Desko

[CuseLegacy]

Trust me, you don't want to see the worst of the worst. Or even the best of the worst.

Yes. Once in awhile it's like it's own circle in Dante's Inferno...or maybe that's where the worst of the worst go.

 

[tbonezone]

you're whining about the posters after we drop out first round ? bigger fish to fry. program needs a reboot.

 

[creatorsgam]

you're whining about the posters after we drop out first round ? bigger fish to fry. program needs a reboot.

Some of these people never come around here.

Yeah... genuinely don’t give a damn about their opinion, right or not. They don’t know lacrosse. They don’t know this team. They don’t know this program.

 

[tbonezone]

i've been here. post and follow every game. i'm troubled about what i'm seeing. downward spiral.

 

[Hoo's That]

They may have, but they have never been a major player in Lacrosse before.

You're 100% right. They only started to put money into the program when they hired Tambroni. Before, it seemed like they had a team just to be able to say they had a team.

 

[longtimefan]

Ped State has had a Div I program for decades.

Some of you drive by cheapshot artists need to get your facts straight.

The Nits program started in 1921. And yes, there have been (a very few) times that their program was superior to SU's. Although you'd have to go back to the 1970's.

 

[orangecuse]

I thought game threads were a place where things were taken less "seriously" in the sense when venting, emotional posts, etc. were less scrutinized. I've been in some of those game threads where even posters considered to be lofted on a pedestal here, post some "heat of the moment" nonsense at times. Saying Dino has to go in year 2 (in a game thread of all things) truly couldn't have been taken honestly, or with any degree of seriousness. I don't recall any separate type threads by posters saying Dino has to go, etc. in year two, as that would be a horse of a different color...night and day from any game thread type posts.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

This thread reminded me why I stopped posting very much

 

[Whitey23]

Cuse is 46-12-1
First game in 1916 (4-1 PSU)
Last game in 1986 (18-8 Cuse)

 

[CuSeLaX]

Understandably we are all prisoners of the moment sometimes and right now this one hurts. I have been a firm believer for awhile now that the problem lies on defense. Replacing Lelan Rogers is what I believe is needed for this team to show improvement. Our offense wasn’t the issue today and it wasn’t most all of the year. Our team defense is terrible. We have great individuals, they are good 1v1 with certain matchups but they don’t support each other well at all. More importantly Rogers is Syracuse’s recruiting coordinator. We need a younger Syracuse grad to take over this defense and help recruit this generation that this older staff is not connecting with

 

[SkyTopBus44]

Idiots or not, "people" wanted him fired.

Game threads are emotional. I think I wanted Dino fired this year when he brought Tommy Devito in against western Michigan

 

[orange79]

Game threads are emotional. I think I wanted Dino fired this year when he brought Tommy Devito in against western Michigan

Game threads may be emotional, but so what. You either said it, or you didn't.

 

[orangehipfan]

Someone who won't mind playing almost the entire 2020 season on the road.

Maybe we shouldn't tell them until after they take the job?

Honest question for the 2020 season - will the "home" games be played locally (ie - CNS or Cornell) or will everything after 3/1 be a true road game? Thanks.

 

[Delmar]

This is not the second, minute, hour, or month when I want to opine about what I think should happen for the program and the coach. I thought Desko did a good job with the team up until the 55th minute of the UNC game. What's most disappointing is that I think we were the better team in every game we played this year except against Notre Dame --a game we had no business winning, but woke us up for a while.
I think we could have gotten to Memorial Day weekend and done very well there. Here we are two weeks away and going home.
Anybody but Penn State, Hopkins, Maryland, Duke, Loyola (what was that time out with 2 seconds left? I'm going to remember that.) and Notre Dame, in that order. I guess I'm pulling for the Yale - Penn winner, but I'd rather be rooting for SU.

 

[dollarbill44]

Understandably we are all prisoners of the moment sometimes and right now this one hurts. I have been a firm believer for awhile now that the problem lies on defense. Replacing Lelan Rogers is what I believe is needed for this team to show improvement. Our offense wasn’t the issue today and it wasn’t most all of the year. Our team defense is terrible. We have great individuals, they are good 1v1 with certain matchups but they don’t support each other well at all. More importantly Rogers is Syracuse’s recruiting coordinator. We need a younger Syracuse grad to take over this defense and help recruit this generation that this older staff is not connecting with

A couple of things: the offense was good for 2.5 quarters, but it was certainly a problem over the last 20+ minutes. I felt the defense played well until the 4th quarter, when the face off issues and offensive issues appeared and took its toll on the defense.
Also, why does the recruiting coordinator need to be an SU grad? Why not get the best available, regardless of where he's from?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Honest question for the 2020 season - will the "home" games be played locally (ie - CNS or Cornell) or will everything after 3/1 be a true road game? Thanks.

