sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to International Coffee Day!
There are different legends as to how and when the drink was first brewed. One story claims that a 6th century goatherd from Kaffa named Kaldi saw that his goats were more lively after eating coffee beans. A monk named Mullah apparently noticed this and brewed the beverage and spread word of it around the region. Another story from the 15th century claims that a 9th century mufti—a Muslim legal expert—of Aden was the first to make the drink, and it became popular in Middle Eastern courts afterwards.
Coffee was brought to Italy by 1615, and to France by 1644. It became a popular drink in the court of Louis XIV in 1669, after the Turkish ambassador introduced it to him. France later introduced a coffee seedling to the Caribbean island of Martinique, and the plant eventually spread throughout Central and South America. The Dutch introduced the coffee plant to Indonesia and Java.
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Syracuse Basketball: 5-star PF Isaiah Jackson includes Orange in final 3 (itlh; Adler)
An encouraging nugget of Syracuse basketball recruiting news, as 2020 five-star power forward Isaiah Jackson has kept the ‘Cuse in contention.
The Syracuse basketball squad is still in the hunt for 2020 five-star power forward Isaiah Jackson. The 6-foot-9 Jackson, who attends Waterford Mott High School in Waterford, Mich., took to Twitter to reveal a trio of finalists, and they are the Orange, along with a pair of SEC crews in Alabama and Kentucky.
It’s always fantastic when a top-flight talent is seriously considering the ‘Cuse, as it appears that Jackson is. However, let’s contain that excitement a tad, because Syracuse has gone down this road before, only to see some of these elite high-school players opt to suit up elsewhere.
Still, Jackson did have an official visit in Central New York this past weekend, and the fact that he’s got the Orange in his final group is promising, without question.
Jackson went on an official visit to the Wildcats around the end of August, and he will travel to the Crimson Tide, a unit led by former Buffalo head coach Nate Oats, on the weekend of Oct. 25-27, reports Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.
Any instance where Kentucky and its boss, John Calipari, are in the mix is more than a bit petrifying, since Calipari is one of the preeminent recruiters across the country. Plus, at this juncture, the ‘Cuse is projected to have the maximum allotment of 13 scholarship guys on its roster in the 2020-21 campaign.
In all fairness, though, head coach Jim Boeheim and his assistants know exactly what they’re doing, and it’s certainly feasible that a current Syracuse player could leave early for the pros or transfer out of the program.
Jackson held nearly two-dozen scholarship offers from a bunch of impressive schools, including Connecticut, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan State, and Oregon. He is generally regarded as a top-25 prospect nationally in the class of 2020, and Jackson would prove a huge addition to the Orange line-up in about a year’s time. Fingers crossed that he chooses the ‘Cuse!
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Kentucky in final 3 for 5-star power forward Isaiah Jackson (247sports.com; Fisher)
Even with the nation's No. 1 recruiting class, which includes Camden (N.J.) 4-star 2020 power forward Lance Ware, Kentucky still has work to do in the frontcourt.
With the Wildcats likely losing Nate Sestina, Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery after the season, UK has cast a wide net with post players in the 2020 class.
John Calipari moved one step closer to reeling in one of those big fish Monday as Waterford (Mich.) Mott 5-star power forward Isaiah Jackson included Kentucky in his final three alongside Alabama and Syracuse.
Get the latest Kentucky Wildcats news sent directly to your inbox when you sign up for our FREE email newsletter TODAY!
Decision Decisions??????#final3
- ???????????? ???????????????? (@IJackson22) September 30, 2019
Ranked No. 25 overall and the No. 3 power forward in the 2020 class according to the industry average 247Sports Composite, Jackson took his first official visit to Kentucky the last weekend in August, where he received a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.
"They develop pros, they have the most pros in the league that are doing really good," Jackson told Evan Daniels of 247Sports. "They're just a good school, the environment, they don't have an NBA team so their college team is like an NBA team so it's like a huge family."
Jackson, who is eyeing a fall decision, is fresh off an official visit to Syracuse over the weekend and will also see Alabama the weekend of Oct. 25.
