Such different times, especially with Pace. The Dion thing is kinda crazy, announcers are still talking about him not starting and it being foolish he didn’t, Dion balled out, had nothing to do with the uniform he wore, he leaves he’s getting found and it can be argued he should’ve played more not only as a freshman but as a sophomore too. You could add MCW to the list too, but even in another thread it sounds the family isn’t a fan of coach. One thing that stands out to me from these pods of late 2000s and later players, they mention Hop over and over and over, coach seems kind of like an afterthought. Just my opinion.
Bottom line with Dion though, is he went 4th. And was on arguably the best team in the country with Fab here. There’s nothing to complain about his decision to come here or stay here, because b-ball wise that soph year was the most successful one he ever had and it got him started on a hell of an NBA career by most people’s standards. When you get picked 4th after two years of college, it’s hard to say it didn’t work out.
They do mention Hop as the guy they communicated the most with...but you can also hear what they like about JB...”he lets you ball, he just wants to win, he’s loyal to you, etc.”
GMac and Devendorf(often) made the points that soft guys can wilt under him, but the guys like them(which would be Dion) are going to thrive even if they butt heads at time.
Wallace made the point that if you’re good, he lets you ball and he “puts the battery in your back”.
I think Coleman made the point that he doesn’t just talk all day(and that players hate when coaches just talk and talk and talk).
Devendorf talked about how there was a game where Cuse was short handed and Boeheim told him and Flynn that he needs 25-30 points out of both of them. Devo loved it, and I think that might’ve been his convo with Wallace about how he “puts the battery in your back”.
I think it was Devo talking about how he lost his mind and flipped out on Boeheim over sitting him out when he thought he wasn’t healthy and ready. And JB moved on and was just “you ready to play?” A few days later. Devo clearly loves his ability to not make a big deal out of kids being stupid and allowing them to move on with no grudges held...at least back then.
He’s always been really good at identifying and riding his best players and getting the most out of them. There used to be a “Syracuse guys disappoint in the pros” narrative but some of that was Boeheim knowing how to get the most out of them.
As much as I love the guy, I’m a “father time is undefeated” guy and while the game is still in him, things are clearly sputtering and getting worse. But I’ll go to bat for him being an all time great coach up until very recently, all day long.
