General20
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When you think about the center position next year its hard not to come to the conclusion that Syracuse is going to have a lot of answers.
Keita proved at the end of last season that he is, in his own right, a good center who can handle major minutes against all types of opponents. Something I never thought he could be.
Keita has always had a great motor and great speed for a big guy. As he has come to understand the zone, he has learned to put that speed to excellent use on the defensive end. In the past Syracuse has struggled to guard teams that can play five-out (either without a true big man or with a big man who can shoot) because Syracuse has not had centers comfortable (and quick enough) to guard anybody outside.
Keita on the other hand is more than willing to get outside quick and guard somebody which makes it extremely difficult to to play five-out against Syracuse's zone, or even just overload one side.
This attribute alone has been huge for Syracuse, but Keita has also improved his offensive game one hundred fold and proven he can bang one on one with some of the better centers out there (the one thing I thought he could never do). So now we have a complete center whose specialty is getting out and covering space.
If you were able to match anybody up with this kind of a player who would it be?
Probably a big bruising center whose best attribute is scoring.
Keita has proven he can bang down low, but its never going to be the thing he's best at. Neither is scoring. But those could (and I think will) be the exact attributes that DaJuan Coleman excels at.
I know some were less than impressed with his play as a freshman, but I'm not one of those people. In my entire time watching Syracuse (about 27 years), they have never had a freshman center who was good. Think about it.
Coleman showed all the flashes of greatness I need to see. I think he is going to be a very productive player as a sophomore, both scoring the ball and battling for position inside. The exact attributes you'd want to compliment Keita.
Syracuse should have the luxury of playing both big minutes and letting the opponent dictate who gets more minutes. If Syracuse needs extra muscle we will see DaJuan. If they need extra speed it will be Baye. That is why in my head I have already taken to calling the duo Thunder and Lightning. Seems applicable to me.
My guess is Hopkins is going to get a lot more kudos as a big man coach than he did this year, and the talk of Syracuse needing to hire one is going to die out.
This could be one of the better pairing of skill sets we have ever seen at Syracuse, and it got me thinking. If you could pair up any two players throughout history, who would you pick?
I personally, would start with Douglas and Warrick. The best alley-oop thrower of all time (for those too young, the guy made driving and ooping, rather than driving and dishing, an art form) paired up with the longest, highest leaper Syracuse has ever had.
Another fun one is MCW and Rautins. This has been talked about before, but good luck scoring against a team with that kind of length and quick hands out at the top of the zone.
The final one I will throw out there is Jeremy McNeil and James Theus. This might seem like a weird one because those are two role players at best, but they both excelled at the same thing. The press. McNeil was the best I have seen at guarding the basket once the press is broken, and Theus is the best we have had at getting steals at the front of the press. Pair those two guys with just about any three other guys and you have a devastating press on your hands.
Anybody have any others?
Keita proved at the end of last season that he is, in his own right, a good center who can handle major minutes against all types of opponents. Something I never thought he could be.
Keita has always had a great motor and great speed for a big guy. As he has come to understand the zone, he has learned to put that speed to excellent use on the defensive end. In the past Syracuse has struggled to guard teams that can play five-out (either without a true big man or with a big man who can shoot) because Syracuse has not had centers comfortable (and quick enough) to guard anybody outside.
Keita on the other hand is more than willing to get outside quick and guard somebody which makes it extremely difficult to to play five-out against Syracuse's zone, or even just overload one side.
This attribute alone has been huge for Syracuse, but Keita has also improved his offensive game one hundred fold and proven he can bang one on one with some of the better centers out there (the one thing I thought he could never do). So now we have a complete center whose specialty is getting out and covering space.
If you were able to match anybody up with this kind of a player who would it be?
Probably a big bruising center whose best attribute is scoring.
Keita has proven he can bang down low, but its never going to be the thing he's best at. Neither is scoring. But those could (and I think will) be the exact attributes that DaJuan Coleman excels at.
I know some were less than impressed with his play as a freshman, but I'm not one of those people. In my entire time watching Syracuse (about 27 years), they have never had a freshman center who was good. Think about it.
Coleman showed all the flashes of greatness I need to see. I think he is going to be a very productive player as a sophomore, both scoring the ball and battling for position inside. The exact attributes you'd want to compliment Keita.
Syracuse should have the luxury of playing both big minutes and letting the opponent dictate who gets more minutes. If Syracuse needs extra muscle we will see DaJuan. If they need extra speed it will be Baye. That is why in my head I have already taken to calling the duo Thunder and Lightning. Seems applicable to me.
My guess is Hopkins is going to get a lot more kudos as a big man coach than he did this year, and the talk of Syracuse needing to hire one is going to die out.
This could be one of the better pairing of skill sets we have ever seen at Syracuse, and it got me thinking. If you could pair up any two players throughout history, who would you pick?
I personally, would start with Douglas and Warrick. The best alley-oop thrower of all time (for those too young, the guy made driving and ooping, rather than driving and dishing, an art form) paired up with the longest, highest leaper Syracuse has ever had.
Another fun one is MCW and Rautins. This has been talked about before, but good luck scoring against a team with that kind of length and quick hands out at the top of the zone.
The final one I will throw out there is Jeremy McNeil and James Theus. This might seem like a weird one because those are two role players at best, but they both excelled at the same thing. The press. McNeil was the best I have seen at guarding the basket once the press is broken, and Theus is the best we have had at getting steals at the front of the press. Pair those two guys with just about any three other guys and you have a devastating press on your hands.
Anybody have any others?
