sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,324
- Like
- 109,502
National Mutt Day celebrates mixed breed dogs, and was created by Colleen Paige, a pet and family lifestyle expert and animal advocate, who also created days such as National Dog Day, National Puppy Day, and National Cat Day. The goal of the day is to embrace, save, and celebrate mixed breed dogs by creating awareness about the great numbers of them in animal shelters that are in need of a home. Mixed breed dogs make up the largest percentage of dogs that are abandoned and euthanized, and make up about 80% of dogs in shelters. In an effort to further raise awareness, National Mutt Day takes place on two days during the year. The hoped for result of the day is that people visit animal shelters and adopt a mixed breed dog, or possibly donate their time and money to shelters.
SU News
Syracuse Basketball: Analyst sizes up contenders for 5-star Jalil Bethea (itlh; Adler)
Jalil Bethea, a five-star guard in the 2024 class from the Philadelphia area, has Syracuse basketball in his final five, along with Alabama, Kansas, Miami and Villanova, which is a hometown team for the consensus top-20 national prospect.
The 6-foot-4 Bethea received a scholarship offer from the Orange in September of 2022 and took an official visit to the Hill the following month, when Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim was still at the helm of the ‘Cuse.
In the coming weeks and months, according to various media reports, Jalil Bethea plans to officially visit Kansas, Miami and Alabama.
He’s also reportedly going to officially visit the Orange for a second time in mid-September, which will allow the fast-rising Bethea to check out team practices under first-year head coach Adrian Autry and his assistants.
Throughout his recruitment, Jalil Bethea has spoken highly of Syracuse basketball, and he has said of late that his strong relationship with the Orange coaching staff has only further grown since Autry took over this past March.
So is Syracuse basketball the favorite for 2024 five-star guard Jalil Bethea?
At this juncture, I’ve yet to come across any predictions from national analysts or other recruiting insiders on the 247Sports Web site, or the On3 Web site.Recently, I asked national analyst Rob Cassidy in one of his mailbags if he thought there was a front-runner or front-runners for Bethea at this point in time.
Cassidy was kind enough to respond, so I thank him for that. He says he doesn’t necessarily think there is one front-runner for Jalil Bethea, but Cassidy did add that the finalists he sees “as actually having a chance to land Jalil Bethea are Miami, Syracuse and Villanova.”
The expert says he doesn’t think Alabama is a “real player.” Regarding 2022 national champion Kansas, according to Cassidy, “I wouldn’t classify the Jayhawks as one of the leaders as things stand but I had somebody in the know tell me that the Jayhawks should be treated as a ‘dark horse.’”
...
Syracuse Basketball: 4-star center plans to visit the Orange for Elite Camp (itlh; Adler)
Ben Winker, a fast-rising four-star center in the 2025 class from St. Louis, plans to take an unofficial visit to Syracuse basketball for the team’s annual Elite Camp, according to a recruiting analyst.
The 6-foot-10, 220-pound Winker also made a trip to Central New York last year to compete in the Orange’s Elite Camp, which was held in late August. I haven’t come across a specific date for the team’s 2023 Elite Camp, although my assumption is that it will transpire sometime this coming August.
According to a recent tweet from recruiting analyst Jake Lieberman, Winker will visit both the ‘Cuse and Austin Peay to attend their respective Elite Camps.
It’s still early in his recruitment, but Winker does have a scholarship offer in hand from Southeast Missouri State. Per multiple reports, he also holds interest from Syracuse basketball, among numerous other schools.
Ben Winker, a 2025 four-star center, will visit Syracuse basketball to play in its Elite Camp.
Winker is a rising junior at the Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis. This spring and summer on the AAU circuit, he has suited up for the 16U squad of the St. Louis-based Bradley Beal Elite in Nike’s EYBL league.Several of the primary recruiting services don’t currently have Winker within their 2025 national rankings at this time. However, ESPN does place him as four stars, the No. 27 center and the No. 4 prospect in Missouri within the rising-junior class.
...
Syracuse native Symir Torrence ready for next chapter (spectrumlocalnews.com; MacWilliam)
No matter the level, summer is the best time for basketball players to hone their craft. There is no substitute for hard work. And Symir Torrence never wastes a second on the court.
