Brent Axe defending Mike Hopkins

[HoustonCuse]

On Jay Wright - I think people believe we could lure him because of the P5 conference thing. But as others have pointed out, he would have to take a pay cut to come here, which that alone would prevent it. But even the P5 thing is a fallacy. The guy got a #1 seed without being in a P5 conference.

Pitino? I'd love that, but again, absolutely no reason whatsoever why he would leave Louisville to come to Syracuse. Zero.

Donovan has said he wants to coach at Syracuse (or even a place like Syracuse)? I need to see a reference on that one.

 

[MGP]

This program has been built on staying power and family. Next coach HAS to be among the family and bleed Orange. Hop deserves the job, only logical choice, we win or lose with him and I'm OK (my $$ is on the former). LGO

 

[HOFCeluck]

This program has been built on staying power and family. Next coach HAS to be among the family and bleed Orange. Hop deserves the job, only logical choice, we win or lose with him and I'm OK (my $$ is on the former). LGO

With all due respect that's how you get winning hires like Matt Doherty.

 

[PhatOrange]

Nobody is going to have to take a pay cut to coach here. Syracuse wont go cheap on basketball, this isn't football where you throw millions into a money losing program. This is an elite blue blood top 10 basketball school. the admins on the hill know, their brand and their worth. The best facilities, attendance, conference, revenue, profits etc etc. It's something you invest in.

This is why Syracuse will attract a long list of applicants and why some of the nations top coaches will be more than interested in coaching here. Wright, Donovan, Smart, they will all listen and no Syracuse isn't going to have to pay them Saban Harbaugh money. They'll pay fair market value for the coach they hire.

Most profitable basketball program according to Forbes
1. Louisville
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. Arizona
5. North Carolina
#6. Syracuse Orange
Team value: $26.8 million
One-year change: 28%
Revenue: $30 million
Profit: $16 million
Conference: ACC

 

[MGP]

With all due respect that's how you get winning hires like Matt Doherty.

True. I agree, but in this case I believe you stay loyal and go with the odds. Just don't see it in our program's mentality to slight loyalty. Hope the new AD gets that...plus Doherty was a tool

 

[JoeSU]

242-97 - Jay Wright last 10 years

263-92 - JB last 10 years

Jay Wright can win games.

What do you think would motivate Wright to leave Nova? He is already one of the highest paid private school coaches in the country ($2.5M vs JB's 1.8M). Maybe the possibility of coaching in the ACC, but the Big East isn't exactly the Horizon League in terms of prestige.

Don't get me wrong - I really like Jay Wright - he seems like a classy guy who obviously knows how to win and run an upper-echelon program. He would be near the top of my wish list if Hop wasn't in the picture. I just don't see him realistically leaving his gig at Nova.

 

[HOFCeluck]

We shouldn't use JB's salary as the template for what we'd pay a new coach.

 

[SU94]

In lieu of his excellence as an assistant, pedigree and loyalty to his alma mater, Mike Hopkins deserve the job. Most here agree with this.

But hiring Hopkins would also keep Coach Boeheim engaged in not only the program, but the university as a whole. If we hire Jay Wright or Shaka Smart or Gregg Popovich, I am just not sure we see Boeheim around for more than 1-2 games per winter. I want him at every game. I want tho remind those outside (recruits, HS coaches, prospective students, general public) our Orange universe that Syracuse basketball is a longstanding tradition and part of the fabric of CNY. Examples of this would be John Wooden, Dean Smith, Louis Carneseca after their retirements. While Boeheim's presence is not imperative, I certainly think we are far better off with it.

 

[orange79]

With all due respect that's how you get winning hires like Matt Doherty.

It's also how you get winning hires like Jim Boeheim.

Who knows? It's all a crap shoot. Sometimes you get Gary Williams, sometimes you get Craig Esherick.

 

[NYCorange]

This is hard. The honorable man in me thinks that Hop deserves a shot. I also think that in all likelihood, he probably going to be a very good coach and possibly a great one. However, the ruthless fan in me knows that there are some coaches who we already KNOW are great or even hall of fame level and we might well be able to bring one to the program. In order to lose Hopkins, I'd have to get a coach at THAT level, and even then I'd feel torn. Here's the level of guys I'd be willing to consider and that we might have a shot at and we'd probably have to shell out BIG time bucks:

DEFINITELY:
Pitino
Donovan
Brad Stevens (who knows what happens in 3 years)
Tony Bennett

MAYBE:
Shaka Smart,
Mark Few
Gregg Marshall

And that's about it

 

[jordoo]

Gregg Marshall

And that's about it

Heck no

 

[NYCorange]

Yeah, I'd not be too excited about Marshall, but I'd rather have him than Jay Wright...

 

[HOFCeluck]

It's also how you get winning hires like Jim Boeheim.

Who knows? It's all a crap shoot. Sometimes you get Gary Williams, sometimes you get Craig Esherick.

But it's not 1977. We're not losing coaches to Tulane and fighting U of R for new ones.

I'm not saying we should blow off Hop because that's clearly a dick move. But I'd be interested in knowing what kind of candidates the position draws.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Billy Donovan is not coming to Syacuse. Cmon.

 

[Frozen]

Billy Donovan is not coming to Syacuse. Cmon.

Correct. Ditto Pitino.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I know Pitino got his roots here, but why would you hire a 66 year old coach to replace a 73 year old coach? That's not good long term planning.