"I'm going to wait this process out, when we go on official visits they want you to have a good time and I feel like that’s how every college is," Jackson said. "You're supposed to have a good time so you can't base an opinion on how your visit went, it has to be an all-around thing like how the coaches are, the environment, the play style, if they will let you play your position, will they develop you to be a pro and stuff like that."
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Syracuse men’s basketball single-game tickets go on sale Oct. 8 (except for Duke, North Carolina) (PS; Carlson)
Syracuse University will start selling single-game men’s basketball tickets on Tuesday, Oct. 8, according to an announcement from the university on Monday.
The single-game tickets that will be available starting on Oct. 8 will be for 16 regular-season home games and the team’s two exhibition games. Syracuse won’t sell single-game tickets to Duke or North Carolina until Dec. 3, which is six games into the regular-season.
Syracuse said that tickets to those games, two of the most high-profile games on the Orange’s home schedule, will start at $75 when they do go on sale. They will be dynamically-priced, meaning the price will fluctuate based on the number of tickets available and secondary-market prices.
The school generally likes to hold some of its most coveted tickets back from the market initially so that it can include them in various packages, use them to coax fans into buying season tickets and gain some financial benefit itself (instead of leaving it to re-sellers) if the secondary-market prices rise significantly above face value.
The 16 regular-season games that go on sale on Oct. 8 will be separated into five different tiers for pricing purposes. The least-expensive tier (Tier 5) will have single-game seats starting at $30.
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ACC Basketball: Ranking all 15 head coaches for 2019-20 season (bustingbrackets.com; Loose)
There are some incredible head coaches in ACC Basketball, but how do they compare against each other? Let’s examine and rank them for this upcoming year.
As a new college basketball season approaches, we prepare to welcome a whole new host of names to the forefront of the game. The game drastically changes from year to year as players graduate or move on to the next level. There are certainly programs that contend on a regular basis even as players come and go. These programs are usually the ones with the most successful head coaches.
There was plenty of amazing history in ACC Basketball and the scope of coaches is no different. While there’s still several living legends active in the league, memories of Dean Smith or Jim Valvano continue to resonate through these fanbases. This league contains the one of sport’s greatest rivalries and hosts months of competitive and exciting basketball each year.
What we’re going to do is to take a closer look at the fifteen head coaches in his conference. Our main objective is to rank the coaches, not the programs. The focus is on the particular coach and his background, though of course we’ll say a few words on how these programs should far in the future. No stone will be left unturned and everything is taken into account for these rankings, meaning an inexperienced yet successful head coach could rank ahead of someone with decades of experience.
As a final note, remember that this is the ACC. This is college basketball’s greatest conference. Every coach in this conference has had success at the highest level otherwise they wouldn’t be an ACC head coach. All fifteen of these coaches have done solid work even if some are greater than others. Now, let’s get into these rankings, starting at the very bottom of this packed league.
15. Danny Manning (Wake Forest)
There have been some great stretches of success for the Demon Deacons. Under stars like Tim Duncan or Chris Paul, this was a highly competitive ACC program. However, in recent years, things have not gone so smoothly for the fourth-best ACC program in North Carolina. Wake Forest moves forward for another season under Manning, but was it the right choice?
Manning rose to fame as a collegiate player at Kansas, helping lead the Jayhawks to the NCAA championship in 1988. The first overall pick of that year’s NBA draft, he’d spent 15 years in the league. His coaching career began a few years later under Bill Self back at Kansas before Tulsa gave him a chance to be a head coach. In his two seasons with the Golden Hurricane, he produced an NCAA Tournament that won 21 games.
Wake Forest brought Manning on board in 2014 to exceedingly mixed results. Four of his five seasons have been frustrating disappointments under .500, though 2017 produced a Tournament team. The season netted him the Skip Prosser Award, though the positives have been few and far behind for him with the Demon Deacons.
There were certainly expectations for Manning at Wake Forest and he certainly hasn’t met them. There hasn’t been a Duncan or Paul kind of talent on this roster and Manning’s in-game coaches has been met with criticism. He’s won just four ACC games in the last two seasons and stands out as the worst coach in the conference. He’ll need a major step forward or year six will almost certainly be his last.
