What I'm hearing

[tbonezone]

he has been a P5 head coach with a winning record.

barely
and trending down.
west coast is probably thinking sell.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Holy crap this ^^^^^.

There are so many fewer candidates now because coaches salaries are out of control. The SEC and Big have coaches that you are never going to get.

The pool is simply shrunk.

What has happened at Louisville is a shot across the bow. They have a great fan base, amazing facilities, great tradition. They have gone back to the alumni route…because there wasn’t much else out there.

We’re sinking into a competitive disadvantage that eerily feels like football circa 2000.

all of this may be true...but obsessing over the resume of a coach isnt going to guarantee anything.

what was boeheims record before he was hired at SU? what was brad stevens before butler? shaka smart before VCU? etc

finding a smart intellgient capable "no name" might be even bettter than finding a "name brand coach" who may or may not be all that good either

it really isnt that hard to do but there are a lot of people that get the jobs that arent that good though...


the hiring process simply has to be astute enough to select a candidate that will do well...not a candidate who looks good on paper

 

[richmondcuse03]

I read the article and I thought it was fair. I’d be curious too see what his numbers look like minus the Covid year….which much like our football team, I completely throw those numbers away. It wasn’t a normal year.

Even so, his numbers aren’t going to sparkle. So I get the hesitation expressed by some.

The article does bring up a point that all programs are facing…..difficult choices in finding a replacement.

But at the end of the day, it’s not going to change my opinion - which is that I think Hop would be successful here.

Do I have concerns? Sure. I want him to put greater emphasis on shooters and have a bench coach to consult and help with offensive design.

I have no issues with playing zone (not exclusively) as long as we have the athletes to do it.

He will improve recruiting immediately - not just our recruiting, but his.
He will engage donors.
He will also be in his comfort zone…and have the experience of what went right and what went wrong at UW.

He’s known to the Syracuse administration and intangibles are part of the job as well, and he’s a home run in those areas.

I don’t think there’s this bastion of coaches that could/would come here and be successful. I think that arena is excruciatingly small.

But at the end of the day, I don’t think his performance at Washington is necessarily indicative of how he’d perform here and I’m willing to support him.

Every hire is a crap shoot. We could end up with a basketball version of Greg Robinson, fortunately JW isn’t going to let that happen.

Agree with this completely. If the choice is Red Vs Hop, I ride with Hop all the way.

And I’d be surprised if we don’t go the family route. There’s a lot of benefits to keeping former players engaged and everything else that comes with it. We have a large, supportive crew of former players. And they would be very supportive of Hop.

If external guys are interested, their agents will let it be known to the powers that be. I’m not worried about the optics of a national search and all of that. The FLJ hire was known for a while and still had a “search.” It’s meaningless.

As Jake says, a lot of hires are crapshoots. Nothing is a sure thing (see Louisville as I thought that hire was amazing).

 

[Dave]

Agree with this completely. If the choice is Red Vs Hop, I ride with Hop all the way.

And I’d be surprised if we don’t go the family route. There’s a lot of benefits to keeping former players engaged and everything else that comes with it. We have a large, supportive crew of former players. And they would be very supportive of Hop.

If external guys are interested, their agents will let it be known to the powers that be. I’m not worried about the optics of a national search and all of that. The FLJ hire was known for a while and still had a “search.” It’s meaningless.

As Jake says, a lot of hires are crapshoots. Nothing is a sure thing (see Louisville as I thought that hire was amazing).

I seriously doubt Wildhack would be so stupid as to hire Hopkins. Sure hope he isn’t.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I seriously doubt Wildhack would be so stupid as to hire Hopkins. Sure hope he isn’t.

theres a lot of people that want him, apparently

IF he is hired...I hope there would be a "prenup" in place

I.E. a no buyout contract...put him on a year to year basis and make it super easy to let him go

If he didnt have a 9m buyout at UW i'm sure he'd be gone from there already...

 

[orange79]

theres a lot of people that want him, apparently

IF he is hired...I hope there would be a "prenup" in place

I.E. a no buyout contract...put him on a year to year basis and make it super easy to let him go

If he didnt have a 9m buyout at UW i'm sure he'd be gone from there already...

There is literally no D1 coach who is on a year to year basis.

 

[RF2044]

I read the article and I thought it was fair. I’d be curious too see what his numbers look like minus the Covid year….which much like our football team, I completely throw those numbers away. It wasn’t a normal year.

