IthacaMatt
Old Timer / Unofficial Contributor for 25+ years
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 23,401
- Like
- 34,043
I think incoming PG Tyler Ennis is beginning to remind me of Mateen Cleaves. I used to think Mark Jackson, but he plays faster than that, and is less of a power PG and more of a shake and bake guy. I know Bees has called him Billy Edelin with a jump shot, which is also in the ball park, but again, I think he's a bit faster, and relies a little less on looping shots up on the backboard over the defender.
Ron Patterson - a slightly smaller version of Paul Harris, but with a jump shot. Not as filled out as I would have thought for a prep school kid. Definitely is a guard, where Paul was kind of a tweener.
B. J. Johnson has a jump shot with form and release that looks like what C. J. Fair has today after all that work, and he makes a higher percentage of them. He doesn't look like he can rebound anywhere in Fair's neighborhood yet, but the kid is going to be a solid contributor. He does look like he could be a Gbinije type of big guard. He's maybe more likely to play at the 2 than the 3 early in his career. He doesn't look big enough yet to rebound on the bottom of the zone. On a team where they played man, he might see the floor sooner as a true small forward in a traditional role. But on our team, both forwards have to be able to rebound almost equally well. Johnson will have trouble in this regard for a while.
Chinoso Obokoh is bulkier than I think some people realize, so the Baye Keita comparisons may not be as close as you think. I saw him hit a 3 pointer in a video, too, although that's clearly not his game. But he's got a bit of skill. A little slow on defense, but he's a hard worker. Program guy but could contribute sooner than people think. I'll bet he redshirts after his injury problems, but then is a contributor at back up center the year after.
That leaves Tyler Roberson, the forward from Roselle Park. I haven't seen a ton of him, but I know he's tearing it up in NJ, dominating his conference against some pretty good competition. In his interviews, he seems about the most shy kid I have ever seen. He can barely talk to people, he's that shy. He looked like he was going to tear up from the pressure of making his announcement on ESPN. That said, he looks very solid, and the most ready to play, aside from Ennis, who is nearly guaranteed to start next year. Roberson is physical enough to play as a freshman. He attacks the rim on offense, and while he lacks B.J. Johnson's outside shooting touch, he can make the outside shot. He defends and he has a good basketball IQ, passes well for a big guy, but he's not a true big. He's the most like a traditional 4 of our recruits in this class, but he's still that Syracuse combo 4. He's quick around the rim. The player he is reminding me of most so far is Ryan Blackwell. Kind of good at everything, doesn't blow you away as an athlete, but is very fundamentally solid, plays hard, and is a guy you want on your team.
My take on the incoming class. To me, it looks like we are getting 1 starter (Ennis), 1 pretty sure rotation guy (Roberson), and 1 darkhorse guy to make the rotation (Johnson). The other 2 guys will need a year before they can contribute, unless Patterson's handle improves or Cooney can't start hitting 3 pointers during actual games and not just at practice.
This is a fill-in-the-cracks class like the 2002 class of Forth-Pace-Warrick-Konecny-Edelin class. Those guys filled in all the roles for the 2003 class to add Melo & Gerry (and Edelin from suspension) to provide the scoring punch and star power to make us a legitimate contender.
And in the same way as the 2002 class, this class sets us up for adding a small handful of really talented guys in 2014 - Chris McCullough is already in the house - a very skilled 4 who should play closer to the basket and less on the perimeter, and then a shooting guard (Isiaih Whitehead) and a small forward (Theo Pinson), and sure, add in another center (Goodluck Okonoboh), and that would be another hell of a class, and a few more years as a guaranteed title contender.
By the way, don't compare McCullough to Donte Greene - Donte was showtime - he ran the floor and was Dr. Dunk, and he hoisted 3's aplenty, and with not terrible accuracy, at least before the injuries that hit that season. McCullough isn't a mad bomber, and he doesn't neglect his rebounding responsibilities to take off down the floor on the fast break. He does a lot of pick and roll/pop stuff, when I'd like to see him work a bit more on the low block. He's a very skilled player, and reminds me (as I've said before) of Charles Smith of Pitt and the Knicks (not the Georgetown guard of the same name...). And in some of the bad ways, too. Could have a better motor and be more active, but has undeniable skills.
That's the kind of talent where we'll walk right into the ACC and compete for the crown in the very first years we are there. This next class (2014) is set up to potentially be huge. I hope we can add those 3 guys to an already stocked cupboard.
