Syracuse.com: Top 15 Coaching Jobs in CBB

[djct1999]

Syracuse ranking itself this high is as embarrassing as that time when Melo won an ESPY and thanked himself.

 

[Confident Carl]

NO RESPECT!

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=12990885

4 minutes in Dan Dakich says UCONN is not a great job and Syracuse is a much better job than UCONN but not on the level with Kentucky, UNC, Duke, etc.

Dan Dakich then says Gonazaga is a great job but UCONN is not. What?!

Oklahama State not a great job. Why? According to Dakich they are not the premier state school and they haven't won enough. What?! Isn't UCONN the premier state school and has 4 championships?

WOW! WOW! UCONN gets no respect. WOW!

 

[KembaStepback]

Am I missing something? Shouldn't Michigan St. be mentioned?!? Izzo has made that a very very good program.

If this was on ESPN or CBS or something I'd be a little bit more mad. Obviously whoever wrote this is a Syracuse homer. I'd fully expect someone from the BY to write this list with UConn in the top 5.

The truth is, Syracuse does have a very good coaching gig. Better than UConn? Tough to say. The points about Carrier Dome and Conference are legitimate, but I still think UConn is a better gig.

 

[Gurleyman]

I love how UConn has twice as many "fluky" (leaving off how ridiculous that is, as others have pointed out) NCs as Cuse has total. And how, just three years in, and despite two off seasons of rejecting some remarkable NBA jobs, they're already looking forward to KO's leaving. People say we give credence by commenting here: I'm just pointing out the pure comedy in it. I hope that's what the writer was going for.

If 2011 was a "fluke", then 2003 clearly was too. More so even. We had to play two virtual road games to get to the Final Four that year (SDSU and Arizona in Anaheim), and Cuse had two virtual home games in Albany. And we we're BE champs in 2011 - they were not in 2003. Discounting the title because we beat Butler is disingenuous - in the previous two years, they had beaten two Big East one seeds (Cuse, Pitt), as well as Michigan State and Florida, and were a baseline fadeaway (or a halfcourt miracle) from beating Duke. We manhandled them when nobody else could.

I can get on board that we were fortunate to get to the FF in 2014. Getting the two games at MSG, facing ISU without Niang, surviving St. Joe's, etc. But after what we did to Florida, just absolutely dismantling the top team in the field with a 30-game win streak, there's no more fluke. I'll put the 40 minutes or so (last 30 vs UF, first 10 vs UK) up as a nominee for the greatest stretch of dominant basketball in Final Four history, when we were about +35 over a 40-minute span (finally stopped only by foul trouble to DD and Boat). Nothing fluky about that. That's just a team playing great basketball at the right time.

 

[nycorange]

Syracuse fan here. Let's be clear: no national championship is ever a "fluke". Unexpected, sure. Unlikely, yes. But a fluke? No. George Mason's final 4 at your expense wasn't a fluke either. You earned every championship you have. I'll also say that most rational BB observers, if given the choice between the past 15 years of Syracuse BB and UCONN BB would probably go with UCONN. That said, Syracuse is clearly the better job right now, even in spite of the NCAA crap. And that's not even to say that we'll definitely have more success in the future. A good way to think about it is if KO coached at Syracuse for the next 15 years, would he likely have more or less success than at UCONN? I think he'd have more. And I think that 95% of America agrees. You're lucky--you have a very good coach who's probably better than the program circumstances he inherited. Given time, he may raise the job profile.

 

[OkaForPrez]

@nycorange imagine if you guys didn't have the whole conference advantage to cling to these days? You'd have to face all the hardware we've been stacking and the realization that we replaced our HOF head coach with a guy who won the whole damn thing himself on the first try while you embark on the sunset of JB's career with no certainty if Hop will even be there never mind competent. Meanwhile you're in the karma backlash of your Belly laughs at our APR ban as KOs recruiting is gaining steam. What would you guys lord over us to boast your superiority? But go ahead and have at it. Tell us why 95% of the rational observers would pick cuse. Keep claiming realignment is THE barometer of program strength to make yourselves feel better despite the fact that Rutgers in the B1G dismantles that notion from go. Glad to see Ollie is now above the job though, guess he wasn't just a guy who "knows Lebron James."

Good thing he'll be in the NBA soon right? Hope we get you on the Island.

 

[KembaStepback]

Syracuse fan here. Let's be clear: no national championship is ever a "fluke". Unexpected, sure. Unlikely, yes. But a fluke? No. George Mason's final 4 at your expense wasn't a fluke either. You earned every championship you have. I'll also say that most rational BB observers, if given the choice between the past 15 years of Syracuse BB and UCONN BB would probably go with UCONN. That said, Syracuse is clearly the better job right now, even in spite of the NCAA crap. And that's not even to say that we'll definitely have more success in the future. A good way to think about it is if KO coached at Syracuse for the next 15 years, would he likely have more or less success than at UCONN? I think he'd have more. And I think that 95% of America agrees. You're lucky--you have a very good coach who's probably better than the program circumstances he inherited. Given time, he may raise the job profile.

