Wildhack is on the Clock

[Scooch]

He was cut off before given the opportunity. But, if you think a billionaire wasn't good for it...I don't know what to tell you. He wanted to do it his way. That is the issue, he wasn't going with a collective, he wanted his contribution to be independent of that and that was the issue.

Ohhh that’s right. He wouldn’t give it to a collective. I wonder why not? Hmmmm.

 

[phil77]

Did he actually pay it, or did he just say it in an PR interview? I would love to know if that ever came to fruition.

I think people have confirmed that he has given NIL funds to players.

 

[orangefog]

What do you mean who cares? People here are bemoaning his absence.

He had years to fund things that could have meaningfully made a difference for SU athletics. He chose not to apparently. That’s fine, I’m not telling anyone how to spend their money.

But then he shouldn’t be portrayed as some incredible benefactor.

The NIL donation was nice. Good for him. There are folks doing that, and more, as we speak. Someone picked up the entirety of Eddie Lampkin’s NIL deal. Someone funded McCord’s deal.

All I’m saying is that Weitsman isn’t an irreplaceable unicorn. And the constant gnashing of teeth about his absence, when it was actually him taking his ball and going home, is exhausting.

When NIL became legal, he stated and devoted $1M to each football and basketball. But, just as he began working on that, with proper legal representation on staff, he was cut off. Prior to that, it was just spending on representation at the Dome with both an extraordinary box and courtside seats and parking spots and security (all paid for). He was cut loose before being able to contribute to NIL. He definitely wanted to do it his way and that rubbed people the wrong way. But, he was ready to contribute $2M to Syracuse NIL.

 

[orangefog]

Ohhh that’s right. He wouldn’t give it to a collective. I wonder why not? Hmmmm.

Why would he have to contribute to a collective, when he could do it on his own?

 

[OttosShoes]

I mean, that’s cool and all. He tricked out a box because he can and he wanted to entertain there. I don’t begrudge him that.

But I guess I don’t see that as being some big investment in the success of SU sports. Not when at the same time people here were sounding the alarm about our deteriorating facilities.

If he spent $3 million on a new Dome locker room I’d be more impressed.

Pretty much this; I know college sports walk the line but there's an important difference between a donation and a purchase.

We gave some money to the CNY Cat Coalition this past year. If we're conflating the two things, then apparently I missed an opportunity to combine three of the cat stalls at Petco into a luxury suite with a VIP parking spot in Empire Plaza.

 

[Scooch]

When NIL became legal, he stated and devoted $1M to each football and basketball. But, just as he began working on that, with proper legal representation on staff, he was cut off. Prior to that, it was just spending on representation at the Dome with both an extraordinary box and courtside seats and parking spots and security (all paid for). He was cut loose before being able to contribute to NIL. He definitely wanted to do it his way and that rubbed people the wrong way. But, he was ready to contribute $2M to Syracuse NIL.

Gotcha. It was definitely represented that he was doing more for SU than just tricking out a box. People here were gaga over what he was doing for SU athletics. But it sure sounds like he didn’t actually do anything for SU athletics proper.

I don’t even understand the “all paid for” part. He bought stuff, why wouldn’t it be all paid for?

 

[Scooch]

Why would he have to contribute to a collective, when he could do it on his own?

Because that’s how the school that he supposedly loves wanted to handle things.

My hunch is that he wanted to do it on his own so he could control the publicity of it. That’s a big part of how he markets himself. And again, that’s fine. But that’s not how SU wanted it to be.

And I get SU’s perspective. It’d be both a pain and a potential issue to have someone going rogue with NIL. What happens when Weitsman wanted to pay someone that SU didn’t want paid?

 

[orangefog]

Because that’s how the school that he supposedly loves wanted to handle things.

My hunch is that he wanted to do it on his own so he could control the publicity of it. That’s a big part of how he markets himself. And again, that’s fine. But that’s not how SU wanted it to be.

And I get SU’s perspective. It’d be both a pain and a potential issue to have someone going rogue with NIL. What happens when Weitsman wanted to pay someone that SU didn’t want paid?

I guess we'll never know. But, it seems most would like to see where his NIL money would take us. I sure would. From my discussions with him, he was very eager to stay within NCAA reulations and went to great lengths to stay within those constraints.

 

[orangefog]

Because that’s how the school that he supposedly loves wanted to handle things.

My hunch is that he wanted to do it on his own so he could control the publicity of it. That’s a big part of how he markets himself. And again, that’s fine. But that’s not how SU wanted it to be.

