Basketball coaches express frustrations
Men want expanded NCAA tournament
KEN TYSIAC
ktysiac@charlotteobserver.com

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. - ACC spring meetings The heated discussion Tuesday morning at the ACC spring meetings showed why the idea of expanding the NCAA men's basketball tournament is gaining momentum.

Tournament managing director Greg Shaheen spoke to ACC coaches who were frustrated that just four of the conference's 12 teams received NCAA tournament bids. Florida State was the second team with a winning conference record to miss the field since it expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

"We as coaches feel that for whatever reason, the strength of our conference has not been totally appreciated as a league," said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, a Gastonia native, "and there's no question that we have just as many teams in our league that deserve to go to the NCAA tournament as any conference in America."

Waaahh, Waaahh


lmfao lmfao



Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage, chair of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee, said coaches in other conferences also are complaining. He said the Big East received eight bids and wanted nine. The Missouri Valley Conference received four bids and wanted five.

At the Final Four this spring, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim was among a handful of National Association of Basketball Coaches officers advocating expanding the tournament. Littlepage said the issue will be reviewed.

"The most compelling reason to start to review it is the fact that there are so many very good teams from different areas of the country and at different levels that it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish between teams and pick the teams that are going to be in that at-large field," Littlepage said.

That did little to soothe the bruised egos of ACC coaches, who met with Shaheen along with the ACC athletics directors in a closed-door session Tuesday.

Afterward, N.C. State AD Lee Fowler -- a former Division I men's basketball committee chair -- joked with Shaheen, asking if he was still bleeding. ACC Commissioner John Swofford told reporters to take note that Shaheen was leaving in good health.

"What we discussed was how the 10 individual (selection) committee members (operate), and the reality is, each of them is going to frame the information in a different way," Shaheen said.

George Mason's reaching the Final Four after receiving an at-large bid as a member of the mid-major Colonial Athletic Association gives ACC coaches more reason to worry. Shaheen said George Mason verified there are quality teams everywhere.

Littlepage said Shaheen also advised coaches on their nonconference schedules.

"Generally teams are advised to schedule a balanced schedule, as good a schedule as possible home and away, avoiding playing the bottom teams in the bottom-rated conferences," Littlepage said.

Hamilton applauded Shaheen for showing up and addressing the coaches' complaints. But Hamilton said the Ratings Percentage Index used by the committee remains a mystery.

Adding a few teams to the NCAA tournament might not ease concerns. One idea being floated by those favoring expansion is raising the play-in games from one to four, so each bracket will have one.

"I don't think we can automatically assume that adding teams would make it better," Littlepage said. "But it may. If adding teams can make it better in some way, I think we're all in favor of doing something that can make it better."

What a joke ACC is. They made the dumb mistake of adding football schools like Florida State, Miami, Va Tech over the past 15 years. Yes, Boston College was a balanced add, but these adds watered down the ACC conference schedule. Having teams load up on Florida A&M, Stetson, and Bethune Cookman building 9-2 OCC records then going 8-8 in ACC to finish 17-10 and having to sweat out selection Sunday when they are bounced early in the ACC tournament is what is going on. Teams like that all they have to do it beat a Duke and they should be in. Playing the Meac at home all December then fading in February is a good way to get snubbed by the selection commitee.

Quote:What a joke ACC is.

Wrong.

(start smack)

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/...6_COX.html

Quote:? A total of 51 ACC players were chosen in the NFL draft, a record for any conference and 15 more than the ACC's previous high. The Big Ten was a distant second with 41. The SEC was a more distant third at 37.

? Of those 51 draft choices, 12 came in the first round, another record. Of those 12 first-rounders, 10 were defensive players. Of the 19 defensive players taken in the first round, more than half were from the ACC.

? The ACC had its best overall television numbers ever in 2005. According to a summary released by the league, it was the top-rated conference on ESPN. The ACC, in fact, had three of ESPN's top five regular-season games. The Florida State-Miami game on Labor Day night was ABC's highest-rated regular season game in 2005.

In the past two years, the ACC's powers-that-be have added Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College to form a 12-team conference. It was painful process that had some schools within the conference questioning their wisdom and critics outside the conference questioning their integrity.

