A couple of early season predictions for SU hoops this year

[RF2044]

LOTS of uncertainties heading into this season! But here are a couple of early predictions I'm comfortable making, on the cusp of preseason practice getting started:

• Tyler Roberson is going to show the sophomore leap, and have a good year
• He'll be our best rebounder
• Chris McCullough is going to shoot the ball better than people expect
• Rak is going to approach averaging 8 and 8, showing more consistency and benefitting from being "the guy" inside
• ...which is important, because Chinoso Obokoh is going to be quite foul prone
• Obokoh--despite being slightly undersized--will surprise people with how he competes inside, and how good of a rebounder / shotblocker he is
• Dejuan will end up redshirting
• BJ will be the latest "super scoring sub," and will average between 7-10ppg, giving JB the luxury of having a sixth man who plays starters minutes
• Cooney will take the next step from the standpoint of consistency. His ppg average might remain approximately the same, though, but he'll do it more efficiently
• Buss will play his way into the regular rotation and contribute as a three point complimentary threat, but find minutes inconsistently allocated in some games
• Overall, the team offense will be improved over last year's anemic performance, despite having so many question marks entering the season

I'm a lot less certain about what Joseph is going to do as a starter, whether Gbinije is going to show more consistent offese, or whether that last game was just a flash in the pan, and how we'll shoot the ball collectively as a team [I think a lot better than last year, but there's no way to know until they lace 'em up].


Edit: this was copied from a post I made in response to a therad DocSU posted. Curious to see if it generates any discussion.

 

[MCC]

LOTS of uncertainties heading into this season! But here are a couple of early predictions I'm comfortable making, on the cusp of preseason practice getting started:

• Tyler Roberson is going to show the sophomore leap, and have a good year
• He'll be our best rebounder
• Chris McCullough is going to shoot the ball better than people expect
• Rak is going to approach averaging 8 and 8, showing more consistency and benefitting from being "the guy" inside
• ...which is important, because Chinoso Obokoh is going to be quite foul prone
• Obokoh--despite being slightly undersized--will surprise people with how he competes inside, and how good of a rebounder / shotblocker he is
• Dejuan will end up redshirting
• BJ will be the latest "super scoring sub," and will average between 7-10ppg, giving JB the luxury of having a sixth man who plays starters minutes
• Cooney will take the next step from the standpoint of consistency. His ppg average might remain approximately the same, though, but he'll do it more efficiently
• Buss will play his way into the regular rotation and contribute as a three point complimentary threat, but find minutes inconsistently allocated in some games

I'm a lot less certain about what Joseph is going to do as a starter, whether Gbinije is going to show more consistent offese, or whether that last game was just a flash in the pan, and how we'll shoot the ball collectively as a team [I think a lot better than last year, but there's no way to know until they lace 'em up].


Edit: this was copied from a post I made in response to a therad DocSU posted. Curious to see if it generates any discussion.

• Bayoso Obokeita?
• I concur on Roberson.
• Don't see Buss getting into the regular rotation; if Cooney is more consistent he'll hog most of the minutes (deservedly so) and if BJ provides scoring punch I actually see him doing it in part at the 2. Roberson thus captures most of the minutes at the 3 - in large part due to rebounding prowess. Gbinijie will likely see some time at the 1 and 2. Not sure that leaves much room for Buss.

And... I'm out of bullet points.

 

[OttoMets]

I think that Johnson and Patterson could both show some things as real contributors, but this is dependent on their checking in to the game. With minutes essentially committed to a lot of other players (Cooney, Gbinije, Joseph; McCullough, Roberson; Christmas, Okoboh), I fear that this won't come to pass.

It'd be great, though. This is certainly as talented a group as any. Unfortunately, so was last year's team.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I hope it generates some discussion, this place has been a dead zone.

Individually, I don't disagree with anything you said, but when I add it up it's too many guys. JB hasn't been playing 9 of late and it seems somebody like Buss isn't going to be the one to push him over the top. I see Gbinije being a bigger factor than BJ off the bench although I think we would be potentially in better shape if it was BJ because if we can have a 3-point threat with that kind of size and athleticism it would be extraordinarily beneficial to a host of players (McC and Cooney being the primary guys it would help).

