Class of 2015 Derrick Jones

[Trueblue25]

I believe unfortunately we will miss out on Derrick Jones, but it's not so bad as I'd like to think.

I really am placing a lot of faith in BJ Johnson and Gbinije. I truly think that they are going to tear it up.

 

[CU44SE]

An inch or two of height difference is highly over-rated, especially at the college level. If a kid can play - a kid can play. Stevie Thompson is the ultimate example of that & his height difference delta was way more than an inch or two.

I completely disagree. You give Paul Harris another 2 inches he is a completely different player. You give Coleman another 2 inches he is a completely different player. Personally and others have said it too, but Gbinje is even about 2 inches too small for the wing position in the zone. He gave up a lot of offensive rebounds on his side of the defense this year when he played a forward position.

 

[MCC]

hopefully, creating your own shot one on one isn't everyones game, it isn't something that just grows with seniority. My guess

sophmore kaleb 100% chance
senior Dajuan coleman 87% chance if he plays some next year if not but he bounces back strongly 60% chance.
Cooney 73% chance, Gbinije 70% chance
As for the rest I would put them in this order of chance to score one on one, based on skills for 015.
Howard,patterson,roberson,mccullough(highest nba potential of the rest but far away), johnson, malachi,lydon,obokoh based on their college level skillset at this point.

imo, Syracuse most fun teams are built around 1 on 1 scorers with other guys who can step up. imo, Sometimes its best to have 6th men as one on one sparks off the bench and 4th scoring options as starters.

IMO Malachi and Lydon should be slotted higher, certainly ahead of CMac and Buss. I think Roberson will surprise folks and I'd slot him ahead of Buss as well.

 

[newmexicuse]

I completely disagree. You give Paul Harris another 2 inches he is a completely different player. You give Coleman another 2 inches he is a completely different player. Personally and others have said it too, but Gbinje is even about 2 inches too small for the wing position in the zone. He gave up a lot of offensive rebounds on his side of the defense this year when he played a forward position.

How was two more inches gonna make Paul's shot better ? How was two more inches gonna keep DC2 healthy & stop him from holding the ball at waist level ? There are plenty of 6'6" or 6'7' guys who can board from the SF position. G has no nose for the ball or strength to get it from the SF position. Good rebounders instinctively know where to go when the ball is released - they are pro-active and not re-active.

 

[CU44SE]

How was two more inches gonna make Paul's shot better ? How was two more inches gonna keep DC2 healthy & stop him from holding the ball at waist level ? There are plenty of 6'6" or 6'7' guys who can board from the SF position. G has no nose for the ball or strength to get it from the SF position. Good rebounders instinctively know where to go when the ball is released - they are pro-active and not re-active.

Well first of all, Paul Harris could have played a completely different position offensively and played closer to the basket. He is a power forward stuck in a shooting guards body. He couldn't play down low in the post because he was too short so he had to shoot more then anyone would have liked him to. If he is taller he could bang down low and play with the big boys, he wouldn't have to rely as much on shooting. He would have been extremely similar to Charles Barkely if he was 6'6", but you can't play that type of game at 6'4". If DC2 was 6'11, he would play above the rim on a consistent basis. Currently he plays low because he is 6'9" and doesn't have the same athletic ability as most 6'9" players. An extra 2 inches would aid him in playing above the basket on offense and he wouldn't need to bring the ball down. Currently, he brings the ball down to waist level because he needs to gather himself to get up in the air. That wouldn't be the case if he was taller. He would also be more of a force in the middle of the zone. As it is now, I would say he is a little short for the middle of the zone, we don't get nearly as many blocks when he is in there. Another 2 inches would be a world of difference. Increased height equates to increase wingspan as well, they go hand in hand.

 

[tbonezone]

lest we forget the undersized paul harris led his team in rebounding . ripped balls away from taller players.
i want mr. jones in orange.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Paul Harris was 6-3 on good day, I think they are different.

No, he was 6-4. I've stood next to him.

 

[Orangeyes]

lest we forget the undersized paul harris led his team in rebounding . ripped balls away from taller players.
i want mr. jones in orange.

I do too, so does BJ

 

[maxxyz]

lest we forget the undersized paul harris led his team in rebounding . ripped balls away from taller players. i want mr. jones in orange.

Paul was especially good at ripping the ball away from his own team mates. I used to get so frustrated when he would fight a teammate for the ball and then lose control of it, inevitably going out of bounds or to the opposition.

 

[PhatOrange]

Anybody see the latest Zags article on DJones?

Myers said Jones will “definitely go see Syracuse” as well.

Myers is his AAU coach.

 

[Trueblue25]

I'm fine if we don't get him, as long as we never have to play him.

 

[Janner]

For those at the Mary Kline games or were able to watch,what would you say Jones' hight was 6'6? 6'8?

 

[Papadakis]

http://zagsblog.com/articles/derric...uconn-louisville-syracuse-visits/#more-116682

 

[Orangeyes]

"Over the weekend, several players UConn has their eye on took part in the Mary Kline Classic at West Orange (NJ) High School, including junior guard Derek Jones.

Jones scored 31 points to help Team Bravery win the underclassmen game. The 6-foot-5 Jones was scheduled to visit UConn a few weeks ago, but twice had the trip pushed back. Jones, who plays at Radnor (Pa.) Archbishop Carroll, missed the first trip after a late return from an Adidas event and then Ollie canceled the second time due to family reasons. AAU coach Terrell Myers said “it’s definitely a place we’re going to go visit. … I think more toward the end of June.” Jones has offers already from Louisville and Indiana, while Syracuse, UCLA and Iowa State are in the mix."
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/blogs/dog-house/UConn-Eyes-Guards-for-2015-Class--261505751.html

 

[longislandcuse]

I dont know if we cooled on him or have other priorities but could his recent improved play make us re-evaluate how we look at him?

