Moving On Up

Big news out of the A-10 offices this afternoon: no longer will A-10 tournament enthusiasts be shuffling past the dregs of society to watch a A-10 tournament game on a chilly Friday morning.

From that nice Jewish boy, Andrew Katz:

The Atlantic 10 Conference will move its men's basketball tournament to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning with the 2013 tournament, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.com.

A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade is making attempts to get the A-10 more exposure in New York. The league is hosting its media day in Brooklyn on Oct. 13.

The Barclays Center could be in play for the Big East or ACC tournaments beyond 2016 when the Big East's current deal with Madison Square Garden expires.

The Barclays Center will be the new home of the New Jersey Nets. The A-10 has one more year on its current deal to play the tournament in Atlantic City.

So there you have it. With league offices in southern Virginia, an upcoming tournament in Brooklyn, and member schools scattered all over the US, it seems as if the conference has an identity crisis of Chaz Bonian proportions.

Bottom line, the Atlantic City situation just never worked. It was a horrible venue for basketball, too far away for some of the league's most visible member's fanbases (Xavier, U o' D, Saint Louis) and the setting just screamed "plebian." You won't find too many objections to moving the A-10 championship away from the piers of coastal New Jersey.

So, what's the logical step? Move the conference tournament to the shiny new Barclays Center in beautiful Brooklyn, NY. But of course. As McGlade clearly professes, the league is looking to make strides in New York City. What better way to do so than invading the city with mid-major madness for three days in the beginning of March?

Look, I'm sure Bernie is a sweet girl, I really do. Her haircut indicates a sensiblity crafted from years of do-gooding. However, if she thinks that NYC is going to give a shit, nay, two shits about the A-10 simply due to the fact it is holding its' conference tournament in NYC's most populous burough -- McGlade's got another thing coming.

Sure, this move will make it convenient for the NYC media to check out a game, but wouldn't the fact that there were 10,000-12,000 empty seats be the takeaway as opposed to the actual product on the court? (Picture what a first-round game between George Washington and Saint Louis will look like) I'm not sure what the overriding benefits are. The Big East, in whatever embodiment it may be in 2013, will always be the city's basketball showpiece, held in the World's Most Famous Arena in midtown Manhattan. To think that the A-10 tournament, which would held over the same days in March as the Big East championship, will garner increased attention simply due to proximity is naive at best.

This move to Brooklyn will not change the fact that the A-10 tournament, save the championship game, is nowhere to be found on television. The Big East will continue to have each game broadcasted nationally, as will the ACC. There's no competing with that. In reality, housing the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn won't address any of the issues currently associated with contesting it in Atlantic City: it's still far from most of the member alumni bases, it will actually be more expensive for out-of-towners to attend and as mentioned, doesn't put a dent in the league's TV issues.

The obvious benefit of playing at Barclays is that it will be a legitimate basketball arena. No longer will the A-10 have to play in a space usually reserved for foreclosure auctions and barely-legal boxing.

I can appreciate the sentiment behind the move -- NYC screams "big-time" to those that don't live here for some reason. However, the problem from a public relations standpoint has never been the setting of the tournament but rather the teams that participate in it. Shuffling the conference tournament to New York City won't cure anything that ails the league, it will merely change the scenery.

Update on September 26, 2011 by Tom Blackburn

Jeff Goodman states the A-10 deal with Barclays is through 2018.

Recon: UMass

In an attempt to show our readers that we haven't totally stopped caring about the season, here is my lame ass recon for tonight's game. In honor of Timmy Wabs crushing it all season with his Top 10 Lists, here are my top 10 things that will be said on our site and UDPride tonight after Dayton's loss. Also, please note that we will again be hosting an NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. So save up your money.

10.) It will be shame to see such a talent leave Dayton. We will miss you CW! -UDPride

9.) Tman rims ass! -John

8.) This Dayton team was just four wins away from being an at large team. -John/UDPride

7.) The bubble is still weak, Dayton is not out of it. -Jerry Palm

6.) Brian Gregory needs to go to Texas Tech, since Pat Knight got fired. -UDPride

5.) UD should NOT go after Pat Knight. -Tom Blackburn

4.) Anthony Gurley's 27 and 13 tonight proved he was a well deserved 3rd teamer. -UDPride

3.) Why did Brian Gregory give the ball to CW AGAIN for the last shot? -Everyone

2.) Matt Kavanaugh's 0 minutes of play make me really excited about what he will do next year. -UDPride

1.) Winning the CBI is better than a one-and-down in the NCAA Tournament. -John R, UDPride

Inside the Blogger's Studio: XU Blogger

Let's get it on!  The Atlantic 14...err...12 Tournament has started and up next for our beloved Dayton Flyers are the dreaded Xavier Musketeers.  As you all are hopefully aware of already (seriously, if you aren't, just leave), Dayton and X split their two games this past season.  I don't feel like looking it up, but this has to be the 50th year in a row that Dayton and X will play for the third time in a season. To help us preview this heavyweight showdown is XU Blogger (who again wanted to remain anonymous so we will call him Max Power) of A Fan's Note on Xavier Basketball.  Max is currently waiting in line for tickets to Chad Ochocinco's first Dancing with the Stars rehearsal but thankfully took the time to answer my questions.

