Just a silly post from beginning to end. You'd rather have us lose an important recruit to score points on a message board, rather than have the team you ostensibly root for get that recruit? Okay...
To Dasher's point above, wishing Hop ill will is bizarre. Guy gave his heart and soul to the program, and I'll be rooting for him [as a distant second] to have success at UW. But focusing on him landing Wright is like worrying about the symptom instead of the actual PROBLEMS we're having right now with recruiting -- and that's what posts like yours fail to recognize. Hopkins is FAR from the biggest issue we have on the recruiting trail, which is why so many aren't focused / preoccupied with it.
In no particular order, here are things that SU fans should probably be far more worried about than Hopkins offering Wright and Porcelli, or the prospect of losing some future recruiting target to him:
- The old man's declining presence / effort on the recruiting trail in recent years
- Boeheim's personality and how it turns off AAU coaches
- Boeheim's personality, and how he relates to millenials [even as an HOF'er]
- Our recent proclivity to put all of our eggs in one basket at key positions of need, despite how it has burned us
- Whether or not the returning coaches [including Red, who I love] will have the chops on the recruiting trail that Hopkins did
- How the spectre of JB's pending, ambiguous retirement might cause some kids to look elsewhere
Choosing to focus on those issues instead of Hop isn't "arrogance" at all. Wright was a quality prospect. We would have taken him in 2017, if he'd been willing to reclassify. But he didn't and we moved on. That he quickly changed his tune for Hop / UW should demonstrate clearly that we had basically no shot at signing him. Otherwise, he would have taken any of numerous opportunities to play down Route 90 not far from family and friends. So anyone turning up their nose -- even given Wright's summer performance and possible declining rankings -- at him as a prospect isn't being intellectually honest. But hand wringing too much over Hopkins and how he'll "damage" future recruiting, when we might realistically only cross paths a couple of times in the future completely misses the forest through the trees.
There are much bigger things to be concerned about with the state of the program's recruiting. That's why I'm not nearly as worked up over losing a player to Hopkins a month after we filled all of our allotted scholarships for the class of 2017 as you seem to be.
Where did I wish Hop Ill will? I have went out of my way to say I'm rooting for the guy, except when he was against us. Please do not put words in my mouth, I do not appreciate it, especially when you claim I have ill will toward anyone. I am an outspoken proponent of peace, and use force only for times of defense, like right now.
The message board thing was a joke, mostly. It would be nice to see some of the arrogant clowns on here humbled, though. And honestly, we already have lost recruits, but people start
rationalizing. I dont know about Naz, but theres a
possibility he wasnt offered because his relationship was with Hop. Why wont people even consider that simple concept?
Same with HW. Maybe the back off was because they werent getting good feedback from him. This board is INSANE. People cry when a recruit we're after or get isnt ranked high enough...then when we lose one, they do some sour grapes rationalization of how he wasnt good enough for the Cise. What a joke! I dont mind being the bad guy wrestler here, the heel, not getting the likes that some do. Oh well. I tell the truth, and sometimes the truth isnt popular, like when Villanova or UConn won the title belt much more recently than us. But as unpopular as it is, it's still the truth. There was an eye-witness who saw Boeheim wait half an hour to talk to HW, and HW gave him a head nod and snubbed him! Ill take that truth over your conjecture. If you prefer to stick to your beliefs just because they support how you want to feel, that's fine. It's probably even healthier to live in a fantasy land. I'm chooseing to stick with the truth based on evidence. We wanted HW, and couldnt get him this year or next year, but Hop swooped in CLOSED him.
Plus, my intial statement was that it was a future possibility. The future isnt over yet, the last I checked. If you want to believe Hop is incapable of competing against us, that is your birthright, and I wont try to stop you. We all choose a reality wr are comfortable with, and are on different wavelengths. The closer we are in wavelength, the easier it is to get along. I know that I'm a bt out there on my wavelength, but I am speaking sincerely, and openly.
I called this before it happened, I was mocked and riducled, and still am. Look throughout history, and you see this same pattern. All you folks are doing is repeating a programmed pattern of this reality. Nothng has changed, these cycles keep repeating, at various lengths.
I will say it again, I am happy for Hop. I loved him as a player, as a recruiter, and respect him now as a capable recruiting opponent on occasion. If you choose not to see that reality, it's your choice if it makes you more comfortable, which is whatmost of us seem to want.
I really dont want to argue with you. I enjoy many of your posts. I just got riled up when you put words in my mouth. As for choosing what to focus on, this is a message board, Just let the focus come naturally, and dont force it. This topic seems popular, just as I predicted. JazzNC is probably the only person who both gets it and has the ability to express it in a way that people of a different belief system can appreciate, and I want to give him a shout for his efforts. Sometimes I disappear for a couple of days or longer to avoid this nonsense, but I enjoy the team SO much tha I feel compelled to come back. The other boards dont have the people ive grown to like here, including those who disagree with me. If you think it's impossible Hop could get a recruit we had interest in and it makes you feel better, that's your prerogative. I think there's ample evidence that it's already been done, and clearly enough evidence that it can be done(more) in the future. This is how reality is formed, people choose there beliefs, rationalize everything, and build a castle of comfort in their psyche.
I just thinkt the next time will be interesting. They say the 3rd time's a charm, so maybe the veil will be lifted for some of you then. I have no ill will toward Hop of any of you, and feel like I have to repeat it before people construct a false reality of me. I'm playing the role of the villain, but I'm not evil. Bleep, I think I'm bringing back my Walt White "apply yourself" avatar to help some folks understand.
Blessings to the whole sordid lot of you.
Please Hameir, Don't Hurt 'Em.