Maliq Brown to Duke

[Cusefan0307]

Let me ask you this, if we were to start, and I am just talking here, a lineup of Reynolds at the 1 ( a combo, I know) JJ at the 2, Bell at the 3, Freeman at the 4 and Lampkin at the 5. You don't think that is an improvement over what we just had? I do.

That’s a bubble team at best unless Freeman is Melo on offense and Hakim on D. We aren’t stopping anyone with that perimeter trio and zero rim protection. And for the record I like Reynolds, but Bell and JJ are overrated by a lot of people here. They might combine for 40, but give up 50. They make Girard look like Aaron Craft.

 

[dasher]

That’s a bubble team at best unless Freeman is Melo on offense and Hakim on D. We aren’t stopping anyone with that perimeter trio and zero rim protection. And for the record I like Reynolds, but Bell and JJ are overrated by a lot of people here. They might combine for 40, but give up 50

That’s a bubble team at best unless Freeman is Melo on offense and Hakim on D. We aren’t stopping anyone with that perimeter trio and zero rim protection. And for the record I like Reynolds, but Bell and JJ are overrated by a lot of people here. They might combine for 40, but give up 50. They make Girard look like Aaron Craft.

First, no they don't. Girard was the guy we had to get rid of last year because of his defense. Until he played in the sweet 16 this year. I trust that Red knows what he wants. And more importantly, what the team needs.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Lampkin has never been a shot-blocker, so the odds of him becoming one at this point in his career are slim. Colorado was 346th in blocks percentage last season, so it's not like they had a weakside shot-blocker to pick up the slack, so it seems like it was intentional on Boyle's part.

An equitable minutes split between McLeod and Lampkin can work, but if McLeod gets hurt again (by no means a stretch) it'd be silly to expect Lampkin to play 35+ MPG at C, just as it was with Maliq.

 

[Scotch]

That’s a bubble team at best unless Freeman is Melo on offense and Hakim on D. We aren’t stopping anyone with that perimeter trio and zero rim protection. And for the record I like Reynolds, but Bell and JJ are overrated by a lot of people here. They might combine for 40, but give up 50. They make Girard look like Aaron Craft.

The problem is that Malik staying and trying to guard beasts down low doesn't solve those defensive issues either. He's a great wing and pick & roll defender but we know Donnie is getting minutes at that spot.

 

[Sherman20]

Let me ask you this, if we were to start, and I am just talking here, a lineup of Reynolds at the 1 ( a combo, I know) JJ at the 2, Bell at the 3, Freeman at the 4 and Lampkin at the 5. You don't think that is an improvement over what we just had? I do.

I’m much more bullish on JJ and Bell than other people are. Same with Westry if he’s healthy. If we get a top flight point guard, that will ease a lot of my concern. But we still really need to convince Brown to return.

 

[AZOrange]

Look everyone talking about how nice a combo of Freeman/Brown/Lampkin would be at the 4/5 all sharing minutes. I think every single person agrees with you there, all the fans and all the coaches. The only problem is that Brown doesn't agree with that vision and that is why he is leaving.

Well then something changed dramatically because that is exactly what his camp wanted…

 

[Cusefan0307]

First, no they don't. Girard was the guy we had to get rid of last year because of his defense. Until he played in the sweet 16 this year. I trust that Red knows what he wants. And more importantly, what the team needs.

Girard was better on defense this year for Clemson than either of those guys were for us. We aren’t going to agree here, but JJ and Bell were 2 of the worst 5 defenders in the ACC depending on what metrics you look at.

 

[dasher]

Well then something changed dramatically because that is exactly what his camp wanted…

As I said, people close to him don't appear to want this.

 

[Newhouser]

Let me ask you this, if we were to start, and I am just talking here, a lineup of Reynolds at the 1 ( a combo, I know) JJ at the 2, Bell at the 3, Freeman at the 4 and Lampkin at the 5. You don't think that is an improvement over what we just had? I do.

I think I do too. Now I don't think it's a massive upgrade but improved I can sign off on provided Freeman is legit and Bell and JJ improve.

 

[007]

still doesn't make him a legit 5 on a good team. Like I said, wish he stayed but he can't hold up at the 5. for small periods of time versus the right teams sure he can.

