Coach for 50 years

[Orangezoo]

Ehh, I don’t agree at all. Syracuse is the only show in town. Hell, even the football team had a sell out this year and (as people talk about ad nauseam) they’ve only had 2 winning seasons in 7 and haven’t been nationally relevant in 20 years yet people come back when they’re winning. When/If the wins start rolling back in, and the ACC improves, the fans will be back in their stoss-up.

You are missing a key point still. We have to have the steps to get to that kind of winning. One football sellout is great - that is one game.

It gets harder to win and now clearly more expensive the more your brand is struggling. We aren't swimming in booster money like some schools. You need winning and branding to foster more winning. Losing and mediocrity plays a role in that just like brand. Timing is also critical. We are now likely the last program to move on from their older HOF coach and continuously behind our peers. It's not as though someone flips a switch and every transfer comes to SU along with a top 10 class ( by talent not volume). Every year we are mediocre or bad, it gets harder.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I will forever be convinced the team is one 6'8", athletic, '5-tool' (can dribble, shoot, jump over dudes, etc.) SF away from winning bunches of games. That's why I always have hope. One NBA caliber SF changes everything. Not a 6'6" SG who can't dribble that great so he plays SF. Not a big athletic Forward who has no jumper. Not a big Forward with a jumper but no athleticism.

Nowadays, teams rise and fall yearly. There aren't any "oh they're really good this year, they'll be good 4 years from now" teams anymore.

Jim thought Benny was that guy. That’s the issue in a nutshell.

 

[Brooky03]

Jim thought Benny was that guy. That’s the issue in a nutshell.

fair

 

[Brooky03]

Ehh, I don’t agree at all. Syracuse is the only show in town. Hell, even the football team had a sell out this year and (as people talk about ad nauseam) they’ve only had 2 winning seasons in 7 and haven’t been nationally relevant in 20 years yet people come back when they’re winning. When/If the wins start rolling back in, and the ACC improves, the fans will be back in their seats packing the dome.

Oh and it 100% is a good thing, if we were nova and had the sixers down the road, we would be fighting them for fans money, we don’t have to in Syracuse.

Exactly.

Where do people think the fans from 9 years ago went? Florida? Did they all die?

Fans watch winners. If you like sports and live in Syracuse, you're not going to skip out on catching at least a few games played by the local team if that team is good. Live entertainment will always beat out streaming the latest Netflix episode. And, like you said, there is practically zero live entertainment competition with Syracuse basketball. Even if the War Memorial sells out for a hockey game on the same night Cuse plays, that's like 37 people.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Exactly.

Where do people think the fans from 9 years ago went? Florida? Did they all die?

Why aren’t all nba arenas in cold weather climates selling out then?

 

[althea]

I will forever be convinced the team is one 6'8", athletic, '5-tool' (can dribble, shoot, jump over dudes, etc.) SF away from winning bunches of games. That's why I always have hope. One NBA caliber SF changes everything. Not a 6'6" SG who can't dribble that great so he plays SF. Not a big athletic Forward who has no jumper. Not a big Forward with a jumper but no athleticism.

Nowadays, teams rise and fall yearly. There aren't any "oh they're really good this year, they'll be good 4 years from now" teams anymore.

I agree with this and, as someone has pointed out, JB thought Benny would be this player you describe. The problem I have is that there is so much acrimony directed towards JB for merely being wrong about Benny's development. I realize he's paid a lot to make those decisions, but he's merely a human. I haven't gone back to look, but I suspect there is no one that posts on this forum that suggested Benny would not develop as quickly as we hoped. We've been blessed with really good wings over the years, and we all thought Benny was the next in line. It's too bad that Benny isn't one of them (yet). It would make a huge difference.

 

[Cuse181]

You are missing a key point still. We have to have the steps to get to that kind of winning. One football sellout is great - that is one game.

It gets harder to win and now clearly more expensive the more your brand is struggling. We aren't swimming in booster money like some schools. You need winning and branding to foster more winning. Losing and mediocrity plays a role in that just like brand. Timing is also critical. We are now likely the last program to move on from their older HOF coach and continuously behind our peers. It's not as though someone flips a switch and every transfer comes to SU along with a top 10 class ( by talent not volume). Every year we are mediocre or bad, it gets harder.

The football sell out was one game because the team went on to lose multiple games lol, had Syracuse finished the job against Clemson, you would’ve had another sell out the next week because people pay to see winners, it becomes an event.

I’m terms of “we aren’t swimming in booster money” and the role in winning:

Is UConn swimming in booster money? They had 3 straight years of losing records in the last decade.

How about Iowa State? They had a 2 win season in 2020 and a 12 win season the year before that and a 13 win season 2 years prior to that yet here they are ranked AFTER losing their best player. They are most certainly not swimming in booster funds.

Xavier? How about them?

You don’t think that if Syracuse won 22 games next year followed by a 25 win season that saw them ranked in the top 15 they wouldn’t be selling 25K+ every ACC game? Of course they would be. And the exact same thing would happen 10 years from now.

Beyond that, college basketball isn’t like wining in football, you don’t have the top teams that can hold 3 5 stars deep at every position because you only have 13 scholarships, there is actually far better distribution of talent in college basketball then college football, evidenced by the fact that you have a top 25 poll that has both UNC and Michigan state unranked but Kansas State, college of Charleston and Iowa State in the top 20. When was the last time Ohio state and Alabama were both unranked in football? It just doesn’t happen.

 

[bozophobe]

One thing that keeps my head on straight is the recognition that 90% of programs would sign up for the slide that Syracuse has had these last 7-8 years. This is our basement floor, presumably, and we're still consistently better than approximately 300 teams year in and year out.

