Home Attendance - a Great Job

[ManleyRocks]

Ok….this message board is down right depressing. One post jarred me in particular that stated this program can’t attract a top head coach and will be forever mediocre.

So I sat back and thought to myself…that is absolutely ridiculous. You have a shiny rehabbed basketball stadium that holds over 30k. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that if we have the right next coach that brings energy and excitement that people will be hanging from the rafters for multiple games throughout the season (not just the Duke game). The typical quality of the ACC top to bottom blows away the quality of old BE top to bottom. People will come out in droves if the team is a top 4 ACC team.

PLUS, SU fans show well in opposing arenas. I have been to games in NYC, DC and Boston and there are more SU fans than home fans in those arenas. It is truly an orange nation that is a sleeping giant waiting to be re-energized and re-invigorated.

It clearly is worth the investment to bring in a hot coach who kids can embrace. The fans will return in droves both in the Dome and opposing arenas. With the right money, the job is super attractive. (And the quality of life, affordable housing and outdoor recreational activities are second to none).

It can again be great. ADJW and the BOT need to be bold, open the checkbook and get the best mind with the best personality out there and sell them the vision.

Trust the process. It will work!

 

[djcon57]

Ok….this message board is down right depressing. One post jarred me in particular that stated this program can’t attract a top head coach and will be forever mediocre.

There's a reason for these type of posts. It's not about the program, they are linking our success to Boeheim and the idea we will fail without him

 

[ManleyRocks]

You mean that the SU fan base and administration suffers from the Stockholm syndrome?!?

 

[Brooky03]

Ok….this message board is down right depressing. One post jarred me in particular that stated this program can’t attract a top head coach and will be forever mediocre.

So I sat back and thought to myself…that is absolutely ridiculous. You have a shiny rehabbed basketball stadium that holds over 30k. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that if we have the right next coach that brings energy and excitement that people will be hanging from the rafters for multiple games throughout the season (not just the Duke game). The typical quality of the ACC top to bottom blows away the quality of old BE top to bottom. People will come out in droves if the team is a top 4 ACC team.

PLUS, SU fans show well in opposing arenas. I have been to games in NYC, DC and Boston and there are more SU fans than home fans in those arenas. It is truly an orange nation that is a sleeping giant waiting to be re-energized and re-invigorated.

It clearly is worth the investment to bring in a hot coach who kids can embrace. The fans will return in droves both in the Dome and opposing arenas. With the right money, the job is super attractive. (And the quality of life, affordable housing and outdoor recreational activities are second to none).

It can again be great. ADJW and the BOT need to be bold, open the checkbook and get the best mind with the best personality out there and sell them the vision.

Trust the process. It will work!

Syracuse can absolutely attract a top coach. Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10. Recruiting would be the question. Our location is not great and we don’t play many teams in the areas we like to recruit from, like we did in the Big East. But we can absolutely go get a top tier coach and I think many would be happy to come.

 

[Cusecuse44]

Syracuse can absolutely attract a top coach. Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10. Recruiting would be the question. Our location is not great and we don’t play many teams in the areas we like to recruit from, like we did in the Big East. But we can absolutely go get a top tier coach and I think many would be happy to come.

If team like Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan St can consistently recruit with their crappy weather, we can recruit to Syracuse. Our facilities are amazing. Great fanbase. We have the money. Will Wildhack and the University pony up and hire a legitimate successor for JB is the question.

 

[Brooky03]

If team like Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan St can consistently recruit with their crappy weather, we can recruit to Syracuse. Our facilities are amazing. Great fanbase. We have the money. Will Wildhack and the University pony up is the question.

Weather was only part of what I was getting at with our location. We’re not terribly close to any large or exciting cities. Those 3 schools you listed are much closer to large cities. That’s not the be all, end all, but it does matter in terms of the pool you can recruit from with the ‘stay close to home’ pitch and also the entertainment factor when they’re here.

Then there’s the matter of family being able to see games. The kids from DC, NYC, Philly used to be able to come to Cuse and then play a dozen games close to home. That whole recruiting pitch is gone now.

Our facilities are elite. Most ACC schools have elite facilities. So our facilities can win us recruiting battles with some schools but are unlikely to differentiate us much from schools we probably consider to be peer schools. Some here might be surprised at how the Melo Center compares to other schools. It’s very, very nice. They have very, very nice things, too. And I’ve mentioned that the Dome is only a draw when it’s filled. For that to work as a recruiting tool, you have to get recruits to envision games when there are 30k in there. That’s been harder to do as the team has sucked more and more.

We have some recruiting advantages but we also have disadvantages that get glossed over. I’m convinced we’ll get back to being a perennial top 25 school, though.

 

[NKR1978]

Syracuse can absolutely attract a top coach. Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10. Recruiting would be the question. Our location is not great and we don’t play many teams in the areas we like to recruit from, like we did in the Big East. But we can absolutely go get a top tier coach and I think many would be happy to come.

Our location is pretty great. We've historically had players from about a 5 hour radius with many coming from CNY itself. Philly, NYC, New England, Jersey, DC are all close.

 

[the villager]

Back the Brinks truck up to Jay Wrights house and see if we can get the best coach available.

 

[Brooky03]

Our location is pretty great. We've historically had players from about a 5 hour radius with many coming from CNY itself. Philly, NYC, New England, Jersey, DC are all close.

‘Close’ is a stretch, imo. I think much of our past success there came from playing teams around there. We have built up pipelines over the years that we still use, and I expect us to continue using those, but I would not put location in our plus column.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Our location is pretty great. We've historically had players from about a 5 hour radius with many coming from CNY itself. Philly, NYC, New England, Jersey, DC are all close.

