Christmas..

[Ghost]

Rak's had my love since his sophomore year. A big thats capable of 70%+ from the line? Yes please.

Well said - it seemed like his rep for being a tad lazy (getting back on D, etc..) persisted at least through the Sophomore year, but he seemed to turn that corner pretty early that year from what I recall. We'll never know, but like you I always thought he was capable of more throughout his career. I suppose with our guards his Soph year it's debatable whether he deserved a ton more touches (I thought it would have helped the offense overall), but last year it would have been a huge plus imo.

 

[Ghost]

There were moments last year when TR was very aggressive attacking the hoop. TR is hard to understand. I think he just needs a little more confidence. Maybe some time in the weight room will give him a little more confidence. He has all the tools. If not this year TR is going to be a monster at some point. It may not be this year.

I know - I expected the big jump this year. I remember when rumors were going that he may start as a Frosh. You can see the skill is there at times, but he's still very jittery quite often when he touches the ball.

 

[Dave85]

I know - I expected the big jump this year. I remember when rumors were going that he may start as a Frosh. You can see the skill is there at times, but he's still very jittery quite often when he touches the ball.

It may be jitters. I read on syracuse.com he has a lower abdominal injury which has been slowing him down. He says he's okay but I think he quoted that during the MI game it was bothering him. I didn't quite understand what he was saying. So he may continue to be hampered until the abdominal injury heals. Hopefully this will not be something that recurs all season.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...om_being_explosive.html#incart_social_feature

 

[SmilinBob]

He's the focus and that makes a difference. Yes, he has to have talent but if you're the first option instead of 4h or 5th it makes a huge difference.

 

[Eric15]

I actually thought that Rick regressed offensively between his junior and senior year. As a junior, I remember him having a quite sophisticated offensive post game, with a number of great inside moves. But as a senior, it seemed like he became addicted to his short baby left hook and that was the only shot he ever went to.

Obviously he was an absolute beast on the boards as a senior, no denying that.

 

[RF2044]

I actually thought that Rick regressed offensively between his junior and senior year. As a junior, I remember him having a quite sophisticated offensive post game, with a number of great inside moves. But as a senior, it seemed like he became addicted to his short baby left hook and that was the only shot he ever went to.

Obviously he was an absolute beast on the boards as a senior, no denying that.

He also had that weird reverse layup thing he went to a couple times per game.

 

[Eric15]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Allen Griffin. He played sporadic minutes his first three years, got moved to shooting guard sometimes, and it just wasn't working out well. And then as a senior he was a fantastic point guard and leader for a solid 25 win team.

 

[Eric15]

He also had that weird reverse layup thing he went to a couple times per game.

I loved that move - that's precisely what I feel like he did as a junior but just disappeared as a senior.

 

[CousCuse]

If DC II comes back , this team could be a problem for a lot of people. And by a lot of people , I mean Kentucky.

 

[OttoMets]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Allen Griffin. He played sporadic minutes his first three years, got moved to shooting guard sometimes, and it just wasn't working out well. And then as a senior he was a fantastic point guard and leader for a solid 25 win team.

Griffin was a little like Christmas in that he'd showed flashes before but was passed over for a player Boeheim was more comfortable with (in his case, Tony Bland and his offensive potential and better size). When there were no more options behind him, Boeheim had no choice but to play Griffin 35+ minutes per game.

Griffin responded well, but it wasn't a huge shock. He played well as a starter as a sophomore and he had the fourth-best assist-to-turnover of any Syracuse player since 1985 in limited time as a junior (over 2.6 - better than everyone other than Monroe and Ennis). He was a very effective point guard for a guy who couldn't really shoot, and he made the biggest shot he took that season.

 

[OttoMets]

I actually thought that Rick regressed offensively between his junior and senior year. As a junior, I remember him having a quite sophisticated offensive post game, with a number of great inside moves. But as a senior, it seemed like he became addicted to his short baby left hook and that was the only shot he ever went to.

Obviously he was an absolute beast on the boards as a senior, no denying that.

Jackson grew by leaps and bounds in 2010 and peaked with a great game against Villanova. The next game, against St. John's, he spun around his man at the free throw line, took one stride, and tried to throw down a dunk from far away. He missed, Boeheim went berserk and sat him for a long time, and Jackson's offensive game was a lot more restrained for the last few games. (After the Butler game, I thought about that incident quite a bit.)

He had a number of good games as a senior (Michigan State comes to mind), but I thought his offensive game plateaued (at best) after the Nova game.

 

[jordoo]

Jackson grew by leaps and bounds in 2010 and peaked with a great game against Villanova. The next game, against St. John's, he spun around his man at the free throw line, took one stride, and tried to throw down a dunk from far away. He missed, Boeheim went berserk and sat him for a long time, and Jackson's offensive game was a lot more restrained for the last few games. (After the Butler game, I thought about that incident quite a bit.)

He had a number of good games as a senior (Michigan State comes to mind), but I thought his offensive game plateaued (at best) after the Nova game.

