sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Patriots' Day!
Patriots' Day is a holiday commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord, which took place on April 19, 1775. The shots fired at these two cities on the outskirts of Boston were the first shots of the American Revolution. Following the war, Lexington Day and Concord Day began being celebrated in their respective cities. The cities later petitioned Massachusetts Governor Frederic Greenhalge to create a state commemoration. He created Patriots' Day, which replaced Fast Day. It was first celebrated on April 19, 1894. The new holiday also originally commemorated the anniversary of the Baltimore riot of 1861, where some of the first bloodshed of the Civil War took place, and four members of the Massachusetts militia died. In 1938, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill making the battles of Lexington and Concord the sole focus of the day.
Until 1969, the holiday was celebrated on the actual anniversary of the battles, but it since has been observed on the third Monday of April in most states that officially commemorate it. As of 2018, it is a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts. Schools in Wisconsin observe it on April 19 (if it's a weekday) by having students learn about the battles and their importance to American history. Those in Florida are encouraged to celebrate the day, although it isn't an official holiday there. Connecticut began officially observing the day in 2018.
SU News
Locked On Syracuse - Daily Podcast On Syracuse Orange Football & Basketball: Evaluating Syracuse Basketball's Offseason (SO FAR) | Syracuse Orange Podcast on Apple Podcasts (apple.com; podcat; Locked on Syracuse)
Judah Mintz recently declared for the 2024 NBA Draft and won't return to Syracuse Basketball next season. Head Coach Adrian Autry is also trying to bring in Four Star transfers Dakota Leffew and Jyare Davis. Will the Orange be better next season if those guys commit alongside Chris Bell, Eddie Lampkin, and JJ Starling.
Jackson Holzer is joined by Cuse Sports Talk Executive Producer Jordan Capozzi to go over Syracuse's offseason thus far.
(youtube; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Basketball has visits scheduled with Four-Star Transfers Dakota Leffew and Jyare Davis. Adrian Autry's squad appears out on Harvard's Malik Mack. On this edition of Segment of the Week on Locked On Syracuse, Jackson Holzer is joined by High School Basketball Insider Sam Kayser (@247HSHoops) to discuss the latest Orange rumors.
2024 SG Elijah Moore Interview talks Syracuse, Eddie Lampkin, UNC Rivalry & more | EP 80 (youtube; podcast;l Light It Up Sports)
On today's episode, 2024 SG Elijah Moore breaks down his decision to commit to Syracuse, his relationship with big man Eddie Lampkin, high school teammate Ian Jackson and the brewing UNC rivalry, and much more. If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to the channel for more Syracuse basketball interviews and content. Also, follow Elijah on his socials below!
Syracuse Basketball: A $4 million NIL war chest to win big in portal, prep recruiting (itlh; Adler)
Given the transfer portal's explosion - and somewhat absurdity - Syracuse basketball and its peers in the Atlantic Coast Conference and around the country are experiencing significant roster shake-ups now and will continue to witness this trend in the future.
What's further fueling the portal landscape is name, image and likeness opportunities that are likely creating bidding wars among college basketball programs for transfers, and to a lesser degree, potentially at the high school level.
Top-flight transfers are commanding significant NIL dollars, according to recent media reports and comments from experts. By extension, it does appear that the biggest portion of a particular team's NIL budget in collegiate hoops will end up going to the transfer market, as opposed to existing roster players or high school recruits.
While I'm cautiously optimistic that Syracuse basketball - supported by commercial NIL collective Orange United - can be relatively on par with other brand-name programs in the sport, for the 'Cuse to win big in the transfer portal (and at the prep level), a recent report suggests a massive war chest could be needed.
Syracuse basketball must have millions of NIL dollars to compete at a high level in the portal.
I found a recent article by On3 college sports business and transfer portal reporter Pete Nakos, who is one of the best in the business, to be eye-opening.
At the onset, Nakos writes that NIL budgets for college basketball programs "range from $1 to $4 million. Deals pushing half a million to seven figures are much more frequent in basketball, unlike football."
