Becoming an elite recruits' destination

[GooseMutt]

Yesterday's post asked the question where would you go if you were a 5-star recruit. The follow up to that is what can Syracuse do to become a desirable destination for these elite players.

I don't have all the answers but have suggested that player facilities are falling behind the curve and that those bells and whistles are important to today's pampered diva elites. I have also caught flak for suggesting it's important.

What do we need to do at this point to become a destination for the best players. If we want to talk the talk we need to walk the walk.

 

[Ryand877]

I think style of play has a lot to do with it.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Yesterday's post asked the question where would you go if you were a 5-star recruit. The follow up to that is what can Syracuse do to become a desirable destination for these elite players.

I don't have all the answers but have suggested that player facilities are falling behind the curve and that those bells and whistles are important to today's pampered diva elites. I have also caught flak for suggesting it's important.

What do we need to do at this point to become a destination for the best players. If we want to talk the talk we need to walk the walk.

Facilities are the least of our problems...

 

[GooseMutt]

Facilities are the least of our problems...

Well be more specific

 

[GooseMutt]

Facilities are the least of our problems...

Are you suggesting getting new asst coaches? Don't play zone 24/7? Pray for global warming on the hill?

 

[Cusefan0307]

Are you suggesting getting new asst coaches? Don't play zone 24/7? Pray for global warming on the hill?

Unfortunately we have a 72 year old coach who wants to play zone exclusively and doesn't seem to have a clear strategy on the recruiting trail.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Facilities are the least of our problems...

Facilities upgrades are an opportunity to enhance our attractiveness.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Facilities upgrades are an opportunity to enhance our attractiveness.

It's still the least of our problems. People use this as an excuse. Could we do some upgrades? Yes. I still don't think the upgrades will help as much as the other stuff that needs to be fixed. We aren't falling behind because of facilities. It's the coaching.

Villanova doesn't have great facilities. They are winning more than us recently. The same can be said for Notre Dame. They just signed a top 50 guard right in our recruiting backyard.

 

[EastCoast2]

1. We need a new, young, energetic, personable head coach. Think Buzz Williams. A lot of people here don't want to admit this, but many, many players don't want to play for JB. Look at how Dino is turning around the football program which was pronounced dead 12 years ago. Dino goes into living rooms and connects with HS players and their families. You HAVE to do this in order to get top tier talent.
2. This obviously gets rid of 95%+ 2-3 zone. Kids are turned away from the 2-3 zone when 9 of the 10 schools recruiting them say how playing zone in college hurts NBA draft stock. 16-17 year olds listen to this stuff, whether it's true or not.
3. Locker rooms in the Dome. My high school had nicer locker room facilities than the SU men's basketball team, and these make my college baseball team's look like the Yankees clubhouse.
4. Player dorms. Look at where and how UK and KU players live. They live better than most of us on the board after working for 20+ years. South Campus is nice for a regular student, but it's old and far from most of campus, where the players work out and hang out. You can't realistically walk from South Campus to the Dome, Marshall Street, or to class. They need personal chefs, mini movie theaters, etc. The school that I went to recently built a $10m+ center for their LACROSSE TEAM. Private gyms, locker rooms, cafeteria, lounges, etc. For the LACROSSE TEAM, mind you.
5. Better non-conference schedule. Yes we play Duke/UNC/UL etc. every year, but it would be nice to say "we're playing Kansas in Los Angeles" or "we're playing Arizona/Kentucky in Dallas". I know we're playing Kansas in Miami and play UConn at MSG, but this needs to more frequent and more consistent. Let's play Villanova in Philly or Kentucky in Atlanta.
6. Student section support. I remember during the 2009-2010 season, every home game was packed and rocking, giant heads of Wes, Andy, AO, Scoop, Kris, JB, even the equipment manager all over the place. The Dome should be loud, fun, and a crazy experience every. single. game. Not twice a year. We should get 20,000+ for Colgate and Cornell in November.