14. Jim Christian (Boston College)
We’ll be completely honest here, the glory days for Boston College came prior to joining the ACC in 2005. This is a team that hasn’t seen the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and has consistently found themselves in the ACC basement. Christian has done his best to resurrect this program, but like with Wake Forest, it may soon be time for a change.
After a brief college and international playing career, Christian became an assistant coach, spending more than a decade as a D-1 assistant. He was on Stan Heath’s staff at Kent State and was promoted to replace him in 2002. He led the Golden Flashes to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before accepting the job at TCU. He’d spend four seasons with the Horned Frogs before two years at Ohio. He won 49 games in two seasons with the Bobcats, enough for Boston College to offer him their job in 2014.
Understandably, it’s been a massive struggle. The 2018 team made the NIT and won 19 games, greatly standing out compared to Christian’s other teams. They’ve never finished higher than 11th in the ACC and possess a putrid 18-72 mark in conference play. The Eagles really bottomed out near the beginning of his tenure, but it’s not like there’s been marked progress either.
Will Boston College make noise this coming season? Christian’s team finishing in the top half of the ACC would likely be one of the biggest shocks of the season. He’s a solid head coach, especially in the MAC, but he’s just not done the job in turning Boston College around. When you look at the other teams in this conference, it’s not surprising that these Eagles are struggling. However, that’s no excuse and Christian will also need a big step forward to save his job.
13. Mike Young (Virginia Tech)
Virginia Tech may be the ACC program with the least impressive history, though they’ve certainly begun to make up for that. Before leaving for Texas A&M, Buzz Williams led this team to their first Sweet Sixteen in 52 years. He leaves the program in good hands with Young, who’s coming off some NCAA Tournament success of his own, but how will he fare at the power conference level?
For Young, taking the Virginia Tech job marked a major change of scenery. He played and coached at Emory & Henry and Radford before joining Wofford as an assistant in 1989. After thirteen seasons, he was promoted to head coach in 2002. Five NCAA Tournaments resulted, including last year’s team that won their first-round game over Seton Hall.
After three decades at Wofford, he accepted the job with the Hokies this past spring. There are major changes all over this roster, though Young is already very busy on the recruiting trail. This year’s team may not move mountains and make another Sweet Sixteen, but they look to be in fine shape for the future.
This has not exactly been a basketball powerhouse and the departure of Williams could certainly hurt this program’s potential growth. Young proved his worth during his time with Wofford, but will have plenty of questions to answer at Virginia Tech. Can a coach with absolutely no experience at the power conference level succeed?
12. Jeff Capel (Pittsburgh)
For the Panthers, the last few seasons have been a significant struggle. Losing coach Jamie Dixon to TCU became a horrible turning point for a program that was used to NCAA Tournament success in recent years. Capel begins year two of turning around the Panthers, though transforming the team from bottom feeder to contender is a multiyear project in the ACC.
Capel played for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and briefly overseas before his coaching career began. After just two seasons as an assistant coach, he became head coach at VCU in 2002. He was hired by Oklahoma in 2006 and brought Blake Griffin and plenty of success to the program, though his tenure would last just five seasons. Coach K brought him back to Duke on his coaching staff, where he’d spent seven years.
Rebuilding Pittsburgh’s basketball program is a project and Capel is ready to be patient. The man who led Oklahoma to an Elite Eight in 2009 has his sights set on that and more with the Panthers, but there’s work to be done. Capel is already busy hitting the recruiting trail and year two should be another step forward. Last year, his team (14-19) won just three conference games, albeit a three-game improvement over the previous year.
These same Panthers that regularly made the NCAA Tournament earlier in the decade will struggle to get back there this season. While their win totals should increase again, this conference is just too tough for them to start competing at this point. Capel’s first season was definitely a good start and steady progress in year two is exactly what Pittsburgh needs.
11. Josh Pastner (Georgia Tech)
Newer fans of college basketball may easily forget that Georgia Tech played Connecticut in the national title game back in 2004. In the fifteen years since that game, there has been very little success for the Yellow Jackets. Pastner will attempt to attack these issues in his fourth season, though a postseason ban for 2020 certainly doesn’t help matters.
