Dajuan

[albanycuse]

I think there are going to be a lot of people changing their minds about Brandon this year.

Im one of his biggest confidence critics and today his game looked strong and aggressive. Would be fantastic if it stayed that way all year.

 

[rrlbees]

Coleman will get there. His greatest strength is his strength and his hands. But in time he will learn that college is different than high school kids and how to use that strength and how to focus on controlling the ball. He's just using instincts right now.

On defense, he always falls for every ball or head fake. Needs to learn to hold his ground.

After 2 scrimmages and 2 games, there is no doubt in my mind that our best center is Baye. But he will remain a sub because he is more receptive to it. Tough to tell hs studs like a Coleman or Christmas that they will be coming off the bench.

Nice problems to have.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dcuse]

Although it can be annoying to hear "analysts" and "scouts" say so and so player will be leaving your school early to jump to the NBA before a college game is even played...

IMO, it's even MORE annoying to hear that team's fans use a poor performance or two (in the first two games of the season) to conclude that the player is not worthy of such regard & could not possibly improve his play throughout the season to make the scenario possible.

Yes,that's what people do. They form opinions on players readiness by watching them play. When would you think Dajuan might conquer all the things he needs to learn? He will not be ready for any NBA after one year. That is ridiculous pressure to put on the kid.

 

[albanycuse]

Yes,that's what people do. They form opinions on players readiness by watching them play. When would you think Dajuan might conquer all the things he needs to learn? He will not be ready for any NBA after one year. That is ridiculous pressure to put on the kid.

And posters do the same by reading posts.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Although it can be annoying to hear "analysts" and "scouts" say so and so player will be leaving your school early to jump to the NBA before a college game is even played...

IMO, it's even MORE annoying to hear that team's fans use a poor performance or two (in the first two games of the season) to conclude that the player is not worthy of such regard & could not possibly improve his play throughout the season to make the scenario possible.

Yes. This. It's bad form, in this internet forum, to actually acknowledge faults in our own players. Or to project, from 25 years of watching SU teams, a kid's performance down the line. Let's all be positive, shall we? Optimism at the expense of objectivity. Throw out truth, fact, and founded conjecture, and let's just have faith that all is possible.

Let's also dismiss the unspecified advantage of having Dajuan stay for more than one year.

No one's rooting against our kid here. People are expressing what they're seeing, and countering the silly projections that he'll be making a jump to the nba and freeing a scholarship. All of which is valid here.

Here's something you, as censor, might approve, though: Coleman's issues are very similar to the problems Dwight Howard is experiencing Right Now with the Lakers. He's constantly being stripped. It's half because he's leaving the ball exposed, and half because the defenders don't care if they foul him in the paint, as it's a justifiable defense to just let him shoot free throws.

I don't doubt Coleman will sort this out. He'll get better in that respect this season. But, he's not going to improve so much in that and other aspects that he'll be a lottery pick. He has a lot of room for growth. if you want him to leave, you ought to hope he has a Fab-like transformation in his game between 1st and 2nd years. But, in Fab's game, it was a lot about conditioning. In DC's case, I don't see the means for such a significant leap.

 

[OttoMets]

He's going to improve, but he was dreadful today. Trouble is, he wasn't even compensating for his offensive struggles by playing to his strengths. Little hustle, a revolving door on defense.

He played really well in all facets against Pace. He had a low release point and liked to put the ball on the floor on the block, but he made it work. In three games since then, he's done those two things with limited success. Unfortunately, he's also been lethargic on both ends and hasn't been the plus rebounder many of us expected him to be. Not a ton of energy today, and he didn't seem to learn from his (many) mistakes.

It's OK that his offense is trailing his defense and rebounding (that's to be expected for a freshman), but if he wants to see court time, he can't let those two areas slide. The next two games are big ones for Coleman. If he's not effective on the other end, Keita's going to see 25 minutes against Arkansas and Coleman will be - at least for the time being - on the outside looking in.

 

[OttoMets]

Yeah. It almost seems to be a bunny thing. Coleman probably won't enter the Craig-Forth-level-of-hell realm of missed point blank shots.

3 more made bunnies, and some relatively more difficult semi-hooks, and DC has 13 a game. Opponents won't be able to ignore that. His catch/spin/position/shoot thingy is a bit cliche, yeah - but wait he gets his % into Arinze territory.

Prolly won't happen this year - but if it crosses 50%, that guy here who keeps drinking Jack and Cokes in honor of every little trivial SU-related victory will have an exploding liver just in time for Winterfest.

If Coleman isn't shooting 50% by the turn of the new year, he's going to play precious few minutes in Big East games. That's like the bottom of the barrel for any halfway decent five.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

For right now, he has been pitiful on both ends. Surely he can improve, but he has been a shockingly poor player so far given the hype he had coming in.