Undetermined. I know we'll be playing Albany on the road in April. I can see at least UNC and Notre Dame being played at CNS (hopefully when the sun is out). We're due to get at Hobart at home also.

Hop, Cornell, UVa and Duke would be road games anyways. If we continue our series with Colgate, we're due to play in Hamilton.

Our 2 year deals with Rutgers and Navy are over. Don't yet know who the replacements are.

Also, will the coaches vote to push the ACCT back to the last weekend of the season (freeing up late April for another regular season game).

 

[CuSeLaX]

A couple of things: the offense was good for 2.5 quarters, but it was certainly a problem over the last 20+ minutes. I felt the defense played well until the 4th quarter, when the face off issues and offensive issues appeared and took its toll on the defense.
Also, why does the recruiting coordinator need to be an SU grad? Why not get the best available, regardless of where he's from?

You can’t score when you don’t have the ball. Defense lost that game by letting 7 straight goals go in and they weren’t good at all in the first half, Cuse Dominated possession in the first half. Every time Loyola got the ball they scored they just didn’t have it as much as the second half. Watch Notre Dame play defense. They play as a team and slide appropriately. We left Mellen on an island and gave up 9 points to one player and when someone did slide to Spencer they slide when he could see them coming and they left their own man wide open. I’m open to options I just believe that if an SU grad is available that always makes the most sense.

 

[Newhouse_83]

I do not know if Desko should be let go or no, but you have to admit that the program has been tanking recently. Recruiting has been below par, and play on the field has seemed undisciplined(too many stupid mistakes). Comes down to the age old question coaching or players, but in my mind the head coach is responsible for both.
I think Wildhack has to look seriously at the state of the program, assuming they care one whit.

Honestly, IDK if I'm in the "fire Desko" camp or not. But I do think there are some legitimate issues with the program that need to be addressed, and SOME changes in the coaching staff are warranted. Apologies in advance for the length of this.

Yes, recruiting is a concern, but I think the issue is less about "why don't we get a ton of the best players each year?" and more "what do we do when we get them?" While not every top recruit is going to dominate like he did in high school -- guys get hurt, bodies change, weaknesses are exposed, interest levels decline -- it seems like we consistently have more guys not pan out than other top programs.

Equally worrisome, even the guys who aren't stud recruits fall short of expectations (Seebold, DiPietro, Lauder and Klan are on this path): McKinney was the nation's no. 60 recruit; I think he had four points in four years. Thorpe was no. 53; he struggled to get playing time, got hurt, and left. Ford was top-100; he left because he couldn't play his way into the rotation. Chavez had a decent rep coming it; he didn't stick around. Carlin was decent as a sixth middie, but not much was expected of him. Fusco kind of fizzled as a senior, as LSM became more of a speed position. This isn't new -- remember what a monster scorer Grimm was in high school, or what a big deal Wardwell was supposed to be? -- but it's disconcerting.

Sidebar: We also seem to struggle to keep some good young guys playing and interested. How can Wisnauskas and Maltz not be good enough to play here, but key players when they get to a better (at least recently) program in College Park?

To be fair, Desko has gotten a ton out of guys who were un-recruited (Salcido) or under-recruited (Rice, Mullins, Brooks, Harris). But that's the kind of thing you want to focus on as the coach of a program trying to get back to the top levels (see Babers, Dino) rather than one that has a place there and is letting it slip away.

To the coaching staff: Some will see this as ageist, but I think the fact that the youngest member of our staff is in his early 50s (mid-50s if we focus on paid staff) does not get teenagers to come here, and to connect with them once they arrive ... and I say that as someone who falls between Desko and Roy III in age. Yes, John Danowski is 60-ish, but Matt Danowski and Ned Crotty are anything but; kids in high school have probably seen them play. Bill Tierney has Matt Brown as his no. 2. Pietro has Bobby Benson as his OC. And so on. *Some* of what attracts some kids to come to a school is the change to play for someone they can remember as a stud player. That can't really happen with SU's staff.

