The New Guys: Tyler Roberson

[SWC75]

Everybody is talking about next year’s team, which figures to be heavily impacted by no less than six newcomers. Improvement by returning players will probably be at least as important, (I think DaJuan Coleman, Jerami Grant and Trevor Cooney will be significant factors next year). But I decided to take a good look at the six new guys and see what I could determine by viewing their highlights on U-Tube. Some of these have been posted before, I’m sure but this is the first time I’ve decided to extensively comment on them. I’m not putting this on the recruiting Board because we’ve already recruited these guys.

Our board only lets a poster link one highlight tape per post so I’m going to make a separate post on each guy. If you look to the right hand column, (on U-Tube) there may be other highlight posts on the same player. Don’t forget that you can make the video full screen by clicking in the box in the lower right hand corner of the viewing screen.

I’m a sucker for a good highlight tape, (see Mike Jones in football and Deshonte Riley in basketball), so I need to remember and to stress that these highlights are against high school competition, (and they only show the good plays). These guys may not be ready to play like this against college competition when they get here.

Tyler Roberson


I didn’t find any long highlight tape of Roberson and highlight tapes are not usually about the “grunt work” of basketball- inside defense, rebounding- the Rodman stuff. Roberson’s highlight seems designed to prove that he can hit the three pointer. It’s nice that he can but I’m not sure that that is what we’ll need from him. He’s not bulky but he’s not skinny either and I suspect from his reputation that his future with us is as a power forward.

 

[4evaOrange]

I think this guy will own the paint when given the chance...Beast will also be given the name "Board Collector."

 

[Cuseology]

Will he give us points in the paint w back to the basket moves or is he more of a slasher/off the bounce and pull up jumper guy?

 

[tee1222]

Will he give us points in the paint w back to the basket moves or is he more of a slasher/off the bounce and pull up jumper guy?

He has the ability to be both a low post scorer and a slasher, and I've seen him to do both with success on the high school level.

Which one of these he will favor is yet to be determined. I would only assume that it will be a feeling out process for Roberson and the coaches as he starts to log minutes. Also, how he compliments other forwards' games, ie, if he's on the floor with Grant, will he be more of a wing/slasher or if CJ is playing outside in, does he get more low post looks, etc.

 

[IthacaMatt]

He has the ability to be both a low post scorer and a slasher, and I've seen him to do both with success on the high school level.

Which one of these he will favor is yet to be determined. I would only assume that it will be a feeling out process for Roberson and the coaches as he starts to log minutes. Also, how he compliments other forwards' games, ie, if he's on the floor with Grant, will he be more of a wing/slasher or if CJ is playing outside in, does he get more low post looks, etc.

When I watched Roberson's tape from mid-season, he reminded me a lot of a Ryan Blackwell kind of player. Active around the rim, not mind-blowing athleticism, but fundamentally solid. Inside - Outside game, about the same build.

Roberson really stepped it up as the season went on, though. He took a 2nd tier team and blasted their way to the NJ Tournament of Champions Title (beating some great programs like Bob Hurley's St. Anthony's along the way). First time his school ever did that, and I believe their first time in the ToC at all. (Usually, St. Anthony's, St. Patrick's and St. Benedict's dominated the Catholic side of the brackets, but Roselle Catholic broke thru that group this year.)

Roberson played at an extremely high level in the playoffs, and may challenge Grant for the starting spot. If you asked me back in February, when Southerland was suspended and Grant's game was coming on strong, (this was pre- NJ HS Playoffs), I would have said that Roberson was likely the 3rd forward, but now I'm not so sure of that.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

First guy i thought of was Reggie Williams.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He's a guy fans should be a lot more excited about than they are. Kind of a forgotten man in the class. I have no idea why. I think he'll have his moments next season.

 

[tee1222]

He's a guy fans should be a lot more excited about than they are. Kind of a forgotten man in the class. I have no idea why. I think he'll have his moments next season.

He's going to be a stud, and I absolutely agree. Similar to Grant, he will have his moments next year and will get more minutes than people think. Trust me when I say, he will not be a forgotten man once October rolls around.

 

[PhatOrange]

If he is slotted for the 4 my prediction is he starts over Grant there.

 

[ForeverOrange]

He seems to be a very quiet kid, might be why nobody is really paying him much attention. I also think he is going to be a good one.

 

[SWC75]

If he is slotted for the 4 my prediction is he starts over Grant there.

That would be shocking. I see grant blossoming into a star next year. Roberson's big chance will come if CJ goes pro.

 

[Cusefaninvirginia]

yeah I think Grant could end up being our best player by the end of next year. which should not be taken as any knock on C.J. I just think Grant's upside is that great. It was less than a year ago he was on Billy Donovan's U-18 team, and Donovan said that Grant had the most upside of anyone on his roster. That was a roster full of mcdonald's all-americans and five star recruits. And Grant did nothing to discourage me over the course of this last season - it was very promising. He does everything well, has NBA athleticism and a great basketball iq. He can play on the perimeter and hit his jump shots, but is going to be especially lethal in the paint. (And If we have Coleman and Grant and Fair starting up front next year, that'll be an even better offensive rebounding team than this year - by a comfortable margin - and probably our best rebounding team in many years.) But in any case I expect CJ and Grant to get the vast majority of minutes at forward in real games, with Roberson and BJ getting most of their playing time against cupcakes and in blowouts.

 

[Cusefaninvirginia]

Again, no knock on Roberson or BJ. I think we are just that ridiculously loaded up front next year. Roberson and BJ will likely have to wait their turn like Waiters and MCW had to do in the backcourt the last few years.

