With UNC Struggling To Hire, Is College Hoops’ Blue Bloods Era Over?
Rick Pitino says college basketball is heading into an era of parity. Following the money tells a different story.
Michael Malone revels after his Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship. Getty Images “There’s no such thing as a blue blood any more. ” So said Rick Pitino when assessing the allegedly scant differences between traditional powers (Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, Connecticut, Duke) and the supposed upstarts such as his own St.
John’s team. The supporting evidence: Pitino is having success at St. John’s.
Illinois just made its first trip to the Final Four in 21 years. North Carolina was apparently spurned by potential head coaches within the college game before hiring Michael Malone, who led the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 NBA championship but hasn’t worked in the college game in 25 years. But let’s look a little more closely.
Has the NIL Era delivered a new wave of parity in college basketball? Or are these just a couple of isolated data points explained by unique circumstances? St.
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