Chance Westry Transferring to Syracuse

[cliftonparksufan]

He misses his friends? - hope he’s making great new ones. Happy Birthday Chance!

This is a great weekend for player's friends and family to come visit.

 

[NKR1978]

Sounds like starters:
Judah
JJ
Bell
Benny
McLeod

Off the bench:
Westry
Brown

after that:
Some combo of Taylor, Copeland, Hima, Cuffe?

Will be interesting to see how everything shakes out.

I’m still highly intrigued to see a Judah, JJ, Westry, Benny, Brown lineup in certain situations.

Wonder what kind of rotation Red will use

 

[IthacaMatt]

Slater posted a tweet... it's known family was very involved in recruitment so no way to know it was either that or health.

Big thing for me is seeing him out there without a knee brace. As someone who tore all 3 ligaments 20 years ago at the same age- to be practicing and without a brace is a very good sign. There is a lot of talent to go around and at the absolute most he is the third guard in terms of reliance on production/playmaker behind Judah and JJ.

I've been saying Cuffe is going to play, too. His shooting in the exhibition was eye opening. He's most known for the explosive drive to the rim.

 

[jordville]

Excited for Chance...

 

[Orangezoo]

Excited for Chance...

It's smart right now to be conservative with expectations given injury and layoff since playing a real game for Westry.

With that said if his health and the shaking the rust off ramps up faster than expected this is not just some possible contributor. This is a high end talent who without injury would have been a top freshman around the country and likely have had a big impact for Auburn. It would be no small thing for this year's team should it play out as such.

 

[kcsu]

It's smart right now to be conservative with expectations given injury and layoff since playing a real game for Westry.

With that said if his health and the shaking the rust off ramps up faster than expected this is not just some possible contributor. This is a high end talent who without injury would have been a top freshman around the country and likely have had a big impact for Auburn. It would be no small thing for this year's team should it play out as such.

We have some amazing talent.

 

[Orangezoo]

We have some amazing talent.

Go back to the recruiting forum for the year leading up to getting Judah. Now imagine we had landed Judah/JJ/Westry and the madness of excitement that would have surrounded that haul.

Time and circumstance impacts everything but still its 3 extremely talented nba future level guards. Now we have the kind of haul we were salivating over at that time even if Judah wasn't the original name we discussed back then- it's the same talent level.

 

[bballbeadle]

Pssssssst! Guys, the first game is a week from today!

 

[5OutFred]

Go back to the recruiting forum for the year leading up to getting Judah. Now imagine we had landed Judah/JJ/Westry and the madness of excitement that would have surrounded that haul.

Time and circumstance impacts everything but still its 3 extremely talented nba future level guards. Now we have the kind of haul we were salivating over at that time even if Judah wasn't the original name we discussed back then- it's the same talent level.

The '22 recruiting thread will live in infamy. The Dior saga, Chance 'silent committing' then backing off, local 5 star JJ, Kamari Lands committing & de-committing out of nowhere, then Judah trending DePaul until the last minute. JB's self-proclaimed 'best class ever'.

All of that plus the commits class of 5 others. All trends well this year, we'll look back on the class fondly as a net positive for the program.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

The '22 recruiting thread will live in infamy. The Dior saga, Chance 'silent committing' then backing off, local 5 star JJ, Kamari Lands committing & de-committing out of nowhere, then Judah trending DePaul until the last minute. JB's self-proclaimed 'best class ever'.

All of that plus the commits class of 5 others. All trends well this year, we'll look back on the class fondly as a net positive for the program.

Brown, Starling, Mintz, Bell, Taylor, Westry, Carey, Copeland.

After the portal, this just may end up being one of JB's best classes.

 

[Niastri]

Brown, Starling, Mintz, Bell, Taylor, Westry, Carey, Copeland.

After the portal, this just may end up being one of JB's best classes.

Just Starling, Westry and Mintz would have been the best aggregate class since at least 2011. I did the work shortly after the two transferred in. Just the pair of Starling and Westry is amazing. Add in 56 points for Mintz (ranked 44 by RSCI) and just those 3 amount for a class ranking of 203 points, good for 5th best class between USC and UCLA.

Then consider Taylor, Copeland and Bell (Bunch at the time, RSCI 83), who were all top 100 somewhere, and this is our best recruiting class by rankings in a very long time.

"Starling and Westry would have been a class worth 147 points, in a top heavy year, it would have been 17th best class in '22.

Our last class getting close was Tyus Battle and Matthew Moyer in 2016, worth 111 points, good for 14th in a year where the talent was less concentrated.

We have to go back to '15 with Richardson, Lydon, Diagne and Howard to get a class worth more points, coming in with 156.

I choose not to count Diagne, since he and I are tied for minutes played with the home town Orange... So to get to a recruiting class where everybody made it to campus better than the Starling/Westry class we need to go back to 2011! That class featured Christmas, MCW and Cooney.

So, I reiterate my point. If you think recruiting ratings matter, you should be pretty excited by our two transfers."

 

[grepal]

Go back to the recruiting forum for the year leading up to getting Judah. Now imagine we had landed Judah/JJ/Westry and the madness of excitement that would have surrounded that haul.

Time and circumstance impacts everything but still its 3 extremely talented nba future level guards. Now we have the kind of haul we were salivating over at that time even if Judah wasn't the original name we discussed back then- it's the same talent level.

It has been a long time, maybe never, that we have had a stable of guards like the players on the team now. Some may need to get some time at the three to get them on the court and to keep pushing the pace. I don't see any 40 minute a game, iron men if we are going to play all out.