Jamie Dixon never was the head man before he got the job at Pitt, and his winning percentage is greater than his predecessor. 73 vs 69.

 

[NYCorange]

Billy Donovan is not coming to Syacuse. Cmon.

Idk, you very well may be right, but let's think about Donovan's situation. He's at a football school where fans don't care about his team until mid-january and even then only sort of care, in a conference where he has to play UK twice, but then has pretty much NO other opportunities to get quality wins. I don't think it's likely, but I wouldn't completely rule it out. I think he's more likely to come than Pitino, to be honest.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Idk, you very well may be right, but let's think about Donovan's situation. He's at a football school where fans don't care about his team until mid-january and even then only sort of care, in a conference where he has to play UK twice, but then has pretty much NO other opportunities to get quality wins. I don't think it's likely, but I wouldn't completely rule it out. I think he's more likely to come than Pitino, to be honest.

He could have had the UK job if he wanted it.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Idk, you very well may be right, but let's think about Donovan's situation. He's at a football school where fans don't care about his team until mid-january and even then only sort of care, in a conference where he has to play UK twice, but then has pretty much NO other opportunities to get quality wins. I don't think it's likely, but I wouldn't completely rule it out. I think he's more likely to come than Pitino, to be honest.

If donovan goes anywhere he's going to the NBA...

 

[HOFCeluck]

If donovan goes anywhere he's going to the NBA...

He was literally Orlando's coach for like three hours.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Nobody is going to have to take a pay cut to coach here. Syracuse wont go cheap on basketball, this isn't football where you throw millions into a money losing program. This is an elite blue blood top 10 basketball school. the admins on the hill know, their brand and their worth. The best facilities, attendance, conference, revenue, profits etc etc. It's something you invest in.

This is why Syracuse will attract a long list of applicants and why some of the nations top coaches will be more than interested in coaching here. Wright, Donovan, Smart, they will all listen and no Syracuse isn't going to have to pay them Saban Harbaugh money. They'll pay fair market value for the coach they hire.

Most profitable basketball program according to Forbes
1. Louisville
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. Arizona
5. North Carolina
#6. Syracuse Orange
Team value: $26.8 million
One-year change: 28%
Revenue: $30 million
Profit: $16 million
Conference: ACC

Correct me if I'm wrong, but hasn't basketball had to carry football for a good part of the past 10-12 years. I remember when people were hammering JB about his scheduling in the mid Ought's about playing no-name state at home, the defense for it was because the Athletic Department needed revenue to cover other areas we were losing money. I'm not sure of the other areas are losing as much money, but that would partially explain why JB get's paid less compared to his peers. Basketball Revenue has been used to support other sports. Hopefully our expenses go down considerably with Kent cleaning house.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

I have never felt Hopkins had to be the successor, but what JB and severed did here absolutely screwed him over. He's not going to have a shot at the HC position in Syracuse for three years, but no one else will want to hire him either out of fear he could always go back to Syracuse immediately upon jim leaving. They need to tell him "you are it " or "you should move on." Either way they have let him in quiet the predicament.

"Most miseries lie in anticipation." - Balzac

 

[PhatOrange]

What do you think would motivate Wright to leave Nova?

I think anybody who's at the top of their profession (sports or business), can be motivated to leave simply for the new challenge.

 

[two3zone]

What do you think would motivate Wright to leave Nova? He is already one of the highest paid private school coaches in the country ($2.5M vs JB's 1.8M). Maybe the possibility of coaching in the ACC, but the Big East isn't exactly the Horizon League in terms of prestige.

Don't get me wrong - I really like Jay Wright - he seems like a classy guy who obviously knows how to win and run an upper-echelon program. He would be near the top of my wish list if Hop wasn't in the picture. I just don't see him realistically leaving his gig at Nova.

I did say somebody like him, not him necessarily. Proven track record at a basketball school.

 

[HoustonCuse]

This is hard. The honorable man in me thinks that Hop deserves a shot. I also think that in all likelihood, he probably going to be a very good coach and possibly a great one. However, the ruthless fan in me knows that there are some coaches who we already KNOW are great or even hall of fame level and we might well be able to bring one to the program. In order to lose Hopkins, I'd have to get a coach at THAT level, and even then I'd feel torn. Here's the level of guys I'd be willing to consider and that we might have a shot at and we'd probably have to shell out BIG time bucks:

DEFINITELY:
Pitino
Donovan
Brad Stevens (who knows what happens in 3 years)
Tony Bennett

MAYBE:
Shaka Smart,
Mark Few
Gregg Marshall

And that's about it

So you're saying you are a Hopkins guy then. Because this list is pure fantasy. I mean Tony Bennett? That has to be a joke. That would be like John Thompson deciding he;d like to take the Syracuse coaching position in 1988. Not only is he at a school in the same conference, but they are at an all time high. Pitino is a great choice but is too old and no way he leaves Louisville (for about 100 reasons but also including we're an in-conference rival). Donovan, again the mind boggles at why the guy would make such a move. Brad Stevens can suck it. Same Greg Marshall.

Mark Few is the Jim Boeheim of Gonzaga. Imagine Boeheim leaving to go coach UCLA in 2001.

That leaves Shaka Smart as the only remotely viable guy on the list, but he's had opportunities over the last 5 - 6 years and decided to stay at VCU. I do think it is at least possible to get him in for an interview, though.