2023-24 Portal Options

[miamicuse]

Yup. Glad the deadline has come and gone with no more defections. Still have work to do in the portal with what's now a finite supply though.

Has any non portal cause players been sighted on campus? May be they have been locked up in a basement somewhere lol.

 

[miamicuse]

None of that is accurate. We really want him. Think he is ours. There is no one else. I think the coaches
are a little bit frustrated with him right now.

Cuse should announce a top 3 center under consideration with him as a "footnote honorable mention".

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Udeh is much too muscular to be a Syracuse player.

Agree. Also makes way too many of his dunk attempts.

 

[jdubs30]

None of that is accurate. We really want him. Think he is ours. There is no one else. I think the coaches
are a little bit frustrated with him right now.

Wonder if he’s waiting for a better offer? Or maybe stays in the draft?

 

[phil77]

None of that is accurate. We really want him. Think he is ours. There is no one else. I think the coaches
are a little bit frustrated with him right now.

I think Syracuse can do better tbh

 

[littlereg]

I think Syracuse can do better tbh

yeah this makes me wanna puke (okay maybe I drank too much last night and need to puke regardless butttttt)

 

[Nicknack]

I think Syracuse can do better tbh

At this point, who?

We've seen getting a stud center from the portal is definitely more challenging than other positions. That said, it does seem like we have a lot to offer a guy weighing his options... plenty of playing time, good guards, younger coaching staff, and should be competitive next year. The big question mark is what NIL we have to offer.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

Mac Etienne seems like a natural fit. East coast kid, Brewster Academy; could be revitalized by returning home. Gerry can at least send out some feelers, hopefully. Guess it's the French name, but hope he can come in, and be like Yannick Noah's kid was for the Gators 2 NCs.

Not a Center in college. Mcleod will be a much better help and fit.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Etienne is intriguing, but shot a lot of jumpers for a 6'10" guy and didn't fare well on them, so I'd like to know what happened there. Admittedly I didn't watch a lot of UCLA this past season because their games were on so late, but the scouting reports on him out of HS were high on his footwork and ability to outwork guys in the post.

Maybe he thought shooting was how he could separate himself from Bona who almost exclusively operated in the paint, or maybe Cronin wanted range out of Etienne to give defenses a different look (FWIW, Etienne was an atrocious foul shooter in limited attempts, so pulling him away from the hoop makes some sense on that level), but knowing Mick's style I kind of doubt that.

McLeod would be better than nothing but I hope Autry and the staff can do better with either Udeh or Etienne.

 

[Orangezoo]

Etienne is intriguing, but shot a lot of jumpers for a 6'10" guy and didn't fare well on them, so I'd like to know what happened there. Admittedly I didn't watch a lot of UCLA this past season because their games were on so late, but the scouting reports on him out of HS were high on his footwork and ability to outwork guys in the post.

Maybe he thought shooting was how he could separate himself from Bona who almost exclusively operated in the paint, or maybe Cronin wanted range out of Etienne to give defenses a different look (FWIW, Etienne was an atrocious foul shooter in limited attempts, so pulling him away from the hoop makes some sense on that level), but knowing Mick's style I kind of doubt that.

McLeod would be better than nothing but I hope Autry and the staff can do better with either Udeh or Etienne.

Etienne got hurt missing a year and a half and hasn't been the same since. His lift sucks and he is slower getting to the boards. He has a good game or two but doesn't give you much right now that I've seen watching them play. Maturity red flags with this kid too.

Udeh comes with a high ranking. Watch him play and he is a 3 inch shorter version of McLeod with maybe a better motor. He is raw though even more than Naheem. I'd rather roll with 7-4 with more experience than a similar guy 3 inches shorter and a year behind development wise. Kansas knows how to develop their bigs to be good college bigs. Them abandoning both top two guys in favor of HD and the Duke decommit is telling to me on how they view the two youngsters in the portal Udeh included.

As a reference you could see things with Jesse development wise even as a frosh. Udeh showed he can roll to the rim some, run the floor and finish the lob but thats about it. Defensively he is a little wild blocking shots with way too much wind up and lunging as well.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Etienne got hurt missing a year and a half and hasn't been the same since. His lift sucks and he is slower getting to the boards. He has a good game or two but doesn't give you much right now that I've seen watching them play. Maturity red flags with this kid too.

Udeh comes with a high ranking. Watch him play and he is a 3 inch shorter version of McLeod with maybe a better motor. He is raw though even more than Naheem. I'd rather roll with 7-4 with more experience than a similar guy 3 inches shorter and a year behind development wise. Kansas knows how to develop their bigs to be good college bigs. Them abandoning both top two guys in favor of HD and the Duke decommit is telling to me on how they view the two youngsters in the portal Udeh included.

