2014/2015 Syracuse Basketball

[Trueblue25]

Joseph, ?
Cooney, Buss, Gbinije
Gbinije, Johnson
McCullough/Roberson
Christmas/Coleman/Obokoh

Well I personally hope Coleman medically redshirts. That leaves us with 9 scholarship players..

Is the sky falling? No. If you think it is, man/fan card revoked.

We have extreme athleticism and promising transition between Cooney/Joseph/Gbinije/Roberson/Rak and possibly the Hammer.

Though I think he'll need a year to get his feet on the ground and figure things out...

It's entirely possible that college is the competition and wake up call McCullough needs to unleash the beast.

Speaking of the beast, Tyler Roberson is very underrated on this board. He did not see as much time as many of us would've liked to see...but for those unfamiliar with him, he's good. He reminds me of Fair all over again. Except Roberson, in my opinion, has a higher ceiling than CJ. Hopefully Tyler proves to have the same work ethic and consistency.

Tyler Ennis was iceman, Kaleb Joseph is Enfuego. This kid is lightning in a bottle. Hopefully he can revamp our transition and speed up the offense. He's capable of making the dishes but he's a drive and finish kind of guard. He'll bring a return of Waiters like offense instead of Tyler's snail like offense. I'm looking forward to seeing how dynamic Mr. Joseph can be. Unfortunately increased tempo = increased turnovers. Hopefully KJII can limit it.

I think the most important player next year will be a split between Rak and Cooney.

I think Rak will make a jump. I think this year is RAK'S year. I think Joseph will finally be THEE guard to be able to penetrate deep down low and find Rak in space for the dunk or put back. Another subtle interesting note about Rak, his free throw shooting has been great and hopefully will only improve. I hope Rak could possibly add an elbow jumper or 10-15 footer to his game but don't sleep on him.

Cooney. Cooney...Cooonney... COOONEY. Many of us have been down, and more down and such on him. I'll be the first to say that I wasn't nearly as impressed with him this year as many others were. He was inconsistent at best and could not be counted on to knock down the open shot when it matters. BUT, I fully believe he will step up and make another jump going into his Junior year. As much as some of us will hate to say it...this is Trevor Cooney's team now. I think he'll work his a$$ off and hopefully not be the heart attack threat he was this year.

BJ and Buss. I don't see Buss getting all that much PT, maybe some between the guard spots. But BJ will be HUGE this year now that Grant is gone. Roberson and McCullough will have to share the 4. Gbinije will be playing time at the 3, 2 and whether you guys like it or not the 1. BJ will likely see some meaningful time at the 3 and possibly minutes at the 2. I hope he puts that weight on and keeps working on that smooth jumper. He could be the difference between us being a top 50 team or a top 20.


Saying next year is already over is non sense. I fully believe that our talent coupled with JB's abilities can produce another top 25 team. JB does his best with his back against the wall.

 

[RF2044]

Agreed. Better shooting team, better depth. Less proven scoring heading in.

Will make for some early tumult that could pay big dividends by the end of the season.

 

[Trueblue25]

I think our obvious main issues is perimeter shooting and the point.

Necessary Proven Shooter: Cooney (If Cooney falls apart next year like he did this year, we gone)

Potential three point threats: Gbinije, Buss and BJ

I think Gbinije and BJ will be refined next year. Buss just seems streaky, not sure how natural of a perimeter threat he truly is.

Hopefully Roberson perfects that 15-20 footer like CJ did.

All we need Kaleb to do is be a threat if he's wide open, like Ennis was.

 

[SyracuseTD]

- I really think next year we have potential for way more offensive threats; the athleticism of next year's team is freakish. Roberson and McC are built-to-run forwards, who will hopefully get us back in that transition game. Joseph looks like the quintessential guard we need for next season to push tempo and bring back that smooth, scoring ability.

- I too don't see Buss getting too much playing time either. Gbinije will probably continue getting minutes for either Joseph or Cooney, and some increased time at the 3. Have to suspect that BJ and Roberson will probably fill most of the void of the 3, with Roberson getting run at the 4 along with McCullough.

- If Cooney, Gbinije, and Christmas all make big strides this off-season, as they should, then we will be a good team. I expect Roberson to make a huge sophomore leap, he looks like he is going to be a great player and monster rebounder under the basket.

- I think Cooney gets over the nerves next year. It was his first full-year of playing, while not a great excuse (because plenty of players do fine in their first years), he also had a lot of press about being "the new G-Mac". It was well known knowledge that G-Mac had kinda taken Cooney under his wing. This was all just added pressure on Cooney to perform. Plus, being the only "pure shooter" on last year's team, he was counted on a lot by his teammates. I love Cooney, and I think he has a great junior year, becoming a vital part of the offense. Hopefully BJ can draw attention away from Cooney as well to get him more open looks.

 

[thebigeast44]

Most important player IMHO is the same as it was this year - our freshman point guard.