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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 5689373, member: 40"] I love Mike Hopkins -- but thought he was a big risk to hire back in the ~2016 timeframe, and an even bigger risk now, seeing how his UW / NBA career has unfolded. Back in 2015 / 2016, right before he left, I expressed concern about the state that our program was in [back then] and why hiring a completely unproven commodity was an unnecessary risk. Then, Boeheim blew up the HCIW arrangement by not leaving, blocking some Hopkins recruits, and Mike left rather than continue to wait [which I think was the right move]. Started out like gangbusters at UW, but then followed a similar trajectory to how his career unfolded there as what we are seeing play out with Red. Namely, did better at the beginning with the roster he inherited, then quickly showed that he had nothing in his tool kit on either side of the ball, with particularly attrocious offense / poor shooting. Is he the same exact head coach as Red? No -- I think Mike is probably "better," but unfortunately their limitations as head coaches are quite similar. Which should come as no surprise, given that they are destitute man's versions of the head coach that they played for / coached under. No idea what things would have been like under MH in 2016 [just for example], if JB had actually stepped down. I do think that his recruiting contacts might have helped him at the beginning. Maybe things play out differently than they did at UW, when he got exposed. Or maybe -- and more likely, IMO -- Hop would have struggled here, as well, because he has limited strategic acumen and a ceiling, based on the peter principle. Maybe he's just an outstanding AC, but not quite up to snuff as a HC. Millions of examples of that, across every sport, at all levels. Personally, I think we dodged a bullet. And it opened my eyes about making "arrangements" instead of just evaluating the field and hiring the best candidate you can. Wish that University representatives and prominent donors would stop trying to artificially manipulate the process to pursue their own self-interests, instead of letting due diligence be the determining factor. [/QUOTE]

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