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

[pwong]

SD ST is a lower level though. Unlikely to get that production.

Right… I’m saying his UCLA production wasn’t great but he produced at a MM before. Maybe we get something in between.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Should have saved the money for Ballard.

Do we know if A) Ballard is interested or B) SU doesn't have the money for Ballard if he is? I don't know the answers, but maybe you're more connected to the program than I am.

 

[sutomcat]

Kyle was first team all conference in the Summit League and the defensive player of the year in that conference as a sophomore at South Dakota State. He was very successful there.

it looks like UCLA brought in three 6’9 guys from the,portal during last off-season. Bilodeau and Dailey Jr won the starting jobs. They played well. Led the team in scoring. Both were also good 3 point shooters.

I really have never seen this guy play based on the highlights, He is clearly a terrific athlete, and will give us quickness, shot blocking and athleticism from a big man we have not seen in a while.

His advanced stat numbers are okay; nothing special. Not sure how much they mean for a guy who played so little. For the record, I checked his advanced stat numbers for South Dakota State, and they weren’t particularly good either.

That said, if we also bringing Quincy Ballard, I would be thrilled with the center position.

Lampkin did a good job for us last season. He was one of the only reasons the team was watchable. But he was a horrible fit for what Red has said he wants to do. He said he wants to play fast and then he brought in a guy who could never be capable of playing in that kind of a system.

From what I have seen, Kyle would be nest suited for team that wants to play fast. He’s gonna be most effective offensively finishing up fast brakes. He’s going to be most effective defensively protecting the rI’m while we press. So I find it encouraging that we are at least bringing in players now that are a fit for the system we plan to play.

 

[AZOrange]

Comparing a basketball transfer to a football transfer as an analogy is usually a good way to go. Solid

 

[Dcuse]

For comparison, St. Bonaventure brought in a kid who averaged more points, rebounds and minutes played in the same league to start at center for them. If he’s starting at C for SU, this program is more broken than I thought.

There we go. This board never disappoints

 

[AZOrange]

2 lessons appear to have been learned. First we are far from athletic enough to compete. Second defense is really important. This is a good first step

 

[Cusefan0307]

Kyle was first team all conference in the Summit League and the defensive player of the year in that conference as a sophomore at South Dakota State. He was very successful there.

it looks like UCLA brought in three 6’9 guys from the,portal during last off-season. Bilodeau and Dailey Jr won the starting jobs. They played well. Led the team in scoring. Both were also good 3 point shooters.

I really have never seen this guy play based on the highlights, He is clearly a terrific athlete, and will give us quickness, shot blocking and athleticism from a big man we have not seen in a while.

His advanced stat numbers are okay; nothing special. Not sure how much they mean for a guy who played so little. For the record, I checked his advanced stat numbers for South Dakota State, and they weren’t particularly good either.

That said, if we also bringing Quincy Ballard, I would be thrilled with the center position.

Lampkin did a good job for us last season. He was one of the only reasons the team was watchable. But he was a horrible fit for what Red has said he wants to do. He said he wants to play fast and then he brought in a guy who could never be capable of playing in that kind of a system.

From what I have seen, Kyle would be nest suited for team that wants to play fast. He’s gonna be most effective offensively finishing up fast brakes. He’s going to be most effective defensively protecting the rI’m while we press. So I find it encouraging that we are at least bringing in players now that are a fit for the system we plan to play.

Had a PER of 25 his last year at SDSU and 16.6 last year. His offensive to defensive rating difference last year was plus 25 and plus 17. His DBPR was almost 4 last year. His advanced metrics look pretty good.

I think what is likely to happen is we will underrate him at center and overrate whoever comes in at PG especially if it is someone like Claude.

 

[Cappy3]

Maybe. Maybe not.

You think he’s it? No shot at Ballard?

 

[capeorange]

IDK, We’ve been pretty good about acquiring project/injured centers before Kline.

Does Red only shop the portal in the scratch and dent department?

 

[MSOrange]

There we go. This board never disappoints

I appreciate you like to be optimistic and positive. Every year for 17 years, I thought the Bills would break the playoff drought. That's what fans do. But you constantly talking down to people who have reservations about moves when we're 4 years into an NCAA drought is a bit comical. You're not exactly batting 1000 the last few years yourself.

 

[Hopkins16]

If he’s a backup that’s fine…

I don’t trust that is the case.

As long as we still go out and get another competent Center, do not worry about who is deemed as the starter. Who plays better will get the nod.

