sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to International Receptionists' Day!
A receptionist is often the first person a client or customer will meet when they arrive at a company, and they are the ones who have the task of making a positive first impression on whoever walks through the doors. Taking place on the second Wednesday in May, the purpose of International Receptionists' Day is to "foster a recognition of the importance of a receptionist's role," "promote pride and professionalism amongst receptionists for the important role they play within an organization," "give receptionists an opportunity to share stories and link up with other colleagues around the world," and "give employers an opportunity to shine a light on their receptionists and celebrate their achievements across their businesses."
The day started out as Receptionists' Day, being created by Jennifer Alexander of the National Receptionists Association, "to recognize the special role that receptionists play and to distinguish their skills from the admin or secretary." It was first observed in 1991, exclusively in the United States. In 2012, Rapport, a provider of reception services in the United Kingdom, brought the holiday to that country. It became International Receptionists' Day in 2016, after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia joined together to mark the day. Canada, Ireland, and other European countries have since joined in observation of the day.
SU News
Syracuse basketball scores visit from 5-star Jordan Smith Jr., and that's big time (itlh; Adler)
Jordan Smith Jr., a 2026 five-star shooting guard and a top-10 national prospect who hails from the talent-rich Washington, D.C., market, has said a couple of times lately that he planned to visit Syracuse basketball.
Word recently broke that the 6-foot-3 Smith has set a trip to Central New York. As first reported by top analyst/scout Colby Giacubeno of MADE Hoops, Smith will take an unofficial visit to the 'Cuse on June 7, which is just awesome news.
A source had told me a few months ago that the Orange coaching staff was working on getting him to the Hill for a visit, and now that is coming to fruition. It should be noted that college coaches can start initiating direct communication with 2026 prospects on June 15 of this year, and beginning on August 1, rising high school juniors can commence taking official visits to college campuses.
While Smith is an elite player who already boasts an impressive offer list and will earn many more offers come mid-June when the contact period opens up for 2026 prospects, it's highly encouraging that Syracuse basketball coaches have gotten involved in his recruitment early on and also scored an upcoming visit from him.
Five-star shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. will visit Syracuse basketball next month.
Within the 2026 class, recruiting services rank Smith as a top-10 to a top-15 national prospect, a top-three shooting guard, and the No. 1 player coming out of Virginia.
In the recently completed 2023-24 season, as a sophomore, Smith earned numerous local, regional and national awards as a key contributor for the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va.
...
Former Syracuse guard Kadary Richmond commits to play for St. John’s (report) (PS; $; Carlson)
Former Syracuse men’s basketball guard Kadary Richmond has committed to play at St. John’s for Rick Pitino next year. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello.
Richmond’s decision to transfer from Seton Hall following an All-Big East First Team season made him one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal and had some Syracuse fans briefly dreaming of a reunion in Central New York.
While Syracuse has a number of options on its expected roster that it can utilize at point guard next season, none have already shown they are capable of doing it at a high level in a major conference. Richmond would have changed that.
Richmond averaged 15.7 points, 7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game for Seton Hall last season, while also playing strong defense at 6-foot-6. Just like when he was at Syracuse, Richmond does still need to improve his 3-point shot, making just 27 percent last year for the Pirates.
In his only season at Syracuse, Richmond averaged 6.3 points, 3.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. He came off the bench for the Orange behind Joe Girard III under Jim Boeheim, setting off a debate about the use of the two guards among SU supporters. He left after that year, playing the past three years for the Pirates.
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Syracuse Basketball: Kadary Richmond headed to St. John's, reportedly considered SU (itlh; Adler)
On Tuesday, former Syracuse basketball player Kadary Richmond committed to St. John's and head coach Rick Pitino, a former Orange assistant several decades ago, according to media reports.
While Richmond has opted to stay in the Big East Conference by transferring from Seton Hall to the Red Storm, one report on Tuesday seemed to indicate that he was potentially considering a return to the 'Cuse.
Zach Braziller, a reporter with the New York Post, writes in an article that the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Richmond, a talented senior guard who entered the transfer portal in late April, "visited St. John’s twice, right after entering the portal on April 26, and again Monday and Tuesday of this week. He tripped to Oklahoma over the weekend. Illinois, Syracuse and West Virginia were among his other suitors. He considered taking other visits, but after his trip to Queens on Monday, Richmond was set on his new home."