This list would be a start.

We still have elite players call us their "dream school" and say "I grew up loving SU and wanting to play there". We need to capitalize on this. Look at all of the struggling schools in the Northeast. BC, UConn, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Gtown, etc. We should be blowing these teams away and putting them into the ground, having our pick of NE recruits.

 

[Ward]

These threads are fun and give good discussion. Great idea and thanks for starting it up.

I made the below list and where I think we stand on each in no specific order:

• Getting to the NBA - Very strong
• Playing style - Average to below average. Slow pace and the appeal of playing in the zone all the time isn't there like it used to be. We also haven't been nearly as lethal in transition that used to get recruits excited when you'd see Flynn, Dion, MCW, Scoop, etc. out there running and gunning with our forwards filling lanes and dunking. How many CJ transition dunks were replayed all over? Roberson at SU 10 years ago when we're in transition more and he can run all day he probably has tons of great finishes filling lanes. That's exciting and gives good connotations to recruits that Syracuse is fun to play at.

• Facilities - Strong in terms of Melo Center and 35k in the Dome but I don't think they separate us from our peers anymore as much as they keep us in the conversation. 35K at games though is a really cool and rare thing but I don't know how much of an impact it makes if the team isn't good enough to make the games nationally relevant.

• Conference prestige - Very strong
• Exposure - Strong

• Winning - Good but quickly eroding to average/below average depending on caliber of recruit
• Coach prestige - Strong because he's a Hall of Famer.

• Appeal to play for head coach - Below average. He's old, viewed on the recruiting scene as stuck in his ways and not the most "warm" guy out there. Hop no longer offsetting that will be felt. Larranaga is older and so is Roy and Beilein but there are social media videos of those guys dancing in the locker room after wins, playing with squirt guns in the locker room and that makes kids think those guys are old but they're cool old guys that are fun to play for. It's not JB's personality to do that which is fine but little things like that help with image on impressionable high school kids.

• "Image" or "Cool" school to go - Average and trending down. I think it used to be we were a really "cool" name to drop and school to go to when we had those play making guards out in transition, had the Big East affiliation that gives the tough NE vibes and had the gaudy W/L records each year. Lately we're mediocre in the ACC, with an old coach who everyone is negatively recruiting against and teams always slowing it down against our zones so our games can be boring to watch.

 

[Jeremy L.]

1. We need a new, young, energetic, personable head coach. Think Buzz Williams. A lot of people here don't want to admit this, but many, many players don't want to play for JB.
2. This obviously gets right of 95%+ 2-3 zone. Kids are turned away from the 2-3 zone when 9 of the 10 schools recruiting them say how playing zone in college hurts NBA draft stock. 16-17 year olds listen to this stuff, whether it's true or not.
3. Locker rooms in the Dome. My high school had nicer locker room facilities than the SU men's basketball team, and these make my college baseball team's look like the Yankees clubhouse.
4. Player dorms. Look at where and how UK and KU players live. They live better than most of us on the board after working for 20+ years. South Campus is nice for a regular student, but it's old and far from most of campus, where the players work out and hang out. You can't realistically walk from South Campus to the Dome, Marshall Street, or to class. They need personal chefs, mini movie theaters, etc. The school that I went to recently built a $10m+ center for their LACROSSE TEAM. Private gyms, locker rooms, cafeteria, lounges, etc. For the LACROSSE TEAM, mind you.
5. Better non-conference schedule. Yes we play Duke/UNC/UL etc. every year, but it would be nice to say "we're playing Kansas in Los Angeles" or "we're playing Arizona/Kentucky in Dallas". I know we're playing Kansas in Miami and play UConn at MSG, but this needs to more frequent and more consistent. Let's play Villanova in Philly or Kentucky in Atlanta.
6. Student section support. I remember during the 2009-2010 season, every home game was packed and rocking, giant heads of Wes, Andy, AO, Scoop, Kris, JB, even the equipment manager all over the place. The Dome should be loud, fun, and a crazy experience every. single. game. Not twice a year. We should get 20,000+ for Colgate and Cornell in November.

