next years team is going to be sick

[kcsu]

I totally agree with all that. I just don't get why everyone is so hyped about this recruiting class as it relates to next year. This recruiting class could very well make us contenders year in/year out for all their time on the hill but next year, if no Bryant, who exactly in this class is making us scream Championship aside from a designated shooter in Malachi?

Now if you say we're a contender because of G, Cooney, McCullough and the assumption some players will step up (Joseph-Roberson) and Richardson can give us big time shooting and Diagne, a legit backup 4/5 behind a healthy Coleman then yes, I'd agree we can think of ourselves as possible contenders.

I base it on a few things. One we should be a very experianced mature team. I expect G and Trevor to be back and i expect Coleman to give us a solid 15 minutes a game if not more. I also expect McC to come back very strong as he is going to playing for the dollars with his one and done having been derailed. Diagne is a very physical player and will provide great back up. Malachi is a pure scorer in the vain of a bigger Dion. With BJ Rob and Kaleb all getting stronger and with the experiance they will have i see this as a team that is going to destroy most and play with anyone. Jb could go 8 or 9 deep if he wanted next year not that he will but he could. Sure the stars have to line up but if the above happen we are going to be a very tough out.

 

[RF2044]

Awesome. Thanks for that non-answer, answer.

UK brought in Towns, Ulis and co. this year.

Duke brought in Okafor and Winslow.

We have one or two guys that "maybe" will contribute next year, yet we talk like we're going to dominate next year because of this #5 recruiting class. All I'm asking is why do we think that?

Here's why I personally am excited: because college basketball is a backcourt driven game, and we'll have our top three wing players back in Joseph--Cooney--Gbinije. That's a great nucleus to build upon.

Roberson is gaining great game experience this year, and should be better next year.

We get back CMac.

Depth will improve as a function of this class.

We'll FINALLY have a second legit point guard in Howard [to say nothing of Gbinije].

Shooting could and should be better.

Coleman is a huge question mark, but I'm encouraged by reports of how well he's playing in practice against Rak, who is one of the top bigs in college basketball this year.

Diagne gives us better inside depth than Obokoh does this year.

I'm not saying that we will be a certain top 5. I'm very disappointed actually that we're wasting such a great year from Rak in an otherwise lackluster season. We'll have some proving to do inside next year, in Rak's absence. But if Coleman comes back or we land Bryant, I don't see how fans wouldn't be excited.

And even if those things don't happen--I STILL don't see how fans wouldn't be excited. G, Cooney, and Joseph is a nice nucleus to build around. I expect Joseph to make the sophomore leap, and to quiet many of the disbelievers with his play next year.

Top 5? Who knows. But I am fairly certain that we can GET there no matter where we're ranked to start. Hopefully Bryant comes. But if he doesn't, we can still be that good if a thing or two falls into place.

I qualify all of the above by acknowledging that it is my opinion, but I'm pretty confident about the majority of those things coming to pass.

 

[NKR1978]

I totally agree with all that. I just don't get why everyone is so hyped about this recruiting class as it relates to next year. This recruiting class could very well make us contenders year in/year out for all their time on the hill but next year, if no Bryant, who exactly in this class is making us scream Championship aside from a designated shooter in Malachi?

Now if you say we're a contender because of G, Cooney, McCullough and the assumption some players will step up (Joseph-Roberson) and Richardson can give us big time shooting and Diagne, a legit backup 4/5 behind a healthy Coleman then yes, I'd agree we can think of ourselves as possible contenders.

Personally I think Richardson contributes immediately. I expect Kaleb to improve exponentially. I think the light will go on for Roberson and will be a 12-15 a game scorer and a monster on the board. Chris and Coleman come back strong. G blossoms into a first team ACC player. Cooney's role is dialed down as defenses are forced to cover McC, G and Richardson and he shines playing an incredibly important role.

That's why I'm excited for next year.

 

[two3zone]

Here's why I personally am excited: because college basketball is a backcourt driven game, and we'll have our top three wing players back in Joseph--Cooney--Gbinije. That's a great nucleus to build upon. Roberson is gaining great game experience this year, and should be better next year. We get back CMac. Depth will improve as a function of this class. We'll FINALLY have a second legit point guard in Howard [to say nothing of Gbinije]. Shooting could and should be better. Coleman is a huge question mark, but I'm encouraged by reports of how well he's playing in practice against Rak, who is one of the top bigs in college basketball this year. Diagne gives us better inside depth than Obokoh does this year. I'm not saying that we will be a certain top 5. I'm very disappointed actually that we're wasting such a great year from Rak in an otherwise lackluster season. We'll have some proving to do inside next year, in Rak's absence. But if Coleman comes back or we land Bryant, I don't see how fans wouldn't be excited. And even if those things don't happen--I STILL don't see how fans wouldn't be excited. G, Cooney, and Joseph is a nice nucleus to build around. I expect Joseph to make the sophomore leap, and to quiet many of the disbelievers with his play next year. Top 5? Who knows. But I am fairly certain that we can GET there no matter where we're ranked to start. Hopefully Bryant comes. But if he doesn't, we can still be that good if a thing or two falls into place. I qualify all of the above by acknowledging that it is my opinion, but I'm pretty confident about the majority of those things coming to pass.

