Class of 2022 New Commit: Joey Spallina (NY: Mt Sinai) Attack

[JeremyCuse]

This is probably overstated (but not necessarily wrong). Last season, SU was undefeated. It's entire attack was from Upstate NY (depending on your definition). It's best midfielder was from Upstate NY. It's best defender, pre-injury, from Upstate NY.

I get the talent does not seem to be as deep as in the past, but there is more talent all over the place, and I think that just makes CNY seem less substantial by comparison. (I realize I moved the goalposts a little bit)

SU still has name recognition and prestige. It still has top facilities. Academics and cost are an issue relative to our peers. It creates this weird sweet spot where the ideal recruit is an upper middle class kid that didn't exactly excel in school. Brighter kids will want better academics. Less financially well off kids will need more aid (which ironically, other than public in-state, is found at the better academic schools due to endowments [JHU, Duke, Ivies]).

If I were Desko, I'd recruit the heck out of the Haudenosaunee and Canadian kids. SU has a geographic and financial edge (level for the Canadians) with these recruits. Maybe a cultural one too?

I think some of your points are spot on, especially about SU trying to find that "sweet" spot in recruiting. As you noted SU can sometimes get caught in this weird spot where a recruit is looking for slightly better academics or less tuition costs that puts SU at a disadvantage when competing against say Maryland or UNC or UVA and of course Duke.

I do think SU has been hurt a bit by the lack of higher end recruits in Upstate/Central NY. As you noted multiple starters on last years team were Central NY guys or at least NY guys (Scanlan is certainly not a CNY guy) but the overall talent level is down compared to a decade ago and to be honest I think down significantly. There is a lot of mid level type talent, for which schools like Hobart are cleaning up but 4/5 star level guys have definitely lessened. Cook was one of those guys and ditto for Hackler at Yale but CNY and the surrounding areas were producing at least 3-5 upper level guys a year and a few more just below that. Now it feels more like 1-2 and then a handful of guys who are tweeners. I mean a guy like Timboli is now 5 years removed from HS and he's still one of the more recent big time local recruits overall.

I don't disagree with recruiting Canada and more Native players but those recruitment's have become a bit more jumbled. Denver and Tierney are a much bigger factor up North plus you have schools like Cornell and the new OC at Hopkins spending a lot of time up there, there's a lot more hands in the jar. I do think SU has to do a better job there, feels like they have gone away from Canada the last few years, in my mind similar to how they strayed from LI for a few years in the last decade.

From a Native American standpoint I think SU has just become more selective. Desko got burned a few times on guys they spent a lot of time and energy on from the Res and I think shied away a bit. SU is still active their but the amount of big time D1 native players has also gone way down recently. Grades and eligibility remain a major problem. Personally I think SU does need to do a better job in Canada but also downstate NY/LI where we can sometimes struggle.

 

[JeremyCuse]

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Well the thought of him committing is now squashed. Must be another top rated defensive recruit or something.

I’m hoping he visits us after the renovations are done so that he can get the full picture of what it’s like playing in the dome.

I believe he has been up at SU before but seeing a similar update like this for SU this week would be a welcome sign.

 

[illestcuse]

I believe he has been up at SU before but seeing a similar update like this for SU this week would be a welcome sign.

Oh you’ve heard he’s been up here before? I thought he might’ve tagged along when stonybrook women’s lax played syracuse last season. I know his daughter traveled with the team but I don’t know if he did.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Oh you’ve heard he’s been up here before? I thought he might’ve tagged along when stonybrook women’s lax played syracuse last season. I know his daughter traveled with the team but I don’t know if he did.

I don't think it was this past season but I believe he has been up at SU before but obviously not in an official capacity (even now he still can't be technically). Maryland seems like they could be a real player here for Spallina but I would feel a lot better about our chances if he made his way up here at some point this week.

