Thamel: It’s GMac | Page 12 | Syracusefan.com

Thamel: It’s GMac

Not that I believe the above players were bad but the first three you mentioned did very little to get their teammates involved in the flow of the game. I know that Starling is gone, I kind of wish that George and Freeman would be gone unless they come back motivated to work to move the ball around.

George’s main job last year was to get the whole team on the floor involved in the game. He failed to do so in more games than he succeeded. I would not be upset in the team found a better floor general.
they need to be gone. You cannot keep these guy around. They’ve made it ok to lose here and it’s not.

I worry about even keeping Kiyan and Sadiq around because of all the bad habits they’ve picked up. Kingz I’m less concerned with and I’m fine with him staying cuz he’s going to be like 24.
 
I have some questions I'm not sure have been addressed:

1. Was this a Blair hire, a Wildhack hire, and/or a hire by other SU bigwigs?

2. Would he have been hired had he lost to Merrimack, or stunk out the joint vs. Duke?

3. Was this carefully thought out, or was it largely a visceral reaction to the Siena feel-good story?

4. What other candidates, besides Hodgson, were considered?

At least one inquiring mind wants to know.
 
Posts like this are what makes it hard to take the pro Gerry fans seriously. Really? No one else has passion or heart? That’s just ridiculous.
I hear ya. But effort wins games. Go back through game threads the past 3 years, and the number of times fans question effort and hustle has been off the chart. Now, it’s all going to be about the jimmys and joes. But if we upgrade the talent and play hard, that’s 2/3rds of the battle.

It’s fair to question the system. That we’re going to have to wait on.
 
I’d welcome any of GMAC’s Siena guys. If they can instill into our Cuse guys the work ethic and culture that GMAC brought to Siena then we will be a very dangerous team.
I think this will be telling in who comes back. My belief is X and O advantage is crap. Everyone knows the same sets at this level. The separator is talent and effort. Watch the teams playing in the Sweet 16, effort is not an option. In the dozen Siena games I watched this year, there was never lack of effort. Our games lacked consistent effort every game. What player on the current Cuse team will meet that effort.
 
Doty and Folefac can 100% play at this level. Moesch makes me nervous as he’s really small but he is definitely skilled. LOVE Folefac. I think he could probably be an ACC level starter at most ACC schools tbh. I’m fine with Doty coming here but off the bench. He’ll be a good 6th or 7th man.
Agree. Folefac scored more vs Duke than all 4 of our bigs combined! If we keep freeman and White they would all have to earn their minutes. I would let Betsey go. Only did one thing well, and only on occasion. Doty, like every one else, can earn a starting spot if Hes good enough.
 
Well, I’d expect he’s going to bring along ‘his’ guys. I’d expect that from any coach. Getting a head coaching gig and then interviewing completely new guys to fill out your staff is a hell of an uphill battle. Setting up additional hurdles for yourself.
They better give him the resources to add more assistants than the last staff had. We were way behind the eight ball on staffing.
 
They better give him the resources to add more assistants than the last staff had. We were way behind the eight ball on staffing.
Agree. And for people looking to donate to NIL, that's great and what comes to mind first. But any basketball-related funding will help.
 
I hear ya. But effort wins games. Go back through game threads the past 3 years, and the number of times fans question effort and hustle has been off the chart. Now, it’s all going to be about the jimmys and joes. But if we upgrade the talent and play hard, that’s 2/3rds of the battle.

It’s fair to question the system. That we’re going to have to wait on.
Hey hey this is far too sensible of a post at this time. Purely insane takes are allowed at this moment
 
I hear ya. But effort wins games. Go back through game threads the past 3 years, and the number of times fans question effort and hustle has been off the chart. Now, it’s all going to be about the jimmys and joes. But if we upgrade the talent and play hard, that’s 2/3rds of the battle.

It’s fair to question the system. That we’re going to have to wait on.
For sure. We built our roster last year around JJ/Donnie/George and paid plenty of money for them.

Even if you build a roster around Doty as the heart of the team as a 6th man you’re prob getting better effort and confidence.
 
I hear ya. But effort wins games. Go back through game threads the past 3 years, and the number of times fans question effort and hustle has been off the chart. Now, it’s all going to be about the jimmys and joes. But if we upgrade the talent and play hard, that’s 2/3rds of the battle.

It’s fair to question the system. That we’re going to have to wait on.

Without showing bias anecdotally, having many years ago played against him and been to many of his games back in HS including tournaments and camps - there is a competitive edge he brings that stands out. It is not as wild and outwardly insane like Hurley at UConn but it has that same kind of edge where there is another level that’s hard to explain.

