Anyone willing to admit

[Alsacs]

It’s Mike Hopkins leaving.
He was doing a lot.
MCW/Lydon most of our top players recently minus Malachi and Gbinije were recruited by Hopkins.

I met MCW a couple years back and he raved about Hop and loving his time at Syracuse.
JB was the bad cop and MH was the good cop.

We haven’t replaced Mike Hopkins.
Probation hurt one thing we had one less coach on the road.
That hurt a little bit but JB getting to watch City Rocks because of being a parent helped a little that very few acknowledge. It de facto got him to those games and assistants could go to other games.

Losing the scholarships with how JB rotations work didn’t affect us that much.
It cost us Huerter most likely. He may have chosen to go to Maryland anyway but their is a strong inference that can be made he would have come here.

We chose Tyus Battle over him.
MH worked his butt off to flip him from Michigan.

AA/GMac/AG are all solid assistants but they aren’t MH.

If we want to get back to 2010-2014 we need our assistants to up their games.

 

[syrBossHogg]

I think the past few years have pretty much shown that the program has slipped. But I'm encouraged by Kadary and Woody so far. Kadary looks like a player that could've gotten some run with even those teams OP mentioned.

 

[Scooch]

Very true and that's unfortunate. It not only lessens the quality of the game, it lessens the impression these players have on the fanbase and community. Four year players are special in my mind.

I'll be even more blunt... the college game, broadly speaking, kinda stinks. There are some great performances, and the occasional great team, but there's just no way for a sport that sees its top talent in a constant state of turnover to be as consistently high quality as it once was.

It speaks volumes that we went from John Wallace staying 4 years (very good player for 3 years, great player his senior year, would have bolted at a max after 2 seasons in today's game)... to Carmelo Anthony (greatest freshman college player ever, won a title, totally understandable why he left after 1 season)... to Malachi Richardson (good - but inconsistent - first season, has one great game on the national stage, leaves, quick washout in the NBA). You can chart the decline of college hoops by drawing a line from Wallace to Richardson.

 

[OrangeDW]

His ranking doesn't say that at all. But rankings can be wrong.

Last I saw he was at 27. Is that not our best recruit in years?

 

[skurey]

Last I saw he was at 27. Is that not our best recruit in years?

Wow is it really? You can tell I don't follow recruiting much. That's very sad.

 

[721Comstock]

Wow is it really? You can tell I don't follow recruiting much. That's very sad.

He was only fairly recently bumped up, from his prior ranking near 50 or so.
(so it's understandable if you missed it)

Kid is a talent, has guard skills in a 6'8" springy frame.
Prototypical Cuse F.

 

[dasher]

Wow is it really? You can tell I don't follow recruiting much. That's very sad.

Well, bazely but there is a reason for that. In the old days, Duke and kentucy and Kansas would get a 5 star and they would stick around for a while. Meaning the next years 5 stars would go to Syracuse and UConn and places like that because that is where the playing time was. Now, these kids leave after a year. So Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are right back in the pool for 5 star players. We, along with others, have been pushed out of that market. We are faced with a double whammy, we get kids ranked below the top 30 and they still leave after 1 or 2 years. Not good enough to make us great but good enough to leave and leave us wanting.

 

[OrangeDW]

Wow is it really? You can tell I don't follow recruiting much. That's very sad.

Regardless - kid is 6’8, athletic and skilled. So is Newton. Kadary is 6’5 and skilled. Anselem is athletic and can catch.

We’re getting big, athletic kids with offensive ability again.

 

[djcon57]

I'll be even more blunt... the college game, broadly speaking, kinda stinks. There are some great performances, and the occasional great team, but there's just no way for a sport that sees its top talent in a constant state of turnover to be as consistently high quality as it once was.

It speaks volumes that we went from John Wallace staying 4 years (very good player for 3 years, great player his senior year, would have bolted at a max after 2 seasons in today's game)... to Carmelo Anthony (greatest freshman college player ever, won a title, totally understandable why he left after 1 season)... to Malachi Richardson (good - but inconsistent - first season, has one great game on the national stage, leaves, quick washout in the NBA). You can chart the decline of college hoops by drawing a line from Wallace to Richardson.

well if we want to be honest...Wallace prob doesn’t get to Final Four if guys like Joe Smith, Stackhouse, Wallace come back. Garnett didn’t even go to college and goes in the lottery in 95. jason Kidd would have been a sr in 96.

obviously you had guys going early forever. Jordan, etc. but I would prob point to the end of fab 5 as the start of the decline

 

[GooseMutt]

Might be something to the "street brawlers" theory. Had a couple white kids from the burbs playing guard and 3 foreign forwards as our 5 starters. Probably not ideal. Could be hyperbole but seems like we could use someone like Devo or any of the Philly guards that will get in someones face and under their skin.

This

 

[OrangeDW]

well if we want to be honest...Wallace prob doesn’t get to Final Four if guys like Joe Smith, Stackhouse, Wallace come back. Garnett didn’t even go to college and goes in the lottery in 95. jason Kidd would have been a sr in 96.

obviously you had guys going early forever. Jordan, etc. but I would prob point to the end of fab 5 as the start of the decline

Yeah, 95 was kinda the tipping point - the first year where you had a HS guy go, and lots of soph’s. The HSers going early became very common after that for the next decade, and the one and dones became more frequent after that year.

 

[CuseRunner]

People would think better of our recruiting if Bazley and Dior didn't leave us at the alter. That would be two high 5 star generational talents that our program has brought in recently.

