Reply to thread

Message

[QUOTE="RF2044, post: 5696998, member: 40"]
I don't understand why some in our fanbase can't acknowledge that Boeheim lost something off his fastball at the end, when he clearly had.

He can be an iconic, HOF head coach and also not be as good at the end of his career as he was during the first 3/4.  Both things can be true at the same time.

SU is where it is because said icon hung on too long, as the collegiate game changed around him.  SU is where it is because he was in his late 70s, and didn't want to grind on the recruiting trail anymore.  Things got so bad, we had our first losing season in nearly 50 years.  And his winning percentage declined from ~74% over his first 38 years to ~54% his last 8 years -- a precipitous decline that also included a LOSING conference record over that 8 year stretch.  Over those last 8 years, I believe we lost 12 or more games every season.

And then to cap things off, he foisted an unqualified internal hire on the program, at a time when the program needed to go hire a competent, proven head coach to reverse the decline.

I love Boeheim, and will be eternally grateful for all of the fun he brought into my life, as the head coach of the sports team I am passionate about above all others.  But let's not pretend that things were humming along, and then Red just wasn't up to the task.

Because that's what such rationalization is -- pretend.  Boeheim built one of the best programs in college basketball, and then nearly ran it into the ground because he hung on too long as the cracks in the foundation worsened.  Both things can be true.
[/QUOTE]

Verification

What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?