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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 1192383, member: 40"] I am VERY excited to see what Kaleb Joseph is going to do at PG. In the off-season, I'd heard he was a little reckless with the ball--but that certainly wasn't the case in the two exhibition games. His game seems perfectly tailored for JB's system; its not hard to see why he was the hand-picked successor recruit they went after. Kid has a LOT of Sherman Douglas in his game--which is high praise. IMO, Patterson emerging is a HUGE development for this team. Last season, after Coleman got injured / Grant shifted into the starting lineup, we had virtually zero bench scoring. And what has been the consistent hallmark of SU 's resurgence since 2009? The luxury of JB being able to bring potent scorers off the bench. Patterson seems like the type of kid who could easily average 7-8 ppg this year, provide some solid complimentary shooting, but perhaps most importantly contribute in other ways--that will be the reason that he gets consistent PT, b/c he'll find ways to contribute even when the shot isn't dropping any given night. Love the energy / hustle he brings off of the bench, too. Coupled with Gbinije also looking like a more capable scorer this year, it reminds me a lot of 2009-2010, where we were able to bring scorers like Scoop / Kris off of the bench. G and Bus are this year's Scoop / Kris. A big determinant of how good the offense is going to be is what happens with Roberson and BJ. Both players might be a year away from fully hitting their stride. But it is important to keep in mind that these guys have basically ZERO game experience, so part of the next few games is them just getting their feet wet, getting comfortable, and more importantly gaining confidence. I was highly encouraged by BJ's second half against Adrian. That's how well the kid shoots the ball. The question now is: can he continue to shoot well? Because if so, we're really going to have a lot of options to stretch the floor. I firmly believe that BJ is going to be the team's leading scorer at some point in his career; obviously, it won't happen this year, but he's got that kind of offensive ability. Roberson has all the tools, but he just needs to settle down. I got nervous when he got pulled 10 seconds into the game on Monday -- but thankfully it didn't have anything to do with him making a mistake, and JB quickly put him back in. If ever there was a guy who just needs to settle down and get an easy bucket, that was Tyler heading into Monday. The article about him after the game spoke volumes. Even though he didn't have a great game, just getting a few inside buckets and knocking down some jumpers was huge for him. You could almost feel the pressure valve turning, and letting off some of the pressure as the game went on. And did anybody notice the three he knocked down late? The kid has a really nice shooting stroke--great form. Cooney's been discussed ad nauseum. Kid needs to shoot more consistently. I don't think Chino will be ready this year, but the again he's in the same exact situation as what I describe above for BJ / Roberson--he has never played before, and needs some developmental PT. Maybe he'll round into form sooner than I expect and provide some bench depth in the pivot. But like I said, I think its more likely to happen next year than this year. I'm not counting on DC being available. That isn't based upon any inside information, just me not getting my hopes up. If he could return by the end of the year, and round into form enough to give the team 10 minutes per game behind Rak, that would be a huge boon. Re: McCullough. The kid is a natural rebounder, which is great to see. Right now, he's too much of a finesse player offensively. That might change as he acclimates, but he tries to go around guys and avoid contact, when he'd be better served bodying up and drawing contact instead of trying to slither past it. All the tools are there, here's hoping he puts it together. I saved the team's lone senior for last. Rak has looked good this preseason. Perhaps most importantly, he won't have to look over his shoulder this year--because there's nobody there to pull him for. I think we can book him for 8-10 ppg and 8 rpg. I don't like the prospect of McCullough having to back him up in the post, because it runs the risk of McCullough picking up extra fouls. But I think we've got the forward depth with Robeson being able to slide to the 4, and Gbinije / BJ giving us versatility at the 3, to compensate if that's what we have to do. Not ideal, but what can you do. And it might be a way to get a player like BJ minutes that he otherwise might not be able to get. What does it all add up to? In my opinion, once things gel the offense is going to be much better than last year. Here's why: [LIST] [*]We're going to be tougher on the glass, and when you rebound you can run [*]We have a point guard who is going to push it and help the team get easier baskets in transition that we didn't get last year [*]More shooters [*]More depth with said shooters, which means that we don't have to suffer a poor shooting night like we did last year [*]We'll have an inside scoring presence that we lacked last year [*]With multiple shooters and an inside guy that the opposition will have to pay attention to, floor spacing should be more favorable [*]When all else fails, Kaleb Joseph is going to be able to drive and dish better than Tyler Ennis [/LIST] It might not always be pretty, and we're bound to go through some growing pains with such a young team. But for once, this might actually be a team that is better at the end of the season than they are at the beginning. And I'm not giving up on them finding their way into [or around] the top 10 this year, if they round into form sooner than expected. [B][SIZE=6][COLOR=#ff8000]Let's Go Orange!!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [/QUOTE]

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