C William Kyle (NE) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (3/27/25)

[CardiacCuse]

He's not bad. But let's cool out jets. it took him 5 years in the AAC to average double digit scoring. He has a chance to be a solid C in the ACC but wouldnt expect much more than that.

the team does need 3 centers...and with 1 at 6.9 I would hope the other two will be tall and not a PF like Petar or Donnie, either

 

[Cusefan0307]

He's not bad. But let's cool out jets. it took him 5 years in the AAC to average double digit scoring. He has a chance to be a solid C in the ACC but wouldnt expect much more than that.

Did you even look at his numbers against p5 teams?

What does anything he did prior to last year have to do with anything? This is like people wanting to sign former mcdonalds all Americans who have done absolutely nothing.

 

[Red2003]

6-9 230, 7-3 wing span, 44 vertical, athletic, rim-runner, DPOY as a sophomore in MVC conference - rolling the dice on those traits does not seem unreasonable

I approve. My wing span is the opposite at 3-7, Basketball was never my best sport.

 

[Orangezoo]

Did you even look at his numbers against p5 teams?

What does anything he did prior to last year have to do with anything? This is like people wanting to sign former mcdonalds all Americans who have done absolutely nothing.

Yeah his trajectory is very similar to Jesse’s and his game has developed into being a legit quality collegiate center who is ready for the move to p4 and would absolutely have immediate positive impact.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

i dont understand why people cannot understand this

unless donnie gets a whole lot stronger in the offseason.

he needs to show he can cover the 4 before he tries to cover the 5s

(im hopeful and assume he will be better on D as a sophomore though)

Agree. He has to work on keeping his man in front of him. Strangely enough, for a guy that looks like he can block shots like Jerami Grant, he can’t block anything. And for context, I’m a HUGE Donnie fan. Love his offense and rebounding. The defense has to take a step towards the better.

 

[Melancer46]

You need an interior scoring threat. It doesn't necessarily have to come from the 5 and is doesn't have to be big numbers. But, you have to make defenses account for the interior in half court sets.

I fully agree with your point about a true PG. But, so far It looks like the emphasis will be on finding versatile players that can impact the game with the things they can do well instead of focusing on traditional position based skill sets.

If Kyle can catch the ball the way his highlights would lead you to believe, that's more than enough offense from the C IMO. If he can catch (and we have ball handlers that can throw the ball in his zip code) you'll have to account for his lob threat.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I hope that wasn’t the price..

It’s not your money, and we don’t know the budget

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

i dont understand why people cannot understand this

unless donnie gets a whole lot stronger in the offseason.

he needs to show he can cover the 4 before he tries to cover the 5s

(im hopeful and assume he will be better on D as a sophomore though)

But, he’s tall!!

 

[Ghost]

Can he cover the corner three?

 

[albanycuse]

It’s not your money, and we don’t know the budget

I donated so it is my money too.

 

[007]

If Kyle can catch the ball the way his highlights would lead you to believe, that's more than enough offense from the C IMO. If he can catch (and we have ball handlers that can throw the ball in his zip code) you'll have to account for his lob threat.

Yeah, teams would have to account for the lob. Independent of Kyle, the point I was making is that having a player(s) with the footwork and skillset to post up in half court sets puts more stress on the defense. That type of interior scoring threat doesn't necessarily have to come from the 5.

 

[MikeSU02]

Did you even look at his numbers against p5 teams?

What does anything he did prior to last year have to do with anything? This is like people wanting to sign former mcdonalds all Americans who have done absolutely nothing.

I’m lukewarm on this dude as a starter, BUT we need to stop thinking we need a monster center like it’s the 90s.

We need a guy that can provide rim protection and can handle being put into action on the high pick and roll and not seem like he’s never seen it before.

He needs to finish at the rim if we can get a legit lead guard that can get downhill. Set real screens.

Competent defense and efficient, focused use on offense.

If JJ is shooting 16 FGA a game, won’t matter who is at center.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

This video is rad. Is that what the cool kids say?

https://x.com/WilliamKyleIII/status/1905449114986283109?t=KlJwsKYxs2rdCWuBHReObg&s=09

Not unless you use the term skibidy and sigma with it

 

[007]

I’m lukewarm on this dude as a starter, BUT we need to stop thinking we need a monster center like it’s the 90s.

We need a guy that can provide rim protection and can handle being put into action on the high pick and roll and not seem like he’s never seen it before.

He needs to finish at the rim if we can get a legit lead guard that can get downhill. Set real screens.

Competent defense and efficient, focused use on offense.

If JJ is shooting 16 FGA a game, won’t matter who is at center.

Hopefully, if you can surround JJ with more talent, he won't need to take 16 FGs a game.

With all the portal guys, we need to look at what does this guy do well and what is his potential to impact the game on both ends. Kline has mentioned this is a big part of the process.

 

[MikeSU02]

Hopefully, if you can surround JJ with more talent, he won't need to take 16 FGs a game.

With all the portal guys, we need to look at what does this guy do well and what is his potential to impact the game on both ends. Kline has mentioned this is a big part of the process.

You don’t surround JJ with guys. JJ is a guy you surround someone else with, at best.