Again, I don't intend this as a claim that people my age can't coach effectively, but our staff (with the possible exception of Rogers, who I haven't seen recruit) comes across like a bunch of 60-year-old guys. I recently stumbled over a video of Donahue speaking at some clinic in a monotone "all this is old hat and I really don't want to be here" tone. I can't imagine kids wanting to play for that ... hell, I can't imagine it inspiring their parents. Just to be clear, not every coach can be fiery, and every staff needs a nuts-and-bolts tactician, but I don't see this staff inspiring anyone.

As long as I'm going full-on "diversify the coaching staff," maybe it's not the best idea that all five members came up through the OHSL, and three of those are from the same (storied, but declining) high school program. It wouldn't be the worst idea to go poking around Ward Melville or Garden City or maybe Cold Spring Harbor and hire the coach as a college assistant (and, by the way, immediately improve your ability to recruit in a lacrosse hotbed where you're traditionally lost players to Carolina and Hopkins). SU's idea of doing this is dipping a toe in the water by hiring Ryan Powell to do ... something.

Finally -- apologies for the length -- there's an elephant in the room that I think makes it impossible for SU to return to the dominance of the '80s and '90s: SU is essentially as expensive as an Ivy, but most of its programs aren't as good. A lacrosse recruit who's focused on the education has a number of other options ... hell, in CNY, he could go to Cornell or Colgate or Hamilton and probably get just as much in scholarship money. And as the game has expanded, look at who we're recruiting against, just in the ACC: Duke, UVa and Notre Dame are more selective/have better academic reps (and UNC is comparable to SU) ... AND they have better weather. A CNY kid who doesn't want to (or can't afford to) leave the state can play the game and get a quality education at Albany or Binghamton for a helluva lot less money (a buddy's daughter recently finished at Bingo, which she chose over SU, BC and Ge*rget*wn. She got a car as a graduation present because he saved so much cash). And we can't sell "you'll be closer to home" to kids from the midwest anymore, now that OSU, Marquette and Michigan have decent programs.

Note on underachieving recruiting classes: It was the 2014 freshman class where this is most noticeable. Our class was on par with Maryland's, but they won national titles while we missed championship weekends. Forkin was no. 20 and had seven points as a freshman, but never did anything after the academic struggles or the trip to JUCO. Maltz (no. 18) bailed early; he was a key contributor to a national title in Terp-land. Weston (no. 33) scored about 14 career points in three years and never got above the second midfield. Ferrigan (no. 39) couldn't win the keeper's job; he left for Delaware. McGinley (no. 61) got kicked out of school after he got drunk and punched some people on M Street (and got KTFO in the process). Evans (no. 1) was a solid player, but expectations for him were so high as to be unattainable. Firman (no. 17) was really the only guy in that class who met expectations.

 

[Toga]

Honestly, IDK if I'm in the "fire Desko" camp or not. But I do think there are some legitimate issues with the program that need to be addressed, and SOME changes in the coaching staff are warranted. Apologies in advance for the length of this.

Yes, recruiting is a concern, but I think the issue is less about "why don't we get a ton of the best players each year?" and more "what do we do when we get them?" While not every top recruit is going to dominate like he did in high school -- guys get hurt, bodies change, weaknesses are exposed, interest levels decline -- it seems like we consistently have more guys not pan out than other top programs.

Equally worrisome, even the guys who aren't stud recruits fall short of expectations (Seebold, DiPietro, Lauder and Klan are on this path): McKinney was the nation's no. 60 recruit; I think he had four points in four years. Thorpe was no. 53; he struggled to get playing time, got hurt, and left. Ford was top-100; he left because he couldn't play his way into the rotation. Chavez had a decent rep coming it; he didn't stick around. Carlin was decent as a sixth middie, but not much was expected of him. Fusco kind of fizzled as a senior, as LSM became more of a speed position. This isn't new -- remember what a monster scorer Grimm was in high school, or what a big deal Wardwell was supposed to be? -- but it's disconcerting.

Sidebar: We also seem to struggle to keep some good young guys playing and interested. How can Wisnauskas and Maltz not be good enough to play here, but key players when they get to a better (at least recently) program in College Park?

To be fair, Desko has gotten a ton out of guys who were un-recruited (Salcido) or under-recruited (Rice, Mullins, Brooks, Harris). But that's the kind of thing you want to focus on as the coach of a program trying to get back to the top levels (see Babers, Dino) rather than one that has a place there and is letting it slip away.

