Depends on who you ask, of course...
Since the day it was announced that the Syracuse Orange would be headed to the ACC as part of the league’s continued expansion outside of its traditional footprint, we’ve heard all about preferences for the conference tournament.
Jim Boeheim, to little surprise, would prefer a New York City location (MSG/Brooklyn) — a feeling echoed by many of Syracuse’s fellow Big East refugees. Legacy members of the league would, of course, prefer a North Carolina location in keeping with tradition. Whether that’s Greensboro or Charlotte could cause some additional infighting, but one of those two seems like the “compromise” so to speak.
With this year’s tournament back in North Carolina after three years outside of the state (two in New York, one in Washington D.C.), it’s of little surprise to see statements about where the event “belongs” — as was the case in the North State Journal on Wednesday.
The title paints more of a hard-line stance than the piece actually puts forth, though, as it sees both sides (N.C. vs. non-N.C. sites) of the potential debate as valid arguments. Boeheim plays a central role when it comes to the argument for bigger cities whether they’re New York or elsewhere. Roy Williams is pretty much seen (as always) as the defender of the good ol’ boys and the idea that Greensboro and Charlotte are the best solutions because they’re the traditional ones.
Personally, I think there’s a lot more value in a rotation, and due to the size of this event and the spotlight the 15-team conference commands, it probably shouldn’t include Greensboro in that. Rotating it between New York, Washington D.C., Charlotte and Atlanta caters to the different wings of the league and makes it easier for fans to travel. Greenbsoro Coliseum seats a ton, I’ll admit (over 23,000), but there’s probably a bit more value in the larger cities — while there also isn’t exactly “no value” to playing in Greensboro.
Tourney week back where it belongs (North State Journal)
“Everything I’ve said about tournaments, I think it’s just better when you go to a big city,” (Boeheim) said when asked about the subject following a recent game at Wake Forest. “My friend Roy (Williams) said that the (Masters) tournament in Augusta is pretty good and that’s in a small town, but that’s the only tournament going on in the country at the time.