The more I think about how things could actually play out, I'm less worried about Joseph. Don't get me wrong, if we want to go to the Final Four, he has to be great. But we can have a successful, if not spectacular year even if he is just middling, because I have faith that Cooney and G will be solid gaurds and Joseph will not have the entire world dumped on his shoulders if he can't handle it. He will get loaded up with as much as he can handle but if he can't be a MCW or Ennis, it's not like it will be catastrophic.

I know absolutely zero about Obokoh, I'd like to see some discussion of what people legitimately expect from him. He will be a key piece this year with no DC.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Oh and one other thing to add. We should be an amazing rebounding team this year. When you think about Rak, Roberson, and McCullough on the front line with a very good sized Cooney and either G or Kaleb in the guard spots - that is extremely impressive size, mobility, leaping ability and at least in the case of Roberson: really great nose for the ball. I think we all really hope that those rebounds turn into fast breaks which would at a minimum be very exciting and also take the pressure of Kaleb to create out of the half court set on 100% of possessions like Ennis did.

 

[tee1222]

I'm sorry to go a little off topic here, but here's my prediction and it's a lofty one. The prodigal son will return. http://syracusefan.com/threads/nerlens.23146/#post-243399
#bjornpleasecomebackhome

 

[MSOrange]

LOTS of uncertainties heading into this season! But here are a couple of early predictions I'm comfortable making, on the cusp of preseason practice getting started:

• Tyler Roberson is going to show the sophomore leap, and have a good year
• He'll be our best rebounder
• Chris McCullough is going to shoot the ball better than people expect
• Rak is going to approach averaging 8 and 8, showing more consistency and benefitting from being "the guy" inside
• ...which is important, because Chinoso Obokoh is going to be quite foul prone
• Obokoh--despite being slightly undersized--will surprise people with how he competes inside, and how good of a rebounder / shotblocker he is
• Dejuan will end up redshirting
• BJ will be the latest "super scoring sub," and will average between 7-10ppg, giving JB the luxury of having a sixth man who plays starters minutes
• Cooney will take the next step from the standpoint of consistency. His ppg average might remain approximately the same, though, but he'll do it more efficiently
• Buss will play his way into the regular rotation and contribute as a three point complimentary threat, but find minutes inconsistently allocated in some games

I'm a lot less certain about what Joseph is going to do as a starter, whether Gbinije is going to show more consistent offese, or whether that last game was just a flash in the pan, and how we'll shoot the ball collectively as a team [I think a lot better than last year, but there's no way to know until they lace 'em up].


Edit: this was copied from a post I made in response to a therad DocSU posted. Curious to see if it generates any discussion.

You mention Obokoh being foul-prone which I agree will be an issue. What happens if Rak gets in foul trouble also or one of them gets injured? What do you see the lineup being? Iwas one who didn't think it would be a huge issue when DC got hurt last year since we still had Baye and Rak but I was very very wrong about that when Baye got banged up and I think there were a few games they both had foul trouble also..

 

[RF2044]

You mention Obokoh being foul-prone which I agree will be an issue. What happens if Rak gets in foul trouble also or one of them gets injured? What do you see the lineup being? Iwas one who didn't think it would be a huge issue when DC got hurt last year since we still had Baye and Rak but I was very very wrong abut that when Baye got banged up and I think there were a few games they both had foul trouble also..

Great question. So, the best answer is that we need Rak to avoid foul trouble. Period. Because he's the senior, he's been through the wars before, we need him to play smart, and because he's the only experienced big on the roster. My hope is that Obokoh [who I saw in preseason practice last year, and while raw--I was impressed with his tenacity] can give us approximately 8-10 minutes per game, and that Rak rises to the occasion. In games where we're in foul trouble, Obokoh might have to play more. Not sure how good that is--kid can play physical, no doubt, but last year he didn't seem to have a great feel for the game yet, footwork was poor, etc.

It is also conceivalbe that we go "small," and play a three forward lineup of Roberson, BJ or Gbinije, and McCullough. That's not ideal either, as the center has important defensive responsibilities in our zone system, that aren't easy for a frosh forward to grasp necessarily.