There are so many unknown variables and behind the scenes "action" that we are just not privy too. Let alone the mercurial thought process of the players.

One of the seemingly obvious holes in the roster is a legitimate interior scoring threat and a guy that can defend the interior against bigs with a post up game. Maliq, for all his skills, is not either of those things. The ideal solution for the roster is to have one big who can do both of those things. Whether trying to fill that void cost Red Maliq, or he didn't agree with Red's vision, or if Maliq just wanted to keep all options open by entering the portal (and maybe coming back depending on how things shake out?) - who knows.

Maliq is a versatile and elite perimeter defender because he is so disruptive. I'm not sure that I have ever seen an on ball defender, regardless of position, tip, poke away, or get his hands on the ball like he can. The coaches in the ACC obviously knew how disruptive that unique skill is. That's why he made the all defensive team. It was not because of his ability to defend the post - even though he was decent at it given his lack of size.

Losing Maliq is a big loss for lots of reasons. One that I don't think the staff was planning on.

 

[dasher]

Girard was better on defense this year for Clemson than either of those guys were for us. We aren’t going to agree here, but JJ and Bell were 2 of the worst 5 defenders in the ACC depending on what metrics you look at.

I'm not going to defend their defense this year. But last year, all the talk here was about Girard. How bad he was. How he couldn't play man to man and had to go. Well, he went. And played and they went deep in the NCAA tournament. Some guys getdefens eright away. Others take time. And some never get there. I think Bell and JJ can be a lot better. Time will tell.

 

[jordoo]

I don't believe that to be the case. I also don't think the people closest to him want him to leave. If it was for a bigger bag, I think they wouldn't be against it. I think it has to do with his role. He knows Freeman is coming. And he knows they also want a portal center. It might just be about math.

And if that is the case you still have to get a portal center. The best thing you can do is continue to try and convince Brown and his camp that it will be better for him to play 4/5 for 25-30 a game. The team will be better, more exposure and PT at the 4. Leave the 13th spot open and also have a Mid-Major established player in the works to back up the forward spots.

 

[phil77]

Well then something changed dramatically because that is exactly what his camp wanted…

Maybe who was starting at the 4/5 is what changed. Who knows. Unless Red said we are planning on bringing in 2 portal centers.

Maybe Brown got an opportunity in the portal that was too good to pass up on his end and there is nothing Red can do about it.

 

[Red2003]

Look everyone talking about how nice a combo of Freeman/Brown/Lampkin would be at the 4/5 all sharing minutes. I think every single person agrees with you there, all the fans and all the coaches. The only problem is that Brown doesn't agree with that vision and that is why he is leaving.

Well said. This is all that matters.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm not going to defend their defense this year. But last year, all the talk here was about Girard. How bad he was. How he couldn't play man to man and had to go. Well, he went. And played and they went deep in the NCAA tournament. Some guys getdefens eright away. Others take time. And some never get there. I think Bell and JJ can be a lot better. Time will tell.

Girard was bad at defense. The problem was JJ was a downgrade from that. Lampkin is a downgrade to Maliq. My complaint is we keep letting guys go because we think they aren’t good enough or we want someone else and the next guy is worse. Maybe I’ll be wrong here, but if I had to put money on it Maliq’s next team will be better than what Syracuse will be next year.

 

[jordoo]

Well then something changed dramatically because that is exactly what his camp wanted…

Freeman really blowing up? Perhaps a better quality center than anticipated? Perhaps he's now the one coming off the bench? Inner circle getting antsy.

2 of those reasons would seem to benefit the original plan.

 

[CousCuse]

Gerry was holding out for a larger NIL commitment from Siena. Would be a great opportunity to get 40 minutes a game at the 4 with no huge pressure on your game like he would get at a big program. And his BFF could start at the 3.

 

[dasher]

Girard was bad at defense. The problem was JJ was a downgrade from that. Lampkin is a downgrade to Maliq. My complaint is we keep letting guys go because we think they aren’t good enough or we want someone else and the next guy is worse. Maybe I’ll be wrong here, but if I had to put money on it Maliq’s next team will be better than what Syracuse will be next year.

