Siena Basketball: GMAC / Blackwell / AO

[FloridaCuse]

 

[Irishsecra1]

Again, several people told me that Jim truly believed that Gerry was the better coach.
Obviously, I have no proof but see what Red has done, and see what Gerry has done.
Red has the team in free fall, Gerry took a broken 4 win team and has them legitimately on course for making the NCAAT. It took Red two years to break the team (losing record), it took Gerry the same amount of time to make Siena a winner.

Obviously, the level of competition and talent is different.
But good to great coaching ability occurs at all levels.

Bad Bad decision on the part of the SU brain trust.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Should have been gmac over autry. All day. Every day.

Another blown call by the BoT, the AD, and University.

Should have been neither.

 

[721Comstock]

Again, several people told me that Jim truly believed that Gerry was the better coach.
Obviously, I have no proof but see what Red has done, and see what Gerry has done.
Red has the team in free fall, Gerry took a broken 4 win team and has them legitimately on course for making the NCAAT. It took Red two years to break the team (losing record), it took Gerry the same amount of time to make Siena a winner.

Obviously, the level of competition and talent is different.
But good to great coaching ability occurs at all levels.

Bad Bad decision on the part of the SU brain trust.

Yeah, except….

Choosing the much younger, less experienced white guy,
Over the far more experienced black guy, who also had experience outside the Syracuse program,
and who had the title of AHC -
would’ve been a TURRIBLE look.

Red is objectively a better recruiter than Gerry.
GMac whiffed on the overwhelming majority of high profile croots he was the lead on.

Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing.

He seems to be a better gameday coach, but that’s only because Red is the worst at that.

Bottom line: we should have NEVER gone with a continuity hire from JAB’s decayed coaching tree,
because the absolute last thing that needed to be done in that instance was ‘continue’ anything or anyone who had been a part of the prior decade of decline.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Yeah, except….

Choosing the much younger, less experienced white guy,
Over the far more experienced black guy, who also had experience outside the Syracuse program,
and who had the title of AHC -
would’ve been a TURRIBLE look.

Red is objectively a better recruiter than Gerry.
GMac whiffed on the overwhelming majority of high profile croots he was the lead on.

Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing.

He seems to be a better gameday coach, but that’s only because Red is the worst at that.

Bottom line: we should have NEVER gone with a continuity hire from JAB’s decayed coaching tree,
because the absolute last thing that needed to be done in that instance was ‘continue’ anything or anyone who had been a part of the prior decade of decline.

Bro…race has nothing to do with anything with this. I hate when people bring that up like it was a factor. We gotta stop with that. Terrible look for who??? Who actually would give a crap??? Insane that people talk about it this way.

 

[Irishsecra1]

Yeah, except….

Choosing the much younger, less experienced white guy,
Over the far more experienced black guy, who also had experience outside the Syracuse program,
and who had the title of AHC -
would’ve been a TURRIBLE look.

Red is objectively a better recruiter than Gerry.
GMac whiffed on the overwhelming majority of high profile croots he was the lead on.

Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing.

He seems to be a better gameday coach, but that’s only because Red is the worst at that.

Bottom line: we should have NEVER gone with a continuity hire from JAB’s decayed coaching tree,
because the absolute last thing that needed to be done in that instance was ‘continue’ anything or anyone who had been a part of the prior decade of decline.

Well it is one thing to recruit and sign the big names?
It is another to actually turn their potential into something tangible on the court.
You can be the greatest recruiter in the world but you have to have some coaching ability to get them to produce on the court. Red has none of that.
I honestly dont know who Gerry was the lead recruiter on for SU. I know he was the main recruiter for Qadir Copeland because of recent reporting but thats it.

I had heard though that Gerry was never seriously considered because of the optics involved.
No clue if that is even remotely true.

 

[FloridaCuse]

Big Game tonight. Siena hosts Iona at 7pm on ESPNU.
Siena is -7.5

Siena is tied for 2nd place in the conference at 9-3 (16-7 overall)
Iona is in 6th place at 6-6 (14-9)

Iona won their first game 75-72.

 

[phil77]

That conference doesn't play big games until its conference tournament.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

It seems like Siena has a had a chance to win some of these "big" conference matchups a few times, and usually falls on their face. Let's see what happens this time.

 

[FloridaCuse]

That conference doesn't play big games until its conference tournament.

Big because it's on national linear TV.

 

[phil77]

Big because it's on national linear TV.