I’ve seen him drop 35 in a meaningless game playing on one good ankle and out sprinting a younger teammate getting on his ass in the huddle after. Gerry is just different. That could mean absolutely nothing of course 20 yrs later but he’s done nothing but be successful in a leadership capacity on the court or charged with his own team. So for now with the supposed pledged money I’m gonna stay bullish for now no matter how much I openly I sat in team outside hire before.
 
cliftonpark has some good insight as a Siena season ticket holder. Siena has had a few televised games on the ESPN networks also, so it's not just the Duke game that some people have seen.

I was not referring to anyone specifically. And I will put myself in the group that has watched very little Siena basketball the last couple of years. I am just trying to understand the reluctance to accept an “in the family” hire when from the small sample size I watched there were very few similarities between the schemes Gerry runs and what I have seen in Manley and the Dome over nearly 50 years.

If the objection is based on a desire for a more experienced coach or one who has succeeded at a higher level I can understand and appreciate that. But to base it simply on where a coach played his college ball I struggle
 
No disrespect but jab needs to stay away from the program now. Get put of way and allow gmac coach unencumbered by you. Thanks
 
I’ll say this: if the NIL money is as high as it has been speculated, there is absolutely no reason for us not to be ranked to start the season. That alone will create some good hype and the feeling like this team will be different. Hopefully is lasts.
0% chance we’re ranked to start next season
 
I hear ya. But effort wins games. Go back through game threads the past 3 years, and the number of times fans question effort and hustle has been off the chart. Now, it’s all going to be about the jimmys and joes. But if we upgrade the talent and play hard, that’s 2/3rds of the battle.

It’s fair to question the system. That we’re going to have to wait on.
Jake what do you think our nil will be? 11 million or less?
 
I would be very worried if we bring the two guys from Siena to be anything more than depth. That includes the guard recruit, who is a 4 star, and a huge recruiting win for Siena, but would be ranked about the same as Womack was this year, but without the much taller body and long limbs.

If those guys are 7-9 (or lower) in the rotation, great, let's take them. But we need high powered p5 players, not players who did well at a much lower ranked conference.
 
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UVA wasn’t ranked in the preseason poll. We also don’t have a HOF coach like St John’s. We also haven’t been ranked in years. Zero chance - we could walk out Jordan and LeBron in their primes and we will not sniff a receiving votes in the preseason poll.
Virginia received votes preseason putting them 41st nationally after going 15-17 the previous year. If we are ranked 41st going into next season I’ll be very happy.
 
I was not referring to anyone specifically. And I will put myself in the group that has watched very little Siena basketball the last couple of years. I am just trying to understand the reluctance to accept an “in the family” hire when from the small sample size I watched there were very few similarities between the schemes Gerry runs and what I have seen in Manley and the Dome over nearly 50 years.

If the objection is based on a desire for a more experienced coach or one who has succeeded at a higher level I can understand and appreciate that. But to base it simply on where a coach played his college ball I struggle

If Gerry had McCaffery’s resume (minus the ten years as an assistant at ND in the middle of head coaching jobs for no obvious reason) - I would be thrilled. Even if all he had was McCaffery’s Siena resume, I’d be thrilled.

I don’t know too many people that are concerned that have that he played here as a primary or secondary issue. I do think the fact he played here IS a primary reason for his biggest supporters - and if he was John Smith with two years at Siena and just got hired, those same people would be enraged. Them turning around and saying the people who were opposed to it was “just because he’s a Syracuse guy” is classic gaslighting behavior. But I’ll give them credit, it worked to some degree because you bought it.

Sometimes high risk decisions work out. Somebody wins the lottery most weeks. Hopefully this is a high risk decision that works out and we hit the lottery.
 
Posts like this are what makes it hard to take the pro Gerry fans seriously. Really? No one else has passion or heart? That’s just ridiculous.
Exactly. It’s all “Gerry bleeds Orange,” “no one is tougher,” “he exudes passion and energy,” blah blah blah. It’s all intangible nonsense. Do those things matter? Yes. But I see nothing tangible about innovation in his offense and defense, how he uses analytics, or what his vision for the program is. I worry it’s all gonna be the same empty rhetoric that Red sold the fan base.
 
He hasn’t beaten a serious team. Ever. He put a good game plan together for the duke game, but does ANYONE here believe duke wouldn’t mop the floor with Siena if they played again? It would have been nice to see him win a game he was expected to lose.
Dukes ball boys had more stars coming out of High School than Siena’s team. 4 wins to 23 with the guys he recruited. Made the tourney. He’s not supposed to be in the same universe as Duke but was.
 

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