ACC Tournament: Jim Boeheim Beats Up On Greensboro

Syracuse might be eliminated from the ACC Tournament, but that did not stop Jim Boeheim from displaying his ignorance about Greensboro.

The ACC Tournament is not being played in the state of North Carolina this year. In fact, it is not being played in the state of North Carolina until the mess with HB2 gets sorted out. That did not stop Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim from saying that the tournament should never go back to Greensboro again. In fact, Boeheim would love it to stay right in Brooklyn. Right…

Boeheim’s answer has nothing to do with Brooklyn being seventy miles away (more or less) from the Syracuse campus. Why would it? No, it is about media markets and playing in the big media hubs of the conference. Like Brooklyn.

Boeheim is ignoring a major problem with his observation. He is not in the Big East anymore. The Big East made sense to have its tournament in New York because its core membership were East Coast schools. Syracuse, UConn, St. Johns, Villanova, Georgetown, Boston College, and Seton Hall were all right there together.

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As the Big East expanded to become the twenty team monstrosity that football made it, the tournament remained in New York because the new guys had to play ball. Do you think that Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, and Notre Dame would have been interested in a Chicago Tournament? Did that happen even once? The answer is no.

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Syracuse was a core member of the Big East, but it is a johnny-come-lately to the ACC. The ACC has its own traditions and a different (more southern) foot print than the old Big East. Greensboro is the traditional spot because it is easy for the core of the ACC to get to. UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and Virginia are not far away. Clemson and Georgia Tech are just a bit farther.

The logistics for Syracuse may not be ideal, but the logistics for a good chunk of the conference make a bunch of sense. Television exposure for the ACC will follow the tournament wherever it goes so the recruiting argument (Boeheim noted New York recruiting ‘made the Big East) doesn’t make the same sense it would have made in the 1980s.

Boeheim needs to forget about Greensboro. He will retire soon. The tournament returns to Brooklyn next year and is in limbo after that as long as HB2 exists. So his complaint could end up being a moot point.