And I get SU’s perspective. It’d be both a pain and a potential issue to have someone going rogue with NIL. What happens when Weitsman wanted to pay someone that SU didn’t want paid?

it's a difference of opinion. If a million each for football and basketball matters, then maybe they can repair things. But, I suspect it won't matter until Kent is gone.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Yup. I'm trying to eliminate everything that's rumor or speculation behind the scenes. Just looking at things that occur on the court and are said publicly, here are some factors that I can't get over.

The transition defense was a joke last year. I figured that it might get better this year without Mintz constantly gambling for steals in the backcourt. I was wrong. Even with Chris Bell getting less minutes this year, the transition D is abominable. This is a huge indicator that the coaches can't get the players to buy in.

Autry spent last year talking about how he wants to play fast and put pressure on the opposition, and then made Lampkin his first priority in the portal last offseason. That never made sense.

The offense Autry is running this year does not fit the talent level of the team. There are a few major opponents where Lampkin or Starling might have a mismatch, but nobody is good enough to force double teams or take over games consistently.

Then on a micro level, the closing minutes of the game at Notre Dame were another huge indicator that something is off. ND got two wide open threes for Shrewsbury off simple actions. Then, on a crucial possession in the closing minute for Syracuse when we needed bucket, preferably quickly, we ended up with Lucas Taylor taking a prayer of a runner as the shot clock expired, and we had TOs to burn.

This ^^^. Add on to the ND part-- we did not take a timeout late down 3.

Great post. Agree with all of it.

 

[kingtidge]

Ohhh that’s right. He wouldn’t give it to a collective. I wonder why not? Hmmmm.

It's simple.

He's a self-promoter and wanted his donations to be quid pro quo... He donated X and gets Y.

The Y was his terms and how he promotes what he does with pomp and circumstance for social media and PR eyes.

He's wasn't simply donating, it was transactional for him.

The school didn't want the pomp and circumstance, unsurprisingly.

 

[Irishsecra1]

GMac was clearly a big loss on the staff. I think he may have been a big part of those 20 wins we had last year. We look like a complete disaster this year. Maliq and Judah were big losses but I think Gerry was a major part in it.

I wonder how his Cuse staff would have looked? How would he built this roster? Would he be able to raise NIL better than Red?

I do agree with the original poster - GMac most likely was not the answer here. But now that in my head I’m certain he’s a better coach than Red, I’m curious how the last 2 years would have been with GMac. I don’t think he’s the recruiter Red is, but maybe the talent evaluation would have been better?

He’s not even on my list to replace Red in 2026 - we need to go outside the family

I agree. Gerry is the better coach but I don’t see him even getting a whiff at the job for at least 3 or 4 years.
But I would not be surprised if some time in the future he is our head coach,
I think Gerry will always bleed orange and time elsewhere will just improve his coaching ability.

 

[Scooch]

I guess we'll never know. But, it seems most would like to see where his NIL money would take us. I sure would. From my discussions with him, he was very eager to stay within NCAA reulations and went to great lengths to stay within those constraints.

I just don’t get how, If he was eager to follow regulations, why he wouldn’t have just donated to a collective. It’s not like they would have taken his money and ignored him. He’d have big sway.

But I think he couldn’t help but want all the publicity that would go along with having his own show.

That’s fine for being an Instagram influencer. Just not how most universities want to operate. It’s not like Phil Knight made a big show of himself with all the stuff he did for Oregon. He just did it.

 

[orangefog]

I just don’t get how, If he was eager to follow regulations, why he wouldn’t have just donated to a collective. It’s not like they would have taken his money and ignored him. He’d have big sway.

But I think he couldn’t help but want all the publicity that would go along with having his own show.

That’s fine for being an Instagram influencer. Just not how most universities want to operate. It’s not like Phil Knight made a big show of himself with all the stuff he did for Oregon. He just did it.

If you know Adam at all, you know he does things his way. He would stay within regulations. But, he wanted to bring guys in on his dime, wine them dine them, show them a good time and sign then. there is nothing wrong with that. The university was scared, I don't blame them. Other donors didn't like it. So, that was the issue. Why wouldn't he just donate to the collective, that is not what he wanted to do. He's free to do what he wants with his money. Unfortunately, there was no compromise even presented.

 

[Scooch]

If you know Adam at all, you know he does things his way. He would stay within regulations. But, he wanted to bring guys in on his dime, wine them dine them, show them a good time and sign then. there is nothing wrong with that. The university was scared, I don't blame them. Other donors didn't like it. So, that was the issue. Why wouldn't he just donate to the collective, that is not what he wanted to do. He's free to do what he wants with his money. Unfortunately, there was no compromise even presented.

