An entire season lies ahead!

[Flacusian]

This is always a great time of the year. Baseball is closing out for those of us who's teams did not make the grade for post season play. Both College and Pro football is well under way and we've been able to get an idea as to who will be good and who won't.

But the best part of this time of year is the fact that we lie at the doorstep of another exciting Syracuse College Basketball season. Although I am a fanatic of sorts across the board for most sports, Syracuse Basketball has been and always will be the one thing that seizes my attention, emotions, and passion more so than any other sport. In recent years the level of excitement and expectation of great things has been higher than perhaps ever before as we have been treated to seeing the influx of so much talent into the program. The move to the ACC although tempered by bittersweet emotions of leaving the Big East behind, has also provided a new and interesting perspective to Syracuse Basketball.

Expectations for the coming season are perhaps a notch or two below the previous couple seasons but I think it will be just as, or even more exciting than the previous seasons in that there are so many unanswered questions and new roles which will need to be filled by the players on the team. Chances are we are not looking at a 25 -0 start of the season but the flip side of that is that I believe this team will be playing it's best basketball at the END of the season rather than the beginning first 2/3 of the season.

We also have several kids who have a tremendous amount of talent and potential that we'll likely get to see develop right before our eyes as the season unfolds. Chris McCullough is going to step in as one of the most highly touted recruits in many years. Kaleb Joseph represents the promise of a more wide open fast break opportunities and more exciting offense than we've seen in recent years. Last year's freshmen are also poised to play larger roles and show us what they can do. BJ is ready to blow up on the college basketball scene as a relative unknown who may become a nationally recognized name prior to the end of the season. Tyler Roberson is the same.

This is the last weekend prior to the team starting practice and it's awesome to know that at no other time do we have so much Syracuse basketball to look forward to. I'm getting a really good vibe as to how this season will unfold for us moving forward.

LTO!!

 

[SUintheVille]

Good post. Let's all try not to panic if they lose a couple games early that maybe they should have won. Patience for the long haul, reward at the end.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

Thank god! Football has been brutAAAL so far!

 

[jordoo]

I think in general this team is far more talented than most realize, both media types and even SU fans. I'm not saying they will realize that talent day one and roll through the season or anything, but I think Flacusian is dead on that this will be a very entertaining and exciting season to watch. Granted there is a lot of unproven talent but that's what will make it riveting to watch.

 

[RF2044]

I think in general this team is far more talented than most realize, both media types and even SU fans. I'm not saying they will realize that talent day one and roll through the season or anything, but I think Flacusian is dead on that this will be a very entertaining and exciting season to watch. Granted there is a lot of unproven talent but that's what will make it riveting to watch.

If Kaleb Joseph is up to the task...
If Roberson and BJ make the sophomore leap...
If Rak has a strong senior year...
If McCullough is a better version of Donte Greene...
If Cooney becomes more consistent...
If we get any offensive production out of Gbinije...
If Obokoh can help us steal some minutes as the backup center...
If we can shoot the ball collectively better than we did this past year...

That's a lot of "if's." I agree, we could be much better than most people PROJECT, based upon what we lost / have returning. If [another one] most of those question marks get answered positively, then this team could end up being really good by the end of the year. There's bound to be some growing pains, but it would be fun to watch.

 

[jordoo]

If Kaleb Joseph is up to the task...
If Roberson and BJ make the sophomore leap...
If Rak has a strong senior year...
If McCullough is a better version of Donte Greene...
If Cooney becomes more consistent...
If we get any offensive production out of Gbinije...
If Obokoh can help us steal some minutes as the backup center...
If we can shoot the ball collectively better than we did this past year...

That's a lot of "if's." I agree, we could be much better than most people PROJECT, based upon what we lost / have returning. If [another one] most of those question marks get answered positively, then this team could end up being really good by the end of the year. There's bound to be some growing pains, but it would be fun to watch.

Precisely what I feel about the season as well. I think its possible all of those questions get answered positively and probable that a majority of them do but its likely that it will take 2/3 of the season for us to know for sure with some of these things.

 

[RF2044]

Precisely what I feel about the season as well. I think its possible all of those questions get answered positively and probable that a majority of them do but its likely that it will take 2/3 of the season for us to know for sure with some of these things.

It would be nice to subtantively improve over the course of the season, and be playing our best ball of the year at the end, for once.

 

[jordoo]

It would be nice to subtantively improve over the course of the season, and be playing our best ball of the year at the end, for once.

Agreed, and I actually think we will start to see that become a trend for SU with the higher level recruits we have coming in. We are starting to see a higher turnover rate with players leaving early. Its not just that you will have talented players who tend to get better but also the staff will have to start to adjust and give the younger guys more run like we will see this year because you will only have 2-3 veteran players that already have a lot of game experience.
We may start seeing the Sophmore leap sometime near the end of the conference season with some of these younger players.

 

[RF2044]

Agreed, and I actually think we will start to see that become a trend for SU with the higher level recruits we have coming in. We are starting to see a higher turnover rate with players leaving early. Its not just that you will have talented players who tend to get better but also the staff will have to start to adjust and give the younger guys more run like we will see this year because you will only have 2-3 veteran players that already have a lot of game experience.
We may start seeing the Sophmore leap sometime near the end of the conference season with some of these younger players.

Speaking of young players, one thing is for sure: we're going to only go as far as our young players take us. The frosh / soph group on this team--in no particular order, Joseph, McCullough, Roberson, BJ, Obokoh, and Patterson--are going to determine what this team's ceiling is, IMO.

Yes, it is important for Rak to have a good senior year, and we won't be very good if he doesn't.

And yes, we need juniors Cooney / Gbinije to step up and provide some offensive consistency.

But at the end of the discussion, our team's potential--and how much if it gets actualized--is in the hands of the young players.

 

[jordoo]

Speaking of young players, one thing is for sure: we're going to only go as far as our young players take us. The frosh / soph group on this team--in no particular order, Joseph, McCullough, Roberson, BJ, Obokoh, and Patterson--are going to determine what this team's ceiling is, IMO.

Yes, it is important for Rak to have a good senior year, and we won't be very good if he doesn't.

And yes, we need juniors Cooney / Gbinije to step up and provide some offensive consistency.

But at the end of the discussion, our team's potential--and how much if it gets actualized--is in the hands of the young players.

And it will be more or less like that moving forward because the most talent guys we have are not going to be around for their Junior and Senior seasons. Those Juniors and Seniors will more likely be the glue guys who provide consistency and experience. I think that was really one of our issues the last season with CJ. We relied on him being a star type player when really he was a great secondary talent who thrived as in supporting player role. I love CJ and am thankful for what he brought to SU for 4 seasons but he never had the type of talent to carry a team he just wasn't that type of player.

 

[Flacusian]

It would be nice to subtantively improve over the course of the season, and be playing our best ball of the year at the end, for once since 2003.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!!!!!