Alrighty sports fans, who's going to be the other starting guard

[Cappy3]

you have seen him play?

At Wake, and he wasn’t impressive.

 

[Niastri]

At Wake, and he wasn’t impressive.

That was a long time ago. He virtually had a redshirt his freshman year, and played sparingly as a sophomore... Since then he's had a pretty good season at a lower level.

You've given up hope a player can get better from his second to fourth year?

 

[dasher]

At Wake, and he wasn’t impressive.

Yeah, I guess he couldn't have improved. Exactly how much did he play at Wake? Just looked it up, he averaged about 12 minutes a game his last year at Wake. Must have watched a lot of Wake games closely. I watch lot of basketball closely and I must admit, I have no idea how good or bad he is on defense. I do know guys that do it for a living say that he is the best defensive guy on our team. I wonder what people that watched Duke play said about Silent G when he transferred here?

 

[Sherman20]

I’m not sure what he’s missing can be taught. He appears to lack the fight and awareness on that end. 75% of defense is what he’s missing. I’d rather have someone a bit less athletic with a better motor than what he offered last season.

What a clown town post.

 

[AZOrange]

What a clown town post.

Don’t get it at all. A lot of JJ issues last year started with Judah letting his guy go and having no consistency on switches. He can absolutely fix this

 

[General20]

Taylor is the best defensive player on the squad. That isn't my opinion by the way.

Or, and hopefully it isn't this, it's a low bar

I read two things into this. One is great news that suggests Taylor will be a valuable contributor this year. Two, is confirmation of what I already thought, that Westry will take some time to get back up to speed.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Don’t get it at all. A lot of JJ issues last year started with Judah letting his guy go and having no consistency on switches. He can absolutely fix this

I do not think JJ is a completely lost cause on defense, but you cannot blame his faults on D last year on Mintz.

 

[Cappy3]

Yeah, I guess he couldn't have improved. Exactly how much did he play at Wake? Just looked it up, he averaged about 12 minutes a game his last year at Wake. Must have watched a lot of Wake games closely. I watch lot of basketball closely and I must admit, I have no idea how good or bad he is on defense. I do know guys that do it for a living say that he is the best defensive guy on our team. I wonder what people that watched Duke play said about Silent G when he transferred here?

Well, when he left Wake he had no P5 interest. He played in a truly mediocre (at best) conference, and when he entered the portal had little if any P5 interest which is why he was still available late into the spring. He didn’t get any mention in Sun Belt all defensive ratings, nor make any of the 3 All League teams. None of the scouting reports mentioned his defense as a selling point. Maybe all the other P5 coaches missed the boat on him. Possible, but is it likely?

 

[dasher]

Well, when he left Wake he had no P5 interest. He played in a truly mediocre (at best) conference, and when he entered the portal had little if any P5 interest which is why he was still available late into the spring. He didn’t get any mention in Sun Belt all defensive ratings, nor make any of the 3 All League teams. None of the scouting reports mentioned his defense as a selling point. Maybe all the other P5 coaches missed the boat on him. Possible, but is it likely?

I have no idea how many or who was interested in him in the spring. I'm going to wait until I see him actually play before I knock him. Crazy as that seems.

 

[Orangezoo]

Well, when he left Wake he had no P5 interest. He played in a truly mediocre (at best) conference, and when he entered the portal had little if any P5 interest which is why he was still available late into the spring. He didn’t get any mention in Sun Belt all defensive ratings, nor make any of the 3 All League teams. None of the scouting reports mentioned his defense as a selling point. Maybe all the other P5 coaches missed the boat on him. Possible, but is it likely?

He played on a losing team. A team that has struggled losing guys to the portal like many smaller programs have. His defense has been mentioned by both his Ga st coaches and others who watched him. His advanced metrics are deceiving as they are at pretty much any smaller school as they are biased lower especially for teams with losing records. So you can’t really take much from Wake or the numbers last year to make a determination.

What you can take is that he has a nice form on his shot, is a plus athlete and moves well and has great size for a guard. All things that would benefit someone who wants to be a good defender. Thus it’s hardly a surprise to hear this from the staffs perspective.

Also as it pertains to Chance- Taylor has played 3 years of basketball in college and Chance has played all of 10 games and sat out two years. I think it’s fair to say he could still be a good defender but a kid fully healthy and a senior is going to be ahead of basically an older sophomore/redshirt frosh

 

[Cappy3]

I have no idea how many or who was interested in him in the spring. I'm going to wait until I see him actually play before I knock him. Crazy as that seems.

Hope you guys are right. But as for me, everything I’ve seen and heard about him makes me think Carlos would be a far better choice. Imo, if Taylor sees more than 10 minutes per. We’re not as good as I hope we are.

 

[billsin01]

I do not think JJ is a completely lost cause on defense, but you cannot blame his faults on D last year on Mintz.

Yeah, it’s a stretch to blame that on Judah. JJ will be interesting to watch. Not claiming to be an expert here but it seemed to me that JJ moved his feet well and was generally in a decent position to defend.

However, he doesn’t seem to anticipate well and appears to be completely averse to any sort of gamble. So the result was him being in ok guarding position but allowing his man to get where he wanted to go. At this level, guys who get where they want to go finish more often than not.

He’s got to find a way to use his inherent strength, length and athleticism to make his opponent more uncomfortable. Some of this is anticipating a bit more, understanding where a man opponent wants to go and some of it is gambling more.

To be fair to JJ as well, we need to be more effective as a team doing this same thing. We were extremely simplistic defensively last year. At the beginning of the season we appeared to have no clue how to approach a simple high ball screen. In fairness to Red, some of this is probably unavoidable as you transition from zone to man, but even so, it was a bit jarring to see how poorly prepared we seemed to be.