 

[OrangeDW]

People would think better of our recruiting if Bazley and Dior didn't leave us at the alter. That would be two high 5 star generational talents that our program has brought in recently.

“This bit has been overused. Writers are using it as a crutch this season. They’ve gotta freshen up the material a little.” - metacritic

 

[djcon57]

People would think better of our recruiting if Bazley and Dior didn't leave us at the alter. That would be two high 5 star generational talents that our program has brought in recently.

the Darius Bazely that’s a pretty good NBA player? That’s a generational talent?

 

[orange79]

People would think better of our recruiting if Bazley and Dior didn't leave us at the alter. That would be two high 5 star generational talents that our program has brought in recently.

“This bit has been overused. Writer’s are using it as a crutch this season. They’ve gotta freshen up the material a little.” - metacritic

Actually, it's a pretty good point. Other than the misspelling and the use of generational once again.

 

[OrangeDW]

Actually, it's a pretty good point. Other than the misspelling and the use of generational once again.

Yeah, I was referring to his overuse of “generational talents”.

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah, I was referring to his overuse of “generational talents”.

You mean there's not a generational talent at RB in the NFL draft every year??

 

[Alsacs]

Yeah, I was referring to his overuse of “generational talents”.

I am going to blame myself because I called Trevor Lawrence a generational talent and now CuseRunner thinks every good talent is called generational talent.

You get maybe one generational player per sport once a decade.

Carmelo Anthony generational talent.
Wes Johnson really good player who was Big East POY not a generational talent.

Generational talents are rare.

Pearl Washington
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

That we aren’t what we use to be. I think back to the days of Dion Triche Rautins Fair Rak etc when we were a legitimate powerhouse that the nation would always tune in to watch us because we were entertaining and unpredictable. Feels like those days are long gone. Apologize for coming off as Debbie downer but it’s how I feel. I have 4 Villanova grads in my nucleus family and I’m suffering.

Sanctions

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I am going to blame myself because I called Trevor Lawrence a generational talent and now CuseRunner thinks every good talent is called generational talent.

You get maybe one generational player per sport once a decade.

Carmelo Anthony generational talent.
Wes Johnson really good player who was Big East POY not a generational talent.

Generational talents are rare.

Pearl Washington
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony.

DC was more talented than all of them ...

 

[Briancuse]

His ranking doesn't say that at all. But rankings can be wrong.

Now it does he just went up 24 spots. He might be a 5 star before all is said and done.

 

[Alsacs]

DC was more talented than all of them ...

Yeah he was the number 1 or 2 recruit depending on JR Reid and dominated.
I forgot him.

 

[orange79]

I am going to blame myself because I called Trevor Lawrence a generational talent and now CuseRunner thinks every good talent is called generational talent.

You get maybe one generational player per sport once a decade.

Carmelo Anthony generational talent.
Wes Johnson really good player who was Big East POY not a generational talent.

Generational talents are rare.

Pearl Washington
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony.

I know you're talking about the JB coaching era, but if you're talking SU basketball, Dave Bing probably belongs on that list. Different generation, though.

 

[cuseincincy]

I'll be even more blunt... the college game, broadly speaking, kinda stinks. There are some great performances, and the occasional great team, but there's just no way for a sport that sees its top talent in a constant state of turnover to be as consistently high quality as it once was.

It speaks volumes that we went from John Wallace staying 4 years (very good player for 3 years, great player his senior year, would have bolted at a max after 2 seasons in today's game)... to Carmelo Anthony (greatest freshman college player ever, won a title, totally understandable why he left after 1 season)... to Malachi Richardson (good - but inconsistent - first season, has one great game on the national stage, leaves, quick washout in the NBA). You can chart the decline of college hoops by drawing a line from Wallace to Richardson.

Just to play a little add on...and maybe be even more blunt...and people can say all they want about the money they made but here is what happened to Syracuse Basketball:

Jerami Grant - Came in expected to be a 4 year player, should have stayed 3, left one year too early as his long NBA development timeline supports.
Tyler Ennis - Expected 4 years, should have stayed 4 years, left 3 years too early. I loved Ennis, but he still does not have one single NBA level skill.
Chris McCullough - Expected 1. Should have stayed 2 at least, his leaving after 1/2 season injured shocked me.
Malachi Richardson - Expected 2 or 3. Should have stayed 2. Can you imagine his FF level play for an entire season?
Tyler Lydon - Expected 4. Should have stayed 3 if not 4. Like Marek he got stuck at the 5 when he expected to play some 3. Developed faster than expected but could have been 1st team AA.
Oshae Brissett - Expected 4. Should have stayed 3. Would have been dominant last year.
Tyus Battle - Expected 2. Probably should have stayed 4 to learn PG. Doesn't really belong but felt relative.
Darius Bazley - Expected 1, should have come for one. Hmmm Bazley and/or Brissett on last years team?!?!?

Again, this is not about the money its about the Syracuse program. And I know other programs have guys that leave. But most of those are guys that were always expected to leave. The only guys above with close to those expectations were McCullough and Bazely. But that group above missed out on possibly 9 All American Seasons in the past 6 years (All conference at least). Memories that none of them have now that most of their NBA careers are over still in their 20's. Imagine adding 1.5 All Americans to each SU teams the last 6 years? And why is it that so many SU players have over achieved once they got to campus? I see Woody as the next in that regard.

 

[djcon57]

Again, this is not about the money its about the Syracuse program. And I know other programs have guys that leave. But most of those are guys that were always expected to leave.

this simply is not true no matter how many times its posted on this board.