So the bottom line comes back around to Rak needing to play the lion's share of minutes in the pivot. If he gets in foul trouble, we'll be in trouble. If he gets injured and misses any considerable amount of time, the season is probably toast. I think Obokoh will prove to be a servicable backup big, but I'm not sure what we'll get in year 1, given how raw he is. I'm hoping he can provide the aforementioned 8-10 minutes per game, even if he burns through all 5 fouls. Plan B is having someone slide over from forward to man the pivot--there simply are no other options, unless DC2 somehow can play [which I'm not counting on].

 

[ClamOtto]

"If he gets in foul trouble, we'll be in trouble. If he gets injured and misses any considerable amount of time, the season is probably toast."

In some ways, this is the most important key to the season. The same could be said of Joseph - I think there is going to be a big dropoff at C and PG when they are out of the game, so we really need to hope it's just to rest them or - at worst - occasional foul trouble. If either of them ends up missing significant time for other reasons I agree we're probably toast.

 

[jordoo]

Sadly I have to concur that its likely going to be no DC2 this year which means Rak has to not only play well but also smart. As far as Obokoh I think the staff brought him in to be a back-up type of big guy much like Baye was. He has a year in the program already so I feel confident that he should be able to play 10min a game for us. Like RF2044 said even if he fouls 4-5 times in those 10min its fine as long as his defense is adequate and he competes on the glass.

I think Joseph will be fine to start and good once he has 20 games under his belt but not at all in the way Tyler Ennis was where he made us feel safe and secure from day one. Undoubtedly IMO Joseph will have his moments where he makes really strange needlessly risky decisions that make us cringe (like a young Scoop). Or half court sets where he dominates the ball without really getting anywhere which ends with a forced jumper or wild foray into the paint (like a young Jonny). That being said the reason we will see these things is because he has supreme confidence in himself and all the skills and physical attributes necessary to be a great PG at the college level. He will take advantage of a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on last year although some of those will wind up being TO's and mistakes I believe it will be a net gain. He'll learn and get better as he goes but I still feel he will be an over all plus from the get go and as our only true PG a guy we will want on the floor when its matters. He will be a very good PG IMO the question is how quickly that will happen.

I think fans and other teams in general will be surprised how well our forwards and guards shoot the ball this year. Joseph has supposedly really worked on his deep jumper, I expect more consistency from Cooney and G, and Ron showed that he can make shots. BJ is a shooter, ChrisM can shoot and I think Roberson will surprise with his jumper especially his range although I don't see him taking a lot of them. Having multiple threats to make shots will lesson the pressure on everyone and give this young confident group space to attack.

 

[RF2044]

Sadly I have to concur that its likely going to be no DC2 this year which means Rak has to not only play well but also smart. As far as Obokoh I think the staff brought him in to be a back-up type of big guy much like Baye was. He has a year in the program already so I feel confident that he should be able to play 10min a game for us. Like RF2044 said even if he fouls 4-5 times in those 10min its fine as long as his defense is adequate and he competes on the glass.

I think Joseph will be fine to start and good once he has 20 games under his belt but not at all in the way Tyler Ennis was where he made us feel safe and secure from day one. Undoubtedly IMO Joseph will have his moments where he makes really strange needlessly risky decisions that make us cringe (like a young Scoop). Or half court sets where he dominates the ball without really getting anywhere which ends with a forced jumper or wild foray into the paint (like a young Jonny). That being said the reason we will see these things is because he has supreme confidence in himself and all the skills and physical attributes necessary to be a great PG at the college level. He will take advantage of a lot of opportunities that we didn't capitalize on last year although some of those will wind up being TO's and mistakes I believe it will be a net gain. He'll learn and get better as he goes but I still feel he will be an over all plus from the get go and as our only true PG a guy we will want on the floor when its matters. He will be a very good PG IMO the question is how quickly that will happen.

I think fans and other teams in general will be surprised how well our forwards and guards shoot the ball this year. Joseph has supposedly really worked on his deep jumper, I expect more consistency from Cooney and G, and Ron showed that he can make shots. BJ is a shooter, ChrisM can shoot and I think Roberson will surprise with his jumper especially his range although I don't see him taking a lot of them. Having multiple threats to make shots will lesson the pressure on everyone and give this young confident group space to attack.

