Get Hodgson, Get Melo on Board

[Sherman20]

They have beaten Kansas State, Miami, FAU, and Vanderbilt.

They're legit and will be doing something Cuse hasn't done in years come March.

Drake is pretty good. But all those teams stink this year. Still I’d take McCollum as our coach in a heartbeat. He clearly knows how to win.

 

[hoopsupstate]

The losses to ND and Georgetown were close. It’s not a stretch to suggest Starling would be a difference maker against those teams, neither of which are very good.

We had an 8-point lead over Wake in the second half and all of a sudden we couldn’t buy a bucket. That’s a situation tailor-made for Starling. It’s precisely what he did against Ga. Tech and BC. These are all comparable opponents.

ND was also missing their best player. He will be back in Saturday. We have no one that will be able to keep him out of the lane.

 

[UpstateSM]

View attachment 248709

Transfer portal, fit and NIL money: How it works to build a Syracuse basketball roster

Syracuse lost and gained players in the 2024 transfer portal.

www.syracuse.com

omg hahahahahahha

 

[Scooch]

You really can’t figure this out? That’s the market. A range of guards with different levels of talent and what they make. If our spending limit on a guard was below $600k, who were we going to get?

By all accounts, the one guy we couldn’t land was Leffew. No one has suggested that Davis, Taylor or Carlos were guys that Red “settled” for due to funds. Maybe that was the case and I’m all ears if it was.

And by all accounts, the delta on landing Leffew was $200K. Hell let’s say $250K if we needed to top UGA not just match them.

$250K is not a ton of money in the NIL landscape. Not for landing one’s desired player at the most critical position in the sport. I mean, find 3 boosters and that’s $83K a piece.

Red’s primary job in this era of college hoops is to get that money, by any means necessary. And we’re not talking about millions here. $250K for a kid who was at Mt. St. Mary’s.

I’ll be honest, I think Red flopped here. You just can’t lose a player like he did. You gotta find the money, somehow, someway.

I know there’s been meetings with boosters, and budgets have been presented. PowerPoints and everything. But there was a lack of urgency this offseason, that much seems clear.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Whatever happens next, Melo absolutely has to be bought into.

If it happens this year absolutely. One time get out of jail free card potentially with a HOFer that can help kick start things.

But we need him to tamper with players this year while the tournament is going on and Reds fired and we may not have a new coach yet officially.

If Red gets a stay of execution who knows the Anthony's might leave with him next year will not be pretty.

 

[Day2]

By all accounts, the one guy we couldn’t land was Leffew. No one has suggested that Davis, Taylor or Carlos were guys that Red “settled” for due to funds. Maybe that was the case and I’m all ears if it was.

And by all accounts, the delta on landing Leffew was $200K. Hell let’s say $250K if we needed to top UGA not just match them.

$250K is not a ton of money in the NIL landscape. Not for landing one’s desired player at the most critical position in the sport. I mean, find 3 boosters and that’s $83K a piece.

Red’s primary job in this era of college hoops is to get that money, by any means necessary. And we’re not talking about millions here. $250K for a kid who was at Mt. St. Mary’s.

I’ll be honest, I think Red flopped here. You just can’t lose a player like he did. You gotta find the money, somehow, someway.

I know there’s been meetings with boosters, and budgets have been presented. PowerPoints and everything. But there was a lack of urgency this offseason, that much seems clear.

You assume topping UGA by $50k is all it would take. While Leffew might be coming off the bench, he’s fourth in MPG and second in PPG. UGA wanted him and he’s from around there.

A precedent was set with Edwards the year before. They thought they had his commitment, then it turned into a bidding war, then they put a stop to it.

They had a commitment from Leffew and then he burned them.

(Before anyone mentions Lampkin, refer to my previous posts in this thread.)

 

[Scooch]

You assume topping UGA by $50k is all it would take. While Leffew might be coming off the bench, he’s fourth in MPG and second in PPG. UGA wanted him and he’s from around there.

A precedent was set with Edwards the year before. They thought they had his commitment, then it turned into a bidding war, then they put a stop to it.

They had a commitment from Leffew and then he burned them.

(Before anyone mentions Lampkin, refer to my previous posts in this thread.)

That's all fine. Did we even try to match Leffew's $600K?

And now that we've been burned three times in 2 years (Edwards, Lampkin, Leffew) maybe we need to start considering that as a possible outcome and operate accordingly?

