Class of 2020 C Mounir Hima (NJ) Transfer from Duquesne/COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE

[CousCuse]

Maybe we should've ditched Benny after his freshman year, or Sunderland or Christmas. You get the point.

 

[cuseincincy]

I watched the first half so far.

Sets a lot of screens and basically screening and rolling alongside rebounding is what he is out there for.

Positioning wasn't good early on and had a few really poor closeouts. Improved some as game went on including setting better screens.

Reaction time is definitely that of a player still raw and learning the game. Will need to rotate and respond faster on defense. Gets pushed out of position on the boards vs a smaller team a few times.

Did eventually win a couple rebound battles as he should have with such a big size advantage.

Ran the court ok but wasn't overly active. Brought his hands down defending a driver a couple times.

Size and length is legit- hoping the 240 listed weight is new weight and strength vs what we see on tape.

Big thing I saw is a kid who it took a bit to get into the game. As a sub he will need to find his way faster.

Again some tools here. Gotta hope he has been working hard this offseason and gets to work on campus asap.

Saw much the same. If they ask him to concentrate on a couple tasks like rebounding position and keeping his hands up he can help some. He's nowhere near as aggressive of an on ball defender as JBA is. Has the look of a player who is thinking and not reacting which is not surprising. I'd rather have him on the roster than leave the spot open. He is the kind of project that should get a scholarship instead of a senior walk on.

 

[Orangezoo]

This is in the A10 tourney. His last game. Had a pretty nice start and showcased a little jump shot. Has a nice block and better rotations. Then proceeds to pickup 3 quick fouls- a couple really dumb ones. Sits majority of first half as a result.

Second half he doesn't start and comes in for a couple minutes looking ok then quickly picks up number 4 and its another silly foul.. and against Jalen Carey actually.

You could tell coach was frustrated and his night ended after that 4th foul

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Hima aint gonna ever be Jesse

Few if any thought Jesse would be Jesse

 

[Orangezoo]

I think this kids ceiling is Baye Keita. Personally I’m way more excited about Peter Carey. Hopefully this kid can be just as good in the zone as Keita was. If we get that we should be happy.

I'm thinking a stronger version of Chukwu is his ceiling. Baye was still a gazelle and a jumping jack compared to Hima from what I can see. When he has to use his legs to cutoff a driver he gets into trouble and Baye was very good at that. Or maybe even a mix of both to be more precise.

 

[Orangezoo]

Few if any thought Jesse would be Jesse

I dunno about that. His footwork showed up as early as the Italy trip with strength and experience really being the question. I recall quite a few of us who were high on him once he got on the court. Hima has been on the court already so it's a little different scenario here.

 

[CousCuse]

This is in the A10 tourney. His last game. Had a pretty nice start and showcased a little jump shot. Has a nice block and better rotations. Then proceeds to pickup 3 quick fouls- a couple really dumb ones. Sits majority of first half as a result.

Second half he doesn't start and comes in for a couple minutes looking ok then quickly picks up number 4 and its another silly foul.. and against Jalen Carey actually.

You could tell coach was frustrated and his night ended after that 4th foul

He has a nice soft short jump shot and a hook shot. Who was the last SU center to possess any skills like that? He could've went to A&M but his advisors told him he likely wouldn't see the floor until he was a junior so he choose Duquesne and got lucky to get starting time in a very solid conference, that was a wise decision. I think he made another wise decision to take the SU offer and believe he is going to make a huge jump in 22.

 

[OmahaCuse]

Frank averaged 14 minutes a game last year. And that's with getting the start after Jesse went down and all the foul trouble he had.

If he struggled to get on the floor for a 6-24 team, I do not think this guy sniffs 10 minutes a game.Maybe he is I smell Sean Williams with more heart, but Boeheim will put Girard at center late in games before this kid next year.