Pastner’s basketball career began as a walk-on at Arizona, where he was part of the Wildcat’s 1997 national championship. A few years after graduation, he’d rejoin Lute Olson’s staff an assistant coach. In 2008, he departed for Memphis, succeeding John Calipari as head coach the following season. He’d lead the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament in his seven years, though this team was clearly not the same after Calipari’s departure.
Georgia Tech grabbed him as their next head coach back in 2016 and the results were immediate. Pastner got this team to play, making it to the NIT title game in his first season. However a pair of extremely lackluster seasons have followed. He’s never finished higher than 10th in a deep ACC and shows no signs of bucking that trend in the immediate future.
Recruiting allegations have led to a postseason ban and sanctions on this program, though they appear to be sticking with Pastner going forward. The Yellow Jackets were posed for a small step forward this season, but it’s hard to be excited about a season that can’t end in a promising way. It’s been a long time since Georgia Tech was an ACC power and we certainly can’t expect this to return anytime soon.
10. Brad Brownell (Clemson)
There have been a few runs of success for a Clemson program clearly known for its football and not basketball. Brownell has had nearly a decade with the Tigers, though he’s yet to usher in the next era of success in a tough ACC. Few expect much out of this program, though Brownell’s Sweet Sixteen in 2018 was certainly a step in the right direction.
After playing college ball at DePauw, Brownell immediately began his coaching career, holding assistant coaching jobs at Evansville and Indianapolis. He joined Jerry Wainwright’s staff at UNC Wilmington, spending eight years before succeeding him in 2002. Before Clemson, Brownell spent four years each at Wilmington and Wright State, totaling three NCAA Tournament bids between the two schools. He averaged more than 20 games at both schools, inspiring Clemson to hire him in 2010.
Clemson has been up and down under Brownell, making the NCAA Tournament in his first season before finishing near the bottom of the league just a few seasons later. The Sweet Sixteen in 2018 clearly bought Brownell some patience, but those are his only two NCAA Tournament appearances. They are also the only two seasons his squad has finished higher than sixth in conference play.
All things considered, Brownell’s mark of 76-82 in ACC play at a school like Clemson isn’t bad. Brownell’s Tigers have played impressive defense in recent years and may need to depend on that defense moving forward. There’s plenty of youth on this roster next season and don’t be shocked to see Clemson at the bottom of the league again. Still, Brownell is resilient and could have another competitive team in a few seasons, if he’s given that long.
9. Kevin Keatts (NC State)
The NC State basketball program has struggled to be nationally relevant in recent years. Memories of their national championships and impressive rosters have floated to the past, especially as Duke and North Carolina continue to dominate the national scene. They recently turned to a new face to lead the program and Keatts has this team trending in the right direction again.
Keatts was a relative unknown until recent years, playing his college ball at Ferrum and coaching at Hargrave Military Academy for a decade. He was previously an assistant coach at Marshall and spent three seasons under Rick Pitino at Louisville. Prior to NC State, he spent three years as head coach at UNC Wilmington, though he was a bit more successful than Brownell. He won 72 games in his three years, made two NCAA Tournaments, and thoroughly dominated the CAA.
His impressive coaching career continues at NC State, who he led to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in 2018. While last year was a slight step back, 24 wins and a middle of the pack finish isn’t the end of the world. The Wolfpack offense has been solid with Keatts at the helm, but can the defense step up next year?
A finish near the top of the ACC standings is not out of the question for the Wolfpack in 2020. There’s a lot of talent coming back to NC State and this could be a prime chance to make a statement. Keatts has only been in the ACC for two seasons but has been solid as a head coach to this point. If he can make magic in Raleigh this coming season, he might find himself much higher on this list going forward.
8. Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)
If anything, the fact that Hamilton is eighth on this list is proof to the depth of great coaches in the ACC. He’s recently led Florida State to great success, making an Elite Eight and a Sweet Sixteen in the last two seasons. This isn’t a program with overwhelming basketball success and Hamilton’s accomplishments have certainly stood out.
After a less than impressive playing career, Hamilton’s coaching career really got started with a dozen years as an assistant Kentucky in the 70’s and 80’s. He’d become head coach at Oklahoma State and Miami before the turn of the century, eventually leading the Hurricanes to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000. He then spent one season leading the Washington Wizards of the NBA, though Florida State brought him back to college basketball in 2002.
