Class of 2019 C Jon Bol Ajak (PA) SIGNED WITH SYRACUSE

[moqui]

Maybe this kid is better than we think?(I hope).

better than some thought, anyway

i hear he's up to 230 lbs, by the way.

6-9, 230 is beefier than rak came in as a freshman, and beefier than senior year baye moussa keita

 

[longislandcuse]

As far as posters ripping other posters for criticizing the taking of this commit... the board has been right about some of the guys who didn’t pan out. It’s not like this staff is batting .1000 lately.

In terms of the write ups on Ajak... I really hope the guy is an under the radar catch. I don’t care if he isn’t a post up player, if the reports are true, my kingdom for a pick and pop big man.

 

[Orangefan1]

better than some thought, anyway

i hear he's up to 230 lbs, by the way.

6-9, 230 is beefier than rak came in as a freshman, and beefier than senior year baye moussa keita

Keep eating

 

[SmilinBob]

As far as posters ripping other posters for criticizing the taking of this commit... the board has been right about some of the guys who didn’t pan out. It’s not like this staff is batting .1000 lately.

In terms of the write ups on Ajak... I really hope the guy is an under the radar catch. I don’t care if he isn’t a post up player, if the reports are true, my kingdom for a pick and pop big man.

Agree...and if he can rebound and block some shots he'll be a wonderful addition.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Alsacs]

As far as posters ripping other posters for criticizing the taking of this commit... the board has been right about some of the guys who didn’t pan out. It’s not like this staff is batting .1000 lately.

In terms of the write ups on Ajak... I really hope the guy is an under the radar catch. I don’t care if he isn’t a post up player, if the reports are true, my kingdom for a pick and pop big man.

He just needs to be able to play minutes.
Nobody expects anything more than being a role player but if he can’t get off the bench next year or until his Junior year that isn’t good.
We need big help but this kid isn’t the guy I expect to be a 20 MPG guy next year but if he can be 5 fouls and depth in case of emergency not be terrible that is perfect.
He can’t be Chino, Mike Devin McBride, Mike Williams.
In 3 years here Chino played 156 minutes.
We can’t have that again.

 

[cusefan88]

I saw him play once this season and he didn't do much since the game was a blowout. He's definitely more interested in jump-shooting and didn't do a lot of low post moves. frankly i think that is a good thing for the Cuse offense (more drives with the lane not clogged)

 

[orangejunkie]

Nice win for Westtown against a perennial prep powerhouse. JBA has a nice outside shooting stroke which we haven't seen in a center in a long time. It is the direction that basketball is headed, having 5 players who can all shoot the 3 ball. He will need to develop an inside post up game but that will come. He is not a skinny kid like some of our other center recruits. Again, check out the game on west town.edu

 

[pfister1]

I saw him play once this season and he didn't do much since the game was a blowout. He's definitely more interested in jump-shooting and didn't do a lot of low post moves. frankly i think that is a good thing for the Cuse offense (more drives with the lane not clogged)

How much difference between his game and Braswell’s?

 

[cusefan88]

How much difference between his game and Braswell’s?

He didn't play much but he's definitely much much heavier and can get in for rebounds. He's not a SF at all. He's a big who can probably become a threat off the pick-and-roll.

 

[Todoubled23]

He didn't play much but he's definitely much much heavier and can get in for rebounds. He's not a SF at all. He's a big who can probably become a threat off the pick-and-roll.

All the guys coming in are shooters, very happy about just that fact alone!

 

[CuseCrew08]

Can he score with his back to the basket? That is the player we haven't been getting lately.

 

[orangejunkie]

Based on two games I've watched, he does present himself and post up in the lane, but didn't see where his team took advantage of that. He was a very good shot blocker with a pretty physical frame. He is not a skinny kid, a la Braswell. I will catch some more games with updates.

 

[Orijinal]

I think it's time that some posters on here stop thinking that they are professional scouts and know how players will pan out. Honestly, it's been pretty jerky around here in regards to JBA. Probably some of the same posters who kept saying we had a championship team with John Gillon and Andrew White

 

[cusefan88]

I think it's time that some posters on here stop thinking that they are professional scouts and know how players will pan out. Honestly, it's been pretty jerky around here in regards to JBA. Probably some of the same posters who kept saying we had a championship team with John Gillon and Andrew White

As someone who thought he was garbage and Cuse should have signed him, after seeing him once I changed my perspective. I think in a D1 program he will become a contributor. He's a lot better than the other projects. Chino couldn't catch the ball, this dude can hit threes in a game against Brewster. big difference.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I think it's time that some posters on here stop thinking that they are professional scouts and know how players will pan out. Honestly, it's been pretty jerky around here in regards to JBA. Probably some of the same posters who kept saying we had a championship team with John Gillon and Andrew White

Let’s not talk about that team. IMO JB worst coaching job. Can’t have a lineup with White, Lydon, Roberson and Coleman. No ball handling or quickness. We wasted first month of the season with that lineup. That team should have been a Sweet 16 team at least.

 

[RF2044]

Let’s not talk about that team. IMO JB worst coaching job. Can’t have a lineup with White, Lydon, Roberson and Coleman. No ball handling or quickness. We wasted first month of the season with that lineup. That team should have been a Sweet 16 team at least.

Spot on -- that was the most [predictably] non-complimentary lineup imaginable -- especially with an unproven PG taking over.

 

[cuseinseattle]

He just needs to be able to play minutes.
Nobody expects anything more than being a role player but if he can’t get off the bench next year or until his Junior year that isn’t good.
We need big help but this kid isn’t the guy I expect to be a 20 MPG guy next year but if he can be 5 fouls and depth in case of emergency not be terrible that is perfect.
He can’t be Chino, Mike Devin McBride, Mike Williams.
In 3 years here Chino played 156 minutes.
We can’t have that again.

