Hopkins Game Thread...

[JeremyCuse]

What are we going to talk about next week after we beat Rutgers?

They were up 14-10 on Princeton in the 4th and lost 15-14 in overtime. Going to be a tough game. Getting Solomon and Bomberry back would be a huge help.

 

[reedny]

Bottom line, folks. This is not Syracuse lacrosse. It’s going to take a big change to get the program back to where it’s countending for National titles again.

Yep. And if we lose to Butgers ... I'm pretty much out. After two (more) blow-out losses, a loss to RU would hoist a red flag to the top of the mast. Maybe it will be an inflection point for the AD. Again today the team was borderline unwatchable. It seems like we've gone from consistently good and sometimes great, to consistently mediocre and sometimes embarrassing. The reasons are not rocket science. You don't have to be a lax genius to see that for the past 6-8 years, the talent's declining. We've been getting run on the recruiting trail. So it shouldn't be shocking that we're getting humiliated against better teams. True, more parity in lacrosse is a fact of life. But it shouldn't be an excuse (Albany doesn't need excuses). It should be motivation for more personal contacts, more travel and a bigger investment of time, money and energy to attract the quality of athletes that will restore us a top-level lax program.

 

[tbonezone]

biggest recruiting pitch used to be " do you want to play in the final 4 ?" that's long gone.

 

[SU_in_Wis]

Desko isn’t retiring.

And I don’t see anyone in the program replacing him. It would probably be a staff overhaul.

Agreed; it's time to look outside the program. I think the ideal hire would be someone whose name means something in the northeast, and who's taken a program and elevated it against some odds ... something along the lines of what maryland and UVa are doing with coaches they've hired from the Ivies.

In my perfect world, we'd hire Marr away from Albany, but 1) he might have outgrown us, and 2) does he view himself as the Hopkins coach in waiting? Would SU be enough of a step up for him? Is it a step up at all anymore?

If Marr's not a possibility, I think Michael Corrado at 'Nova would fit the suit. He's built a legit program that seems to regularly pull talent from Jersey, Long Island, Maryland and Philly. Imagine what he could do with some resources, especially if he had an assistant who was a strong upstate NY recruiter. Matt Kerwick at Cornell (and previously at Hobart) would also be a guy I'd consider.

 

[reedny]

Agreed; it's time to look outside the program. I think the ideal hire would be someone whose name means something in the northeast, and who's taken a program and elevated it against some odds ... something along the lines of what maryland and UVa are doing with coaches they've hired from the Ivies.

In my perfect world, we'd hire Marr away from Albany, but 1) he might have outgrown us, and 2) does he view himself as the Hopkins coach in waiting? Would SU be enough of a step up for him? Is it a step up at all anymore?

If Marr's not a possibility, I think Michael Corrado at 'Nova would fit the suit. He's built a legit program that seems to regularly pull talent from Jersey, Long Island, Maryland and Philly. Imagine what he could do with some resources, especially if he had an assistant who was a strong upstate NY recruiter. Matt Kerwick at Cornell (and previously at Hobart) would also be a guy I'd consider.

I'll let Jeremy chime in on the prospects. My concern is, if we wait much longer, we'll have trouble attracting a coach talented enough to resurrect the program.

 

[PhatOrange]

There are a lot of great coaches out there but 4 off the top of my head I would immediately consider are Tiffany, Shay, Galloway and Chemotti.

Marr isn’t coming here.

 

[laxsummit]

They were up 14-10 on Princeton in the 4th and lost 15-14 in overtime. Going to be a tough game. Getting Solomon and Bomberry back would be a huge help.

Look we knew this would be an up n down year with peaks n valleys. I said before game had earmarks of trappings. Quint thinks FF next yr n I agree. All about the process .Im keeping a positive mindset. On positive notes, Trimboli n Fusco had strong games today n there were others who played fairly well which I will confirm after watching tape tommotrow to confirm. Know not a good day for Cuse, few posssessions, way too many turnovers,
outphysicaled on ground . JHU look more mentally prepared n they focused on taking away Dodevic n our pole break. Think staff makes adjustments n this team will bounceback

 

[sholokov2]

There’s are a lot of great coaches out there but 4 off the top of my head I would immediately consider are Tiffany, Shay, Galloway and Chemotti.

Marr isn’t coming here.

Hold on ----- as Mark Twain said and I paraphrase, the news of my death is premature

 

[JeremyCuse]

There’s are a lot of great coaches out there but 4 off the top of my head I would immediately consider are Tiffany, Shay, Galloway and Chemotti.

Marr isn’t coming here.

Agreed, Marr would have no interest and neither would SU. Galloway and Casey Powell are likely the next staff.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Look we knew this would be an up n down year with peaks n valleys. I said before game had earmarks of trappings. Quint thinks FF next yr n I agree. All about the process .Im keeping a positive mindset. On positive notes, Trimboli n Fusco had strong games today n there were others who played fairly well which I will confirm after watching tape tommotrow to confirm. Know not a good day for Cuse, few posssessions, way too many turnovers,
outphysicaled on ground . JHU look more mentally prepared n they focused on taking away Dodevic n our pole break. Think staff makes adjustments n this team will bounceback

You don't have to tell me, I lead the charge that this year was going to be rough with all thr losses and the ridiculous schedule upgrade.

