Mike Hopkins to the Phoenix Suns

[IthacaBarrel]

View attachment 195064

He's pissed for sure. somebody hit him in the face with a 50 pound flounder fast ball at that fish market

 

[Dinkyspond]

Dub and Utah in a good one on ESPNU, 1 pt game, 3:42 left

 

[Alsacs]

2 in a row for U-Dub.

 

[Red Holzman]

Nice win over Utes 83-79.
UW turning it around.
Nice job pulling team together -gritty win!

 

[Dinkyspond]

Dub gets the Dub, 83-79, 3-11, 2-7 Pac-12, 2 game Pac 12 winning streak

 

[kcsu]

Rarely in life is anything a slam dunk. Your entire premise is flawed.

This isn't a lifetime achievement award -- it's a performance driven, high profile job. You don't hire unqualified candidates, you don't bring in guys who are unproven, you don't hire someone who requires on the job training

With all due respect its how I've run my companies my entire life. Unless you dont have a qualified internal transition or an exceptional external the risk of the outsider is considerable. The longer the current " administration" the greater the risk.
JB has built an amazing program for over close to half a century.
The assistant coaches are just the surface. All of the support staff, key donors, former players, BOT and the majority of the fan base love him.
To go outside the family is extremely dangerous. Im glad JW has a lifetime of business experience to understand this.

 

[sutomcat]

View attachment 195064

Two wins in a row for the Purple People Eaters. Congrats Hop!

 

[GooseMutt]

Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Keep the faith baby!

 

[MadNY3]

With all due respect its how I've run my companies my entire life. Unless you dont have a qualified internal transition or an exceptional external the risk of the outsider is considerable. The longer the current " administration" the greater the risk.
JB has built an amazing program for over close to half a century.
The assistant coaches are just the surface. All of the support staff, key donors, former players, BOT and the majority of the fan base love him.
To go outside the family is extremely dangerous. Im glad JW has a lifetime of business experience to understand this.

Wait, did you just pull out the “With all due respect...” card...about yourself?

I’d consider a self-imposed 24-hour quarantine from the board.

 

[kirbivore]

Bye bye Huskie troll

 

[RF2044]

With all due respect its how I've run my companies my entire life. Unless you dont have a qualified internal transition or an exceptional external the risk of the outsider is considerable. The longer the current " administration" the greater the risk.
JB has built an amazing program for over close to half a century.
The assistant coaches are just the surface. All of the support staff, key donors, former players, BOT and the majority of the fan base love him.
To go outside the family is extremely dangerous. Im glad JW has a lifetime of business experience to understand this.

Good for you.

That premise assumes that there is even a qualified candidate in place to begin with. The next program that offers either Red or GMac will be the first. Let that sink in, and then come tell me again why either of them should even get a sniff at the HC role at Syracuse -- a program that is #5 in all-time wins. And while I know that the fanbase is enamored with Hopkins, his performance these past two years at Washington call his acumen substantially into question, as well -- right, wrong, or indifferent. At minimum, it should be a major red flag.

You could make the case that there isn't an adequately qualified candidate among them. Certainly not one for a program of our caliber.

JB is and always has been the program, but that era is rapidly drawing to an end. You don't just extend hoping to hang reverentially onto a bygone era -- you move forward. Honestly, it is amazing to me how many people fear change, or don't recognize that change brings risk but also OPPORTUNITY.

And thank got we have JW to apply his lifetime of business experience to understand that you don't hire unqualified candidates into such important roles. Gambling on unproven talent is easier at lower levels of an organization, but the consequences of failure ratchet up significantly and exponentially when you hire unproven commodities who might not have the chops for the role.

That's why doing full due diligence is the right approach, and EXACTLY how I expect JW to approach this important change.

Besides, the goal isn't continuity -- we're losing 12 - 14 games a year currently!

 

[kcsu]

Good for you.

That premise assumes that there is even a qualified candidate in place to begin with. The next program that offers either Red or GMac will be the first. Let that sink in, and then come tell me again why either of them should even get a sniff at the HC role at Syracuse -- a program that is #5 in all-time wins. And while I know that the fanbase is enamore with Hopkins, his performance these past two years at Washington call his acumen substantially into question, as well -- right, wrong, or indifferent.

You could make the case that there isn't an adequately qualified candidate among them. Certainly not one for a program of our caliber.

JB is and always has been the program, but that era is rapidly drawing to an end. You don't just extend hoping to hang reverentially onto a bygone era -- you move forward. Honestly, it is amazing to me how many people fear change, or don't recognize that change brings risk but also OPPORTUNITY.

And thank got we have JW to apply his lifetime of business experience to understand that you don't hire unqualified candidates into such important roles. Gambling on unproven talent is easier at lower levels of an organization, but the consequences of failure ratchet up significantly and exponentially when you hire unproven commodities who might not have the chops for the role.

That's why doing full due diligence is the right approach, and EXACTLY how I expect JW to approach this important change.

Besides, the goal isn't continuity -- we're losing 12 - 14 games a year currently!

We are on the same page. I personally feel as if Hop is very qualified and Red deserves an opportunity. But as we agree. JW will do his due diligence and make a solid hire.

 

[orangepassion]

We are on the same page. I personally feel as if Hop is very qualified and Red deserves an opportunity. But as we agree. JW will do his due diligence and make a solid hire.