Yup. And that's one of the reasons I think that the team offense will be overall improved from last year.

Great post, jordoo.

 

[jordoo]

Oh and one other thing to add. We should be an amazing rebounding team this year. When you think about Rak, Roberson, and McCullough on the front line with a very good sized Cooney and either G or Kaleb in the guard spots - that is extremely impressive size, mobility, leaping ability and at least in the case of Roberson: really great nose for the ball. I think we all really hope that those rebounds turn into fast breaks which would at a minimum be very exciting and also take the pressure of Kaleb to create out of the half court set on 100% of possessions like Ennis did.

Although I liked this and agree and I think the Rak, Tyler, Chris front line will be an excellent rebounding one there will probably be 15-20 minutes a game open at the 3 for BJ and MikeG to snag (mostly BJ) and both will need to be prepared to hold there own on the glass. One of the reasons I think Roberson is going to have a great season is because I expect him to be a beast on the glass and get himself 2-3 easy buckets a game off of offensive rebounds. Also our best zone rebounding teams always have guards that pay attention and help. they don't necessarily have to be big guards but they need to watch and creep back to get those long rebounds that go over our back line on defense.

 

[orangefan13]

I predict Kaleb is going to drive alot early in the season, because roberson, mccullough and rak are going to have trouble in post up scoring while slowing the ball down.

 

[br801]

I predict Christmas and Gbinije will be consistent forces on both ends of the court and provide quiet leadership, Joseph will settle in nicely at the point in short order, Cooney will be a more diverse and consistent scorer, Roberson and McCullough will be studs. I'm hoping BJ and Coleman can be a big part of the mix as well; if so, the sky is the limit for this team.

 

[edowd26]

I predict:

• I will have 6 moments where I think I am having a heart attack.
• 3 moments where I accidentally knock my kid over when he moves to the wrong place at the wrong time.
• My child will learn his first curse words.
• And 7 games where people will say its time for Boeheim to retire.

Not really going out on a limb am I?

 

[HoustonCuse]

I predict:

• I will have 6 moments where I think I am having a heart attack.
• 3 moments where I accidentally knock my kid over when he moves to the wrong place at the wrong time.
• My child will learn his first curse words.
• And 7 games where people will say its time for Boeheim to retire.

Not really going out on a limb am I?

Do igor posts count in the 7? For the record, I don't think they should. On that note, I also predict that by December 15 he is calling Kaleb Joseph "the best PG in the history of Fox Sports 1" and blaming any freshman mistakes on JB's mishandling of him.

 

[tee1222]

Please see my comments below

I predict:

• I will have 6 moments where I think I am having a heart attack. - sensible
• 3 moments where I accidentally knock my kid over when he moves to the wrong place at the wrong time. - sensible
• My child will learn his first curse words. - sensible
• And 7 games where people will say its time for Boeheim to retire. - sensible

Not really going out on a limb am I?

 

[br801]

Do igor posts count in the 7? For the record, I don't think they should. On that note, I also predict that by December 15 he is calling Kaleb Joseph "the best PG in the history of Fox Sports 1" and blaming any freshman mistakes on JB's mishandling of him.

That is a thing of beauty, the kind of post we all should be striving for.

 

[SoBeCuse]

LOTS of uncertainties heading into this season! But here are a couple of early predictions I'm comfortable making, on the cusp of preseason practice getting started:

• Tyler Roberson is going to show the sophomore leap, and have a good year
• He'll be our best rebounder
• Chris McCullough is going to shoot the ball better than people expect
• Rak is going to approach averaging 8 and 8, showing more consistency and benefitting from being "the guy" inside
• ...which is important, because Chinoso Obokoh is going to be quite foul prone
• Obokoh--despite being slightly undersized--will surprise people with how he competes inside, and how good of a rebounder / shotblocker he is
• Dejuan will end up redshirting
• BJ will be the latest "super scoring sub," and will average between 7-10ppg, giving JB the luxury of having a sixth man who plays starters minutes
• Cooney will take the next step from the standpoint of consistency. His ppg average might remain approximately the same, though, but he'll do it more efficiently
• Buss will play his way into the regular rotation and contribute as a three point complimentary threat, but find minutes inconsistently allocated in some games
• Overall, the team offense will be improved over last year's anemic performance, despite having so many question marks entering the season

I'm a lot less certain about what Joseph is going to do as a starter, whether Gbinije is going to show more consistent offese, or whether that last game was just a flash in the pan, and how we'll shoot the ball collectively as a team [I think a lot better than last year, but there's no way to know until they lace 'em up].