The more I watch him the more I think he could play more minutes and not just be a role player. I would call him a program kid instead. I think he is a 4 year kid and to be honest depending on who else is here he could play some minutes by year 2 and good minutes by year 3. He moves pretty well and has some good size. He is not skinny and if he keeps putting on weight it will only get better. We have no depth at the 5 so he could be forced to contribute next year right away if we can't land someone like Carrigan.

 

[Orijinal]

Spot on -- that was the most [predictably] non-complimentary lineup imaginable -- especially with an unproven PG taking over.

Yet somehow everyone was predicting Syracuse as a top 5 team ...including Mike Waters. So I wouldn't say it was predictably non-complimentary. In fact, most were predicting the opposite.

Anyway ...says how much predictions are worth. JBA predictions included

 

[Orijinal]

The more I watch him the more I think he could play more minutes and not just be a role player. I would call him a program kid instead. I think he is a 4 year kid and to be honest depending on who else is here he could play some minutes by year 2 and good minutes by year 3. He moves pretty well and has some good size. He is not skinny and if he keeps putting on weight it will only get better. We have no depth at the 5 so he could be forced to contribute next year right away if we can't land someone like Carrigan.

Why can't this kid play right away if he is bigger than everyone "thought" and can stroke the 3, make jumpers, and block shots?

 

[RF2044]

Yet somehow everyone was predicting Syracuse as a top 5 team ...including Mike Waters. So I wouldn't say it was predictably non-complimentary. In fact, most were predicting the opposite.

Anyway ...says how much predictions are worth. JBA predictions included

I think you're not understanding my point. That initial starting lineup was predictably attrocious, because it featured several players playing out of position, and put a group of players on the floor that had a dearth of ball handling / play making and an inexperienced point guard. Both wings were both ill-suited for chipping in with ball handling / passing to alleviate this issue [White averaged less than an assist throughout his career -- playing him at SG was a bad move, especially considering he couldn't dribble down his chin].

The team immediately began performing better when JB adjusted the lineup after the New Year's debacle against BC, defeating three top 10 teams en route to compiling a 10-8 conference record despite that first loss.

That team underachieved and didn't come close to actualizing it's potential because they were historically bad defensively, but still came within a game of the NCAA tournament despite an equally cringe worthy performance in the preseason portion of our schedule. If JB hadn't experimented with that predictably disastrous lineup, or been quicker to change it, perhaps they wouldn't have gotten off to such an awful start, clicked sooner, and easily gotten the win [or more] they needed to get into the tournament. And from there, anything can happen.

Not sure that they would have come close to the preseason prognostications, even if any of that had transpired, but that awful grouping of players sure didn't help that team's cause for qualifying for the post-season.

 

[Janner]

In the 1 game I watched earlier in the season, so very small sample size, I saw a player with a solid stroke who has the potential to attack the basket a little bit down the road. I didn't see much of a shot blocking presence in the game I watched but again it was just 1 game. Offensively he's a face up and shoot or attack the basket kind of player, again, down the road from what I could see. I did not see much of a post up game from him. Offensively I see him more as a traditional 4 than a 5. That said, kids (especially big men) develop a lot from the beginning of the senior yr in High School till their senior year in college so time will eventually tell.

 

[jdubs30]

Is this guy pretty much the same skillset as Akok except bigger but not as much of a shot blocker?

 

[cuseinseattle]

Why can't this kid play right away if he is bigger than everyone "thought" and can stroke the 3, make jumpers, and block shots?

To be honest I haven't watched him play as much as other kids but I would say he isn't the most athletic kid in the world, doesn't seem like a great shot blocker to me and could struggle in the middle right out of the gate on defense. I guess if we are comparing to Pascal he would be an upgrade on offense but I'm not sure he will be asked to do contribute a lot there. We will have a good amount of wings if OB comes back so it could mean Eli or QG playing up top depending on how Jalen develops and Goodine looks out of the gate. I'm guessing we play Marek some at the 5 with Eli and OB at the forwards and Quincy up top with Jalen. I could be wrong though.

 

[cuseinseattle]

I think you're not understanding my point. That initial starting lineup was predictably attrocious, because it featured several players playing out of position, and put a group of players on the floor that had a dearth of ball handling / play making and an inexperienced point guard. Both wings were both ill-suited for chipping in with ball handling / passing to alleviate this issue [White averaged less than an assist throughout his career -- playing him at SG was a bad move, especially considering he couldn't dribble down his chin].

The team immediately began performing better when JB adjusted the lineup after the New Year's debacle against BC, defeating three top 10 teams en route to compiling a 10-8 conference record despite that first loss.

That team underachieved and didn't come close to actualizing it's potential because they were historically bad defensively, but still came within a game of the NCAA tournament despite an equally cringe worthy performance in the preseason portion of our schedule. If JB hadn't experimented with that predictably disastrous lineup, or been quicker to change it, perhaps they wouldn't have gotten off to such an awful start, clicked sooner, and easily gotten the win [or more] they needed to get into the tournament. And from there, anything can happen.

Not sure that they would have come close to the preseason prognostications, even if any of that had transpired, but that awful grouping of players sure didn't help that team's cause for qualifying for the post-season.

Also there were many people saying it was impossible for AW3 to play up top in the zone and it took Boeheim too long to make the change in my opinion. You said this way early and I remember thinking it way early as well. It's no revisionist history.