I hate to say it, but

[Oakland]

Neither MCW nor Dion were very good their freshman seasons.

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.

 

[RF2044]

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).

I see where you're coming from. I just don't happen to agree [because I think a lot of those tools have been demonstrated this year]. There's a difference between "can't" and "doesn't." I feel like if he'd come in with a stronger handle ot at least more confidence in it, that alone would have made a huge difference.

But keep in mind--this is the handpicked successor that our coaching staff wanted. They turned down several other high quality prospects to land this kid. I think their faith will be rewarded. That doesn't mean that he'll eventually be an NBA player. But I think we'll see a much more assertive kid next year. As a junior, he'll be more than ready to take over primary playmaking responsibilities from the departed Gbinije. And I'd expect him to be a much better scorer / shooter by then, as well.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I think we will be OK at PG. Kaleb will get much better.

I am more concerned with the 5 spot. Who's going to be there, especially if we dont get Bryant? I don't see CMac as a starting center in our defense. Are we counting on Coleman? Roberson? Obokok? (lord help us)

I'm in complete agreement with you here. The guard position is the least of our concerns. How do we replace Rak? If we get Bryant signed up, then I'll start worrying about the guard situation and where to play Mike G. But we need someone to center that zone. And CMac, if he comes back, is just too thin for the job. He can block shots, but he'll get pushed around too much, and with the other thin forwards we have, that's just not a good situation.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

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.

The interesting thing is I think Mike, lately, has been gambling far too much, probably because of the injury to Cooney's back and overall ineptitude of Kaleb closing out on shooters. It would be interesting to see him up top with Cooney. We would need BJ to continue his recent improvements and to bulk up even more.

 

[Jack Hall]

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.

I think people get too caught up in the whole "natural pg" thing. I mean i get it its ideal to have a true pg. Was Gmac a natural pg in our championship season? I dont think he was. He could control the ball fine but he wasnt a big playmaker, he was more of a shooter. And then we had Edelin, more of a true pg coming off the bench that could change gears for our offense. Imo we won it ALL in 2003 without a true pg starting and part of it was because Carm could play point forward. I hope to see something vaguely similar next yr, G as a point forward and then Kaleb coming off the bench as a spark plug and more of a true point. I would be fine w a line up of G, TC, BJ or Malachi, McC, and Cole or Bryant. That could be a heck of a lineup and then Kaleb and TRob etc could be very strong bench players. Should be interesting

 

[RF2044]

I'm in complete agreement with you here. The guard position is the least of our concerns. How do we replace Rak? If we get Bryant signed up, then I'll start worrying about the guard situation and where to play Mike G. But we need someone to center that zone. And CMac, if he comes back, is just too thin for the job. He can block shots, but he'll get pushed around too much, and with the other thin forwards we have, that's just not a good situation.

If we don't land Bryant and if Coleman can't bounce back [or play extended minutes], then we just might see McCullough start in the "pivot" with Roberson reprising the 4. Crazy.

Lots of unknowns right now.

 

[Jack Hall]

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.

Another way to look at it, 2003 was pg by committee. The cmte being GMac, Carm and Edelin. Maybe next yr is pg by committee also. Who knows

 

[IthacaMatt]

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, even if we compare him to Scoop or Brandon, he still has quite a ways to go.

 

[Brooky03]

Well, even if we compare him to Scoop or Brandon, he still has quite a ways to go.

I'd say he's on par with Freshman Scoop. Scoop just had the luxury of not being entrusted with the entire offense for 30mpg

 

[jec1521]

I'm in complete agreement with you here. The guard position is the least of our concerns. How do we replace Rak? If we get Bryant signed up, then I'll start worrying about the guard situation and where to play Mike G. But we need someone to center that zone. And CMac, if he comes back, is just too thin for the job. He can block shots, but he'll get pushed around too much, and with the other thin forwards we have, that's just not a good situation.

Coleman can, but that would be relying very heavily on a guy that hasn't played in 2 seasons.

 

[AZOrange]

I see where you're coming from. I just don't happen to agree [because I think a lot of those tools have been demonstrated this year]. There's a difference between "can't" and "doesn't." I feel like if he'd come in with a stronger handle ot at least more confidence in it, that alone would have made a huge difference. But keep in mind--this is the handpicked successor that our coaching staff wanted. They turned down several other high quality prospects to land this kid. I think their faith will be rewarded. That doesn't mean that he'll eventually be an NBA player. But I think we'll see a much more assertive kid next year. As a junior, he'll be more than ready to take over primary playmaking responsibilities from the departed Gbinije. And I'd expect him to be a much better scorer / shooter by then, as well.