Do you feel Hop or Red are as qualified as a guy like Oats?

 

[RF2044]

We are on the same page. I personally feel as if Hop is very qualified and Red deserves an opportunity. But as we agree. JW will do his due diligence and make a solid hire.

So, not sure if we are on the same page based on that.

I love Hopkins and I'm appreciative of his contributions to the program -- as a player AND a coach. He looked early on at UW like the one who got away, but I think you have to look at both halves of his four year tenure there and question whether he's got the chops. Objectively speaking, there have to be questions about that at this point. People can say that if he came back east, had the advantages of being at an established program like ours, etc. that he'd be fine -- but this is a performance based profession, and his last two years have been flat out awful. Not average -- terrible.

I also don't share your opinion that Red "deserves" the opportunity. Why? Red's one of my favorite all time players -- I still have a #15 script jersey from when he played, for the record -- but why does he "deserve" it? Is he a highly coveted commodity as a HC? No... nobody has ever offered him a head coaching role. Has he ever really landed any elite recruits? I just don't see it.

But I don't want to argue -- those are just my opinions.

 

[kcsu]

Do you feel Hop or Red are as qualified as a guy like Oats?

I think that Oats and Hop are equal. I would give Hop the nod for SU because of his time spent with the program.

 

[ORRange]

Good for you.

That premise assumes that there is even a qualified candidate in place to begin with. The next program that offers either Red or GMac will be the first. Let that sink in, and then come tell me again why either of them should even get a sniff at the HC role at Syracuse -- a program that is #5 in all-time wins. And while I know that the fanbase is enamored with Hopkins, his performance these past two years at Washington call his acumen substantially into question, as well -- right, wrong, or indifferent. At minimum, it should be a major red flag.

You could make the case that there isn't an adequately qualified candidate among them. Certainly not one for a program of our caliber.

JB is and always has been the program, but that era is rapidly drawing to an end. You don't just extend hoping to hang reverentially onto a bygone era -- you move forward. Honestly, it is amazing to me how many people fear change, or don't recognize that change brings risk but also OPPORTUNITY.

And thank got we have JW to apply his lifetime of business experience to understand that you don't hire unqualified candidates into such important roles. Gambling on unproven talent is easier at lower levels of an organization, but the consequences of failure ratchet up significantly and exponentially when you hire unproven commodities who might not have the chops for the role.

That's why doing full due diligence is the right approach, and EXACTLY how I expect JW to approach this important change.

Besides, the goal isn't continuity -- we're losing 12 - 14 games a year currently!

Great post. Cut and paste it for every future JB replacement thread. Because there will be many more.

 

[Dinkyspond]

Do you feel Hop or Red are as qualified as a guy like Oats?

N0

 

[orangepassion]

I think that Oats and Hop are equal. I would give Hop the nod for SU because of his time spent with the program.

If I thought that Oats and Hop were equal, I'd agree. I love Hop and he bleeds Orange. However, I'm guessing their W-L percentage wouldn't indicate them being close to equal.

Edit: Just looked it up-
Nate Oats:125-61 (672)
Mike Hopkins: 66-50 (.569 and probably going downhill this year)

 

[HOFCeluck]

Other than the fact that Hopkins would maybe come cheaper, I struggle to see the argument for him being equal to Nate Oates.

Alabama BTW is 13-3 and ranked in the top ten in the AP poll and in KP.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’m done with seeing straight zone. You can’t consistently beat the better ACC teams playing all zone. Rebounding just kills us. Talent wins and there is a severe lack of it at SU right now. There’s a reason we’re just middle of the pack in the ACC.

 

[RF2044]

Other than the fact that Hopkins would maybe come cheaper, I struggle to see the argument for him being equal to Nate Oates.

Alabama BTW is 13-3 and ranked in the top ten in the AP poll and in KP.

There really isn't one. Other than Hopkins having association to our program, which on the list of evaluative criteria should probably be ranked quite a bit below several other more important factors.

 

[OrangeDW]

I’m done with seeing straight zone. You can’t consistently beat the better ACC teams playing all zone. Rebounding just kills us. Talent wins and there is a severe lack of it at SU right now. There’s a reason we’re just middle of the pack in the ACC.

Unless we can recruit MCW, Dion, Jerami Grant, CJ Fair, and Christmas again. Super athletic guys with length that can also play offense.

Then again, we would’ve been really good regardless of what defense we played, with those guys.

Still think there’s more talent in the program now than there has been in recent years though. Problem is our whole starting 5 is shooting guards and power forwards. I think we could put a respectable defensive squad on the floor, though Sidibe, Frank, and Woody’s (?)absences are hampering that right now. Still - Kadary, Griff/Buddy Quincy, Marek, Jesse for stretches might help?

 

[OrangeDW]

Other than the fact that Hopkins would maybe come cheaper, I struggle to see the argument for him being equal to Nate Oates.

Alabama BTW is 13-3 and ranked in the top ten in the AP poll and in KP.

Yup. Lots of coaches win at mid majors and get the hot name, but struggle to get it done when they jump to the big leagues.

This guy is winning at a historically mediocre at best big boy school. That is impressive.

 

[HOFCeluck]

It makes perfect sense that after I talk up Oates his team struggles at home vs a trash Kentucky team.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Alabama’s offense looks wild. Quingly is a human turnover and their guards leave their feet on every pass. Not impressed at all.