Anyone want to venture a guess | Syracusefan.com

Anyone want to venture a guess

Capt. Tuttle

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as to which former recruits the “new staff” reaches out to, through back channels, about the portal. Who were Red’s recent recruits?
 
Autry was the first Syracuse staff member to talk to JJ Starling.

Ty Rodgers, who is now with Illinois, was a big recruit for Autry.

I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.

Yes, he's from Cuse.
But, he had no desire to play here, and frankly has been underwhelming at best at ND.

Why would we want him?

It's irrelevant what his HS crootin rankings were, now that we've seen him w a year in P5 under his belt.
Judah was and is by far the better player.

If I'm Red, my Number One A recruiting priority, is getting Judah to come back for a 2nd year.
(Jesse would be Number One B)

After that, he and Griff and whomever else can take the Portal to PoundTown to fill out the roster.
 
I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.

Yes, he's from Cuse.
But, he had no desire to play here, and frankly has been underwhelming at best at ND.

Why would we want him?

It's irrelevant what his HS crootin rankings were, now that we've seen him w a year in P5 under his belt.
Judah was and is by far the better player.

If I'm Red, my Number One A recruiting priority, is getting Judah to come back for a 2nd year.
(Jesse would be Number One B)

After that, he and Griff and whomever else can take the Portal to PoundTown to fill out the roster.


Well, there are two ways to view this.

Through Lens A, Starling was overrated and doesn't deserve secondary consideration despite being a hometown kid.

Or through Lens B, he was a frosh on a bad team, and a change of scenery might help him actualize his potential. Especially given the opportunity to play back home.

I think JJ is a lot better than he showed, but it isn't up to me -- will be interesting to see whether Red reaches out.
 
Well, there are two ways to view this.

Through Lens A, Starling was overrated and doesn't deserve secondary consideration despite being a hometown kid.

Or through Lens B, he was a frosh on a bad team, and a change of scenery might help him actualize his potential. Especially given the opportunity to play back home.

I think JJ is a lot better than he showed, but it isn't up to me -- will be interesting to see whether Red reaches out.

If Red runs a mtm team that presses as well where his north south style of play would work well...
 
I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.

Yes, he's from Cuse.
But, he had no desire to play here, and frankly has been underwhelming at best at ND.

Why would we want him?

It's irrelevant what his HS crootin rankings were, now that we've seen him w a year in P5 under his belt.
Judah was and is by far the better player.

If I'm Red, my Number One A recruiting priority, is getting Judah to come back for a 2nd year.
(Jesse would be Number One B)

After that, he and Griff and whomever else can take the Portal to PoundTown to fill out the roster.
You never know how good a kid can be in your system. Bryce Hopkins was a McDonalds AA in HS that went from avg 2ppg at Kentucky to being First Team All Big East at Providence as a sophomore.

Think it would be worth the gamble.
 
I think JJ worth a gamble as a replacement for Mintz. I don't know about playing Mintz and JJ in the same backcourt not enough shooting IMO
 
Oye. I'm lower on Starling than most, but a point guard he is not. It would have to be the 2 and his shot and defense all need improvement.

Watching him play he has a better chance to turn into a point guard than a shooting guard. I would have to see all the other players in the portal before I say we should or shouldn't get JJ.
 
Watching him play he has a better chance to turn into a point guard than a shooting guard. I would have to see all the other players in the portal before I say we should or shouldn't get JJ.
If JB was here this would be the easy target based on past recruiting, but I think now we should spread a larger net.
 
I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.

Yes, he's from Cuse.
But, he had no desire to play here, and frankly has been underwhelming at best at ND.

Why would we want him?

It's irrelevant what his HS crootin rankings were, now that we've seen him w a year in P5 under his belt.
Judah was and is by far the better player.

If I'm Red, my Number One A recruiting priority, is getting Judah to come back for a 2nd year.
(Jesse would be Number One B)

After that, he and Griff and whomever else can take the Portal to PoundTown to fill out the roster.
Because players improve as they get older, wiser, stronger. I am reasonably confident that Starling will be a very, very good 4-year college player and we should be in the market for those. He has great potential. That did not get erased during a single season in South Bend. All that said, not sure he has interest in coming "home," but I certainly hope he does. He'd be a helluva get for our new HC/coaching staff.

