I hate to say it, but

[Millhouse]

That was the other player I was also thinking of, but Edwards was pretty small. Kaleb has pretty decent size for a PG; he just isn't using it well to get to the rim. Hopefully he makes the jump.

even if he gets better handling and distributing the ball, his shooting is starting pretty low

i'm willing to sacrifice a lot for some guards who can shoot the darn ball

 

[Brooky03]

I think he'll be serviceable next season. A lot of it is just a lack of comfort/confidence on the court, from what I've seen.

If he can get his defense to the level it needs to be at, the kid is golden. I'm not saying he'll turn in a Johnny Flynn-esque season, but I could easily see 8 and 5 with less than 2 turnovers per game. And that would be all we need from him on offense.

His pullup jumper is money and he seems to like the shot. If he starts making that a focal point of his game, it might open up driving opportunities and some passing lanes because defenders would be forced to play him tighter. Mid-range jumpers aren't exactly high quality looks, so it might not make a huge impact, but every little bit helps. Right now, teams don't worry about defending against any one part of his game.

 

[SWC75]

I think he'll be serviceable next season. A lot of it is just a lack of comfort/confidence on the court, from what I've seen.

If he can get his defense to the level it needs to be at, the kid is golden. I'm not saying he'll turn in a Johnny Flynn-esque season, but I could easily see 8 and 5 with less than 2 turnovers per game. And that would be all we need from him on offense.

His pullup jumper is money and he seems to like the shot. If he starts making that a focal point of his game, it might open up driving opportunities and some passing lanes because defenders would be forced to play him tighter. Mid-range jumpers aren't exactly high quality looks, so it might not make a huge impact, but every little bit helps. Right now, teams don't worry about defending against any one part of his game.

Kaleb is a classic example of a guy who shouldn't be looking for three pointers but instead can fill it up from 10-15 feet.

 

[Brooky03]

Kaleb is a classic example of a guy who shouldn't be looking for three pointers but instead can fill it up from 10-15 feet.

Josh Pace. Just with a good looking jumper instead of a left handed... what do you call that?... that goes in, to the opponent's disbelief.

 

[Millhouse]

Kaleb is a classic example of a guy who shouldn't be looking for three pointers but instead can fill it up from 10-15 feet.

he's shooting .385 in conference from inside the 3 point line. .427 in all games from 2 pt range

he's ok at the FT line which gives some hope that he can shoot

 

[Brooky03]

he's shooting .385 in conference from inside the 3 point line. .427 in all games from 2 pt range

he's ok at the FT line which gives some hope that he can shoot

Yeah, he definitely has to work on finishing when he's around the rim or, more importantly, deciding when he can try to get all the way to the rim and when he should pull-up.

 

[RF2044]

I'm not really worried about Joseph's development. I think he lacks confidence in his handle, and that has led him to not look to do things off of the bounce that we're used to seeing from point guards in our system--like driving into the line, creating off of the bounce, etc.

But as some have pointed out, the raw materials are there. I think people will be surprised with how much better he looks next year, especially if he uses the offseason to improve his body and get stronger.

Remember how shaky Hart looked handling the ball in 96-97? Joseph is going to be fine.

 

[jordoo]

I few things to consider. MikeG being guarded by a guard severely limits his advantages. He isn't a post up guy and will have far less success driving on guards than he does on forwards. Mike's great value is as a SF who can play as a guard on offense but also has the size to finish when slashing to the rim. You take some of that away from him when you move him to the backcourt IMO. The idea of Malachi, Trevor and Mike would work because its what we do when Buss is in this year except Malachi can shoot. If Mike isn't around to supplement the PG spot next season then I'm a bit more concerned.

PG will be important next year but if Mike is back Kaleb doesn't need to make hug improvements across the board to be successful. Kaleb has shown a lot of really good things this season and if you made a highlight real it would look great. So to me the pieces, abilities and raw skills are already in place. Yes he needs to improve and learn to run offense and of course most importantly learn to defend in our system but his biggest issue is confidence. Ennis was off the charts in mental and emotional readiness while Kaleb is shaky potatoes in these aspects. You can see it go both way for him, he makes a good play and he's likely to get on a hot streak, he makes a bad play and he's likely to make another and then another. The good news is that he can build up his confidence and learn to let the bad plays go. He will be much better next year IMO and at the worst he will be able to reliably ferry the ball up the court, provide some consistent scoring (8pts 45%) and give us 4 assists a game.

