Does anyone have the courage to come up with an argument on how next year is better?

[kcsu]

Eddie and Donnie?

Guess
Dry Rub
Donnie
Bell
JJ

 

[NKR1978]

Well, it’s possible though maybe not probable that Red will grow on the job.

It feels like we would do him dirty to axe him after Year 2 when some of the issues are systemic

He's the system.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

It’s starting to feel like next year might be even worse. We are losing a lot of guys and lord knows who will replace them. White and Anthony will be about as productive as Freeman and Choppa who will likely both be gone next year. Melo’s influence over the program will be interesting to see. Just doesn’t seem like there is much hope aside from a great portal haul.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Counterpoint: Red saw Bell and JJ for two plus years and said, they're the guys!

If the head coach can't coach, has to have a GM to evaluate and acquire talent, and now a fundraiser in the AD, why we keeping him?

Last year’s Bell was a weapon. This year the weapon was turned against us. JJ has improved. (Caveat: I only watch snippets now. I didn’t bother with the Duke game at all. Saw the 2nd half of the Cal game only because I couldn’t sleep at the hotel I was at. )

 

[Scooch]

That's the elephant in the room.

There is going to be massive attrition this off-season. We graduate five seniors, and we're likely to have at least two guys portal out [Bell / Westry]. That's a lot of turnover.

Which means LOTS of new faces, and a lot of change.

That’s why Red needs three more years at least! How can he be expected to win with all that turnover?!

 

[dasher]

Louisville got rid of everyone. It can b done with the right leadership

The Ville had more money to work with than we did.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I've accepted Red returning. Please please please get transfers who can shoot and play defense.

I'm conflicted because JJ is a local guy but having to build around a poor-shooting SG is a tough starting place.

You need a really good shooting point guard to team up with JJ. Having someone who can attack the basket is a good thing. He needs shooters around him and a post player that moves to open spots. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mask his defensive shortcoming.

 

[Scooch]

The Ville had more money to work with than we did.

In fairness, it appears that it took Red 2 full offseasons to realize he didn’t have enough NIL funding. Whoopsie.

 

[hoopsupstate]

That's the elephant in the room.

There is going to be massive attrition this off-season. We graduate five seniors, and we're likely to have at least two guys portal out [Bell / Westry]. That's a lot of turnover.

Which means LOTS of new faces, and a lot of change.

We know the four portal kids are gone and it would be best if Bell moved on too. Westry has been gone since he’s been here, so that’s not a loss either. Bring back JJ, Donnie, Petar, Moore and Cuffe. The rest of the roster need to be studs and a couple of good role players.

 

[Irishsecra1]

I believe the raw talent will be better.
However, I have very little hope that this team will be coached any better.
There has literally been no consistent improvement all year - yes games like ND and California occur where the defense seems to show up and the players play hard.
But there is literally no offensive flow or even strategy. That was so painfully obvious yesterday.
And if this only happened with Duke, I would give Red a pass, but we have been consistently blown out all year.
Good coaches find a way to take the talent they have and put together an offensive and defensive strategy to best take advantage of whatever abilities they have. They don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole over and over again.
Red either can't due to lack of ability or won't due to stubbornness. I tend to think it is a lack of ability.

And based on Red's presser yesterday, I honestly think he has no idea how to improve the team.
Now, say what you want about JB and the talent drain in the last few year, but he would have found a way to make this team play harder and better. He would have found a way to make the offense/defense fit the players.

I have been a fan since my dad and I watched the teams run to the Final Four when I was just a little kid back in 75. I am a season ticket holder who has attended all but one home game this year - even last nights stink fest. No one on this board wants this team to succeed more than me but I just feel right now next year will be more of the same - with better talent. But still piss poor coaching.

 

[Fly Rodder]

The Ville had more money to work with than we did.

That got them Terrence Edwards (JMU) and Chucky Hepburn as bigger gets. Two of their better players followed Kelsey from CoC. Another from Long Beach.

With the majority of top NIL collectives in college basketball operating with a $1 to $4 million payroll, Kelsey will need his NIL program in order to compete ... Sources told On3 that big men, specifically centers, are the best comparison to quarterbacks as the top-of-the-line earners with the elite earning over $1 million.

So Syracuse was within the range of the top NIL Collectives and we spent about the going rate for a center.

 

[jdubs30]

That's the elephant in the room.

There is going to be massive attrition this off-season. We graduate five seniors, and we're likely to have at least two guys portal out [Bell / Westry]. That's a lot of turnover.

Which means LOTS of new faces, and a lot of change.

