Don't go to Cuse for NBA riches

[Zelda Zonk]

Really? Did you see Rony Seikaly as a freshman here? He was just learning the game when he came here. Roosevelt Bouie? Otis Hill? Danny Schayes? Etan Thomas? Conrad McRae Etc. Bernie was known as one of the best big men coaches around. How long have you been a fan? I’m not trying to be snarky but was being serious because we had some great centers here and maybe all those were before you became a fan.

I was a freshman in 85. So, yes, I saw most of those players.

We’ve had some ‘good’ centers. But, I’ll say it again—position coaches are difficult to assess. You are crediting Bernie for ‘developing’ players without consideration to a) natural talent/instinct, b) natural/organic/experiential development paths, c) comparison to how they may have developed in another system.

So, you’re basically asserting Rony was raw clay and wouldn’t have amounted to much without Bernie. Maybe. Maybe he would have been better. DC? DC was pretty good when he arrived. Etan was doing Etan stuff in HS. He developed, sure. Not as much as I hoped, but, sure. Conrad was an athletic freak and he maintained that without really developing much more….

We could go round and round with this but the point remains: we can’t assess two different timelines or paths. You can believe what you want—not sure it changes anything. My point wasn’t that Bernie wasnt a good coach. My point has always been that it makes more sense to have a coach that has done the things he is trying to teach vs not to have that, but either way, we need a good coach at that position, regardless and I don’t see that we have that.

The other potential advantage to having a position coach with experience there is the optics that… potentially… lead to getting better recruits and transfers. Just like some of our fans have/had faith that Bernie was a good bigs coach, players assessing whether to join us have to believe they’re going to get good training. And none of the defense of Bernie has anything to do with whether Grif is good or not.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I’ll just add that I have no idea if Griff is good bad or ugly but if this quote by Carey is true, what would you expect him to say? It would no doubt be coming from some sort of interview in which he’s asked how he likes Siena or his his current coaches. In no circumstances would a guy say, “these new coaches are terrible and I should have never come here.” So whatever he said, I would take it as 99% praise of his new guys and 1% (or less) criticism of the previous guys. Maybe the SU coaches really are terrible, but that is almost certainly NOT what Carey was trying to convey with this quote.

 

[CuseCPT]

I think it's funny how you don't see Peter Carey as the 2nd coming of Wilt Chamberlain and therfore in your eyes he is in no position to state from a first hand perspective his experience being taught forward/center by two different people. Carey has first hand experience in two basketball programs. I think it's pretty safe to accept his opinion on what people have taught him the best/most. What your opinion is on his play has zero bearing on that fact.

I'll admit that just saying nothing would have been an option but it's not like he was ever going to come out and say "yeah, I think the coaching I got was better at Syracuse"

 

[Blanko97]

All the coaches had a tough year last year including Gerry and he wasn’t thrilled about the situation but there was no where for him to go last year. Also, may be unpopular opinion here, but Gerry really likes Gerry and he had a little bit of JB in him the older he got if ya catch my drift

Might not the worst thing to have some JB edge to him.

 

[44Wallace]

One of the greatest big men coach's of all time was a small man. You don't need to be a guard to teach guards. You don't need to be a forward to teach forwards. Or a great hitter to teach great hitters in baseball. You just have to be a great coach. By the way, in case you never heard of him, his name was Pete Newell. He was 6'2 How tall is Griff?

I never made a blanket statement like that. I did however imply specifically that Griffin is not good at what he does. At least one of his former students leads us to believe that. It's funny how some in here are taking offense to what I said, all while seeing terrible results from that position for like 10 years now lol.

 

[44Wallace]

I'll admit that just saying nothing would have been an option but it's not like he was ever going to come out and say "yeah, I think the coaching I got was better at Syracuse"

That's always the best option when precious feelings are hurt. You'll be ok.

 

[44Wallace]

So again, when did Carey say this?

To you?

Did he whisper it?

Syracuse.com bud.

 

[44Wallace]

I'm fairly certain you're a UCONN fan.

I wore a custom made "U-C-O-N-N SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS" shirt to the Big East Tourney back before we moved to the ACC. I was forced by arena security to remove the shirt. Prior to that many fans in the Garden asked to take their picture with me w that shirt on. I would say that makes me a huge UConn fan, you're right.

