The signing of Brissett and the pursuit of other top prospects illustrate the tricky path Syracuse is navigating during its transfer of power. It is a delicate dance: Syracuse is trying to persuade the kind of blue-chip prospects that Syracuse demands to entrust their futures to both Boeheim, a 72-year-old in his 41st season as coach, and to Hopkins, a career assistant who has never led a top program.
“Yeah, I knew all that going in,” Brissett said of Boeheim’s looming departure. “That is not a problem with me. Getting one year with a Hall of Fame coach like Coach Boeheim, it will help me in the long run.”
Still, that does not mean the Boeheim-Hopkins transition has not faced challenges. Several college and high school coaches, including Brissett’s, said they had not seen rival recruiters use Boeheim’s departure to make the case against Syracuse, perhaps because of the respect they hold for Boeheim, a Hall of Famer. But while Brissett eagerly signed on, Syracuse recently lost out on Quade Green, a coveted guard from Philadelphia who will attend Kentucky. His decision, after two years of recruiting pitches, left Syracuse scrambling for a point guard of the…
