Radio reporting rumors of Xmas leaving

[JeremyCuse]

If its true he's leaving, which I got the impression it was from his twitter, is it possible its more of a "force-out" than his choosing?

Not a force out from what I heard.

 

[mountaincuse]

He pit on his instagram yesterday something like "it was a great last ride"

Not sure where he could possibly go...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Well, the final four run was a nice ride for me. I'm going with that being what he meant.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I don't see how anyone can consider Rak to be "bad."

Good defense, blocks some shots, crazy athletic for his size. Our team would have had a much different image this year without him manning the 5. There are plenty of hyped up bigs who take a while to find their offensive game.

Im a big Keita fan but just because Baye has his moments doesn't mean he is equal to Christmas and can step in and replace him long term.

I want him back we will be massive with him. And I really don't want to find out of DC and Keita is enough.

Well, I believe he is a heck of an athlete and a bad basketball player. There is a difference. I just feel like the light isn't coming on for him. He may not have that fire and didn't take well to the scoldings/benchings since he is supposedly such a terrific and nice kid. The look on his face when he had that And-1 dunk on McGary pretty much said it all. No emotion and looked lifeless frankly. Rak's favorite part of the games may well be the silly little handshakes the guys do when the PA announcers do the intros.

 

[Flacusian]

A few comments here acknowledge the slower learning curve for big men/ centers. Syracuse has a long litany of big guys who didn't blossom until their Jr. or even Sr. year. To dismiss, out of hand a players heart, commitment, talent, and potential is premature at best, and self serving, judgmental and mean spirited at worst.

Who is to know what developmental experiences a player has had which have impacted their demeanor? Who can be so sure of how a particular player handles being pulled early in a game for making a mistake. Who is to say that a player isn't giving it everything they've got yet they are subject to criticism for not measuring up to someones uninformed opinion?

I love this board and like anywhere you go you get the good with the bad. Some of the comments here, on the heels of a FINAL 4 APPEARANCE season, are really over the top. If ever there was a team that made the most out of what they were dealt, it was THIS TEAM. And yet some people come here and post that this guy didn't do this, or this player has a low ceiling, or this kid can't shoot as advertised. Or this kid will never make it in the NBA. It's beyond the pale that these KIDS are subjected to such harsh judgement. I question whether some of the harsh posters here have ever been to a Big East Basketball game. If you ever sit close to courtside the first overwhelming impression is these guys are HUGE and it is so PHYSICAL out there it's pretty much like a war zone. The pace is frenetic and these kids are expected to learn the intricacies of the offense and defense in short order. It's not so easy. Everyone isn't an NBA all-star.

Perhaps we are spoiled by the overwhelming success of the program whereby nothing short of winning it all is good enough. That's the same mentality that gets coaches like Ben Howland booted out of a program after taking them to 3 final 4s over 10 years. Or Tubby Smith being shown the door at Minn after revitalizing a dead in the water program. At the end of the day, it's the fans and the expectations they place on their players and their teams that contributes to what is wrong with collegiate athletics.

I'm proud of every kid on this team and what they accomplished this year. That includes the tireless efforts of the unheralded walk ons who also give so much of themselves so that we all can be proud of the Cuse Program. Sorry for the rant but some of the criticism of these kids has to be countered and shouldn't be allowed to go unchecked.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Don't want to see him leave, but if that's the case, good luck to Rak. I would prefer seeing him blossom here rather than elsewhere, but maybe he's homesick. His upside is still immense, I just hope he reaches it someday, somewhere.

 

[AluminNV]

If its true he's leaving, which I got the impression it was from his twitter, is it possible its more of a "force-out" than his choosing?

Would be a disgrace if he were to leave because idiots think he isn't good enough and will be recruited over. Complete BS. Huge embarrassment to the program as well and would really be a knock against Boeheim if Christmas went to another program.

Some f ing idiots on here if they aren't "interested" in the very least to see what this kid will look like as a junior with 2 years of experience.

And I don't think our system right now is all that conducive to offensive big men. FURTHERMORE...while our most recent 5s Arinze and Rick had a little more offensive... IT CAME THEIR JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEARS YOU F-ERS NOT FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORE!

Christmas transferring would set an embarrassing precident and wherever he ends up with that redshirt transfer year I'd bet heavily on him figuring it out and becoming the player "fans" are insisting he be.

 

[rstone7727]

If its true he's leaving, which I got the impression it was from his twitter, is it possible its more of a "force-out" than his choosing?

Not sure why JB would force him out, he'll need him next year won't he? Wouldn't pin all my hopes on DC at this point.

 

[ClamOtto]

According to this PS article from January a bunch of his family members live in DeWitt now. That would be strange if he's been planning to leave since the beginning of the year.

 

[anomander]

i said it in another thread, but again before the season started he was basically already gone. He will not transfer. He will play pro ball somewhere next season.

