Chukwu?

[Janner]

There has been a lot of speculation about him starting next year, but has anyone seen him play? Is he progressing? How is his offensive/defensive game? Etc. Any insight or reports from those who may have gone to a practice or have some connections on this hill would be greatly appreciated.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Hopefully he lives up to the hype and then some, but I think everyone should temper their expectations. Being tall does not guarantee anything. Celuck was tall. The cat rescuer was tall.

 

[sutomcat]

There has been a lot of speculation about him starting next year, but has anyone seen him play? Is he progressing? How is his offensive/defensive game? Etc. Any insight or reports from those who may have gone to a practice or have some connections on this hill would be greatly appreciated.

I hear he is an elite shot blocker. Not so elite on offense. He needs to get stronger and is making progress on that front.

Think of a skinnier, slightly more athletic, less angry, more academically oriented Fab Melo.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I hear he is an elite shot blocker. Not so elite on offense. He needs to get stronger and is making progress on that front.

Think of a skinnier, slightly more athletic, less angry, more academically oriented Fab Melo.

Less angry on the court, off the court, or both?

I hope the reports of elite shotblocking aren't based on 1-on-1 practice observations of Chukwu vs Coleman.

 

[Knicks411]

I made this comparison a while ago, but last year, Chuku played about 25% of his team's minutes, and blocked 8.2% of opponent 2 point FG. When Gab was a freshmen, he played 23.2% of SU minutes, and blocked 8.8% of opponent 2 point FG. Chukwu was a little better on the boards as well.

Fab made a huge leap in soph year, I'm certainly not projecting that, but I would expect Chukwu to block a lot of shots next year. He also shot 66% from the field on a super low usage rate. Another point of comparison, they each averaged about 7.5 fouls per 40 minutes. Fab cut that to 4.5 per 40 in his next year. Chukwu is going to have to stay on the court.

 

[Brooky03]

He's 7'2" and springy. That's enough for me. I don't care if he averages 2ppg.

 

[Alsacs]

I think he is the Baye Keita type defender this team needs at the back end of the zone.

Then just get the garbage baskets on feeds and tip in offensive rebounding.

He is the perfect backline defender to the zone. He just needs the conditioning to play the minutes JB may need from him and stay out foul trouble.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I think he is the Baye Keita type defender this team needs at the back end of the zone.

Then just get the garbage baskets on feeds and tip in offensive rebounding.

He is the perfect backline defender to the zone. He just needs the conditioning to play the minutes JB may need from him and stay out foul trouble.

Baye played defense with his feet, was a smart defender who was very quick but not an elite shot blocker. Hope that Chukwu plays defense with his feet and can cover the back line corner to corner that Keita was pretty darn good at. Baye wasn't intimidating , maybe Chukwu will be with his shot blocking, hope he has better hands , he seems to have better upper body strength already. Chukwu should be an exciting addition with so much potential. I agree, hope he isn't a foul magnet.

 

[sutomcat]

Less angry on the court, off the court, or both?

I hope the reports of elite shotblocking aren't based on 1-on-1 practice observations of Chukwu vs Coleman.

Less angry off the court. I don't think we are going to see him getting charged with criminal mischief by his girlfriend or hear about him being physically violent with her.

I hear he is a good kid.

 

[jgeorge322]

There has been a lot of speculation about him starting next year, but has anyone seen him play? Is he progressing? How is his offensive/defensive game? Etc. Any insight or reports from those who may have gone to a practice or have some connections on this hill would be greatly appreciated.

great question. I had similar thought recently as well. curious as to everyone's thoughts. we heard wes Johnson was the best player on the team the year he sat out so there was a lot of anticipation.

 

[jgeorge322]

I think he is the Baye Keita type defender this team needs at the back end of the zone.

Then just get the garbage baskets on feeds and tip in offensive rebounding.

He is the perfect backline defender to the zone. He just needs the conditioning to play the minutes JB may need from him and stay out foul trouble.

hopefully, he does not have two bricks for hands though.

 

[RF2044]

Hopefully he lives up to the hype and then some, but I think everyone should temper their expectations. Being tall does not guarantee anything. Celuck was tall. The cat rescuer was tall.

Less angry on the court, off the court, or both?

I hope the reports of elite shotblocking aren't based on 1-on-1 practice observations of Chukwu vs Coleman.

The sky's always falling at Camillus Mall.

 

[FrancoPizza]

The sky's always falling at Camillus Mall.

I miss the toy soldiers at Hess. Aladdin's Castle. Poor Richard's Pub.

 

[RF2044]

I miss the toy soldiers at Hess. Aladdin's Castle. Poor Richard's Pub.

Poor Richard's Pub--forgot about that place!

Spent a LOT of quarters at Aladdin's back in the day...

And I'm fairly certain that I bought my first two cassettes at Record Town. Good times.

 

[reedny]

He's 7'2" and springy. That's enough for me. I don't care if he averages 2ppg.

Exactly right. We all remember what a 7 footer with good timing can do for the zone on defense -- devastating. On offense, we don't need him to be Embed. All we need him to be is serviceable. When I saw him at MM, Chukwu was already running alley-oops off the pick and roll. Between now and November, I'm sure they're feeding him steak and working on his baby hook, drop step and up and under moves.