Like I said previously, I'm not disputing that we need a larger NIL budget. I am disputing that missing on Leffew is entirely why this program has cratered. It's a small part.

Poorly evaluating literally everyone else we brought in, and failing to bring in another ball handler entirely, are much bigger parts.

 

[Dcuse]

By all accounts, the one guy we couldn’t land was Leffew. No one has suggested that Davis, Taylor or Carlos were guys that Red “settled” for due to funds. Maybe that was the case and I’m all ears if it was.

And by all accounts, the delta on landing Leffew was $200K. Hell let’s say $250K if we needed to top UGA not just match them.

$250K is not a ton of money in the NIL landscape. Not for landing one’s desired player at the most critical position in the sport. I mean, find 3 boosters and that’s $83K a piece.

Red’s primary job in this era of college hoops is to get that money, by any means necessary. And we’re not talking about millions here. $250K for a kid who was at Mt. St. Mary’s.

I’ll be honest, I think Red flopped here. You just can’t lose a player like he did. You gotta find the money, somehow, someway.

I know there’s been meetings with boosters, and budgets have been presented. PowerPoints and everything. But there was a lack of urgency this offseason, that much seems clear.

I don’t see how you can blame the coach because there wasn’t enough NIL money to get the player he wanted. I mean, the guy seems to be the blamed for every detail that goes wrong. If a waste basket somewhere wasn’t emptied….. that’s on Autry. I’m not saying you are saying that but let’s face it, the guy probably won’t last through next year but he takes way too much crap on this board. I never hear one word about Griffin, Straughn or Engelstaad and they sure as hell aren’t helping any.

 

[Scooch]

I don’t see how you can blame the coach because there wasn’t enough NIL money to get the player he wanted. I mean, the guy seems to be the blamed for every detail that goes wrong. If a waste basket somewhere wasn’t emptied….. that’s on Autry. I’m not saying you are saying that but let’s face it, the guy probably won’t last through next year but he takes way too much crap on this board. I never hear one word about Griffin, Straughn or Engelstaad and they sure as hell aren’t helping any.

The head coach's job, and probably his primary job these days, is to make sure he has enough NIL funds to land his most desired targets.

In this case, it's not like the PG Red wanted got $1.5 million from some other school. He got $200K more. That's really not much in this wild NIL world we exist in.

It sounds like Red took a year to get his NIL asks in gear. Lots of folks have reported that he and the school have been more aggressive in soliciting funds since last summer.

The problem is that taking a year to get to that point seems to have cost us an offseason of player acquisition. And IMHO that's on Red. He needed to have a plan from day 1 of his tenure. Like Fran.

 

[Dcuse]

The head coach's job, and probably his primary job these days, is to make sure he has enough NIL funds to land his most desired targets.

In this case, it's not like the PG Red wanted got $1.5 million from some other school. He got $200K more. That's really not much in this wild NIL world we exist in.

It sounds like Red took a year to get his NIL asks in gear. Lots of folks have reported that he and the school have been more aggressive in soliciting funds since last summer.

The problem is that taking a year to get to that point seems to have cost us an offseason of player acquisition. And IMHO that's on Red. He needed to have a plan from day 1 of his tenure. Like Fran.

We now have a GM. We have Jim Boeheim in his role. We have an athletic director. And you’re telling me the Head Basketball Coach’s Primary job is to knock on doors and get money in addition to every other detail they have to take care of? Man, I’m not saying you’re wrong but the state of affairs in college sports is even more pathetic than I thought if this is the case.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I posted this in the " Yeesh" thread.
If Red is back it will primarily be because of the financial situation.
SU is on the hook for 20M plus
Red's Buyout
Coaches and staff buyout
New coach and staff cost
In addition he does have a solid class coming in and of course team Melo.
If Red's back it's because of money and Melo.

How do you figure $20M+?
I've read online that his contract is $3M a year and ends after the 2026 season - 1 more year.

I have also read that he is paid closer to $2M/year, but his deal runs through 2028, which would be a 5 year contract for a rookie head coach.

Either way, what we might owe Autry would not seem to come close to your number.

Yes, you have to pay for a new coach anyway.

 

[Nicknack]

But wait, shouldn't we give Red massive credit for 20 wins with a team of misfits last year?? I loved having that one shoved my direction months ago anytime I (and others) had criticism or concern with Red. Sometimes this board shoves a narrative that lives for a while. Glad to see it finally die.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Then we can't do what we need to do to be competitive.