You actually think Howard is going to play?

 

[RF2044]

You actually think Howard is going to play?

Not necessarily. But I do think that we'll finally have depth there, and not emergency depth [i.e., Buss playing there, Cooney being the only backcourt reserve two seasons ago, etc.].

And THAT's the point you took away from that entire post? Oh Lord

 

[anomander]

I think next years team could be good, but in no way am I overly enthused about it. There were a bunch of recent teams who I had far higher hopes for. I'd say we start out preseason in the 20-25 range.

 

[alphaorange]

18 and 9 is hard to replace. Especially considering all the double teams he drew.

 

[Ghost]

I think CMac is going to dominate the **** out of everyone next year. Could be wrong, but we'll see.

That's enough to get me excited. Throw around the other pieces and I'm good to go.

Still not sure we'll have a PG, but we'll have a **** ton of guards with experience so we should be able to get by.

Plus, after this year, I'd be excited by just about anything.

 

[supp]

JB is on record as saying this class is special might be his best and that is coming from him. Throw in Coleman, Chris and the improvment of the other players and this team has the makings of being really good.

Boeheim says a lot of things. He said a lot of things about this year's class. I've learned not to take those things terribly seriously. He's not one for considered thought in the short-form interview. Just take a peek at the thread on the Duke presser for an example of this.

 

[pearl31]

I'd say we start out preseason in the 20-25 range.

Which is an ideal place to start, imo - on the radar but under the radar

 

[Conrad13]

Personally I think Richardson contributes immediately. I expect Kaleb to improve exponentially. I think the light will go on for Roberson and will be a 12-15 a game scorer and a monster on the board. Chris and Coleman come back strong. G blossoms into a first team ACC player. Cooney's role is dialed down as defenses are forced to cover McC, G and Richardson and he shines playing an incredibly important role.

That's why I'm excited for next year.

I love your spirit. I'm usually on the overoptimistic half of Syracuse fans, but I just feel like we'll need to have lots of things improve in order for next year's team to be as dominant as some people expect. We're clearly in good shape from the 2-4 positions, but I still worry about point guard and center. Our options at center will either be a freshman or a guy coming off of a serious injury. Our options at PG are Joseph, a freshman combo guard (Howard) or our starting small forward (Gbenije). Hopefully we're due some good karma after all of the bad luck we've had this year and those players develop the way you predict.

 

[Madbiker]

If Malachi stepped on campus tomorrow he'd be our best 3pt shooter (although G has been on fire lately). He's a bonafide, legit scorer; probably the most natural scorer we've had as a freshman in a while. Diagne is advanced for his age as far as his post skills are concerned. He should be able to come in and contribute right away offensively. I'm not too familar with Howard or Lyndon though.

You're right, it's not 4 5-star kids. However, we have 2 kids coming in that instantly fill needs; a shooter/scorer and a low post threat. Richardson's presence alone will take some attention off Cooney. Combine that with the assumed improvements of Roberson, KJ, BJ and Ron; and hopefully the return of McCullough and Coleman.

Richardson plays the same position as Cooney, SG. He is not a F. Given JB's love affair with Cooney, I don't see how Richardson gets major minutes next year despite being a great shooter.

 

[Jack Hall]

Richardson plays the same position as Cooney, SG. He is not a F. Given JB's love affair with Cooney, I don't see how Richardson gets major minutes next year despite being a great shooter.

That is true but G can play point forward. Which means on O , G is the 1, TC is the 2, MR is the 3. MR has the length to play the 3 on O but not a good enough rebounder imo to play 3 on D. On D, TC and MR are at the 1/2, it doesnt matter which is which in a zone, and G is a 3 in the zone. And hey if not having a true pg is a problem you bring in Kaleb off the bench and hope he makes the sophomore leap.

 

[EastCoast2]

If Malachi stepped on campus tomorrow he'd be our best 3pt shooter (although G has been on fire lately). He's a bonafide, legit scorer; probably the most natural scorer we've had as a freshman in a while.