To the coaching staff: Some will see this as ageist, but I think the fact that the youngest member of our staff is in his early 50s (mid-50s if we focus on paid staff) does not get teenagers to come here, and to connect with them once they arrive ... and I say that as someone who falls between Desko and Roy III in age. Yes, John Danowski is 60-ish, but Matt Danowski and Ned Crotty are anything but; kids in high school have probably seen them play. Bill Tierney has Matt Brown as his no. 2. Pietro has Bobby Benson as his OC. And so on. *Some* of what attracts some kids to come to a school is the change to play for someone they can remember as a stud player. That can't really happen with SU's staff.

Again, I don't intend this as a claim that people my age can't coach effectively, but our staff (with the possible exception of Rogers, who I haven't seen recruit) comes across like a bunch of 60-year-old guys. I recently stumbled over a video of Donahue speaking at some clinic in a monotone "all this is old hat and I really don't want to be here" tone. I can't imagine kids wanting to play for that ... hell, I can't imagine it inspiring their parents. Just to be clear, not every coach can be fiery, and every staff needs a nuts-and-bolts tactician, but I don't see this staff inspiring anyone.

As long as I'm going full-on "diversify the coaching staff," maybe it's not the best idea that all five members came up through the OHSL, and three of those are from the same (storied, but declining) high school program. It wouldn't be the worst idea to go poking around Ward Melville or Garden City or maybe Cold Spring Harbor and hire the coach as a college assistant (and, by the way, immediately improve your ability to recruit in a lacrosse hotbed where you're traditionally lost players to Carolina and Hopkins). SU's idea of doing this is dipping a toe in the water by hiring Ryan Powell to do ... something.

Finally -- apologies for the length -- there's an elephant in the room that I think makes it impossible for SU to return to the dominance of the '80s and '90s: SU is essentially as expensive as an Ivy, but most of its programs aren't as good. A lacrosse recruit who's focused on the education has a number of other options ... hell, in CNY, he could go to Cornell or Colgate or Hamilton and probably get just as much in scholarship money. And as the game has expanded, look at who we're recruiting against, just in the ACC: Duke, UVa and Notre Dame are more selective/have better academic reps (and UNC is comparable to SU) ... AND they have better weather. A CNY kid who doesn't want to (or can't afford to) leave the state can play the game and get a quality education at Albany or Binghamton for a helluva lot less money (a buddy's daughter recently finished at Bingo, which she chose over SU, BC and Ge*rget*wn. She got a car as a graduation present because he saved so much cash). And we can't sell "you'll be closer to home" to kids from the midwest anymore, now that OSU, Marquette and Michigan have decent programs.

Note on underachieving recruiting classes: It was the 2014 freshman class where this is most noticeable. Our class was on par with Maryland's, but they won national titles while we missed championship weekends. Forkin was no. 20 and had seven points as a freshman, but never did anything after the academic struggles or the trip to JUCO. Maltz (no. 18) bailed early; he was a key contributor to a national title in Terp-land. Weston (no. 33) scored about 14 career points in three years and never got above the second midfield. Ferrigan (no. 39) couldn't win the keeper's job; he left for Delaware. McGinley (no. 61) got kicked out of school after he got drunk and punched some people on M Street (and got KTFO in the process). Evans (no. 1) was a solid player, but expectations for him were so high as to be unattainable. Firman (no. 17) was really the only guy in that class who met expectations.

I need a smoke.

 

[Alsacs]

Lacrosse is a non revenue sport.
We have been competitive these last 5 years. While we haven’t had the tournament success Desko has 5 NCs he deserves more respect.
Next year we have a Dome renovation no way we bring in a HC with that.
Let Desko retool his staff but he has done a solid job.

 

[dollarbill44]

You can’t score when you don’t have the ball. Defense lost that game by letting 7 straight goals go in and they weren’t good at all in the first half, Cuse Dominated possession in the first half. Every time Loyola got the ball they scored they just didn’t have it as much as the second half. Watch Notre Dame play defense. They play as a team and slide appropriately. We left Mellen on an island and gave up 9 points to one player and when someone did slide to Spencer they slide when he could see them coming and they left their own man wide open. I’m open to options I just believe that if an SU grad is available that always makes the most sense.