Well I do hope that you're 100 percent right and not entirely convinced he can't be a good player. And you know me, I trust our coaches more than anyone! Although on that last point...Battle!

 

[Hoov50]

If Kaleb was an explosive, athletic kid he could be again. let's not give up on guys because their freshman year was disappointing.

He's a disappointment due to our excellent PG play the past few years and our expectations. Looking at his numbers as a whole, he is an above-average freshman PG. We are just used to guys who are excellent college PGs and when you compare Joseph to them, he does look like a disappointment.

 

[Jack Hall]

He's a disappointment due to our excellent PG play the past few years and our expectations. Looking at his numbers as a whole, he is an above-average freshman PG. We are just used to guys who are excellent college PGs and when you compare Joseph to them, he does look like a disappointment.

Yep there were some interesting comments by JB a week or so ago. He said something along the lines of MCW and Dion didnt have to play their first yr the way Kaleb has and maybe that wound up being very good for their confidence and the not playing didnt hurt them in their second yr. it seemed to me he was concerned he has thrown Kaleb to the wolves too soon. I think his confidence has been shaken at least a little but still think all this freshman experience will help Kaleb down the road

 

[jordoo]

He's a disappointment due to our excellent PG play the past few years and our expectations. Looking at his numbers as a whole, he is an above-average freshman PG. We are just used to guys who are excellent college PGs and when you compare Joseph to them, he does look like a disappointment.

Yep there were some interesting comments by JB a week or so ago. He said something along the lines of MCW and Dion didnt have to play their first yr the way Kaleb has and maybe that wound up being very good for their confidence and the not playing didnt hurt them in their second yr. it seemed to me he was concerned he has thrown Kaleb to the wolves too soon. I think his confidence has been shaken at least a little but still think all this freshman experience will help Kaleb down the road

Good stuff guys. I really think Joseph just got overwhelmed and has been in a sense trying to get better at everything all at once which is pretty hard to do as the season is going on. If he can improve enough in the off season to regain his confidence and then see early season success I think a lot of fans will be surprised by what he can do. Certainly there is a chance that it could go the other way but I just think new offseason, newteam, newseason, newoutlook and its likely that he moves in the right direction.

 

[SWC75]

Daydreaming...

MCW in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Then Tyler Ennis in 2015-16 and 2016-17, then Kaleb Joseph in 2o17-18



Back to reality.

 

[orange2win]

What do Greg Monroe, Lazarus Sims and Keith Duany all have in common?

They were all senior guards that were key pieces to our three national championship contending teams. Without a senior guard at the helm, you don't go far in the tournament.

If G and Cooney can deliver next year, it could be VERY interesting. Note none of the three above would be considered our star level guards. It's maturity that prevails in the end.

 

[tipphill]

I hope i was wrong about Kaleb...he has a long way to go to play PG at Syracuse...not every kid develops as expected...

you are on the money sir.

 

[tipphill]

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

i am more concerned on how jb responds to the kid----jb is not a confidence builder--- and jb is short on patience

 

[AZOrange]

i am more concerned on how jb responds to the kid----jb is not a confidence builder--- and jb is short on patience

Yeah guys like Rakeem Christmas never happen under a JB regime...

 

[OrangeTarheel]

If Joseph could just improve at defense and distribute the ball well we would have a good year (and he would, too.). Keep it simple. And honestly, anything that keeps Cooney off the court will help us. He has exhausted my patience.

 

[Jasoncuse]

But keep in mind--this is the handpicked successor that our coaching staff wanted. They turned down several other high quality prospects to land this kid. I think their faith will be rewarded. That doesn't mean that he'll eventually be an NBA player. But I think we'll see a much more assertive kid next year. As a junior, he'll be more than ready to take over primary playmaking responsibilities from the departed Gbinije. And I'd expect him to be a much better scorer / shooter by then, as well.

Who did they turn down?

Kaleb has a looooong ways to go to not only become a good college player, but to earn JB's trust. If he can't figure out the zone and gives us little offensively, he won't see the floor. Making sure we bring in a PG every year or two should be a must.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

i am more concerned on how jb responds to the kid----jb is not a confidence builder--- and jb is short on patience

Wow, that's an interesting post considering what happened tonight.

 

[SWC75]

I was listening to the post-game show on FM 1200 on the way back to the game. One caller and the host went on for about a half hour just ripping Kaleb Jospeh, a guy who played 3 minutes in this game. According to them he absolutely stinks at everything and if he plays next year it will be a total disaster, etc. Ouch.

 

[anomander]

I'm not really worried about Joseph. I think he will be fine next year.

 

[dan7800]

Joseph reminds me of Josh Wright. Both are fast, but neither could do much.

I can see G playing the point next year, and if we get Battle I think that is our PG.