Well, that's just not fair, nor is it objectively accurate. Maybe you expected him to be Hakeem Olajuwan, but I don't believe anyone else did. The "hype" by who?

 

[OttoMets]

I'm sure he's going to improve. Nobody is declaring his entire future career here. We've seen him play four games, that's virtually nothing. But, the fact is that in those four games he has struggled to hit any kind of shot at all, is a virtually automatic turnover when getting the ball low, and is worse that non-existent on defense at both the wing and center position.

Those are just facts right now. He's got several games to get it together and we have nice depth, so it's fine. But don't act like it is an over-reaction to say he has been terrible so far.

Well said.

I thought he'd be slow to adjust to college play and then was way too enthusiastic about his exhibition debut. Fact is, he's been awful since then. Fab-level awful, only with a longer leash. It's understandable that he's struggling on offense; Coleman's got some fundamental problems in his game. His hustle and defense were lacking today, though; he's got to tighten those things up if he wants to be a contributor this season.

 

[OttoMets]

Well, that's just not fair, nor is it objectively accurate. Maybe you expected him to be Hakeem Olajuwan, but I don't believe anyone else did. The "hype" by who?

In the two regular-season games (in addition to the second exhibition), Coleman's been inept. There's no positive spin to it.

Nobody's saying that he's not going to be a good player some day. And Hakeem's got nothing to do with it. The kid couldn't do anything right in the past two games. He's struggling. There's no sugar-coating it.

Also, for what it's worth, he did come in with a fair bit of "hype." He's a McDonald's guy, was talked about as a one-and-done player, and was considered by many (as recently as this morning) to be someone who would match Arinze's best numbers this season.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Unfortunately, he's also been lethargic on both ends and hasn't been the plus rebounder many of us expected him to be.

I got quite the opposite impression. I felt, with him and Rak in the game to start, we controlled rebounding. When he exited, Vogner took over and kept themselves close. When Coleman came back in, we owned the paint again. Rebounds don't even get contested by the opposition in the same way as with Keita and Christmas. And, I'm speaking of Team Rebounds, not necessarily Individual Rebounds. DC did have 7 in 19 minutes. Nothing wrong with that. As many as Rak in 25 minutes. But, as I said, his presence changed the rebounding dynamic and I can see us really struggling against conference teams without him in the middle.

 

[OttoMets]

I got quite the opposite impression. I felt, with him and Rak in the game to start, we controlled rebounding. When he exited, Vogner took over and kept themselves close. When Coleman came back in, we owned the paint again. Rebounds don't even get contested by the opposition in the same way as with Keita and Christmas. And, I'm speaking of Team Rebounds, not necessarily Individual Rebounds. DC did have 7 in 19 minutes. Nothing wrong with that. As many as Rak in 25 minutes. But, as I said, his presence changed the rebounding dynamic and I can see us really struggling against conference teams without him in the middle.

To be honest, I'd like to watch it again before making that claim with any certainty. And I do think that Coleman at the five gives us our best interior rebounding presence, whether he grabs the ball or just frees up space for a teammate to get the board.

On first impression, though, we hit the boards pretty well (with the exception of a couple possessions). I didn't see Coleman getting too active in there, though.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Well, that's just not fair, nor is it objectively accurate. Maybe you expected him to be Hakeem Olajuwan, but I don't believe anyone else did. The "hype" by who?

You don't think there is "hype" associated with being a 5-star recruit and McDonalds AA? Okaaaay.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Also, for what it's worth, he did come in with a fair bit of "hype." He's a McDonald's guy, was talked about as a one-and-done player, and was considered by many (as recently as this morning) to be someone who would match Arinze's best numbers this season.

That's sorta my point. "Hype." If you're reading forum posts from people who either automatically assume anything JB recruits is gold, who are trying to figure out who's going to jump early so we have a shot at Dakari, or assuming anyone who plays in the McD game is on a fast track to the NBA, it's kinda your fault for letting BS/hype influence your expectations.

If you've seen him play in the McD or any other game, you'd probably have a more realistic perspective on what he's doing now and what he's going to be capable of. It's not like I've seen a lot of him pre-SU, but I'm certainly not surprised at what he's doing now, and not so fazed that I consider him "inept" or "dreadful." The 'fact' is, a "dreadful" player has no place on a Syracuse team. Yet, the 'fact' is, if he doesn't play, we're going to be a pretty bad team.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

You don't think there is "hype" associated with being a 5-star recruit and McDonalds AA? Okaaaay.

I don't think you know what "hype" means. You're confusing empirical fact from somewhat associated projections by random people, supposedly based on that fact.

To simplify:
Being selected for McD is not hype.
Fans or media believing that a player is going to be immediately impactful based on that selection, and then making related proclamations — that is hype.

