Come hang Brent Axe / Live Q & A with Wildhack

[Newhouser]

I know he's loved here but Wildhack never wows me during these things. I think he thinks the fans are dumb just like his boss does.

 

[Cuse99&01]

I know the possibility and probability of winning a single game (and entire tourney) is 0% if a team doesn't even make the tourney. So regular season success does matter, even if it indirectly. Over the last 8 seasons (including the COVID shut down year, which they were not going to make the tourney) Cuse has missed out on four tournaments. Based on the logic that tournament success is all that matters, we have had 4 out of the last 8 seasons that were complete failures.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[NineOneSeven]

That headline is incredible!

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I know he's loved here but Wildhack never wows me during these things. I think he thinks the fans are dumb just like his boss does.

I think saying JW is “loved here” is an extreme overstatement. I created a thread last week questioning if he should be fired based on his lack of delivering results in key revenue sports.

 

[PauliePeppas]

I know he's loved here but Wildhack never wows me during these things. I think he thinks the fans are dumb just like his boss does.

Yup….ironic part is he is the real “fanboy” who cant see thru his own nostalgia and face reality of his idol Jim

 

[DilemaCuse]

That headline is incredible!

Yep, gonna turn it around at age 78 and 79 next year, high probability of that.

Ignore the decline over the last 8 years but yeah, that doesnt matter.

 

[Cuse4455]

UConn fans celebrating. And I don't blame them, our Athletic Department is a Joke.

 

[CuseTG2003]

The definition of insanity...

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Yep, gonna turn it around at age 78 and 79 next year, high probability of that.

Ignore the decline over the last 8 years but yeah, that doesnt matter.

Even Julie and his kids won't be able to convince JAB to retire if mentally he's not ready. So, unless SUADJW gets involved, this could get much uglier before it gets pretty. Where does the line in the sand get drawn.

 

[SUOrangeSU]

Lmfao the regular season doesnt matter. Man oh man

 

[DilemaCuse]

That Headline would be fitting after losing at home to Ole Miss in the NIT in 2017 when Hop left and they signed JB to an extension. And I was ok with that but I never thought it would get to this point.

 

[hoopsupstate]

great post. Agreed with everything.

REALLY REALLY hate that he agrees with that mind set. If the tourney is all that matters, why bother following the season? Just wake me up in March, I guess

If it’s everything, what happens if you stop making the tournament? That should have been Axe’s follow up question. He needs to grow a pair.

 

[MSOrange]

I just read the summaries on syracuse.com. I'm much more comfortable with how he framed the football side than the basketball to say the least.

 

[oldpinepoint]

So I’ll preface this by saying that I think JB should retire at the end of this season. Now these interviews are just about useless. He is handling the basketball situation very delicately. Is the post season all they matters?of course it is, however the postseason is a product of the regular season. So it matters too. I’m not sure what some of you were expecting to hear in this Q&A? Especially with Ace reporter Brent Axe throwing up softballs. Do you think he would announced a change? Program is junk? He only had one message he could deliver, support. I can guarantee behind the scenes this is not the discussion that is taking place. 6 games into the season he needs to be very careful on the message he says to the public. Just my opinion.

 

[Bayside44]

Watched the livestream. Brent asked Wildhack if he shares Boeheim's feeling that the only thing that matters is the tournament and he said yes, which was pretty galling IMO.

To be fair, you WANT the leaders of your program to say that the tournament is the only thing that matters because it means they measure success heavily by how they do there. Great. That's what the bluebloods do and what everyone else you claim to want to hang with do. But you can't say that March is the only thing that matters on one hand and make no changes when you miss on 2 of 3 years (soon to be 3 of 4) on the other. It's a total lack of accountability. And the ACC has quietly slipped to the lower rung of the power conferences over the last few years (thanks in part to SU's struggles), so the days of being willing to fall back on a few big ACC wins rather than winning consistently in league play to get you over the hump are over for the time being.

The surprise runs of 2016, '18 and '21 have deluded large swaths of the fanbase into thinking that it's unrealistic to ask the program for more than 18 wins and some good fortune here and there. And now the two most important people in the program seem to be on board with that as well. It's pretty sad.

On a more uplifting note, he did say that he hasn't come to any conclusions on whether the next coach will come from within vs. outside, but that doesn't mean a ton right now.

That's not really what he said - people can listen but he said the sport as it's structured now is focused on March - and didn't really agree that the current structure is good for the sport overall. Said college football is much better.

