Inside Syracuse’s rough off-season: How portal misses and a lack of NIL money led to a lost year

[Cuse12]

Now we know I guess. To be fair though. Has the NCAA questioned any major donor for NIL violations? Tennessee right and the NCAA got their butts kicked then stopped.

There was likely a backlog of a ton of NIL violations piling up, then in March last year the NCAA said they would halt all NIL investigations. We'll never know if AW and Cuse were on that list. AW is sitting on Twitter saying no harm no foul but there's no ref around.

Also if I were a betting man and there were 25 programs under NIL investigation I wouldn't be surprised if Syracuse got bumped to the top the list somehow over other Blue Bloods or SEC schools.

have we been treated unfairly by the NCAA, yes. Have we also acted like the beaten puppy ever since? Yes. The NCAA beat cuse and has lived rent free in our heads ever since. If we want to hang our hats on being the golden child, so be it. No other program cares, they will keep pushing the limits and winning.

 

[Cusefan0307]

For those expecting to get back to top 15 status but resigned to never winning a bidding war with a big 10 or sec school, well we’re going to have to figure out a way to win at least some of those battles. You need dudes to be a legit top 15 team otherwise our ceiling is probably that of a frisky mountain west type of bubble team. It’s too difficult of a needle to thread to expect to be very good without spending major $ on talent.

Well we have been told we are better off this year with NIL compared to last year. The other fact is fans don’t want to hear about NIL when literally every local media member and a lot of insiders literally said we were going to be better than last year and make the tournament. Now suddenly when we suck everyone’s done a 180.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I respect your thoughts and opinions. But, I will rebuttal with, did we handle it in a manner to come to a mutual agreement? I mean this is sales 101. Sometimes you have to give an inch to take a mile. I think we were extremely naive and ignorant to think we would be just fine with out him (heard that on here a lot).

All I’m saying is, whether you love him or hate him - he was helping the NIL immensely and we completely shut the spigot off. We couldn’t close a deal that worked for all parties.

It was a risk that officials took, and it just looks so stupid after that article especially.

Weitsman has also pissed off a bunch of other whales like John Lally that people fail to acknowledge here.

 

[JustPherU]

IMO, its how it is done. The players can now have agents. Therefore, folks reach out to agents, agents let players know what’s out there, then the player enters the portal.

I understand that , but I was trying to get to the basis of the original comment which was that St John’s told Richmond to go visit other schools so it didn’t look like they were tampering.
That statement just doesn’t make sense to me in this day and age of college athletics.

 

[hoopsupstate]

We will soon find out where we stand in basketball. If SU can’t keep Freeman on board, you can kiss the program good bye. If money is the determining factor with Freeman leaving we’re toast. So you recruit a good player, but you can never retain them. How much will it cost to go out and get a replacement in the portal? You’re not keeping Donnie at $150,000. I doubt JJ will return at the current $300,000. He will get offered a lot more than that. It’s not just going into the portal to get players, you also need to retain the ones you want to keep. These two guys have proved they can play in the ACC, unlike the guys we brought in from the portal this year.

 

[Cuse12]

Weitsman has also pissed off a bunch of other whales like John Lally that people fail to acknowledge here.

JL is so beyond important, I cannot give enough respect to him. He of course, is the role model NIL donor.

And I know you can’t expound on the details, but it’s comments like this where someone on the outside (me) goes, okay like what does this even mean? I completely believe you and this happened, but it’s just frustrating. (From the outside again - I know nothing) I would ask, so why is JB and AW to this day still working together and clearly great friends? I think we all respect JB and I’m sure if he felt AW was a real problem with how he acted - he probably wouldn’t want to be seen with him? No?

 

[NKR1978]

I don't get why we have trouble raising NIL funds for basketball. We've been a basketball school for nearly 50 years now. I have met so many "basketball only" fans who would only support basketball because football has been in the doldrums for 25 years. Where are these basketball only fans now?

People will donate when we have a real coach who wont set money on fire.

 

[Sbucketball]

Everyone needs to read up on the St. John's donor who's bankrolling Pitino. All Weitsman needs to do is act like that guy and it'd all be good.

Interestingly, Pitino called Weitsman and asked for NIL, but Weitsman declined. So for Top 10 St. John's, Weitsman's money would have been ok in addition to the other more quiet billionaire.

 

[Irishsecra1]

JL is so beyond important, I cannot give enough respect to him. He of course, is the role model NIL donor.

And I know you can’t expound on the details, but it’s comments like this where someone on the outside (me) goes, okay like what does this even mean? I completely believe you and this happened, but it’s just frustrating. (From the outside again - I know nothing) I would ask, so why is JB and AW to this day still working together and clearly great friends? I think we all respect JB and I’m sure if he felt AW was a real problem with how he acted - he probably wouldn’t want to be seen with him? No?