I think what he’s saying is we used to play other teams, in those areas, that are also close to the recruit‘s home towns. Yeah, they can go watch us at Pitt or BC now, but not many others

 

[DonLightfoot]

Don't know if I have ever really commented on the coaching situation or possible replacement. Been a very avid fan since the early 1980's and it saddens me dearly to see where the program has gone in recent years. It "is" time for a change at the helm.

I disagree with a lot of the posts in the last couple of years that a top coach would not be interested in coming here. I believe it is just the opposite. What's not to like (other than location and weather)? Great tradition of winning, excellent facilities, opportunistic situation considering where we are now and a tremendous fanbase that is really "anxious and dying" to get on board with a winner.

Just my mere two cents worth.,

 

[Manleymen]

When SU starts interviewing for a new premier head coach with a tremendous background - when that prospective new head coach walks into the Dome - he needs to see 20,000 screaming fans belting out his name. Then he or she would understand this program is about the fans and the program. Pull out all the stops.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Ok….this message board is down right depressing. One post jarred me in particular that stated this program can’t attract a top head coach and will be forever mediocre.

So I sat back and thought to myself…that is absolutely ridiculous. You have a shiny rehabbed basketball stadium that holds over 30k. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that if we have the right next coach that brings energy and excitement that people will be hanging from the rafters for multiple games throughout the season (not just the Duke game). The typical quality of the ACC top to bottom blows away the quality of old BE top to bottom. People will come out in droves if the team is a top 4 ACC team.

PLUS, SU fans show well in opposing arenas. I have been to games in NYC, DC and Boston and there are more SU fans than home fans in those arenas. It is truly an orange nation that is a sleeping giant waiting to be re-energized and re-invigorated.

It clearly is worth the investment to bring in a hot coach who kids can embrace. The fans will return in droves both in the Dome and opposing arenas. With the right money, the job is super attractive. (And the quality of life, affordable housing and outdoor recreational activities are second to none).

It can again be great. ADJW and the BOT need to be bold, open the checkbook and get the best mind with the best personality out there and sell them the vision.

Trust the process. It will work!

Typical Ultra-MOGA drivel.

 

[Newhouser]

Syracuse can absolutely attract a top coach. Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10. Recruiting would be the question. Our location is not great and we don’t play many teams in the areas we like to recruit from, like we did in the Big East. But we can absolutely go get a top tier coach and I think many would be happy to come.

Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10 of what? What we will pay?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Weather was only part of what I was getting at with our location. We’re not terribly close to any large or exciting cities. Those 3 schools you listed are much closer to large cities. That’s not the be all, end all, but it does matter in terms of the pool you can recruit from with the ‘stay close to home’ pitch and also the entertainment factor when they’re here.

Then there’s the matter of family being able to see games. The kids from DC, NYC, Philly used to be able to come to Cuse and then play a dozen games close to home. That whole recruiting pitch is gone now.

Our facilities are elite. Most ACC schools have elite facilities. So our facilities can win us recruiting battles with some schools but are unlikely to differentiate us much from schools we probably consider to be peer schools. Some here might be surprised at how the Melo Center compares to other schools. It’s very, very nice. They have very, very nice things, too. And I’ve mentioned that the Dome is only a draw when it’s filled. For that to work as a recruiting tool, you have to get recruits to envision games when there are 30k in there. That’s been harder to do as the team has sucked more and more.

We have some recruiting advantages but we also have disadvantages that get glossed over. I’m convinced we’ll get back to being a perennial top 25 school, though.

We're not right in any big cities, but we are within a 4 hour drive of several of them - NYC, Boston, Philly, Toronto, Cleveland, Montreal, and only an hour or two more to Baltimore, DC and Northern VA.

 

[Brooky03]

Money alone puts us in the top 5 or 10 of what? What we will pay?

What we have available to pay. What the AD will actually pay is an unknown, I suppose.

 

[sufandu]

While I agree with the OP that there's no reason the job shouldn't be viewed as attractive when it opens up, I have one disagreement. The current ACC is nowhere near as good as the old Big East top to bottom. Frequently sending 2/3 or more of the teams to the tournament, have 3 out of 4 FF teams in 85 and 2 out of 4 in other years, and playing the double round robin was so much better.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

While I agree with the OP that there's no reason the job shouldn't be viewed as attractive when it opens up, I have one disagreement. The current ACC is nowhere near as good as the old Big East top to bottom. Frequently sending 2/3 or more of the teams to the tournament, have 3 out of 4 FF teams in 85 and 2 out of 4 in other years, and playing the double round robin was so much better.

It was when we joined. But you’re right about the current state. Has to be related to the changing of the guard on the bench.

 

[sufandu]

It was when we joined. But you’re right about the current state. Has to be related to the changing of the guard on the bench.

I would say they were pretty close when we joined. The Big East had a number of NC contenders and had sent 11 teams to the tournament one year and 5 teams to the elite 8 not long before we made the move. The ACC was a little stronger at the top but was weaker in the middle than the Big East at that point.

 

[OrangeAl]

Our old Big East buddies now have the upper hand against us - St. John's, UConn, Georgetown.

 

[dlegend44]

Back the Brinks truck up to Jay Wrights house and see if we can get the best coach available.

I would literally cry tears of joy...actual man tears with no shame!

I think sometimes people underestimate the strength of our fanbase and facilities. Most fanbases don't care about their basketball team until March, and that is only if they are good. Syracuse fans commiserate about a bad team in July and try to put on the Orange colored glasses. When we have a great team, the college basketball season is 13 months long in Syracuse. I honestly believe Syracuse is a top 10 job for college hoops!