Losing faceoffs isn't on the defense and we had forced 14 turnovers halfway through the 3rd and had held them to 3 goals from the end of the 1st to halfway in the 3rd. The O turned it over 3 straight possessions and shot high to high on two wide open shots that should have been goals during their run. Throw in the crease violations and that's how you go from up 4 to down 3 in the span of 23 minutes or so when it looked like SU was going to run away with it.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I’ll admit I’m not as big as a lacrosse fan as I am basketball and lacrosse. However I do follow it and watch most games throughout seasons. That being said Syracuse is suppose to be a premier lacrosse program if not THE premier lacrosse program.

We have not won the title in 10 years, we have not been to championship weekend in 5+ years. Yeah that may sound stingy but like I said we are a top 3 program in the country.

That being said I think we need to cut ties with Desko, I think we are falling behind other programs and that’s obvious over the past few years. If we keep this up for another 3-5 years we are going to start losing some prestige and status among the lacrosse ranks. I think it’s time to cut bait before it’s too late and start off fresh and get back to where we are suppose to be because these last 5 years have not been anywhere near Syracuse lacrosse of the past.

Had the World Wide Web existed, and been as widely diffused as it Is today, this lacrosse board in 2019 is likely what a UCLA hoops board would have looked like in 1986.

13 Final Fours in 15 years between 1962 and 1976.
1 Final Four in 1980
0 championships in that 10 year span

The good news is that the UCLA administration of the late 70s and early 80s agrees with the approach of this board. UCLA has had 13 (14 if you include Cronin) coaches in its history. It cycled through 5 of them in the 12 years after Wooden retired.

It then cycled through 4 more over the next 30 years as UCLA finally conceded that the hoops landscape had changed and that an annual final four appearance and a championship every couple years was no longer a UCLA birthright.

In retrospect, were they rational in their approach to their coaches as television began to level the playing field (rise of the Big East anyone?) or were they delusional in their inability to recognize that the playing field was changing, inexorably and irrevocably?

 

[CuseNHouse]

I am not in the fire Desko camp. It could get a lot worse before it gets better ..and it may not get that much better given the new world we live in.

Truthfully, we had a hell of a year with some epic collapses as well, but that can be said across a number of teams like UVA, Duke etc throughout the year.

Having said that, something needs to give and I do think someone like a Powell on the sideline in some capacity would make a difference from both a connectivity as well as coaching perspective. I’m also a fan of the same with Galloway -

Ultimately, Not sure what the right combination is, but some changes on the flanks with a planned full scale transition plan over time makes sense to me vs. a wholesale Change.

 

[cuseguy]

Talk of a ceiling is nonsense. We have plenty of talent. We actually could have won it all this year if the team could have handled it's business when it mattered. Call it coaching, execution, lax IQ, whatever, but it's not because the program gave it their all and they couldn't win (which defines a ceiling).

But the team couldn’t handle its business when it mattered The inability to do that was evident at several points during the season. This team could rally, but it had difficulty closing out some key games. Look, Desko will be back for at least another year — and we’ll be rooting for him, but he’s not getting this program back to another Final 4.

 

[SDCuse114]

Honestly, IDK if I'm in the "fire Desko" camp or not. But I do think there are some legitimate issues with the program that need to be addressed, and SOME changes in the coaching staff are warranted. Apologies in advance for the length of this.

Yes, recruiting is a concern, but I think the issue is less about "why don't we get a ton of the best players each year?" and more "what do we do when we get them?" While not every top recruit is going to dominate like he did in high school -- guys get hurt, bodies change, weaknesses are exposed, interest levels decline -- it seems like we consistently have more guys not pan out than other top programs.

Equally worrisome, even the guys who aren't stud recruits fall short of expectations (Seebold, DiPietro, Lauder and Klan are on this path): McKinney was the nation's no. 60 recruit; I think he had four points in four years. Thorpe was no. 53; he struggled to get playing time, got hurt, and left. Ford was top-100; he left because he couldn't play his way into the rotation. Chavez had a decent rep coming it; he didn't stick around. Carlin was decent as a sixth middie, but not much was expected of him. Fusco kind of fizzled as a senior, as LSM became more of a speed position. This isn't new -- remember what a monster scorer Grimm was in high school, or what a big deal Wardwell was supposed to be? -- but it's disconcerting.