 

[Powellfan]

This is probably overstated (but not necessarily wrong). Last season, SU was undefeated. It's entire attack was from Upstate NY (depending on your definition). It's best midfielder was from Upstate NY. It's best defender, pre-injury, from Upstate NY.

I get the talent does not seem to be as deep as in the past, but there is more talent all over the place, and I think that just makes CNY seem less substantial by comparison. (I realize I moved the goalposts a little bit)

SU still has name recognition and prestige. It still has top facilities. Academics and cost are an issue relative to our peers. It creates this weird sweet spot where the ideal recruit is an upper middle class kid that didn't exactly excel in school. Brighter kids will want better academics. Less financially well off kids will need more aid (which ironically, other than public in-state, is found at the better academic schools due to endowments [JHU, Duke, Ivies]).

If I were Desko, I'd recruit the heck out of the Haudenosaunee and Canadian kids. SU has a geographic and financial edge (level for the Canadians) with these recruits. Maybe a cultural one too?

Very good points made here, and I agree with an awful lot of it. I guess I would just say that I don't see a lot of the traditional high schools represented on the SU roster right now that they relied on in the past (Mellen of course is a CNY guy but he was the only West Genny player on the team). In fact I can think of only one big West Genny recruit in the last few years, a goalie headed to Loyola this year. Yes, Cook went to J-D, Fiorini Baldwinsville, etc, but up and down the roster there are guys from all over. That is really not a bad thing, it's just the SU tried and true isn't something they can rely on anymore.

As for Trimboli, we could get nitpicky about where Rochester falls in the geography of New York, but I think it says something that he is the only player from Victor to end up at SU, despite producing a number of very high quality players.

They've adapted, but a lot of the Four and Five star guys are coming from places that SU doesn't do particularly well in - Duke, Maryland, UNC all do really well on Long Island, Duke and UVA do really well with the New England Prep schools, All of the southern schools do well in Baltimore, etc. Even the Rochester area has been a pipeline of sorts to Maryland and UVA.

Why SU doesn't do better on Long Island is confusing to me, and I am not sure why they don't attack Canada more. Again they deserve a lot of credit for adapting, they did establish a pipeline of sorts to IMG and they have a huge alumni base to get feedback from. I just think a lot of their strategy now relies on uncovered players not really known to bigger schools. I hoped Hiltz would mean more high profile guys would move to Syracuse, but its looking like a one-off at this point.

 

[ivorytower]

According to IL/RR assessments, all the other ACC teams have had better recruiting classes than Cuse over the past several years yet Cuse goes tooth and nail with all and was arguably the best ACC squad last year.
Perhaps why Duke and ND were compelled to go so heavily into transfer portal despite their heralded recruiting classes

Week in, week out Duke-UNC-UVA-ND getting so and so ad nauseam can be disheartening.
Compiling much top talent in each recruiting class increases probabilities of the number succeeding but there are only ten players on the field at one time . If only 5 or so players a grade hit then a team can be very good especially if their talents compliment.

View IL rankings as very credible, based on observation but also inherently biased to those talents repeatedly seen on circuit. Top fifty get the ink and their commitments headline but reality is there are alot of good players for the discerning eye to filter thru and project beyond the current state.

Agree that Syracuse COLLEGE (moreso than lax program) is a harder sell than other ACC teams especially those to the south. Despite that , Cuse lax talent last year was as good as any and they have athletes. Shame that 2020 went by wayside because team was on the ascent while some other contenders were not as strong as usual. Adding Sowers (or Gray in 19") would have put us over the top but wont bemoan lost chance because we return several top talents.

It's 2020 so I may be canceled for being sacrilegious to the legacy of cuse lax but... Considering the cited disadvantages and a much greater competitive landscape with wider parity, gonna credit staff for being able to identify n structure the team to keep program near the top almost every year.

 

[CuseAlum87]

I don't remember SU ever getting a ton of recruits from LI. Palesek and Galasso transferred in. maybe one or two a class at most. Strange it is.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I don't remember SU ever getting a ton of recruits from LI. Palesek and Galasso transferred in. maybe one or two a class at most. Strange it is.