Someone mentioned center if Bryant didn't come and failed to mention Diange. If Bryant doesn't come and DC2 cannot go (worst case in both situations) we will have Diange with Chino to back up and Chris to play spot minutes against less beefy teams. Still more depth than this year.

 

[AZOrange]

I'm not really worried about Joseph's development. I think he lacks confidence in his handle, and that has led him to not look to do things off of the bounce that we're used to seeing from point guards in our system--like driving into the line, creating off of the bounce, etc. But as some have pointed out, the raw materials are there. I think people will be surprised with how much better he looks next year, especially if he uses the offseason to improve his body and get stronger. Remember how shaky Hart looked handling the ball in 96-97? Joseph is going to be fine.

I disagree on the raw materials for KJ. I don't see one big time tool (size, speed, athleticism, bball iq, handle, shooting, d). And hart was shaky his whole career on O. But he was a tremendous defender. That's the difference. I think a Hart upside for KJ is kind of a dud for us at this point as a program. Especially considering dion, MCW and Ennis were just here.

 

[Brooky03]

I disagree on the raw materials for KJ. I don't see one big time tool (size, speed, athleticism, bball iq, handle, shooting, d). And hart was shaky his whole career on O. But he was a tremendous defender. That's the difference. I think a Hart upside for KJ is kind of a dud for us at this point as a program. Especially considering dion, MCW and Ennis were just here.

Excluding Dion because he's a SG, what's the common theme with MCW and Ennis? They both gave us one year starting at PG and bolted. Joseph will probably not be as good as either of them, but at least we'll have a guy for a few years who isn't learning the offense from scratch. I'm tired of freshman PGs, regardless of talent level. I'm looking forward to having a PG run the show for a few years.

I don't know that it's a step backwards for the program.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Guard issues was possibly our biggest problem this year. I expect we'll see similar issues next year.

KJ has a loooooooong way to go to be a good college player. And with no other PG coming in, there is going to be a ton placed on his shoulders again. If he doesn't blossom, neither will the team. We won't have enough scoring options to overcome poor PG play.

 

[Brooky03]

Guard issues was possibly our biggest problem this year. I expect we'll see similar issues next year.

KJ has a loooooooong way to go to be a good college player. And with no other PG coming in, there is going to be a ton placed on his shoulders again. If he doesn't blossom, neither will the team. We won't have enough scoring options to overcome poor PG play.

Franklin Howard is a PG. He's playing PG in high school and looks very comfortable there from the limited bits I've seen in highlight vids. I don't think he'll see much playing time at all unless G leaves, but we do indeed have a PG coming in in the next class.

 

[AZOrange]

Excluding Dion because he's a SG, what's the common theme with MCW and Ennis? They both gave us one year starting at PG and bolted. Joseph will probably not be as good as either of them, but at least we'll have a guy for a few years who isn't learning the offense from scratch. I'm tired of freshman PGs, regardless of talent level. I'm looking forward to having a PG run the show for a few years. I don't know that it's a step backwards for the program.

Well we are recruiting one and done talent at PG currently...

 

[dasher]

I few things to consider. MikeG being guarded by a guard severely limits his advantages. He isn't a post up guy and will have far less success driving on guards than he does on forwards. Mike's great value is as a SF who can play as a guard on offense but also has the size to finish when slashing to the rim. You take some of that away from him when you move him to the backcourt IMO. The idea of Malachi, Trevor and Mike would work because its what we do when Buss is in this year except Malachi can shoot. If Mike isn't around to supplement the PG spot next season then I'm a bit more concerned.