Sidebar: We also seem to struggle to keep some good young guys playing and interested. How can Wisnauskas and Maltz not be good enough to play here, but key players when they get to a better (at least recently) program in College Park?

To be fair, Desko has gotten a ton out of guys who were un-recruited (Salcido) or under-recruited (Rice, Mullins, Brooks, Harris). But that's the kind of thing you want to focus on as the coach of a program trying to get back to the top levels (see Babers, Dino) rather than one that has a place there and is letting it slip away.

To the coaching staff: Some will see this as ageist, but I think the fact that the youngest member of our staff is in his early 50s (mid-50s if we focus on paid staff) does not get teenagers to come here, and to connect with them once they arrive ... and I say that as someone who falls between Desko and Roy III in age. Yes, John Danowski is 60-ish, but Matt Danowski and Ned Crotty are anything but; kids in high school have probably seen them play. Bill Tierney has Matt Brown as his no. 2. Pietro has Bobby Benson as his OC. And so on. *Some* of what attracts some kids to come to a school is the change to play for someone they can remember as a stud player. That can't really happen with SU's staff.

Again, I don't intend this as a claim that people my age can't coach effectively, but our staff (with the possible exception of Rogers, who I haven't seen recruit) comes across like a bunch of 60-year-old guys. I recently stumbled over a video of Donahue speaking at some clinic in a monotone "all this is old hat and I really don't want to be here" tone. I can't imagine kids wanting to play for that ... hell, I can't imagine it inspiring their parents. Just to be clear, not every coach can be fiery, and every staff needs a nuts-and-bolts tactician, but I don't see this staff inspiring anyone.

As long as I'm going full-on "diversify the coaching staff," maybe it's not the best idea that all five members came up through the OHSL, and three of those are from the same (storied, but declining) high school program. It wouldn't be the worst idea to go poking around Ward Melville or Garden City or maybe Cold Spring Harbor and hire the coach as a college assistant (and, by the way, immediately improve your ability to recruit in a lacrosse hotbed where you're traditionally lost players to Carolina and Hopkins). SU's idea of doing this is dipping a toe in the water by hiring Ryan Powell to do ... something.

Finally -- apologies for the length -- there's an elephant in the room that I think makes it impossible for SU to return to the dominance of the '80s and '90s: SU is essentially as expensive as an Ivy, but most of its programs aren't as good. A lacrosse recruit who's focused on the education has a number of other options ... hell, in CNY, he could go to Cornell or Colgate or Hamilton and probably get just as much in scholarship money. And as the game has expanded, look at who we're recruiting against, just in the ACC: Duke, UVa and Notre Dame are more selective/have better academic reps (and UNC is comparable to SU) ... AND they have better weather. A CNY kid who doesn't want to (or can't afford to) leave the state can play the game and get a quality education at Albany or Binghamton for a helluva lot less money (a buddy's daughter recently finished at Bingo, which she chose over SU, BC and Ge*rget*wn. She got a car as a graduation present because he saved so much cash). And we can't sell "you'll be closer to home" to kids from the midwest anymore, now that OSU, Marquette and Michigan have decent programs.

Note on underachieving recruiting classes: It was the 2014 freshman class where this is most noticeable. Our class was on par with Maryland's, but they won national titles while we missed championship weekends. Forkin was no. 20 and had seven points as a freshman, but never did anything after the academic struggles or the trip to JUCO. Maltz (no. 18) bailed early; he was a key contributor to a national title in Terp-land. Weston (no. 33) scored about 14 career points in three years and never got above the second midfield. Ferrigan (no. 39) couldn't win the keeper's job; he left for Delaware. McGinley (no. 61) got kicked out of school after he got drunk and punched some people on M Street (and got KTFO in the process). Evans (no. 1) was a solid player, but expectations for him were so high as to be unattainable. Firman (no. 17) was really the only guy in that class who met expectations.

Great write up Newhouse. I agree they do need a young energetic assistant coach who the players can relate and connect to, and like you said inspire/motivate them. Also like cuseguy said, I fully expect Desko to be around at least another year. I think next year is do or die (Final Four or bust) for Desko with all the players he has returning. If he can’t get it done next year, the program needs to move on with someone new at the helm.

Watching that post game conference, I felt for the players. Curry and Rehfuss in tears and Mellen as his usual stoic self. Hopefully the pain and disappointment of ending the season the way they did lights a fire underneath them to work hard in the off season and bring glory back to this program in 2020.