Blessing in disguise. With a lot of open spots, plus more NIL (Melo) and a better plan of attack to the portal (Kline) I’d rather see what we can do with a blank slate.

 

[Cuse99&01]

That got them Terrence Edwards (JMU) and Chucky Hepburn as bigger gets. Two of their better players followed Kelsey from CoC. Another from Long Beach.


So Syracuse was within the range of the top NIL Collectives and we spent about the going rate for a center.

Just spent that going rate on the wrong center.

 

[MikeSU02]

I want to see if anyone has an argument how a Red Autry coached team will be good next year.

As it pertains to making the NCAAT (at any seeding), I don't think it can happen. I don't see anything in Red's coaching to project that we would do that.

Also, while I like a few of the potential guys that can return, we are redundant at a ton of positions.

Sadiq looks like a solid piece. But he won't be elite, elite. And if Donnie comes back, they play the same position. As does Petar. I guess Donnie could bump to the 3, but....

That brings us to the off guard: JJ, Kiyan and Choppa (and Cuffe pending who he is paired with). I guess some of those guys could flex to the three, but my god the D would be awful.

We have the Aussie and maybe Cuffe, for lead guard in conjunction with JJ flexing to it or splitting the ball handling.

So basically we're woefully short at PG and center, again, this year, as of now. Can we still get a real PG? Sure. Center? Sure.

And you cannot be sooooo reliant on freshman. I love our high school haul this year. I really do. But expecting these guys to be elite from the jump just will not happen. It's a recipe for disaster. Combine that with Red not proving any coaching acumen at a high level on O or D and I'd guess the best case is probably an above .500 record, but nowhere near close enough for the NCAAT.

I dunno. I really need to see it to believe it at this point. We can beat the BCs and Miamis this year or whatever, but our best win, I believe, is Notre Dame who is 93 in NET and 83 in KenPom. We're miles away.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

And not 20 wins NIT better...

Faith, my son.

 

[RF2044]

We know the four portal kids are gone and it would be best if Bell moved on too. Westry has been gone since he’s been here, so that’s not a loss either. Bring back JJ, Donnie, Petar, Moore and Cuffe. The rest of the roster need to be studs and a couple of good role players.

We have five seniors -- Davis, Lampkin, Carlos, Taylor, and McLeod -- who run out of eligibility after this year. Setting aside the discussion about Westry not being a "loss," because it's irrelevant, I fully expect him to be coaxed out at the end of the season, as well. And it is virtually impossible to imagine Bell being back.

So acknowledging that this is MY OPINION ONLY, that's fully what I expect to happen. At minimum, I expect 7 players gone.

Now, on top of that baseline, could there could be any additional attrition? It's possible. Without getting into how probable it is for any of the following to hit the portal:

• Cuffe -- PT has been intermittent. He could play a bigger role, but might opt out in search of more PT.
• Moore -- Might opt out due to Anthony playing same position.
• JJ -- Might he follow in Maliq Brown's footsteps, in search of team that will make NCAA tournament?

Again, not suggesting / implying / predicting that those three will leave. Just that them returning isn't a lock.

Next year is make or break for Red. I find it less likely that he's going to bring in a great group of transfers, and things will suddenly snap into place, than we'll have massive turnover and struggle because of all of the new faces. Again.

 

[kcsu]

If Donnie returns he will be a beast
The Aussie is really good and can handle the point
Sadiq is a stud on the boards
JJ will be better. His hand injury has hurt him way more than most realize.
Moore plays with energy and will be better.
Petar same as above
Cuffe is ok. Solid defender
Milwaukee kid bench
Add an athletic 5 that can defend
Add a swing player that can score. Has to be a good shooter. We need outside shooting desperately.

 

[RF2044]

Blessing in disguise. With a lot of open spots, plus more NIL (Melo) and a better plan of attack to the portal (Kline) I’d rather see what we can do with a blank slate.

In some respects, sure.

But on the other hand, it is difficult to expect a large class of incoming frosh to play figural roles [especially since none of the four are "elite" caliber recruits].

And we saw how bringing in a large group of portal transfers "worked out" this season.

So while roster turnover might not be a bad thing, given that our personnel aren't as good as hoped this year, we need to be careful about what we wish for. Having a bunch of new faces generally isn't a recipe for consistency / success.

