Syracuse Basketball Season Preview Roundtable: Are You Ready for Coach Hop?

Syracuse Orange fans love Jim Boeheim. He won't be around for nine games this season because... well, let's not go into it. So instead we get some quality time with Mike Hopkins. How does TNIAAM feel about this sneak preview of the Hopkins Era? Let's jump into it, shall we?

Steve Haller: I've been ready for the Coach Hop experience, not from any desire to end the Coach Boeheim experience, but more out of the "I think he's probably ready" camp. I'd like to see what the guy can do and we'll get as good a taste as any this winter.

Kenny Lacy: Yes! Coach Hop has been waiting for his chance and I'm very excited to see how he responds to this opportunity. My only fear is lets say Hop goes 9-0 (I know, extremely unlikely, but go with me here), would people be calling for Boeheim's job? As much as I want to see Hop coach, I'm not sure I'd like the controversy if something like that were to happen.

Andy Pregler: Yes yes and so yes. I love his energy, I love his attitude, personality and his underrated love of stats and applications to the team. I think that however long he's in charge, we'll see that he's not all that different from Boeheim, minus working knowledge or email, texting, tweeting and technology in general.

James Szuba: Bring it on. There's no man more deserving or ready for this position than Hop. It will be a nice appetizer, but we won't see the full course until he officially takes over.

Andrew Carey: Absolutely! Hop brings something that Boeheim does not, and that is intensity and a certain swagger about him. He coaches like he is playing in the game and I really think he pours his heart and soul into his job. I think that the team will do just as good under him as they would if Boeheim was the coach.

Kevin Wall: No doubt. I don't expect him to deviate from the strategy, but it will be interesting to see how he runs the team, and how the players respond to him.

Michael Burke: I'm looking forward to it, for sure. I'm mostly excited because Hop is infinitely easier to talk to than Boeheim, so covering those games will be even better.

Joe Leathersich: I think the answer is an unequivocal "yes" from most Syracuse fans. The dude has been incredibly patient while waiting for Boeheim to retire and, who knows, maybe these nine ACC games can be a catalyst for Hopkins getting the job. On top of that, Hopkins is not the curmudgeon Boeheim is so it'll be refreshing, if anything else.

Claudia Ceva: I most certainly am. I'm interested to get a feel for how Hop handles the whole situation and what bits and pieces of Boeheim's coaching strategy he integrates into his own. I think we'll get a better idea because these are ACC games, not ones you "should" win, albeit it being a small-ish sample size.

John Cassillo: Yes! Even more so because he's the confirmed heir apparent now. Getting to see how he runs this team before officialy taking the reins is the type of experiment few teams ever get to witness. We should relish this opportunity and embrace whatever it brings (and hopefully there's at least SOME sort of difference we can glean in his in-game approach).

Dan Lyons: I would love for Jim Boeheim's suspension to get overturned, and still believe that nine games is a ridiculous total, but at the same time, I am very intrigued to see what happens with Hop. I don't think that we'll see anything too different from what we're used to, and don't think that we should overreact to whatever happens, good or bad, but it will be undeniably intriguing to see him lead the team for a fairly substantial stretch of time.

Brian Pilatzke: Jim Boeheim is a legend and Hall of Famer. The NCAA can never take that away. But, we know the program has to move on some point and giving Coach Hopkins a little taste of being the head coach now can only better prepare him for what's to come.

Matt Constas: Words can't describe how excited I am. Hopefully this will result in a more modern offensive style and other changes that the team has been reluctant to make in the past.

Brian Tahmosh: It's weird to say, but this is probably a good thing for Syracuse for a number of reasons. First, Hopkins gets some experience before he becomes the head coach, obviously. Second, if he fails, Boeheim has already positioned himself to take the blame. And third, this team is not coming into this season with incredibly high expectations, so if he is somewhat successful, it will look like a win and build confidence for him and the program going forward.

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So what are you guys excited for? Let us know!

This is the second in a series of season previews for the Syracuse Orange Basketball team. Check out previous posts if you missed them: Who Will Be Number 2?