Edit: this was copied from a post I made in response to a therad DocSU posted. Curious to see if it generates any discussion.

Great post. Can see all of this. A question. Your reasoning behind the McCullough prediction? Is it partly because you envision him playing further away from the basket as more of a perimeter oriented F? I personally have a feeling that he's going to want to drift away from the basket and play like SF. That could be bad or good. Hopefully he becomes a threat inside and out like the way Adrian Payne developed his game at MSU.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I predict Christmas and Gbinije will be consistent forces on both ends of the court and provide quiet leadership, Joseph will settle in nicely at the point in short order, Cooney will be a more diverse and consistent scorer, Roberson and McCullough will be studs. I'm hoping BJ and Coleman can be a big part of the mix as well; if so, the sky is the limit for this team.

I would LOVE to see that.

 

[cpatrocks]

Oh and one other thing to add. We should be an amazing rebounding team this year. When you think about Rak, Roberson, and McCullough on the front line with a very good sized Cooney and either G or Kaleb in the guard spots - that is extremely impressive size, mobility, leaping ability and at least in the case of Roberson: really great nose for the ball. I think we all really hope that those rebounds turn into fast breaks which would at a minimum be very exciting and also take the pressure of Kaleb to create out of the half court set on 100% of possessions like Ennis did.

It seems like we go into every year thinking we are going to be a much better rebounding team...and then, alas, the season starts.

 

[RF2044]

Great post. Can see all of this. A question. Your reasoning behind the McCullough prediction? Is it partly because you envision him playing further away from the basket as more of a perimeter oriented F? I personally have a feeling that he's going to want to drift away from the basket and play like SF. That could be bad or good. Hopefully he becomes a threat inside and out like the way Adrian Payne developed his game at MSU.

Great question, SoBe! Its based upon stuff I've heard--haven't seen the kid practice in person yet. By all accounts, he's going to be a lot like Donte Greene [although probably a better player]: not a great post up game, solid rebounder, will score in transition and on put backs, but is more comfortable facing up. Hopefully he plays closer to the basket than Donte did, but I share your concern that he's going to drift a little. Hope he shows a post up move or two.

But on a positive note, what I've heard is that he's stroking the ball in off-season workouts. Apparently, he's a really good jump shooter.

 

[br801]

It seems like we go into every year thinking we are going to be a much better rebounding team...and then, alas, the season starts.

Defensive rebounding has been a definite shortcoming the last few years, while offensive rebounding has generally been a strength. A healthy Coleman would no doubt help on the defensive boards. Here's hoping.

 

[SoBristol]

In the few games when Robertson played, he tried for a lot of rebounds, and generally lost out to bigger, stronger opponents. Maybe he has improved? Or just take a wait and see attitude toward what Robertson & McCullough can actually do in inside play until October rolls around?

 

[billsin01]

Great post. Can see all of this. A question. Your reasoning behind the McCullough prediction? Is it partly because you envision him playing further away from the basket as more of a perimeter oriented F? I personally have a feeling that he's going to want to drift away from the basket and play like SF. That could be bad or good. Hopefully he becomes a threat inside and out like the way Adrian Payne developed his game at MSU.

I guarantee -- without knowing or seeing much of McCullough -- that he will want to drift and play like a 3. For one, he's a freshman. Secondly, I'm not sure anyone other than Carmelo actually understands that being really good around the basket -- even if no one can describe you as a 'stretch 3' -- is an extremely valuable skill, at least in terms of team success. Unfortunately getting to the League is the far greater focus for most kids. I'd argue that getting to the league with a legit post move or two would be a really valuable thing, but unfortunately none of these kids are coming to me for advise