According to the On3 expert, within the portal, the "most valuable" positions are likely power forwards and centers, and the top big-men transfers can command $1 million deals. Top guards, Nakos says, can generate "roughly half a million a year."
A couple of days ago, the college basketball world was put into a frenzy when ace recruiter John Calipari left Kentucky to be the head coach at fellow Southeastern Conference school Arkansas.
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Syracuse basketball can be good next season but having 'Cuse in top 10 is a bit much (itlh; Adler)
I'll start out this column with two acknowledgments: number one, I'm a total homer when it comes to Syracuse basketball, given I'm a fiercely proud SU alum, and number two, preseason top-25 rankings published in the spring for the following campaign that will begin in November mean next to nothing.
In any event, when Michael DeCourcy of The Sporting News on April 8 unveiled his way-too-early top 25 for the 2024-25 season and installed the Orange at No. 10 around the country, two things came to mind.
Hey, that's cool. And, really?
All kidding aside, to be fair, DeCourcy's super early top 25 came out a few days before news officially broke that 'Cuse sophomore point guard Judah Mintz would head to the 2024 NBA Draft, so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves in pumping up our beloved Orange.
Mintz led the Orange in scoring this past term, at nearly 19 points per contest, which was No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He was named to the All-ACC second team. So while Mintz does have his strengths and weaknesses, I think it's a little naive to assume the 'Cuse will be better off without him.
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Syracuse Orange forward Benny Williams (13) is double teamed by Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward Efton Reid III (4) and guard Damari Monsanto (30) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC, Saturday February 3, 2024. (Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com) Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com
Former Syracuse basketball forward Benny Williams announces transfer destination (PS; $; Ditota)
Former Syracuse basketball forward Benny Williams announced Sunday night on Instagram that he will transfer to the University of Central Florida.
Williams was a junior this season, but was dismissed from the Orange team on February 6. Syracuse issued a statement about his dismissal but did not elaborate on why he was excused from the team. Williams had been suspended three games earlier in the season for a violation of team rules.
The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18 games this season. A former 5-star recruit, he was expected to play a big role in SU’s 2023-24 season, but his career here stalled and then abruptly ended.
At his best, Williams is an athletic forward who can run the floor, finish in transition and rebound the ball. His passing skills this season were underrated. He shot the ball well from the 3-point line his sophomore season, but struggled to make those shots this year.
At UCF, he will try to rejuvenate his career in fresh surroundings. Williams will play for Washington, D.C. native Johnny Dawkins, the former Duke star and assistant coach who will be in his eighth season as head coach of the Knights.
UCF was 17-16 this season, 7-11 in the AAC and lost in the first round of the NIT.
Former Syracuse center Peter Carey transfers to Siena, follows Gerry McNamara (TNIAAM; Szuba)
Former Syracuse Orange men’s basketball player Peter Carey announced his transfer to Siena on Sunday. Carey, a 6-foot-11 center, will follow newly minted Saints head coach Gerry McNamara and compete in the MAAC. Carey made the announcement on his Instagram.
Carey played two seasons at Syracuse but missed his freshman season after going down with a right knee injury. He played in 14 games this past season as a redshirt freshman, averaging 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.1 minutes per game. Carey saw his responsibilities increase at Syracuse as the backup center to Maliq Brown when starting center Naheem McLeod went down for the season with a foot injury. Carey missed two games late in the season with a concussion.
Carey, a rising junior, will have three years of college eligibility remaining. He was one of six Syracuse players to enter the transfer portal this spring. Five of the six members of Jim Boeheim’s final recruiting class at Syracuse have chosen to move on from SU this offseason.
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MBB: Wild 2024 Coaching Carousel! (RX; HM)
MBB: Wild 2024 Coaching Carousel!
Coaching Carousels can often seem strange, but this has been a particularly strange one for men's basketball coaches this off season...
From the BleacherReport daily email:
OUCH!