Seventeen years with the Seminoles and Hamilton has done a solid job of making this program a winner. Along with 2018’s Elite Eight, he also owns a pair of Sweet Sixteens and has an ACC Tournament title back in 2012. Florida State has had both good and bad seasons, though they’ve been remarkably steady in a difficult conference, winning at least 8 ACC games for eleven straight seasons.
They lose serious talent off last year’s squad, but Hamilton should have another NCAA Tournament team on his hands. Hamilton’s been around for a long time at the power conference level, though having just a single Elite Eight to show for it is slightly disappointing. He’s put together some solid basketball in the state of Florida, but none of his teams have been able to take that next step. Hamilton will likely retire in the coming years; do his Seminoles have one more big run in them?
7. Chris Mack (Louisville)
This Louisville program was in an extremely unenviable position following the scandals that cost Rick Pitino his job and vacated the 2013 national championship. Interim head coach David Padgett did what he could to keep the program afloat, but Mack has done a very solid job initially of returning this program to its former glory.
Mack grew up around Cincinnati and played briefly for Xavier, where he’d make his name as a coach. He was a high school coach before Skip Prosser brought him to Xavier as an assistant. He’d spent three years at Wake Forest after following Prosser before Sean Miller pulled him back to the Musketeers. After Miller left for Arizona, Mack spent nine seasons as Xavier’s head coach, with incredible results.
Mack was brought to Louisville in 2018 after leading Xavier to an Elite Eight and three Sweet Sixteens. He oversaw their transition from A-10 to Big East, with the team not missing a step in the process. With the Cardinals, he already produced an unexpected 20-win season with an NCAA Tournament bid. His decade as a head coach has already produced 235 wins and solid postseason success.
With Jordan Nwora and others set to return, the expectations are high for the Cardinals for next season. Mack’s teams has shown for the most part that they can live up to expectations, though this will be a big test for him and this team. He’s done a lot of good in Louisville in just one year of work and could have a national championship contender on his hands.
6. Jim Larranaga (Miami FL)
Though the program has struggled in recent years, Miami is clearly a football school. They’ve struggled with consistently in basketball, especially in the ACC. The team has never gone beyond the Sweet Sixteen and had almost zero success prior to the late 90’s. Fortunately, the hiring of Larranaga brought great growth to the Hurricanes.
Larranaga played basketball at Providence before serving as an assistant at Davidson and Virginia. His head coaching career has spanned over three decades and started at D-II American International before trips to Bowling Green and George Mason. The highlight of his career is the Final Four run with the Patriots in 2006 as an 11-seed. There were plenty of opportunities for Larranaga to move up from George Mason, but he waited until Miami came calling five years later.
In his first eight seasons with the Hurricanes, Larranaga has brought a winning culture to the basketball program. He won 29 games and made the Sweet Sixteen in his second season, returning again to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016. Last season was a struggle, but he does own four finishes in the top 5 in conference. When you consider the other programs in this league, what Larranaga has pulled off is incredible.
Some new faces are headed to Miami to help a team that finished 14-18 last year. Expect the Hurricanes to bounce back, though this definitely won’t be Larranaga’s best Hurricanes team. He’s won over 600 games and accomplished a lot, with that Final Four team clearly standing out. Larranaga’s another coach that will hang it up someday soon, but this Miami program will miss him when that day comes.
5. Mike Brey (Notre Dame)
The Fighting Irish are renowned for their football but the basketball team have had their fair share of moments too. There’s nowhere near the success and only one Final Four, but Brey has done his part to make Notre Dame nationally relevant, even while adjusting to life in the ACC.
After college, Brey’s coaching career began as a high school assistant. He was hired by Mike Krzyzewski to join the Duke staff in 1987 and helped build two national championships teams. After eight seasons, he took his first head coaching job at Delaware. He led the Fightin’ Blue Hens to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids, building a very solid America East contender. Following five years in Delaware, he was hired away by Notre Dame in 2000, a move that few fans regret.