Torrence, a Syracuse native, is doing just that as he gets ready his final season of college basketball. The former SU player will finish his career at Binghamton this winter.
“I work day in and day out,” he said. I trust my work ethic. I trust the people around me, even the people in this gym today. They always help me. Even when I lose. It doesn't matter. It's always a learning experience.”
His journey began on the high school courts of Syracuse - a star at Syracuse Academy of Science in high school, before prep school and 2 years at Marquette. But the best part of his journey brought him back to Syracuse for the last 2 seasons in Orange.
Torrence calls it an unreal experience to play for his hometown school, but decided another change of scenery was best for him.
“Deep down in my heart, I just thought it was best for me,” he said. “The coaching staff thought it was best for me. They thought I deserved more. I thought so as well. And Binghamton seemed to be the right fit. Definitely one of my family and my friends. So to come see me, it's only down the road, like you said, our way. So I'm excited and I'm thankful that I chose being I'm staying because it's only down the road.”
“Just bringing that high major level talent and that experience down to the low major level on,” he said. “I don't look at it as a low, major level because nowadays college basketball is college basketball. You see all the little major schools getting up and into the power fives and the Final Four. So you really just can't look down on little majors.”
And so far the change is paying off as Torrence’s experience makes it easy for others learn from him.
...
Long-term relationship led Guerrier to Illini (yahoo.com; Richey)
Quincy Guerrier spending his final season of college basketball at Illinois is "Exhibit A" for the upside of not burning any bridges in the recruiting process.
Guerrier has been on the Illini radar for more than five years.
Long enough ago that Jamall Walker was leading his recruitment.
Long enough ago that his October 2018 visit was happening concurrently with the recruitments of guys like E.J. Liddell, Kahlil Whitney, Oscar Tshiebwe, Kofi Cockburn and Terrence Shannon Jr.
The latter, of course, another example of why maintaining a relationship after a recruiting miss can be beneficial. Which is what happened when Guerrier ultimately committed to Syracuse and happened again once Guerrier left the Orange after two seasons and wound up at Oregon.
The third time, as is often said, was the charm for the Illini and coach Brad Underwood.
"Illinois has been recruiting me forever," Guerrier told The News-Gazette recently. "Coach Underwood has been recruiting me since 2017 out of high school from Thetford (Academy). It was an easy choice for me — especially transferring my second time — because he was recruiting me, too, my first time in the portal."
Underwood is about the last vestige of the program Guerrier first visited that fall weekend nearly five years ago, save for strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher.
Geoff Alexander was around back then, too, but is in a different role as an assistant coach now. So is new assistant coach Tyler Underwood, who was still playing for the Illini back then. Ubben Basketball Complex also received a $40 million facelift in those intervening years.
What hadn't changed was Guerrier's relationship with Underwood. Nor has the belief Underwood has in what the Montreal native could accomplish at Illinois. Add in a renovated and expanded Ubben, Fletcher's reputation and a healthy name, image and likeness situation, and Guerrier couldn't pass on the Illini this time.
What Guerrier called a "green light" from Underwood doesn't hurt either.
...
Deandre Kane of Boeheim's Army drives in the first half of a game against Herd That in Wheeling, WVa. July 30, 2023 (Ben Solomon photo)
Herd That eliminates Boeheim’s Army with dominating offensive show (Ditota’s quick hits) (PS; $; Ditota)
A trip to The Basketball Tournament final four was at stake Sunday for Boeheim’s Army.
The team reached the quarterfinals by dethroning the defending champions late Friday night. As a reward, Boeheim’s Army got a 6 1/2 hour bus ride to Wheeling, West Virginia to play Herd That on what essentially amounted to the Herd’s home court.
Boeheim’s Army led 38-33 at the break. Final score: Herd That 88, Boeheim’s Army 71.
Herd That outscored the Army 58-33 in the second half.
When it was all said and done, Boeheim’s Army just lost to a better team.
Here’s what happened:
Herd That outscored Boeheim’s Army 34-13 in the third quarter. That, essentially, was the ball game.