He took starting role by end of the year so improved and did not struggle to get on floor

 

[Orangezoo]

He has a nice soft short jump shot and a hook shot. Who was the last SU center to possess any skills like that? He could've went to A&M nut his advisors told him he likely wouldn't see the floor until he was a junior so he choose Duquesne and got lucky to get starting time in a very solid conference, that was a wise decision. I think he made another wise decision to take the SU offer and believe he is going to make a huge jump in 22.

Good lord just stop. The guy in front of him has both those skills and has showcased them at the highest level. Stop turning every backup developmental center into the next Olajuwon.

Not to mention he air mails and bricks that little hook more than he makes it if you watch the tapes.

 

[CousCuse]

Good lord just stop. The guy in front of him has both those skills and has showcased them at the highest level. Stop turning every backup developmental center into the next Olajuwon.

He does bare a resemblance to the Dream.

 

[rrlbees]

I can see the upside others have noted. My biggest concern with him watching the videos is his reaction time to some things which will only be exacerbated by having to learn the intricacies of the zone.

 

[djcon57]

I can see the upside others have noted. My biggest concern with him watching the videos is his reaction time to some things which will only be exasperated by having to learn the intricacies of the zone.

I agree, but would add this year's team is much more athletic...so in a best case scenario, the center won't have to cover as much ground as he did last year. Hopefully he just has to stand tall in the paint, block a shot here, grab a rebound there, get a few fouls, play 5-8 mins, and call it a day. Anything more than that and I think folks here are setting themselves up for disappointment. Basically, this is not the center of the future. Carey or someone else out there is.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Why? The kid missed his Junior year of HS. He is from Africa, He basically just started playing basketball. He has 3 years left. He is very coordinated, runs like a deer, has a 7 8 wingspan weighs 240 pounds and did very well the games he started at the end of last season. He will need to rebound and defend the rim. I think he was a great get by the staff. If he stays healthy i believe he is going to shock many within two years.

to think a player could just jump into D-1 athletics and do pretty well with an extremely limited background in any sport...is so so impressive in this day and age of hyper-training kids from as early an age as possible!

think about picking up a sport in high school and playing A-10 or big East or ACC level etc...just think about the reality of that...how many kids you have to be better than who played since a young age. His size is a big part of all that but still...

since he is very coordinated, and also has a limited background in the sport, I think he is just scratching the surface of what he could become as a bball player. he's far from the finished product.

his HS coach (tyler ennis' coach) says no question hes a pro if he works? sign me up.

 

[CousCuse]

I can see the upside others have noted. My biggest concern with him watching the videos is his reaction time to some things which will only be exasperated by having to learn the intricacies of the zone.

I'm sure his previous coach had already coached him on those points that were his weaknesses. Which is great because he has that in mind and will be focusing on a better awareness.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm thinking a stronger version of Chukwu is his ceiling. Baye was still a gazelle and a jumping jack compared to Hima from what I can see. When he has to use his legs to cutoff a driver he gets into trouble and Baye was very good at that. Or maybe even a mix of both to be more precise.

That works too. I was specifically speaking about statistics. If this kid ever averages over 2 or 3 points or 3 or 4 rebounds I will be absolutely shocked.

 

[CardiacCuse]

If he’s this 6’11 240 guy oozing potential, how come no other power 5 team was interested? Glad we beat out Illinois Chicago

he had p5 offers out of HS and also now seton hall was interested, at minimum...I get the pessimissm given the track record at C...but I dont think its clear he isnt going to do anything. I watched his clips . hs coordinated, aggressive on the glass and huge. hes also smart...theres a lot to work with.

 

[CousCuse]

I agree, but would add this year's team is much more athletic...so in a best case scenario, the center won't have to cover as much ground as he did last year. Hopefully he just has to stand tall in the paint, block a shot here, grab a rebound there, get a few fouls, play 5-8 mins, and call it a day. Anything more than that and I think folks here are setting themselves up for disappointment. Basically, this is not the center of the future. Carey or someone else out there is.

