Jon Rothstein, ah.
In the midst of bashing North Carolina, the CBS Sports college basketball commentator gave them a backhanded praise.
Jon Rothstein has a weird definition of “Blue Blood”
According to Rothstein, just two college basketball programs are performing at the “Blue Blood” level. You may find out which programs he believes those to be in the transcript below.
“In college basketball, two programs continue to function as classic blue bloods. When you look closely at the rosters of the other elite college basketball programs, you can see that it’s UConn and Duke, Duke and UConn. Therefore, I want to examine three of them in detail right now: North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky.
As of right now, Kentucky is ranked 40th, Kansas is ranked 30th, and North Carolina is ranked 26th in the Rothstein 45, which I update daily depending on any roster changes in college basketball. Carolina currently boasts the finest roster out of those three.
In essence, Rothstein asserts that Duke and UConn are the current “Blue Bloods” and that Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina have essentially fallen behind.
The good news for Tar Heels supporters—if you can even call it “good”—is that, according to Rothstein, North Carolina has the greatest roster out of the three schools in that tier.
UConn has every right to be referred to as a “Blue Blood.” You don’t even need to explain why they are in that elite tier when you win at their level, and with Dan Hurley and company’s recent track record of success, they ought to remain there.
Yes, Duke spends money like a “Blue Blood,” but doesn’t winning have some significance?
It has been more than ten years since the Blue Devils won a national championship! During that period, both North Carolina and Kansas have won titles; in 2022, they even faced off in the national championship game.
Winning regular season crowns and having one-and-done rookies receive national honors are great, but given that Duke hasn’t lived up to expectations either, when should we stop elevating them?
