Sometimes even legends swing and miss.
On Thursday, Dick Vitale offered what he called a “grr8 hire” suggestion for Syracuse Orange men’s basketball.
His candidate?
Bobby Hurley.
Riiiiiight.
Vitale praised Hurley’s “winning mentality” after a 17-win season at Arizona State Sun Devils men’s basketball, noting that the longtime coach had some “quality years” in a tough job.
Which is… certainly a take.
Because if Syracuse fans are experiencing déjà vu right now, there’s a reason.
Hurley’s biggest criticism at Arizona State — the reason he ultimately lost the job — is almost identical to the one that just ended the tenure of Adrian Autry.
Not making the NCAA Tournament.
In 11 seasons in Tempe, Hurley reached the tournament just three times. He never won a game once he got there. And he managed only four 20-win seasons during that entire stretch.
Syracuse just fired a coach for failing to meet those exact standards.
The entire premise of the next hire is to raise the program’s ceiling — more NCAA bids, more consistent winning seasons, more momentum.
Suggesting a coach whose résumé mirrors the problem Syracuse is trying to solve feels… adventurous.
Yes, Hurley has Northeast roots. Yes, he once did strong work at Buffalo Bulls men’s basketball before moving to Arizona State.
But if the pitch is that Syracuse should solve its “not enough winning” problem by hiring someone whose problem was not winning enough, it’s a tough sell.
Thankfully there’s a less than zero percent chance Syracuse hires Hurley, even if he was down the Thruway for a few seasons.
It just means that when Syracuse is searching for someone to restore the program’s standard, the résumé probably shouldn’t read like the exact thing they just decided wasn’t good enough.
Even if Dick Vitale calls it “grr8.”