PG will be important next year but if Mike is back Kaleb doesn't need to make hug improvements across the board to be successful. Kaleb has shown a lot of really good things this season and if you made a highlight real it would look great. So to me the pieces, abilities and raw skills are already in place. Yes he needs to improve and learn to run offense and of course most importantly learn to defend in our system but his biggest issue is confidence. Ennis was off the charts in mental and emotional readiness while Kaleb is shaky potatoes in these aspects. You can see it go both way for him, he makes a good play and he's likely to get on a hot streak, he makes a bad play and he's likely to make another and then another. The good news is that he can build up his confidence and learn to let the bad plays go. He will be much better next year IMO and at the worst he will be able to reliably ferry the ball up the court, provide some consistent scoring (8pts 45%) and give us 4 assists a game.

Someone mentioned center if Bryant didn't come and failed to mention Diange. If Bryant doesn't come and DC2 cannot go (worst case in both situations) we will have Diange with Chino to back up and Chris to play spot minutes against less beefy teams. Still more depth than this year.

Mike is a terrific defender in the back end of the zone. Can you imagine him up top? With Cooney? Teams will have trouble getting open looks.

 

[albanycuse]

for those who are expecting a big turnaround next season, you should know that we don't have a natural point guard coming in next season among our stellar recruiting class. Kaleb has a lot of work to do this summer, if we are going to be an elite team again next year. I just don't see it right now from him. He's somewhere in Josh Wright territory. He's just terrible on defense. He doesn't throw a good entry pass to the post, he's afraid to take an open 10 foot shot in the lane and he doesn't get to the rim. What happened to the explosive athletic kid we saw in high school? We really need a better point guard in the next class.

Love ya Imatt but he is far from J Wright , the worst pg in SU history , by far.

 

[jordoo]

Mike is a terrific defender in the back end of the zone. Can you imagine him up top? With Cooney? Teams will have trouble getting open looks.

I think with more practice up top he would be very good, my point on the mismatch was him on offense when being guarded by a guard. As our 3rd and biggest guard he usually gets a forward who he can beat and isn't used to guarding guys like him who can shoot, drive and pass. Guards are guarding these type of players every game.

 

[jordoo]

Love ya Imatt but he is far from J Wright , the worst pg in SU history , by far.

At least the worst one that got enough minutes to make a fair evaluation. Agreed that Joseph is not in that world especially after being thrown out into traffic as a frosh.

 

[RF2044]

I disagree on the raw materials for KJ. I don't see one big time tool (size, speed, athleticism, bball iq, handle, shooting, d). And hart was shaky his whole career on O. But he was a tremendous defender. That's the difference. I think a Hart upside for KJ is kind of a dud for us at this point as a program. Especially considering dion, MCW and Ennis were just here.

I've made this comparison in numerous threads--not to equate KJ to Hart in terms of game [they are quite different players], but rather to make the comparison about a four year player who showed incremental improvement throughout the course of his career. I think you sell him short on several of those attributes you mention--size, speed, athleticism [he dunks the out of the ball and seems to have all of the requisite explosiveness], shooting [he really looks strong from mid range and at the stripe]. I'll disagree with the basketball IQ part, too--seems like a good passer with solid court vision [that Michigan game was probably his peak performance in that regard].

Lots of the tools are in place for this guy to have a successful career.

Now, he also has gaps. The defensive issues have been decidedly subpar. His handle--which was ostensibly supposed to be a strength--has been awful.

 

[Jack Hall]

I've made this comparison in numerous threads--not to equate KJ to Hart in terms of game [they are quite different players], but rather to make the comparison about a four year player who showed incremental improvement throughout the course of his career. I think you sell him short on several of those attributes you mention--size, speed, athleticism [he dunks the . . . . out of the ball and seems to have all of the requisite explosiveness], shooting [he really looks strong from mid range and at the stripe]. I'll disagree with the basketball IQ part, too--seems like a good passer with solid court vision [that Michigan game was probably his peak performance in that regard].

Lots of the tools are in place for this guy to have a successful career.

Now, he also has gaps. The defensive issues have been decidedly subpar. His handle--which was ostensibly supposed to be a strength--has been awful.

Imo Kaleb gets stage fright and lacks confidence, just needs some maturity and experience, he ll be more than fine imo. Big diff between a freshman struggling and a soph struggling

 

[shandeezy7]

Mike is a terrific defender in the back end of the zone. Can you imagine him up top? With Cooney? Teams will have trouble getting open looks.