My concern lies with personnel decisions. Where were Seebold and Quinn? Why stick with Dami when he was struggling badly ditto for Varello. Why upgrade the schedule with a rebuilding young team, where are the cupcake games? UVA played Manhattan and Stony Brook after our game and JHU plays UMBC and Delaware the next two games now. Desko totally overscheduled and needs to be called out on it, massive mistake.

 

[tbonezone]

i'm not gonna diss the schedule. we are syracuse after all. we should be able to beat anybody any saturday.

 

[JeremyCuse]

i'm not gonna diss the schedule. we are syracuse after all. we should be able to beat anybody any saturday.

Its not 1998, we have to be realistic we can't play a top 20 team 11 out of 13 games. I know what u are saying but we need a few breathers no one has scheduled like us and theres a reason why

 

[tbonezone]

it's better to have fought and lost. or something like that. at least we climbed in the ring.
at the end of this difficult path the journey will have either broken or hardened us.
if we make the tournament lookout. we be battle tested.

(wax on. wax off)

 

[PhatOrange]

Agreed, Marr would have no interest and neither would SU. Galloway and Casey Powell are likely the next staff.

I agree with Galloway. And I should’ve said 4 off the top of my head that are realistic options where mutual interest would exist.

 

[SkyTopBus44]

I agree with Galloway. And I should’ve said 4 off the top of my head that are realistic options where mutual interest would exist.

Is Casey Powell still coaching? Don’t see his name on the Jacksonville website.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[outoftownie]

What a disgrace. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t concentrate on the game today. I saw Chris Gedney’s picture in the concourse in the first quarter and it threw me off for most of the game. I didnt pay attention to most of the game, but when I did watch we got the hell kicked out of us. Barely had the ball on offense, terrible team defense and a lack of energy was the standard for the day. To add insult to injury, the athletic department celebrated the 88 and 08 champions and most of the players didn’t bother to show up. Gaits, nope. Marechek, nope. Z? McCabe? Burns? Granted there may have been some conflicts, but now does Gary Gait not show up at the athletic departments party celebrating your championship? He’s an employee for God’s sake.

As for the next coach, you aren’t getting Marr. And Corrano from Villanova? Really, we are Syracuse Lacrosse, we aren’t going outside the family to hire the Villanova coach. I could possibly be talked in shay, but really it’s Galloway or Gary, period end of story. I don’t think the alums would be happy with anyone else.

I’m drunk and going to bed. Will probably have to edit this tomorrow.

 

[outoftownie]

Is Casey Powell still coaching? Don’t see his name on the Jacksonville website.

He bailed last year. Not sure college coaching was his thing. Don’t plan on seeing him on the cuse sidelines coaching.

 

[SU_in_Wis]

"Granted there may have been some conflicts, but now does Gary Gait not show up at the athletic departments party celebrating your championship? He’s an employee for God’s sake."

He was probably carrying out the duties of his employment. Like being in Maryland with that team SU pays him to coach.

"As for the next coach, you aren’t getting Marr. And Corrano from Villanova? Really, we are Syracuse Lacrosse, we aren’t going outside the family to hire the Villanova coach. I could possibly be talked in shay, but really it’s Galloway or Gary, period end of story. I don’t think the alums would be happy with anyone else."

With the possible exception of Gary Gait -- who's been coaching the women's game for more than a decade now, and therefore might not be the best guy to take over a men's program -- there's really nobody in the family who's ready to lead an ACC men's lacrosse program. Donahue, Rogers and Roy III are career assistants.

Galloway is an interesting name -- for the future -- but he's six games into his second year leading what can charitably be called a mid-major program ... where he's 2-4 and just lost a neutral site game to Vermont. His team doesn't look like it recruits well in hotbeds like Long Island or upstate; half the team is from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He might be able to win in the ACC at some point, but it sure isn't yet.

Also, the alumni aren't hiring the coach. Wildhack -- an outside-the-box AD hire if there ever was one, and thank goodness for that -- would be.

Maybe the "staying in the family" thinking is part of the problem -- you see that in companies and organizations all the time when they don't have any healthy churn. SU has been slow to evolve -- many top programs were recruiting FOGOs, but we didn't take it seriously until Duke's faceoff specialist destroyed us at the X.) Meanwhile, many of the most successful programs these days are those that have gone outside "the family." Maryland -- a school with a lacrosse family if there ever was one -- went outside to hire Tillman. Duke got Danowski from Hofstra. Virginia's program had gotten moldy because Starsia was allowed to hang around too long -- something I fear we might be facing with Desko -- so they hired Tiffany and are headed toward being competitive again with powerhouse recruits like Aitken (Pa.), Conners (Rochester), Laviano (Long Island), Kraus and Rode.

