Five morning rumbles: is Syracuse necessary? Of course not

Before we leaf through the internet’s pages for the scant bits of Big East news, let’s throw some shade on Syracuse, not as a program, but as a municipal entity. Because I’m petty like that, and so, I am guessing, are you.

BEST ARTICLE! in Governing magazine, the title of the article reads "is Syracuse Necessary?" It's not about basketball, but about whether the city of 'Cuse should be folded into a county governing body for cost savings.

But around here, that title is awesome. What's your answer?

DePaul, as you may know, will open the season against Notre Dame next year. The contest on November 11th is part of a home-and-home agreement, one where DePaul gets to renew an area rivalry that was lost to conference fluctuations.

DePaul and Notre Dame were both in the Big East for just eight years (2006-2013). But the teams had played each other many times in the past, separated by an hour or two of northern Indiana driving; and Notre Dame has a strong alumni presence in Chicago, so an annual rivalry would be a great fit.

Seton Hall, in response to likely losing big man Angel Delgado to professional opportunities, is keeping an eye on Dwight Coleby, a transfer from Kansas. SHUHoops thinks that Coleby will be more of a replacement for their deep bench player Rashed Anthony. Still, the 6’9” graduate transfer Coleby’s situation is one to watch.

The little-used Coleby averaged under two points and two rebounds per game, averaging under six minutes per contest; he had played limited minutes for two years at Mississippi before moving on to Kansas.

But he is 6’9”...

Here is a high-level review of the Big East’s season from Sports Illustrated.

This review makes no mention of St. John’s, instead focusing on Villanova, Xavier, Providence, Creighton, Georgetown as the league’s big disappointment and the Marquette win over Villanova.

Maybe next year the Johnnies can get a mention.

And for those of you who worried about your grades, fear not! Valedictorians don’t turn out to be spectacular anyway.

Karen Arnold, a researcher at Boston College, followed 81 high school valedictorians and salutatorians from graduation onward to see what becomes of those who lead the academic pack....

...how many of these number-one high school performers go on to change the world, run the world, or impress the world? The answer seems to be clear: zero.

School has clear rules. Life often doesn’t. When there’s no clear path to follow, academic high achievers break down. Shawn Achor’s research at Harvard shows that college grades aren’t any more predictive of subsequent life success than rolling dice. A study of over seven hundred American millionaires showed their average college GPA was 2.9.

Of course, an alternative reading could be that MOST people are not visionaries, “impress the world” people, that even some major leaders are part of the system, not visionaries, and that being mediocre at high school (or college) might also mean that one struggles to remain paid in the real world, while getting angry and ranting on the internet about sports.

Did i just describe myself? Ooops