Regardless of personnel, we have to be more sophisticated defensively this year. Putting any of these five guys on the floor and just hoping they shut down the other five guys in straight-up man is not a winning strategy.

 

[sutomcat]

He played on a losing team. A team that has struggled losing guys to the portal like many smaller programs have. His defense has been mentioned by both his Ga st coaches and others who watched him. His advanced metrics are deceiving as they are at pretty much any smaller school as they are biased lower especially for teams with losing records. So you can’t really take much from Wake or the numbers last year to make a determination.

What you can take is that he has a nice form on his shot, is a plus athlete and moves well and has great size for a guard. All things that would benefit someone who wants to be a good defender. Thus it’s hardly a surprise to hear this from the staffs perspective.

Also as it pertains to Chance- Taylor has played 3 years of basketball in college and Chance has played all of 10 games and sat out two years. I think it’s fair to say he could still be a good defender but a kid fully healthy and a senior is going to be ahead of basically an older sophomore/redshirt frosh

Good points. Lucas finished 9th in the league in scoring. But as you say, players on losing teams (and Georgia State lost a lot of games) historically get short schrift on all conference teams.

And for the record, the Sun Belt does not have an all defensive team. They have a defensive player of the year. And that is it as far as honors go for defense in the Sun Belt.

There is always a place for a player in the rotation who can be a lock down defender. I have no idea if Lucas is that guy. His highlight tape focuses on him playing offense. But if the staff thinks he is, that is good enough for me.

We really needed a guy who could shut down a player on the other team having a big day last season. Especially to shut down guards. JJ and Judah were not good in this area. Q wasn't either but he had some moments where he was focused and did well here.

I am really encouraged that Lucas, Carlos and Chance all have good reputations as defensive players. I think we will have a lot more options on defense this coming season across the board and will be very disappointed if we are not significantly better on defense in 2024-25. Just having McLeod healthy all season will be huge, literally and figuratively.

 

[dasher]

Hope you guys are right. But as for me, everything I’ve seen and heard about him makes me think Carlos would be a far better choice. Imo, if Taylor sees more than 10 minutes per. We’re not as good as I hope we are.

I think Carlos will be the other starting guard. As for Taylor, I report what I have been told. I have no idea how good he is. I think Taylor sees more than 10 minutes a game. Unless the frosh is better than I think he is.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Its 2024 people. There is always footage! (He is #31 in blue). Stats will never tell you everything. Watch the guy and see for yourself

 

[Orangezoo]

Its 2024 people. There is always footage! (He is #31 in blue). Stats will never tell you everything. Watch the guy and see for yourself

First 10 minutes you can see it. Lot of solid defending from Taylor in that sequence he’s all over the place.

 

[Cappy3]

Its 2024 people. There is always footage! (He is #31 in blue). Stats will never tell you everything. Watch the guy and see for yourself

Not sure you learn that much covering Appalachian St. Not exactly ACC level talent.

 

[Cappy3]

I think Carlos will be the other starting guard. As for Taylor, I report what I have been told. I have no idea how good he is. I think Taylor sees more than 10 minutes a game. Unless the frosh is better than I think he is.

Do you think he plays ahead of Westry and Cuffe, as well as Moore?

 

[DoctahLexus]

Not sure you learn that much covering Appalachian St. Not exactly ACC level talent.

I assure you watching this is better than labeling him a bad player because of his spot minutes as an underclassmen at Wake. App state was one of the best teams in the conference and coincidentally went on to lose to Wake in the NIT first round by 11. That's a lot better than we played against Wake last season.

 

[Orangezoo]

Not sure you learn that much covering Appalachian St. Not exactly ACC level talent.

27-6 last year wins over Auburn and JMU. Got upset in Sun Belt semifinal but were the regular season champs. Maybe do a little homework before responding.

 

[Cappy3]

27-6 last year wins over Auburn and JMU. Got upset in Sun Belt semifinal but were the regular season champs. Maybe do a little homework before responding.

How many future NBA guys on A St? Not ACC level talent iss the point.

 

[althea]

How many future NBA guys on A St? Not ACC level talent iss the point.

One of Syracuse best teams ever had 1 NBA player (2010). There are a lot of really good players in college bball that don’t make the NBA.

 

[dasher]

Do you think he plays ahead of Westry and Cuffe, as well as Moore?

I don't know. But I do know this and I have been reluctant to share this, there was a lot of question about what Westry could give us this year. This goes back to the end of the last school year. I know he is cleared to go now, but I am taking a wait and see on him. At least for now. As for Cuffe. I hope he is better than Cuffe. I just find his game limited. Maybe it was the rust but he isn't going to get any bigger. I also know the coaches have liked what they have seen from Taylor, so far.

 

[Cappy3]

I don't know. But I do know this and I have been reluctant to share this, there was a lot of question about what Westry could give us this year. This goes back to the end of the last school year. I know he is cleared to go now, but I am taking a wait and see on him. At least for now. As for Cuffe. I hope he is better than Cuffe. I just find his game limited. Maybe it was the rust but he isn't going to get any bigger. I also know the coaches have liked what they have seen from Taylor, so far.

Thanks, Dash.

 

[Orangezoo]

How many future NBA guys on A St? Not ACC level talent iss the point.

Yet it’s not a point at all. It’s just a lazy take. Future NBA guys makes no difference in terms of assessing the kids ability to play defense. App St was a top 100 Ken Pom team. It’s a solid test to use to look at tape and his defense stands out. They beat good teams and won 27 games. That’s a quality team with good college players and coaching and a good team to look at tape against.