Hopkins Coaching at Syracuse...

[ChelseaFriar]

Kevin Ollie is recruiting very well and has assembled a lot of talent, but he still has much to prove as a coach.

He won a title with Calhoun's players and culture and had Napier. Not taking anything away from a national title, it was an amazing accomplishment for that team, but it's not like Kevin built that team himself.

I do think he will be very successful, but he has work to do.

[stever20]

Kevin Ollie is recruiting very well and has assembled a lot of talent, but he still has much to prove as a coach.

He won a title with Calhoun's players and culture and had Napier. Not taking anything away from a national title, it was an amazing accomplishment for that team, but it's not like Kevin built that team himself.

I do think he will be very successful, but he has work to do.

True, but even there, Ollie is in the upper echelon in terms of replacing a legend already. Most times, you want to be the guy that replaces the guy that replaced the legend.

And, I would say THIS situation with Syracuse is WAY harder than a normal situation even. It's quite the scenario.

[billyjack]

In New England, i think of 2 coaches from the early 90s that were supposedly "locks" to be successful, but who instead tanked.

Joe Morgan was replaced with Butch Hobson as the Red Sox manager.
K.C. Jones was replaced with Jimmy Rodgers as the Celtics coach.
Those are two obscure coaches from 20 years ago of course.

Hopkins, who seems to be a nice guy, was a very forgettable player at Syracuse. The early 90's were one of their weaker periods. His senior year they had a postseason ban. This is in strong contrast to Ollie and Mullin, who can point to their own careers to help players trust them.

Most living Syracuse fans have never experienced a coaching change nor a string of weak years. I think it's going to get rough if they struggle and the bandwagon rat fans will abandon the sinking ship.