Maliq Brown to Duke

[Scotch]

What’s the roster? Bell, JJ, Freeman, mintz or a Mintz clone, and Lampkin and bench with a kid who hasn’t played D1 basketball in two years, a 7’4” center who doesn’t know how to play basketball, a redshirt frosh center who couldn’t get time on a team with zero centers, and a freshman shooter.

Roster is more or less set. If Red can’t convince a guy he’s had on his team for two years to stick around in a time share, you think he’s going to assemble some all star squad 10 deep?

Roster is set? That’s insane. Everyone in the know is saying we are adding a PG and big man at minimum. Let’s see who those dudes are before we get out the pitchforks.

Red is turning over a very mediocre roster. I love Maliq too and wish he was staying but I’m not going to judge until the process plays out.

 

[Melancer46]

This is a wild thread with some serious H0T Takes. The folks who rationalize these missteps by taking shots at the guy who held the team together, just lol. Sad fans stuck in a past that’s long gone.

Without Maliq they don’t win 10 games. Fact. Who was playing? Laughable. The best player on the team is getting bounced for a freshman and Red is building a team around two of the worst defenders in the ACC and who are also limited offensively and adding a third.

Not a good look at all. If Red can’t keep his best pieces and build around them I don’t know what he’s doing then. I’ve had doubts this year, but this offseason is going the opposite direction.

I'm definitely skeptical of the team, but I don't think Red is trying to build the team around JJ and Bell. They just happen to be the two starters that are staying. I'm sure the hope (maybe not the end result) is that they'll be the two worst starters on the team, or at best #3 and #4. The idea is to build around Freeman and the transfers. That of course requires actually landing good transfers though.

And yes, on a team where we had roughly 6 playable players, losing a starter would probably have cost us a lot of games. Particularly with Brown considering our starting PF was a 6'6" guard that shot 35% from the field and our backup C generally played 0 minutes. That hopefully will not be the case this season.

Maliq is a good player. He might be better than Donnie next season. We would still pick the potential of Donnie over Maliq 100 times out of 100. And once you pick Donnie over Maliq, Maliq is likely headed out the door. You're going to lose good players when they get recruited over in today's age outside of maybe a handful of schools.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’m actually surprised by the over-the-top reactions of people in this thread.

There is no stench around this program. There just isn’t. The one-and-done world of going to the NBA is now for everything.

NC State has a final four team with a starting five entirely made up of transfers.

Virginia Tech lost its top seven players to the portal. (I wouldn’t be shocked to see Brown end up there.)

Assuming we lose JUDAH as well, we will lose one guy that was a projected starter this time last year, a valuable sixth man in Q and a lunchpail dude that just knows the game in Maliq. Losses for sure.

But let’s see what we bring in before we get all catastrophic. Jeesh.

I don’t care about Judah or Copeland. They are replaceable. The guy rumored to be replacing Maliq is not as good.

What N.C. State didn’t a great story, but it’s completely unsustainable. They are lucky they made the tournament. They hit a banked in 3 after a 90% free throw shooter missed 2 free throws. It’s not something we should model ourselves after.

UConn, Purdue, and Bama kept their best players from last year. So did most of the teams in the elite 8. You still need to keep your best players. Turning over everyone is not sustainable.

And Brown is not going to VT. They have no NIL. He’s going to end up in a good spot and it’s going to piss a bunch of fans off.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Why would you ask for trades out of perfect situations?

OP said that nobody stays on one team anymore, I simply said it wasn't 100% true. Joker will retire before he goes to another NBA team.

 

[CU44SE]

Am I Blind here or is my reading comprehension not great. All these posters talking about these H0T Takes with brown. The only thing people have said is he can’t defend the interior paint against centers. How is that a hot take?

We need a dedicated 5. The problem becomes, with Freeman coming in and Browns lack of ball handling or shooting, where does his minutes come? I think Brown is a winning basketball player. Which many of the posts have recognized. I think you find minutes for him. He needs to sit in a gym all offseason and shoot 1000’s of threes.

The problem is, in this day and age. If a kid is finding it hard to see where he fits in, he will just transfer. He may not want to play the 5 as a backup. He may only want to play the 4. So now you need to play him or Freeman at the 3 to get them more minutes. Neither of them are going to be happy if they are splitting time right down the middle. So Bell moves down to the 2? If the player isn’t happy, he moves on.

 

[AZOrange]

So Brown for Lampkin? Ugh

 

[MadNY3]

I don’t care about Judah or Copeland. They are replaceable. The guy rumored to be replacing Maliq is not as good.