Donald: First question, how many people has J. Craw killed since he was not named the Atlantic 14 Player of the Year?  In all seriousness, the guy is so money he doesn't even know (although he probably knows). What odds would you set for him to return to the Queen City next year?

Max: I was pretty shocked that the coaches gave the award to Kevin Anderson.  Kevin is a nice player, definitely elevates his team, but tough for me to accept that he's been better than Crawford, especially when you limit the analysis to conference games only.  As for returning, the cost/benefit ratio might weigh in favor of staying.  His brother didn't exactly have a good first experience with the NBA, he projects as a low second-rounder on most of the mock drafts, he would get his degree next May, and from what I understand this draft class may be especially strong due to the threat of an impending lockout. On the other hand, he'll be 22 this year, he's been jerked around by two college coaches, maybe Skyline gives him the runs.  I'd say it's better than 50/50 he comes back for one more season.

Donald: So I think Dayton could use some advice.  How does a team lose three 1,000 point scorers, their coach, and a deep bench and yet still finish 2nd place in a deep conference?

Richmond's home away from home.Max: I suppose it's a combination of a lot of things.  Miller didn't exactly leave the cupboard bare, talent-wise. Hiring Mack from within maintained stylistic and organizational continuity. Some of the returning players may not have played a lot of minutes last year, but have the experience of playing in tough buildings and in games with a lot at stake.  The players seem to have a very tough mindset and rarely get flustered when things go wrong (the UD game being the lone exception since the new year).

Donald: Dayton played XU tough back in January at the Cintas Center and then destroyed the Muskies a few weeks later in Dayton. Granted, the UD faithful is extremely optimistic about how Dayton matches up against X, but in your mind, is this a bad matchup for you guys? In my mind (I like to think I am one of the more realistic fans out there), Dayton is the worst matchup for X because of Dayton's tendency.

Max: Yes.  I think Dayton is the toughest matchup in the league for XU because of the quickness and athleticism of their 3s and 4s.  I think Jamel McLean is capable (emphasis on "capable") of neutralizing Chris Wright, but XU doesn't really have anyone that can guard Marcus Johnson and Chris Johnson on the wings.  Crawford isn't much of a defender, Lyons is too small, and Dante Jackson goes through periods where he forgets there's a game of basketball being played.  This was probably my doomsday quarterfinal matchup because there's no fatigue advantage for the better seed, Dayton on paper has enough talent to be a top-4 team in the conference, and Dayton's quickness is a serious issue.

Donald: Let's say Dayton does beat XU here in the tournament.  What seed do you think the Musketeers will get in the NCAA Tournament. Subquestion, how far do you see this team going?

Max: I have a theory that the tournament selection committee is likely to penalize teams that are locks going into their conference tournaments and lose early.  I see XU's ceiling as a 5-seed and floor as a 7-seed.  Tournament performance depends on matchups.  They could get drilled by a team like Utah State in the first round or wriggle their way to the Elite Eight again.  No clue how that will shake out, and I don't really have an expectation or strong feeling either way.

Donald: Seriously, will Kenny Frease ever be any good?  In a previous interview you said you "expect Frease to be a consistent double-double threat next year."  Care to change that quote before it comes back to haunt you?

Max: Ha.  At the risk of earning a coveted "Shithouse Rat Comment" award, I'm going to stand by it. But he's got to commit himself this offseason to improving his conditioning and attending the big man camps.

Donald: Final question, who wins this game.  And lastly, who is going to take home the A-14 title, how many A-14 teams will get to the big dance, and give us your Final Four picks right now.

Max: I think it's a repeat of the 2007 and 2008 tournaments.  XU defeats Dayton in the quarterfinal (this time by 6-8 points) and then puts forth a subpar performance the next night and loses to Richmond.  I think the game at Dayton was a total one-off, the Muskies got flustered due to the early foul trouble, actually had it down to 9 or 10 with the ball with about 9 minutes left, and then got boatraced from there.  With that said, these are pretty evenly matched squads and Dayton is more than capable of advancing.

Bring 'Em Young in the Final FourI really like Richmond and think they run the table in AC.  They are a veteran guards are currency at this time of year, when there's no time to make coaching adjustments and everyone is dragging ass.  The A-10 gets four teams in the tournament.  The three locks plus one bubble team.  Dayton can jump URI, but I think it would take two wins plus URI taking a complete dump against SLU.  If the two are close, Rhody's win up there has to be the tiebreaker.

As for the Final four, I barely follow the big conferences in early March because I'm too busy celebrating the Anthony Johnsons and Omar Samhans of the world.  I'll go with Kansas, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Kansas State.  My dark horse candidates for the Final Four are Baylor (big conference) and Brigham Young (small conference).

There you have it, straight from Max Powers' mouth.  Should be a good game and true story, this is a MUST WIN for Dayton.  Let's get our swag back.