 

[hoopsupstate]

If the regular season doesn’t mean anything, tickets should be $10. They charge like it means something. When they call me next spring to renew, I’ll tell them the coach and AD says the regular season isn’t important. I want a discount. The next year they’re going to ask me to move my seats because there will be less seats due to installation of individual seats. They better be careful how they address their two coaching situations. I was told they will ask season tickets holders next summer, before a single game is played next fall, if they plan to renew for the following year. They want to know what seats are going to be open to slide people around. Maybe they should ask that question now.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Yep, gonna turn it around at age 78 and 79 next year, high probability of that.

especially with no 2023 recruits and he can't afford to play in the portal.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Short of Wildhack telling JB to announce his retirement immediately effective year end I’m not sure what Wildhack can do to satisfy the masses. The fans are out of patience, but he’s in an unenvious situation. We need to let it play out until the end of the season.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

especially with no 2023 recruits and he can't afford to play in the portal.

And thinking more long-term, if you’re telling anyone who’s willing to listen that you can’t afford to play in the portal, how do you expect to attract the best coaching talent?

 

[ForCuseSake]

So I’ll preface this by saying that I think JB should retire at the end of this season. Now these interviews are just about useless. He is handling the basketball situation very delicately. Is the post season all they matters?of course it is, however the postseason is a product of the regular season. So it matters too. I’m not sure what some of you were expecting to hear in this Q&A? Especially with Ace reporter Brent Axe throwing up softballs. Do you think he would announced a change? Program is junk? He only had one message he could deliver, support. I can guarantee behind the scenes this is not the discussion that is taking place. 6 games into the season he needs to be very careful on the message he says to the public. Just my opinion.

I think it's fitting how much of a company-man pushover Brent Axe has become. He was a classless turd to to Coach P.

Whether one agreed with firing P or not, it's difficult to argue Axe wasn't a relentless dickbag toward him.

Not surprising that Brent lacks the stones to be as aggressive for pushing out another longtime classy coach whose time has run its course.

He's a spineless knob.

(I hope he reads this post in one of his stupid voices)

 

[Cusefan69]

Short of Wildhack telling JB to announce his retirement immediately effective year end I’m not sure what Wildhack can do to satisfy the masses. The fans are out of patience, but he’s in an unenvious situation. We need to let it play out until the end of the season.

I also noted that JW is NOT committed to internal continuation hire only but pulling from outside the program as well. People wanted to hear JB was on borrowed time but as an AD you need to be a bit diplomatic especially when there are Board members who perhaps feel a certain way on things. I would not judge JW to much on what he said about JB today and would wait to see what happens in March.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think it's fitting how much of a company-man pushover Brent Axe has become. He was a classless turd to to Coach P.

Whether one agreed with firing P or not, it's difficult to argue Axe wasn't a relentless dickbag toward him.

Not surprising that Brent lacks the stones to be as aggressive for pushing out another longtime classy coach whose time has run its course.

He's a spineless knob.

(I hope he reads this post in one of his stupid voices)

Has gone after Dino pretty good.

JB gets treated with kid gloves by all the .com people. Chris Carlson used to be somewhat critical, but he’s moved on to covering local news and politics.

The issue is JB is more than a basketball coach locally. He’s an institution involved in business, charity, and intertwined within the fabric of the community. If your association with Syracuse was just being on the hill for a few years it’s difficult to understand.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

I thought Brent asked good questions, all things considered. The spot he (and Waters and Ditota and everyone else covering SU locally) are in is that SU is the only game in town and that above all else, you have to maintain your access or you're in trouble both as a radio host/reporter and for your outlet. I wish they would push coaches a little more when the situation calls for it, but I get it.

I don't know enough about Wildhack's temperament and relationship with the local media, but with JB that means you have to accept and deal with his gruffness and everything that comes with it, much as I'm sure they sometimes wish things were different.

 

[MikeSU02]

That's not really what he said - people can listen but he said the sport as it's structured now is focused on March - and didn't really agree that the current structure is good for the sport overall. Said college football is much better.

What does that mean? The tournament went to 64 in 1985 for the love of god. It's now at 68. Barely any change. You still get in with a win in your conference tourney. Seeds are still based on your body of work through regular season and conf tourney.

How has the focus changed?

It has always mattered if you flamed out in the tourney getting upset every year. It has always mattered if you were a consistent scary underdog. It has always mattered how your regular season went and your subsequent seeding.

Remember when JB hadn't won a chip and people were like "oh, it's ok, he's a great regular season coach"? Of course not. That March focus was always there.

Of course with either bowl games only or then the BCS or now a 4 team playoff, regular season games will have more sway in football.

It's all BS that means nothing. Regular season, conference tournaments and the NCAAT are purposely combined and all have meaning.

When you are a blue blood program or close to blue blood, what matters is Final Fours and titles. You can probably throw S16s in there as well. It's why it's important to count JB's total FFs and the chip when we talk ab out him. It's *ALSO* important that he has 1100+ wins.

I would love to hear JW's take on re-structuring college basketball.