__________
Here are just the P4 Head Basketball Coach changes for 2024-25 (so far):
| School | Out | In |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | Eric Musselman | John Calipari |
| BYU Cougars | Mark Pope | tbd |
| Kentucky Wildcats | John Calipari | Mark Pope |
| Louisville Cardinals | Kenny Payne | Pat Kelsey |
| Michigan Wolverines | Juwan Howard | Dusty May |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | Chris Holtmann | Jake Diebler |
| Oklahoma State Cowboys | Mike Boynton | Steve Lutz |
| SMU Mustangs | Rob Lanier | Andy Enfield |
| Stanford Cardinal | Jerod Haase | Kyle Smith |
Other
Owners of Syracuse’s Apizza Regionale plan to bring Roman-style food and dining to Fayetteville (PS; $; Cazentre)
The owners of Syracuse’s popular Apizza Regionale are planning to open a new Roman-inspired restaurant, bakery and food market in the village of Fayetteville.
Paulie Messina and John Stage recently signed a lease to take over the building that was once the home of Kirby’s Grill & Taphouse at 408 E. Genesee St. The Kirby’s closed in October 2022.
The new restaurant, which will likely open in about a year, will have a lot of components, Messina said
In the day, it will be a grab-and-go cafe with baked goods, pizzas by the slice, panini sandwiches and similar items, along with a market stocked with Italian foods and specialties for purchase. At night, it will become a Roman-style trattoria, with pizzas, pastas and and other dishes, a full cocktail bar and an Italian-centered wine list.
“We’re planning to have the best of Italian foods — part cafe, part bakery, gelato, pizzeria and trattoria all rolled into one,” Messina said. “The best of Italy coming to Fayetteville, New York.”
Messina, who runs Apizza Regionale, and Stage, who also owns the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurants, have enlisted a third partner in the new place. Amy Chrisogonou will have a share in the business and serve as the bakery and culinary manager in Fayetteville.
The concept is different from Apizza Regionale, whose rustic pizzas and pastas are based more on the cuisine of Naples. The new place will be inspired more by Roman foods and restaurants.
The pizzas at the Fayetteville location will also be different. Apizza Regionale uses a wood-fired oven imported from Naples that makes thin-crust “blistered” Neapolitan-style pies.
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Major furniture store chain buys struggling Northern Lights Plaza in Salina (PS; $; Moriarty)
A major furniture store chain has purchased the struggling Northern Lights Plaza, Salina Town Supervisor Nick Paro said Friday.
Liverpool-based Raymour & Flanigan closed on the purchase on Thursday, Paro said in a news release.
Raymour & Flanigan confirmed the purchase to syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. It said the company plans to attract national and local businesses to take vacant space in the plaza. The furniture store chain said it has no plans to open a store of its own in the plaza.
Built in 1956 on Route 11, Northern Lights has been a retail staple in Salina for generations. In its heyday, the plaza was home to retailers like T.J. Maxx, Michaels, Media Play, Christmas Tree Shops and Hofmann’s Hot Haus. Current tenants include Paladino’s Pizza and Olum’s furniture and appliance store.
But in recent years, the plaza has suffered from a high vacancy rate, made worse when Christmas Tree Shops closed its store last summer.
“This plaza was once a jewel of our community, but has been in disrepair for many years now,” Paro said in a statement.
Raymour & Flanigan has more than 145 showroom, outlet and clearance center locations across seven states.
Paro said the chain has a real estate division that has a practice of buying plazas and leasing them to other retailers. Sometimes, though not always, it opens a Raymour & Flanigan store as an anchor for the plaza, he said.
In the case of Northern Lights, the company saw an opportunity to redevelop a commercial property that could be primed for a comeback when Micron Technology builds a giant semiconductor plant a few miles away in Clay, Paro said.
“They purchased it because they felt it’s well-positioned with Micron coming,” he said. “It could be a successful retail center again.”
The company has been having discussions with the town about creating a zoning overlay district for Northern Lights that would allow multiple uses, including warehousing, retail, restaurants and grocery stores, he said.
Paro said there have also been preliminary discussions about creating a new entrance and exit to provide easier access to the plaza. That would require permission from the state Department of Transportation, he said.