So, your basically closing the book on the guy already?

 

[Orangezoo]

I can see the upside others have noted. My biggest concern with him watching the videos is his reaction time to some things which will only be exasperated by having to learn the intricacies of the zone.

Yep. This is my primary concern as well.

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

This is in the A10 tourney. His last game. Had a pretty nice start and showcased a little jump shot. Has a nice block and better rotations. Then proceeds to pickup 3 quick fouls- a couple really dumb ones. Sits majority of first half as a result.

Second half he doesn't start and comes in for a couple minutes looking ok then quickly picks up number 4 and its another silly foul.. and against Jalen Carey actually.

You could tell coach was frustrated and his night ended after that 4th foul

Interesting watch ... at least the first half. Before his foul problems, he had a really nice block. Then he nailed a 14-foot jumper. Hima releases high and has good arc and rotation. Also, even though the guards kept dribbling into trouble and werern't looking inside, I noticed that he screened well, then rolled off and got open. With better guard play, he would have scored more and will be a threat on the P/R in the ACC. The fact that he can hit an open mid-range shot is also a big plus, in addition to his shot-blocking ability.

Was that Jalen Carey (#15 for the Rams)? Good to see him ... handle has improved.

 

[Orangezoo]

Interesting watch in the first half at least. Second half he picks up a couple fouls and doesn't play much.

But when he was in there early, he had a really nice block. Then nailed a 14-foot jumper. He released high and had good arc and rotation. Also, even though the guards kept dribbling into trouble and werern't looking for inside scoring much, Hima rolled off screens and got open. With better guard play, he'll score score on the P/R and can make an open jumper at least to 15 feet.

Was that Jalen Carey (#15 for the Rams)? Good to see him ... handle has improved.

Semantics but he picked up his 3rd early in first half and his 4th within a couple mins in second and then was done.

Carey was ok for URI but ended up playing fewer games and minutes this past year vs the previous. Although he averaged a ppg more.

 

[AZOrange]

I can see the upside others have noted. My biggest concern with him watching the videos is his reaction time to some things which will only be exasperated by having to learn the intricacies of the zone.

His reactions will be exacerbated.
You will be exasperated.

 

[baggerbob]

I'm thinking a stronger version of Chukwu is his ceiling. Baye was still a gazelle and a jumping jack compared to Hima from what I can see. When he has to use his legs to cutoff a driver he gets into trouble and Baye was very good at that. Or maybe even a mix of both to be more precise.

Baye got to play at Oak Hill for a couple years, so had a lot better coaching, before he got here.

 

[0.2 YNdeeR]

Semantics but he picked up his 3rd early in first half and his 4th within a couple mins in second and then was done.

Carey was ok for URI but ended up playing fewer games and minutes this past year vs the previous. Although he averaged a ppg more.

Caught me mid-edit. lol

 

[Cuse'91]

So, your basically closing the book on the guy already?

His "Book" is still at the publisher. Question I'm asking is if he will be ready to give us 10 solid minutes in the ACC in several months.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Interesting watch ... at least the first half. Before his fouls problems, he had a really nice block. Then he nailed a 14-foot jumper. Hima releases high and has good arc and rotation. Also, even though the guards kept dribbling into trouble and werern't looking inside, I noticed that he screened well, then rolled off and got open. With better guard play, he would have scored more and will be a threat on the P/R in the ACC. The fact that he can hit an open mid-range shot is also a big plus, in addition to his shot-blocking ability.

Was that Jalen Carey (#15 for the Rams)? Good to see him ... handle has improved.

i prefer to be optimistic generally...and its been hard lately to stay that way after so many regular seasons of struggle...

but i think working against edwards every day in practice cant be undersold here...perhaps jesse can help bring out the beast in him???

has he ever had a teammate as good as edwards to go against??

jesse started late in bball too...I think Jesses mentorship could be huge here.