Even so, his numbers aren’t going to sparkle. So I get the hesitation expressed by some.

The article does bring up a point that all programs are facing…..difficult choices in finding a replacement.

But at the end of the day, it’s not going to change my opinion - which is that I think Hop would be successful here.

Do I have concerns? Sure. I want him to put greater emphasis on shooters and have a bench coach to consult and help with offensive design.

I have no issues with playing zone (not exclusively) as long as we have the athletes to do it.

He will improve recruiting immediately - not just our recruiting, but his.
He will engage donors.
He will also be in his comfort zone…and have the experience of what went right and what went wrong at UW.

He’s known to the Syracuse administration and intangibles are part of the job as well, and he’s a home run in those areas.

I don’t think there’s this bastion of coaches that could/would come here and be successful. I think that arena is excruciatingly small.

But at the end of the day, I don’t think his performance at Washington is necessarily indicative of how he’d perform here and I’m willing to support him.

Every hire is a crap shoot. We could end up with a basketball version of Greg Robinson, fortunately JW isn’t going to let that happen.

That's a fair assessment.

But I think it whitewashes the interpretive conclusions of the article, which suggest that the offensive system employed by Hop is horrible, that the team isn't "lucky" because they are poorly coached, and that their talent-to-efficiency ratio is incredibly poor -- to the point where Hopkins is literally rated second to last amongst all coaches measured not just in the P5, but also the P6.

When you see data that suggest that over a five year span, which includes the good years Hop had at UW, he's been one of the worst coaches at the P5 level -- that should be an enormous red flag, at minimum. That some write some of those concerns off is... strange.

Putting it mildly. Hop is an engaging guy. He's universally liked. But the data and empirical evidence have begun to paint a picture over a multi-year span of time that he's a subpar coach. No matter where you line up on the ideological side of the fence, can we at least all agree on that?

 

[Dinkyspond]

Coach K will be available next year. He's just might pull a Brady and want back in but Duke has already made a commitment to his replacement. SU could bring him in as a bench coach and he can become head coach in 2023-24.

This is great. ROFL, I like your humor!

 

[kuethstheman]

He will improve recruiting immediately - not just our recruiting, but his.

Plus, we're a lot less likely to lose our entire future to the Portal every year just because the coach is a crotchety bastard.

 

[cuseinseattle]

theres a lot of people that want him, apparently

IF he is hired...I hope there would be a "prenup" in place

I.E. a no buyout contract...put him on a year to year basis and make it super easy to let him go

If he didnt have a 9m buyout at UW i'm sure he'd be gone from there already...

What if the contract was game to game and we had the fans in attendance vote at halftime if he should continue. Good lord this is right up there with the townie post about how football isn't where the revenue is in college sports. Well done. I needed a good laugh.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Oats isn't coming. Period.

Pikiell is realistic? He's making $4M per year.

Andy Enfield is realistic? Are you kidding me? He's taken jobs at Florida Gulf Coast & USC. He's making $3M+. You think his model wife is going to leave SC to come to SU?

Same with Hart - I know he is an alum, but he is unproven at the collegiate level as a HC, and how is he different than Autry other than Autry's time at SU is going to be held against him due to JB?

If you're going to take an existing HC from a P5 school like Pikiell or Enfield - they'd 1) need to be interested and 2) you'd need to offer $5M at a 5-year deal minimum. That's doubling what they're currently paying Boeheim.

I'm not saying they shouldn't try to do it - but I am not sure they will.

Be right back.

 

[orangecuse]

I'm not in the corner of bringing Hop back. But for those that say 'no way, he's proven he can't coach'...

From 1991 - 1995 Bill Belichick coached the Cleveland Browns to a 37-45 record. For 4 of those years his DC was Nick Saban. Just saying that record does not always tell you much about the quality of the coaching.

What argument am I making? I'm just stating facts. Apparently the facts give you discomfort for some reason. You sound just like all the Browns fans I went to college with that always had to rationalize how their team was the greatest despite all of the facts to the contrary.

Don't kid yourself. You know darn well the argument you were making, or at least implying. It speaks for itself with your "but for those that say 'no way, he's proven he can't coach' verbiage and then afterwards referencing Belichick by noting his record during his first gig with the Browns.