Obviously, there is a lot we dont understand about what really went on behind the scenes.
The fact that Weitsman has stepped up to provide financial support for Boeheims army speaks volumes I think.
And the fact he gave money to Siena's NIL last year as well. 100K I believe.
It could also be after the way Boeheim was removed in such an awkward way that he has no interest in helping SU and Red.

 

[Sbucketball]

We will soon find out where we stand in basketball. If SU can’t keep Freeman on board, you can kiss the program good bye. If money is the determining factor with Freeman leaving we’re toast. So you recruit a good player, but you can never retain them. How much will it cost to go out and get a replacement in the portal? You’re not keeping Donnie at $150,000. I doubt JJ will return at the current $300,000. He will get offered a lot more than that. It’s not just going into the portal to get players, you also need to retain the ones you want to keep. These two guys have proved they can play in the ACC, unlike the guys we brought in from the portal this year.

I agree we absolutely need to start retaining our best players; however, I don't think we can use Donnie as a bellwether. It's understandable for him to want to live this trainwreck. He thought he was a lotto pick now he fell off completely while here. It's understandable for everyone to leave this lame duck situation.

Once we get a new coach, then if we can't retain our best players it's over.

 

[Irishsecra1]

People will donate when we have a real coach who wont set money on fire.

I will support the basketball program by renewing my season tickets.
Thats it. And frankly that is beyond generous considering how bad we are.

I did NIL last year and that was throwing money down a rat hole.
I wont make that mistake again.

 

[Red2003]

have we been treated unfairly by the NCAA, yes. Have we also acted like the beaten puppy ever since? Yes. The NCAA beat cuse and has lived rent free in our heads ever since. If we want to hang our hats on being the golden child, so be it. No other program cares, they will keep pushing the limits and winning.

Agree 100%.

 

[Scooch]

I respect your thoughts and opinions. But, I will rebuttal with, did we handle it in a manner to come to a mutual agreement? I mean this is sales 101. Sometimes you have to give an inch to take a mile. I think we were extremely naive and ignorant to think we would be just fine with out him (heard that on here a lot).

All I’m saying is, whether you love him or hate him - he was helping the NIL immensely and we completely shut the spigot off. We couldn’t close a deal that worked for all parties.

It was a risk that officials took, and it just looks so stupid after that article especially.

The reality is that he didn't contribute a ton to NIL before the relationship ended. There's no "immensely" about it. People here who are close to him admitted that the bulk of his money went to renovating a Dome suite. He donated nothing for facilities that the teams use, apparently.

And the facts of the breakup are pretty well known. SU told him that he needed to run through one of our established collectives. That's exactly what the guy at St. John's does. AW refused to do that.

Bottom line is that the guy spent a LOT less on players and facilities than many, many other SU donors. Donors who's primary objective isn't posting pics on Insta with celebrities.

 

[Scooch]

Interestingly, Pitino called Weitsman and asked for NIL, but Weitsman declined. So for Top 10 St. John's, Weitsman's money would have been ok in addition to the other more quiet billionaire.

It was AW who tweeted that. Not like the guy doesn't have a history of presenting his side of the story to get public sympathy. I very much doubt SJ would have tolerated the same stuff that SU grew uncomfortable with re: AW.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Too many egos involved. Someone needs to show some leadership and get all parties involved and work something out. This continuing saga is not a good look for anyone.

 

[MSOrange]

Obviously, there is a lot we dont understand about what really went on behind the scenes.
The fact that Weitsman has stepped up to provide financial support for Boeheims army speaks volumes I think.
And the fact he gave money to Siena's NIL last year as well. 100K I believe.
It could also be after the way Boeheim was removed in such an awkward way that he has no interest in helping SU and Red.

Regarding your last point, I am pretty sure JB can thank the guy he sees in the mirror when he's shaving for how that went down, based on some of what's been posted.

 

[Red2003]

We will soon find out where we stand in basketball. If SU can’t keep Freeman on board, you can kiss the program good bye. If money is the determining factor with Freeman leaving we’re toast. So you recruit a good player, but you can never retain them. How much will it cost to go out and get a replacement in the portal? You’re not keeping Donnie at $150,000. I doubt JJ will return at the current $300,000. He will get offered a lot more than that. It’s not just going into the portal to get players, you also need to retain the ones you want to keep. These two guys have proved they can play in the ACC, unlike the guys we brought in from the portal this year.

All truth. I keep saying it's the NIL Players Era tourney, we may know more before then if we get guys sniped.