It'd be like showing up to a track meet with a dozen other opponents, getting shot in the kneecap and still limping away with a bronze medal.

It's all relative. Some fans are watching the worst Syracuse basketball teams they've ever seen and we still tend to finish around the middle of - until very recently - the best conference in the sport.

Disagree on that point about most teams envying Syracuse; a point that is made here often. It might be based on confusing results with goals and ambitions, as well as the now-outdated notion that S.U. is intrinsically better than the vast majority of teams. We're solidly middle of the road now.

Enthusiastic or optimistic (or demanding) fans are everywhere. Many people here want more than mediocrity, but so do others everywhere. Colgate wants to win. A lot. And they have been...

 

[DilemaCuse]

I don’t follow the transfer portal THAT closely. I’d be surprised if we couldn’t land a top 5-10 SG from the portal if Joe leaves.

We tend to be very limited in the portal on who gets offered. Often, not always, it's someone that has a prior offer.

 

[Brooky03]

Why aren’t all nba arenas in cold weather climates selling out then?

Because the NBA puts out a lackluster product and just sucks in general.

 

[MSOrange]

Because the NBA puts out a lackluster product and just sucks in general.

I think that belongs in the H0T Takes thread.

 

[Cuse181]

Why aren’t all nba arenas in cold weather climates selling out then?

Not every NBA team is a winner, not every NBA team is the lead product in their city (consumers have limited entertainment budgets), NBA home seasons are 41 games long, with many games during the week, that’s a big time commitment.

 

[Orangezoo]

The football sell out was one game because the team went on to lose multiple games lol, had Syracuse finished the job against Clemson, you would’ve had another sell out the next week because people pay to see winners, it becomes an event.

I’m terms of “we aren’t swimming in booster money” and the role in winning:

Is UConn swimming in booster money? They had 3 straight years of losing records in the last decade.

How about Iowa State? They had a 2 win season in 2020 and a 12 win season the year before that and a 13 win season 2 years prior to that yet here they are ranked AFTER losing their best player. They are most certainly not swimming in booster funds.

Xavier? How about them?

You don’t think that if Syracuse won 22 games next year followed by a 25 win season that saw them ranked in the top 15 they wouldn’t be selling 25K+ every ACC game? Of course they would be. And the exact same thing would happen 10 years from now.

Beyond that, college basketball isn’t like wining in football, you don’t have the top teams that can hold 3 5 stars deep at every position because you only have 13 scholarships, there is actually far better distribution of talent in college basketball then college football, evidenced by the fact that you have a top 25 poll that has both UNC and Michigan state unranked but Kansas State, college of Charleston and Iowa State in the top 20. When was the last time Ohio state and Alabama were both unranked in football? It just doesn’t happen.

You are getting lost here. My comment was about if we are still here in 2026 with multiple poor seasons stacked up. Now you are changing the timeline.

Also you would be good to look at our actual attendance averages vs spouting off numbers.

UConn made a change and was aggressive about it.. they also won their 4th national title right before that. 4 titles... that matters a little bit. They have aggressively pursued improvement and not accepted unsatisfactory results. Once again - significant differences.

As for booster money, the point is the longer this drags out the more we need to rally recruits and transfers to the brand. Every year we fail to be relevant hurts. Thus since we aren't swimming in that money we need to be more aggressive like a UConn.

The rest of your post is wildly all over the place and still missing the mark.

 

[Brooky03]

I think that belongs in the H0T Takes thread.

The NBA is a hot turd

 

[Scooch]

Every year we are mediocre or bad, it gets harder.

I'm not so sure. College hoops is such a different animal from most other sports. A charismatic coach and one great recruiting/portal class can turn around a program's fortunes in a hurry. I'm not too worried that JB's exceedingly lengthy cling to power will cause much long-term damage. The short-term damage sucks, of course.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Because the NBA puts out a lackluster product and just sucks in general.

Also not true

 

[Orangezoo]

I'm not so sure. College hoops is such a different animal from most other sports. A charismatic coach and one great recruiting/portal class can turn around a program's fortunes in a hurry. I'm not too worried that JB's exceedingly lengthy cling to power will cause much long-term damage. The short-term damage sucks, of course.

Yeah I previously would have agreed with this and in fact did before seeing this new normal with NIL. As outward NIL recruiting likely gets addressed as everyone catches up to how the rat race works, a program that isn't developing a reputation as a winner both on the court and off it as at a potentially growing disadvantage.

Also I tend to wonder what the Gen Z take is on it given most of them don't know this program as anything but a flash in the pan in terms of success.

 

[Brooky03]

Also not true

No, no. It sucks

 

[Red Holzman]

The NBA is a hot turd

Is there a Hot Turd thread?

 

[Brooky03]

Is there a Hot Turd thread?

Yeah I think it’s over on UConn’s board

 

[CuseFaninVT]

No, no. It sucks

Which parts? The insane athleticism, talent, skill, drive?

 

[Brooky03]

Which parts? The insane athleticism, talent, skill, drive?

The lack of emotion, the worst officiating in all of professional sports across the Earth, the not so compelling storylines, the style of play.

 

[Brooky03]

Oh and the whining. The endless whining

 

[CuseFaninVT]

The lack of emotion, the worst officiating in all of professional sports across the Earth, the not so compelling storylines, the style of play.

The officiating is pretty consistent in my view. You likely just don’t like the way they call it. I’d prefer that to the randomness college games are subject to on a nightly basis.

 

[Brooky03]

The officiating is pretty consistent in my view. You likely just don’t like the way they call it. I’d prefer that to the randomness college games are subject to on a nightly basis.

The sloppiness of college games is what I like. The NBA is very polished and the players are obviously insanely talented.

Professional bowlers are also insanely talented. I don’t watch their events.