No more bubble talk please | Page 5 | Syracusefan.com

No more bubble talk please

“Everyone?”

Certainly not everyone. I’ve seen saying how you react to a game like last night is largely a matter of managing expectations.

Personally felt NIT was the most likely scenario for this year, and that’s how it’s working out. That will be an upgrade, btw, from where we were in the last two years.

JB didn’t bottom the program overnight and it’s not going to be fixed overnight. This is a multi-year rebuild. There is no reason at this time for calls for Red’s head. That’s talk-radio loon stuff.

^^^^ This.
 
“Everyone?”

Certainly not everyone. I’ve seen saying how you react to a game like last night is largely a matter of managing expectations.

Personally felt NIT was the most likely scenario for this year, and that’s how it’s working out. That will be an upgrade, btw, from where we were in the last two years.

JB didn’t bottom the program overnight and it’s not going to be fixed overnight. This is a multi-year rebuild. There is no reason at this time for calls for Red’s head. That’s talk-radio loon stuff.
It's like he doesn't know there was literally a prediction thread where prob half of the board had us in the NIT.

I was hoping for an 8/9 seed, but I was wrong, the loss of Jesse was just too big. I was never expecting Top 25, personally...to say "EVERYONE" is honestly comical.
 
Red made roster changes.

Jesse leaving was a surprise that put us in a tough spot.

Westry hasn't played.

Benny blew up his season before it started.

I wanted a national search and someone outside the JB coaching tree but even I realized Red got screwed with this roster.

He’s got to make some bold moves this offseason. No hall pass for next year.
 
I wanted a national search and someone outside the JB coaching tree but even I realized Red got screwed with this roster.

He’s got to make some bold moves this offseason. No hall pass for next year.

Part of the reason I wanted a national search was because it would create a good amount of roster turnover which I still think is needed.

Fran showed you can recruit both high-level portal players as well as recruits to Syracuse no reason why Red cant stack this roster if he is the recruiter everyone told me he was.
 
He has very, very interesting splits. In wins, he averages just under 12 points a game, and shoots 48% from 2 and 42% from three. In losses, he scores just under 8 points a game, shoots 32% from 2, and 29% from 3 (yikes).
great stat. and 2 people need to really really grasp this number . judah and red. mintz should be doing everything in his power to get bell easy open looks early in the game. if they're falling great. autry needs to be calculating his success rate based those 1st 5 shots. if he's off yank him. i'm not a fan of the miss em til you make em mantra . early heat check and then make the call. play or sit.
 
Bell is athletic and can get hot, but
defense? rebounding? turnovers? assists?
Benny is more well rounded. Q has no outside game but he can fill a stat sheet. Can we graft Q to Bell?
 
Bell is athletic and can get hot, but
defense? rebounding? turnovers? assists?
Benny is more well rounded. Q has no outside game but he can fill a stat sheet. Can we graft Q to Bell?
I want 2 new forwards to replace the one trick pony and Mr zero.
 
Who’s surprised?
I am a little but I was hoping for more from Naheem allowing Brown some time at the four. I keep hoping Taylor gets a big night to restore his confidence. All Sophomores and Benny so it is not a shock but I felt we would get in. I thought 12 or 13 ACC wins, still possible.
 
lol. People need to stop looking backwards. JB struggled for several years at the tail end of a 47-year career that generally ranged from really good to outstanding. For a lifer like that, it typically gets a little ugly at the end. I mean, the only reason you have expectations is because of the guy you’re complaining about.

The bottom line is we struggled the past few years and now Red is trying to dig us out of it. Is he the guy to do it? Jury is out. If you love Red, that’s cool but there are questions to be answered. If you hate Red and felt it should have been a national search? Eh, maybe but, again, it was always staying in-house (so the point is moot) and while there are some legit concerns we’ve got to be a bit patient, regardless of who we hire.

It’s not that difficult to understand … yet everyone starts crying every time something doesn’t go according to plan.
Look, this could have been Louisville ugly. Red did a good job keeping the sophomores together. Jesse's dad really screwed us and his kid, for a few dollars more.
 
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Look, this could have been Loisville ugly. Red did a good job keeping the sophisticated together. Jesse's dad really screwed us and his kid for a few dollars more.
Agreed. Red’s not above criticism for sure and the jury is out on how good a steward of this program he’ll ultimately be. But I agree — this could be much uglier. Whether or not that brings people comfort, I don’t know. But saying he’s unequivocally not the guy at 14-7 in his first year with a few difficult roster situations seems nuts to me.
 
“Everyone?”

Certainly not everyone. I’ve seen saying how you react to a game like last night is largely a matter of managing expectations.

