Class of 2022 C William Kyle (NE) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (3/27/25)

[IthacaMatt]

Yep the only feasible way to play basketball in the year 2025

This USC kid could be that offensive big man.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yep the only feasible way to play basketball in the year 2025

7 of the 8 teams who made the Elite 8 had a low post big man, or two or three of them.

People say, "well, we're not ready for that level, we just want to be ok, first". You have to build a team that has the tools to beat all kinds of opponents.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Twas the dreaded potato toes

 

[RedtheGOB]

7 of the 8 teams who made the Elite 8 had a low post big man, or two or three of them.

People say, "well, we're not ready for that level, we just want to be ok, first". You have to build a team that has the tools to beat all kinds of opponents.

I can’t tell from your other 300 posts. Do you think we need another big man?

Seriously tho. If this big man with all these things you expect does exist then we prob can’t afford him.

And If we can afford him he prob wants starting mins guaranteed.

And If we can afford him and he doesn’t care about starting he prob isn’t going to be as talented as you want him to be.

See where I’m going with this. You may want a certain player from the portal but you’re looking for a unicorn that may not exist.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Could Rashaun Agee fill that need, if he were to decide to commit here? Perhaps even be the starter, pushing Kyle to first big off the bench(still getting 15-20m between PF&C). Souare would then be 3rd string big with more limited minutes, allowing him more time to develop without as many expectations/pressure or be insurance if injuries happen or others don't live up to their promise.

I think Agee is just about the right guy to fill in the missing gap. Agee is tough, plays defense "like a grown man", not a young kid. Sweet jumper from the top of the key, too, so you could use him in a 2 bigs lineup, just like Donnie. He would be a major upgrade on Jyare Davis because (a) he can hit that three, and (b) he's a bit taller and stronger looking on tape.

 

[cusefan88]

If you follow him on Instagram he posts a lot of his workouts. He has crazy bounce. Really athletic player. Looking forward to seeing him.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I can’t tell from your other 300 posts. Do you think we need another big man?

Seriously tho. If this big man with all these things you expect does exist then we prob can’t afford him.

And If we can afford him he prob wants starting mins guaranteed.

And If we can afford him and he doesn’t care about starting he prob isn’t going to be as talented as you want him to be.

See where I’m going with this. You may want a certain player from the portal but you’re looking for a unicorn that may not exist.

Providence just got one of the low major "unicorns".

Agee played 20 minutes a game last year at USC, and would probably see about the same number of minutes here in the front court rotation. I don't see this kid as costing anywhere near the $1.2M that center originally from Rochester was asking.

 

[KevMonstah]

he's a good get.

what I think SU needs is a couple of 6'9, 225-240lb guys, who are reasonably athletic, which i would define
as "more mobile and better jumpers than Eddie". big enough that they won't get moved out of the way
than the athletes SU has and can bang away in the legalized wrestling that's allowed.

then all you need is for the staff to figure out how to use them.

a previous thread i'd responded to, petar struggled at 6'8, 215, and su wanted to replace with a 6-9, 190lb
kid, no, you need a bigger dude, you have enough athletes, you need some bangers.

kev

 

[RedtheGOB]

Providence just got one of the low major "unicorns". Agee played 20 minutes a game last year at USC, and would probably see about the same number of minutes here in the front court rotation. I don't see this kid as costing anywhere near the $1.2M that center originally from Rochester was asking.

Oh really. That Providence big isn't starting? Looks to me like every one of the Prov bigs bounced.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Oh really. That Providence big isn't starting? Looks to me like every one of the Prov bigs bounced.

No, I was talking about if Agee came here.

 

[Niastri]

he's a good get.

what I think SU needs is a couple of 6'9, 225-240lb guys, who are reasonably athletic, which i would define
as "more mobile and better jumpers than Eddie". big enough that they won't get moved out of the way
than the athletes SU has and can bang away in the legalized wrestling that's allowed.

then all you need is for the staff to figure out how to use them.

a previous thread i'd responded to, petar struggled at 6'8, 215, and su wanted to replace with a 6-9, 190lb
kid, no, you need a bigger dude, you have enough athletes, you need some bangers.

kev

Majstorovic has big problems with athleticism, not size.

