Gary Gait!

[orangefog]

Brimley - He's dead Jim.

Diabeetus?

 

[illestcuse]

You look at the team's performance...ESPECIALLY this year and the trend over the past 5 or so, It was clear a change is needed. How the university handled Desko's "retirement"...not cool.

I mean, what a freaking mess! Are we really shocked with the way things have been handled up top lately though??? How does the hiring of one coach happen before the retiring/firing of another? Asking for a friend here...

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[rrlbees]

I mean, what a freaking mess! Are we really shocked with the way things have been handled up top lately though??? How does the hiring of one coach happen before the retiring/firing of another? Asking for a friend here...

I doubt it happened that way. It leaked that way and who knows where the leak came from.

 

[PhatOrange]

Some of you guys and your ageism. Jim Berkman down at Salisbury still getting it done, he’s 60. Dan Sheehan LeMoyne is about 48, Shay is 51. Lars as mentioned is older. Breschi is about 53. The grand daddy of them all Danowski is 67.

As if some 30 year old kid would be better lol. Dumb.

 

[dollarbill44]

You look at the team's performance...ESPECIALLY this year and the trend over the past 5 or so, It was clear a change is needed. How the university handled Desko's "retirement"...not cool.

It's quite possible Desko took a couple of weeks and decided it was time to retire. I think you, and a host of other posters, should wait for the official announcement before casting stones at the AD and the school. Unless, of course, you've spoken with Desko or Wildhack already and know how SU "handled" this (whatever you meant by that).

 

[dollarbill44]

I mean, what a freaking mess! Are we really shocked with the way things have been handled up top lately though??? How does the hiring of one coach happen before the retiring/firing of another? Asking for a friend here...

Tell your friend to relax and wait for the real announcement from Wildhack, Desko and Gait. Let's hear how this played out from the 'players' themselves and not a bunch of reporters/internet tea-spillers

 

[Newhouser]

It's quite possible Desko took a couple of weeks and decided it was time to retire. I think you, and a host of other posters, should wait for the official announcement before casting stones at the AD and the school. Unless, of course, you've spoken with Desko or Wildhack already and know how SU "handled" this (whatever you meant by that).

I think that might be the point - anything that comes out from the AD's office now will surely imply that the transition was smooth and easy. I am of the opinion that this Department continually fails to execute effective communications in the modern communication world.

 

[JDOrange]

It's a bold move for sure. Going the Shay-type route would have been the conservative and obvious choice. This is the high risk, high reward choice. I'm excited to see how it works out. Couple additional thoughts:

• I'm not concerned with Gary's age or his knowledge of the current men's game. I think he'll make that transition easily. What I think this program needs right now is leadership and some energy
• I have a hunch he'll be a great recruiter. I assume that from the way he's built up the women's program that he's done well in that department. Would love to hear more from those in the know on the women's program.
• If March does end up sticking around (and I will go on record and say I hope he does), will be interested to see what the offense looks like with the Gait influence. When the offense has been on in the March era it's looked fantastic. When it has been off it has looked rough, with a lot of sloppy play and hero ball moves. More consistency is needed.
• If the Petro news is true, that is intriguing in a million ways. His last decade or so at Hop was not inspiring and alot of Hop fans were wondering if the modern game had passed him by. Maybe the year off allowed him to reset and revise his defensive philosophy a bit. Still a concern.
  • Have to think he's a great recruiter given the classes he's brought in over the years, and most of his former players (at least the top players) seem to adore him
  • One of his sons is the #2 '22 recruit (behind Spallina) and Cuse finished in his top 3 before he committed to UNC. It was believed by many that he would play for his father at Hop before he was let go. Wonder if this would change anything...
  • How long does he stick around? He has been very clear about wanting to coach a P5 school again. Assume this would be a temporary gig to get back to being a HC?

I was in the camp that felt like a change was needed. We should all appreciate the job that Desko has done over these years. He's a legend and that 2000's run of championships was as impressive as any other. I'm excited by the move and can't wait to see what this team looks like in '22.

LGO

 

[Troughin']

Most recruits' parents weren't even married (or had even met) when GG played his last game in college.

The only doors that will be opened are from HS coaches who played around the same time.

Now will that make a difference? Who knows? It just might. I just have a hard time believing most HS kids today know who GG is, other than from old-timers speak glowingly about him, and that he coaches the Women's team.

Don't get me wrong. I fervently hope this is a good move. I pray this is a good move. I'm just not sold.

Completely disagree- Gary wasn't just a good player- he was the best and changed the game. Every high school (or 10 year old for that matter) hockey player knows full well who Wayne Gretzky is.

 

[Jeremy L.]

A lot of people thought it was time for Desko to go. SU makes the move and all of a sudden it's a bad move.

Home run hire. Legend in the men's game who can clearly coach a team. I don't see any issues transitioning from women's to men's considering he's one of the best men's players to ever do it.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

More people have complained in the past 12 hours about Desko leaving than complained in the past 12 YEARS about Desko staying.

Clearly we should just scrap the whole idea and keep Desko around another 3-4 years.

All because someone leaked the info to IL before SU was ready to make a public announcement.

 

[rrlbees]

I think that might be the point - anything that comes out from the AD's office now will surely imply that the transition was smooth and easy. I am of the opinion that this Department continually fails to execute effective communications in the modern communication world.

so you think it is wildhack that is the source of the stories and rumors? These “sources” may be in the Desko camp. May be in the Gait camp. Who knows right now.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

so you think it is wildhack that is the source of the stories and rumors? These “sources” may be in the Desko camp. May be in the Gait camp. Who knows right now.

