Fans have moved on from the disappointment and shock of losing Bryan Hodgson last week, but Syracuse Orange men’s basketball still is the best binge watch in college basketball right now…
Here comes another twist.
Because the narrative last week had been clear — and brutal: Bryan Hodgson turned down Syracuse. The Orange got rejected. Another gut punch to a struggling program.
But what if that’s not actually what happened?
New athletic director Bryan Blair stated on “Cuse Sports Talk” that the job had not yet been offered to anyone after the Hodgson news. That alone raises a pretty obvious question:
How do you turn down a job that hasn’t been offered?
Now layer in what Jim Boeheim said in his SiriusXM appearance with Chris Russo (where he called fans who wanted an outside hire “stupid”) — and suddenly things get even murkier.
“I don’t know for sure if this job was offered (to Hodgson) or if it was intimated that he could get the job and he didn’t want the job.”
More grey area — even among people plugged into the situation. Boeheim said he spoke directly to Blair twice and also asked college basketball insider Jeff Goodman, who was among the first to break the Hodgson story.
Which opens the door to a very interesting possibility:
What if Hodgson never actually turned Syracuse down?
What if, instead, this was positioning?
Think about the timing. Reports surface that Hodgson is a top candidate. His name is gaining traction nationally. Then suddenly, word leaks that he’s “out” or “turned down” the job — right as his current program, South Florida Bulls men’s basketball, is reportedly putting together a lucrative package to keep him. This is also at a moment where Providence is reportedly interested.
In today’s crazy college basketball landscape, perception matters. Leverage matters. And being seen as someone who turned down Syracuse — rather than someone who wasn’t offered the job — is a much stronger negotiating position.
It boosts your profile.
It increases your value to Providence.
It puts pressure on your current school to pay up.
So when:
- The AD says no offer has been made
- And Boeheim himself questions whether the job was ever offered
…it’s fair to ask questions.
Look, there’s probably a lot of grey area here. Maybe Blair measured Hodgson’s interest and he did decline any deeper conversations because of lack of NIL money in the deep ACC. Maybe it wasn’t an official offer, but Syracuse had to pivot to other candidates.
But maybe the Orange actually didn’t lose Hodgson.
They may have just been part of the leverage play where the first option was Gerry McNamara and Hodgson knew it, and instead of “losing the job” to G-Mac, his agent floats out there that he “turned down” the Orange.
The TV series continues.
