2012 Preseason No.1

[Cuse4]

If everyone comes back, I don't see how we couldn't be ... Triche, Waiters, Southerland(Will get start because of his offense), Coleman(Just a feeling, plus Rak is a good energy guy off bench), Fab ... bench is just ridiculous... MCW, Cooney, Fair, Baye, Rak, Grant(Might see him redshirt), Mook... The only possible problems I see would be 1. Scoring from the SF position. I guess CJ would backup James at the 3. Neither guy is a put on the floor guy like Chris. This may matter, may not, since our frontcourt scoring will get much better with Fab getting another yr under his belt and the addition of DC2. More attention down low will free up James more often. Grant more of a 4 skill wise at this point.... 2. If Dion and/or Fab leaves. I don't think the loss of Fab will hurt as much, due to depth...Dion however would be a killer... makes everything go on both ends and would leave us with only 1 guard off the bench...well 2 with Mookie ... Thoughts on a Starting Lineup and Preseason ranking???

 

[EastCoast2]

1) Triche
2) Dion
3) Thickburger
4) Rak
5) Melo

Southerland 6th man
MCW 7th man
Keita 8th man

Coleman and Cooney TBD

 

[Cuse4]

1) Triche
2) Dion
3) Thickburger
4) Rak
5) Melo

Southerland 6th man
MCW 7th man
Keita 8th man

Coleman and Cooney TBD

No way Coleman is a 9th man...I think Jim will go bulky up front like the AO RJ frontcourt

 

[Garbs]

lol at Southerland starting

 

[orangefan13]

I think we will be up there. But as always its what you loose.

KJO Dion and Scoop are maybe the best dribbling trio in the country.
We are loosing all three.

Were asking Triche, CJ, and MCW to take over where they left off. Thats alot to be asking. I think MCW will have to step up there because not Sure Triche will become better at beating his man off the dribble.

One huge plus Fab Rak and DC(who will probably be ready) will add some isolation inside. Baye will get alittle better as well stepping into a upperclassmen role.

I could see James possibly starting because CJ is a jack of all trades and its nice to have that off the bench. Whereas Southerland is more just a shooter right now and its good to get off shooting hot.
Cooney will help recover from the loss of Joseph and Scoops outside shooting.

 

[pfister1]

If all of those guys come back, Keita will either be the exception, or drop out of the rotation.

 

[CorduroyG]

I dont think we'll be #1 even if everyone comes back cause we're losing scoop and kris jo, 2 of our most high profile players. Not saying we wouldnt deserve it, but i doubt the pollsters will vote us #1 after losing those 2.

 

[Cuse4]

I think we will be up there. But as always its what you loose.

KJO Dion and Scoop are maybe the best dribbling trio in the country.
We are loosing all three.

Were asking Triche, CJ, and MCW to take over where they left off. Thats alot to be asking. I think MCW will have to step up there because not Sure Triche will become better at beating his man off the dribble.

One huge plus were adding Fab Rak and DC(who will probably be ready) to add some isolation inside. Baye will get alittle better as well stepping into a upperclassmen role.

I could see James possibly starting because CJ is a jack of all trades and its nice to have that off the bench. Whereas Southerland is more just a shooter right now.
Cooney will help recover from the loss of Joseph and Scoops outside shooting.

I mean I personally think Dion may leave as well... The only thing I think may keep him at Cuse is the fact the he will finally be the starter he's always wanted to be

 

[CorduroyG]

I mean I personally think Dion may leave as well... The only thing I think may keep him at Cuse is te fact the he will finally be the starter he's always wanted to be

He can play himself into a lottery pick next year, hell be the starter, the alpha dog, could have a similar season as kemba last year.

 

[Knicks411]

Think a lot depends on how this season ends as well. If we flame out in say the sweet 16 vs playing for the NCAA title.

And obviously, who knows who else is going pro at other schools, there are still some great recruits who haven't omitted, etc.

 

[jekelish]

I think we will be up there. But as always its what you loose.

KJO Dion and Scoop are maybe the best dribbling trio in the country.
We are loosing all three.

1) It's "lose" and "losing." Loose is the easy girl at your high school.

2) As much as I like Dion, Scoop and Kris, good lord, they are FAR from the best dribbling trio in the nation. Kris is NOT a good ball handler, and that's one of the reasons I don't think he will last long in the NBA. And it's also not a given that Dion is going anywhere. He may test the waters and discover he would be a second round pick this year.

Personally, I don't think we will have much trouble replacing Scoop and Kris, except from potentially a leadership standpoint.

 

[Cuse4]

Think a lot depends on how this season ends as well. If we flame out in say the sweet 16 vs playing for the NCAA title.

And obviously, who knows who else is going pro at other schools, there are still some great recruits who haven't omitted, etc.

Do we go get a guard if Dion leaves?

 

[Marsh01]

No way James starts over CJ.

 

[pfister1]

He can play himself into a lottery pick next year, hell be the starter, the alpha dog, could have a similar season as kemba last year.

I still foresee him having that season this year...he doesn't need to be a starter to be our Alpha Dog and go to crunch time scorer. Granted it would be unusual...but as so many on here are fond of saying it's not who starts the game, but who finishes it.

 

[Garbs]

1) It's "lose" and "losing." Loose is the easy girl at your high school.

2) As much as I like Dion, Scoop and Kris, good lord, they are FAR from the best dribbling trio in the nation. Kris is NOT a good ball handler, and that's one of the reasons I don't think he will last long in the NBA. And it's also not a given that Dion is going anywhere. He may test the waters and discover he would be a second round pick this year.

Personally, I don't think we will have much trouble replacing Scoop and Kris, except from potentially a leadership standpoint.