OK.

Not a good situation but maybe we can only fund one program to be competitive and football butters the bread, and has a coach trending up, so...

Also, speaking of money problem, the 19K+ announced attendance below ... It's likely only going to get worse and as for season tix renewals, I would expect a drop in sales:

Holy crap.

 

[nyucuse]

By all accounts, the one guy we couldn’t land was Leffew. No one has suggested that Davis, Taylor or Carlos were guys that Red “settled” for due to funds. Maybe that was the case and I’m all ears if it was.

And by all accounts, the delta on landing Leffew was $200K. Hell let’s say $250K if we needed to top UGA not just match them.

$250K is not a ton of money in the NIL landscape. Not for landing one’s desired player at the most critical position in the sport. I mean, find 3 boosters and that’s $83K a piece.

Red’s primary job in this era of college hoops is to get that money, by any means necessary. And we’re not talking about millions here. $250K for a kid who was at Mt. St. Mary’s.

I’ll be honest, I think Red flopped here. You just can’t lose a player like he did. You gotta find the money, somehow, someway.

I know there’s been meetings with boosters, and budgets have been presented. PowerPoints and everything. But there was a lack of urgency this offseason, that much seems clear.

Red is not up to the job, from a coaching perspective, and also, amplified, in the new NIL / fundraising environment we are in. It is clear as day. JW needs to put his big boy pants on and stop the bleeding. Now.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Which is why we want Melo on board. He will help to increase that budget significantly. Question is: Can we keep Melo on board if Red gets fired?

It would seem ridiculous to keep Red, at this point. Melo gets the Syracuse scores down in NYC. He has TV, y'know. He can't like this show.

 

[im4cuse]

If they moved on I’d take a look at Willard

His dad was assistant here in 80s

 

[hoopsupstate]

How do you figure $20M+?
I've read online that his contract is $3M a year and ends after the 2026 season - 1 more year.

I have also read that he is paid closer to $2M/year, but his deal runs through 2028, which would be a 5 year contract for a rookie head coach.

Either way, what we might owe Autry would not seem to come close to your number.

Yes, you have to pay for a new coach anyway.

I doubt he is close to $3 million. JB might have barely hit $3 million. I think Fran is around $3 million. I would guess he got a five year contract.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Well, as stated, some are saying we simply do not have enough money to spread around to fund both programs at adequate levels currently.

Liking the pay-for-play direction going forward vs. being ready to fund that direction adequately on day 1 are two different things.

Well then drop some non-revenue sports.
It's not like they haven't done it before.
Remember what a great wrestling program SU used to have?

 

[IthacaMatt]

I doubt he is close to $3 million. JB might have barely hit $3 million. I think Fran is around $3 million. I would guess he got a five year contract.

JB made $2.5M.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It’s been said that SU has $1 million set aside for a center next year. That will not even get you a sniff of an upper crust center. Everyone is looking for a center. Teams will just keep upping the anti another $100,000 and SU won’t be able to match it. I really like Red, but there’s no excuse for what we’re seeing on the floor. After two years I have no idea what his philosophy is on defense. There’s no rhyme or reason to how they’re playing man defense. Their five out on offense is an offense where bigs can stretch the floor. Our bigs can’t stretch the floor. I have yet to see our bigs put a body on anyone setting screens. It’s the JB way, stand there and the offensive player will run around you. It’s one of the reasons we can’t get shooters open. This team says all the right things but these guys show zero urgency on the defensive end. It was embarrassing watching JJ on defense last night. He went around him all night. He let his man just dribble him down in the paint and score. He didn’t make any effort to physically push him out of the lane. Our bigs make no effort to help. They got wide open threes without us even attempting to double down inside. This team says they want to win. Their effort on defense is the worst in the ACC and maybe of any big four team. It’s flat out embarrassing. It’s been that way for the past two years. Last night was a huge game and they acted like it was an exhibition game with the amount of effort they played with. Red keeps running the same crap and we keep getting the same results. I’m not sure any coach can win with this team, but I know coaches that would never allow what we’re seeing on the floor. I don’t know what‘s going to happen, but this level of play can’t continue. After seeing who this staff brought in from the portal, I’m not confident they can evaluate talent. I know they are involved with several highly ranked kids in the 2026 class, but we never seem to close the deal. We continue to whiff on point guards. We haven’t signed a true point guard since Ennis in 2014. That’s ten years ago. We are the most boring team I’ve seen SU ever put on the floor. Who makes you want to go see them play? Who in the ACC, besides Flagg really gets you excited to watch play? I watched two other games last night in the ACC and they put me to sleep. This conference is awful and we still are getting blown out. Duke is going to go undefeated in the conference and I doubt they even get challenged. They are good, but not great. Flagg is great and the rest are good. Louisville, Pitt, Clemson and NC are ok, but will get crushed by the good SEC schools. This conference is a mess in hoops. SU has a chance, if the correct decisions and support are put in place to be near the top. I have little confidence that this will happen. Why spend $200 million to update the Dome when you put this kind of product on the court? Attendance won’t be an issue this year because the tickets were already bought. That’s why last nights attendance was listed at 19,750. It won’t be next year. I don’t want to even think it, but I can’t keep driving two hours to every game and drive home stewing over a performance like last night. I can stew just as easily in my chair. I’m afraid that‘s where everyone will be watching games for the rest of this year and next.