 

[Cusefan69]

Love GMac but I have zero interestin his coaching SU unless he shows a winning and recruiting track record as a HC over a period of years. When we go to market next for a new hoops HC I want new blood in the program.

 

[44Wallace]

I wore a custom made "U-C-O-N-N SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS" shirt to the Big East Tourney back before we moved to the ACC. I was forced by arena security to remove the shirt. Prior to that many fans in the Garden asked to take their picture with me w that shirt on. I would say that makes me a huge UConn fan, you're right.

I still have the shirt somewhere. I'll take a pic of it and post it here. It's kind of tough to bring myself to actually wear it these days considering they're repeating champs and light years ahead of us and our in-family coaching philosophy.

 

[dasher]

I never made a blanket statement like that. I did however imply specifically that Griffin is not good at what he does. At least one of his former students leads us to believe that. It's funny how some in here are taking offense to what I said, all while seeing terrible results from that position for like 10 years now lol.

Please provide a link to this statement by Carey. Where and who did he say it? And not for nothing, Peter really hasn't excelled at Siena so far. Where is the great improvement? Pete is averaging 5 pts and 3.3 rebounds a game at Siena. Not setting the world on fire. At that level. If he said it, he said something nice about his current coach. In 126 minutes at Siena this year, he is averaging 2 1/2 fouls a game in 15 minutes.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I wore a custom made "U-C-O-N-N SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS" shirt to the Big East Tourney back before we moved to the ACC. I was forced by arena security to remove the shirt. Prior to that many fans in the Garden asked to take their picture with me w that shirt on. I would say that makes me a huge UConn fan, you're right.

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[44Wallace]

Funny thing is, they're paying Lampkin $700k so you would think he'd have gotten better defensively here. Nope. He's also terribly out of shape. Does Griffin have a hand in strength & conditioning too?

 

[pwong]

Where and when did Peter Carey say this? You should have a link. Strange that a university that gave him a scholarship for 2 years despite his injury history and inability to help the team because of it, would say anything like this about Griff.

Carey missed most of his freshman year with a knee injury requiring platelet rich plasma treatment on his left knee (played 3 games total 20 minutes) earning a redshirt, which he also had on his other knee his senior year in high school resulting in him also missing half his senior year in high school. Last year he had an ankle injury and was also in concussion protocol at SU according to Siena which further hindered his development here with all the injuries. He played a total of 70 minutes here in the entire 2023-2024 season and 90 minutes his entire 2 year career here. Sadly I doubt Allen had much time to even begin serious development with Peter and all his injuries.

Allen did a very good job with Jesse Edwards, so good that he got a nice pay raise from WVU. I love AO and really hope he does prove to be an excellent coach and that Carey did well and helps Siena by overcoming his injury and foul prone past. He started but only played 19 minutes total in Siena’s last 2 games for some reason, scoring 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 to’s in them.

Please provide a link to this statement by Carey. Where and who did he say it? And not for nothing, Peter really hasn't excelled at Siena so far. Where is the great improvement? Pete is averaging 5 pts and 3.3 rebounds a game at Siena. Not setting the world on fire. At that level. If he said it, he said something nice about his current coach. In 126 minutes at Siena this year, he is averaging 2 1/2 fouls a game in 15 minutes.

Peter Carey settles in at Siena under Gerry McNamara: ‘It was just a no-brainer when he reached out’

Carey entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and ended up with the Saints and Gerry McNamara.

www.syracuse.com

 

[dasher]

Peter Carey settles in at Siena under Gerry McNamara: ‘It was just a no-brainer when he reached out’

Carey entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and ended up with the Saints and Gerry McNamara.

www.syracuse.com

View attachment 247462

He is saying something nice about his current coach. That is all I get from that. Now, don't take this that I am defending Griff. I'm not. Just that this is not the indictment that the op thought it to be. Might be a stronger take if Peter was actually doing well.