 

[djcon57]

Hopefully, if you can surround JJ with more talent, he won't need to take 16 FGs a game.

With all the portal guys, we need to look at what does this guy do well and what is his potential to impact the game on both ends. Kline has mentioned this is a big part of the process.

JJ potential impact to the game needs to be as a slashing guard who can hopefully knock down an open 3 and play average D.

The talent around him needs to be better than him

 

[kingtidge]

You don’t surround JJ with guys. JJ is a guy you surround someone else with, at best.

That's what I was saying... He doesn't play defense and can't garner starter minutes on a winning team.

If Red's plan is to build around JJ as a featured starter, it's his swan song season guaranteed.

Hopefully he has other plans with other talent coming in.

 

[Melancer46]

You don’t surround JJ with guys. JJ is a guy you surround someone else with, at best.

I wouldn't really say the skillset he's shown so far in his career is super complimentary (which is a big part of the problem). But hopefully next season will be different.

 

[Niastri]

If Kyle can catch the ball the way his highlights would lead you to believe, that's more than enough offense from the C IMO. If he can catch (and we have ball handlers that can throw the ball in his zip code) you'll have to account for his lob threat.

If we get a good penetrating Point Guard in the portal to go along with Starling, Kyle could score 10 points a game on five lob dunks.

It’s unfortunate we haven’t had anybody who can finish like Kyle in a long time. Maybe Grant? Maybe Warrick?

 

[Melancer46]

If we get a good penetrating Point Guard in the portal to go along with Starling, Kyle could score 10 points a game on five lob dunks.

It’s unfortunate we haven’t had anybody who can finish like Kyle in a long time. Maybe Grant? Maybe Warrick?

He certainly didn't have a 44" vert, but Lydon was a good lob threat/putback threat.

 

[007]

You don’t surround JJ with guys. JJ is a guy you surround someone else with, at best.

Yeah, I get that you, djcon57, and others have serious doubts about JJ. It seems clear that Red has invested in JJ and is looking to build around him and DF. Whether that is a good plan is a different debate. But, I don't assume it's outrageous to think that JJ's skill set and efficiency might play up if he doesn't have to be the primary playmaker, scorer, and only late game/clock option. He already scaled back his 3 attempts - that needs to continue. He needs to focus on doing the things he does well. And he needs to play with much more effort on D and be held accountable when he does not.

 

[JeffCuse]

Yeah his trajectory is very similar to Jesse’s and his game has developed into being a legit quality collegiate center who is ready for the move to p4 and would absolutely have immediate positive impact.

Wait, what?
Jess was a 12 ppg scorer as a sophomore.

Ballard didn't even crack double digits until his 5th season?

Look, I concede Ballard is a solid piece, and given the depth of the needs we have to fill the roster, fine with adding him. And If he can replicate last year's numbers at Syracuse, we can probably do worse at the starting C position. We have no ACC comps, but he did play well in the season finale vs Kansas State. Looking at the last few years, a similar season would be something like the 11th or 12th best starting center in the league. But I do think we really be aiming higher at starting C and PG. Hopefully this means getting a truly top shelf distributor and 3 point shooter at the point.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Wait, what?
Jess was a 12 ppg scorer as a sophomore.

Ballard didn't even crack double digits until his 5th season?

Look, I concede Ballard is a solid piece, and given the depth of the needs we have to fill the roster, fine with adding him. And If he can replicate last year's numbers at Syracuse, we can probably do worse at the starting C position. We have no ACC comps, but he did play well in the season finale vs Kansas State. Looking at the last few years, a similar season would be something like the 11th or 12th best starting center in the league. But I do think we really be aiming higher at starting C and PG. Hopefully this means getting a truly top shelf distributor and 3 point shooter at the point.

Are we even looking at the same guy? He did not even play Kansas State in a season finale. He played OK state and had 19/15.

He would be a lot better than the 11th or 12th best center in the league. He had 11 games of 3 or more blocks this year. He averaged over 2 blocks his junior year in 22 mpg. He had 19/7/4 against Memphis who went 29-6 this year.


We need defense, rebounding and a dunker at center. Thats what he is. We aren’t going to sign someone to throw it in the post.

 

[Orangezoo]

Wait, what?
Jess was a 12 ppg scorer as a sophomore.

Ballard didn't even crack double digits until his 5th season?

Look, I concede Ballard is a solid piece, and given the depth of the needs we have to fill the roster, fine with adding him. And If he can replicate last year's numbers at Syracuse, we can probably do worse at the starting C position. We have no ACC comps, but he did play well in the season finale vs Kansas State. Looking at the last few years, a similar season would be something like the 11th or 12th best starting center in the league. But I do think we really be aiming higher at starting C and PG. Hopefully this means getting a truly top shelf distributor and 3 point shooter at the point.

Jesse didn’t average 12 until his jr year. Ballard is only a year behind on that timeline. You are arguing semantics too much here

 

[ezbeezy214]

so like ...im afraid to ask...do we have confirmation that Kyle isnt locked in as the starter next season??

last season I thought carlos would be a decent backup...when he was signed everyone assumed he was the backup...until...the season started...

What kinda confirmation are you looking for? The belief is we are still recruiting Ballard