Does this motivate Melo or cause him to sulk?

[zibby]

And if it motivates him, can Christmas play the 3?

 

[pfister1]

And if it motivates him, can Christmas play the 3?

Look at it this way... if it motivates him, he may be gone after this year; if it causes him to sulk we may all want him gone after this year.

 

[jekelish]

If Christmas can play the 3 at Syracuse, so can I.

 

[sufandu]

And if it motivates him, can Christmas play the 3?

If we get enough scoring from the other 4 spots that'd be a scary rebounding line-up. I'd wonder if Coleman would be quick enough to play D on the wing though... that is, of course unless we went mtm.

 

[EastCoast2]

Roc will never play the 3, even if there is a substitution error for a split second

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

This has all been a ploy to motivate Fab Melo..

 

[jekelish]

Seriously, to play the 3, especially for Boeheim, you need at least SOME offensive skill. Rakeem has incredible athletic ability, but his offensive game is...lacking.

 

[Shermthegeneral]

wait a minute here! did i just read that? that's a statement my mother in law would make! why would Melo be worried about a guy who isn't even in college yet and hasn't even signed his letter of intent yet. Ok, say all 4 bigs are on the same team...worse case, you could easily split them up 20 minutes each depending on who is clicking. Also, Melo is a 7 footer, Coleman is 6'8, that's a big difference IMO...Coleman will be a PF on this team.

 

[orangefan13]

Rak doesn't have the dribbling to play the three yet he has the weight and build though (the guy is practicing posting up against centers right now).

If we got a big guy who was tall enough who could dribble some against a taller SF like James sure why not.

Fab isn't going anywhere I think. He seems like a syracuse talent in the long run who will work hard to hes ready for the pros.

 

[dasher]

Fab will be gone after this season.

 

[SouthCampusHero]

Just to make myself feel good about the career trajectory of Fab, I like to remind myself of Seikaly's numbers. Here they are:
Fr: 8 pts, 6.5 reb
So: 10.1 pts, 7.8 reb
Jr: 15 pts, 8 reb
Sr: 16 pts, 9.6 reb

Seikaly started playing basketball very late in his life, just like Fab. Both started as soccer players. Both outgrew the sport. Truly, the only major difference is that Seikaly redshirted his true freshman year and Fab played. Let's chalk that up to the fact that Fab came to Cuse with a lot of fanfare and a redshirt was simply out of the question (times have changed). So lets say Fab's freshman numbers wouldnt have been much different than Seikely's had he not redshirted. I like the idea of Fab posting numbers as a sophomore that are on par with Seikaly's first year. The only difference is that Seikaly needed to gain pounds and Fab needed to lose pounds. Both needed to learn the game and both needed to add strength. Where I give Seikaly the stight advantage is that he played in Greece with their National team before coming to Cuse. But that's about it. With that said, Im predicting Fab averages 8 pts, 6 boards per game.

 

[arbitragegls]

Just to make myself feel good about the career trajectory of Fab, I like to remind myself of Seikaly's numbers. Here they are:
Fr: 8 pts, 6.5 reb
So: 10.1 pts, 7.8 reb
Jr: 15 pts, 8 reb
Sr: 16 pts, 9.6 reb

Seikaly started playing basketball very late in his life, just like Fab. Both started as soccer players. Both outgrew the sport. Truly, the only major difference is that Seikaly redshirted his true freshman year and Fab played. Let's chalk that up to the fact that Fab came to Cuse with a lot of fanfare and a redshirt was simply out of the question (times have changed). So lets say Fab's freshman numbers wouldnt have been much different than Seikely's had he not redshirted. I like the idea of Fab posting numbers as a sophomore that are on par with Seikaly's first year. The only difference is that Seikaly needed to gain pounds and Fab needed to lose pounds. Both needed to learn the game and both needed to add strength. Where I give Seikaly the stight advantage is that he played in Greece with their National team before coming to Cuse. But that's about it. With that said, Im predicting Fab averages 8 pts, 6 boards per game.

Of course Fab played for Brazil in the World Games this summer and did okay...in fact he played well in the last 4 games

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

Just to make myself feel good about the career trajectory of Fab, I like to remind myself of Seikaly's numbers. Here they are:
Fr: 8 pts, 6.5 reb
So: 10.1 pts, 7.8 reb
Jr: 15 pts, 8 reb
Sr: 16 pts, 9.6 reb

Seikaly started playing basketball very late in his life, just like Fab. Both started as soccer players. Both outgrew the sport. Truly, the only major difference is that Seikaly redshirted his true freshman year and Fab played. Let's chalk that up to the fact that Fab came to Cuse with a lot of fanfare and a redshirt was simply out of the question (times have changed). So lets say Fab's freshman numbers wouldnt have been much different than Seikely's had he not redshirted. I like the idea of Fab posting numbers as a sophomore that are on par with Seikaly's first year. The only difference is that Seikaly needed to gain pounds and Fab needed to lose pounds. Both needed to learn the game and both needed to add strength. Where I give Seikaly the stight advantage is that he played in Greece with their National team before coming to Cuse. But that's about it. With that said, Im predicting Fab averages 8 pts, 6 boards per game.

Said it before and say it again, people made too big a deal about Fab's struggles last year. His issues were the type that don't just go away over the course of a season, yet he still managed to flash raw ability. I believe the Rony Seikaly comparison is a good one, and I think such lofty goals are both impressive and realistic. I do believe Rony RS for a year, which is a luxury Fab did not receive, so if Fab can show up with the 8/6 averages, and I think he can, he actually would be right on Seikaly-schedule, just with one less year to play.

 

[jekelish]

If Fab averages 8 points and 6 boards and, say, 2 blocks a game and shoots a decent percentage from the field and, hopefully, the line, I think those are numbers each and every one of us would take in a heartbeat.

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

When it comes to the future rotation, I really don't get the big deal. 20 minutes per game for each is the worst case scenario, if they are all worthy of splitting time, of course. The kids will battle it out and decide who gets the most minutes.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Said it before and say it again, people made too big a deal about Fab's struggles last year. His issues were the type that don't just go away over the course of a season, yet he still managed to flash raw ability. I believe the Rony Seikaly comparison is a good one, and I think such lofty goals are both impressive and realistic. I do believe Rony RS for a year, which is a luxury Fab did not receive, so if Fab can show up with the 8/6 averages, and I think he can, he actually would be right on Seikaly-schedule, just with one less year to play.

I agree. I just hope he has or develops the mentality to want to dominate down in the paint. To not shy away from contact and drift too far from the hoop.

 

[jekelish]

One additional note - if the commitment of a player who won't be here until Fab's junior year causes him to sulk, is that a kid who we actually want in the program?

 

[Rossco123]

I thnk the point that most are making -- with the front court we have this year and ongoing -- you either work hard every day and improve or you sit.
A coach's dream.

 

[jekelish]

I envy coaches. My dreams usually involve sentient cheeseburgers trying to chew my legs off.