Dion Waiters Rumors
It's been about 10 days since Boeheim hinted that Dion Waiters might transfer, but I was just bumbling around the Internet and came upon the story again. I thought I'd comment on it briefly. Here's a report on cbssports.com, as well as brief commentary from espn.com.
Unfortunately, we've seen many players leave the Syracuse program early for reasons other than graduation or the NBA. (Eric "Underrated" Devendorf and Paul Harris are the most recent examples.) Remember: the 2003 title run came on the heels of (and certainly benefited from) the completely insane Deshaun Williams being chased out of the program, as well as the minutes vacated by James Thues. Still, it is by far the one aspect of the Boeheim regime that I dislike the most. If you are demanding loyalty and teamwork from the players you recruit, you should show the same loyalty to them until they leave the program.
Of course, there are many good reasons to transfer. Sometimes a player turns out to be not good enough to play for a team. (Mark Konecny much?) In other cases a player's style might be a bad match for the program. (Paul Harris, a fantastic man-to-man defender, probably never should have come to Syracuse.) Like relationships, maybe a PURELY mutual breakup isn't possible, but I do believe some healthy breakups/transfers can feel very right to both parties in the not-too-distant future.
Then there are guys like Dion Waiters. Up-and-down on the court, rocky relationship with the coaching staff off the court. Think Paul Harris. Think Louie McCroskey (transferred for his senior season). (Of course, I can never miss mentioning the guy who groined Hilton Armstrong in the face back in '06. Here are my comments about it from my cousin's old blog, Random Thoughts. I never loved a train wreck more than I loved Louie McCroskey.) Think Josh Wright (quit midway into his senior season). Think national champion Billy Edelin (left team halfway through junior season).
I guess if Dion does get the boot - and I firmly believe IF he leaves, it will be because Boeheim forced him out the door - it's better that it's happening now and not when he is an upperclassman. Still, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe he and Boeheim HATE he each other, but it sure looked like they had put their differences aside down the stretch of the season. Maybe Dion sucks, but he sure looked dynamic in the Big East tournament.
And I don't buy the "Rick Pitino-Edgar Sosa" explanation. I'm not even sure I buy it in the case of Rick Pitino and Edgar Sosa, but I haven't followed Rick Pitino as closely as I've followed Boeheim. I love Boeheim. But Boeheim is no great player-psychologist. He is NOT Phil Jackson. He is an elite strategist and a great in-game manager. He cares about his players, but on some level in his strategic mind, his players will always be chess pieces to him. Chess pieces that can be improved through practice and discipline, but not through mind-games.
Would it be better if Dion's minutes could be freed up for Michael Carter-Williams (MCW from here on out)? It's possible...but couldn't a similar argument have been made about Scoop's or Triche's minutes for stud recruit Dion Waiters coming into the 2010-11 season? And even if you told me it was a stone cold lock that Michael Carter-Williams was going to be better than Dion Waiters in every way, I still wouldn't want Dion to transfer. He has talent. He can contribute to the team. And most of all, he's an Orange.
If Dion transfers, I will be unhappy about it. Well...unless/until we win a conference or national title in 2012.
Unfortunately, we've seen many players leave the Syracuse program early for reasons other than graduation or the NBA. (Eric "Underrated" Devendorf and Paul Harris are the most recent examples.) Remember: the 2003 title run came on the heels of (and certainly benefited from) the completely insane Deshaun Williams being chased out of the program, as well as the minutes vacated by James Thues. Still, it is by far the one aspect of the Boeheim regime that I dislike the most. If you are demanding loyalty and teamwork from the players you recruit, you should show the same loyalty to them until they leave the program.
Of course, there are many good reasons to transfer. Sometimes a player turns out to be not good enough to play for a team. (Mark Konecny much?) In other cases a player's style might be a bad match for the program. (Paul Harris, a fantastic man-to-man defender, probably never should have come to Syracuse.) Like relationships, maybe a PURELY mutual breakup isn't possible, but I do believe some healthy breakups/transfers can feel very right to both parties in the not-too-distant future.
Then there are guys like Dion Waiters. Up-and-down on the court, rocky relationship with the coaching staff off the court. Think Paul Harris. Think Louie McCroskey (transferred for his senior season). (Of course, I can never miss mentioning the guy who groined Hilton Armstrong in the face back in '06. Here are my comments about it from my cousin's old blog, Random Thoughts. I never loved a train wreck more than I loved Louie McCroskey.) Think Josh Wright (quit midway into his senior season). Think national champion Billy Edelin (left team halfway through junior season).
I guess if Dion does get the boot - and I firmly believe IF he leaves, it will be because Boeheim forced him out the door - it's better that it's happening now and not when he is an upperclassman. Still, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe he and Boeheim HATE he each other, but it sure looked like they had put their differences aside down the stretch of the season. Maybe Dion sucks, but he sure looked dynamic in the Big East tournament.
And I don't buy the "Rick Pitino-Edgar Sosa" explanation. I'm not even sure I buy it in the case of Rick Pitino and Edgar Sosa, but I haven't followed Rick Pitino as closely as I've followed Boeheim. I love Boeheim. But Boeheim is no great player-psychologist. He is NOT Phil Jackson. He is an elite strategist and a great in-game manager. He cares about his players, but on some level in his strategic mind, his players will always be chess pieces to him. Chess pieces that can be improved through practice and discipline, but not through mind-games.
Would it be better if Dion's minutes could be freed up for Michael Carter-Williams (MCW from here on out)? It's possible...but couldn't a similar argument have been made about Scoop's or Triche's minutes for stud recruit Dion Waiters coming into the 2010-11 season? And even if you told me it was a stone cold lock that Michael Carter-Williams was going to be better than Dion Waiters in every way, I still wouldn't want Dion to transfer. He has talent. He can contribute to the team. And most of all, he's an Orange.
If Dion transfers, I will be unhappy about it. Well...unless/until we win a conference or national title in 2012.
Labels: Dion Waiters
posted by Prof. A at 8:43 PM
1 Comments:
it sad to read this non-sense about louie McCroskey. Have you even met the kid? The nicest well rounded put together guy out of the class of 07. If you met louie back then, he would probably be your best friend. To compare louie to knuckle heads like Paul harris, Josh Wright, and Williams is just plain dumb. When was the last time you read an article about louie brandishing a weapon or stealing.....never! Sometimes kids just want to play, sometimes people just want to get better, or sometimes the system doesn't work for them. At the end of the day Louie is a great person with a kind heart, and Im sure all the coaches and players would say that.
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