Hard to be a joke when you're the best TV draw in America. The MAC only wishes it could draw numbers like that.

(/end smack)

Carry on.

MongoSlade Wrote:

Quote:What a joke ACC is.

Wrong.

(start smack)

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/...6_COX.html

Quote:? A total of 51 ACC players were chosen in the NFL draft, a record for any conference and 15 more than the ACC's previous high. The Big Ten was a distant second with 41. The SEC was a more distant third at 37.

? Of those 51 draft choices, 12 came in the first round, another record. Of those 12 first-rounders, 10 were defensive players. Of the 19 defensive players taken in the first round, more than half were from the ACC.

? The ACC had its best overall television numbers ever in 2005. According to a summary released by the league, it was the top-rated conference on ESPN. The ACC, in fact, had three of ESPN's top five regular-season games. The Florida State-Miami game on Labor Day night was ABC's highest-rated regular season game in 2005.

In the past two years, the ACC's powers-that-be have added Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College to form a 12-team conference. It was painful process that had some schools within the conference questioning their wisdom and critics outside the conference questioning their integrity.

Hard to be a joke when you're the best TV draw in America. The MAC only wishes it could draw numbers like that.

(/end smack)

Carry on.

Uhh, were talking about basketball here. And it just so happens that BE basketball was the highest rated conference on espn last year. The BE tourney was the highest rated tourney in over 15 years on espn. So all the accolades that the acc has for its fb, the BE has for its basketball. Maybe thats why you chose to talk about fb in a bb thread. ;-)

I do think they should have four play in games. Every year there are a couple deserving teams left out. Cincinnati was maybe the most shocking in recent years. Let me tell you we would have been glad to make the trip to Dayton to sell out that arena in a play in game. The schedule is just an excuse Cincy had a top ten out of conference schedule and a 500 Big East record. Cincy had quality wins down the stretch one over a top 25 team and one at neutral site over final four team. Lets add the three more team so this never happens again.

Bearcat T Wrote:I do think they should have four play in games. Every year there are a couple deserving teams left out. Cincinnati was maybe the most shocking in recent years. Let me tell you we would have been glad to make the trip to Dayton to sell out that arena in a play in game. The schedule is just an excuse Cincy had a top ten out of conference schedule and a 500 Big East record. Cincy had quality wins down the stretch one over a top 25 team and one at neutral site over final four team. Lets add the three more team so this never happens again.

I think four play-in games is also a great idea - two games at one site one day and two games at another site the next day. The first day game winners play the #1 seeds on Thursday and the second day winners play the #1 seeds on Friday.

Cheers,
Neil

I have been saying for several years to people in positions of power that the NCAA Tournament should have been expanded to 68 teams when they decided to go to 65 teams anyway. It never made any sense to me to do just one "play in" game. I am glad more coaches and administrators seem to be coming to their senses on this issue. Hopefully we will see 68 teams, with four "play in" games (two on Tuesday and two on Wednesday), as soon as possible. One "play in" game in each region would work well.

Maybe if the ACC had a team that made it to the Elite 8, I would give this a lick of respect.

ACC had a down year, and everybody who looked at the NBA Draft saw it coming. Virtually the entire starting lineups for Georgia Tech and UNC were gone. WF lost its point. About the only teams that didn't lose at least one of it's top three players were Clemson and Duke.

Everybody has down years, it's the circle of life Simba.

Sucks for the ACC but who really gives a crap about them. Heh.

georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:ACC had a down year, and everybody who looked at the NBA Draft saw it coming. Virtually the entire starting lineups for Georgia Tech and UNC were gone. WF lost its point. About the only teams that didn't lose at least one of it's top three players were Clemson and Duke.

Everybody has down years, it's the circle of life Simba.

Your post is absolutly correct, the acc was way down. The problem is the acc coaches refuse to admit it. Them crying about not being respected and deserving as many bids as any other league (meaning the BE) was totally ridiculous and delusional. Thats what we're all laughing at. The one year that espn was not worshipping the acc, and we have to see this from your coaches?

The ACC is like the spoiled kid that is upset that his parents had the audacity to buy him a $250,000 care instead of the $500,000 car and then goes around b*tching about how they were mistreated and abused.