And my point is that hype is irrelevant unless you don't have the wherewithall to reach your own conclusions. People who whine about unfulfilled hype are kinda getting what they deserve.

 

[stuckinbig11]

He's struggled in the paint .. does not finish with authority and gets stripped easily. He will be here for at least another year.

In fairness, he was stripped of most of the skin on his forearms when they were stripping him of the ball--no call.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I don't think you know what "hype" means. You're confusing empirical fact from somewhat associated projections by random people, supposedly based on that fact.

To simplify:
Being selected for McD is not hype.
Fans or media believing that a player is going to be immediately impactful based on that selection, and then making related proclamations — that is hype.

And my point is that hype is irrelevant unless you don't have the wherewithall to reach your own conclusions. People who whine about unfulfilled hype are kinda getting what they deserve.

Good lord. So you're going to turn this into semantics? The same guy who thinks Coleman's performance so far has been so good, that to expect any better is to expect "Hakeem Olajuwan"?

 

[OttoMets]

That's sorta my point. "Hype." If you're reading forum posts from people who either automatically assume anything JB recruits is gold, who are trying to figure out who's going to jump early so we have a shot at Dakari, or assuming anyone who plays in the McD game is on a fast track to the NBA, it's kinda your fault for letting BS/hype influence your expectations.

If you've seen him play in the McD or any other game, you'd probably have a more realistic perspective on what he's doing now and what he's going to be capable of. It's not like I've seen a lot of him pre-SU, but I'm certainly not surprised at what he's doing now, and not so fazed that I consider him "inept" or "dreadful." The 'fact' is, a "dreadful" player has no place on a Syracuse team. Yet, the 'fact' is, if he doesn't play, we're going to be a pretty bad team.

I have to excuse myself from this.

Spent months claiming that Coleman was a fat kid and a likely non-contributor (even after his slimmed-down but non-consequential performance in the guard-heavy McDonalds game), then saw a great performance (with a hefty share of hustle and desire) againt Pace and probably overrated the guy. Truth is, he's probably going to produce at a level someplace between those two extremes.

You're right - neither you nor I has seen a ton of Coleman pre-SU. He played really badly tonight, though. And a lot of that was directly tied to his fundamental deficiencies: low release point, lack of quickness, and propensity to put the ball on the floor.

I don't think we'll be bad, pretty bad, or anything else below "quite good" if Coleman doesn't play. Baye is better than most centers we've had in the past twenty years. But we'll be better if Coleman gets minutes, improves, and contributes.

 

[OttoMets]

In fairness, he was stripped of most of the skin on his forearms when they were stripping him of the ball--no call.

The whistles were uneven.

The majority feels some shame in admitting that, but Rakeem and others got whistled for all manner of touches and reaches while Coleman et al. got clubbed with no call.

Still, we can't expect to get better officiating against Pittsburgh or Notre Dame. And Coleman's got to learn (more quickly) that he can't bring it down and expect to have good things happen. When Grant catches the ball, he goes up with it. Shouldn't take three games for Coleman to learn that that's what college bigs do with the ball on the block.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

If Nerlens wouldnt get 8 mpg here...what has Coleman earned? about 2 mpg?

 

[AlaskaSU]

Yes,that's what people do. They form opinions on players readiness by watching them play. When would you think Dajuan might conquer all the things he needs to learn? He will not be ready for any NBA after one year. That is ridiculous pressure to put on the kid.

Readiness for the NBA is irrelevant. Just like picking stocks, the name of the game is potential.

 

[zhanjuzi]

Wait UNTIL

Why the hell do I miss entire words when typing? I don't even drink those little bottles of whatever that Jim Rome pimps.

You are not alone. This apparently is a lot more common than you think (I still miss words even after proofreading).

 

[Room 914]

He's a big man, so I hope people didn't put huge expectations on him. I learned from Fab Melo, takes time with front court guys.

Not worried at all, by the end of the year he'll be solid.

 

[IthacaMatt]

He's struggled in the paint .. does not finish with authority and gets stripped easily. He will be here for at least another year.

It's early still. If he's still playing like this at the end of December, then I would agree. But look at how much improvement Keita and Christmas are making right now. He's got the most low post offense of the 3 of them, and he looks pretty good out there to me. He's rushing his post moves a bit and forcing it a little. But he's more agile and is quicker in his moves than I thought. He also needs to get a body on people on the boards. It's long distance to try to get around him. He has to use his girth more.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Im one of his biggest confidence critics and today his game looked strong and aggressive. Would be fantastic if it stayed that way all year.

He played a great game today. He carried them until Cooney and Keita came in. Then the defense gave them separation. But Brandon did a great job, especially early. Southerland scored some important early hoops, too.