Right before that Nova game we had that crazy barn burner at Providence where they hit about 14 3's in the first half. Rick had a huge game in that one albeit against very little opposition and a majority of his makes were unmolested dunks or layups. I think he may have had 28pts. It was a BIG number. Either way he looked more aggressive than I had ever seen him the next game VS Nova but as mentioned it didn't carry over much after that and through the rest of the season. I still have that 3 game stretch on DVD @Prov, Nova, St. Johns(senior night) and all three are very enjoyable to watch anytime I pull them out.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I actually thought that Rick regressed offensively between his junior and senior year. As a junior, I remember him having a quite sophisticated offensive post game, with a number of great inside moves. But as a senior, it seemed like he became addicted to his short baby left hook and that was the only shot he ever went to.

Obviously he was an absolute beast on the boards as a senior, no denying that.

The frustrating thing with Rick was that he was sometimes content to get pushed out of his sweet spot. If he could get a good seal low and fight for position he was really efficient, but he'd occasionally let himself get bumped about eighteen inches further down the baseline. He didn't really have the jumper to operate from there, and one dribble wouldn't get him close enough to where he can really do damage. I remember a LOT of stalled possessions/bad shots/turnovers if that's where he accepted an entry pass.

I'm hoping with Rak we find that either he a) has enough moves that if bigger teams push him out a little bit that he can still be so effective and/or b) that frees up McCullough or a cutter to get closer to the basket and Rak can make an entry pass, because there's no way as the season goes on teams will let him establish himself down low quite so easily.

 

[Melancer46]

Agreed and with the offensive production he is showing this year I think someone uses a pick on him. I wouldn't be shocked to see him go late in the first round although that's probably unlikely.

I just can't see him as a 1st round pick. He's either a 6'9" C or a 6'9" PF that doesn't shoot very well and he's also 23 years old.

 

[jordoo]

I just can't see him as a 1st round pick. He's either a 6'9" C or a 6'9" PF that doesn't shoot very well and he's also 23 years old.

"Probably unlikely" I agree but if you are talking about a very good playoff team that doesn't see any great future prospect they might use a late round pick for an older more mature backup big that they may be able to use right away in a deep bench roll. Again much more likely someone takes a flyer in the 2nd round on him but if he keeps scoring the way he has its will help his stock and I'll bet his agility and other measurable will be about as good as they get for a 6-9 guy.

 

[OttoMets]

Right before that Nova game we had that crazy barn burner at Providence where they hit about 14 3's in the first half. Rick had a huge game in that one albeit against very little opposition and a majority of his makes were unmolested dunks or layups. I think he may have had 28pts. It was a BIG number. Either way he looked more aggressive than I had ever seen him the next game VS Nova but as mentioned it didn't carry over much after that and through the rest of the season. I still have that 3 game stretch on DVD @Prov, Nova, St. Johns(senior night) and all three are very enjoyable to watch anytime I pull them out.

Yeah, he had 28, was making everything, and then missed the easiest layup of the night that would've given him 30. That was probably the best stretch of his career.

Very cool to have those games on DVD - that's a fun watch every time.

I double-checked the box score and Jackson only played 15 minutes (3-5 shooting) in the St. John's game. Boeheim was really mad.

 

[jordoo]

Yeah, he had 28, was making everything, and then missed the easiest layup of the night that would've given him 30. That was probably the best stretch of his career.

Very cool to have those games on DVD - that's a fun watch every time.

I double-checked the box score and Jackson only played 15 minutes (3-5 shooting) in the St. John's game. Boeheim was really mad.

I think part of it was Senior night for Arinze who had a big game and it took us a while to pull away from the Jonnies if I recall. I'll have to rewatch because this moment with Rick and JB doesn't ring a bell although those two had plenty of those moments especially Freshman Sophmore season.

 

[OttoMets]

I think part of it was Senior night for Arinze who had a big game and it took us a while to pull away from the Jonnies if I recall. I'll have to rewatch because this moment with Rick and JB doesn't ring a bell although those two had plenty of those moments especially Freshman Sophmore season.

I haven't seen it in almost five years, but if you give it a watch, I'd be interested to hear your take.

 

[two3zone]

If DC II comes back , this team could be a problem for a lot of people. And by a lot of people , I mean Kentucky.

I would love to see DC come back, but he wasn't great before the injury, I don't see him coming back from major surgery and that much time off from actually game time and being a major contributor let alone being much of a match for Okafor let alone Kentucky. It's probably best to tone down expectations for him until we at least see some playing time. Even early last year he had an issue with keeping the ball high and not dribbling it before going for a layup leading to him being stripped by somebody 4 inches shorter and 50 lbs less than him.

 

[HastingsCuse]

Another one who improved from Junior to Senior year was Wendell Alexis went from 9.7 to 15.2 PPG

 

[reedny]

I have to agree with you about RJ. Rak is doing tremendous this year. I am really pleased. But RJ was like Waiters from one year to the next. AO set the standard for Orange defense for couple of years. RJ raised the bar his senior year! What RJ was just incredible and unexpected. He was a total beast on defense. RJ is one of my favorite all-time players as well as AO.

I agree with both of you .. about RJ's transformation and his stellar defense senior year (BE D-POY). However ... there are differences. I think Rak is a more gifted athlete who can actually put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. Also, Rak is a talented shot-blocker ... not so much for RJ who was not a gifted leaper or athlete. However, RJ was a very good rebounder and understood positioning better than Rak has so far. But both great players for us ... hopefully, Rak won't get screwed next June by draft-and-stash guys from Europe like Ricky did. I think he could have played in the NBA as a rotation PF - probably athleticism and low block offense held him back.