yep, perfect storm

[Capt. Tuttle]

Me dont think team is as much of mess as most do.

A mess is being generous

 

[AirForceOrange]

I have already posted this in another thread...but thought it applied here as well:

Well if Hop was the lead assistant (thus probably in charge of recruiting), and JB wasn't much into recruiting and knowing the way JB runs the program, kind of hands off...is it possible that the reason that Hop moved on and was not really encouraged to stay was because of recruiting the last few years...just because he was an excellent recruiter, doesn't mean he was good at running the recruiting program...So with Red moving up, maybe we will have better recruiting management? Just a thought...

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Having slept on it, I think it was a sort of perfect storm as a couple of people surmised yesterday...

1) JB started making it clear to his inner circle (incl Hop) that he was not about to accept some timeline imposed by the school which was all but imposed to them by the NCAA. No way, not with the program he built. It wasn't even about necessarily wanting to coach more years, it was about the principle of it and him doing things on his terms.
2) At the same time as 1, Wildhack indicated, whether implied or explicitly, that he wasn't thrilled with Hopkins as the next coach. Along with this, a sizable segment of the fanbase (incl boosters, etc as Iommi related) were vocal about it not being Hop.

3) So with #s 1 and 2 in place, the UW job appeared and Hop either inquired or was contacted. Big $$, other factors (including those noted above) made it an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

And so here we are now. I don't think JB particularly wants to coach beyond next year and I certainly don't think Wildhack/Syverud want him to. But in the wake of Hop's sudden departure they had to come out with the contract extension press release to at least give the appearance of short-term stability.

Some have surmised this was all driven by JB yearning to coach at least 3 more years, and it will be some kind of newly energized JB. I don't think so. I think Hop has provided both parties with one of those "careful what you wish for" scenarios.

Bud P. intimated on his show that Mike's parent(s) aren't well and that them being at his introductory PC was VERY important to him.

 

[jgeorge322]

I dont get the dislike for hopkins. I doubt that is the case. I think boeheim just doesnt want to leave yet and hop didnt want to be the one to push him iut the door.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I think the reins being given to Mike was part of the transition. (Coupled that with the recruiting restrictions)
Now with no transition, JB, the competitor, will get back to recruiting.

 

[pearl31]

I have it on good authority JB pledged atleast 2 more.
He will coach the sanctions years so any new candidate can't use sanctions for contract negotiations a less favorable for SU.

I'd surmise that yeah, he has pledged that now that push came to shove with Hop leaving... and so even if he pledged it for the benefit of the school/program to keep things above water for now, it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be some new JB who hits the recruiting trail like he did 10 yrs ago

 

[Orangello]

I tend to agree with the OP's who believe that this is really more about JB wanting to see the sanctions through to the end and leave on his own terms. The man is a fighter and has no quit in him. Kudos to Hop who gets a chance to shine on his own at a P5 program. Whomever is hired as the new assistant will signal a lot.

 

[Madbiker]

I think it's as simple as JB didn't want to leave.

So the feeling of many here seems to be: this is mostly selfish self-interest on the part of JB to want to coach the team a "few" more years so he forced his 20 year protege out and denied him the reigns at SU and now when JB does step down a total outsider will take over the program. That's the summary. This provides the admin with short term stability for today.

 

[81South]

JB is stubborn...he isn't going to be told when he will retire. He may or may not coach after next season but it will be his decision and not some whipper snapper AD or the NCAA that tells him when he is done. It will be very interesting to see what recruits are told.

 

[O-pulse]

A couple is issues that affected what happened.
First, this university has been used to doing things on the cheap. If JB was getting paid, at the level of comparable coaches, he would be annually making much more than he does.
Second, JB is used to getting his own way, at the university He wants to do things, his way and most likely pushed to not be tied down to the original plan. Mike Hopkins, who is long overdue for a HC position decided that it was time to move on.
When UW came calling, he was ready and saw it as the right fit for him.
The university had to frame it, in such a way, as to save face. Thus the report that JB volunteered to stay on longer, with the departure of Hop. JB has done so very much for Syracuse University and this community!
He is a Hall of Fame Coach. Unfortunately, lately recruiting has suffered and it seems that he has become more program manager than Head Coach.

Many coaches have figured out the zone, especially when it's not being played, as designed. IMO, Coach needs to change things up some. By that I mean, get more involved in recruiting and in offering change-ups on defense, to keep other teams guessing.

It also would be helpful to develop more players, by playing more of his players, in games and not yanking them out when they make one mistake. Players need to play through mistakes and to know that the coach has their backs. If Syracuse is going to enjoy the ACC and play at the level of the top teams, in the league, then changes must be made.
One of the other, very important, moves that need to happen, is to hire a good recruiter for the open assistant coach position and, in the best of all worlds, that would be a big-man coach,

 

[FrancoPizza]

I tend to agree with the OP's who believe that this is really more about JB wanting to see the sanctions through.

It's got a nice ring to it, but I'm not buying that story at all. It's literally the only angle that casts JB in a semi-positive light from this mess. People keep talking about sanctions, sanctions, sanctions like we've been paralyzed. It's way over the top. We haven't even managed to use all of our available scholarships during most of this time. Our top 2 coaches decided to take a vacation in Brazil when they should have been recruiting. Our head coach decided to forgo plan B and C during the Quade Green saga. Let's stop crafting excuses.

 

[suttree]

We don't KNOW anything. Everything on here is a SWAG (A Simple W wild-assed guess.)

We have JB's statements and they are very sketchy. Now that we can see what happened, we can guess at the reasons for all the vagueness.

And there's a possibility that we never will know what actually happened or who drove the decision.

