Class of 2017 Hameir Wright (NY) to Washington

[dasher]

I hope he falls on his butt actually. He left Syracuse so to me he could of stayed and honored his commitment to Coach B. I get why he left but it just means to me he was never meant to be head coach

So a kid that was a player, a captain and a ass't coach for 20 years take a job closer to his natural home, and you wish him ill. Let's clear a few things up. Coach B is thrilled that Hop left because he wanted to keep coaching. I guess you are the only one that didn't know that. Jb wasn't exactly a pleasure to be around this past season for Hop. Second, we weren't recruiting Wright. Even if we were, good for Hop. He is the coach at Washington and he didn't make Wright go to Washington. The player chose to not only go there, he chose to reclassify.

 

[chugg21]

Agreed. It's like switching jobs -- you take your "rolodex" and keep your contacts, and those initial contacts might result in a book of business that you take with you. But over time, those opportunities dry up if you're switching geographic areas.

Hopkins hit the Syracuse recruits he'd built relationships with hard. Moving forward, he will not have built relationships with so many east coast targets, at least not to the same extent.

Was trying to figure out at what age group that folks have no clue what a Rolodex is. Thinking probably 25 and under?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Was trying to figure out at what age group that folks have no clue what a Rolodex is. Thinking probably 25 and under?

I was having a conversation with a young 20 something and she had no idea who Barney Rubble was. I'm guessing a rolodex would be foreign as well.

 

[jordoo]

Could well be true but does that relate somehow to him being shall we say - low profile during his last year?

Absolutely

 

[Toga]

Absolutely

Actually I meant to say -low profile on the recruiting trail. He couldn't have known he'd land a HC gig.

 

[jordoo]

Actually I meant to say -low profile on the recruiting trail. He couldn't have known he'd land a HC gig.

He was low profile on the recruiting trail because JB put other guys on our priority targets and took Hop with him to the Olympics. Hop is a smart guy I'm sure he understood what was going on and told his agent he would be looking. Its no coincidence that Washington knew who they wanted right away.

 

[Sherman20]

So a kid that was a player, a captain and a ass't coach for 20 years take a job closer to his natural home, and you wish him ill. Let's clear a few things up. Coach B is thrilled that Hop left because he wanted to keep coaching. I guess you are the only one that didn't know that. Jb wasn't exactly a pleasure to be around this past season for Hop. Second, we weren't recruiting Wright. Even if we were, good for Hop. He is the coach at Washington and he didn't make Wright go to Washington. The player chose to not only go there, he chose to reclassify.

Yeah, I don't know why anyone would wish Hop any ill will. He was instrumental in building our sustained run of sucess over the past 15 years. So dash, is that what you heard from your sources--that JB was being an ass (passive aggressive? Cold shoulder? Weird vibes?) to Hop as the season progressed? I know many others have said Hop got the clear vibe JB didn't want to retire (even though coach insisted otherwise in his presser). Was part of it not letting Hop take the lead in recruiting and have a say in building his own team for two years down the line? Or were they more subtle things?

 

[dasher]

Yeah, I don't know why anyone would wish Hop any ill will. He was instrumental in building our sustained run of sucess over the past 15 years. So dash, is that what you heard from your sources--that JB was being an ass (passive aggressive? Cold shoulder? Weird vibes?) to Hop as the season progressed? I know many others have said Hop got the clear vibe JB didn't want to retire (even though coach insisted otherwise in his presser). Was part of it not letting Hop take the lead in recruiting and have a say in building his own team for two years down the line? Or were they more subtle things?

This past year we did not have a happy cohesive coaching staff. I don't blame Hop for leaving. That is for sure.

 

[GooseMutt]

This past year we did not have a happy cohesive coaching staff. I don't blame Hop for leaving. That is for sure.

Hop Skip and Jump on our recruits and I'm fine with it. He's still Cuse Alum and a great dedicated guy to us all those years. I wish him the best and am so curious to see how his career pans out. I'm afraid I may be crying in my beer one day. Get em Hop!

 

[jordoo]

Yeah, I don't know why anyone would wish Hop any ill will. He was instrumental in building our sustained run of sucess over the past 15 years. So dash, is that what you heard from your sources--that JB was being an ass (passive aggressive? Cold shoulder? Weird vibes?) to Hop as the season progressed? I know many others have said Hop got the clear vibe JB didn't want to retire (even though coach insisted otherwise in his presser). Was part of it not letting Hop take the lead in recruiting and have a say in building his own team for two years down the line? Or were they more subtle things?

What happens if we had gotten to the end of this season with JB here not wanting to leave while the official succession plan with Hop was still in place. I don't see anyway that would have played out well for anyone involved.

