Syracuse Basketball: 9 without Boeheim

With Syracuse basketball season right around the corner let’s not forget about some of the NCAA sanctions that will still affect this squad. Aside from the three scholarships lost this season and the reduced recruiting ability, SU also loses Jim Boeheim for the first nine ACC games. Boeheim was suspended due to what the NCAA called a “lack of institutional control”.

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Regardless of how I feel about the penalties (they are garbage), it doesn’t change the outcome. Boeheim does have an appeal with the NCAA, but it’s no guarantee anything will come from that. Let’s just assume that nothing will change. I think that’s a fair assessment. I mean, it

the NCAA we’re talking about.

So with a nine game suspension looming, what does that mean for Syracuse basketball?

Well first of all it means that Mike Hopkins will be the interim coach. Hopkins, who is scheduled to take over for Boeheim as the head coach in 2018, will get an early test of his coaching prowess. Let me just say this, it won’t be an easy introduction to head coaching for him either.

In those nine games, Hopkins will face some stiff competition in Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, and Notre Dame. Three of those five games (Pitt, Duke, Virginia) will be on the road. There isn’t a much tougher way to start a coaching career.

One of the big concerns on everyone’s mind is what kind of coaching style Hopkins will have. Will it be similar to what Boeheim runs, or will he try and branch out and do his own thing? It doesn’t appear he will rock the boat anytime soon, as is evident in his Twitter response to fan questions posted by NunesMagician.

I’m really happy with this response. Until he officially takes over as the head coach, why would he mess with the system Boeheim has implemented and taught these kids? I’d say it’s worked out pretty well for Boeheim over the years. As Hopkins says, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

So with Hopkins holding down the fort, what are the expectations over this nine game stretch for Syracuse basketball?

I’d say the odds of them going undefeated are pretty much zero. With a possible four or five top-25 games, it would be pretty improbable that SU wins them all. I see SU going 6-3 in the stretch, with wins over Pittsburgh, Miami, Clemson, Boston College, Wake Forest, and Notre Dame. I think we’ll lose a close one to UNC at home, and get beat pretty handily by Virginia and Duke. I don’t think Syracuse is quite at the point of competing with those big dogs yet, but hey, you never know.

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The one thing I will be very curious to see is the halftime adjustments that Hopkins makes. Boeheim is the king of making changes at the half. To the casual observer they probably aren’t as obvious, but if you look close you will see the subtle offensive and defensive adjustments. Shifting players around, extending the zone on three point shooters, increasing traps, changing up the focal points of the offense; these are all modifications Boeheim makes routinely during games.

Will Hopkins be able to have the same success at this? That’s one of the most important questions to ask when talking about those nine games.

I think there will be times when he doesn’t make the right moves, much like there were with Boeheim, but the majority of the time I see him making the right calls. He’s been with SU long enough to know the system inside and out. Now it’s up to him to put his knowledge to work and make those decisions on the fly.

I’m very excited to see what happens with Hopkins at the helm. It will basically be a sneak preview of what we’ll see in a couple years and I know I’m not the only fan who is excited about that. Boeheim is a legend, but his time is almost over. I can’t wait to see what the future brings with Hopkins, and these nine ACC games will hopefully be the precursor to another Hall of Fame coaching career.

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