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Message: [QUOTE="Powellfan, post: 5304512, member: 4819"] I'm probably the biggest doubter of our SSDM unit on here. So yes, I would agree with you, that SSDM is a huge question mark. Reasons for optimism would be: 1) They still have Carter Rice, who I maintain should be an All American for his defensive prowess. He's not going to put up a lot of points, and isn't the groundball vacuum you probably want in this position, but when it comes to squaring offensive players up, I don't think many are better. 2) Maturation of younger players: We discussed this a lot, but I guess that's what the offseason is for. Syracuse lost their projected #2 starter last year preseason when Max Rosa went down. Then his backup Landon Clary went down early in the season. They played a lot of guys last year, and I don't think many of them figured they would see a lot of minutes prior to the Spring. I still hope that at least one of them comes back this Spring and has improved greatly (I would say this happened with Carter Rice between his sophomore and junior seasons). Nate LeVine and Wyatt Hottle (if he doesn't move to offense) showed "flashes" last year that hopefully they can improve upon. Maybe something clicks for Jake Spallina and he takes a leap. I don't know much about the new transfer from St. Johns, but he's got good size. With the roster cuts, and not taking a lot of transfers this offseason, I think the coaches must have saw something. Losing Stevens obviously hurts. It helps to have English back, as I think he can do a lot of the same things - play the wing, play some defense, be a threat on offense. Stevens was better on groundballs no doubt. But I worry about who replaces English in those middle of the field spots, as a sort of backup - I already thought they wore down English too much last year. Now what happens when you don't have Stevens to fall back on? Who is taking face-off wings besides English? Rice had 21 groundballs last year, but no other returning SSDM had double digits (Stevens 47, English 34). Hottle and Rice would be my best guess, but those are big shoes to fill. Also they have to replace their top three LSMs. If Grace does start down at close, I'm not sure who the top two LSMs are. Caccamo? The freshman Bolognino? Sageder? Syracuse had two really good poles in the middle of the field last year. It's not a huge concern as you've got guys with promise, and with experience, but it's a question mark for sure. Mullen showed scoring promise last year. Not to the level of Kohn, but I don't think I've ever seen an SU fogo maneuver with the ball the way Kohn did. Mullen had four points last year, which I think is a lot more than any recent SU fogo, save Jeremy Thompson in recent memory. With his size and strength it's definitely something he could expand on. [/QUOTE]

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