The Andy Shay suggestion is one I could get behind: Success in a tough environment? Check. Ability to recruit where he needs to recruit? Check. Ties to CNY? Check.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

"Granted there may have been some conflicts, but now does Gary Gait not show up at the athletic departments party celebrating your championship? He’s an employee for God’s sake."

He was probably carrying out the duties of his employment. Like being in Maryland with that team SU pays him to coach.

The Women are playing in the Dome tomorrow.

 

[outoftownie]

"Granted there may have been some conflicts, but now does Gary Gait not show up at the athletic departments party celebrating your championship? He’s an employee for God’s sake."

He was probably carrying out the duties of his employment. Like being in Maryland with that team SU pays him to coach.

"As for the next coach, you aren’t getting Marr. And Corrano from Villanova? Really, we are Syracuse Lacrosse, we aren’t going outside the family to hire the Villanova coach. I could possibly be talked in shay, but really it’s Galloway or Gary, period end of story. I don’t think the alums would be happy with anyone else."

With the possible exception of Gary Gait -- who's been coaching the women's game for more than a decade now, and therefore might not be the best guy to take over a men's program -- there's really nobody in the family who's ready to lead an ACC men's lacrosse program. Donahue, Rogers and Roy III are career assistants.

Galloway is an interesting name -- for the future -- but he's six games into his second year leading what can charitably be called a mid-major program ... where he's 2-4 and just lost a neutral site game to Vermont. His team doesn't look like it recruits well in hotbeds like Long Island or upstate; half the team is from south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He might be able to win in the ACC at some point, but it sure isn't yet.

Also, the alumni aren't hiring the coach. Wildhack -- an outside-the-box AD hire if there ever was one, and thank goodness for that -- would be.

Maybe the "staying in the family" thinking is part of the problem -- you see that in companies and organizations all the time when they don't have any healthy churn. SU has been slow to evolve -- many top programs were recruiting FOGOs, but we didn't take it seriously until Duke's faceoff specialist destroyed us at the X.) Meanwhile, many of the most successful programs these days are those that have gone outside "the family." Maryland -- a school with a lacrosse family if there ever was one -- went outside to hire Tillman. Duke got Danowski from Hofstra. Virginia's program had gotten moldy because Starsia was allowed to hang around too long -- something I fear we might be facing with Desko -- so they hired Tiffany and are headed toward being competitive again with powerhouse recruits like Aitken (Pa.), Conners (Rochester), Laviano (Long Island), Kraus and Rode.

The Andy Shay suggestion is one I could get behind: Success in a tough environment? Check. Ability to recruit where he needs to recruit? Check. Ties to CNY? Check.

We will have to agree to disagree. I think Galloway is ready. He is one of those guys that was ready in his Junior year at SU. He has done a great job at j’ville. They may be 2-4 but three of those losses are by 1 one goal and three are to playoff teams from last season.

 

[reedny]

I don't see how Gary Gait would not automatically be on the AD's short list of candidates. He's an iconic name in LAX and certainly capable of taking over a major D-1 LAX program. I can't believe the transition from the womens to the mens game would be an issue. Galloway could be an assistant (DC?), and the whole thing could stay in the family. I don't know that much about Shay's background before Yale ... but he's done an amazing job there. I think he just signed an extension last year.

 

[Arangeman]

Might behoove us to have a native on the staff. The fact that Albany hijacked that pipeline is criminal

 

[reedny]

Might behoove us to have a native on the staff. The fact that Albany hijacked that pipeline is criminal

Absolutely. Cody, Sid ... lots of names to consider with MLS expertise.

 

[CreaseRat]

Man up is fundamental and in its most basic form, bc you have 1 xtra man you need to move the ball through the air quickly, drawing and dumping, to create a shooting alley or an open guy on the crease.

We carry the ball so much with our feet I don’t know what the intent is. And what is the deal with throwing it back to the guy who just threw it to you??? That does not get the defense moving. You need to get the ball moving around the horn quickly, whether in a 3/3 or 2/3/1.

There are only one or two man up plays in the whole world that require moving the ball with your feet. One is the basic wheel which is a common man up play. I dont know what the heck were trying to do half the time.

There were times today we had two guys below gle, like some variant of a 2/2/2. We are purposely taking two men out of being any scoring threat ???

Carrying the ball with our feet, two guys below gle, passing it back and forth up top... none of it makes any sense, it’s a complete cluster.

I’d have to go back and watch last year but I’ll bet the ball moved through the air more and got the defense moving.

There are basic fundamentals missing on man up and 6v6. What happened to the triangle rotation on man up from last year? Ball doesn't get low to have the poles drop and open shooting lanes to the top guys. All the sudden Bomberry not scoring? Whether people want to believe it or not, there is a problem with knowledge of the offense and where players are suppose to be. If you have 3 guys running the O and 3 others doing their own thing, certain players aren't going to benefit from it.