 

[albanycuse]

Peter Carey settles in at Siena under Gerry McNamara: ‘It was just a no-brainer when he reached out’

Carey entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and ended up with the Saints and Gerry McNamara.

www.syracuse.com

View attachment 247462

That’s definitely a knock at the Syracuse staff. He sounds somewhat bitter and salty as well.

 

[capeorange]

I was 100/0/0 on the outside hire/Red/GMac thing.

This.

We need new eyes and mindsets evaluating players.

 

[Bayside44]

That’s definitely a knock at the Syracuse staff. He sounds somewhat bitter and salty as well.

Who cares he basically got cut.

 

[kingtidge]

I had been thinking for a while (as in a number of years) "I wonder if Onuaku can coach bigs?" ...as I watched our beanpole center projects sputter and struggle with footwork, rebounding, and pingpong paddle hands for many years... Jesse was a nice respite from that, BTW...

So when Gerry announced his Siena staff and I saw Onuaku... I was a bit jealous.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Hang on, hang on. You're telling me this whole thread happened now based on a fluff article that came out in June that the OP massively, massively read way too much into, when all Carey actually said is he has a big man coach now that played as a big man?

We all got suckered. This thread is dumb. And we're all a bunch of dumb people for participating in it.

 

[Cheriehoop]

That’s definitely a knock at the Syracuse staff. He sounds somewhat bitter and salty as well.

Carey got the ‘talk’ and I imagine it hurts especially after struggling with injuries throughout his 2 years here. We were told that he was very athletic, mobile and that he definitely had potential but because of those physical setbacks and the need to gain strength and weight, we weren’t seeing it come together yet. Never heard a coach bad mouth him at SU. I remember the surprise many posters expressed on this board when he was even recruited. As Carey said himself- heading to Siena seems to be best for his development and Siena’s team. It’s a win for everyone, he’s starting at Siena because he was here and hoping that the potential identified by SU when recruited here, we’ll see at Siena over time. Just read OttoinGrotto’s post after posting my post. You are correct, nailed it- I am dumb. No doubt.

Peter Carey settles in at Siena under Gerry McNamara: ‘It was just a no-brainer when he reached out’

Carey entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and ended up with the Saints and Gerry McNamara.

www.syracuse.com

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Big man or not, if we could poach an elite assistant, over time it would bring better ROI than having to break the bank for an experienced HM center every year due to lack of depth/talent.

 

[albanycuse]

Carey got the ‘talk’ and I imagine it hurts especially after struggling with injuries throughout his 2 years here. We were told that he was very athletic, mobile and that he definitely had potential but because of those physical setbacks and the need to gain strength and weight, we weren’t seeing it come together yet. Never heard a coach bad mouth him at SU. I remember the surprise many posters expressed on this board when he was even recruited. As Carey said himself- heading to Siena seems to be best for his development and Siena’s team. It’s a win for everyone, he’s starting at Siena because he was here and hoping that the potential identified by SU when recruited here, we’ll see at Siena over time. Just read OttoinGrotto’s post after posting my post. You are correct, nailed it- I am dumb. No doubt.

Peter Carey settles in at Siena under Gerry McNamara: ‘It was just a no-brainer when he reached out’

Carey entered the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season and ended up with the Saints and Gerry McNamara.

www.syracuse.com

It is what it is i guess in relation to Carey. Hope he does well for GMacs sake! We are all dumb, dumb is the new genius!

 

[NKR1978]

Peter Carey said he's learned more about playing center under Onuaku at Siena than he learned during his entire time at SU under Allen Griffin. That is a devastating indictment on Griff as well as Autry. Statements like that about the coaching staff in conjunction with what we're seeing as a product on the court only further the conclusion that recruits will not want to come here if their chance of being developed here for the NBA is poor.

The coaching staff needs to be nuked. This ridiculous keep-it-in-the-family hiring practice is no different than nepotism. The only difference is in this case its not genetic. There should have been a national search for a coach. Autry never proved himself, and to be honest, GMac in hindsight probably would have been 1000x better if they wanted to keep it in the family. The talent evaluation for portal talent alone is horrifying. Going to be a long winter, in the words of Autry, "ya know"?

A lot of people here have been begging for a big man coach for a very long time.

 

[Scooch]

Syracuse.com bud.

Your reading comprehension sucks balls.