Did Lydon make an awful decision?

[Trueblue25]

Malachi Richardson averages 19 a game and is a lottery pick this year if he stayed.

 

[jdubs30]

Lydon's last 3 game he's improved a lot. He's scoring on the block with that nifce little hook shot, he's making 3's and hee's been very active on the boards. Once he starts doingthat in ACC pay, who knows

 

[MikeSU02]

Yup.

Stretch 4. Coming off the bench in the NBA.

That's his destiny.

He can have a 10 year career if he can knock in threes and stretch the floor on a second unit. Kid should have left last year.

 

[Noexcuse]

Its not and likely won't. There just aren't that many potential stretch 4s on the planet. Chad Ford updated his big board today and Lydon has only went from 22 to 23 on it.

23. Tyler Lydon

Previous rank: No. 22
Syracuse
Sophomore
Forward

Lydon got off to a bit of a slow start for the Orange, but he had his most dominant game of the season versus Georgetown on Saturday, scoring 29 points, grabbing 9 boards and shooting a scintillating 12-for-13 from the field.

If he can start contributing with that sort of drive and energy consistently, he'll move up about 10 spots on the Big Board.

Yep. Fully expect for him to move up and get into lottery territory when all is said and done this year. It's going to be hard for him to not enter the draft imo.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Lydon's last 3 game he's improved a lot. He's scoring on the block with that nifce little hook shot, he's making 3's and hee's been very active on the boards. Once he starts doingthat in ACC pay, who knows

He's not getting those interior looks at the next level. Either he improves his outside shooting and becomes a solid bench piece, or he plays in Europe. He's not athletic enough or skilled enough to play the 3 in the NBA, and not big enough to be a 4. He needs to develop one skill, which is outside shooting, to stick at the next level.

 

[two3zone]

Malachi Richardson averages 19 a game and is a lottery pick this year if he stayed.

Mali would have never been in the lottery.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He's not getting those interior looks at the next level. Either he improves his outside shooting and becomes a solid bench piece, or he plays in Europe. He's not athletic enough or skilled enough to play the 3 in the NBA, and not big enough to be a 4. He needs to develop one skill, which is outside shooting, to stick at the next level.

In today's NBA he's big enough to play the 4. Get ready of a seasons worth of Chad Ford draft reports.

 

[realorange]

He's not getting those interior looks at the next level. Either he improves his outside shooting and becomes a solid bench piece, or he plays in Europe. He's not athletic enough or skilled enough to play the 3 in the NBA, and not big enough to be a 4. He needs to develop one skill, which is outside shooting, to stick at the next level.

To get the NBA really interested, he needs to show he can put the ball on the floor.

 

[orangecuse]

The high level play of yesteryear in college hoops is long gone, and, in large part, why college hoops is getting harder & harder to watch today. Sure, the games are competitive, but ugly is still ugly. These guys leaving after one year only to sit on the pine or be in the D league (hello Malachi, CM, etc.) has tarnished the game. I get it, and don't blame these young men for leaving, $$$, etc. but it doesn't change the fact that the level of play is awful in many instances. Numerous games are difficult to watch unless you have a vested interest of some sort. If you weren't an SU or UConn fan, I don't know how one could truly stand to watch that game.

 

[Tony DeFranco]

Anyone worried about Lydon or Battle leaving in hopes of playing in the NBA is delusional - they are little puppies compared to the ENTIRE ACC conference - I'm not sure Battle is even decent at basketball and Lydon might be the slowest player on the court in every game this year

 

[Tony DeFranco]

I agree that Lydon seems to have gained some bulk that has not helped his game. That said I think 10 years from now Lydon is having a more productive NBA career than Mal.

Neither will ever play in the NBA

 

[NineOneSeven]

Jon Leuer has crafted himself a nice career in the league and is a solid contributor for Detroit this year. I think they are similar players in terms of natural ability. And yes... they are also 6'9" white guys.

 

[Delmar]

No. Lyon would be buried in the D league if he went out this year. That's the very worst he will do in the future. He has every opportunity this year and the next to improve on that.

 

[pearl31]

Anyone worried about Lydon or Battle leaving in hopes of playing in the NBA is delusional - they are little puppies compared to the ENTIRE ACC conference - I'm not sure Battle is even decent at basketball and Lydon might be the slowest player on the court in every game this year

 

[OrangeDW]

Malachi Richardson averages 19 a game and is a lottery pick this year if he stayed.

19 a game...yeah, I think so too. Lottery pick? No. Don't see it.

Moten averaged 19 a game for four straight years, and he was a second round pick. John Wallace elevated his game incredibly and had an amazing senior year and wasn't a lottery pick.

College stats really don't matter that much. How many two guards even go lottery any more? The best young two guards off the top of my head are Zach Lavine and Devin Booker and they were the last lottery picks (13th) in their drafts. Malachi is not them.

 

[orangecuse]

19 a game...yeah, I think so too. Lottery pick? No. Don't see it.

Moten averaged 19 a game for four straight years, and he was a second round pick. John Wallace elevated his game incredibly and had an amazing senior year and wasn't a lottery pick.

College stats really don't matter that much. How many two guards even go lottery any more? The best young two guards off the top of my head are Zach Lavine and Devin Booker and they were the last lottery picks (13th) in their drafts. Malachi is not them.

Moten had a great college career for sure, but attempting to draw a comparison to Malachi is a bit of a stretch imo. Moten was about 6'3" whereas Richardson is a legit 6'6" with length. The biggest factor though is Moten didn't really have a legit jump shot, but more like a set shot. MR can elevate and has a solid J, and I believe is a bit more athletic to create, assisting him in getting his shot off.

 

[OrangeDW]

Moten had a great college career for sure, but attempting to draw a comparison to Malachi is a bit of a stretch imo. Moten was about 6'3" whereas Richardson is a legit 6'6" with length. The biggest factor though is Moten didn't really have a legit jump shot, but more like a set shot. MR can elevate and has a solid J, and I believe is a bit more athletic to create, assisting him in getting his shot off.

Yeah, I agree. I wasn't comparing them as players, just pointing out that averaging 19 ppg wouldn't have necessarily improved Richardson's NBA stock.