This list would be a start.

We still have elite players call us their "dream school" and say "I grew up loving SU and wanting to play there". We need to capitalize on this. Look at all of the struggling schools in the Northeast. BC, UConn, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Gtown, etc. We should be blowing these teams away and putting them into the ground, having our pick of NE recruits.

Spot on

 

[JazzNC]

In no particular order:

1. A Basketball Dormitory similar to what they offer at Kentucky (basketball court, theater, everything designed to accommodate the height of the players, with the decor in a Syracuse theme (SU murals with NBA players, lists of championships - regular season titles, big east tournament titles, ACC accolades, Final Four appearances, and our championship). Make it cushy. Market our brand.

2. Extend our recruiting territory outside of the NE. Be more aggressive in our pursuits, and try to get a commitment EARLY from at least one priority player to develop momentum.

3. Do the research to prove that SU players do as well or better in the NBA as those from Kentucky or Duke, based on ranking out of high school. We have many 3-4 star players drafted. That speaks to our player development. The players at Duke and Kentucky are 5 stars and are expected to make the NBA. I believe it's possible to prove we are better.

4. Abandon the all-zone defense. For right or for wrong it's not appealing to the elite players who view it as a hindrance to the NBA path.

5. Complete the renovations to the Carrier Dome, and put the student section courtside like it is at Duke. Imagine the advantage that would be. The Loud House on steroids!

5. Get our swag back. Hire a better recruiter, who will market hard and with confidence.

These are attainable. Go Orange!

 

[GooseMutt]

Unfortunately we have a 72 year old coach who wants to play zone exclusively and doesn't seem to have a clear strategy on the recruiting trail.

Now that's specific

 

[Zepharus]

1. We need a new, young, energetic, personable head coach. Think Buzz Williams. A lot of people here don't want to admit this, but many, many players don't want to play for JB. Look at how Dino is turning around the football program which was pronounced dead 12 years ago. Dino goes into living rooms and connects with HS players and their families. You HAVE to do this in order to get top tier talent.
2. This obviously gets rid of 95%+ 2-3 zone. Kids are turned away from the 2-3 zone when 9 of the 10 schools recruiting them say how playing zone in college hurts NBA draft stock. 16-17 year olds listen to this stuff, whether it's true or not.
3. Locker rooms in the Dome. My high school had nicer locker room facilities than the SU men's basketball team, and these make my college baseball team's look like the Yankees clubhouse.
4. Player dorms. Look at where and how UK and KU players live. They live better than most of us on the board after working for 20+ years. South Campus is nice for a regular student, but it's old and far from most of campus, where the players work out and hang out. You can't realistically walk from South Campus to the Dome, Marshall Street, or to class. They need personal chefs, mini movie theaters, etc. The school that I went to recently built a $10m+ center for their LACROSSE TEAM. Private gyms, locker rooms, cafeteria, lounges, etc. For the LACROSSE TEAM, mind you.
5. Better non-conference schedule. Yes we play Duke/UNC/UL etc. every year, but it would be nice to say "we're playing Kansas in Los Angeles" or "we're playing Arizona/Kentucky in Dallas". I know we're playing Kansas in Miami and play UConn at MSG, but this needs to more frequent and more consistent. Let's play Villanova in Philly or Kentucky in Atlanta.
6. Student section support. I remember during the 2009-2010 season, every home game was packed and rocking, giant heads of Wes, Andy, AO, Scoop, Kris, JB, even the equipment manager all over the place. The Dome should be loud, fun, and a crazy experience every. single. game. Not twice a year. We should get 20,000+ for Colgate and Cornell in November.

This list would be a start.

