Dion Waiters 3rd team AA

[dinno28]

College Basketball Picks: Midseason All-American First, Second and Third Teams
By

Ron Pasceri
(Featured Columnist) on January 13, 2012

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3rd Team: Guard, Dion Waiters, Syracuse

Waiters is a difference-maker.
Chris Chambers/Getty Images
Waiters was a late addition to the third team. After watching him single-handedly change the game against Villanova and just dominate off the bench, he deserves the mention.
Waiters could probably start for every team in the nation, and he is unselfishly playing as a sixth-man on an undefeated championship contender.
In just 22 minutes per game, he is averaging 12.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He is shooting 54 percent from the field and 36 percent from the arc.
He is probably the most important player on the top team in the country.

 

[armory]

He is probably the most important player on the top team in the country.

Very true. Can't name another player that would hurt us more if we lost him for the season. K-Jo, Melo could be close 2nds ... but Dion - for lack of a better, less cliche term - is what sparks this offense. He's also by far the most clutch player on the team who seems to always make that important play when the team needs it most.

Too many people criticize his demeanor, but I think that if his attitude wasn't what it is then he wouldn't play the way he plays. He is the sleeping giant's alarm clock.

 

[SoBristol]

Dion is the straw that stirs . . .

Agree on all counts. He is that valuable, and deserves kudos for taking the 6th man role. He has that energy, and at the same time, he leaps from the bench when Scoop or BT do something great. Also, works at both ends of the court.
Next most important -- Melo. Keita does OK as his sub, but Melo can change games against the real good inside guys (Herb Pope) who might push us around inside.
Kris -- love him, but CJ and James are coming along nicely.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

Very true. Can't name another player that would hurt us more if we lost him for the season. K-Jo, Melo could be close 2nds ... but Dion - for lack of a better, less cliche term - is what sparks this offense. He's also by far the most clutch player on the team who seems to always make that important play when the team needs it most.

Too many people criticize his demeanor, but I think that if his attitude wasn't what it is then he wouldn't play the way he plays. He is the sleeping giant's alarm clock.

I firmly believe that the two seniors are actually the most replaceable...... which is why this team has the potential to pull not just one title, but back to back. Now that Dion and Fab have both been wowing folks, I'm not sure about the back to back stuff if they BOTH leave.

 

[shizzah]

I firmly believe that the two seniors are actually the most replaceable...... which is why this team has the potential to pull not just one title, but back to back. Now that Dion and Fab have both been wowing folks, I'm not sure about the back to back stuff if they BOTH leave.

I'm not even going to argue about Scoop b/c it's too tiring, but KJo? As one of the top two most replaceable players? C'mon that is absurd. He's at absolutely WORST our 5th best/important player 1.Waiters 2. Melo 3. Triche 4. Scoop 5. KJo and could and should probably be 2nd or 3rd on that list.

He's shooting 40% from 3, he's a terrific foul shooter who draws fouls, he's our only player above 6'3" that is able to get to the basket and he's very good in transition. Now does he have a stinker every 3 or 4 games? Yup. But just because he's not as good at Waiters as driving, not quite as good as Fair at rebounding, not as good a 3pt shooter as maybe JSouth or Triche does not mean he's one of the most replaceable? He's better than average at everything and that is better than what a lot of people have at small forward.

 

[Garbs]

I'm not even going to argue about Scoop b/c it's too tiring, but KJo? As one of the top two most replaceable players? C'mon that is absurd. He's at absolutely WORST our 5th best/important player 1.Waiters 2. Melo 3. Triche 4. Scoop 5. KJo and could and should probably be 2nd or 3rd on that list.

He's shooting 40% from 3, he's a terrific foul shooter who draws fouls, he's our only player above 6'3" that is able to get to the basket and he's very good in transition. Now does he have a stinker every 3 or 4 games? Yup. But just because he's not as good at Waiters as driving, not quite as good as Fair at rebounding, not as good a 3pt shooter as maybe JSouth or Triche does not mean he's one of the most replaceable? He's better than average at everything and that is better than what a lot of people have at small forward.

