Hypothetical Question

[UnknownOrange]

I've taken heat in the past for posting opinions that were not what the consensus wanted to read... but I will also stick up for the school and program I love when it comes to comparing Syracuse to Kentucky.

There's a reason why all the announcers including Vitale and Bilas said SU and JB got a raw deal with our punishment.

I want to win, no doubt, but not with a snake like Cal.

And I respect your opinion. I'm just pointing out that college basketball, by nature, is a dirty business. I don't think JB is a bad guy nor does he do the things Cal does, but it's the nature of the beast. I think SU got a raw deal too with the most recent sanctions, but my main point is that no program is clean. I'd hypothetically take Cal, you hypothetically wouldn't.

 

[JazzNC]

And I respect your opinion. I'm just pointing out that college basketball, by nature, is a dirty business. I don't think JB is a bad guy nor does he do the things Cal does, but it's the nature of the beast. I think SU got a raw deal too with the most recent sanctions, but my main point is that no program is clean. I'd hypothetically take Cal, you hypothetically wouldn't.

I agree that few programs are squeaky clean. I'm sure the cheating runs on a continuum... And I'd venture to say that SU is (if I had to guess) cleaner than 80% of the other P5 programs. Kentucky might be worse than 99%. That said, hypothetically, Cal's tactics don't bother you? We can agree to disagree, I just find it hard to comprehend why anyone would want him. Any Final Four or championship won with Cal as Head Coach would be tainted.

 

[UnknownOrange]

I agree that few programs are squeaky clean. I'm sure the cheating runs on a continuum... And I'd venture to say that SU is (if I had to guess) cleaner than 80% of the other P5 programs. Kentucky might be worse than 99%. That said, hypothetically, Cal's tactics don't bother you? We can agree to disagree, I just find it hard to comprehend why anyone would want him.

I think I have a hard time letting them bother me because I think there is a lot with him that's blurred. Someone can say that he left the UMass program sanctioned ... but isn't Marcus Camby truly to blame? Maybe not fully but in the Cal 30-for-30 he seemed pretty adamant it was his fault. I know he's a 'car-salesman' type personality but it just doesn't bother me all that much because I know how college athletics are. I think I just know what I am getting with Cal.

For the record I am not saying I'd take him OVER Boeheim, but maybe apart of me takes Cal because that would mean SU is absolutely committed to big time athletics. There is a sense of worry about what happens when JB steps down

 

[Ward]

I would take Cal and enjoy the success and excitement of competing for a championship each year then watch our guys become NBA all stars while they routinely come back to campus to support the program. That sounds like a lot of fun.

We've been hit with serious sanctions twice in the last ~20 years. The "we're a clean program" ship has sailed and is long gone but the orange colored glasses don't let many here admit it. The Bilas's Vitale's, etc. all say we were hit way too hard with our punishments, and I agree, but that isn't the same as them saying we're a clean program.

We have people here who will say it's complete BS Cal wasn't aware of a third party forging Rose's standardized test scores while he was in high school and not even on campus and then turn around and say they believe JB didn't know a member of his own staff a couple doors down the hall from him was manipulating current players school work. For the record, I think both obviously knew and probably know a lot more and the same could be said for 99% of college coaches.

 

[JazzNC]

I would take Cal and enjoy the success and excitement of competing for a championship each year then watch our guys become NBA all stars while they routinely come back to campus to support the program. That sounds like a lot of fun.

We've been hit with serious sanctions twice in the last ~20 years. The "we're a clean program" ship has sailed and is long gone but the orange colored glasses don't let many here admit it. The Bilas's Vitale's, etc. all say we were hit way too hard with our punishments, and I agree, but that isn't the same as them saying we're a clean program.

We have people here who will say it's complete BS Cal wasn't aware of a third party forging Rose's standardized test scores while he was in high school and not even on campus and then turn around and say they believe JB didn't know a member of his own staff a couple doors down the hall from him was manipulating current players school work. For the record, I think both obviously knew and probably know a lot more and the same could be said for 99% of college coaches.

I didn't say SU ran a clean program... but it's much cleaner than ANY program run by Calipari. The fact that anyone would welcome that scum to SU says a lot about our societal values.

This likely won't be a popular statement, but it's my opinion that anyone who would endorse Calipari as a viable candidate to (hypothetically) replace Boeheim is publicly admitting to questionable ethics themselves.

 

[Ward]

I didn't say SU ran a clean program... but it's much cleaner than ANY program run by Calipari. The fact that anyone would welcome that scum to SU says a lot about our societal values.

This likely won't be a popular statement, but it's my opinion that anyone who would endorse Calipari as a viable candidate to (hypothetically) replace Boeheim is publicly admitting to questionable ethics themselves.

Your first sentence is 100% speculative opinion where you assume the best case scenario for our program and worst case scenario for Cal because you're an SU fan. The reality is that neither of us know what any program does or doesn't do behind the scenes. Another reality is that JB has been hit with sanctions twice in his career at the same school and Calipari has fled town twice before schools he coached at were hit with sanctions. So I wouldn't view it as we were the innocent, by the book program who sold their soul to the reckless outlaw.

I'm not sure how to respond to your second point. It's very over the top and the bias makes it lack any real substance. You're saying not having a problem with one coach with two NCAA penalties attached to his name coaching at your school means you're a person with questionable ethics but supporting another coach with two NCAA penalties at your school is fine?

Side note: I don't even really like Calipari. I think he hypes his team up all offseason then when they hit adversity he spins it back on the media for putting unfair expectations and whines how his team is so young when that's his model. He blames his players a lot and I think usually ends up losing in the tournament because his X's and O's are lacking. I just don't think we have any leg to stand on in saying our program is on higher moral ground than him.

 

[JazzNC]

Your first sentence is 100% speculative opinion where you assume the best case scenario for our program and worst case scenario for Cal because you're an SU fan. The reality is that neither of us know what any program does or doesn't do behind the scenes. Another reality is that JB has been hit with sanctions twice in his career at the same school and Calipari has fled town twice before schools he coached at were hit with sanctions. So I wouldn't view it as we were the innocent, by the book program who sold their soul to the reckless outlaw.

I'm not sure how to respond to your second point. It's very over the top and the bias makes it lack any real substance. You're saying not having a problem with one coach with two NCAA penalties attached to his name coaching at your school means you're a person with questionable ethics but supporting another coach with two NCAA penalties at your school is fine?

Side note: I don't even really like Calipari. I think he hypes his team up all offseason then when they hit adversity he spins it back on the media for putting unfair expectations and whines how his team is so young when that's his model. He blames his players a lot and I think usually ends up losing in the tournament because his X's and O's are lacking. I just don't think we have any leg to stand on in saying our program is on higher moral ground than him.

Can I prove it, no. Am I biased, perhaps to some extent.

But, I'd be willing to bet if we could anonymously poll coaches, announcers and players in college basketball about whom they believed to be shadier, Calipari or Boeheim, Cal would get the nod in a landslide.

We'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[cuse2013]

I'd be done. If that's the choice, then the university is completing admitting that integrity is not important.

I'd go root for the local team and call it a day.

JB and Cal's programs have had the same # of NCAA investigations...

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Im very highly opposed to the hiring of Cal...until the day we hire him.