I wouldn't put money on that. I think Va tech might be a place that Brown ends up at. And last I looked, they might not have 5 guys to start most games.

 

[Melancer46]

Lampkin is visiting today . So I think it might be too late to try to keep Brown if Lampkin doesn’t commit.

Maybe the staff thinks they can fix his issues he has. The lack of block shots and turnovers can be worked on. Maybe his style of play causes him to not round up the blocks. I think this all can be improved upon. If we see it the staff already knows too.

He might (good lord I hope) improve upon his 5 blocks from last season, but he simply can't jump. He looks out of shape. My guess is that will not change in Syracuse. At any rate, I don't think expecting him to suddenly become an adequate rim protector is a reasonable expectation. The turnovers can definitely be improved.

I can't say I know who the centers are that are feasible options for us, so maybe Lampkin is simply the best we can do. In a perfect world, Lampkin does not have the skillset that I would prioritize in a center. I think the rebounding, screen setting, and ability to be an offensive hub can all provide value to us. I definitely fear that his lack of shot blocking ability (and general lack of mobility) will be a terrible match with our current returning starters. Donnie should theoretically help and we'll see what happens at PG, but my current expectation is that our perimeter defense will struggle again next season and if that's the case, it'll probably be another year of teams just having layup lines.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Having a real 4. A real 5 A real 1. That would make us better.

A real 4 who hasn't played D1 basketball game, is skinny and is going to be banging against grown men, a real 5 who hasn't been signed yet, and a real 1 who hasn't been identified let alone signed yet.

Here are the the top 10 Syracuse players in WAR* the last two seasons on two teams that didn't make the bubble of the tourney:
1) Jesse Edwards (SR 2022-23) 5.1 - Transfer out.
2) Maliq Brown (SO 2023-24) 4.3 - Transfer out.
3) Judah Mintz (SO 2023-24) 3.5 - Pro/Return/Portal
4) Judah Mintz (FR 2022-23) 3.2 - Pro attempt, returned and did not markedly improve.
5) Joseph Girard (SR 2022-23) 2.3 - Transfer out.
6) Chris Bell (SO 2023-24) 2.2 - "Red loves him, he's going to be a key component"
7) Quadir Copeland (SO 2023-24) 2.2 - Transfer out.
8) Maliq Brown (FR 2022-23) 2.1 - Transfer out.
9) JJ Starling (SO 2023-24) 1.8 - 3rd in ACC in minutes per game., key component to 24-25.
10) Benny Williams (SO 2022-23) 1.3 - Retained, dismissed in Junior year.

Last season, the team needed a guard to potentially replace Judah, a more effective 2G than JG3 and a dynamic wing scorer. The staff pulled in a less effective 2G (1.8 WS versus 4.6WS), a G/wing who was injured all season (0.0 WS) and an ineffective center who ended up injured (0.8WS). For example, Clemson, to name a comparable ACC team (non-Duke/UNC division), lost two guys to graduation from their 22-23 team and no other starters/significant players (maybe Middlebrooks but he had only played about the same number of minutes as Cuffe). They added two transfers: JG3 (4.6 WS) and a bench piece in Jack Clark (1.7 WS).


* If anyone thinks these are good WAR numbers, only Jesse (5th) and Maliq (17th) were top-25 (!) in the ACC in that season. A 3 to 4 WS season is probably the bar for a starter on a tourney team.

 

[OmahaCuse]

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?

Forgot Westry who could be the best player and Cuffe who came on nicley, plus the 2 other transfers we will add,

 

[Fly Rodder]

The confusing thing is what changed from 3 weeks ago? He knew about Donnie and knew Red wanted a portal center. Was he mistaken about whether he would start?

In fact, I remember a post from someone in the know who suggested Freeman was OK coming off the bench.

ETA: here's the post I remembered.

 

[AlaskaSU]

His next team will probably be an ACC contender.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Forgot Westry who could be the best player and Cuffe who came on nicley, plus the 2 other transfers we will add,

re-read the post, "a kid who hasn’t played D1 basketball in two years"

Cuffe's production is replaceable with literally any other guard in D1.

 

[jsshap]

I

I must be crazy but I will take that bet. I will take Syracuse against Colgate . How much?

Cue the non response.