Personally felt NIT was the most likely scenario for this year, and that’s how it’s working out. That will be an upgrade, btw, from where we were in the last two years.

JB didn’t bottom the program overnight and it’s not going to be fixed overnight. This is a multi-year rebuild. There is no reason at this time for calls for Red’s head. That’s talk-radio loon stuff.
With the portal and NIL this in no way should be a multi year rebuild. We are talking basketball here, not football.
 
With the portal and NIL this in no way should be a multi year rebuild. We are talking basketball here, not football.
Eh, this seems a little simplistic. I mean, every good program also has NIL money and access to the portal. I agree that Red’s roster decisions this year are part of our problem. Cuffe and Westry coming off major injuries was a big gamble. McLeod was never a great fit for the system. Actively working to keep Taylor and Benny and Bell — if that’s how it worked — is questionable.

But I think if you came into the season expecting a top 25 ranking and a sweet 16, that was going to be tough for anyone outside the sport’s biggest names. If anyone watched this group play preseason and still had thoughts of sweet 16 and top 25 potential … they’re either incredibly optimistic or just don’t really know basketball too well
 
Football players mostly interact with their position coach, basketball players with their head coach. If the head coach leaves for greener pastures asst coaches are more likely to stay and provide some stability, but the greener pasture coach will take the best players with him. I prefer Red because the best situation is a shot at success with stability. In basketball the head coach is more important to players than in football.

A few days after a reinvigorated U of AZ won it's bowl game their coach was poached by UW. He gave a speech about how much he loved U of AZ but that did not stop him from taking his new recruits with him to UW. I don't want that to be our fate: one outstanding season and then back to the drawing board.

Boise can survive coach poaching in football. Not sure that we could easily recover from basketball coach poaching.

I hope for a new ACC where we will no longer be an outsider. N. Carolina, FSU, Clemson, Miami, good riddance. PS, I am only a fairweather football fan.
 
With the portal and NIL this in no way should be a multi year rebuild. We are talking basketball here, not football.
Afraid this is indeed a simplistic take. Even with the portal, this was never going to be a one-year deal.

We don’t know whether Red will be the guy long term, but we do know the people who are saying he’s not now are not to be taken seriously.
 
Part of the reason I wanted a national search was because it would create a good amount of roster turnover which I still think is needed.

Fran showed you can recruit both high-level portal players as well as recruits to Syracuse no reason why Red cant stack this roster if he is the recruiter everyone told me he was.
Fran was hired as a recruiter and he is damn sure living up to that billing. Before we crown him as the best coach in school history, however, let’s see if he can coach.

I think Red will recruit well enough generally. Been around the game, been around recruiting, went outside the family for the assistant coach hire, has two promising kids signed up for next year, landed a guy who was seen as a top portal kid in JJ last offseason. Not sure he’ll be the best recruiter ever, but not overly worried about that.

The coaching is what feels like a bigger question to me. Red has done some nice things this year but there’s also been a few head-scratchers, which, I would think, is not uncommon for a first-time head coach. The question is, can he go back to the drawing board and make some tweaks to help the whole be greater than the sum of its parts? Thats what remains to be seen (same for Fran).
 
My expectation this year...(1) a winning record in ACC and the overall season (2) win one game or two in the ACCT. I know that's a low bar but for my sanity it is what it is.

I also would like to see all the scholarships used. Do not leave it open for walk-ons, go deep because you never know who develops and who blows up. I think that's the reason to have 4 centers, but of course didn't anticipate two center injuries. No need to leave spots for next year's HS recruits this year because at the end of each season is a major shuffle anyway.
 
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Agreed. Red’s not above criticism for sure and the jury is out on how good a steward of this program he’ll ultimately be. But I agree — this could be much uglier. Whether or not that brings people comfort, I don’t know. But saying he’s unequivocally not the guy at 14-7 in his first year with a few difficult roster situations seems nuts to me.
And having a point guard who sometimes decides to be a one man show doesn't help.
When Judah plays as a facilitator, rather then a one man team, the team is good, and Judah looks like a first round draft pick.
The talent is there, but the maturity, hasn't
Caught up with the talent yet.
 
Afraid this is indeed a simplistic take. Even with the portal, this was never going to be a one-year deal.

We don’t know whether Red will be the guy long term, but we do know the people who are saying he’s not now are not to be taken seriously.
Not a one-year deal for Syracuse, but it is for the basketball powerhouses of Wake, Ole Miss, and South Carolina? And yes, wake being anywhere near the bubble is a damn miracle considering who they lost in appleby.
 

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