 

[rstone7727]

Not trying to be negative but I only saw him hit one shot from deep and saw nothing that would indicate he has a handle of any kind. Does play above the rim though and seems to have a nice touch from 5'-in. Let's not continue to over hype our incoming Freshmen as we have done so many times in the past.

 

[Brooky03]

Not trying to be negative but I only saw him hit one shot from deep and saw nothing that would indicate he has a handle of any kind. Does play above the rim though and seems to have a nice touch from 5'-in. Let's not continue to over hype our incoming Freshmen as we have done so many times in the past.

Handle? 1:08

And I counted 5 or 6 mid-long range jumpers in that vid.

I'm not saying he's a superstar or whatever but that video alone showed more than just a guy with "a nice touch from 5'-in."

 

[rstone7727]

Handle? 1:08

And I counted 5 or 6 mid-long range jumpers in that vid.

I'm not saying he's a superstar or whatever but that video alone showed more than just a guy with "a nice touch from 5'-in."

Yeah Brook, but any 8th grader can dribble between the legs and behind the back when no one is guarding them. All the long range shots at the end of the video were taken by Reggie Cameron not Tyler.

 

[Cuse'91]

I will work on finding a link of this video in Braille for those that need it...
For a swing forward, kid has a great handle, smooth jump shot, and can finish at the rim with both hands...

 

[rstone7727]

I will work on finding a link of this video in Braille for those that need it...
For a swing forward, kid has a great handle, smooth jump shot, and can finish at the rim with both hands...

I'd love to see the video, braille or otherwise.. The one above shows me very little other than the fact Tyler can get up. Head coaches at D1 schools want to see footwork while playing defense, ball handling, outside shooting skills and motor (looks like his motor is excellent). When people put these videos together, they need to demonstrate an all around skill set. Dunking is a waste of time.

 

[Cuse'91]

Agree with you about dunks, should be automatic at that level...
But watch how Tyler gets to the rim for lay ups, both in transition and using back to basket spin moves...
Especially on the steal where he finishes smoothly with his off hand, may be ahead of CJ already in use of non-dominate hand... IMO...

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Again, no knock on Roberson or BJ. I think we are just that ridiculously loaded up front next year. Roberson and BJ will likely have to wait their turn like Waiters and MCW had to do in the backcourt the last few years.

Roberson (and BJ) will have their chance to play next year. While we are "loaded" with Fair and Grant at forward next year, they are are only returning forwards. They can't play 40 minutes a game, so Roberson and BJ will get some run.

 

[rstone7727]

Agree with you about dunks, should be automatic at that level...
But watch how Tyler gets to the rim for lay ups, both in transition and using back to basket spin moves...
Especially on the steal where he finishes smoothly with his off hand, may be ahead of CJ already in use of non-dominate hand... IMO...

Agree, he looks great and we'll see how he does at D1 level soon enough. My rant was more about the video than about him. I remember being in HS and we had drills: Run from one baseline to the other and back - running sideways, using a timer. We also had a standing jump gauge that told everything you need to know about how high a guy could get up. Maybe they do videos of this stuff for the head coaches and only do the dunk videos for the general public? I get tired of the dunk videos, that's all my rant was about...

 

[Brooky03]

Yeah Brook, but any 8th grader can dribble between the legs and behind the back when no one is guarding them. All the long range shots at the end of the video were taken by Reggie Cameron not Tyler.

Roberson is #21, right? Unless I'm mistaken, at least 3 of the jumpers show a guy wearing #21 (hard to see # on others).

As for the dribbling, I'll admit the vid doesn't show much but his handle looked very instinctual at 1:08. I'd love to see more of him. He looks like a stud to me.

 

[Brooky03]

 

[retro44]

He's a guy fans should be a lot more excited about than they are. Kind of a forgotten man in the class. I have no idea why. I think he'll have his moments next season.

He's not forgotten at all,most I have to about him loves his game.

 

[tee1222]

This will be a little long winded, but I guess it's to show that there's more than just dunking in these clips if you look long enough

Please, people who are still not sure, watch this video fully through!
I see a block of a 6'9 post player at 0:20
I see an athletic and well timed rejection at 0:22 (the kid is tiny, but he has made a name for himself, will make it on the next level - Bryce Aiken)
At 0:38, again, great timing with the block, keeps it in play, outlets ahead for easy layup
0:55 second mark, tough penetration and shot over double team.
A few transition dunks throughout.

He's all over the place on defense and offense, dribble, jab step, spin move, hit a couple of outside shots this game, plays above the rim. The videos seem to show it for me, but just a small subset of what he does.

The one thing not shown is his rebounding. We might not have had this good and instinctual a defensive rebounder in a long while, including DC2.

Here's a string of rebounds he had during the season:
17,20,21,17
Postseason rebounding, tournaments and state championship
12,9,9,11,8,12
Perspective. Look at how he dominated these categories
http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/boy...union_county_regular_season_stat_leaders.html
REBOUNDS
Tyler Roberson, Roselle Catholic, 23-278-12.1
Scott Toresco, Westfield, 24-180-7.5
Jahaad Harris, Union Catholic, 22-164-7.5
Al-Jameer Mallary, Hillside, 22-151-6.9
BLOCKS
Tyler Roberson, Roselle Catholic, 23-74-3.2
Al-Jameer Mallary, Hillside, 22-22-1
William Nelson, Roselle, 25-25-1

Apologies for the rant, but just a suggestion. Please, if you have time, try to watch one of the full games on the recruiting side.
Page 7 and 8 have a few full games, and long highlights
http://syracusefan.com/threads/yes-roberson-commits.36370/page-7

Same for BJ and the other guys (many full games, just work your way back from page 24)
http://syracusefan.com/threads/bj-johnson.30790/page-24