We still have elite players call us their "dream school" and say "I grew up loving SU and wanting to play there". We need to capitalize on this. Look at all of the struggling schools in the Northeast. BC, UConn, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Gtown, etc. We should be blowing these teams away and putting them into the ground, having our pick of NE recruits.

If ANYONE dos not agree with this post, I don't think they get it. This is SPOT ON. If this list were executed we would see a strong resurgence here. I firmly believe that. Give Top talent a reason to NOT got to UK,DU,KU or AZ

 

[CuseTG2003]

If ANYONE dos not agree with this post, I don't think they get it. This is SPOT ON. If this list were executed we would see a strong resurgence here. I firmly believe that. Give Top talent a reason to NOT got to UK,DU,KU or AZ

Agree 100%. Well done EastCoast.

 

[KevMonstah]

SU is boring. When is the last time they had a fun team to watch? Their offense is boring, they don't
fast break anymore - because they don't rebound - and on defense it's "hey, let's watch the other team
pass it around, pass some more, and then shoot a bad shot", to which they then surrender an offensive
rebound. I mean, you watch that SU highlight dunk video on youtube, and that's fun to watch, cuz those
teams were cool. If you tried to make that same video of the last few years of SU games, you get what?
Some Jerami Grant dunks, a couple CJ Fair ones, you get Gillon's NCSU game and shot against Duke,
Battle's shot against Clemson, and then ...?

Fix that, then you get more interest.

Kev

 

[50YRsofCuse]

Spot on[/QUOTE

1. We need a new, young, energetic, personable head coach. Think Buzz Williams. A lot of people here don't want to admit this, but many, many players don't want to play for JB. Look at how Dino is turning around the football program which was pronounced dead 12 years ago. Dino goes into living rooms and connects with HS players and their families. You HAVE to do this in order to get top tier talent.
2. This obviously gets rid of 95%+ 2-3 zone. Kids are turned away from the 2-3 zone when 9 of the 10 schools recruiting them say how playing zone in college hurts NBA draft stock. 16-17 year olds listen to this stuff, whether it's true or not.
3. Locker rooms in the Dome. My high school had nicer locker room facilities than the SU men's basketball team, and these make my college baseball team's look like the Yankees clubhouse.
4. Player dorms. Look at where and how UK and KU players live. They live better than most of us on the board after working for 20+ years. South Campus is nice for a regular student, but it's old and far from most of campus, where the players work out and hang out. You can't realistically walk from South Campus to the Dome, Marshall Street, or to class. They need personal chefs, mini movie theaters, etc. The school that I went to recently built a $10m+ center for their LACROSSE TEAM. Private gyms, locker rooms, cafeteria, lounges, etc. For the LACROSSE TEAM, mind you.
5. Better non-conference schedule. Yes we play Duke/UNC/UL etc. every year, but it would be nice to say "we're playing Kansas in Los Angeles" or "we're playing Arizona/Kentucky in Dallas". I know we're playing Kansas in Miami and play UConn at MSG, but this needs to more frequent and more consistent. Let's play Villanova in Philly or Kentucky in Atlanta.
6. Student section support. I remember during the 2009-2010 season, every home game was packed and rocking, giant heads of Wes, Andy, AO, Scoop, Kris, JB, even the equipment manager all over the place. The Dome should be loud, fun, and a crazy experience every. single. game. Not twice a year. We should get 20,000+ for Colgate and Cornell in November.

This list would be a start.

We still have elite players call us their "dream school" and say "I grew up loving SU and wanting to play there". We need to capitalize on this. Look at all of the struggling schools in the Northeast. BC, UConn, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Gtown, etc. We should be blowing these teams away and putting them into the ground, having our pick of NE recruits.

Guess that a strong academic environment and top schools in various disciplines are no longer means to attract student atheletes to a school. Okay, there is a serious problem with college sports now days and maybe we should separate student atheletes into another category; that is paired pre -professional atheletes and get down to putting out the best team that money can buy. I am being sarcastic, it is starting to ring true.