Dion and Fab's stock will go as we go, if we are ranked # most the year and make a deep run there is a better chance they leave, if we flame out they will be back

Do we go get a guard if Dion leaves?

no, how many years has JB played more than 3 guards?

 

[Cuse4]

Ya but then we are an injury away from the Mook

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Do we go get a guard if Dion leaves?

This is a question I have too. You're looking at a potential guard rotation of Triche, MCW and White Hot if Dion leaves. The talent looks good, the numbers don't though. Wouldn't be the worst idea to take a flyer on a guard. A Juco or mid-season eligible transfer might not be a terrible way to go either.

 

[Cuse4]

This is a question I have too. You're looking at a potential guard rotation of Triche, MCW and White Hot if Dion leaves. The talent looks good, the numbers don't though. Wouldn't be the worst idea to take a flyer on a guard. A Juco or mid-season eligible transfer might not be a terrible way to go either.

Ya I mean I love what we are doing with MCW this year in a 4 guard rotation... why not get someone?

 

[OttoinGrotto]

FWIW, I think Fab and Dion play their way into being 1st round draft picks by the end of the season and are gone. I don't think Mookie is back.

C - Keita/Coleman
- Rak
- Fair/Southerland
G - Triche
G - MCW

Bench:
6 - Fair/Southerland
7 - Keita/Coleman
8 - Cooney

Deep bench:
Grant
Mystery recruit?

And that's your wire to wire Top 25 Syracuse Orangemen's basketball squad for 2012-2013.

 

[Cuse4]

Someone like Wes I feel fine with letting go... Dion and Fab could both be lottery picks if they stay around for one more, not two years... Dion is almost there now, just needs some fine tuning with his jumper/form...Fab will really really blow up with one more year...He will then have a low post game to go with his D

 

[CorduroyG]

Id be shocked if fab is gone, people are going crazy about him cause its been such a big improvement from last year, but hes still not that good. He needs at least 1 more year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

lol at Southerland starting

It comes down to who can rebound better, him or Fair ? C.J. is not rebounding as well (per minute) as he did last year, although he is still ahead of James.

Right now, I would say it's

C: Fab Melo
PF: Rakeem
SF: C.J.
SG: Dion (unless we make a Final Four, then he might jump)
PG: Triche

Bench:
SF: James
PF: Keita
C: Coleman
PG: MCW
SG: Cooney

How are we not going to play 10 again next year (with the rotation going down to 8 in big games) In that instance, the 10th man is likely Coleman (bigs take time) and I think he'll be behind a 3rd year Keita, and Coleman's just not mobile enough to be a serious consideration at the 4. He'd have to lose 30 pounds.

If James can become more consistent, Cooney still has a tough time getting into the rotation, unless Dion goes pro.

 

[jekelish]

No way is Coleman the 10th man next year even if everyone comes back. I wouldn't be the least bit shocked to see him challenge Rak for the starting power forward spot.

 

[reedny]

I think we will be up there. But as always its what you loose.

KJO Dion and Scoop are maybe the best dribbling trio in the country.
We are loosing all three.

Were asking Triche, CJ, and MCW to take over where they left off. Thats alot to be asking. I think MCW will have to step up there because not Sure Triche will become better at beating his man off the dribble.

One huge plus Fab Rak and DC(who will probably be ready) will add some isolation inside. Baye will get alittle better as well stepping into a upperclassmen role.

I could see James possibly starting because CJ is a jack of all trades and its nice to have that off the bench. Whereas Southerland is more just a shooter right now and its good to get off shooting hot.
Cooney will help recover from the loss of Joseph and Scoops outside shooting.

Why are we loosing Dion? He'll be a junior, a starter and one of the top guards in the conference next year. As a talented scorer, I agree he's got NBA potential. But not much to show for it yet except a few excellent games at the end of last year and early this year. Dion shoots 32% from outside and still has defensive lapses (much improved). He's still coming off the bench, and will have to wait until next year to become the starter/leader that he'll need to be to jump. No surprise, he's not getting serious mention in the mocks.

Neither is Fab. Sure, he's got tremendous upside. But he's still learning and (due to conditioning issues) just starting to show his potential. His defense is further along than his offense (no surprise), but regardless, he's a long way off from the NBA.

This started out as a ranking, not a rotation, thread (so I'll comment on both). Assuming (as I believe is correct) that Fab/DW return, I think we are likely top 10 and possibly top 5 pre-season. I don't see much to change the following lineup next year:

5. Fab - DC - Keita
4. Rak - Southerland
3. CJ - Grant
2. Triche - Cooney
1. Dion - MCW

 

[pfister1]

Starters next season:

MCW - need a true 1 (he's the only one)
Waiters/Triche - interchangeable (Waiters plays more though)
CJ
Rak
Fab

6 - JSouth
7- Cooney
8 - DC
9 - Mookie

I think Grant redshirts.

The only thing here is that I don't think Waiters will be back next year (whether draft or differences). Fab has a legit chance to go in this year's draft. If he stuck around another year though, he could be a lottery pick. I wasn't a believer at the beginning of the season, but I am starting to believe it now. He ******* hauls down the court and his overall positioning has improved greatly, let alone every other aspect of his game.

If both of them leave, 2013's class will be very important. Triche (graduates), JSouth (graduates), Mookie (graduates), Fab (pro), Dion (pro) would be gone after next year I think regardless. So you bring in 5 for 2013 or spread some out to 2014?

I don't think there is anyway that Mookie enters the rotation unless there are major injuries, even as a 9th or 10th man. Those 9th or 10th slots are typically "developmental" slots and there is no point in developing a 5th year senior.