Brey has won over 400 games as Notre Dame head coach. His greatest successes have come more recently, with Elite Eights in 2015 and 2016, coming up just short of his first Final Four appearance. In total, he’s made 12 NCAA Tournaments with the Fighting Irish, also winning the ACC Tournament back in 2015. Last season was a struggle as the team reloaded, Brey has them set for the future.
After last season was derailed by injuries and inconsistency, the Irish have reason for optimism moving forward. This may not be a team that finishes near the top of the conference, but they should take a major step forward after last season’s collapse. Brey’s success at Notre Dame sprouts from his consistency, but this clearly isn’t the squad that’s going to get him his first Final Four. Regardless, a long successful career at a football school is evidenced enough of Brey’s prowess on and off the court.
4. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
Ushering in success at the highest level, Syracuse basketball is synonymous with Boeheim’s name for both the good and the bad. He won the school’s first national title team and has built multiple Final Four teams during his long stay in western New York. Unfortunately, he’s also responsible for multiple investigations and a slew of violations, though I doubt any Syracuse fan would trade Boeheim’s success for anything else.
If you can’t picture Boeheim anywhere else but Syracuse, there’s a good reason for that. After playing for the Orange, he embarked on a brief professional playing career, though he quickly became a coach. He became an assistant at Syracuse in 1969 and has never left, rising to head coach in 1976.
When you include vacated games, Boeheim has more than 1,000 wins at the school (946 including those vacated games) and brought the 2003 national championship to Syracuse. His teams have made Final Fours in four different decades, few more unexpected than their run as a 10-seed in 2016. They’ve retained their spot on the national stage even despite struggles in their new conference and dealing with sanctions and allegations.
Making thirty-four NCAA Tournaments with one school is incredibly impressive and Boeheim is the face of Syracuse basketball. Unfortunately, the Orange haven’t finished higher than 7th in the ACC in the last five seasons and that trend may not change next season. New faces replace talented stars, leaving Boeheim a lot of work ahead. He’s not getting any younger but the man is a living legend. Syracuse isn’t going to win the ACC, but they’re going to put together a competitive team that will challenge the top dogs in this conference.
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Other
Hearing on $280M distribution center in Clay draws lots of supporters and opponents (PS; Moriarty)
A public hearing on a proposed $280 million, 1,000-job distribution center in Clay drew a large crowd to Liverpool High School Monday night, with supporters praising its economic benefits and opponents expressing worries about traffic, noise and pay levels.
About 300 people filled the school’s auditorium for the three-hour, joint hearing held by the Clay Town Board and the Clay Planning Board. The town board must decide whether to grant the project a zone change, and the planning board must rule on the developer’s site plans.
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Inc. wants to build a 3.7-million-square-foot distribution center on a 111-acre site occupied since the 1950s by the Liverpool Public Golf and Country Club at the southwest corner of Morgan Road and the Liverpool Bypass. The company has said the center would employ 1,000 people, with most of the jobs paying $30,000 a year.
The developer has said the center’s tenant would be an e-commerce company or a retailer, but that a lease would not be signed or announced until shortly before construction began in the spring of 2020. Logistics experts say that, given the project’s size, the tenant will likely be online retailer Amazon.
Supporters said the community could use the jobs and tax revenue that would result from the project. Under a proposed payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, the project would pay nearly $29 million in property taxes over the first 15 years, compared with approximately $800,000 in property taxes the golf course would pay over the same period.
Thomas Ogden, of Liverpool, said the tax revenue would help the Liverpool School District and ease the tax burden on other taxpayers in the town. He said it would also generate revenue for local businesses and raise property values in the area.
Robert Simpson, president of the CenterState CEO, said the economic development organization has been working to attract warehousing and distribution operations to the region for years.
“This is a remarkable opportunity,” he said.
Local resident Michelle Kane said the area has lost a lot of manufacturing jobs over the years and it “would be foolish of us to turn our backs” on the project.
Other speakers expressed concerns about truck traffic. Trammell Crow representatives said trucks would use the state Thruway to get to the site and would travel only short distances on Route 57, the Liverpool Bypass and Morgan Road before entering the distribution center. However, a couple of speakers said they worried that some truck drivers would take local roads to avoid Thruway tolls.
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