As a reference you could see things with Jesse development wise even as a frosh. Udeh showed he can roll to the rim some, run the floor and finish the lob but thats about it. Defensively he is a little wild blocking shots with way too much wind up and lunging as well.

Good insight.

 

[tptcuse]

None of that is accurate. We really want him. Think he is ours. There is no one else. I think the coaches
are a little bit frustrated with him right now.

This is disappointing to hear.

 

[Niastri]

Etienne got hurt missing a year and a half and hasn't been the same since. His lift sucks and he is slower getting to the boards. He has a good game or two but doesn't give you much right now that I've seen watching them play. Maturity red flags with this kid too.

Udeh comes with a high ranking. Watch him play and he is a 3 inch shorter version of McLeod with maybe a better motor. He is raw though even more than Naheem. I'd rather roll with 7-4 with more experience than a similar guy 3 inches shorter and a year behind development wise. Kansas knows how to develop their bigs to be good college bigs. Them abandoning both top two guys in favor of HD and the Duke decommit is telling to me on how they view the two youngsters in the portal Udeh included.

As a reference you could see things with Jesse development wise even as a frosh. Udeh showed he can roll to the rim some, run the floor and finish the lob but thats about it. Defensively he is a little wild blocking shots with way too much wind up and lunging as well.

Guys who are very tall and very athletic sometimes wind up ranked really highly, even without developed basketball skills.

You can't teach 7' tall.

 

[Orangezoo]

Guys who are very tall and very athletic sometimes wind up ranked really highly, even without developed basketball skills.

You can't teach 7' tall.

Correct which is why you have to dig deeper sometimes.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Brotherhood.

Abbreviated: NIL

 

[kingtidge]

None of that is accurate. We really want him. Think he is ours. There is no one else. I think the coaches
are a little bit frustrated with him right now.

So the coaches thought McLeod was a lock and he was their final portal focus and they expected his commitment by now and he hasn't committed? Is that the jist of it?

If so, hopefully he signs imminently.

 

[rrlbees]

FYI, McLeod deleted his tweet about announcing a top 5.

 

[Orangefizz]

So the coaches thought McLeod was a lock and he was their final portal focus and they expected his commitment by now and he hasn't committed? Is that the jist of it?

If so, hopefully he signs imminently.

He’s done a few media interviews available on YouTube and he said his timeline for a commitment is two weeks. I would expect his top-five the week of May 15 and commitment the week of May 22

 

[MikeSU02]

Abbreviated: NIL

Besides NIL, Duke has over two dozen NBA players with, I believe, over a billion in contracts.

They are on another level.

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

3. Naheem McLeod, Center, Florida State
Stats: 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 1.2 blocks
McLeod recently took a visit to Syracuse, but Gonzaga was in on him shortly after he entered the portal thanks to his connection with R-Jay Barsh, Gonzaga's new assistant coach who worked with McLeod at Florida State last season.
McLeod is a sturdy 7'4, and in a small role as a backup big and rim protector, he could thrive with the Zags, while potentially developing into a bigger role in the future.

5 transfer portal targets for Mark Few and Gonzaga to pursue

 

[jdubs30]

3. Naheem McLeod, Center, Florida State
Stats: 3.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 1.2 blocks
McLeod recently took a visit to Syracuse, but Gonzaga was in on him shortly after he entered the portal thanks to his connection with R-Jay Barsh, Gonzaga's new assistant coach who worked with McLeod at Florida State last season.
McLeod is a sturdy 7'4, and in a small role as a backup big and rim protector, he could thrive with the Zags, while potentially developing into a bigger role in the future.

5 transfer portal targets for Mark Few and Gonzaga to pursue

The problem is he’d probably start here day 1. But sure how a “small role as a backup” would be enticing

 

[SanDiegoCuse]

The problem is he’d probably start here day 1. But sure how a “small role as a backup” would be enticing

Agreed. But we have seen relationships with previous coaches have proven to be large in the portal.

 

[Orangezoo]

McLeod deleted the response to the Nova coach tweet too. At this point commit or don't young fella. This is just weird.

 

[UpstateSM]

Straughn follows a former Mickey D’s center and McLeod realizes it’s not all fun and games

 

[Orangezoo]

Straughn follows a former Mickey D’s center and McLeod realizes it’s not all fun and games

Yeah it's crunch time now.