LI is 30-50 miles closer to Hop and MD than Syracuse.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Very good points made here, and I agree with an awful lot of it. I guess I would just say that I don't see a lot of the traditional high schools represented on the SU roster right now that they relied on in the past (Mellen of course is a CNY guy but he was the only West Genny player on the team). In fact I can think of only one big West Genny recruit in the last few years, a goalie headed to Loyola this year. Yes, Cook went to J-D, Fiorini Baldwinsville, etc, but up and down the roster there are guys from all over. That is really not a bad thing, it's just the SU tried and true isn't something they can rely on anymore.

As for Trimboli, we could get nitpicky about where Rochester falls in the geography of New York, but I think it says something that he is the only player from Victor to end up at SU, despite producing a number of very high quality players.

They've adapted, but a lot of the Four and Five star guys are coming from places that SU doesn't do particularly well in - Duke, Maryland, UNC all do really well on Long Island, Duke and UVA do really well with the New England Prep schools, All of the southern schools do well in Baltimore, etc. Even the Rochester area has been a pipeline of sorts to Maryland and UVA.

Why SU doesn't do better on Long Island is confusing to me, and I am not sure why they don't attack Canada more. Again they deserve a lot of credit for adapting, they did establish a pipeline of sorts to IMG and they have a huge alumni base to get feedback from. I just think a lot of their strategy now relies on uncovered players not really known to bigger schools. I hoped Hiltz would mean more high profile guys would move to Syracuse, but its looking like a one-off at this point.

Max Rosa is also from West Genny.

What happened to the Yorktown connection? Is that program not as strong as it used to be?

 

[ivorytower]

LI is 30-50 miles closer to Hop and MD than Syracuse.

Danowski has his tentacles into certain LI schools . Coaches at Duke, UNC and UVA and even Maryland have recruiting advantages. Families are knocking on their doors for overall college setting which cant be said for Cuse and some others. No place like home is no longer the default .Social media has made the world smaller and trend towards southern migration.

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

I’m confused, too, by the lack of Rochester recruits. A lot of great players have come out of there, but I can’t think of any really high profile guys that went to SU (Victor isn’t even in the same county as Rochester, so I tend to think of it as a separate entity). Irondequoit alone has had Jeff Long, Paul Cantabene, Andrew Whipple, Joe Walters all go elsewhere. Nick Ballou was an all-American defenseman in the late 90s. He wasn’t even recruited by Syracuse and went D3. Nick Doktor went to Penn. I’m sure there are others. And that’s just Irondequoit.

 

[illestcuse]

Max Rosa is also from West Genny.

What happened to the Yorktown connection? Is that program not as strong as it used to be?

2021 commit Blake Borges is from Yorktown. However he just transferred to Brunswick this year.

 

[Powellfan]

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Well the thought of him committing is now squashed. Must be another top rated defensive recruit or something.

I’m hoping he visits us after the renovations are done so that he can get the full picture of what it’s like playing in the dome.

I don't know why but I have higher hopes for Dom Pietramala ending up at SU than Spallina. This is totally based on Quint listing SU as a potential destination for little Petro and nothing else, but to me thats more than we have for Spallina. It will take an awful lot to land either, but fingers crossed.

In regards to Spallina visiting UMD, every time I see a top recruit commit to Maryland I have to wonder why Syracuse didn't sign them - I know they have advantages in weather and cost, but these seem like the kids SU should be getting. I can understand losing out to a Duke or Ivy or other top ACC teams, but I can't understand what Maryland is offering that SU doesn't. I don't know what it is Tillman is doing down there, but he clearly knows what buttons to push. In the article posted recently by IL about Spallina, it sounds like Tillman was the first to contact him. Is he just that much more aggressive in the recruiting game than other coaches?