What N.C. State didn’t a great story, but it’s completely unsustainable. They are lucky they made the tournament. They hit a banked in. 3 after a 90% free throw shooter missed 2 free throws. It’s not something we should model ourselves after.

UConn, Purdue, and Bama kept their best players from last year. So did most of the teams in the elite 8. You still need to keep your best players. Turning over everyone is not sustainable.

And Brown is not going to VT. They have no NIL. He’s going to end up in a good spot and it’s going to piss a bunch of fans off.

Very few teams keep their best players. And probably fewer when you have a first-year coach going into his second.

Alabama lost four transfers and something like two or three of their top six scorers transferred in.

Ain’t too many UCONNs and Purdues and both had to be built.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Very few teams keep their best players. And probably fewer when you have a first-year coach going into his second.

Alabama lost four transfers and something like two or three of their top six scorers transferred in.

Ain’t too many UCONNs and Purdues and both had to be built.

Pringle, Griffin and Sears weren’t on Bama last year?

Clemson didn’t have Hall, Schieffelin, and Hunter last year?

I won’t get into UNC.

Guys transfer sure. They aren’t losing their best players.

Monumental failure.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Roster is set? That’s insane. Everyone in the know is saying we are adding a PG and big man at minimum.

So by replacing the two best players on the team with two better players?

It's about the replacement's production over who they're replacing. Maliq, despite being undersized, was one of the best defensive and efficient centers in the ACC. Mintz was not, but he was one of the best scorers in the ACC and 2nd team All-ACC. So by keeping the two least productive starters, Red needs to hit huge homeruns in PG and C to compensate for the lack of defense and inefficient basketball at the other positions.

This is an uphill climb regardless of who he brings in if he wants to continue with two guys who did not have good seasons.

I'm definitely skeptical of the team, but I don't think Red is trying to build the team around JJ and Bell.

The top three on the team in FGA this season were Judah, JJ, and Bell. Judah is Schrödinger's cat right now regarding whether he comes back or leaves. If they're staying, that ain't changing.

 

[Fly Rodder]

The best teams and coaches keep their best players and replace the ones who can't or won't execute the coach's game plan. If Red can't do that, then I don't know why he's making a few mill a year.

Vlad Goldin is in the portal and that guy could make bank in the NIL market transferring to any team. He's not even entertaining it because he's following his coach to a new school.

 

[kcsu]

This is a wild thread with some serious H0T Takes. The folks who rationalize these missteps by taking shots at the guy who held the team together, just lol. Sad fans stuck in a past that’s long gone.

Without Maliq they don’t win 10 games. Fact. Who was playing? Laughable. The best player on the team is getting bounced for a freshman and Red is building a team around two of the worst defenders in the ACC and who are also limited offensively and adding a third.

Not a good look at all. If Red can’t keep his best pieces and build around them I don’t know what he’s doing then. I’ve had doubts this year, but this offseason is going the opposite direction.

No, it's not. If you know bball it's a solid take. great role player very limited on the O side

 

[Cusefan0307]

No, it's not. If you know bball it's a solid take. great role player very limited on the O side

You’re the same guy who wants Judah back smh.

 

[721Comstock]

You could sell Donnie on coming off the bench, if we had a terrific 5, and we gave him some time at the 3. That's how this would have worked. Quality 5, Maliq only has to play 10 minutes or so at C. Donnie plays some 3, 4 and 5. MacLeod would have been the shot blocker. That rotation would work.

If Red couldn't get a real 5 and convince the others, then I don't think we're going to get even better guys to replace them. That's not how it worked out last summer, if you remember. The guys we got were generally worse than what they replaced.

Here’s how in envision the convo between Red & Malik -

Red: How about we have you start at the 5, play there for about 5 mins each half, and then the other ~20 minutes at your actual position?

Malik:

If I’m Malik (and/or his handlers) I’m looking for a solid, veteran, winning team that has a 5, and just needs a starting 4 to fill out the roster.

And that ain’t Cuse.

We have - maybe - 2 starters returning in JJ & Bell.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

No, it's not. If you know bball it's a solid take. great role player very limited on the O side

yep and if this is "losing one of your best players" guess what? You aren't very good to start with anyway. Would have loved to keep him and he's a great role player as you said but IMO but the biggest issue with Syracuse right now is the lack of top end talent and a true post presence that aren't projects.

 

[brian williams]

Have we ever had someone like him?

Like his jersey number!

 

[DPCuse]

It might be as simple as, geez, I loved it at Cuse with my guys. But now a bunch are leaving. Not sure what the roster and staff will look like next year. I see Girard left and it worked out ok for him. Perhaps I should at least sniff around to see if there is a better situation for me. Can you blame any kid for entering their name in the portal these days? It's time to get used to at least 3-4 new guys a year. This is the new norm.

