Lyle Thompson bypassed Syracuse“to do something different." | Syracusefan.com

Lyle Thompson bypassed Syracuse“to do something different."

"Their older brother, Jeremy, played two seasons for Syracuse. They almost certainly could have played there as well."

No they couldn't have. If the three wanted to play together it was not going to be for Syracuse.

While a nice "feel good" article for those not in CNY, it leaves out some information. Understandable, of course, since it would make the story feel less good.

They are definitely good lacrosse players.
 
Moontan said:
"Their older brother, Jeremy, played two seasons for Syracuse. They almost certainly could have played there as well." No they couldn't have. If the three wanted to play together it was not going to be for Syracuse. While a nice "feel good" article for those not in CNY, it leaves out some information. Understandable, of course, since it would make the story feel less good. They are definitely good lacrosse players.

And it's 11 championships, not 10.
 
"Their older brother, Jeremy, played two seasons for Syracuse. They almost certainly could have played there as well."

No they couldn't have. If the three wanted to play together it was not going to be for Syracuse.

While a nice "feel good" article for those not in CNY, it leaves out some information. Understandable, of course, since it would make the story feel less good.

They are definitely good lacrosse players.

Bingo.
 
It turns out that the story's author is an SU alumnus. I just sent him a message.
 
As they were being recruited, though, the brothers began to feel like Syracuse was taking their allegiance for granted. “Syracuse honestly didn’t recruit both of us too hard,” Lyle Thompson said. “I think they just expected us to go there.”

Through a spokesman, Syracuse Coach John Desko declined to comment.

This article is pretty inflammatory. The author even tried to get Desko to comment. My question is why SU didn't recruit them hard. Was that deliberate or did SU just drop the ball?
 
"Their older brother, Jeremy, played two seasons for Syracuse. They almost certainly could have played there as well." No they couldn't have. If the three wanted to play together it was not going to be for Syracuse. While a nice "feel good" article for those not in CNY, it leaves out some information. Understandable, of course, since it would make the story feel less good. They are definitely good lacrosse players.

It's very unfortunate the Thompsons or the reporter chose to leave out a few details and open Syracuse to the potential for being viewed in a negative light by the casual reader. The fact that Syracuse was the only destination for Onondagas, etc for 65 frigging years should count for something. It's weak sauce that the reporter didn't lay this obvious point on the table. We chose to not meet the "demands" of 3, 2 of whom whose team under-performed in HS, and all of that good will is apparently lost.

Did Jerome not have a good time at SU? I mean, my lord, we waited forever for him to be academically eligible. This whole thing reeks of bridges burnt. I look forward to when we can get past it, and when the next great thing from LaFayette or Penn Yan or wherever is actually excited to come to Syracuse.

It's unfortunate John Desko chose not to comment. He could have added some details. Could he have done it without opening himself to criticism on the rez? IDK. Probably not. Instead, he probably could have listed all the NAs whom did play for him, how he appreciates them as players and men, etc.

All that said, what's happening for the Thompsons is definitely a feel good story for them. All 3 have turned out to be great lacrosse players. They are most certainly better than good. My lord, 2 are candidates for the Tewaarton. And perhaps the most relevant question is are they better than the 3 people on the Syracuse roster whom we chose instead of them?
 
As they were being recruited, though, the brothers began to feel like Syracuse was taking their allegiance for granted. “Syracuse honestly didn’t recruit both of us too hard,” Lyle Thompson said. “I think they just expected us to go there.”

Through a spokesman, Syracuse Coach John Desko declined to comment.

This article is pretty inflammatory. The author even tried to get Desko to comment. My question is why SU didn't recruit them hard. Was that deliberate or did SU just drop the ball?
from what I had heard from other coaches is that desko does not recruit hard at all from his desk.

There is some truth from the story and from posters.
 
plus many from the Nation feel that Desko is not a good coach.....
 
Here we go again about the thomspons. You guys seems to bury your heads in the sand regarding Syracuse admissions. The football team can get anyone in who qualifies under NCAA minimums (Jonathon Thomas and others this season) and yet for some crazy reason the thomspons couldn't get in ? Please. They were qualified to play at Albany and have never been ineligible. Qualified is qualified, they could've gotten in here if they wanted to.

Albany might even have tougher admissions for the general pop.

SU lax has never had any problems getting kids into school.
 
It's unfortunate John Desko chose not to comment. He could have added some details. Could he have done it without opening himself to criticism on the rez? IDK. Probably not. Instead, he probably could have listed all the NAs whom did play for him, how he appreciates them as players and men, etc.
And what should Desko have said about this particular situation? If things are as we are led to believe then he can't really mention that. He could've dodged the question, mentioned previous NA players and indicated that SU will continue to recruit NA players. It's quite possible that the "no comment" response was the department's decision.

The article's author did respond to me. He mentioned that he was aware of such "speculation", but, that they weren't going to report on "hearsay". He did acknowledge that the story doesn't make Desko look good. One would think that he would've given his alma mater a fairer shake, oh well. I suspect that the young author's future access to Manley will be very limited.
 
And what should Desko have said about this particular situation? If things are as we are led to believe then he can't really mention that. He could've dodged the question, mentioned previous NA players and indicated that SU will continue to recruit NA players. It's quite possible that the "no comment" response was the department's decision.

I really don't care as long as SU's program is better for the decisions Desko makes.

As I offered, he could have used the article as an opportunity to bolster SU's ground-breaking role and tradition in integrating native americans into the program. He could have mentioned SU's native american programs, led by the Crooked Arrows guy (I believe). He could have mentioned all the success the J Thompson had at Cuse. He could have listed all the great NA players. The Tadadaho played at Cuse. Etc, etc. That's all point A.

Point B, He could have said N/C to the Thompson situation. Or, he could have said it was a package deal and he didn't want a package deal.

Tierney pounced.

Bottom line, he made and the Thompson's made their choices. Kudos to Desko for taking the high road. However, that still doesn't mean he made the right decision(s) in terms of handling their recruitment. I'm not a fan of how the Thompsons present SU in this article. Nobody wins in this scenario, except Albany lacrosse.

All I want to know is when/if Desko was presented with the package deal, how did he react? Three possible responses:
  1. 3 for the price of 1! Great! Gosh, am I lucky!
  2. I really like Thompson A, but Thompson B is not a good fit. Can you work with me? No? Please? Still no? Sorry, let's all agree to move on. Acceptable, I can live with this. Bad talent evaluation, but mistakes happen.
  3. Or, what Lyle said happened.

All I know is my Facebook feed gets updates from Thompson Bros Lacrosse. Thompson Bros Lacrosse talks a lot about Thompson Bros Lacrosse, and their teams are an afterthought. That said, I would love to have had them in orange.
 
Hope he enjoys his one tournament appearance, for all the hype and excitement Albany has nothing to show for it.
 

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