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Message: [QUOTE="BoukofJames, post: 3876305, member: 10661"] [URL unfurl="true"]https://theathletic.com/2428454/2021/03/05/illinois-is-rising-but-duke-is-falling-10-college-basketball-programs-going-up-10-going-down/[/URL] Programs on the rise: [B][I]UConn.[/I][/B][I] Dan Hurley knew he was taking a good basketball job when he came to UConn in 2018, but the job became a great one this season when UConn moved back to the Big East. The Huskies are taking advantage of their elevated platform — they’ve won five out of six and are in third place in the conference — and Hurley has three top-100 players committed for next season. With Hurley’s strong roots in New Jersey and throughout the Northeast, a healthy flow of players should continue streaming into Storrs.[/I] Nothing we don't already know, but I enjoy the recognition just the same. Programs on the decline: [B][I]Syracuse.[/I][/B][I] It was an odd scenario, to say the least. In the summer of 2015, Jim Boeheim, then 70, announced he would retire at the end of the 2017-18 season and hand the program over to his longtime assistant, Mike Hopkins. In March 2017, however, Hopkins shocked Boeheim by taking the Washington job, prompting Boeheim to decide he wouldn’t retire after all. The Orange, who made the Final Four in 2016 and the Sweet 16 two years later, were probably not going to make the NCAA Tournament last year and are currently struggling to get back onto the bubble. The good news is Boeheim is showing no signs of slowing down and he should be getting most of his roster back next season. He is also adding five-star forward Benny Williams. But Boeheim’s son Buddy will be a senior next season, and when he leaves the speculation about Boeheim’s departure timetable will grow. Jim Boeheim will be difficult to replace, to say the least, so the school’s ability to manage the transition will be critical to preventing further slippage. [B]Duke.[/B] We should be cautious about not overreacting to this season, when the Blue Devils are probably going to miss out on the tourney for just the second time since 1983. Mike Krzyzewski is still great at what he does, and he has two five-star recruits committed for next season and might add another. That said, this program, which has lorded over the sport for three decades, is facing some mighty headwinds in the next five years, chief among them the specter of Krzyzewski’s retirement. He turned 74 in February, and the school’s athletic director since 2008, Kevin White, has announced he is stepping down this summer. The notion of setting up a succession plan or designating a head-coach-in-waiting might ease the transition but Krzyzewski has indicated it’s likely. And it has been been a challenging season, to say the least, for former Duke players and assistants who are currently head coaches. Krzyzewski has always excelled at adapting, and he will have to make another adjustment if he decides that building a roster primarily with one-and-done freshmen is no longer tenable. :)[/I] [/QUOTE]

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