Flacusian
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It seems that each passing week has seen an increasing sense of angst on account of not having any commitments for the '17 incoming class. When you take into account the fact that 'Cuse is poised to perhaps have the need for as many as 7 new faces on that team, be it by way of 5th year transfers, and incoming freshmen and not having anyone locked down, it's understandable . Whether there is a substantive reason for apprehension is perhaps difficult to say for sure but a couple things can be said which speak for themselves. The concern and impatience seemed to ratchet up a notch or two after Randolf announced for Arizona. It's also become apparent that many of the top players who we targeted in this class are also in the crosshairs of other programs which have elite status.
There have been some here who are held in high esteem who have intimated that Green will end up Orange and while that seems to be the biggest egg in our basket there have also been some hints of concern since Kentucky has come on as someone who is looking to swipe a kid that has long been considered heading for Cuse. The rancor and meltdown that happened when Tobias Harris shocked everyone by saying "Tennessee" would pale in comparison to the meltdown that would occur should Green end up going elsewhere, much less to Kentucky. The popular meme held out to tamp down concern about the lack of commits has been " Green will be the catalyst that will prompt others to commit that will want to play with him". So that begs the question, " What would happen if we don't land him?", because it would follow that if that were the case we would have a greatly diminished ability to land more of the top rated kids we have also offered.
There are a couple of things that I find a bit perplexing. One is the fact that Syracuse has clearly demonstrated the ability to get kids big time exposure and has been more than a good springboard for those kids with talent and athleticism to be catapulted into the league after showing off their skills at Cuse. We have also managed recently to get to 2 final fours. We have especially excelled in getting Ones and Twos into the league and looking toward 2017 there is going to be beaucoup playing time and exposure available for those kids who end up donning Orange. We also have demonstrated an ability to fill in the blanks when faced with early departures. We have a state of the art training facility and we attract the largest crowds in the Nation. No other team can have their kids step out onto a floor with 34,000 passionate, lunatic fans chanting their names!
So... What GIVES? Is it just that the recruiting game has changed because of the advent of so many one and dones and kids waiting longer to commit? Are they wanting to see how kids currently on the team show out in early season play to have a better idea if they will be someone they need to beat out for playing time? That I highly doubt. Any 5 star kid should not worry about waiting their turn to play. If they are good enough to get into the league they are good enough to start as a freshman. Is it because Syracuse has targeted more highly ranked and highly name recognizable players? I would guess that is a component in it but certainly not all of it. Typically we get one real top notch player and several others who are perhaps a level below and then also some program type kids who will stay for more than 1 or 2 years and add continuity and stability to the program.
OR... is the elephant in the room that JB's retirement looms on the horizon and there has been increasing vagueness as to when he actually will step aside? It would seem that kids that are " one and done" good shouldn't have to worry about the tenure of a coach being any more than say... one year, right?
My guess is that it's likely a bit of all of the above but none of that does anything to sate my desire for having plenty of ammunition on hand for future battles. I just hope that whatever the strategy is that JB and his staff has going at the moment will reel in some of these big fish that we've all been looking at for quite a while now. I hate seeing Arizona emerging as a place that is able to land a number of the top kids when frankly, they haven't done crap in post season... ever. And now Nova... who supposedly was left in the cold with the realignment has an Chip and is a player for all the top ranked kids. I'm still bitter that after we won with Carmelo our recruiting didn't have much of an uptick at all if any. Were it not for the Melo center you have to wonder where we'd be at.
But, we do have the Melo Center and a HOF coach and an outstanding staff and play in front of the biggest crowds in the nation and we have been a threat to win it all several times in the past 6 or 7 years. So some of these 5 star kids could do a heck of a lot worse than declaring for Syracuse University in the next several weeks.
There have been some here who are held in high esteem who have intimated that Green will end up Orange and while that seems to be the biggest egg in our basket there have also been some hints of concern since Kentucky has come on as someone who is looking to swipe a kid that has long been considered heading for Cuse. The rancor and meltdown that happened when Tobias Harris shocked everyone by saying "Tennessee" would pale in comparison to the meltdown that would occur should Green end up going elsewhere, much less to Kentucky. The popular meme held out to tamp down concern about the lack of commits has been " Green will be the catalyst that will prompt others to commit that will want to play with him". So that begs the question, " What would happen if we don't land him?", because it would follow that if that were the case we would have a greatly diminished ability to land more of the top rated kids we have also offered.
There are a couple of things that I find a bit perplexing. One is the fact that Syracuse has clearly demonstrated the ability to get kids big time exposure and has been more than a good springboard for those kids with talent and athleticism to be catapulted into the league after showing off their skills at Cuse. We have also managed recently to get to 2 final fours. We have especially excelled in getting Ones and Twos into the league and looking toward 2017 there is going to be beaucoup playing time and exposure available for those kids who end up donning Orange. We also have demonstrated an ability to fill in the blanks when faced with early departures. We have a state of the art training facility and we attract the largest crowds in the Nation. No other team can have their kids step out onto a floor with 34,000 passionate, lunatic fans chanting their names!
So... What GIVES? Is it just that the recruiting game has changed because of the advent of so many one and dones and kids waiting longer to commit? Are they wanting to see how kids currently on the team show out in early season play to have a better idea if they will be someone they need to beat out for playing time? That I highly doubt. Any 5 star kid should not worry about waiting their turn to play. If they are good enough to get into the league they are good enough to start as a freshman. Is it because Syracuse has targeted more highly ranked and highly name recognizable players? I would guess that is a component in it but certainly not all of it. Typically we get one real top notch player and several others who are perhaps a level below and then also some program type kids who will stay for more than 1 or 2 years and add continuity and stability to the program.
OR... is the elephant in the room that JB's retirement looms on the horizon and there has been increasing vagueness as to when he actually will step aside? It would seem that kids that are " one and done" good shouldn't have to worry about the tenure of a coach being any more than say... one year, right?
My guess is that it's likely a bit of all of the above but none of that does anything to sate my desire for having plenty of ammunition on hand for future battles. I just hope that whatever the strategy is that JB and his staff has going at the moment will reel in some of these big fish that we've all been looking at for quite a while now. I hate seeing Arizona emerging as a place that is able to land a number of the top kids when frankly, they haven't done crap in post season... ever. And now Nova... who supposedly was left in the cold with the realignment has an Chip and is a player for all the top ranked kids. I'm still bitter that after we won with Carmelo our recruiting didn't have much of an uptick at all if any. Were it not for the Melo center you have to wonder where we'd be at.
But, we do have the Melo Center and a HOF coach and an outstanding staff and play in front of the biggest crowds in the nation and we have been a threat to win it all several times in the past 6 or 7 years. So some of these 5 star kids could do a heck of a lot worse than declaring for Syracuse University in the next several weeks.