Hop certainly didn't get hurt at the end of the day.

WAG = Wild-assed guess

SWAG = Scientific wild-assed guess

Construction-industry people, especially contractors, use this all the time. It's a great trap to set when taking a deposition.

 

[upperdeck]

1) so people figured out the zone that we have played forever, but only did so in the last 30 games when we had almost no one to play it with experience. it couldnt be the guys were just bad at rotations and footwork.. its a good thing that teams like Duke/UL switch it up on D so they dont lose games to teams that have less talent..

2) has anyone wondered about the Dome reno and the impact on the next 2-3 yrs. Perhaps some internal discussion of that also made it a bad time to hand over the reins if all or part of a season is lost in that construction.

3) how does this season play out if we dont lose both guys who probably play center and TT/Moyer play forward as expected.

4) is recruiting bad or just not what people think it should be? I think TT and Battle exceeded expectations for the most part. it was the returning piece that didnt step up or left.. Mali and Battle on top would have caused major issue to stop the drive. we keep losing guys early so they must had some eye for talent. Next year may be a step down or it may be that the some of the pieces is better for the team than any single high end part.

 

[whobut03]

I have it on good authority JB pledged atleast 2 more.
He will coach the sanctions years so any new candidate can't use sanctions for contract negotiations a less favorable for SU.

He'll be here longer than 2 years...

 

[GooseMutt]

JB is stubborn...he isn't going to be told when he will retire. He may or may not coach after next season but it will be his decision and not some whipper snapper AD or the NCAA that tells him when he is done. It will be very interesting to see what recruits are told.

With all due respect he stands his ground at the expense of his most loyal comrade in a backstabbing fashion

 

[baggerbob]

Why would any good assistant coach come here, knowing that the head coach might leave in a year or 2? This is a bad situation caused by JB, and it probably will get worse, rather then better.

 

[orangecuse]

This didn't come out of thin air. JB requested 5 years, it made Hop very uneasy, even straining their relationship somewhat. Mike was active behind the scenes. Again, this comes from someone close to Hop as I mentioned yesterday. It's not coincidental that this became formal the day after SU's season was officially over.

 

[Col. Bleep]

Some folks here may have inside information.
ALL of you may know more than I do.

But I do know this situation did not just happen Sunday.
There are two major universities as well as lawyers and agents and a lot of money involved.

So we can make some reasonable inferences.

First, this probably did happen quickly because there were no public leaks as far as I can see.
As UW's losses piled up (they ended the season with 13 straight) despite having the likely #1 NBA pick, UW made the decision to part ways with Lorenzo Romar.
This took a little courage by the AD because UW had a tremendous recruiting class for next season.

Coaching agents do what they do and reach out on behalf of their clients to places where there may be openings.
Sometimes these happen informally.
Bret Just, Mike Hopkins' agent at CAA, likely spoke with UW, Cal and Illinois... to name three.
He's just doing his job.
And he likely put out feelers on behalf of other clients such as Brad Underwood at OK State (who just got the Illinois job).

The UW AD showed a little more courage by opting for Mike instead of an experienced head coach.
When her offer came...Mike jumped.

Why now after all these years on the bench and only one more year before he'd take over?
That is a matter of speculation.
Maybe he wanted to go back west.
Maybe it was too good a offer to pass up.
Or maybe he knew that Boeheim didn't really want to leave.
Despite any contractual promise, that put Hopkins in a bad spot..in many eyes (if not in fact) he'd be cast as the longtime understudy who pushed out his mentor.
Maybe all these things.
So he jumped.

Anyway...here's the take on Hopkins in Seattle:

Husky AD Jennifer Cohen is on the spot after a surprising hire of Mike Hopkins

 

[721Comstock]

Some folks here may have inside information.
ALL of you may know more than I do.

But I do know this situation did not just happen Sunday.
There are two major universities as well as lawyers and agents and a lot of money involved.

So we can make some reasonable inferences.

First, this probably did happen quickly because there were no public leaks as far as I can see.
As UW's losses piled up (they ended the season with 13 straight) despite having the likely #1 NBA pick, UW made the decision to part ways with Lorenzo Romar.
This took a little courage by the AD because UW had a tremendous recruiting class for next season.

Coaching agents do what they do and reach out on behalf of their clients to places where there may be openings.
Sometimes these happen informally.
Bret Just, Mike Hopkins' agent at CAA, likely spoke with UW, Cal and Illinois... to name three.
He's just doing his job.
And he likely put out feelers on behalf of other clients such as Brad Underwood at OK State (who just got the Illinois job).

The UW AD showed a little more courage by opting for Mike instead of an experienced head coach.
When her offer came...Mike jumped.

Why now after all these years on the bench and only one more year before he'd take over?
That is a matter of speculation.
Maybe he wanted to go back west.
Maybe it was too good a offer to pass up.
Or maybe he knew that Boeheim didn't really want to leave.
Despite any contractual promise, that put Hopkins in a bad spot..in many eyes (if not in fact) he'd be cast as the longtime understudy who pushed out his mentor.
Maybe all these things.
So he jumped.

Anyway...here's the take on Hopkins in Seattle:

Husky AD Jennifer Cohen is on the spot after a surprising hire of Mike Hopkins

Great post.

Hop knew that JB didn't really want to retire after next year.
JB apparently tried for a 5 year extension last year - guess that 9-game "holiday" really opened his eyes to how much he will miss coaching when it's over.
JB was told the transition to Hop would go on as planned.
Other things likely happened.
Hop decided to go his own way, not wanting to be forced to choose between being the guy who "forced" his friend/mentor/father-figure out the door, or having to continue waiting.
JB gets his 5 year extension, now that Hop is out the door.