Class of 2017 Hameir Wright (NY) to Washington

[Shenexon]

I'm really hopeful for Hopkins and think UW will be an easier place to recruit to than Syracuse. I've lived a lot of my life with Hopkins part of SU in some capacity and feel a significant bond with him, though I don't know him at all. He was one of JB's partners in creating a historic era in SU sports history, as a player and as JB's second in command. He's off to a pretty good start as the UW coach, at least in recruiting and finding coaches to work with him. Time will tell just how important he was to SU recruiting and how he'll do as a gameday head coach. The same goes for getting an opportunity to see JB without Hopkins, in recruiting, practices, and games. It could be good for both of them...

 

[cuseinseattle]

Fwiw I don't think UW will be right there. They were horrible last year.

I think they will be better than people think. Dickerson will be a good front court player for them and Nowell will be good. Add wright and Carter and they will be solid this coming year. The Pac12 is so loaded up top that it doesn't take a really good team to finish with a good record.

 

[JLine]

Great get for Hop. Congrats to Hameir, his family, and Hop. Gonna miss Hop, but wish him the best. Such a great guy. UW got an absolute steal in Mike.

I'm all in on JB too. Still, Hop is going to be great someday. Sooner rather than later. I do wish he could come back, but Washington is such a great spot for him. Just didn't work out like the fairytale we all wished for. The UDub fans should be ecstatic. Us as well, as all will be well.

 

[Orangefan1]

I hope he falls on his butt actually. He left Syracuse so to me he could of stayed and honored his commitment to Coach B. I get why he left but it just means to me he was never meant to be head coach

 

[SoBeCuse]

I hope he falls on his butt actually. He left Syracuse so to me he could of stayed and honored his commitment to Coach B. I get why he left but it just means to me he was never meant to be head coach

Lol. That's gold.

 

[orange79]

I hope he falls on his butt actually. He left Syracuse so to me he could of stayed and honored his commitment to Coach B. I get why he left but it just means to me he was never meant to be head coach

What commitment? He never committed to us.

 

[MSOrange]

What commitment? He never committed to us.

He's referring to Hop and saying he reneged on his commitment to be head coach.

 

[50YRsofCuse]

He's referring to Hop and saying he reneged on his commitment to be head coach.

Guarantee that there is a back story that we will never receive as long as both parties are alive. Lot of mutual respect will keep any back story from coming out.

 

[orange79]

He's referring to Hop and saying he reneged on his commitment to be head coach.

Indefinite articles always kill me.

In terms of what he was referring to then, Oh Lord

 

[CaptainJ]

What commitment? He never committed to us.

He certainly did as a player.

 

[CaptainJ]

While folks were quick to jump on me(without the coutesy of a), and claim upstate NY kids dont go to the West Coast, it Hop is already making my case. Good for him.

Also I'm giving respect to the eyewitness who hung around and watched Boeheim hanging around to talk to Wright. If folks have their Orange and/or anti-Hop tinted glasses on all of the time, they arent going to see the spectrum of possibility out there. Maybe there's enough evidence now that we can stop assuming this will be the last time. I'm not sure what I think of Hop's recent ability to evaluate talent yet, but he at the very least seems able to sign some of the guys he wants at UW, more upstaters than JB right now.

Like I said earlier, Shenexon hit it on the head. There's evidence both teams' recruiting may have improved with Hop leaving, and that's something I can live with.

To paraphrase someone in this thread: Stop...Hameir time!

 

[JLine]

While folks were quick to jump on me(without the coutesy of a), and claim upstate NY kids dont go to the West Coast, it Hop is already making my case. Good for him.

Also I'm giving respect to the eyewitness who hung around and watched Boeheim hanging around to talk to Wright. If folks have their Orange and/or anti-Hop tinted glasses on all of the time, they arent going to see the spectrum of possibility out there. Maybe there's enough evidence now that we can stop assuming this will be the last time. I'm not sure what I think of Hop's recent ability to evaluate talent yet, but he at the very least seems able to sign some of the guys he wants at UW, more upstaters than JB right now.

Like I said earlier, Shenexon hit it on the head. There's evidence both teams' recruiting may have improved with Hop leaving, and that's something I can live with.

To paraphrase someone in this thread: Stop...Hameir time!

He's gonna get some kids that he had a relationship with here, no doubt and obviously proven already. Still, he hasn't stolen a priority yet. He may, who knows. I suppose you could argue Hameir was.

We will be fine though, and Hop will settle in to West Coast recruiting mainly. I believe.

He does have good relationships on this side of the US, so he will pick one off from time to time. UW is a nice school, and place to spend your college years. Kids that wanna get away, may join up with Hop. He's gonna do well. But, he isn't going to ruin SU Basketball. We have plenty of talent, and plenty more that will join the team.