Ron Patterson - a slightly smaller version of Paul Harris, but with a jump shot. Not as filled out as I would have thought for a prep school kid. Definitely is a guard, where Paul was kind of a tweener.
B. J. Johnson has a jump shot with form and release that looks like what C. J. Fair has today after all that work, and he makes a higher percentage of them. He doesn't look like he can rebound anywhere in Fair's neighborhood yet, but the kid is going to be a solid contributor. He does look like he could be a Gbinije type of big guard. He's maybe more likely to play at the 2 than the 3 early in his career. He doesn't look big enough yet to rebound on the bottom of the zone. On a team where they played man, he might see the floor sooner as a true small forward in a traditional role. But on our team, both forwards have to be able to rebound almost equally well. Johnson will have trouble in this regard for a while.
Chinoso Obokoh is bulkier than I think some people realize, so the Baye Keita comparisons may not be as close as you think. I saw him hit a 3 pointer in a video, too, although that's clearly not his game. But he's got a bit of skill. A little slow on defense, but he's a hard worker. Program guy but could contribute sooner than people think. I'll bet he redshirts after his injury problems, but then is a contributor at back up center the year after.
That leaves Tyler Roberson, the forward from Roselle Park. I haven't seen a ton of him, but I know he's tearing it up in NJ, dominating his conference against some pretty good competition. In his interviews, he seems about the most shy kid I have ever seen. He can barely talk to people, he's that shy. He looked like he was going to tear up from the pressure of making his announcement on ESPN. That said, he looks very solid, and the most ready to play, aside from Ennis, who is nearly guaranteed to start next year. Roberson is physical enough to play as a freshman. He attacks the rim on offense, and while he lacks B.J. Johnson's outside shooting touch, he can make the outside shot. He defends and he has a good basketball IQ, passes well for a big guy, but he's not a true big. He's the most like a traditional 4 of our recruits in this class, but he's still that Syracuse combo 4. He's quick around the rim. The player he is reminding me of most so far is Ryan Blackwell. Kind of good at everything, doesn't blow you away as an athlete, but is very fundamentally solid, plays hard, and is a guy you want on your team.
My take on the incoming class. To me, it looks like we are getting 1 starter (Ennis), 1 pretty sure rotation guy (Roberson), and 1 darkhorse guy to make the rotation (Johnson). The other 2 guys will need a year before they can contribute, unless Patterson's handle improves or Cooney can't start hitting 3 pointers during actual games and not just at practice.
This is a fill-in-the-cracks class like the 2002 class of Forth-Pace-Warrick-Konecny-Edelin class. Those guys filled in all the roles for the 2003 class to add Melo & Gerry (and Edelin from suspension) to provide the scoring punch and star power to make us a legitimate contender.
And in the same way as the 2002 class, this class sets us up for adding a small handful of really talented guys in 2014 - Chris McCullough is already in the house - a very skilled 4 who should play closer to the basket and less on the perimeter, and then a shooting guard (Isiaih Whitehead) and a small forward (Theo Pinson), and sure, add in another center (Goodluck Okonoboh), and that would be another hell of a class, and a few more years as a guaranteed title contender.
By the way, don't compare McCullough to Donte Greene - Donte was showtime - he ran the floor and was Dr. Dunk, and he hoisted 3's aplenty, and with not terrible accuracy, at least before the injuries that hit that season. McCullough isn't a mad bomber, and he doesn't neglect his rebounding responsibilities to take off down the floor on the fast break. He does a lot of pick and roll/pop stuff, when I'd like to see him work a bit more on the low block. He's a very skilled player, and reminds me (as I've said before) of Charles Smith of Pitt and the Knicks (not the Georgetown guard of the same name...). And in some of the bad ways, too. Could have a better motor and be more active, but has undeniable skills.
That's the kind of talent where we'll walk right into the ACC and compete for the crown in the very first years we are there. This next class (2014) is set up to potentially be huge. I hope we can add those 3 guys to an already stocked cupboard.
, who is nearly guaranteed to start next year. Roberson is physical enough to play as a freshman. He attacks the rim on offense, and while he lacks B.J. Johnson's outside shooting touch, he can make the outside shot. He defends and he has a good basketball IQ, passes well for a big guy, but he's not a true big. He's the most like a traditional 4 of our recruits in this class, but he's still that Syracuse combo 4. He's quick around the rim. The player he is reminding me of most so far is Ryan Blackwell. Kind of good at everything, doesn't blow you away as an athlete, but is very fundamentally solid, plays hard, and is a guy you want on your team.
