AAC it was down several notches. But now it will return to full blast. In fact, it's almost there again now. Think I'm not right? Question: Would a move by PC to the AAC (for example sake) have created a national story? I think not. And as I said...prospective players hear the chatter, and Hurley will take full advantage of it on the recruiting trail. I'm not convinced recruits are picking schools based upon newspaper coverage. The last time these kids read a newspaper story was probably...never, unless they were the subject of it themselves. Their size is undeniable and cannot be helped, but not every kid wants that and that is the kind of kid Providence will get and has gotten over the years. Some kids want a big school with a huge alumni base. Others do not and prefer smaller schools. The bright lights of a big school has dinged us in recruiting before (look at Dawes last year, picking Clemson because of their football program) but the small, tight-knit community has netted us other kids (Gantt) against the big behemoths. Florida is a national brand with many newspaper covering them and, yet, Gantt chose to come to Providence. If we can compete with Florida, we can compete with UConn for kids. I'm not convinced we had "elbow room" regionally, considering only a certain sub-set of people care about Providence to begin with and, even while down, UConn still dominated conversations. I hate to say but any suggestion UConn had been forgotten about or that we had ascended to being "New England's team" (you can't lose to UMass twice in a row and be that, regardless, imo) feels like fantasy. We all hate UConn and seeing them down was fun, but whether in the American or the Big East, UConn is a national brand that will get attention regardless of their performance, especially regionally. To me, it never subsided. We just were able to overlook it because they were struggling. If they had stayed in the American, Hurley's continued building of the program would have undoubtedly garnered them the same hype. This way, however, they do it within the Big East and we all benefit from that added attention. For your hypothetical, PC would absolutely not make national headlines moving to the AAC. There's no denying it, but UConn is also a national brand. As they say, "a rising tide lifts all boats." Playing them twice a year and, ideally, in the BET will net us those national headlines that Providence is too small and regional to secure on our own. Playing Villanova and Georgetown provided that, while UConn will give us two more games of that national attention. Adding such a storied program to our schedule permanently bolsters the brand of the Big East and, by extension, Providence. It makes us an easier sell to kids outside the area and secures the profile of the Big East nationally. Living in the DMV, I can assure you that adding UConn has already had tangible benefits. Hell, even when I lived in Connecticut, people had no idea the Big East still existed. In Virginia, the same applies. However, now we have their attention. The kids will, by extension, learn our name. They will be able to see the platform that Fox provides and they will see the quality of coaching and facilities that Providence is able to provide. Some of them will go to UConn. But, some of them will come to Providence. They already have been and I see no reason why that will change.
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Post by wtm97 on Jun 27, 2019 14:30:05 GMT -5
“Amidst all the UConn hoopla that is being touted as a major victory for the school’s men’s basketball program, PC Friar hoop heads should be a tad leery. Not along the lines of hiding under the covers because there’s a scary monster lurking under the bed, but close.” Nonsense - close to hiding under the covers? If that is the collective attitude and our program declines then shame on PC. Stand up and take on the competition- GO FRIARS!
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friar82
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Post by friar82 on Jun 27, 2019 14:34:28 GMT -5
We've got a hardworking and dauntless staff who haven't been afraid of going up against some of the blue-bloods on the recruiting trail - with a fairly decent batting average in the process. From my vantage point, the success that we've had has to do with:
1. The possibility that our message/value proposition resonates with a good percentage of the players we choose to target; 2. Potential intangibles such as the "family atmosphere within the Program / Campus 3. The ties that our staff within certain programs and regions 4. The fact that competing blue-bloods have a limited number of scholarships to fill, and the ability to cherry pick above and around our prime prospects.
Will UConn be a competitor for talent going forward - yes, of course. Are they a bigger threat than some of the blue bloods we've been recruiting against over the past 6-8 years? Not necessarily and particularly given the fact that outside of the Rivals Program, Ed Cooley and staff have really concentrated their pursuits on talent residing outside of the Big East's geography (i.e. the Carolina's) for talent of late.
My final take: Our Staff have to re-double their efforts to hone in on and convert top talent that fits within a defined system; The Staff have to have our team's primed to jump all over UConn the first few times we meet them; The Program needs to get back on track with consecutive NCAA bids - and advance into the 2nd Weekend to increase our brand nationally; Our next President needs to be as affective a teammate to Ed and Bob Driscoll as Father Shanley has been.
If all this happens, I'll be very happy that UConn's rejoined the BE.
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Post by pcbb7777 on Jun 27, 2019 15:05:12 GMT -5
Big Ed isn't scared:
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Post by dmac80 on Jun 27, 2019 15:43:22 GMT -5
Seeing some of the wallowing in misery lately gives me insight into what NFL Football fans outside of New England have been like the last 20 years. The soccer moms crying about the Big Bad Patriots running up the score, instead of trying to figure out ways to beat them.
I CANNOT WAIT for Uconn to come into the Dunk that first time back.
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Post by TheInfoMan on Jun 27, 2019 16:09:58 GMT -5
I CANNOT WAIT for Uconn to come into the Dunk that first time back. I can. Topping my list of complaints is the fact that their arrogant so-called fans interlope to the Dunk thereby negating a portion of the home-court advantage.
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