 

[Sbucketball]

I’ll let the process play out, but my concern is we’re not using the right formula, which is to replace your worst players with good-great players, whereas the last few years including this year we seem to replace our best players.

 

[jsshap]

OP said that nobody stays on one team anymore, I simply said it wasn't 100% true. Joker will retire before he goes to another NBA team.

Do you see any flaws in that comparison?

 

[miamicuse]

Winning breeds chemistry, losing everybody blames everyone else and everyone runs out.

 

[jdubs30]

I’ll let the process play out, but my concern is we’re not using the right formula, which is to replace your worst players with good-great players, whereas the last few years including this year we seem to replace our best players.

The combination of JB retiring/NIL/Red year1/GMac leaving is a whole lot of change for this program in just 4 years. It’s no surprise some of our best guys went to more stable situations (Jesse thoughy Huggins would be there).

 

[upperdeck]

The question is that Brown, while playing well, also doesn't have much of a 4 game on offense either. He plays solid D and moves the ball on offense. He doesn't block shots, he doesn't rebound at a high level, he isn't very physical, and he has decent form on his shot, but rarely shot outside 3 ft from anyplace other than the top of the key when uncovered.

On a better team he might play less minutes, on a worse team he isn't going to lead you in scoring or rebounding. He is a nice piece to a puzzle.

 

[AZOrange]

Do you see any flaws in that comparison?

Yeah the Joker died in Batman.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

Do you see any flaws in that comparison?

he mentioned Kobe as being the last of the NBA players that will stay with one team, so no I don't see any flaw in the comparison and for that matter, If you think the Joker is going to wake up in 2 years and demand a trade to LA or Miami, I think you are straight up crazy or you don't follow the NBA much. he's not built like that. Did Dirk ever request a trade out of Dallas? did Cuban ever put him on the market or test the waters

There aren't many left but there are a few

 

[billsin01]

Team hasn’t been ranked during conference play in 10 years. A decade! A 20 win season, woo hoo. A) teams are playing 3-5 more games per season than in the past B) This year that 20 includes a bad D2 team. Teams play 35 games and schedule cupcakes. SU is a plucky mid major who got a couple wins in a single elimination post season tourney that they backed into. A program that the rest of country doesn’t realize still exists.

Haha. I hear you. Comical to me would be completely incompetent. I think what we’ve been is largely below what our expectations are. I also don’t think leaving the big east helped basketball at all either. But whatever, we need to improve and sadly I’m starting to wonder if that’s realistic this season. Was hoping a JJ/Q/Brown core would be a decent starting point. Now I guess we’re close to starting from scratch.

 

[Melancer46]

So by replacing the two best players on the team with two better players?

It's about the replacement's production over who they're replacing. Maliq, despite being undersized, was one of the best defensive and efficient centers in the ACC. Mintz was not, but he was one of the best scorers in the ACC and 2nd team All-ACC. So by keeping the two least productive starters, Red needs to hit huge homeruns in PG and C to compensate for the lack of defense and inefficient basketball at the other positions.

This is an uphill climb regardless of who he brings in if he wants to continue with two guys who did not have good seasons.

The top three on the team in FGA this season were Judah, JJ, and Bell. Judah is Schrödinger's cat right now regarding whether he comes back or leaves. If they're staying, that ain't changing.

If that's true, we'll probably be dead in the water with or without Maliq, just like we were this past season. Have to hope the incoming players push JJ and Bell down the pecking order.

I totally understand the idea that we can't keep losing talented players. I was the one making this argument several weeks ago. Completely agree with that premise. We have to eventually get out of this cycle of merely trying to replace our most talented players each offseason while our talent level isn't very high to begin with. Losing Brown will no doubt hurt, but again, in today's landscape, I think the writing was kind of on the wall once we had Freeman coming in to take the PF spot and saw how Maliq struggled to handle centers. If Maliq were literally any other position, we could offer him the role he deserves. He happens to play the one position where we cannot and other schools will.

Edit: My relatively hot take: I think Maliq is a good defensive PF. I don't think he's a good defensive C, particularly given the weaknesses of our other defensive players. Not long enough or athletic enough to block shots at the rim as the help defender, too short to contest centers' shots, and too weak to hold his ground. Of our 7 players that played significant minutes this season (including Benny in the 7), Maliq's on/off split in terms of defensive rating was 6th out of 7, probably in large part due to the fact that he was being played out of position.

The only person behind him was JJ Starling, who is miles behind him lol. It's honestly impressive that given how few players we used this season, JJ's on/off splits could possibly be as far below everyone else's as they are.