Gonzaga’s Dalliance with Big 12 Bad News for Arkansas

FRISCO, Texas – Only a few days in the past, Gonzaga popped into the Far North Dallas suburb of Frisco. 

Whereas they could have pushed previous The Star, took a peak into the FC Dallas stadium, handed a couple of hours away on the Nationwide Video Recreation Museum and presumably chomped down a couple of brisket quesadillas at Blue Goose, the Bulldogs had been on the town for a similar cause so many from the West Coast drop by – to discover a new residence.

Large 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Gonzaga athletics director Chris Standiford took time to cozy up on the native Hyatt whereas the Zags had been within the space for a scrimmage in opposition to Tennessee.

Since that assembly, social media has determined to shockingly [please note the sarcasm] turn into offended after which reply with insults towards Gonzaga about how they might by no means be Gonzaga once more in the event that they had been smug sufficient to dare the darkish waters of Large 12 basketball.

In fact Arkansas followers have seen up shut the legitimacy of the Bulldogs’ program. The Razorbacks accomplished the close to unimaginable job of conserving Gonzaga out of the NCAA championship sport – which the Bulldogs have been in two of the previous 5 – with a 74-68 win in final yr’s Candy 16.

That is in all probability why West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was doing his greatest to dissuade Gonzaga from becoming a member of the Large 12 Thursday. The very last thing he wants is a 4,600 mile spherical journey and one other nationwide energy on his schedule.

“To get on this league and play who we play day-after-day, I might assume it could be an incredible awakening,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins advised reporters Thursday. “You do not get to make your personal schedule within the Large 12.”

Whereas it could make for enjoyable video games to observe when the SEC elite aren’t enjoying each other, this is not a very good factor for Arkansas. 

First off is the plain unfavourable. Everybody is aware of when the Large 12-SEC Problem rolls round, the choice makers will ship Gonzaga to Kentucky when it is time for the Bulldogs to go on the street due to the aesthetic of Gonzaga rolling into Rupp.

Nonetheless, when it is time for Gonzaga to host an SEC crew, it is a straightforward guess that Arkansas will probably be shipped to Spokane for a possible revenge sport. 

The opposite, much less apparent concern is recruiting. That is about to get harder.

Whereas the transfer to the SEC may really harm Texas in recruiting from a basketball standpoint, including Houston and Gonzaga to the Large 12-SEC recruiting dynamic in North Texas that already options Kansas, Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky makes Razorback coach Eric Musselman’s job touchdown huge fish considerably harder.

Whereas the extra pure match is the Pac-12, which reportedly additionally courted Gonzaga at one level, Bulldogs’ coach Mark Few is a nationwide recruiter. Solely half of the Gonzaga roster is from the west and that is not going to go down as a result of the Bulldogs moved from the West Coast Convention to the rather more distinguished Large 12.

Whereas buying and selling St. Mary’s for Kansas is not going to trigger Gonzaga to lose a California child, it very properly may trigger Arkansas to lose a Texas child.

The Hogs simply grew to become a sizzling mattress for 5-star basketball gamers. Nonetheless, if Few begins knocking on extra Texas highschool doorways with the promise of enjoying for a extremely revered nationwide program with quite a few video games inside simple driving distance, it stands to cause that Arkansas may lose elite expertise it would not if Gonzaga weren’t hanging round.

Gonzaga to the Large 12 may be the very best information school basketball has acquired in a very long time. 

It simply may not be excellent news for Arkansas.

HOGS FEED:

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WHAT LIBERTY BRINGS TO FAYETTEVILLE FOR SATURDAY’S GAME AGAINST THE RAZORBACKS

SEC ROUNDUP: AUBURN DEFENSIVE PLAYERS CLEAR ON WHO THEY WANT TO REPLACE BRYAN HARSIN

RAZORBACKS’ NICK SMITH LANDS ON SEC COACHES’ FIRST TEAM

WATCH: HOGS’ DREW SANDERS, KETRON JACKSON ON FACING LIBERTY ON SATURDAY

WATCH: RAZORBACKS’ LUKE JONES, HUDSON CLARK AFTER PRACTICE TUESDAY

LIBERTY’S HUGH FREEZE AFRAID OF COLD, DOESN’T LIKE FAYETTEVILLE GAMES

ANTHONY BLACK’S DUNCANVILLE TEAM STRIPPED OF STATE TITLE, COACH SUSPENDED

NOW THAT ARKANSAS RAN OFF HARSIN, AUBURN NEEDS LIST OF QUALITIES TO SEEK OUT IN NEW SHINING ‘KNIGHT’

AUBURN WANTED TO CAP WEEKEND BY FIRING HARSIN & HIRING HOGS’ AD

LATEST SEC SHORTS: ARE TENNESSEE FANS AFRAID OF ANYTHING THESE DAYS?

MIKE NEIGHBORS PREVIEWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT EXHIBITION GAME

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