Having more size would have helped, but if you’re going to be 6’8 or 6’9 having below average athleticism is a bit of a problem trying to play center. He wasn’t supposed to play so much right off the bat. If only we had healthy Freeman and McLeod, Petar would have played sparingly, as would Davis. As it was, well…

 

[Orangezoo]

he's a good get.

what I think SU needs is a couple of 6'9, 225-240lb guys, who are reasonably athletic, which i would define
as "more mobile and better jumpers than Eddie". big enough that they won't get moved out of the way
than the athletes SU has and can bang away in the legalized wrestling that's allowed.

then all you need is for the staff to figure out how to use them.

a previous thread i'd responded to, petar struggled at 6'8, 215, and su wanted to replace with a 6-9, 190lb
kid, no, you need a bigger dude, you have enough athletes, you need some bangers.

kev

Just to be clear Kyle is 6-9 230.

 

[CuseSaint26]

William Kyle is starting to become much higher rated according to the Evan Miya ratings…when we signed him he was in the 700s as an overall transfer portal player. As of today, he’s 283.

To give context, this is in the same vicinity as Jalil Bethea, AJ Storr, Marquel Sutton, etc

 

[orangefog]

William Kyle is starting to become much higher rated according to the Evan Miya ratings…when we signed him he was in the 700s as an overall transfer portal player. As of today, he’s 283.

An athletic big with a huge wingspan is very desirable. I'm glad we've got him

 

[Niastri]

An athletic big with a huge wingspan is very desirable. I'm glad we've got him

One of the early posts I made in this thread was a cut and paste from an NBA Draft subreddit, and the guy was excited about Kyle as a prospect for the NBA, much less UCLA… At first, he just seemed crazy, but the more I thought about it, Kyle has physical attributes that can’t be learned. You can get better at basketball, but you can’t teach 6’9 with a huge vertical leap, quick reflexes and arms that stretch for enormous distances.

With Kyle now entering his fourth year in college, with his first year playing in the Power 4 under his belt, might we see improvement even above the incremental improvement we might have expected looking at his numbers and highlights heading into his junior year?

 

[RF2044]

One of the early posts I made in this thread was a cut and paste from an NBA Draft subreddit, and the guy was excited about Kyle as a prospect for the NBA, much less UCLA… At first, he just seemed crazy, but the more I thought about it, Kyle has physical attributes that can’t be learned. You can get better at basketball, but you can’t teach 6’9 with a huge vertical leap, quick reflexes and arms that stretch for enormous distances.

With Kyle now entering his fourth year in college, with his first year playing in the Power 4 under his belt, might we see improvement even above the incremental improvement we might have expected looking at his numbers and highlights heading into his junior year?

When somebody posted the extended game film from Kyle at UCLA several weeks ago, it was pretty impressive. And not just highlight. Reel plays, he is an explosive athlete who finishes strong.

 

[CuseSaint26]

One of the early posts I made in this thread was a cut and paste from an NBA Draft subreddit, and the guy was excited about Kyle as a prospect for the NBA, much less UCLA… At first, he just seemed crazy, but the more I thought about it, Kyle has physical attributes that can’t be learned. You can get better at basketball, but you can’t teach 6’9 with a huge vertical leap, quick reflexes and arms that stretch for enormous distances.

With Kyle now entering his fourth year in college, with his first year playing in the Power 4 under his belt, might we see improvement even above the incremental improvement we might have expected looking at his numbers and highlights heading into his junior year?

Kyle is definitely an NBA prospect, he needs to put it all together but Syracuse provides a great opportunity for that. Nait George will be able to get him scoring opportunities and defensively, Kyle will likely be asked to guard 1-5. If you watched Georgia Tech last year, take a look at how their center contributed offensively. Kyle brings that and more.