Not disagreeing with you jdubs as I agree with you 99% of the time, I'm just being cautious with Richardson. We all know his reputation as a dead-eye shooter, but Cooney came in as one of, if not the best, shooter in the country out of HS. Shooting in a HS gym with 500 fans is a lot different than in the Dome or the Oakland Zoo or Cameron or on Big Monday. But yes, I expect him to have a higher 3P% than G and Cooney next season.

 

[SWC75]

So let's just go with the worst case scenario - Coleman never plays again, and Cooney and Gbinije take their degrees and get paid to play. To counter that, McCullough comes back healthy and we get Bryant with the open scholarships. Just work with me here.

Potential starting lineup is then:

PG - Joseph
2G - Malachi
F - Roberson
F - McCullough
C - Bryant

With a bench of:

Diagne
Buss
BJ
Chino
Lydon
Howard

That's a team that could make some noise. It does depend on McCullough coming back and having one of Bryant or Coleman. Plus, we probably do get Cooney and Gbinije back. Next year's team should be pretty good.

We can make some noise every year. We could still make some noise this year with a couple of upsets. I think people want us to get back to the national championship contending level. I don't think that will happen immediately. My gut feeling is that that's a couple of years away, at best.

 

[hoopsupstate]

If you look at the state of college basketball, how can SU not be one of the better teams next year. Duke is ranked fourth and we were with them until the last minute of the game and we don't have one of our stronger teams this year. You take what we have coming back (including Coleman and CM) along with the incoming Frosh and we will be much better next year. Roberson and KJ will continue to get better and G could be pretty scary next year. We will have plenty of big bodies to throw out there and several wing players. If we aren't top 10 next year then the rest of the country must be pretty good. Based on what I currently see with top 10 teams, SU will more than hold their own against anyone next year. SU has answers and options, which is something we don't have this year.

 

[netman99]

I love your spirit. I'm usually on the overoptimistic half of Syracuse fans, but I just feel like we'll need to have lots of things improve in order for next year's team to be as dominant as some people expect. We're clearly in good shape from the 2-4 positions, but I still worry about point guard and center. Our options at center will either be a freshman or a guy coming off of a serious injury. Our options at PG are Joseph, a freshman combo guard (Howard) or our starting small forward (Gbenije). Hopefully we're due some good karma after all of the bad luck we've had this year and those players develop the way you predict.

I am not to worried about center. I think Coleman will be better than what most expect. I think we also get Bryant and I think Diagne can contribute if needed. My big concern is the point, I am hoping Richardson can contribute immediately at the two so we can have a starting back court of Cooney and Mike. I have zero faith in Joseph helping at the point next year. He has not improved over the season. It will be interesting to see who leaves but there will be at least one player leaving early. Possibly more!!!

 

[Jack Hall]

If you look at the state of college basketball, how can SU not be one of the better teams next year. Duke is ranked fourth and we were with them until the last minute of the game and we don't have one of our stronger teams this year. You take what we have coming back (including Coleman and CM) along with the incoming Frosh and we will be much better next year. Roberson and KJ will continue to get better and G could be pretty scary next year. We will have plenty of big bodies to throw out there and several wing players. If we aren't top 10 next year then the rest of the country must be pretty good. Based on what I currently see with top 10 teams, SU will more than hold their own against anyone next year. SU has answers and options, which is something we don't have this year.

Lets say Duk loses Cook, Winslow, Ok, and Jones and we only lose Rak, now that would be sweet. If that happens i would be very surprised if we are not better than duk next yr.

 

[NKR1978]

I love your spirit. I'm usually on the overoptimistic half of Syracuse fans, but I just feel like we'll need to have lots of things improve in order for next year's team to be as dominant as some people expect. We're clearly in good shape from the 2-4 positions, but I still worry about point guard and center. Our options at center will either be a freshman or a guy coming off of a serious injury. Our options at PG are Joseph, a freshman combo guard (Howard) or our starting small forward (Gbenije). Hopefully we're due some good karma after all of the bad luck we've had this year and those players develop the way you predict.

I don't think we'll be dominant. I think legitimate top 20 is realistic and then building to 2017.

 

[Madbiker]

A lot will depend on what happens at the center position next year. We lose Rak which is a lot. Nobody knows if DC2 will be able to play or if he does how many minutes and at what skill level after missing basically 2 consecutive years. It's not certain if Bryant signs on to SU. If those 2 things turn out to go against us that leaves only Chino ( seemingly not a high D1 level player) and a freshman Diagne. Almost all freshman centers struggle in learning the zone. While this is a nice recruiting class, only Richardson is rated as a top 25 instant impact type. The others likely need a year to develop. While there's potential, it seems far from certain that next year is a lock top 15-20 type year.