I don't think he has the lateral quickness to defend the top of the zone. Although it doesn't really look like Cooney or Joseph do either, so I guess it doesn't matter :noidea:

 

[AZOrange]

I don't think he has the lateral quickness to defend the top of the zone. Although it doesn't really look like Cooney or Joseph do either, so I guess it doesn't matter :noidea:

he's so long though. Like mcw

 

[AZOrange]

I've made this comparison in numerous threads--not to equate KJ to Hart in terms of game [they are quite different players], but rather to make the comparison about a four year player who showed incremental improvement throughout the course of his career. I think you sell him short on several of those attributes you mention--size, speed, athleticism [he dunks the . . . . out of the ball and seems to have all of the requisite explosiveness], shooting [he really looks strong from mid range and at the stripe]. I'll disagree with the basketball IQ part, too--seems like a good passer with solid court vision [that Michigan game was probably his peak performance in that regard]. Lots of the tools are in place for this guy to have a successful career. Now, he also has gaps. The defensive issues have been decidedly subpar. His handle--which was ostensibly supposed to be a strength--has been awful.

I'm not saying he is deficient in all those attributes, I'm just not seeing an A grade in any of them. And that makes me nervous. It's not like he's just a little reckless with the ball but makes it up shooting. Or he can't shoot but he's good in the lane. Or he's rough on O but good on D. He just seems a little average to me talent wise which is a notch below where we've been (and not so much a slight on him but a testament to who've been getting).

 

[AZOrange]

Excluding Dion because he's a SG, what's the common theme with MCW and Ennis? They both gave us one year starting at PG and bolted. Joseph will probably not be as good as either of them, but at least we'll have a guy for a few years who isn't learning the offense from scratch. I'm tired of freshman PGs, regardless of talent level. I'm looking forward to having a PG run the show for a few years. I don't know that it's a step backwards for the program.

I don't get caught up too much in designations. Dion was a guard with the ball in his hands a lot.

 

[pfister1]

Keys to next year for me are:

1. How much improvement can Kaleb make?
2. Is Malachi going to be good enough to steal significant minutes from Cooney? It would be great to see them split minutes 25/15 with the hot hand on a particular night getting the lion's share for that game. Yeah I know...not JB's style.
3. What personnel are we going to have on the interior??
a. Is CMAC back and at 100%?
b. Is DC II back and at 100%?
c. Does Bryant decide to join the fold?

There are so many questions marks on the interior next season that the big question mark at lead guard almost seems easy, if only because the answers are clearer - either Joseph makes strides or guard looks a lot like it did this season.

 

[reedny]

I don't have any doubt that KJ's going to be a great player for us. It's just a matter of time. Remember, we've been brutally spoiled ... in general by the success of the program, and in specific by the very athletic and productive guards we've had over the last 4-5 years. People forget how solid BT was on D, how well he and Scoop played together. Even going back to Devo .. with the high finish off the glass that was unblockable; the luxury of bringing Dion Waiters of the bench (a guy who could get to the rim against anyone); not to mention the impressive string of NBA quality points --- J. Flynn, MCW, Tyler Ennis. It's no wonder KJ looks like a real freshman by comparison.

To my eye, he's already flashed many of the skills he was recruited for ... handle (confidence is the problem here), a smooth shot, ability to penetrate and get the to rim and (sometimes) finish, and in rawer form the ability to run the pick and roll and get the rock to other players in the zone. With more confidence and better decision-making he can be the player we hoped for offensively. Right now, he looks good one game and struggles the next two or three, which is something (until recently) that we could have said about all of our younger players.

Next year, I expect kaleb's confidence and decision-making to "arrive" mid to late in the season. The silly TO's will disappear, his mid-range game will get even better, his outside shot will be more reliable. My biggest concern is with his overall strength and quickness and his energy on defense. Knowing where to be .. that will come. Until then (especially in the off-season), KJ needs to live in the weight room to get his strength and quickness to a point where he can stay in front of ACC guards and become the terror on D that we need at the top of the zone.