 

[shandeezy7]

If Rak ends up leaving and it's because he doesn't like JB/thinks he's too hard on him, then that would be really unfortunate. I was always told during my playing days, that if a coach wasn't hard on you, then it's because he didn't believe in you. I think JB knows Rak's potential and he's so hard on him because he wants Rak to be the player he knows that he can be. I really hope this kid takes a step back from everything and realizes what he'd be giving up on if he decides to go somewhere else.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Would be a disgrace if he were to leave because idiots think he isn't good enough and will be recruited over. Complete BS. Huge embarrassment to the program as well and would really be a knock against Boeheim if Christmas went to another program.

Some f ing idiots on here if they aren't "interested" in the very least to see what this kid will look like as a junior with 2 years of experience.

And I don't think our system right now is all that conducive to offensive big men. FURTHERMORE...while our most recent 5s Arinze and Rick had a little more offensive... IT CAME THEIR JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEARS YOU F-ERS NOT FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORE!

Christmas transferring would set an embarrassing precident and wherever he ends up with that redshirt transfer year I'd bet heavily on him figuring it out and becoming the player "fans" are insisting he be.

Who are you referring to? No one is forcing Rak out.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

According to this PS article from January a bunch of his family members live in DeWitt now. That would be strange if he's been planning to leave since the beginning of the year.

Maybe he is transferring to LeMoyne to be closer to his family.:rolling:

 

[OrangeDW]

Would be a disgrace if he were to leave because idiots think he isn't good enough and will be recruited over. Complete BS. Huge embarrassment to the program as well and would really be a knock against Boeheim if Christmas went to another program.

Some f ing idiots on here if they aren't "interested" in the very least to see what this kid will look like as a junior with 2 years of experience.

And I don't think our system right now is all that conducive to offensive big men. FURTHERMORE...while our most recent 5s Arinze and Rick had a little more offensive... IT CAME THEIR JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEARS YOU F-ERS NOT FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORE!

Christmas transferring would set an embarrassing precident and wherever he ends up with that redshirt transfer year I'd bet heavily on him figuring it out and becoming the player "fans" are insisting he be.

Wow, you're all worked up over something that didn't even happen. Really, you're blaming idiots on syracusefan or Boeheim forcing him out?

By the way, AO was a really good offensive player as a soph., though he was a redshirt soph. He actually had good offensive ability as a freshman, he just didn't play much behind Watkins.

 

[orangefan13]

It will hurt with him leaving. His loss will effect the team in a negative outcome of about 7-8 percent, period.
But, I trust the coaches opinions. The Keita, Dajuan, Xmas situation is one plays 4, one sits, or bust.

 

[No Hoyas]

Living in Rochester, let me tell you that whichever of the wannabe "sports reporter" that started that couldnt report their way out of a wet paper Wegmans bag.
This thread is already too long justifying or disproving it.
Let it go!

 

[Captnhowdy]

Perhaps we are spoiled by the overwhelming success of the program whereby nothing short of winning it all is good enough. That's the same mentality that gets coaches like Ben Howland booted out of a program after taking them to 3 final 4s over 10 years. Or Tubby Smith being shown the door at Minn after revitalizing a dead in the water program. At the end of the day, it's the fans and the expectations they place on their players and their teams that contributes to what is wrong with collegiate athletics.

Ben Howland got fired for a number of reasons. If I was the one doing the firing, I think his lack of institutional control would have been the biggest reason for it. That and he has done very little since the 3 straight FF runs. And this is with year in and year out top 10 recruiting classes.

If JB was doing that for 7 straight years he would be close to getting the ax too.

Tubby Smith is pretty much the same thing. He had really good recruiting classes the past several years, and has nothing to show for it. But I will give him the benefit of thier starting C going down the beginning of last years season.

 

[orange79]

I have actually been hearing this from program 'insiders' for a while now. Definitely not a force-out.

 

[Geode]

Paging Dion!

 

[jdubs30]

Paging Dion!

what

 

[Geode]

what

As in Dion should have a talk with Rak. Kinda did wonders for him.

 

[Cuseman78]

Not sure why JB would force him out, he'll need him next year won't he? Wouldn't pin all my hopes on DC at this point.

Personally, I'd be perfectly fine with Coleman and Keita manning the 5. You're probably right though. Doubtful we would force out a big body in the middle when we aren't near the scholie limit and aren't doing it to make room for an incoming stud.

 

[Cuseman78]

Not a force out from what I heard.

Yea, I was kinda thinking out loud. Wouldn't make much sense for us to do a force out with plentiful scholies and assuming he's not a problem child (which he doesn't seem to be).

 

[anomander]

Personally, I'd be perfectly fine with Coleman and Keita manning the 5. You're probably right though. Doubtful we would force out a big body in the middle when we aren't near the scholie limit and aren't doing it to make room for an incoming stud.

the staff knew. also tells you why the staff went so aggressively after dakari.

 

[Wallo]

I don't think he would make an NBDL roster.

Agree 100% !!!

 

[retro44]

to many damn parrots here and most likely will continue.If he does leave,it will "NOT" BE A FORCE OUT.

So drop the b.s. on him being told to pack his bags