I try not to get too excited off work out videos but his trainer posted a workout video testing his vertical….we are talking NBA+ vertical jump

 

[Niastri]

Kyle is definitely an NBA prospect, he needs to put it all together but Syracuse provides a great opportunity for that. Nait George will be able to get him scoring opportunities and defensively, Kyle will likely be asked to guard 1-5. If you watched Georgia Tech last year, take a look at how their center contributed offensively. Kyle brings that and more.

I try not to get too excited off work out videos but his trainer posted a workout video testing his vertical….we are talking NBA+ vertical jump

Could you share that video?

 

[cusefan88]

Could you share that video?

I think that one was just an IG story so it expired but this has a few workouts snippets.

 

[bnoro]

William Kyle is starting to become much higher rated according to the Evan Miya ratings…when we signed him he was in the 700s as an overall transfer portal player. As of today, he’s 283.

To give context, this is in the same vicinity as Jalil Bethea, AJ Storr, Marquel Sutton, etc

What are the ratings based on then? I thought Evan Miya's site was based on analytics, so how have those numbers changed?

There hasn't been any basketball played between when we signed him and now.

 

[CuseSaint26]

What are the ratings based on then? I thought Evan Miya's site was based on analytics, so how have those numbers changed?

There hasn't been any basketball played between when we signed him and now.

As the portal progresses, the rankings end up changing. This happened last year too. The initial rankings get refined as time goes on. He also tweaks his rankings model. The rankings at the end of the summer are his “final version”

 

[CuseSaint26]

Could you share that video?

Sorry, it expired on his Instagram story but I’m not kidding, the 44” reported vertical jump seems way too low based on this video (I’ll see if it’s archived anywhere).

 

[Orangezoo]

Sorry, it expired on his Instagram story but I’m not kidding, the 44” reported vertical jump seems way too low based on this video (I’ll see if it’s archived anywhere).

The highest ever NBA vertical was something like 49 inches I thought so 44 itself seems pretty accurate all things considered.

 

[RF2044]

The highest ever NBA vertical was something like 49 inches I thought so 44 itself seems pretty accurate all things considered.

Watching Kyle dunk, he reminded me of a bigger, stronger Hakim Warrick. I'm not comparing them in terms of ability or offensive skill -- just that like Hakim, he jumped a noticeable increment higher and looked to pound the ball on everyone. Even through contact.

Reminded me of numerous memorable Hakim dunks from when he played here [like that stationary one, where Warrick went up over the Notre Dame big man and pounded it in his face].

Kyle has a similar extra gear with respect to his leaping ability.

 

[Orangezoo]

Watching Kyle dunk, he reminded me of a bigger, stronger Hakim Warrick. I'm not comparing them in terms of ability or offensive skill -- just that like Hakim, he jumped a noticeable increment higher and looked to pound the ball on everyone. Even through contact.

Reminded me of numerous memorable Hakim dunks from when he played here [like that stationary one, where Warrick went up over the Notre Dame big man and pounded it in his face].

Kyle has a similar extra gear with respect to his leaping ability.

His playing style and tenacity in the tape reminds me of Mitchell Robinson. In no way equating the talent level compared to a talented pro but you see the ability on the offensive glass, great hands, that elite vertical finishing easily on lobs and the ability to protect the rim.

The other big thing is it appears he actually can set a good screen while then having such elite athleticism to still roll to the hoop quickly. Without doing all that much beyond what he already does, he could excel in that simple action in certain matchups. Hopefully he and George can build some solid chemistry for the pick and roll to be a simple but effective weapon for us this year. To that effect as well seeing if he’s capable of running the short roll too as Maliq did.

If you let Donnie operate inside and out, Kingz in the corners and off the wing, JJ off the wing and off screens then let Kyle run the pick and roll as well as being focused on attacking the offensive glass then you have a solid starting 5 that should be fairly efficient at least analyzing on paper right now.