 

[721Comstock]

So - fire JB, hire Buzz? mmmMMMMmmm ok.

 

[Jasoncuse]

In no particular order:

1. A Basketball Dormitory similar to what they offer at Kentucky (basketball court, theater, everything designed to accommodate the height of the players, with the decor in a Syracuse theme (SU murals with NBA players, lists of championships - regular season titles, big east tournament titles, ACC accolades, Final Four appearances, and our championship). Make it cushy. Market our brand.

2. Extend our recruiting territory outside of the NE. Be more aggressive in our pursuits, and try to get a commitment EARLY from at least one priority player to develop momentum.

3. Do the research to prove that SU players do as well or better in the NBA as those from Kentucky or Duke, based on ranking out of high school. We have many 3-4 star players drafted. That speaks to our player development. The players at Duke and Kentucky are 5 stars and are expected to make the NBA. I believe it's possible to prove we are better.

4. Abandon the all-zone defense. For right or for wrong it's not appealing to the elite players who view it as a hindrance to the NBA path.

5. Complete the renovations to the Carrier Dome, and put the student section courtside like it is at Duke. Imagine the advantage that would be. The Loud House on steroids!

5. Get our swag back. Hire a better recruiter, who will market hard and with confidence.

These are attainable. Go Orange!

They're what we should hope for eventually, but some of those are not attainable with JB. 2, 4 and 6 do not seem to be changing any time soon...

 

[EastCoast2]

So - fire JB, hire Buzz? mmmMMMMmmm ok.

Recruiting is worse and while I hope I'm wrong, I don't see it getting back to 2011 form anytime soon unless some changes are made. Our top targets for 2018 are already crossing us off their lists. Not everyone believe JB will be here another 5-6 years. It would be a great great move to announce JB's official retirement after 2018 or 2019 and start a search for the next HC. Let the country know we're looking for a HC and start taking applications.

 

[EastCoast2]

Guess that a strong academic environment and top schools in various disciplines are no longer means to attract student atheletes to a school. Okay, there is a serious problem with college sports now days and maybe we should separate student atheletes into another category; that is paired pre -professional atheletes and get down to putting out the best team that money can buy. I am being sarcastic, it is starting to ring true.

Most recruits don't care too much about academics. College is college and a degree is a degree in the minds of many. Are you saying any school not on par with Syracuse academically is inferior? So the tens of thousands of regular students who go to Kentucky, Kansas, or Arizona should be "aiming higher"?

 

[GooseMutt]

So - fire JB, hire Buzz? mmmMMMMmmm ok.

Is there a Buzzzzzz

Most recruits don't care too much about academics. College is college and a degree is a degree in the minds of many. Are you saying any school not on par with Syracuse academically is inferior? So the tens of thousands of regular students who go to Kentucky, Kansas, or Arizona should be "aiming higher"?

In your opinion, what elite schools are above us academically and which below

 

[GooseMutt]

Is there a Buzzzzzz

In your opinion, what elite schools are above us academically and which below

Question to all as well

 

[EastCoast2]

Is there a Buzzzzzz

In your opinion, what elite schools are above us academically and which below

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. Most recruits don't care where Syracuse ranks on the US News Report against Louisville. Sure you get the Mo Bambas that take that into strong consideration, but this is the exception to the rule. We can sit on a high horse and claim SU is a great institution of higher education, but that means very little as soon as a recruit walks through the basketball dorms at Kansas.

 

[GooseMutt]

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. Most recruits don't care where Syracuse ranks on the US News Report against Louisville. Sure you get the Mo Bambas that take that into strong consideration, but this is the exception to the rule. We can sit on a high horse and claim SU is a great institution of higher education, but that means very little as soon as a recruit walks through the basketball dorms at Kansas.

Looks like Shaka " Smart"