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Syracuse basketball reportedly showing interest in transfer center Edward Nnamoko (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball is among various teams showing an interest in big-man transfer Edward Nnamoko.
The X account The Portal Report said in a post on Tuesday that the Orange has reached out to the 6-foot-10, 225-pound Nnamoko, who is a sophomore center at Georgia State and originally from Lagos, Nigeria.
Nnamoko said via his X page on May 2 that he was entering the transfer portal. I believe he has two seasons of collegiate eligibility left.
Georgia State, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, went 14-17 overall during the recently completed 2023-24 term. As a sophomore, per ESPN data, Nnamoko appeared in 28 games, averaging 3.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest while connecting on 49.1 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Syracuse basketball has displayed an interest in Georgia State transfer center Edward Nnamoko.
As a member of the 2022 high school recruiting class, immediately prior to enrolling at Georgia State, Nnamoko suited up at the Riviera Preparatory School in Miami....
Keeping Up With The 315 5-7-24 (ESPN; podcast; The 315)
Brian gets things rolling with Portal Watch Day 51, where he talks about all portal related news. Next, Brian discussed some local renovations that will be effecting Syracuse’s ability to host future NCAA events. Finally, Brian wraps the podcast up with some recruiting news out of the football team, and more!
(youtube; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Basketball missed out on getting Guard Kadary Richmond from the Transfer Portal. Adrian Autry's squad also couldn't secure UTSA transfer Jordan Ivy-Curry, and the Orange appear to still be after a guard. The Cuse has contacted Georgia State Center Edward Nnamoko. PLUS, Louisville transfer CB Marcus Washington commits to the Cuse DURING THE SHOW.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 05: Arinze Onuaku #21 of 3's Company handles the ball during the game against the Ghost Ballers during BIG3 - Week Five at the Fiserv Forum on August 05, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) Getty Images
Onuaku will work for McNamara at Siena. It’s a big move (PS; $; Ditota)
When Arinze Onuaku visited Syracuse and spent time at the Melo Center last fall, he arrived with several agendas.
He wanted to welcome Adrian Autry as Syracuse’s new head basketball coach. He wanted to reacquaint himself with the school, where he thrived as a Big East center during a career that spanned 2005-2010. And he wanted to let everybody know his latest career ambitions.
“I was just in a period of trying to figure out what I was going to do next,” Onuaku said during a phone conversation last week. “I wanted to come up there, talk to the coaches, let them know what my status was and what I was interested in doing. So yeah, I was able to talk to Red, to GMac, to all the coaches in a group setting and one-on-one.”
Those conversations bore fruit a few months later when Gerry McNamara left Syracuse to take the head coaching job at Siena College. McNamara said his relationship with Onuaku convinced him to hire one of the best big men in Syracuse history. Onuaku left SU with the school’s best all-time field goal percentage (64.8%), a number since eclipsed by Maliq Brown (69.8%), though Brown played just two seasons for the Orange.
McNamara liked Onuaku’s initiative, his varied career background. He liked his reputation around the DMV, an area of heavy recruiting interest. He called Onuaku, a Lanham, Maryland native, and pitched the opportunity.
Then, he hired him.
“He knows the game. He communicates it well. And it was pretty clear that this was what he wanted to do,” McNamara said. “(I had) that relationship with him, first as a former teammate and friend, then player-coach when I came back as a GA. Just seeing a young guy that I know has a lot to offer that wants to get into this, I felt fortunate to be able to help him out.”
Onuaku, 36, is coming off a year as an assistant coach at powerhouse Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. There, he coached the big men.
He’d spent the previous year as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards’ G League franchise, the Capital City Go-Go. When the Wizards fired their GM, Tommy Sheppard in April 2023, Onuaku said, most of the organization’s coaching staff was dismissed, too.
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Justin Taylor Returns to Commonwealth, Signs with Dukes for 2024-25 Season - James Madison University Athletics (jmusports.com)
James Madison Head Coach Preston Spradlin announced Tuesday the addition of Charlottesville native Justin Taylor to the men's basketball program.
Taylor returns to the Commonwealth of Virginia and joins the Dukes after two seasons at Syracuse out of the ACC, where he was a full-time starter this past season.