 

[jgeorge322]

Poor Richard's Pub--forgot about that place!

Spent a LOT of quarters at Aladdin's back in the day...

what was the name of the pizza joint next to the barber shop? I liked that place.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

I think he is the Baye Keita type defender this team needs at the back end of the zone.

Then just get the garbage baskets on feeds and tip in offensive rebounding.

He is the perfect backline defender to the zone. He just needs the conditioning to play the minutes JB may need from him and stay out foul trouble.

You and a lot of others are starting to repeat the theme, of needing him to stay out of foul trouble. I don't get it. Chukwu is an addition to what we already have. He will be 5 more fouls. The guy should be aggressive. The guy is in there for defensive purposes, let him impose his will a little, don't want him playing scared, don't need him to either.

That's 15 fouls in the middle next year - and that doesn't even count a senior Chino. I was hoping that luxury might entice JB to press more. Bring in 7'2" on the back line with Frank and Moyer and run people into the ground a little.

 

[RF2044]

Exactly right. We all remember what a serviceable 7 footer can do for the zone on defense -- devastating. On offense, Chukwu's already a pick and roll alley-oop waiting to happen ... and I'm sure they're feeding him steak and working on his baby hook, drop step and up and under moves.

That's right. This kid has massive potential, and will be a game changing defensive force day 1. The main thing for him was physical development--and the redshirt / transfer / year off will serve him well in that regard. Reportedly, he is a hard worker on and off the court, as well as in the weight room. With his physique, he's probably never going to be bulky, but he's wiry [in the mold of Roberson] and is putting in the work to get stronger.

I think his offensive skills are less rudimentary than people think, but agree 100% with your take on him being an alley oop magnet. Next year, I think his primary value will come as a shotblocker / rebounder, with mostly garbage touches on offense.

Then again, things change. This kid will be a third year college player next year--maybe he'll be better offensively than we think.

 

[jordoo]

Fab came in out of shape and really struggled as a freshman. Yes he flashed his talent, good feet, decent hands and the ability to block a lot of shots but he fouled a lot, didn't understand his role in the defense and got winded pretty quickly when things went up and down.

From what I saw of Chukwu @ Providence he was further along physically than Fab as a freshman and may have played more if Prov played a different style and didn't have a senior big. I'm actually pretty giddy about what Chukwu will look like after a season at Providence and a season red-shirting here. Bigs usually take the longest to develop and he will be in his 3rd year out of High School. I think it may take him a while to get into things offensively after a year off but I expect a defensive force right out of the gate. The type of shot blocker that makes guys think and adjust their shots just because he is there. I expect to see a very extended zone on the wings and out top because we have him in the middle.

 

[upperdeck]

the biggest thing is that if coleman comes back we will have 3 who can play the 5 without dipping into the unknown . we might even be able to use the FR at the 3-4 and go big some if we want

 

[Dave85]

He's 7'2" and springy. That's enough for me. I don't care if he averages 2ppg.

We have a very good weight room in the Melo center. At first I read "stringing" not "springy". Springy good!

 

[kcsu]

He is the most important recruit we landed last year. He will be a game changer for us and i expect him to go pro two years out. Everything is in front of him. The RS year is going to do him wonders. Cant wait!

 

[MikeSU02]

I hear he is an elite shot blocker. Not so elite on offense. He needs to get stronger and is making progress on that front.

Think of a skinnier, slightly more athletic, less angry, more academically oriented Fab Melo.

Can he finish at the rim and roll to the rim (read: can he be our college version of DeAndre Jordan at the rim)?

If we have guys that can break down defenses off the dribble (Battle/Howard) and have space (Mal / Lydon), it should allow opportunities for Chuckwu within 2 feet of the basket if he can finish. At his height, if the passes are on target, he should be able to get a lot of easy buckets.

 

[Cheriehoop]

You and a lot of others are starting to repeat the theme, of needing him to stay out of foul trouble. I don't get it. Chukwu is an addition to what we already have. He will be 5 more fouls. The guy should be aggressive. The guy is in there for defensive purposes, let him impose his will a little, don't want him playing scared, don't need him to either.

That's 15 fouls in the middle next year - and that doesn't even count a senior Chino. I was hoping that luxury might entice JB to press more. Bring in 7'2" on the back line with Frank and Moyer and run people into the ground a little.

True, it will definitely leave more wiggle room but only if each option is equally effective on the court.

 

[sutomcat]

Can he finish at the rim and roll to the rim (read: can he be our college version of DeAndre Jordan at the rim)?

If we have guys that can break down defenses off the dribble (Battle/Howard) and have space (Mal / Lydon), it should allow opportunities for Chuckwu within 2 feet of the basket if he can finish. At his height, if the passes are on target, he should be able to get a lot of easy buckets.

I hear he is effective dunking it if he gets the ball within a couple of feet of the rim. He is otherwise a work in progress.

Hop is trying to get him to be more aggressive with the ball. Like a lot of big guys, it doesn't come naturally to him. The year off will help but I wouldn't expect a double figure scorer his first year in orange.