 

[Bulldog04]

I can do that. Now, I haven't seen anything from Red other than high school recruiting but to be fair, I will give it a go. First, while Red and Griff were on the staff during the slide, JB was the coach. And he wanted guys to play his zone. They had to recruit for it. I saw Bell at the Hall of Fame classic and reported back on this site that this kid couldn't stay in front of me and I'm in my 60's. JB didn't care because he could stick him in his zone and he was long. Converting to a man to man defense was going to take time. And with a team of nitwits, we still won 19 games. Then came the portal. Which the school was not prepared for. Just as it wasn't really prepared for NIL. Last year, the coaches were coaching and they were not ready for the portal. Didn't have the money and didn't know who was going to come available. That is different today. I have been told, and this has nothing to do with my efforts regarding AW, that we are doing very well with NIL. And we now have a GM. Klein spends his time doing a couple of things. One, watching kids that will probably be in the portal. And talking to player reps. We know who is going to be in the portal. And have an idea of what they are going to cost. You never know for sure because someone can come up with a stupid money offer but the point is that we are miles ahead of where we were last year at this time. Better players and players that really fit will give us an idea what kind of coach Red is.

Post of the year

 

[dasher]

That got them Terrence Edwards (JMU) and Chucky Hepburn as bigger gets. Two of their better players followed Kelsey from CoC. Another from Long Beach.


So Syracuse was within the range of the top NIL Collectives and we spent about the going rate for a center.

We were no where near the top range of NIL spending or ability to spend. We shot our shot with Eddie

 

[Bulldog04]

And to the point dasher just made. There are kids out there that I have never heard of or seen. Kid from Jacksonville State Jaron Pierre who is trying to get a grad year is on the radar. Alex is locating guys like this and has a complete head start compared to last year. This kid is ridiculously good and they are out there and they will have money to get guys like this

 

[Cusefan95]

Back in the late 90s, I did a project at a site in NJ (near the Meadowlands). In a conversation with a guy who worked there for years, I mentioned that I'd graduated from Syracuse. He was all excited to talk about Syracuse football, how good they were, and he was hoping his kid could get a football scholarship offer there. By 2006, NOBODY thought highly of Syracuse football - it was a dead program. It took 6,7 years - at most - to completely destroy a good reputation in the northeast.

Basketball started from an even better spot from a brand perspective - but how long has it been since Syracuse basketball has been relevant nationally? Not "sneak in to the NCAA tournament" relevant - good enough to have legit Final Four aspirations. There's probably 20 teams in that category any given year.

The thing that worries me the most is I don't feel any sense of urgency from the University...its like they think the basketball brand can withstand numerous bad years in a row and recover. I'm not sure that's the case...and we're close to being DePaul levels of irrelevant already.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I would feel better about Red doing more once he gets more talent if it was not for the complete and total lack of offensive sets. We both do not set picks for our guys initiating the offense, and don't do anything with spacing to give them a path to the basket if they do get by their man. Even if they put a move on a guy they still have to get by two more because we have our other guys standing around in his path to the basket! Nobody on the team besides maybe Petar knows how to set a pick. It is completely and totally unacceptable and it was a clear problem last year. How was it not his top priority to establish legit offensive playcalling after looking at the tape last year? If there are sets they have established in practice that they are just not doing for some reason, same difference! Whatever the case they are accomplishing nothing on the court and the head coach is letting it happen without making any sort of change!

 

[RF2044]

Back in the late 90s, I did a project at a site in NJ (near the Meadowlands). In a conversation with a guy who worked there for years, I mentioned that I'd graduated from Syracuse. He was all excited to talk about Syracuse football, how good they were, and he was hoping his kid could get a football scholarship offer there. By 2006, NOBODY thought highly of Syracuse football - it was a dead program. It took 6,7 years - at most - to completely destroy a good reputation in the northeast.

Basketball started from an even better spot from a brand perspective - but how long has it been since Syracuse basketball has been relevant nationally? Not "sneak in to the NCAA tournament" relevant - good enough to have legit Final Four aspirations. There's probably 20 teams in that category any given year.

The thing that worries me the most is I don't feel any sense of urgency from the University...its like they think the basketball brand can withstand numerous bad years in a row and recover. I'm not sure that's the case...and we're close to being DePaul levels of irrelevant already.

Great post.

The brand is already damaged. Things have gotten worse since 2023, when JB was forced to step down. We are not going to get back on the right track until the coaching deficiencies are no longer holding the program back.

Some believe that Red is handcuffed by the personnel [which he recruited, but let's set that aside for now].

Others think that the AC's are holding Red back, and if they're replaced things will improve.

Others point to the issues of the past two years as being indicative of Red not having the chops to be a P5 head coach.

Either way, another year -- if the trend is not reversed -- will just harm our brand further, and make the hole that much deeper to dig out of.

 

[RyanCuse44]

In fairness, it appears that it took Red 2 full offseasons to realize he didn’t have enough NIL funding. Whoopsie.

And he spent most of it on one person who has been a bust.