 

[pwong]

And yet, they've opted in. That money has to go to the players.

The Big East schools aren't dummies. They've been standing their ground in a chaotic environment for 40 years.

I don’t think the BE will pay the $20.5M cap, each school can pay like $8-$9M across all sports and still pay out more money to bball than most other P5 schools (bball should be around $3-$4M on average for P5 schools with football)

 

[Scooch]

JL is so beyond important, I cannot give enough respect to him. He of course, is the role model NIL donor.

And I know you can’t expound on the details, but it’s comments like this where someone on the outside (me) goes, okay like what does this even mean? I completely believe you and this happened, but it’s just frustrating. (From the outside again - I know nothing) I would ask, so why is JB and AW to this day still working together and clearly great friends? I think we all respect JB and I’m sure if he felt AW was a real problem with how he acted - he probably wouldn’t want to be seen with him? No?

The guy who got his program put on probation twice?

 

[hoopsupstate]

I agree we absolutely need to start retaining our best players; however, I don't think we can use Donnie as a bellwether. It's understandable for him to want to live this trainwreck. He thought he was a lotto pick now he fell off completely while here. It's understandable for everyone to leave this lame duck situation.

Once we get a new coach, then if we can't retain our best players it's over.

We’ve lost our three best returning players the last three years. That’s a major problem.

 

[Sbucketball]

We’ve lost our three best returning players the last three years. That’s a major problem.

100% agree. I'm well-documented on that. It's a huge red flag and if we don't reverse that trend we're screwed. Just saying I wouldn't be surprised if Donnie wants out given the circumstances so I'm not going to read into it, and we're just killing time waiting for a new coach anyway, so we'll know whether SU can be good again once we get a new coach and out of this trainwreck.

 

[Cuse12]

The reality is that he didn't contribute a ton to NIL before the relationship ended. There's no "immensely" about it. People here who are close to him admitted that the bulk of his money went to renovating a Dome suite. He donated nothing for facilities that the teams use, apparently.

And the facts of the breakup are pretty well known. SU told him that he needed to run through one of our established collectives. That's exactly what the guy at St. John's does. AW refused to do that.

Bottom line is that the guy spent a LOT less on players and facilities than many, many other SU donors. Donors who's primary objective isn't posting pics on Insta with celebrities.

Appreciate the information! Helps bring clarity to the situation.

I will say I agree in a perfect world he would’ve fell in line and followed the wanted protocols of SU. But, when a donor does not want to, we should probably have other options that can cater to individuals who do not want to fit into that box. In the end, it’s their money and they are the customer. I cannot be upset with AW wanting to do it more “his way”. So again sales 101, find a common ground where it still feels like it’s his way would’ve been worth a try (maybe they did try?)

I guess just as a frustrated fan, I still feel like we could’ve found a way in a perfect world to work out a deal, but maybe not. All speculation on my part.

 

[Irishsecra1]

Regarding your last point, I am pretty sure JB can thank the guy he sees in the mirror when he's shaving for how that went down, based on some of what's been posted.

The timing was beyond awkward and harsh.
We could have handled better without making the basketball world at large think we disrespected him.

 

[sufan59]

We need everyone’s support. End of story. From the outside, it looks like the university and the other major donors didn’t like how Weistman handled himself leading to the broken relationship and the we can handle it without him thinking. The we can handle it without him was probably very short sighted thinking in that this was based on a market with a lot less dollars in it than what is present. If relationships weren’t broken, you have to think that the figures he talked about then would’ve increased to stay competitive on the type of talent he was talking about bringing in. But ultimately, we saw the toxicity on football side that Fran has basically repaired and bringing everyone back together, we need this on the basketball side. The common ground is we all love and want Syracuse Basketball competing with the blue bloods again, right? I do think it’s a good sign that Weistman is somewhat working his way back into the Syracuse basketball community with Boeheim Army. Hopefully it’s a start to getting him back involved with SU basketball.

 

[5OutFred]

have we been treated unfairly by the NCAA, yes. Have we also acted like the beaten puppy ever since? Yes. The NCAA beat cuse and has lived rent free in our heads ever since. If we want to hang our hats on being the golden child, so be it. No other program cares, they will keep pushing the limits and winning.

Can't like this enough. Like football was for so many years, the 'woe is me' mentality has taken over hoops. "Not enough NIL" , "needs more time to get his guys in."

We saw with Fran that a coach with connections, buy-in, and most importantly, a plan can overcome obstacles at SU at regain prominence. It has to be a well thought out, executed plan. NIL, roster retention, player development, player acquisition.

Frankly it's embarrassing and shocking for Red to be entering Year 3 without these things in place previously, and is as big a red flag as the on-court results.