Jon Elmore is the heart and soul of this Herd That team.
He’s a deadly spot-up shooter and when he had space in that first half, he scored from the 3-point line. But he is also deceptively adept with the ball. His four first-half assists really helped his team stay in the game.
In the second half, he showed the ridiculous shooting range he’s known for.
He made two 3-point shots from probably 26 feet (at least). They were wide open. He had 17 points with about three minutes left in the third quarter.
...
Why Did Boeheim’s Army Lose to Herd That in the TBT Quarterfinals? (orangefizz.net; Aitken)
Boeheim’s Army lost 88-71 to Herd That, a Marshall alumni team, in the TBT Quarterfinals. This wasn’t just an average loss – the 17-point defeat tied the biggest in BA history. So what went wrong for Boeheim’s Army?
A Disastrous Third Quarter
There’s no other way to put it: the third quarter lost Boeheim’s Army this game. BA lost to HT 34-13 in that period. That’s a 21-point deficit. The scores of the other quarter totaled to a 58-54 Boeheim’s Army advantage, but the third period erased that.
Herd That dominated every aspect of the game in the third quarter. They outshot Boeheim’s Army 62% to 28%, hit six three-pointers compared to BA’s one, and out-rebounded the SU alumni squad 16-6.
The star of the show was Herd That point guard Jon Elmore. He scored 11 of his 17 points in the third quarter, including three triples.
A Slow Start From Grant Riller
Guard Grant Riller has led the offense all tournament for BA. He’s scored the most points in each game, averaging 25 points per contest. That wasn’t the case against Herd That. While the College of Charleston product still scored a team-leading 15 points, it came too late and not efficient enough. Seven of his points were scored in the fourth quarter, when BA was already in a double digit deficit. Even worse, he shot 31% from the field, down from over 57% in the previous three games.
Rebounding Issues
Entering the quarterfinal round, Boeheim’s Army was a top ten rebounding team in the tournament. That trend stopped against Herd That. BA was out-rebounded 42-30, and especially struggled on the defensive glass. Boeheim’s Army grabbed just 22 boards on that end, which allowed for plenty of second chances for Herd That. The Marshall alumni squad tallied 13 second chance points compared to BA’s two.
...
Other
Site of Wegmans' first Manhattan store, 770 Broadway. The store is scheduled to open in October 2023.Vornado Realty Trust
Wegmans sets opening date for Manhattan store, first without a parking lot (PS; Herbert)
Wegmans is getting ready to open its first-ever store in Manhattan.
The Upstate New York-based grocery store chain announced it will open a new location in the East Village at 770 Broadway, the former site of the Astor Place Kmart, on Oct. 18. It will be Wegmans’ second New York City location, after opening a store in Brooklyn Navy Yard in 2019.
According to Eater, the store will open at 9 a.m. on its opening day, and then operate regularly from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. The store will employ approximately 600 people.
“We are so excited to bring Wegmans to Manhattan,” Wegmans Food Markets CEO and president Colleen Wegman said in 2019, when the location was first announced. “This is something we’ve been dreaming about and working toward for a long time. The community’s response to the opening of our Brooklyn store had an excitement and energy that you can only experience in New York City. You can feel that energy returning to the city, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
The Manhattan Wegmans will occupy the first two levels of 770 Broadway for a total of about 82,000 square feet, bigger than the Brooklyn store. There will be elevators and “cartalators,” or escalators for grocery carts, to take people between floors; other floors in the 15-story building are occupied by Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta.
The Democrat & Chronicle reports the Manhattan Wegmans will be supermarket company’s first and only store without parking. The store will have direct access to the Astor Place subway stop, served by the 6 and 4 trains.
Eater reports the Manhattan location will also feature Next Door by Wegmans, a 94-seat Japanese restaurant with a 10-seat sushi bar that flies in items from Tokyo — the first Wegmans location to do so. The sushi bar will open during the first half of 2024, Wegmans said.
Wegmans, headquartered in Rochester, operates more than 100 stores in eight states and Washington, D.C. For 26 years in a row, the family-owned supermarket chain has made Fortune’s list of the Best Companies to Work For, ranking No. 4 in April.
...