 

[chugg21]

What happens if we had gotten to the end of this season with JB here not wanting to leave while the official succession plan with Hop was still in place. I don't see anyway that would have played out well for anyone involved.

Exactly. Hop pretty much took one for the team to avoid a real mess. For anyone to have any ill will towards him is bizarre and pretty stupid.

 

[TinyManInside]

At some point Hop is going to get a kid that is a priority SU target. Book it. It will be interesting to see the reaction here.

 

[HSPORANGE]

At some point Hop is going to get a kid that is a priority SU target. Book it. It will be interesting to see the reaction here.

Not so sure... I think within 2 years he primarily recruits out west. Plenty of players out there and hopefully he develops strong relationships out there or he won't last long. I'm pulling for him to have success out there too.

 

[CaptainJ]

I don't think a explanation was necessary!

Youd be surprised how often it is. In a moment, I'm going to have to post again explaining the hyperbolic interpretation of my correct predictions that others are giving to save face. It's a bit bothersome, but what can you do?

 

[CaptainJ]

At some point Hop is going to get a kid that is a priority SU target. Book it. It will be interesting to see the reaction here.

I had people jumping down my throat, and I didnt even say that. That took courage.

To be clear to all of the people saying the "yeah, but it wont last for longer than", I never said it would. I also wouldnt be shocked if Hop's "Rolodex" success lasts at least a little longer than some of you choose to believe, and/or if before it ends he does more damage than you choose to believe. The arrogance on here at times is rather off putting to some of us. It'd almost be worth losing another recruit just to see some folks on here become a bit more humble and civil/accepting in their discussion, and continue whatever cycle of bullying theyve been involved in in their lives. LGH/LGO!

 

[jmcclure33]

I had people jumping down my throat, and I didnt even say that. That took courage.

To be clear to all of the people saying the "yeah, but it wont last for longer than", I never said it would. I also wouldnt be shocked if Hop's "Rolodex" success lasts at least a little longer than some of you choose to believe, and/or if before it ends he does more damage than you choose to believe. The arrogance on here at times is rather off putting to some of us. It'd almost be worth losing another recruit just to see some folks on here become a bit more humble and civil/accepting in their discussion, and continue whatever cycle of bullying theyve been involved in in their lives. LGH/LGO!

You don't think we've lost enough recruits already? I do.

 

[CaptainJ]

You think we haven't lost enough recruits already to humble the fans?

lol, apparently not some of the crew on here. I probably meant more specifically with Hop, as some folks said with certainty that he wasnt going to land any kids SU offered, or even any east coast kids in general. Then it slipped to ones we still wanted(sour grapes), and then once again shifted to "it wont continue more than X amount of years", all in a rather short time span.

In a very short time, he's proven them wrong twice, yet they continue to argue it will never be an issue. Maybe I need to be drunk to understand the arrogance and lack of flexible thinking?

Hey, if nothing else, maybe there will be a time when we can root for Hop later in the post season than we can for the Cuse. I wasnt in favor of seeing Boeheim pushed out a day sooner than he wanted to be, and am unsure of Hop's in-game ability so far, but the guy can recruit and should have respect in that category until there's better evidence otherwise. Just because I'm Ive purposefully gotten rid of my "fan favorite" status and joined those who save their posts for when they disagree with the herd, it doesnt mean I'm always wrong. I'm telling you people, you're driving me back to the bottle. Get ready for my posts if that happens again, lol.

 

[LaggyJon]

lol, apparently not some of the crew on here. I probably meant more specifically with Hop, as some folks said with certainty that he wasnt going to land any kids SU offered, or even any east coast kids in general. Then it slipped to ones we still wanted(sour grapes), and then once again shifted to "it wont continue more than X amount of years", all in a rather short time span.

I kind of get what you're saying, though I think it's a little disingenuous to say that getting commitments from Naz (we didn't even offer) and Hameir (we couldn't have taken for 2017 even if we wanted to, and it seems like we, at the very least, had distanced ourselves from) are "getting our guys."

I'm happy for Hop, and especially since his hiring coincided with a loss of a bunch of top recruits, I'm glad to see he's refilling his class. But as a SU fan, I think it's kind of silly to view these UW recruitments as real losses.

 

[SkanSU]

I think this is all silly. Best of luck to Hop!! If JB can't close deals than I hope Hop can no matter where the recruit is. That's his job!! Hop bled Orange for many many years as both a player and a coach. For those who would be negative toward him...shame on you. I hope he has the best success in the world at Washington and one day takes them to NC!

 

[MSOrange]

I had people jumping down my throat, and I didnt even say that. That took courage.