Terrific post.
But remember, the "return" key is your friend.

 

[Scooch]

We now have a GM. We have Jim Boeheim in his role. We have an athletic director. And you’re telling me the Head Basketball Coach’s Primary job is to knock on doors and get money in addition to every other detail they have to take care of? Man, I’m not saying you’re wrong but the state of affairs in college sports is even more pathetic than I thought if this is the case.

It's the business that he has chosen.

Do you think Fran relied on the AD or his GM to close the NIL funding he needed for Kyle McCord? No chance. And I'd contend that the PG is the QB of hoops.

 

[BillSU]

It's the business that he has chosen.

Do you think Fran relied on the AD or his GM to close the NIL funding he needed for Kyle McCord? No chance. And I'd contend that the PG is the QB of hoops.

Yes, the PG is the QB of hoops.

I believe getting Melo really involved with us is the key.

Add him to the BOD. Let him give other board members his take on the situation, including all his knowledge of NIL and the players and parents he knows who follow him. I think he will make a huge difference in Syracuse University if this is done. The Melo board will create a lot of media interest and he will help with the attraction of players in the portal.

As far as attracting players who are looking for big bags there's a limit to anyone's pocket. He has a net worth of 165 - 170 M. Melo is smart and is developing new businesses. He knows how to make money for himself and others:


" Melo is currently hustling through many different avenues, including his show 7 PM in Brooklyn, his venture capital firm Melo7 Tech Partners, a fashion line called STAYME7O, his Creative 7 media production firm, and so much more. Much like his approach to basketball, Melo has always done things his way. However, his time on the court also taught him the value of collaboration, a lesson he’s now applying to his entrepreneurial ventures. One example is his partnership with 1800 Tequila—one of his first major brand endorsements—which highlights his ability to work as part of a team and understand the unique roles each partner plays in driving success."

I think Melo's addition to the University would be very positive but only if he wants it.

 

[Fat tire 13]

Lots of circular arguments here

Thinking about NIL and coaching, does anyone believe Red has us “punching above our weight?” One could have made that argument last year, but this year our record is worse than both talent level and NIL bang for the buck

While Melo isn’t a panacea, I think he should have a big voice in what happens next. I’m hopeful we retain talent and recruits because of Melo. The allure of having Melo at practices/games and drawing attention to program is worth a ton. Probably enough to keep kids from jumping for slightly more money.

If Melo wants a new coach, or even supports the idea, we need to move forward. Kiyan coming here is a unique situation and will only happen once. Have to maximize the impact and can’t squander it.

Sure it is temporary (1-2 years), but it can’t get much worse either.

 

[baggerbob]

We now have a GM. We have Jim Boeheim in his role. We have an athletic director. And you’re telling me the Head Basketball Coach’s Primary job is to knock on doors and get money in addition to every other detail they have to take care of? Man, I’m not saying you’re wrong but the state of affairs in college sports is even more pathetic than I thought if this is the case.

Early on when Fran was hired it was reported JW and Fran were in LA to talk to possible donors.

 

[Dcuse]

It's the business that he has chosen.

Do you think Fran relied on the AD or his GM to close the NIL funding he needed for Kyle McCord? No chance. And I'd contend that the PG is the QB of hoops.

Fran knew McCord when he was 12. Hardly a good example. I agree that Autry has to do speaking engagements to help things but it better not be his or any head coach’s ” primary” job.