 

[reedny]

Richardson plays the same position as Cooney, SG. He is not a F. Given JB's love affair with Cooney, I don't see how Richardson gets major minutes next year despite being a great shooter.

But ... Cooney can move over and play point ..he can handle that. Or, if G's playing the 3 he can bring the ball up. Think about that lineup for a second ... does it really matter who brings the ball up when you have TC, MR and G on the perimeter? That's a pretty nice group ... to orbit around Cmac and another big (DC2/TB).

 

[TBCuse11]

A lot will depend on what happens at the center position next year. We lose Rak which is a lot. Nobody knows if DC2 will be able to play or if he does how many minutes and at what skill level after missing basically 2 consecutive years. It's not certain if Bryant signs on to SU. If those 2 things turn out to go against us that leaves only Chino ( seemingly not a high D1 level player) and a freshman Diagne. Almost all freshman centers struggle in learning the zone. While this is a nice recruiting class, only Richardson is rated as a top 25 instant impact type. The others likely need a year to develop. While there's potential, it seems far from certain that next year is a lock top 15-20 type year.

Chris M. will be our starting center if we dont get Bryant. 100%.

 

[jdubs30]

I think Richardson and Diagne will be ready to help right away. Lydon's game could be I think, but physically I'm not sure. Howard I'm not expecting anything from right away, but who's to say he can't help?

We've got major depth issues right now. Think of how crappy our practices must be. If nothing else, next season we'll be able to compete against ourselves between games better thanks to the incoming recruits. That should impact game day.

Howard seems

So let's just go with the worst case scenario - Coleman never plays again, and Cooney and Gbinije take their degrees and get paid to play. To counter that, McCullough comes back healthy and we get Bryant with the open scholarships. Just work with me here.

Potential starting lineup is then:

PG - Joseph
2G - Malachi
F - Roberson
F - McCullough
C - Bryant

With a bench of:

Diagne
Buss
BJ
Chino
Lydon
Howard

That's a team that could make some noise. It does depend on McCullough coming back and having one of Bryant or Coleman. Plus, we probably do get Cooney and Gbinije back. Next year's team should be pretty good.

Do people actually think Cooney would leave to get paid somewhere? Way more likely that McCullough leaves than Cooney.

 

[tbonezone]

pick six. they're only one's who'll see real minutes.

 

[two3zone]

I just don't see next year being much better. We lose Rak which is a massive loss.

Bryant - Not sure we even get him.

Coleman - glad to see him returning, I just don't expect much out of him. He wasn't really good when when he was playing and being almost 2 years from live action along with 3 knee injuries and 2 surgeries I'm not optimistic he can give us 10-15 minutes a game next year. I can't count on much from him.

Diagne - With McCullough and Roberson manning the 4 his shot is going to be able to play the 5. When was the last time a freshman came in and gave us solid minutes from the 5? I don't know but it's been a long t long time.

McCullough - if he comes back I'll be happy. Most upside on next years roster, hope he ends up what we think he's capable of, that will take a lot of heat off everybody else.

Roberson - If he can be a consistent 8 points and 8 rebound guy I'd be happy, not sure he even sees the minutes that he's been playing next year though.

Cooney & G - Great players, expect pretty much the same as we're seeing now.

Richardson - I don't doubt he's the jewel of this class but where do the minutes come from? Cooney and G are going to be playing 30+, you're high if you think otherwise. Will probably get 15-20 minutes a game before ACC play but I'd say he sees about 10 a game when conference season starts.

Joseph - I see something in him, I do like how he pushes the ball, I think his mid range jumper is there and can be deadly with the right squad around him. I'm sure G will still see the backup point minutes which will allow Richardson to get his minutes.

Buss and BJ - I honestly can say I see a ton of DNPs from them. Buss has been recruited over and BJ has far too many guys ahead of them. I'd be shocked to see then average 5-7 minutes a game next season. I hate to see guys leave, but I hate even worse to see guys buried on the bench with little chance to get off, might be best for them to transfer if they want pt in the future.

Howard and Lydon - both will have solid futures with is, hope Lydon takes a shirt with the guys in front of him, Howard could get an opportunity next year if Joseph doesn't improve, but Howard isn't a point guard yet and will probably have the same problems Joseph has had this year. I don't think they're much of factors next year.

All this said, nothing about any of this screams top 15 to me, if it all comes together sure, but even with Bryant I don't think we sniff top 5 all year.