Justin Taylor | Guard | 6-6 | 218 | Charlottesville, Va. | St. Anne's-Belfield (Syracuse)
- Transfers to JMU after two seasons at Syracuse (2022-24)
- Played in 61 career games with 34 starts for the Orange, which included all 32 games last season
- Last season, averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game
- Accrued 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game as a freshman
- In career, has scored 281 points on 36% shooting from the floor and 34% from three-point range
- Also has 179 career rebounds, 50 assists, 40 steals and 14 blocks
- 11 career games in double figures, including eight as a sophomore
- Career-high 25 points vs. Bryant in freshman season
- Prepped at IMG Academy before enrolling at Syracuse
- Former All-State performer at St. Anne's-Belfield in Charlottesville
Taylor is the fourth transfer to join the program this spring and the fifth overall signee of the 2024 class, joining transfers Luke Anderson (Florida Southern), AJ Smith (Southern Indiana) and Ebenezer Dowuona (Georgia Tech) and high school senior Redd Thompson (John Marshall HS).
Other
The Gere Block building at 1970 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse was built as an Erie Canal warehouse in 1874. It was occupied by the Sanford Motor Truck Co., a maker of fire trucks, from 1913 to 1937, and then by Strathmore Paints, a paint manufacturer, from 1942 until 2018. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com) Rick Moriarty
Breakaway Syracuse ballet company wins state grant for new studio and rehearsal space (PS; $; Cazentre)
A new ballet company that formed after dancers broke away last year from the established Syracuse City Ballet has won a state grant that will help it create its own studios and work space.
The $259,000 grant from the New York State Council of the Arts will help Central New York Ballet Company make use of 5,000 square feet of space in the Gere Block building, a historic former warehouse and industrial building at 1970 W. Fayette St. It’s perhaps best known as the former home Strathmore Paints.
The owners of the Gere Block are contributing matching funds, according to a news release from the CNY Ballet.
The space will be home to “state-of-the-art dance studios, a black box theater for performances and workshops, reception and office areas, dressing rooms, and ADA accessible bathrooms,” the news release said.
The release gave no timetable for the work to be completed. The release said the Central New Ballet Company is also hoping to raise an additional $140,000 for “sets and costumes, additions to its roster of professional dancers, and fresh choreography for its inaugural Nutcracker production in December.”
The Central New York Ballet staged its first major production in April with two performances of “Swan Lake Act II and Bolero” at the OnCenter. Its website lists its next event as a two-week long collaboration with East Coast Contemporary Ballet and Sky Hill Farm Studio, concluding with a performance in July.
The split with Syracuse City Ballet came last year after six of its eight professional dancers walked off the job demanding changes in working conditions and artistic direction. They were later fired by Syracuse City Ballet, which started recruiting new dancers for its performances.
That means there are now two competing ballet companies in Central New York.
This Upstate NY city is one of the best college towns in the U.S., ranking finds (PS; House)
Upstate New York is dotted with dream-worthy college towns where core memories are made as life-changing degrees are earned.
With great eateries, quirky shopping scenes and lively night scenes, those collegiate communities make great vacation spots. And one of the best-rated small college towns in the nation — a place loved by celebrities, horse enthusiasts, families and couples — is the gem of Upstate’s Capital Region.
Saratoga Springs has been named one of the best small college towns in America by USA Today’s 10Best. The list was created by an expert panel and voted on by readers.
The Spa City ranked 10th on the list that included Oxford, Mississippi, and Williamsburg, Virginia.
Just 40 minutes north of Albany, Saratoga Springs is home to two colleges: Empire State University, a SUNY school, and Skidmore College, a private college.
The city offers students from both colleges plenty of places to explore.
Saratoga Springs is synonymous with horse racing. The historic Saratoga Race Course, previously dubbed one of the 10 best horse racing tracks in the U.S., is beloved by fancy-hat fans and celebrities alike; Chef Bobby Flay and Barstool Sport’s Dave Portnoy have both purchased homes near the track.
But racing isn’t the only adventure in Saratoga.
In its ranking, 10Best highlighted the city’s famous mineral springs at Saratoga Spa State Park, where visitors can taste the springs and swim in a historic Victoria Pool. The travel website also named the nearby Saratoga Lake as a draw for fans of water sports.
Other popular spots in Saratoga are:
- Congress Park, home to a wooden carousel
- Saratoga Performing Art Center, the amphitheater that hosts some of Upstate’s biggest concerts
- Broadway, a street lined with shops and eateries
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