To be clear to all of the people saying the "yeah, but it wont last for longer than", I never said it would. I also wouldnt be shocked if Hop's "Rolodex" success lasts at least a little longer than some of you choose to believe, and/or if before it ends he does more damage than you choose to believe. The arrogance on here at times is rather off putting to some of us. It'd almost be worth losing another recruit just to see some folks on here become a bit more humble and civil/accepting in their discussion, and continue whatever cycle of bullying theyve been involved in in their lives. LGH/LGO!

Worth losing another recruit?? So you'd rather win the message board than win the games? Brilliant Captain

 

[jordoo]

People can argue that we will lose recruits to Hop and compete with him for recruits but we haven't lost any recruits to Hop yet.

Fact: SU never offered Naz
Fact: SU had no available ships left for Wright in 2017

 

[JazzNC]

People can argue that we will lose recruits to Hop and compete with him for recruits but we haven't lost any recruits to Hop yet.

Fact: SU never offered Naz
Fact: SU had no available ships left for Wright in 2017

I don't think people are up in arms about losing Nahz to Hop. We hadn't offered him and didn't believe he was a fit.

Where I see it differently is with H Wright. We had extensively recruited him and he was rated higher than some of the guys we landed.

Some have suggested that SU backed off. It's my opinion that we backed off due to the perception that he wouldn't commit to us or reclassify. We then restructured our priorities and landed other guys.

So technically you are right, we did not have a scholarship available at the time Wright signed with Hop. BUT, I don't believe for one second that he was a lower priority than the guys in the 2017 class we signed.

I respect your right to think otherwise. I also still like the class we landed in 2017, and I hope they exceed expectations. Go 'Cuse!

 

[jordoo]

I don't think people are up in arms about losing Nahz to Hop. We hadn't offered him and didn't believe he was a fit.

Where I see it differently is with H Wright. We had extensively recruited him and he was rated higher than some of the guys we landed.

Some have suggested that SU backed off. It's my opinion that we backed off due to the perception that he wouldn't commit to us or reclassify. We then restructured our priorities and landed other guys.

So technically you are right, we did not have a scholarship available at the time Wright signed with Hop. BUT, I don't believe for one second that he was a lower priority than the guys in the 2017 class we signed.

I respect your right to think otherwise. I also still like the class we landed in 2017, and I hope they exceed expectations. Go 'Cuse!

You have disagreeing in a reasonable manor down very well.

No doubt there were a lot of moving parts with Wright. We were scrambling to close out the 17 class and early on we were trying to get Wright for the 17 class. I'd also agree that he wasn't totally open to doing that at SU. We would have had Tucker but Duke stepped in. We wound up taking Dolezaj. I will say this, if you gave the staff the choice today Dolezaj or Wright they would take Dolezaj.
Its possible that had we stayed hard on Wright that Hop still may have stepped in and gotten a commitment from him. That said people are making it sound like JB and Hop were butting heads over Wright for the last couple months and Hop won out. That is simply not what happened. This branch of thought started with Naz (who we didn't offer) and has ballooned with Wright.

 

[JazzNC]

You have disagreeing in a reasonable manor down very well.

No doubt there were a lot of moving parts with Wright. We were scrambling to close out the 17 class and early on we were trying to get Wright for the 17 class. I'd also agree that he wasn't totally open to doing that at SU. We would have had Tucker but Duke stepped in. We wound up taking Dolezaj. I will say this, if you gave the staff the choice today Dolezaj or Wright they would take Dolezaj.
Its possible that had we stayed hard on Wright that Hop still may have stepped in and gotten a commitment from him. That said people are making it sound like JB and Hop were butting heads over Wright for the last couple months and Hop won out. That is simply not what happened. This branch of thought started with Naz (who we didn't offer) and has ballooned with Wright.

I love your optimism on Dolezaj. To me he's a bit of a wild card. I hope he proves to be a better player for SU than Wright does at Washington.

Contrary to what many may think of me, I am the biggest 'Cuse fan "I" know. I used to take off the entire March Madness from work. I continue to bleed Orange in North Carolina with all the Duke and UNC fans talking smack. Trust me, I want Syracuse to WIN! And I hope some of these lesser known guys like HW, Dolezaj, and Hughes pan out.

 

[jordoo]

I love your optimism on Dolezaj. To me he's a bit of a wild card. I hope he proves to be a better player for SU than Wright does at Washington.

Contrary to what many may think of me, I am the biggest 'Cuse fan "I" know. I used to take off the entire March Madness from work. I continue to bleed Orange in North Carolina with all the Duke and UNC fans talking smack. Trust me, I want Syracuse to WIN! And I hope some of these lesser known guys like HW, Dolezaj, and Hughes pan out.

The staff is very high on Dolezaj. I agree with you that he is a wild card though. There is the culture and language gap to deal with. He's skinny and the numbers indicate that he is a poor shooter from distance. I just feel like Moyer, Brissett and Dolezaj can be a strong group at the 3 and 4 for us.