Welcome aboard.Finster wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 9:10 am
I think this was a HUGE mistake on Gait's and the University's part. It doesn't matter if Spallina proves to be the best player on 'Cuse this year and the next four years, it doesn't even matter if he works out at 5 am every day harder than any other player on the team, it doesn't even matter if the perception is he's the most mature kid as a freshman on a team with 40+ recruits...what matters is earning the jersey; you don't earn the jersey playing at Mt. Sinai High School, you earn it playing for Syracuse, and to my knowledge, Spallina hasn't actually played a minute of a regular season game yet for the Orange.
You can look at this only two ways: either Gait had so little regard for every upperclassman that he thought an unproven but heralded freshman should get #22 instead (that ought to do wonders to get the upperclassmen enthused... ), or Spallina's dad insisted that Joey get the # in order to follow through on his commitment. Other than that, nothing here makes sense.
I thought the Scanlan episode would have taught the school a thing or two, but I guess not. I am not a fan of this move at all. It has far more percentages of a downside choice than not. If for any reason Spallina fails to live up to hype, either with personal production or the team's W-L, this one move could set the university back a long while in lacrosse.
Earn the jersey, don't have it gift-wrapped for you just because you did well playing high school ball on Long Island. A total slap to every 'Cuse upperclassman who's ground it out the last many years in a tough environment.
Relax, Finster, you're getting your nuts all twisted up over nothing. That number lost what it used to mean long ago and it was no doings of G. Gait that had anything to do with that. Couple of multiple choice trivia questions for you: 1. In what year of his college lacrosse playing days did Mikey Powell earn the #22? How 'bout Casey? A-Freshman, B-Sophomore, C-Junior, D-Senior.
How many games for the Cuse did Cody Jamieson play before being awarded #22? A-0, B-5, C-12, D-22.