I think MuskyFish is more saying that we could lose Joseph because we have CJ and Southerland, than saying Joseph isn't our best player

I think losing Keita or Melo would hurt the most after Dion, though I think there would be a better chance of MCW being able to step in and play vs. Xmas being able to hold down the center for 15-20 minutes a game

 

[shizzah]

I think MuskyFish is more saying that we could lose Joseph because we have CJ and Southerland, than saying Joseph isn't our best player

I think losing Keita or Melo would hurt the most after Dion, though I think there would be a better chance of MCW being able to step in and play vs. Xmas being able to hold down the center for 15-20 minutes a game

So if he's saying that out of the 4 definite/possible departures (Scoop, KJo, Waiters and Melo) that Scoop and KJo are the most replaceable I guess I can understand that. But when he said I "firmly believe that the seniors are the two most replaceable", I just assumed he was making a bolder statement than that b/c it's fairly clear that Waiters is our best player and that 7 foot centers who block shots and do 360's don't come around often, lol.

But unless Jerami Grant is ready and unless CJ Fair adds the ability to drive and handle and shoot 3's at a high clip when he's not wide open there isn't anyone who can do what KJo does.

 

[realorange]

I remember the arguements about how we couldn't replace Rick coming into this year. We'll be just fine replacing anyone who leaves. This is a team it is not about individual players. We won't have the same type of team next year but it will still be very good.

 

[SoBristol]

I remember the arguements about how we couldn't replace Rick coming into this year. We'll be just fine replacing anyone who leaves. This is a team it is not about individual players. We won't have the same type of team next year but it will still be very good.

I thought that (difficult to replace Rick's work on the boards) before I saw the new and improved Melo. We still are a tad soft on the boards, but the combo of CJ and Southerland have done well in filling that spot with skills that Rick didn't bring.

It might be the same sense of reloading next year, but we would be crazy to expect that talents like Dion and Melo emerge every year.
A backcourt led by Triche, MCW and Cooney isn't going to scare teams.
The frontcourt, though, could fill in nicely through improvements we can anticipate in the returning guys plus Coleman.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

I thought that (difficult to replace Rick's work on the boards) before I saw the new and improved Melo. We still are a tad soft on the boards, but the combo of CJ and Southerland have done well in filling that spot with skills that Rick didn't bring.

It might be the same sense of reloading next year, but we would be crazy to expect that talents like Dion and Melo emerge every year.
A backcourt led by Triche, MCW and Cooney isn't going to scare teams.
The frontcourt, though, could fill in nicely through improvements we can anticipate in the returning guys plus Coleman.

A trio of Dion, Scoop, and BT probably didn't scare many teams either... Until they saw how our zone kicked it up a notch further, and how much better Dion became.

I think next year's team will be better.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

So if he's saying that out of the 4 definite/possible departures (Scoop, KJo, Waiters and Melo) that Scoop and KJo are the most replaceable I guess I can understand that. But when he said I "firmly believe that the seniors are the two most replaceable", I just assumed he was making a bolder statement than that b/c it's fairly clear that Waiters is our best player and that 7 foot centers who block shots and do 360's don't come around often, lol.

But unless Jerami Grant is ready and unless CJ Fair adds the ability to drive and handle and shoot 3's at a high clip when he's not wide open there isn't anyone who can do what KJo does.

I think Kris Joseph is a very nice player, and I would certainly rather have a team WITH Kjo, than without. BUT, just because I agree that he is one of our best players, doesn't mean I think he is among the hardest to replace. Sure, losing anybody leading up to tourney time would be a critical hit... but if we are talking mid-season, where the team has time to evolve, then I believe we can absorb the loss of KJo more so than any other starter, outside of Scoop, and at least three reserves.

 

[orangefan13]

Melo is right there with Waiters.
We don't have a scoring big behind Melo we have Triche with Waiters. Although Waiters dribble penetration alone could make him the most. Nobody on the team is close to him in that department.

We already lost Riley for the season. That was quite a loss.