 

[laxobserver]

In regards to Spallina visiting UMD, every time I see a top recruit commit to Maryland I have to wonder why Syracuse didn't sign them - I know they have advantages in weather and cost, but these seem like the kids SU should be getting. I can understand losing out to a Duke or Ivy or other top ACC teams, but I can't understand what Maryland is offering that SU doesn't.

Maryland made 5 straight Final Fours from 2014-2018. They were a goal post away from making another in 2019 even in a down year for them. Syracuse hasn't made one since 2013. That might have something to do with it.

But, yes, Tillman is an aggressive recruiter. Petro and Breschi got most of the headlines but Tillman was very much in the thick of the early recruiting scramble. He has also gotten noticeably more aggressive re: transfers as of late. I've talked to a few parents of players who were not thrilled with their experience at UMD. Rumors of a military-like training and culture which is not for everyone but so far it's worked for Tillman. Makes sense given his background in Annapolis.

 

[illestcuse]

I don't know why but I have higher hopes for Dom Pietramala ending up at SU than Spallina. This is totally based on Quint listing SU as a potential destination for little Petro and nothing else, but to me thats more than we have for Spallina. It will take an awful lot to land either, but fingers crossed.

In regards to Spallina visiting UMD, every time I see a top recruit commit to Maryland I have to wonder why Syracuse didn't sign them - I know they have advantages in weather and cost, but these seem like the kids SU should be getting. I can understand losing out to a Duke or Ivy or other top ACC teams, but I can't understand what Maryland is offering that SU doesn't. I don't know what it is Tillman is doing down there, but he clearly knows what buttons to push. In the article posted recently by IL about Spallina, it sounds like Tillman was the first to contact him. Is he just that much more aggressive in the recruiting game than other coaches?

I agree with laxobserver, the 5 straight final fours probably has something to do with it and the fact that they are a hotbed area and can keep their local players home. Kind of like we used to do before the good coaches went elsewhere to grow the game which has left the Syracuse area hurting for awhile now. Other than that, the attraction to Tillman and Maryland, I will never understand though. Yes, they have made consecutive final fours, (I think ive said this in the past, and its just a personal preference) but their offense doesn't excite me. If I was playing A/M coming out of high school, I would not want to play for Tillman. Who wants to play with locks and chains? I mean, his system seems to work, but if thats the way you want to play then go ahead-- I just think it ruins the fun of the sport.

 

[Powellfan]

FWIW Looks like Spallina visited Loyola as well today (sorry I don't know how to post his IG stories).

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

FWIW Looks like Spallina visited Loyola as well today (sorry I don't know how to post his IG stories).

Maybe he should talk to Chase Scanlan about the Loyola culture.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

FWIW Looks like Spallina visited Loyola as well today (sorry I don't know how to post his IG stories).

He was in the Carolinas last week and Maryland this week.

Working his way up north

 

[illestcuse]

He was in the Carolinas last week and Maryland this week.

Working his way up north

saving the best for last

 

[redhead091]

FWIW Looks like Spallina visited Loyola as well today (sorry I don't know how to post his IG stories).

Loyola on Petrimelas short list as well...hopefully package deal to the Orange!

 

[laxobserver]

At least you all can take some solace in the fact that he apparently did not visit Homewood even though he was 10 minutes up the street at Loyola.

 

[CuseNHouse]

A lot of great posts and points made here. Relevance is the name of the game and it has been slipping for a decade. Not to restate the obvious, but 2020 was the year to become truly relevant again and reverse the course. Pieces still in place and we need to pray for a 2021 season - going deep is essential to becoming attractive once again I fear if we don’t make a huge push this year / next the sledding going ahead will become a lot uglier...

 

[illestcuse]

me rn:

 

[JeremyCuse]

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me rn:
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Don't want to read to much into it as Joey is clearly on a visit tour but him being here today is definitely a massive positive sign versus not visiting. Not the best weather day unfortunately but not much we can do about that. Hopefully we have pulled out some surprises despite the lack of "official contact".

 

[ForCuseSake]