Yes, you may have been "just stating facts" relative to Belichick's record, however, it seemingly wasn't the crux/broader point of what you were initially exuding. That being, Belichick had a sub .500 record with the Browns at his first gig, and we all know how he turned out afterwards. Therefore, relative to Hop, for those folks that say "no way, he's proven he can't coach," implying not so fast…see Belichick. Otherwise, you simply wouldn't have started your reply/first paragraph the manner in which you did.

I mentioned the fact that Belichick had the Browns headed in the right direction before the infamous chit storm, whereas Hop seemingly is heading/trending in the opposite direction. So, again, I found the analogy/comparison/argument you were implying weak. I maintain that position.

And, in regards to your "apparently the facts give you discomfort for some reason" malarkey, that is simply and completely your own thinking. The only fact that brings me any discomfort still to this day, is the fact that that dirtbag Modell moved the team to Baltimore and what ensued as the result.

 

[NineOneSeven]

In '19 he had the number 10 class in the nation, with Isiah Stewart no less (who has since shown hes no bust) and missed the tourney and NIT completely, finishing 12th in the PAC12. I don't see how Hop now being on the West coast is really killing his recruiting. Its fallen off more recently but that may also have something to do with his lack of success with said talent. So far he seems like a better #2 then #1

And matisse thybulle, the best defensive guard I’ve ever seen.

 

[TheCusian]

That's a fair assessment.

But I think it whitewashes the interpretive conclusions of the article, which suggest that the offensive system employed by Hop is horrible, that the team isn't "lucky" because they are poorly coached, and that their talent-to-efficiency ratio is incredibly poor -- to the point where Hopkins is literally rated second to last amongst all coaches measured not just in the P5, but also the P6.

When you see data that suggest that over a five year span, which includes the good years Hop had at UW, he's been one of the worst coaches at the P5 level -- that should be an enormous red flag, at minimum. That some write some of those concerns off is... strange.

Putting it mildly. Hop is an engaging guy. He's universally liked. But the data and empirical evidence have begun to paint a picture over a multi-year span of time that he's a subpar coach. No matter where you line up on the ideological side of the fence, can we at least all agree on that?

The article was weird in that he was like “Hop can’t coach offense - after they good guys he inherited left the O fell apart” and “when he had NBA level defenders the defense was good”

Yeah, talent helps win games. Sounds like a dry spell in recruiting combined with learning to be a HC. A reddish flag for sure - but it’s one of those conclusion first, find data to support - look ironclad, deals. Instead of asking why is the recruiting dropped off after winning CoY x2?

 

[Sherman20]

Well if Mike Hopkins is the best in house/alumni options (which I agree with) then we definitely have to look for someone outside the coaching tree . Because Mike after 5 years in the Kenpom data was only better than one single coach...Ernie Kent. Yup, just one. We better have Phil Martelli on speed dial.

KenPom is great. I look at it all the time. But you can’t simply extrapolate the numbers there to tell you whether someone is a good coach or not. Syracuse was sub-200 in KenPom defensive efficiency this past season. There were reasons for that, including a lack of athleticism, mistakes in roster construction, players not playing up to potential, etc. But would anyone argue that the sub-200 number for this last year’s team means that JB is a bad defensive coach?

 

[longtimefan]

There is literally no D1 coach who is on a year to year basis.

For good reason. How could you recruit--unless you were taking mostly one-and-dones?

 

[cuseinseattle]

That's a fair assessment.

But I think it whitewashes the interpretive conclusions of the article, which suggest that the offensive system employed by Hop is horrible, that the team isn't "lucky" because they are poorly coached, and that their talent-to-efficiency ratio is incredibly poor -- to the point where Hopkins is literally rated second to last amongst all coaches measured not just in the P5, but also the P6.

When you see data that suggest that over a five year span, which includes the good years Hop had at UW, he's been one of the worst coaches at the P5 level -- that should be an enormous red flag, at minimum. That some write some of those concerns off is... strange.

Putting it mildly. Hop is an engaging guy. He's universally liked. But the data and empirical evidence have begun to paint a picture over a multi-year span of time that he's a subpar coach. No matter where you line up on the ideological side of the fence, can we at least all agree on that?

KenPom is great. I look at it all the time. But you can’t simply extrapolate the numbers there to tell you whether someone is a good coach or not. Syracuse was sub-200 in KenPom defensive efficiency this past season. There were reasons for that, including a lack of athleticism, mistakes in roster construction, players not playing up to potential, etc. But would anyone argue that the sub-200 number for this last year’s team means that JB is a bad defensive coach?