It's a 1 bid league, nothing matters until conference tournament time, and all those will be on national TV. That is why I said these aren't big games; all the conference tournament games are big games for that conference.

Plus, you are an 8 point favorite playing at home the expectation is that you win.

 

[Brooky03]

Bro…race has nothing to do with anything with this. I hate when people bring that up like it was a factor. We gotta stop with that. Terrible look for who??? Who actually would give a crap??? Insane that people talk about it this way.

It would have been a storyline and not a small one. Not the kind of press the school would want after an already messy breakup with the longstanding coach.

 

[Newhouser]

It would have been a storyline and not a small one. Not the kind of press the school would want after an already messy breakup with the longstanding coach.

and there were some tense situations occurring on campus at that time that people would have tied in. To think it didn't play a factor (small, medium, or large) is naive. Optics matter.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

It's a 1 bid league, nothing matters until conference tournament time, and all those will be on national TV. That is why I said these aren't big games; all the conference tournament games are big games for that conference.

Plus, you are an 8 point favorite playing at home the expectation is that you win.

And the 1 and 2 seed gets a first round bye, but you would rather finish first because you may have an easier path to the final game.

So, every game matters. And because it's on a regular cable channel, maybe the average viewer who hasn't seen Siena or Iona all season, might tune in as they are flipping channels.

And this game matters as much to Iona as Siena as they are 6-6 in conference, so it would put them over .500. And they've already beaten Siena once this year.

Plus, if you know MAAC history, these are the two most successful programs, so it is a big rivalry game.

So, on the outside it may not seem like a big game, only one where the home team is favored by 7.5, but if you dig it's a big game for both programs.

 

[DoctahLexus]

It would have been a storyline and not a small one. Not the kind of press the school would want after an already messy breakup with the longstanding coach.

Among other things Red is not "far more experienced" than GMac. His additional experience compared to GMac is 2 years of high school coaching and 1 year as an assistant at VT. They both started as cuse assistant coaches in 2011. GMac has technically been here longer since he was a manager from 09-11. The only thing Red had on GMac is a made up title. Acting like this would be some kind of major racially tinged story line that would stick with us in the long term is just silly!! We chose Red over Gmac for reasons other than avoiding some kind of narrative, likely his relative success as a recruiter. Their resumes are close to identical aside from Red being older!

People vastly overestimate the extent people care about race in these situations. White candidates are chosen over black candidates for coaching positions every year. Can you even name a school that got accused of racism for a coaching hire choice? What would the headline for us even be? "Syracuse racistly chooses hiring 12 year assistant coach over other 12 year assistant coach" ??

 

[DoctahLexus]

and there were some tense situations occurring on campus at that time that people would have tied in. To think it didn't play a factor (small, medium, or large) is naive. Optics matter.

It was 2023 not 2020. And even then there is actual racism in this country that gets people justifiably riled up, not coaching hires. This would be us hiring one 12 year assistant over another 12 year assistant. Any optics would not stick long term, because you cannot look at that situation and actually say definitively that it is some kind of racism. Students weren't going to occupy a dorm hall over us hiring Gmac. CNN and NYT were not going to do multiple stories on us hiring GMac. That thinking is naive.

 

[Brooky03]

Among other things Red is not "far more experienced" than GMac. His additional experience compared to GMac is 2 years of high school coaching and 1 year as an assistant at VT. They both started as cuse assistant coaches in 2011. GMac has technically been here longer since he was a manager from 09-11. The only thing Red had on GMac is a made up title. Acting like this would be some kind of major racially tinged story line that would stick with us in the long term is just silly!! We chose Red over Gmac for reasons other than avoiding some kind of narrative, likely his relative success as a recruiter. Their resume's are close to identical aside from Red being older!

People vastly overestimate the extent people care about race in these situations. White candidates are chosen over black candidates for coaching positions every year. Can you even name a school that got accused of racism for a coaching hire choice? What would the headline for us even be? "Syracuse racistly chooses hiring 12 year assistant coach over other 12 year assistant coach" ??

The nuance of their experience relative to each other would probably not be something Stephen A. and the other talking heads would care about. How long it would stick with us wouldn’t be the issue; it’s how hot the story would be at that time.

We’re not talking about the average fan’s ability to consider all of the factors around the hire and decide if race was an issue. We’re talking press coverage and appearances/optics.

The NFL has a rule requiring teams to earnestly interview minority candidates and NFL teams still catch flak often when it’s perceived they passed up a qualified minority for a white bro.

