Who did Hopkins replace on the staff? Tim O’Toole? Hop was only 1 year removed from being a player when he got his assistant coaching slot wasn’t he? Were people back then saying he didn’t deserve the slot because he hadn’t “cut his teeth” at other programs? Or did they trust the future hall of fame coach’s judgement that he knew if a guy he coached for 4 years would make s good addition to his staff or not?
You make an interesting point, but I do see the situations a little bit differently.
O'Toole leaves, it opens a spot, and Hopkins gets the job.
The Fine stuff hits, Bernie goes away, GMac gets a bump.
Absent ESPN taking a torch to Bernie Fine, what does GMac's career path look like?
Now, a lot of time has passed so regardless of how he started, GMac by experience alone has certainly achieved a certain level.
I just don't know how good he is. As a recruiter, his results aren't overwhelming. That's fair, right? We don't see behind the scenes way the coaching is like, so I have no idea how good he is in that respect. People here say he's good, and they may be right, so we really don't know. We do know that there are a lot of people in the coaching fraternity that aren't good, so we can't say that just because he's in the club that it guarantees anything.
This is why I think it's good for GMac, for himself, to leave. He needs to be tested. Right now he lives in Boeheim's shadow with a fan base that gives him the benefit of the doubt because he made big shots in huge moments. That's comfortable. Comfortable isn't necessarily the best environment for growth though. If he gets the keys someday, he needs to do a lot of growing between now and then, and I don't believe he can do all of that here.