 

[AlaskaSU]

No need for anyone to cover Westry beyond the stripe. He was 0/14. JJ shooting is nothing to write home about. Cuffe and Copeland probably have higher ceilings given the importance of shooting skills. We are not going to be anything special with shooting guards who cannot shoot.

I want to see: what Cuffe can do, Copeland playing under control, a stronger and more aggressive Bell, a consistent Benny and someone who can play center.

McLeod is not yet the answer at center. He is still growing and therefore lacks stamina and coordination. He was able to score against a zone but not man to man.

Hope that the orange colored glasses crowd does not read this post. Speculation is the currency of fandom and I do not want to spoil the party. I am not a downer; I think we might be good but I won't be surprised if we are nothing more than a bubble team.

 

[OrangeDW]

No need for anyone to cover Westry beyond the stripe. He was 0/14. JJ shooting is nothing to write home about. Cuffe and Copeland probably have higher ceilings given the importance of shooting skills. We are not going to be anything special with shooting guards who cannot shoot.

I want to see: what Cuffe can do, Copeland playing under control, a stronger and more aggressive Bell, a consistent Benny and someone who can play center.

McLeod is not yet the answer at center. He is still growing and therefore lacks stamina and coordination. He was able to score against a zone but not man to man.

Hope that the orange colored glasses crowd does not read this post. Speculation is the currency of fandom and I do not want to spoil the party. I am not a downer; I think we might be good but I won't be surprised if we are nothing more than a bubble team.

Do you think 14 shots is enough of a sample size?

Guy never got consistent minutes because of his injuries.

I have no idea if he can shoot or not…..but I know that shooters need minutes, touches, and shots.

Buddy was like 0-50 in November of his freshman year, and by Feb. or so he had a stretch where his shooting was arguably the X factor in the team having some big wins.

Not at all suggesting Chance is going to shoot it like Buddy, but with regular minutes and touches he might be fine? We’ll see.

Also, don’t think it’s crazy to hope JJ gets his 3 point % up to 33-35%, which would be fine.

 

[Orangezoo]

No need for anyone to cover Westry beyond the stripe. He was 0/14. JJ shooting is nothing to write home about. Cuffe and Copeland probably have higher ceilings given the importance of shooting skills. We are not going to be anything special with shooting guards who cannot shoot.

I want to see: what Cuffe can do, Copeland playing under control, a stronger and more aggressive Bell, a consistent Benny and someone who can play center.

McLeod is not yet the answer at center. He is still growing and therefore lacks stamina and coordination. He was able to score against a zone but not man to man.

Hope that the orange colored glasses crowd does not read this post. Speculation is the currency of fandom and I do not want to spoil the party. I am not a downer; I think we might be good but I won't be surprised if we are nothing more than a bubble team.

Lol. This post must have been typed in June with a couple quick edits. At least you are consistent in your weird takes.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Lol. This post must have been typed in June with a couple quick edits. At least you are consistent in your weird takes.

Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

 

[Niastri]

Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

There's definitely one of two things going on.

The last week, Taylor had been discussed as possibly a solution at the 4, by sane posters no less. And Cuffe has gone from a consensus afterthought to possibly the second best guard.

Either it's the Silly Season, or things are shaping up to be very different this season.

 

[OrangeDW]

View attachment 232384Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

He ever do it in a real D1 game?

I know he’s athletic and can jump, but I gotta see it in real games before I can buy hearing his name in the same sentence as Stevie.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He ever do it in a real D1 game?

I know he’s athletic and can jump, but I gotta see it in real games before I can buy hearing his name in the same sentence as Stevie.

I think he will. He looks like he has the highest vertical of any player I‘ve seen in the past 25 years.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

I agree he’s got an unlimited ceiling, but not ready to say he will be better than JJ or Judah this year.

 

[kcsu]

Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

Cuffe is extremely talented. Go back and follow the kid from HS. He is a freak athlete who can do it all.

 

[Orangezoo]

Don't laugh; Cuffe won the 3 point shooting contest at midnight madness and was selected by Kansas. Kid could dunk like Stevie Thompson on the drive before his injury. We got a steal here. He will probably be our 3rd guard in the rotation (and maybe our 2nd best).

Less about the Cuffe comment in my post.

 

[Cheriehoop]

There's definitely one of two things going on.

The last week, Taylor had been discussed as possibly a solution at the 4, by sane posters no less. And Cuffe had gone from a consensus afterthought to possibly the second best guard.

Either it's the Silly Season, or things are doing up to be very different this season.

Don’t worry, it will happen game to game during the season.

 

[IthacaMatt]

He ever do it in a real D1 game?

I know he’s athletic and can jump, but I gotta see it in real games before I can buy hearing his name in the same sentence as Stevie.

Well, these clips are something to watch. If he's not another Stevie, he's certainly got the hops of another Jonny Flynn.

 

[IthacaMatt]

There's definitely one of two things going on.

The last week, Taylor had been discussed as possibly a solution at the 4, by sane posters no less. And Cuffe had gone from a consensus afterthought to possibly the second best guard.

Either it's the Silly Season, or things are doing up to be very different this season.

I took the Taylor observation more as a criticism of Benny - that Taylor can get all up in his grill and take him off his game. I don't think Taylor is a starter at the 4 (Maliq is probably going to see time there, too), but who's to say he couldn't be a Glenn Sekunda kind of player and get some time there?

Other comps might be Marius Janulis, but he was only 6-5, and shot around 40% from 3, almost automatic. Sean Kerins was a 6-7 /C who used to excel at the corner jumper. (No 3 point shot back then ...) I think I remember him splitting time with Andre Hawkins. Taylor shoots more from the wing, though.