You realize that conference alignment has nothing to do with basketball, right? It's all football.

Look - Boeheim is a HOFer. I understand he faces sanctions and vacated wins, but he's a very good head coach.

I just don't think I agree with your main point about Ollie switching teams and being better at Syracuse. I'd prefer to look at it a different way... If UConn and Syracuse both were to lose their head coaches at the same time, which program would be most attractive to a top coach?

I think this is VERY close. I also think it'd depend on the coach and his style/personality. Obviously, both programs have big shoes to fill. So lets look at pros and cons.

UConn Pros:
4 National Titles in 16 years. (That's a big one)
Have proven they can still compete w/out HOF coach
New training facility

UConn Cons:
Not in a power conference
Split home courts/upgrades needed
Inconsistent regular seasons

Cuse Pros:
Carrier Dome
Power Conference
More consistent regular seasons

Cuse Cons:
NCAA sanctions
Can they win w/out Boeheim?
Have under-achieved in post-season (1 title 12 years ago)

Now - it's very even. Any coach would be HAPPY to take either of these jobs. Like I said before I think it'd come down to what matters most for a coach and how they get along with the school administration.

 

[Inyatkin]

Too many people consider things like conference affiliation and recruiting as ends in themselves. They aren't. They're a means to achieve success on the court, which is the only thing that matters.
It's certainly easier to achieve that success with a great conference and top recruiting. But no one ever watched sports to cheer on a conference affiliation.

 

[OkaForPrez]

2004: Johnny Come Lately's, Even San Francisco has 2 National Championships, Am I right?
2010: Calhoun is over the hill and Uconn can't recruit because they know he's done, they'll return to the loser program they are
2013: Between the APR ban and Calhoun retiring, UConn is done. Kevin Ollie Knows Lebron James! *Snicker*
2015: Ollie's in the NBA next year and he only won with Calhoun's talent anyway. UConn is done.

 

[tcf15]

2004: Johnny Come Lately's, Even San Francisco has 2 National Championships, Am I right?
2010: Calhoun is over the hill and Uconn can't recruit because they know he's done, they'll return to the loser program they are
2013: Between the APR ban and Calhoun retiring, UConn is done. Kevin Ollie Knows Lebron James! *Snicker*
2015: Ollie's in the NBA next year and he only won with Calhoun's talent anyway. UConn is done.

This should go in the omens for next year thread.

 

[Orc]

2004: Johnny Come Lately's, Even San Francisco has 2 National Championships, Am I right?
2010: Calhoun is over the hill and Uconn can't recruit because they know he's done, they'll return to the loser program they are
2013: Between the APR ban and Calhoun retiring, UConn is done. Kevin Ollie Knows Lebron James! *Snicker*
2015: Ollie's in the NBA next year and he only won with Calhoun's talent anyway. UConn is done.

It seems like every single time they make a prediction that uconn bball will die, we seem to end up in the final four . HAvent they learned anything

 

[mauconnfan]

Syracuse fan here. Let's be clear: no national championship is ever a "fluke". Unexpected, sure. Unlikely, yes. But a fluke? No. George Mason's final 4 at your expense wasn't a fluke either. You earned every championship you have. I'll also say that most rational BB observers, if given the choice between the past 15 years of Syracuse BB and UCONN BB would probably go with UCONN. That said, Syracuse is clearly the better job right now, even in spite of the NCAA crap. And that's not even to say that we'll definitely have more success in the future. A good way to think about it is if KO coached at Syracuse for the next 15 years, would he likely have more or less success than at UCONN? I think he'd have more. And I think that 95% of America agrees. You're lucky--you have a very good coach who's probably better than the program circumstances he inherited. Given time, he may raise the job profile.

Fair post but I highly doubt 95% is in agreement with you. Actually I'm guessing besides conference rankings we would win in a landslide. But as it is I'm still thinking 50% would likely think UConn is a great program to be coaching.

 

[TRest]

I don't really see the dome as a great recruiting advantage. Sure, they fill it up once in a while for a big game, but the Yum Center is the type of place that is going to attract kids now. And the one place that can't recruit against UConn because of the weather is Syracuse.

 

[SixRings]

I don't really see the dome as a great recruiting advantage. Sure, they fill it up once in a while for a big game, but the Yum Center is the type of place that is going to attract kids now. And the one place that can't recruit against UConn because of the weather is Syracuse.

Exactly. The Dome is an old circus tent. I was in it two years ago and it's just bad. Especially for basketball with the odd black curtain down one half. But it's the only gig in that depressed town. I doubt coaches are impressed by the Dome these days.
The article is void of any real facts and seems to be trying to sell something that just isn't there.