By the end, weren't you glad we did not cast aside D.Nic after one season? How about Cooney? Or Damond Brown? Etan?
 
Agreed! Don't limit ourselves.

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Because players improve as they get older, wiser, stronger. I am reasonably confident that Starling will be a very, very good 4-year college player and we should be in the market for those. He has great potential. That did not get erased during a single season in South Bend. All that said, not sure he has interest in coming "home," but I certainly hope he does. He'd be a helluva get for our new HC/coaching staff.

By the end, weren't you glad we did not cast aside D.Nic after one season? How about Cooney? Or Damond Brown? Etan?

Why would we artificially limit our Pounding the Portal to guys we tried to recruit before?

That's what JAB did, and it was lazy.

Your examples are all from the pre-Portal era.
Which is effectively ancient history in today's landscape.

In this new Portal Era, nobody has the luxury of waiting 3-4 years for guys to develop.
Because they most likely won't be at the same school that recruited them, by the time they finally do develop (if they even do at all).

Why not go after proven commodities out of the Portal instead?

If a dude like Capel can use the Portal to take Pitt from dumpster fire to competitive for the ACC regular season championship, then Red and Cuse should be able to do the same, or better.
 
Oye. I'm lower on Starling than most, but a point guard he is not. It would have to be the 2 and his shot and defense all need improvement.
Agree 100%
 
I never said HCAA should only go after one player. You did, which is fine.
I was reviewing one singular player. I love his game, even with his "struggles" as a frosh, which are to be expected.

That said, who is going to have a higher ceiling?
  • Starling, who was a top 35-ish recruit?
  • Hinson, who "played" at two schools before ours (he spent 2 years at ISU, but never played/Covid)?
Enjoy Hinson's one season vs. 2-3 from Starling.
And Hinson was hardly a given. He averaged the 9+ PPG in his two seasons at Ole Miss. And that is what Starling posted at ND.

Were you clamoring for Hinson last offseason? Honestly. Did you know who he was? I suppose you're going to tell us you had Tom Brady as a top-3 pick back in the 2000 NFL Draft.

Lastly, the lump sum of the players in the vaunted portal are there because they have flaws (Starling included). This ain't a science. It is an art. Scouting and player development. And I think that Starling has what it takes to be a top-flight guard in the ACC (if he came to us).
 
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I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.
he struggled down the stretch - likely after knowing his coach is leaving and that he probably will be as well - just like the Orange players.

but he did have a stretch this season where he scored double figures 13 of 16 games in a row...

good teams need 4 or 5 guards...it isnt about judah vs jj, imo
 
Starling struggled this year (not Benny level) but most freshmen tend to with the exception of a talented few. There were some bright spots in his game, he is long, athletic and appears to be a good kid who should improve over time. Most likely if he hits the portal, he will be considered one of the top available guards. He can replace Judah at the point. We will still need a proven shooting guard and center. At forward Malik will continue to improve and Benny should be a better player under Red.
 
I don't get all the JJ Starling love around here.

Yes, he's from Cuse.
But, he had no desire to play here, and frankly has been underwhelming at best at ND.

Why would we want him?

It's irrelevant what his HS crootin rankings were, now that we've seen him w a year in P5 under his belt.
Judah was and is by far the better player.

If I'm Red, my Number One A recruiting priority, is getting Judah to come back for a 2nd year.
(Jesse would be Number One B)

After that, he and Griff and whomever else can take the Portal to PoundTown to fill out the roster.
I disagree with your take. JJ got off to a slow start but started playing much better until he got hurt. If we could retain Mintz, the two would make a dynamic back court.
 
I disagree with your take. JJ got off to a slow start but started playing much better until he got hurt. If we could retain Mintz, the two would make a dynamic back court.
I'm also in this camp. JJ and Judah would be dynamic together in a pressing uptempo system. JJ is way more skilled than some here seem to think.
 
I think a Mintz/JJ backcourt would struggle shooting from the outside but everything else on the court would be awesome. Speed-Playmaking-Defense etc all would improve.
 

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