 

[jordoo]

I hope he falls on his butt actually. He left Syracuse so to me he could of stayed and honored his commitment to Coach B. I get why he left but it just means to me he was never meant to be head coach

Hop left for JB IMO. Not hard to figure out why.

 

[Funk Doc]

Yeah it's not like he just up and started recruiting Wright. Do you think Wright even makes that trip to UW without having a pretty lengthy relationship with Hop already? Yeah...me neither. Good for Hop, but I agree with the others. As the years go by, he will move more and more to the West Coast for kids. Other than the Blue Blood programs, big time recruits are not crossing the country to go play for most college programs. More often than not, they'll find the best fit much closer to home.

 

[RF2044]

Yeah it's not like he just up and started recruiting Wright. Do you think Wright even makes that trip to UW without having a pretty lengthy relationship with Hop already? Yeah...me neither. Good for Hop, but I agree with the others. As the years go by, he will move more and more to the West Coast for kids. Other than the Blue Blood programs, big time recruits are not crossing the country to go play for most college programs. More often than not, they'll find the best fit much closer to home.

Agreed. It's like switching jobs -- you take your "rolodex" and keep your contacts, and those initial contacts might result in a book of business that you take with you. But over time, those opportunities dry up if you're switching geographic areas.

Hopkins hit the Syracuse recruits he'd built relationships with hard. Moving forward, he will not have built relationships with so many east coast targets, at least not to the same extent.

 

[SUFan44]

Agreed. It's like switching jobs -- you take your "rolodex" and keep your contacts, and those initial contacts might result in a book of business that you take with you. But over time, those opportunities dry up if you're switching geographic areas.

Hopkins hit the Syracuse recruits he'd built relationships with hard. Moving forward, he will not have built relationships with so many east coast targets, at least not to the same extent.

But he will have the same contacts with coaches in the AAU circuit - which is more than half the battle sometimes with these kids. And is also the part that worries me the most as a Syracuse fan.

 

[Funk Doc]

But he will have the same contacts with coaches in the AAU circuit - which is more than half the battle sometimes with these kids. And is also the part that worries me the most as a Syracuse fan.

That I fully understand...I don't think though, that a borderline top notch east coast recruit, that would really help our program, would cross the country to attend UW. Now, would they slip by us to go to the UKs, Dukes, Kansas, etc...yes, we've already seen that. Is Hop going to pull a few east coast kids once in a while? Yeah probably. But I just don't think they'll be the ones that will really kill us, if we don't land them.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

He will probably have less insight than most on this board, but Roger Weyland is about to discuss Hameir on his radio show.

Edit- Hameir actually on right now

 

[RF2044]

But he will have the same contacts with coaches in the AAU circuit - which is more than half the battle sometimes with these kids. And is also the part that worries me the most as a Syracuse fan.

It shouldn't. Seattle is 2700 miles away from Syracuse, he'll need to focus his attention on building up his AAU network on the west coast, and because he won't have deep personal relationships with as many northeast recruits moving forward.

That doesn't mean that UW can't pull a recruit here and there from back east, but it is going to be a much more difficult sell than it is right now. Hopkins has already invested a lot of time [in some cases, years -- literally] building a relationship with some of these NE recruits as a function of recruiting for Syracuse. Those AAU contacts won't go away, but he won't be able to maintain them to the same degree from the opposite coast. He's going to need to get in good with west coast AAU programs, including the powerhouse programs based out of the Seattle region.

 

[cuse10]

Another kid from PSA Cardinals doesn't commit to Syracuse? Color me shocked!

 

[Cusegolfer]

He's referring to Hop and saying he reneged on his commitment to be head coach.

I don't think a explanation was necessary!

 

[Sherman20]

But he will have the same contacts with coaches in the AAU circuit - which is more than half the battle sometimes with these kids. And is also the part that worries me the most as a Syracuse fan.

But flying across the country over and over again to maintain those coaching relationships and foster new player relationships may not be the best use of his time and resources.

 

[Ward]

But flying across the country over and over again to maintain those coaching relationships and foster new player relationships may not be the best use of his time and resources.

He'll still see these contacts at many of the AAU events during the open periods and he can still keep in touch with people on the east coast by giving a call every now and then. And not to open up a can of worms from past threads but it isn't like our coaches are living in these east coast gyms with a physical presence at practices and games either. I'm sure Hop will have fine judgement in deciding when where and how to use his resources effectively.

Hop's proven to be a great recruiter and I think he'll do a great job at UW getting talent there. Happy for him that UW believed in him to give him his chance and good for him for taking it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It's pretty obvious hop wants to screw syracuse.

I think he's trying to do his job. You have to expect he's going to try to close on guys he has been talking to for the last couple years. He also signed 3 local kids from Seattle, not studs, but to get inroads into local programs. I don't think he's spending that much time thinking about it being us, specifically.

 

[Toga]

Hop left for JB IMO. Not hard to figure out why.

Could well be true but does that relate somehow to him being shall we say - low profile during his last year?