The coaching vetting process is likely underway by admins. It’s also clear that everyone’s favorite choice its Josh Schertz. Cool. He’s at the top of my wish list too. But just like you need a real backup plan if Steve Angeli goes down, you need a backup plan (several actually) if Josh Schertz goes to an SEC school.
With that in mind, I’d respectfully request that John Thompson III be included in the formal vetting pool. Here is what he brings;
- NCAA Tournament experience (real, not hypothetical): Georgetown under JT3 reached the NCAA Tournament multiple times, including a Final Four run (2007) and additional tournament appearances. He also defeated a # 1 ranked Duke team and won Big East regular season and Big East tournament titles.
- NBA front office / player-development experience: Joined the Washington Wizards’ organization (Monumental Sports & Entertainment) to lead a newly formed athlete development & engagement function.
- Later promoted within Monumental Basketball; Wizards’ official release notes his time as Senior Vice President of player development/engagement and promotion.
- Clear offensive identity / system-based approach: Background as a Princeton player under Pete Carril and known for a structured, read-and-react offense often associated with Princeton principles (even as he adapted it year-to-year).
- Washington, D.C.-area recruiting ties + local credibility: Coached at Georgetown (in the heart of the DMV recruiting footprint) and has longstanding presence in the D.C. community through Georgetown/area connections.
- Program credibility + “adult-in-the-room” optics: Viewed by many as a steady culture-builder with high-major experience and the ability to set expectations quickly—useful in the portal/NIL churn era. This is a traditional coach that wears a suit/tie and has strict rules.
Concerns are fair (recruiting pace, portal/NIL staffing plan, desire to do the grind again) — which is exactly why I’m saying vet him, pressure-test the plan, and compare him to the “rising star” options.
For Syracuse to treat him as a true finalist, they’ll quietly test:
- Does he want the job badly enough to grind again?
- Can he recruit/retain in 2026 reality?
- Optics and energy
- Even if he’s sharp, the admin will ask: Does this feel like moving forward or backward to the casual fan/donor class? (Fair or not, that question gets asked.)
- The obvious concern with JT3 is modern roster-building pace (portal/NIL). That’s fixable if the vetting includes a staffing plan: keep continuity where possible (for example, retaining someone like Alex Kline (if he is open to it), and require a “basketball front office” approach. Perhaps a lead recruiter plus dedicated portal scouting/evaluation, potentially tapping his NBA connections for player eval, analytics/video, and pro-style development. If JT3 is willing to run a model like that, he becomes a serious stabilizer option rather than a nostalgia pick.
The reason I labeled him a unicorn is because he seems to be the only realistic option that has high major NCAA tournament experience, NBA front officer experience, and Northeast recruiting experience. I tried to make a list of available candidates under the age of 60 that fit these criteria, and he was the only one I could find…