MEN'S BASKETBALL Watching the NCAAs

[orangeskin3]

It's kind of painful watching the NCAAs with no SU there. It's good to see kids like Kadary Richmond and Quadir Copeland play on the biggest stage, but it would be far better to see SU back in the tournament mix. Interestingly, I think the beginning of the current situation was the dissolution of the 2021 team. Had JB been more full of praise for Richmond, he may not have left. Maybe Mintz doesn't come to SU then, but they'd have had a real point guard to lead the team instead of counting on a freshman. Then there's Jesse Edwards, who left in part because John Wildhack didn't know the NIL rules and thought a foreign player like Jesse couldn't receive an NIL deal. Really, SU fell behind there and are just starting to catch up now. Losing solid pieces like James Braswell hurt too. They were replaced with more limited, less athletic players. The fact that JB was convinced Joe Girard could play the point wasn't Girard's fault, it was JB's. Sadly, I think that was rooted in ensuring that Buddy started when he would've been almost as effective as an impact sub with Girard off the ball. I think one of the reasons Girard played so well last year was that he was freed of any point guard responsibility. It's amazing how much better a player can play when they are actually playing their natural position and not a square peg jammed into a round hole. The point behind this is that it's easy to blame Red for the decline in the program, but the fact of the matter is the program has been in decline since 2015. Blame is unfortunately spread among several people, including the current AD and the guy whose name is on the court.