 

[Jake]

From what I’ve heard his price range isn’t what we’ve slotted for the center slot. So I hope there’s another big to come in a higher price point.

 

[Fly Rodder]

No real opinion of this kid other than what I can see from highlights and limited stats. Has a great motor, plays hard. Seems almost like he plays a little below the rim despite his athleticism. I'm not sure if that's an optical illusion because of his height and arm length, but he rarely seems to really elevate. IDK. He's going to provide the thunder dunks we need though. He attacks aggressively. Good awareness as to where he needs to be for blocks.

A little foul prone, but not crippling, but that's to be expected for a guy who fights for position and blocks shots. (For comparison, Petar was at about 8.9 PF per 100 Poss, Kyle is at 6.8 last season in limited minutes).

He seems to have good hands at corraling passes and loose balls, a better TO% than Eddie and similar to Naheem.

 

[Sherman20]

If this is the case, which I have no reason to doubt you, then he’s the starting C. Can’t imagine they’d sink another $1M+ into the C position when they need a PG, SF, and other pieces still.

I gotta believe they will sink $$ into a starting center if they have $10 million in NIL and settlement funds, possibly more if Melo steps up. According to various posters on here.

 

[MSOrange]

From what I’ve heard his price range isn’t what we’ve slotted for the center slot. So I hope there’s another big to come in a higher price point.

Very good to hear. That's what I am hoping happens also.

 

[Niastri]

Inflation is a B.

Inflation is kind of a trite description of what happened. Every program in the country had an avalanche of cash fall on their heads… But they are still competing for the same very small group of players.

If everybody has an oil well in their yard, what happens to the price of oil? If every river in the world dried up, what would we do for a sip of water?

 

[FrancoPizza]

Right… I’m saying his UCLA production wasn’t great but he produced at a MM before. Maybe we get something in between.

Jaquan Carlos produced at a MM too. Doesn’t mean much.

 

[newmexicuse]

He is exactly what we lacked last season - a strong athletic big with hops.

If he turns out to be good enough, it also gives us an option to move Donnie to SF assuming we get Ballard or a different starting caliber center and then we can have Kyle and White share the PF position and Kyle can also get his backup C minutes.

The only thing I do not like about this commitment is only one year of eligibility remaining. I wish we would find guys with two or more years to try and create some long term program continuity.

 

[pwong]

Jaquan Carlos produced at a MM too. Doesn’t mean much.

Yeah he was also forced to play a much larger role than he should have. Feels like William Kyle will be the backup C unless we can’t afford a starting C (which may not be the case TY)

 

[Franz69]

Cronin's take when Kyle transferred to UCLA. Also, he had surgery in December:

"Will has established himself as a strong, athletic and talented post player, and we're looking forward to having him join our program," Cronin said. "He has a high motor, quick explosiveness and can finish at the rim, really adding another dimension to our team's frontcourt. He is a difference-maker on defense, having been recognized as the Summit League's Defensive Player of the Year in only his sophomore season. Will is a great young man with tremendous character. His backstory as a track and field athlete, who transformed into a basketball player, is amazing and continues to evolve. We are thrilled that Will has chosen to be a Bruin, and we cannot wait to get him on campus in Westwood."

 

[Niastri]

Interesting note about Kyle uncovered in the advanced metrics. He doesn’t have great rebounding, steals, or block shot percentages… but DBPM loves him. 3.8 DBPM would have been far and away our best this past season, and McLeod was our best in that category at 2.6 followed by Majstorovic at 1.9.

 

[SUFan44]

From what I’ve heard his price range isn’t what we’ve slotted for the center slot. So I hope there’s another big to come in a higher price point.

This, if true, makes it a good move.

Adding William Kyle III means very little with what we need overall IMO.

 

[HyattsCuse]

One of the top transfer before last season. Was the defensive player of the year as a sophomore. It seems like a good chance Kyle is a starter and gets 25 minutes a game. I still believe Donnie is going to play some minutes as the “center”. Plus if Kyle stinks we can yell GD Kyle in a Cartman voice.

I’m sold!

 

[BronsonCuse]

We do need to fill out the roster here... we need 8-9 real players. A reminder that we have just JJ, Donnie and 4 freshman on the team. Not sure why we are finding a problem with this kid. I'm excited for the athleticism and we'll see who else they get.

 

[pearl31]

At this point I hope he’s healthy

yep this is the only part that gives me concern