I don’t know Adam at all. He seems to run in circles that I wouldn’t enjoy.

And I don’t blame SU for not wanting him wining and dining guys as some kind of rogue agent of the university. It presents all manner of potential problems, even if he thinks he’s staying within “regulations”. I also don’t think there’s a compromise to be had. What’s the alternative?

He is absolutely free to do whatever he wants with his money. I wish he donated some cash to buy new treadmills, since apparently that’s been an issue since his best friend Jim was running the hoops program.

 

[CU44SE]

I suspect that Wildhack will force assistant coach changes after the year is over. Which imo will just prolong the inevitable. We need to clean house. The attendance the rest of the year will be dreadful. Maybe that loss of income will be eye opening.

 

[LAorange44]

I agree. Gerry is the better coach but I don’t see him even getting a whiff at the job for at least 3 or 4 years.
But I would not be surprised if some time in the future he is our head coach,
I think Gerry will always bleed orange and time elsewhere will just improve his coaching ability.

If anything, the red autry experience will delay Gerry’s opportunity until Gerry has some real accomplishments. More so than other coaches. We will over compensate because we are so risk averse.

 

[Irishsecra1]

If anything, the red autry experience will delay Gerry’s opportunity until Gerry has some real accomplishments. More so than other coaches. We will over compensate because we are so risk averse.

I think one thing he has that no other coach will have is name recognition and the fact he won our only national championship. He wasn’t just along for the ride - he was a legitimate star on that team and his subsequent teams.
And he will have time to prove his coaching chops elsewhere
one day we might even be bidding against other top flight schools
at any rate, it may be 10, 15 , 20 years but I believe it will happen one day.

 

[Newhouser]

I just don’t get how, If he was eager to follow regulations, why he wouldn’t have just donated to a collective. It’s not like they would have taken his money and ignored him. He’d have big sway.

But I think he couldn’t help but want all the publicity that would go along with having his own show.

That’s fine for being an Instagram influencer. Just not how most universities want to operate. It’s not like Phil Knight made a big show of himself with all the stuff he did for Oregon. He just did it.

what school has he taken on since breaking up with SU?

 

[LAorange44]

I think one thing he has that no other coach will have is name recognition and the fact he won our only national championship. He wasn’t just along for the ride - he was a legitimate star on that team and his subsequent teams.
And he will have time to prove his coaching chops elsewhere
one day we might even be bidding against other top flight schools
at any rate, it may be 10, 15 , 20 years but I believe it will happen one day.

I would be thrilled if one day Gerry is our Roy Williams and comes home after winning big.

 

[kingtidge]

If anything, the red autry experience will delay Gerry’s opportunity until Gerry has some real accomplishments. More so than other coaches. We will over compensate because we are so risk averse.

Hiring in-house for a program that was in measurable decline for years was pretty risky IMO.

 

[kcsu]

Those who want Adam W back, he will be back one second after Kent S leaves. He also tried to name the dome and buy the naming rights and was told no (was not given a reason and also outbid JMA by a substantial amount) and also another reason

Did he actually pay it, or did he just say it in an PR interview? I would love to know if that ever came to fruition.

I'm pretty sure that Bees or another in the know confirmed that he was supporting at that level. Regardless of what side of the line anyone comes down on regarding Adam it is a shame that the school and him couldn't find common ground.

 

[NineOneSeven]

We don’t even get “my take” threads anymore by sutomcat

 

[Scooch]

what school has he taken on since breaking up with SU?

Didn't he move on to Binghamton? I don't follow the guy so I really don't know.

 

[baggerbob]

What do you mean who cares? People here are bemoaning his absence.

He had years to fund things that could have meaningfully made a difference for SU athletics. He chose not to apparently. That’s fine, I’m not telling anyone how to spend their money.

But then he shouldn’t be portrayed as some incredible benefactor.

The NIL donation was nice. Good for him. There are folks doing that, and more, as we speak. Someone picked up the entirety of Eddie Lampkin’s NIL deal. Someone funded McCord’s deal.

All I’m saying is that Weitsman isn’t an irreplaceable unicorn. And the constant gnashing of teeth about his absence, when it was actually him taking his ball and going home, is exhausting.

We know that he paid for Fair to stay here her senior year on the women's team because she said so.
Now the women's team can't find sponsors which has been a problem for them.