Cuse still fine for next year. Final four good

[FortyFourCT]

Sure, you want to get good players but he was one and done and he has revealed his selfish side which sometimes goes against the team philosophy. We've seen plenty of teams get better when the star leaves.

Also, this gets Marek 20 more minutes a game. He is a true team first guy with so much upside. The more he plays the better we are, I think.

So it hurts our depth but we will be fine. One guy doesn't make the team (don't tell that to Melo tho!)

 

[Day2]

I like what Pat, (20 Plus) said on the radio today: we need to pretend we never had Bazley and look at what we have.

Howard, Battle, Dolezaj, Brissett and Chuwku backed up by Carey, Washington, Boeheim, Hughes and Sidibie is still potentially a very strong team. Remember that returning players figure to improve and we just made the Sweet 16.

If we lose Battle, Carey or Hughes could fill his spot quite well if the reports about them are true.

If we also lose Brissett, we could still have a winning team with Howard, Carey, Hughes, Dolezaj,and Chukwu backed up by Washington, Boeheim and Sidibie. It's just that there would be no margin for error, (further defections, injuries, foul trouble, etc.). And JB would be after getting somebody else to help shore things up - either JUCO, grad transfer, late recruit, or another foreign player.

It will be a 'Syracuse' team. It just might not be a Top 5 team as we had hoped for.

Right on. The loss of Bazley takes us out of the running for the ACC title, but we can make some noise in March. That’s all that matters.

 

[Day2]

Sure, you want to get good players but he was one and done and he has revealed his selfish side which sometimes goes against the team philosophy. We've seen plenty of teams get better when the star leaves.

Also, this gets Marek 20 more minutes a game. He is a true team first guy with so much upside. The more he plays the better we are, I think.

So it hurts our depth but we will be fine. One guy doesn't make the team (don't tell that to Melo tho!)

Yeah, a lot of people were concerned about finding minutes for Dolezaj. Problem solved.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Right on. The loss of Bazley takes us out of the running for the ACC title, but we can make some noise in March. That’s all that matters.

We are going to get blasted by UNC for the 8th and 9th time in a row and will have zero shot against them or Virginia. It blows. We will scrape 10-11 games in the ACC and be a 8 seed that has to play Nova in the 2nd round.

 

[Scooch]

Got 21-10(10-8) written all over. Which is ok. Was looking forward to potentially being really
good and maybe having a shot at a league title for the first time in awhile though.

Bingo.

Our tourney run was awesome but we were the last team in. And we’re not adding a transcendent talent. We’re left hoping Brissett becomes a MUCH more efficient scorer and #1 option, that Marek can stay on the court for 35+ minutes a game without fouling out, etc. Possible, sure. Even if that happens I’m not sure we go from last team in to Final 4 contender. Absent another crazy unexpected run.

 

[OrangeDW]

Bingo.

Our tourney run was awesome but we were the last team in. And we’re not adding a transcendent talent. We’re left hoping Brissett becomes a MUCH more efficient scorer and #1 option, that Marek can stay on the court for 35+ minutes a game without fouling out, etc. Possible, sure. Even if that happens I’m not sure we go from last team in to Final 4 contender. Absent another crazy unexpected run.

Yup. And we’re losing Battle - the guy who many times this year was basically our only guy who could score and had to put the entire offense on his back.

 

[Day2]

We are going to get blasted by UNC for the 8th and 9th time in a row and will have zero shot against them or Virginia. It blows. We will scrape 10-11 games in the ACC and be a 8 seed that has to play Nova in the 2nd round.

Nova loses in the 2nd round quite often.

 

[Day2]

Bingo.

Our tourney run was awesome but we were the last team in. And we’re not adding a transcendent talent. We’re left hoping Brissett becomes a MUCH more efficient scorer and #1 option, that Marek can stay on the court for 35+ minutes a game without fouling out, etc. Possible, sure. Even if that happens I’m not sure we go from last team in to Final 4 contender. Absent another crazy unexpected run.

We only lost to Duke by four, the difference being unforced errors. Beat them and we’re probably playing tomorrow night.

 

[Day2]

Yup. And we’re losing Battle - the guy who many times this year was basically our only guy who could score and had to put the entire offense on his back.

We’re replacing him with a scorer and everyone else will improve.

 

[SmilinBob]

What if Brissett declares or decides to get paid to play basketball somewhere? He seemed excited about Brazley and now that that isn't going to happen, will he rethink his priorities? Does he care to get an education as much as being paid to play basketball? I don't know him and pretty much no one on this site does either so assuming anyone knows what his thinking is or the direction he'll go is all conjecture. He'd be "The Man" on this team and we'll see soon within the month how important college basketball is compared to $ for basketball is. I assume the G league would take him in a nano second if he isn't drafted.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Nova loses in the 2nd round quite often.

I’m pretty sick of losing to the same schools every year. That was the main point. We are Syracuse, not Seton Hall.

 

[Scooch]

We only lost to Duke by four, the difference being unforced errors. Beat them and we’re probably playing tomorrow night.

It’s fine to play that game. Then it’s also fair to note that we literally just as easily could have been relegated to the NIT.

 

[NKR1978]

No post scoring.
No depth in the forward position.
We are adding 2 guards.
No forwards or centers.
We will likely lose Tyus Battle

Yet we can be Final Four good?

I don’t see.
We are going to have to white knuckle to win conference games.
More ISO offense oh boy!

Sidibe can be a post scorer. Marek will improve. Chukwu improved a ton over the year and he can be more reliable.

I would like to get a big guy on the transfer market though.

