Play Syracuse basketball G.M. Would you rather have

[AlpharettaCuse]

He went 3-14 against Gonzaga. Like MTSU he was not good. Great vs UNC, Uva, and Dayton though. So yeah I'd say he was inconsistent.

So he had 1 bad game and one not so great game out of 5? Who plays great every night, especially freshmen? 13-14 points per game over the course of a 35 game season is not only consistent, it's far better than "average".

 

[AlpharettaCuse]

I am a huge MR fan but I disagree that he put us on his back and dragged us to a FF. that narrative picked up steam as it was expedient for his draft stock but is a big misrepresentation of what happened.

Lydon had the best NCAA tournament of any freshman ever blocking shots (as I recall), Roberson was in beast mode the whole time, we had 2 fifth year seniors in the backcourt, and yes Mali played great to spur our comeback against UVA. It was a textbook team effort. Nobody's back got ridden.

Agree. We had a lot of players step up. Mali was our best player in the Dayton and Virginia games but many players stepped up.

 

[019Jules]

I would love to have seen what Mali could have done in his second year. But we have to replace three of our top four shooters from last year. We lose Malachi, Trevor and G. For that reason, option B is my preference as GM, since it allows us to put more shooters on the floor. Gillon replaces Mali's 3-point percentage and brings a dynamic floor game. White would replace G's shooting and even a bit more. Malachi's return would be great, but it would only give SU one shooter to go along with Lydon. Gillon, Lydon and White in the same lineup would really be interesting.

 

[HOFCeluck]

So he had 1 bad game and one not so great game out of 5? Who plays great every night, especially freshmen? 13-14 points per game over the course of a 35 game season is not only consistent, it's far better than "average".

First I don't think he's "average."

Second I don't think it's an indictment of the kid to say he performed inconsistently. After all, he's a freshman. He had some great games. He has some not-so-great games.

The whole reason i said anything to begin with was because I disagree with this idea that Mali or anyone else carried us to the final four. And it looks like you agree with that.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The top four guys all had their moments. Nobody is talking about Mal carrying anything if Cooney, G, and Lydon don't make big plays down the stretch against Gonzaga. For some reason that game gets overlooked in the entire run and was just as impressive of a win IMO.

 

[Day2]

Not only did Richardson have the sack to take big shots in clutch moments, he had the skill to make them. That will be hard to replace.

Having said that, two starting-caliber players are better than one.

 

[721Comstock]

Not only did Richardson have the sack to take big shots in clutch moments, he had the skill to make them. That will be hard to replace.

Having said that, two starting-caliber players are better than one.

Except - we don't NEED two starting caliber players.

C - DC & Chewie will be JB's 2-headed monster in the middle.

F - Tyler R
F - Tyler L
G - Battle

G - ?

C minutes will virtually all go to DC & Chewie, barring injury or foul trouble.

The 2 Tylers and Battle are all going to play 30+ minutes each.

So, it comes down to who gets the other G minutes.

Me - I'd prefer an NBA 1st round talent who can drive, get his own shot, make plays for others, and who knows the system and the D.

 

[CaptainJ]

Can I pick Conrad McRae, Dave Siock and Bernie Fine instead?

 

[Jack Hall]

Except - we don't NEED two starting caliber players.

C - DC & Chewie will be JB's 2-headed monster in the middle.

F - Tyler R
F - Tyler L
G - Battle

G - ?

C minutes will virtually all go to DC & Chewie, barring injury or foul trouble.

The 2 Tylers and Battle are all going to play 30+ minutes each.

So, it comes down to who gets the other G minutes.

Me - I'd prefer an NBA 1st round talent who can drive, get his own shot, make plays for others, and who knows the system and the D.

I see a lot of people assume White can only play guard, yet he averaged ~6 rebounds per game lasted yr. lets put it another way: if it was down to Roberson and White for a starting forward spot, who gets that spot? Imo its a close call...

And also worth noting, that nba first rounder that White might be trying to replace at SU,,, , he played the backside of the zone last year...

Not to mention between White and TR , only one of those guys worked out for nba teams during the draft eval process...

 

[Day2]

Except - we don't NEED two starting caliber players.

C - DC & Chewie will be JB's 2-headed monster in the middle.

F - Tyler R
F - Tyler L
G - Battle

G - ?

C minutes will virtually all go to DC & Chewie, barring injury or foul trouble.

The 2 Tylers and Battle are all going to play 30+ minutes each.

So, it comes down to who gets the other G minutes.

Me - I'd prefer an NBA 1st round talent who can drive, get his own shot, make plays for others, and who knows the system and the D.

Well, if you want to look at it that way, four guards are better than three.

 

[721Comstock]

Well, if you want to look at it that way, four guards are better than three.

Ask Frosh Dion or MCW about how being that 4th guard is , since JB only ever plays 3.

In hoops, especially in JB's rotation, quality ALWAYS trumps quantity, since he doesn't play quantity - EVER.

All that said, since Mali isn't an option (at least not in this timeline) -
I truly hope we find out how Gillon & White do for us in Orange.

 

[dasher]

Interesting that both White and Gillon shot better from both the free throw line and the 3 pt line than Mali did. Of course more to the game than just free throws and 3 pointers but these two guys aren't tomato cans.

 

[AlpharettaCuse]

First I don't think he's "average."

Second I don't think it's an indictment of the kid to say he performed inconsistently. After all, he's a freshman. He had some great games. He has some not-so-great games.

The whole reason i said anything to begin with was because I disagree with this idea that Mali or anyone else carried us to the final four. And it looks like you agree with that.

Oh...I thought you posted you could buy the "average" argument. He's obviously a much better than average player and proved it all season. I don't buy that he was all that inconsistent either. Mali played well since day 1, and didn't have that many clunkers along the way.

 

[Day2]

Ask Frosh Dion or MCW about how being that 4th guard is , since JB only ever plays 3.

In hoops, especially in JB's rotation, quality ALWAYS trumps quantity, since he doesn't play quantity - EVER.

All that said, since Mali isn't an option (at least not in this timeline) -
I truly hope we find out how Gillon & White do for us in Orange.

But he usually has a fourth guard. What happens if Richardson, Battle or Howard gets hurt in your timeline?

Between Battle, Gillon, Howard and White, I'm guessing Howard gets the short end of the stick. You agree that White and Gillon are better than Howard, don't you?

Anyway, White's a better shooter than Richardson, but Richardson's probably a better all-around player. Still, I would take a slight downgrade from Richardson plus Gillon every time.