Well he did play his son and joe at the top of the zone for 36 min a game

 

[two3zone]

For the people saying that Hop is trending in the wrong direction, the dude had pretty much a complete roster turnover and improved his record by 12 games. A lot of coaches wouldn’t recover from a 5 win season, especially with a lot of new players.

 

[CousCuse]

If Hop has a great season next year at UW, they are going to want to lock him in long term.

 

[orange79]

For the people saying that Hop is trending in the wrong direction, the dude had pretty much a complete roster turnover and improved his record by 12 games. A lot of coaches wouldn’t recover from a 5 win season, especially with a lot of new players.

There's at least 10 posters who can reply to this by just copying and pasting their other posts from this thread. It would save them a lot of time, effort, and angst.

 

[Alsacs]

For the people saying that Hop is trending in the wrong direction, the dude had pretty much a complete roster turnover and improved his record by 12 games. A lot of coaches wouldn’t recover from a 5 win season, especially with a lot of new players.

Washington hasn’t made the postseason the last 2 years.
That means they haven’t heen a top 100 program those seasons.
68+32. NCAAT + NIT. If we didn’t have the Covid shut down it would be 3 years in a row as he was under .500 that season.
Johnny Dawkins was thought to be K’s original successor like Hopkins to JB.

Then Dawkins went out to Stanford for 8 years went to 1 NCAAT and won 2 NIT titles. He was fired and took the UCF job he has 1 NCAA tournament appearance there in 6 years.
He went from favorite to the Duke job to being on the hot seat at UCF now.

Hopkins shouldn’t be considered for a promotion of that the SU job would be without better results.

You want to deflate a fanbase already being divided sign it up for of the same with a coach who hasn’t proven it in a weak P5 league.

 

[Jake]

Washington hasn’t made the postseason the last 2 years.
That means they haven’t heen a top 100 program those seasons.
68+32. NCAAT + NIT. If we didn’t have the Covid shut down it would be 3 years in a row as he was under .500 that season.
Johnny Dawkins was thought to be K’s original successor like Hopkins to JB.

Then Dawkins went out to Stanford for 8 years went to 1 NCAAT and won 2 NIT titles. He was fired and took the UCF job he has 1 NCAA tournament appearance there in 6 years.
He went from favorite to the Duke job to being on the hot seat at UCF now.

Hopkins shouldn’t be considered for a promotion of that the SU job would be without better results.

You want to deflate a fanbase already being divided sign it up for of the same with a coach who hasn’t proven it in a weak P5 league.

You think hiring Hopkins would deflate the fan base? Honest question

 

[CousCuse]

Washington hasn’t made the postseason the last 2 years.
That means they haven’t heen a top 100 program those seasons.
68+32. NCAAT + NIT. If we didn’t have the Covid shut down it would be 3 years in a row as he was under .500 that season.
Johnny Dawkins was thought to be K’s original successor like Hopkins to JB.

Then Dawkins went out to Stanford for 8 years went to 1 NCAAT and won 2 NIT titles. He was fired and took the UCF job he has 1 NCAA tournament appearance there in 6 years.
He went from favorite to the Duke job to being on the hot seat at UCF now.

Hopkins shouldn’t be considered for a promotion of that the SU job would be without better results.

You want to deflate a fanbase already being divided sign it up for of the same with a coach who hasn’t proven it in a weak P5 league.

If Hop rights the ship at UW next season, they will open the vault for him.

 

[Newhouser]

You think hiring Hopkins would deflate the fan base? Honest question

As a fan I would not be inflated if Hop is the hire. If SU is a Top 10 job as so many people claim on this board (for the record I am not one of those), and that ADJW is playing chess while we are playing checkers (also not sold on) my hope would be we could do better than what Hop has demonstrated thus far at UW.

 

[Alsacs]

You think hiring Hopkins would deflate the fan base? Honest question

I do.
His performance at Washington won’t inspire optimism that he should be given the keys to the HC job.

Performance matters.
Hop was an excellent number 2 here. That doesn’t mean he will be an excellent number 1. The performance at Washington doesn’t inspire confidence.

If he has contacts on the East coast why won’t those players continue going to play for him out West.
Players go for the coach.
Stewart went out there.
Why has it stopped?
Stewart was a first round pick so Hop can sell that.

I like Hop but he hasn’t shown enough to think he will do here as HC. Wildhack’s list if its only alums lacks faith.