Maybe it was Quint Kessenich

 

[Jeremy L.]

so you think it is wildhack that is the source of the stories and rumors? These “sources” may be in the Desko camp. May be in the Gait camp. Who knows right now.

FWIW, I found out yesterday that the women's lax coaches lost their jobs about a week ago because of the move.

Edit: I should use "coaches" as in training staff, etc.

 

[orangefog]

This is such a microcosm of America right now. Some people just want to complain about everything. We don’t win enough, so we make a change and now it wasn’t done the right way...blah blah blah. I have faith in JW. I think he made a strong statement and in doing so he treated all parties with respect and consideration. Disrespect is in the wild imaginations of the bored.

 

[Powellfan]

Completely disagree- Gary wasn't just a good player- he was the best and changed the game. Every high school (or 10 year old for that matter) hockey player knows full well who Wayne Gretzky is.

I like this hire, but Gretzky is a bad example, he was not a good coach! Some really good/great players simply cannot translate that talent into coaching, precisely because the "game" came so easy to them. It does not seem like Gait falls into this category however.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

During the early 2000s NCAA was dominated by Princeton, Syracuse, Hopkins, and UVa. All of those programs have been through some lean years since by their standards. I would argue that our down stretch was still better than the other 3 on this list. We have missed the NCAA tournament only once and won a few ACC titles. If we had a faceoff guy in 2013 we could have won that title game.

Princeton has not recovered and administration cares a lot less about men's lacrosse. Hop has a new coach and we will see if that pans out. We know what happened at Virginia a player committed a murder and some down years that led to a change in leadership. Now UVa has enjoyed back to back championships. We are the last to make a change.

As frustrated as I have been with Desko, I have always appreciated what he has been able to accomplish. I wish he had announced his retirement or not said he planned to be back in 2022. Which if memory serves me, I believe he said.

I can see how things are leaked but I think Wildhack should have egg on his face. Wildhack needed to handle this one better. Once he knew the direction the team was going he should have immediately announced the change and done it a way that honored John Desko.

 

[DoctahLexus]

More people have complained in the past 12 hours about Desko leaving than complained in the past 12 YEARS about Desko staying.

Point taken but we all know this part is far from the truth. Even now vast majority of people on here seem very pro this move. Desko haters have been going crazy for years and years and years.

 

[NJCuse97]

If he was pushed and did not retire voluntarily it’s quite sad. Desko may have struggled without his friend and ally Donahue in the last year but they were both great servants to the program.

I worry that we are swapping an ageing coach with another ageing coach and one that has no experience of the Men’s game in recent times, the game has changed dramatically!

If we are updating our coaching staff and with it completely changing our tradition, it should have been someone younger who has been through the system and understands life on the hill.

A huge thank you to Coach Desko who has left an amazing legacy of All Americans, Championship rings and Coach of the year titles.

I get the frustration with the way this seems to be happening, but many companies move on from principal level employees after 30+ years of service. It is never fun to see, but sometimes necessary.

The part I bolded is the part that confuses me about your statement most. Gary Gait hasn't been through the system? Gary Gait, SU women's lax coach for the last 14 years and an alum doesn't understand life on the hill?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Point taken but we all know this part is far from the truth. Even now vast majority of people on here seem very pro this move. Desko haters have been going crazy for years and years and years.

Everybody likes the move (well, most everybody).

People are mad because of the way the news broke.

Obviously Desko and JW had a meeting of the minds last week. I'm pretty sure that Desko didn't find out he was retiring by reading twitter last night.

I'm assuming that Desko had a chance to address the team before they scattered to the winds for Summer break. At least I hope so. Some other poster claimed that the team was excited about the changes, so hopefully most of them were told.

I'm also assuming that Gait had the chance to talk to his team as well.

If we started interviewing candidates for the WLAX job, you've got even more people involved in trying to keep this a secret.

Clearly, someone talked out of turn.

Damned impossible to get the SU PR machine cranked up at 7 PM on a Sunday night to issue an official communique.

 

[Stealth4785]

Everybody likes the move (well, most everybody).

People are mad because of the way the news broke.

Obviously Desko and JW had a meeting of the minds last week. I'm pretty sure that Desko didn't find out he was retiring by reading twitter last night.

I'm assuming that Desko had a chance to address the team before they scattered to the winds for Summer break. At least I hope so. Some other poster claimed that the team was excited about the changes, so hopefully most of them were told.

I'm also assuming that Gait had the chance to talk to his team as well.

If we started interviewing candidates for the WLAX job, you've got even more people involved in trying to keep this a secret.

Clearly, someone talked out of turn.

Damned impossible to get the SU PR machine cranked up at 7 PM on a Sunday night to issue an official communique.

If only Syracuse had a communications school and a good one at that...

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Wouldn’t it be fun if we could talk about what style of play we think Gait intends to implement and other Xs and Os type stuff?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Wouldn’t it be fun if we could talk about what style of play we think Gait intends to implement and other Xs and Os type stuff?

I think Gait will be thrilled to coach a defense that can hit and check without getting whistled for a penalty every 20 seconds.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

I think Gait will be thrilled to coach a defense that can hit and check without getting whistled for a penalty every 20 seconds.

Don't forget "dangerous shot"