Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="billsin01, post: 4598623, member: 837"] Love this post and I feel this is a good thread for some thoughts on JB, who I'm sure, in true board fashion, will be a topic of debate for the next 40 years. With that ... [B]It's important to realize where your expectations come from[/B] General touches on this but it's worth reiterating that, whoever you are (though I'm mostly addressing the crowd that derisively refers to JB as Jimbo or the old man or whatever), and whatever your expectations are -- they are directly a result of JB's work building the program over the course of whatever time frame you choose (first 20 years, 25, 30, 35 ... whatever). I'm not getting preachy simply stating that whatever it is you believe this program *should* be, and to whatever extent you feel it is 78-year-old JB's fault that we aren't that (and to be clear, you can make a very fair case for that point), you only think we *should* be whatever b/c of what JB accomplished here. [B]Everyone should feel a tinge of sadness about JB's departure[/B] Again, not being preachy. The past 9 years haven't been quite what we've come to expect and the past five or so have been pretty ugly for the most part. It is what it is. But JB (and really guys like K, Roy W, Pitino, etc.) is one of the last ties we have to the era of college hoops and Syracuse hoops that brought so much fun, excitement, and drama to our lives. Again, General gets at this a bit, but as unseemly and uneven as college hoops may have been from, let's say the 80s through the first half of the 2010s, the sport is almost unrecognizable today. Conference realignment, transfer portal, G League/NBA, AAU stuff -- it's just a weird time where most casual fans (and even some larger fans like myself) couldn't begin to list the top 5 or 6 title contenders nor the five or six best players in college hoops. Regional networks are failing, streaming isn't looking as much like the future as it was a couple years ago and, even if they are flawed, you don't get the joy of seeing players develop over three, four or five years anymore. I won't go as far as to say college hoops is dying but it's in a weird spot and while I think we can absolutely compete at a high level again, I really doubt it will ever look or feel quite the same. [B]Sad to see it end on a sour note[/B] In some ways, it was always going to end this way. Dude is a lifer and hoops junkie. It's what we loved about him. Other than collapsing on the court, he was likely going to have be uncomfortably not invited back. That said, I wish JB could have enjoyed the last year or two more and gone out with grace. Who's fault it is -- and maybe it's JB's -- is irrelevant to me, just wish it had ended in a better place. [B]Thoughts on the future[/B] I think the teams that have success in this day and age of college hoops are going to be the ones that are the most creative. I don't really think it's about landing 3 of the top 30 recruits anymore b/c that's a one-year fix and that hasn't yielded the UK's and Duke's nearly as many titles as anyone would have guessed it would have the past 15 years or so. But I also think the idea of trying put together a couple freshmen classes where guys have enough talent AND stay for 3-4 years is also a bygone era. Really hope Red can figure out some combination of improved recruiting with a sprinkling of portal kids and somehow solve this roster management issue that's plagued us for years now. Should be interesting to watch and wish him the best. Would love another 40 years of elite level play -- no pressure! [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?