Atlantis is the new Maui, which makes two far greater than 10, according to University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
The No. 2 Cardinals (3-0) travel to the Bahamas — a two-hour plane flight — to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis starting Thursday against Northern Iowa. The Cards will play three games in a field that includes No. 5 Duke, No. 13 Missouri and No. 19 Memphis.
Pitino likened it to the Maui Invitational — a 10-hour flight — for the toughness of the field. But he added that with the likes of Minnesota, Virginia Commonwealth and Stanford also competing, there were “no weak teams.”
“There’s nothing but teams picked to win their conferences or atop the leaderboard, so to speak,” Pitino said. “It should be very exciting for all the teams involved. We’re really looking forward to it, getting a break around Thanksgiving time and playing the most competitive basketball, I think, in the nation.”
U of L last played in Maui in 2004 and was originally scheduled to return to the tournament this season but backed out last year. Pitino believes the Battle 4 Atlantis, which held its inaugural games last year, will become a preferred alternative for East Coast schools.
“For us it’s two hours on a plane,” Pitino said. “To Hawaii it’s 10 to 11. You hurt when you return coming from Maui; with this you’re not. So probably Maui is for the West Coast now and the Bahamas is for the East Coast.”
Pitino downplayed how much could be taken from winning or losing the tournament. He pointed out that Harvard beat Central Florida for the Atlantis title last season among a field that included Connecticut and Florida State.
“I really don’t think it matters this time of year,” Pitino said. “Everybody is going to grow and get better. It’s a barometer for where you are in November but not a barometer for where you’ll be in March.”
That’s not entirely true. Harvard, which upset Florida State, won the tournament and went on to reach its first NCAA Tournament since 1946. UConn, which was upset by an average UCF team in Atlantis, didn’t win a game in the NCAA Tournament despite having two NBA draft lottery picks on its roster.
Hall of Fame Tip-Off
Louisville and North Carolina are two of eight teams chosen for next season’s Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun arena in Uncasville, Conn. Also chosen were Richmond, Holy Cross, Hofstra, Belmont, Fairfield and Hartford.
No. 3 Ohio State beat Washington on Sunday in this season’s championship game.
By C.J. Brown
Courier-Journal.com
