It's difficult to fully understand recruiting needs and what the staff are really looking to bring in. In the 2013 class we obviously need a PG. Guess that question has been answered. There is discussion about forwards. We are losing Southerland after this season but have Jerami Grant who will be a sophomore when the class of 2013 arrives. For people in the know, are we looking to bring in one or two forwards? Looks like we have some good options. If we bring in two forwards, unless we lose Rakim or Coleman, it is quite possible that the new recruits would be battling for time off the bench. Is that realistic to think that we would get two forwards in this class. Of course everything changes if either Rakim or Coleman blow up and look NBA ready.
Here is a quick recruiting break down.
Our A-List options are:
Lawrence '13 - a 6'9 forward with some guard skills, perfect for Boeheim's style on both O and D.
McCullugh '14 - see above, though I think he's 6'8
Johnson '14 - a big time, very big, center
Briscoe '15 - combo guard, think Dion. His sister goes to SU, he is high on us and is a huge talent.
Bryant '15 - a very highly ranked 6'8 (I think) forward out of Rochester.
In a perfect world where nobody gets injured or leaves early for the NBA the above listed guys are all we need.
Of course its not a perfect world. When you look at the potential holes in our roster you see that with Coleman as our last center recruit and Johnson as our next center preference we have two blue chip guys with one eye on the NBA. We are going to need a 4 year center option in the '13 class. Someone who wont mind being a back up until he is a senior and a nonfactor while Keita is around to man the back-up role, but is good enough to fill in should Coleman (or Dakari, if we get him) choose to be a one and done.
We are looking at a few guys who can play this role. Most often talked about are:
Cinoso Obokoh
Goodluck Okonoboh
If everything goes perfectly, we end up with everybody on the first list and one of the two in the second list. If you want a dream scenario you can imagine us picking up Wiggins too, the number one recruit in the '14 class who we are a long shot with. We could also possibly replace McCullugh with Vonleh who is arguably slightly better and also interested in Syracuse although less likely to come here.
The last hole in our roster involves Carter-Williams. If he leaves we will want somebody on our roster who can play point other than Ennis, and ideally we are going to want to get him in the '13 class. The two most intriguing options are:
Ronde Jefferson - a 6'6 swing player who can play the 1, 2, or 3.
Wayne Seldon - a 6'5 off guard with a body and game like Waiters who could fill in at point if need be.
I think that if we end up with either of those two the staff has convinced them that MCW will leave early because there is just no room for them if he stays. So they are two guys to keep an eye on to say the least.
If we miss out on those two options Kameron Williams, or JaQuan Newton in the '14 class are good options. If we miss out on all these guys MCW better be stay. On the other hand, if MCW does stay and we end up getting one of these guys look for someone to transfer.
If we get everyone we want in the '13 class, I see the '14 class being a small one with only two very highly regarded recruits coming in. The '15 class will depend on how everything pans out over the next couple of years.
You may also want to know about some back up options we have. If we miss out on Lawrence or McCullugh good options are Marcus Lee and Tyler Roberson.
The more interesting question to me is who we go for at center in '14 or '15 if we miss out on Dakari Johnson (who is far from a guarantee). I really dont have an answer to this, but I'm sure the staff has their eye on somebody. Maybe somebody else can fill us in on this.