 

[Trueblue25]

I dont know if we cooled on him or have other priorities but could his recent improved play make us re-evaluate how we look at him?

He's been absolutely killing it the past few months. I don't think we've necessarily "cooled off". Seems like we're waiting for how Bryant's recruitment plays out. As Francis and many others have said, Bryant would be a solid important recruit if we landed him, Jones is more of a luxury.

 

[Antiprodigy]

I would be cautious with the enthusiasm for him. He plays much better in an open game than he does in a half court set. I think he his too small to be an ideal wing for SU. I can't see him ever being better from the 3 than Malachi, so I can't see him as a 2G. I just don't think he has an ideal position at SU. If he were 6' 7" or 8" instead of 6' 5", I think they would be all over him.

He will be a good player. And, there could well be a time when fans regret that JB didn't push harder for him, but ultimately, I think he just doesn't quite fit right.

 

[Libero2]

For those at the Mary Kline games or were able to watch,what would you say Jones' hight was 6'6? 6'8?

I am very curious about this. If he was 1-2 inches taller, or rather longer, we would be 100% after him.

I agree with trueBlue that Jones is more of a luxury than Bryant would be. That said, it has been proposed that both Jones and Bryant's recruitment are going to go throughout most of the year. If that's true, then I think we would let it play out. If we got one, great, if we couldn't get either, we probably would hold the "expected" scholly till 2016 when we try and bring in Battle and/or Murray.

 

[tee1222]

Just to let you guys know as this was asked a few times today. D. Jones is listed in the game as 6'6. Murray listed at 6'5. Diagne at 6'8. I saw Jones up close in relation to those guys and he looks much closer to Diagne's height than he does Murray's height. And no way Murray is near 6'5 yet, but he's still 2016. For underclassmen, they tend to give them a couple of inches based on growth potential. Jones was at least 3 inches taller than Murray and I put Murray at 6'3 right now. Jones is 6'6, will probably listed as 6'7 freshman year.

 

[Papadakis]

Why does everyone say we are not interested, he has an open offer and many experts have him selecting orange and have not changed their predictions?

 

[MCC]

IMHO the most relevant question is, "Does he have Wes-like potential?". If so, he'd flourish in a system with Kaleb at the 1 and a mobile 4/5 in Diagne. He could weak-side board and block shots with abandon. I'm a little less concerned with his shooting; Wes had a sub-par handle and was limited to jumpers, dunks and scoring off the break and cuts. If Jones is a reasonable shooter with a better handle it ameliorates some of Wes' limitations (as terrific as he was on that team).

In sum, I see the squad shaping up similar to 2010 and there is clearly a role for Jones there; I have to admit I'm less learned on Bryant.

 

[Francis03]

IMHO the most relevant question is, "Does he have Wes-like potential?". If so, he'd flourish in a system with Kaleb at the 1 and a mobile 4/5 in Diagne. He could weak-side board and block shots with abandon. I'm a little less concerned with his shooting; Wes had a sub-par handle and was limited to jumpers, dunks and scoring off the break and cuts. If Jones is a reasonable shooter with a better handle it ameliorates some of Wes' limitations (as terrific as he was on that team).

In sum, I see the squad shaping up similar to 2010 and there is clearly a role for Jones there; I have to admit I'm less learned on Bryant.

Throughout this past season and the early portion of AAU ball, most scouts were down on Jones play due to the lack of development in his overall skillset. He exploded this past weekend at the MKC in a free flowing open style that fits him best. Which tells me that needs to go to a specific school that plays 100mph or at least pushes the pace to fit into what he does best. If he plays at SU then we have to have a J. Flynn/Scoop type of PG that will push the ball, because an Ennis type would make him useless in the half-court. Joseph is more like the first two PG's that I mentioned, so I think he would do well with him.

 

[Trueblue25]

Throughout this past season and the early portion of AAU ball, most scouts were down on Jones play due to the lack of development in his overall skillset. He exploded this past weekend at the MKC in a free flowing open style that fits him best. Which tells me that needs to go to a specific school that plays 100mph or at least pushes the pace to fit into what he does best. If he plays at SU then we have to have a J. Flynn/Scoop type of PG that will push the ball, because an Ennis type would make him useless in the half-court. Joseph is more like the first two PG's that I mentioned, so I think he would do well with him.

Yeah, sounds spot on.

If we've ever had a team, without Dion, that was ready to run and gun...I think its 2015/2016. Hell, we're poised for a pretty damn fast offense this year, at least I hope. I believe our guards, Kaleb/Trevor/Gbinije are capable of speeding up.

 

[Jamesvillecuse]

Throughout this past season and the early portion of AAU ball, most scouts were down on Jones play due to the lack of development in his overall skillset. He exploded this past weekend at the MKC in a free flowing open style that fits him best. Which tells me that needs to go to a specific school that plays 100mph or at least pushes the pace to fit into what he does best. If he plays at SU then we have to have a J. Flynn/Scoop type of PG that will push the ball, because an Ennis type would make him useless in the half-court. Joseph is more like the first two PG's that I mentioned, so I think he would do well with him.

I just think of Eddie Moss/Jason Hart when I see Joseph.

 

[Orangeyes]

SU Recruit Derrick Jones and his Monster Dunk