 

[Alsacs]

Sidibe can be a post scorer. Marek will improve. Chukwu improved a ton over the year and he can be more reliable.

I would like to get a big guy on the transfer market though.

Right now Boston College is better than us.
BC is probably 8th best in the ACC right now for next year.

We are assuming Sidibe will be healthy next year. Our guys will improve but we will struggle again to score.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Right now Boston College is better than us.
BC is probably 8th best in the ACC right now for next year.

We are assuming Sidibe will be healthy next year. Our guys will improve but we will struggle again to score.

Robinson should declare. He's projected higher than Battle in a few Mocks I have seen.

 

[PauliePeppas]

Robinson should declare. He's projected higher than Battle in a few Mocks I have seen.

You know damn well that aint happening lol

 

[longislandcuse]

If our starting lineup is Frank-Carey-Brissett-Dolezaj-Chukwu with Buddy-Hughes-Sidibe off the bench, and everyone is healthy. I think we're potentially top 25 good with the ability to make a deep run in the tourney.

This team loses Battle but gains 3 point shooting and experience. I'd say that's a net positive which makes us a better team next year.

With Bazley, we were a possible title contender. Without him, we need to hit on a grad transfer, stay healthy and hope Carey and Hughes are big time to reach that level of contention.

 

[Alsacs]

If our starting lineup is Frank-Carey-Brissett-Dolezaj-Chukwu with Buddy-Hughes-Sidibe off the bench, and everyone is healthy. I think we're potentially top 25 good with the ability to make a deep run in the tourney.

This team loses Battle but gains 3 point shooting and experience. I'd say that's a net positive which makes us a better team next year.

With Bazley, we were a possible title contender. Without him, we need to hit on a grad transfer, stay healthy and hope Carey and Hughes are big time to reach that level of contention.

What developmental prospects are on the roster for the future?

We will be using 9 scholarships out of 12 possible.

You will be putting a lot of faith on the staff to get a 4-5 member 2019 recruiting class with 1 guard already locked up.

I don’t see enough offense in the rotation you described.
We need Sidibe to be healthy.

 

[SoBeCuse]

If our starting lineup is Frank-Carey-Brissett-Dolezaj-Chukwu with Buddy-Hughes-Sidibe off the bench, and everyone is healthy. I think we're potentially top 25 good with the ability to make a deep run in the tourney.

This team loses Battle but gains 3 point shooting and experience. I'd say that's a net positive which makes us a better team next year.

With Bazley, we were a possible title contender. Without him, we need to hit on a grad transfer, stay healthy and hope Carey and Hughes are big time to reach that level of contention.

Possibly. Chukwu and Sidibe MUST add strength. Remains to be seen and Carey/Hughes must come in as advertised. The experience is a plus but we need to score and in Boeheim’s system we need enough ISO guys.

 

[longislandcuse]

What developmental prospects are on the roster for the future?

We will be using 9 scholarships out of 12 possible.

You will be putting a lot of faith on the staff to get a 4-5 member 2019 recruiting class with 1 guard already locked up.

I don’t see enough offense in the rotation you described.
We need Sidibe to be healthy.

I said nothing about the recruiting of '19. I'm as worried as you about the fact we only have Goodine and it seems quieter than a library in regards to who we're involved with.

As far as next year and what we currently have, it's why I said "potentially". It all depends on the sophomore jumps of OB (is he a lottery pick talent) and Dolezaj (does he bulk up and develop a 3 point shot), depends on whether Carey and Hughes are big time and depends on the season-long health of our C rotation.

Lots of "potential", and I acknowledge it's a bunch of question marks, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities that those question marks actually work out for us.

 

[NKR1978]

Right now Boston College is better than us.
BC is probably 8th best in the ACC right now for next year.

We are assuming Sidibe will be healthy next year. Our guys will improve but we will struggle again to score.

So you don't think Carey, Hughes or Buddy will be able to contribute anything? Brisset can be a 1st team all ACC. Marek is scratching the surface of what he can do.

BC isn't horrible anymore. But whatever. We just went to the Sweet 16. They didn't. While I would love to get back to the days of a top 4 seed, as long as we get in, we have a Final Four shot.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I don't know how we can be a top 4 seed when we automatically go into every season the past 4 years with zero chance of beating the top schools in the conference.

 

[Alsacs]

So you don't think Carey, Hughes or Buddy will be able to contribute anything? Brisset can be a 1st team all ACC. Marek is scratching the surface of what he can do.

BC isn't horrible anymore. But whatever. We just went to the Sweet 16. They didn't. While I would love to get back to the days of a top 4 seed, as long as we get in, we have a Final Four shot.

I got no faith in Freshman Buddy.
Buddy will be like Rautins get better and better by the year.

Carey is a solid Battle replacement but he won’t be 2nd team all ACC good that is on Brissett.
I don’t think Carey will be Brissett freshman good.
He will be a 7-10 PPG player next year.

I was down on Hughes. I hope he shows me I am wrong. I looked at his numbers and don’t see anything more than 3rd or 4th option.

If he is more than that he will be gone after next year. As if he is a pro he won’t stay in college.

Our season was on Bazley being special next year.
Kid is a legit lottery talent. Now we are a bubble ish team. If Robinson comes back we are below BC.

 

[NineOneSeven]

110% need a transfer forward, ideally 2. Not adding another would be seriously irresponsible.

 

[chugg21]

It’s fine to play that game. Then it’s also fair to note that we literally just as easily could have been relegated to the NIT.

What Ifs are only allowed to be used for positive things!