Last year I saw the same potential in Kadary that others saw and was enthusiastic about what his skills might mean for the team playing at the top of the zone.
But by the 2nd week of January, when the team was struggling to win against the better teams on the schedule, the community of Boeheim critics in the fan base saw an opportunity to start blaming the team's struggles on Jim Boeheim's flawed coaching decisions and/or emotional defects.
From their comfortable seats at home watching games with the remote in their hands, they talked each other into a mystical faith that they were smarter than the head coach, whom they assumed could not see what they saw in Kadary, cuz they assumed his perception of comparative talent was critically flawed, or cuz his judgment was 'corrupted' by some kind of misguided feelings of loyalty to Joe, etc...
Not me. I didn't understand why Kadary was not in the game when Joe was struggling, but I also knew that I didn't know what Boeheim knew from watching his guys every day in practice. He was the guy who had all the data upon which to base his rotation decisions. Having learned from decades of experience developing teams over the course of a season, he's come to always trust experience over raw potential.
That's why I always defer to Boeheim's coaching decisions. I have indeed shaken my head at some of Jim's calls, but I ultimately know I have to give him the benefit of the doubt because he keeps delivering amazing seasons of achievement even with 2nd Tier Talent (as in recent seasons).
Last year he did it again. His fan base critics assumed he was only able to take his team to another Sweet Sixteen because he finally listened to their supreme wisdom re: playing Jesse more. Anyone who knows anything about Jim Boeheim knows that he's a stubborn man. That's why he never gave a second of thought to what critical fans were saying, or even former players, and continued to follow his own counsel, making his decisions based on his knowledge of the game.
IMO, last year was one of JB's greatest coaching achievements. His ability to get that group to eliminate their mistakes and maximize their advantages was what made their big run at the end possible. Kadary certainly had/has potential. But Boeheim's seen zillions of players with his kind of potential and knows what they might be able to achieve if they work especially hard at perfecting their talents. Kadary had not won him over with his play & practice habits so he was not going to be getting a starting nod just because he wanted it.
I don't wish Kadary ill and hope he figures it out. But based on reports, he's not the Future NBA star that many Boeheim critics were trying to convince themselves he was...
