We didn't have to get out of the ACC - it was our choice. And a foolish one at that, IMO.
The narrative is that Duke made the plays at the end. In the last 1:30 they got 5 points off of plays where they shouldn't have had the ball at all. But never mind that. They won because when they turned it over and they didn't give the ball to Wisconsin they then scored when that shouldn't have been a possibility. But hey, the talking heads all say that making those shots won the game, even though they shouldn't have had the ball to make those shots. If you think that determined the outcome of the game you're "a whiner". Which is an ad hominem attack on people whom they can't argue with logically.
Really? So you think it was cool to languish as an independent for nearly 20 years before we got into a great league? At the time the ACC was just as good or better than the SEC. I'm glad we are in the SEC now, but at the time we had no idea we would ever get into the SEC or any other league. We just knew we could not stay with all the collusion and back stabbing and making of rules to benefit the tobacco road teams. Even after joining the SEC it took us about 15 years to even become relevent. Sorry, I will never thank those ba$tard$ for anything.
We had no choice but to get out of the ACC. It was either that or forever be subjected to the dirty politics of tobacco road. Also, it was Paul Dietzle who was more behind it than Frank McGuire, though they both recognized the delimna we were in. We were at a competitive disadvantage while we were in that league and could not advance our programs. They both knew this and therefore it was the only choice we had. Clemsux was supposed to join us, which could have started a revolt of the entire league, and could have been the foundation for a whole new conference but those lily-livered ba$tard$ reneged and backed out on us at the last minute. BTW, I will always HATE those a$$ holes too - for MANY reasons.
At the time we left, the SEC was an also ran. Go take a look at the titles won in the 60s and 70s. You basically had Bama winning every so often while the Big 12 (then the Big 8) and the Big 10 ran rampant, with Southern Cal and Notre Dame snagging one here and there. The SEC's dominance in football is really only a product of the last 25 odd years. In basketball, it was basically just UK (still is, really).
Spot on. I've seen some of that here, particular with one poster. Even after posting a link where the NCAA head of officiating said that it was such a critical call at a critical time that he wanted to come down on the floor and correct it, the narrative is the it's just crying. In the refs eyes, Justise Winslow could do no wrong at the end of that game. He stepped out of bounds, tipped a ball out of bound, and literally ran over a player that without a doubt had position, yet he either kept the ball or went to the free throw line. Absurd.
That is EXACTLY RIGHT. You are very insightful for a 21 YO. I'm an old guy and remember when we went through this. We did not leave the ACC for the SEC as some would like to characterize it. We lucked out and were invited in when the SEC decided to expand and it occurred nearly 20 years later. At the time we left we were not even thinking about the SEC or any other conference. The thought process was that we could become like Notre Dame as an independent. Of course without the National presence and backing garnered by ND that could never happen for us. It could have just as easily gone the other way for us and we could still be relegated to also-ran status as an independent. To hell with Duke, UNC, Clemsux, and rest of the ACC.