 

[DoctahLexus]

The nuance of their experience relative to each other would probably not be something Stephen A. and the other talking heads would care about. How long it would stick with us wouldn’t be the issue; it’s how hot the story would be at that time.

We’re not talking about the average fan’s ability to consider all of the factors around the hire and decide if race was an issue. We’re talking press coverage and appearances/optics.

The NFL has a rule requiring teams to earnestly interview minority candidates and NFL teams still catch flak often when it’s perceived they passed up a qualified minority for a white bro.

Stephen A and guys like that would simply not give this the time of day because there is nothing actually there! You can't even remotely compare something like this to Brian Flores in the NFL. He actually sued multiple teams and accused them of sham interviews, and even then, have those teams taken any sort of legitimate reputational hit as a result? Did those teams lose fans or endorsements or anything like that? Any "flak" you catch is forgotten about in an NY minute.

 

[jdubs30]

 

[Brooky03]

Stephen A and guys like that would simply not give this the time of day because there is nothing actually there! You can't even remotely compare something like this to Brian Flores in the NFL. He actually sued multiple teams and accused them of sham interviews, and even then, have those teams taken any sort of legitimate reputational hit as a result? Did those teams lose fans or endorsements or anything like that? Any "flak" you catch is forgotten about in an NY minute.

We had an assistant coach (very likely) wrongfully accused of a crime and parents of recruits decided their kid would not be going to SU. A story about racism in a high profile basketball school’s hiring decision is in the wheelhouse of stuff Stephen A. would give the time of day. Even if it’s short lived, the perception of racism could/would do some damage.

 

[Dcuse]

Yeah, except….

Choosing the much younger, less experienced white guy,
Over the far more experienced black guy, who also had experience outside the Syracuse program,
and who had the title of AHC -
would’ve been a TURRIBLE look.

Red is objectively a better recruiter than Gerry.
GMac whiffed on the overwhelming majority of high profile croots he was the lead on.

Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing.

He seems to be a better gameday coach, but that’s only because Red is the worst at that.

Bottom line: we should have NEVER gone with a continuity hire from JAB’s decayed coaching tree,
because the absolute last thing that needed to be done in that instance was ‘continue’ anything or anyone who had been a part of the prior decade of decline.

"Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing."

I'm speechless. Gerry hate is alive and well.

 

[Orangezoo]

"Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing."

I'm speechless. Gerry hate is alive and well.

Good lord no it’s not. I say that literally graduating the same class, being from the same area, playing against him in HS and knowing some of the family for more reasons than just the proximity. It’s not the right move right now for all parties and that’s said with the most respect and admiration for who he is and what he’s done not to mention it’s a great family. Just stop with the hate BS.

I would love nothing else than to see a NEPA guy who means so much to SU as well make it big as a coach and that also be eventually at SU. He’s got more to prove and seeing how Hop and now Red have struggled on a big stage is all the more reason behind that. He needs another step up in between or a couple more years before that is even a real conversation. That is more than fair. The Red decision wasn’t a good one but any continuity hire was unlikely to be Gerry included.

 

[DoctahLexus]

We had an assistant coach (very likely) wrongfully accused of a crime and parents of recruits decided their kid would not be going to SU. A story about racism in a high profile basketball school’s hiring decision is in the wheelhouse of stuff Stephen A. would give the time of day. Even if it’s short lived, the perception of racism could/would do some damage.

I have nothing else to say besides that I strongly strongly disagree. There is not an actual story here to latch on to. Stephen A talks about racism in sports, but he is not irrational to the point where he would try and stoke the flames of a school hiring one assistant over another assistant who had the exact same level of experience at the school. It's not like Gerry was some kind of volunteer assistant who just blew into town and no amount of media spin could make it appear that way! You would be hard pressed to find Stephen A talking about any similar coaching move at the college level. If he did he would be the one taking flak for trying to create something out of nothing, not Syracuse.

We live in a divided world with media on both sides that fan the flames for clicks, but it is not nearly as crazy as you seem to think.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

"Gerry’s “success” at Siena means nearly nothing."

I'm speechless. Gerry hate is alive and well.

I think what that post is conveying is that Gerry could be one of the top college coaches on earth, or just a mediocre one that will never get a shot at a P5 gig, and the results would probably be about the same at this point.

You just can't tell what the ceiling is yet, but I think everyone would agree that he certainly hasn't done a bad job.

 

[Cheriehoop]

View attachment 259825

Siena’s storied history of head coaches going on to be successful P5 coaches gives Siena a nice head start with choosing coaching candidates who aspire to moving to bigger and better opportunities.