Donnie and JJ back

[cusefan88]

Yep pretty sure he’s visiting.

Just googled him. Center? Block numbers look good.

 

[Scotch]

I said it earlier in the year, we have NIL this year. We can get good kids in the portal.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Needs in Portal
Starting PG
Starting SF
Starting C
Back up C
Back up combo guard
Back up combo forward

Only need to find three starters. We are in a good place.

 

[General20]

Starling being a secondary option is really the key. He can't be the guy opposing teams key on. He's fine as a secondary bucket getter and slasher. But we saw what happens when he's the guy and it's just not his skillset.

Most importantly, we also need someone else who can be the alpha/leader of the team. JJ isn't that type of guy.

Like in football when a receiver struggles as the #1 guy, having the best corner on him every play and lots of double teams. Then a new receiver comes and knocks him down to #2 and all of a sudden he thrives with less defensive attention.

Starling struggled to make winning plays down the stretch this year against locked in defenses. But man it sure looked like nobody else wanted the ball and D's were able to really focus on stopping him.

 

[Melancer46]

I'm not suggesting everyone ignore the obvious with JJ. I'm there with you. We need to deal with the reality of what he is and can be.

BUT...

He's a local kid who clearly wants to win at home. At best, we can hope he has an amazing SR season without crapping on him all offseason.

Again, not suggesting we shouldn't be recruiting over. We should be giving him some comp for PT, imo. But we can hope he steps up his game to the next level.

Totally with you and I'm rooting like hell for him to have a good offseason and come back with a strong senior season. I do not anticipate us recruiting over him though...simple fact is with the resources we have, we have bigger fish to fry. Now let's go get our PG and C.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

It rarely works like that anymore.

The biggest jumps in improvement are normally frosh to sophomore and sophomore to junior.

JJ will be coming back as the JJ we know most likely... which is OK if we can build better around him and limit his minutes more.

 

[Melancer46]

He can't shoot. He is no threat. To me, the choice between Cadeau or Claude is no choice at all. I have watched UNC as much as most. I have never been impressed with him. Never.

I think there's a way to build a team in which Cadeau could be a helpful starter but the roster that we are going to have absolutely is not the fit for him. He would have to turn into basically prime Celtics Rajon Rondo defense and passing to give us a fighting chance with his shooting ability. Definitely hoping we can get a better player than him but more importantly, we desperately need someone that fits better than him.

 

[cuseincincy]

this this this

JJ needs to be the 3rd or 4th option as primary ball handler at best.

 

[Bulldog04]

You've been waiting to say this.

It’s not a matter of waiting to say it. It’s more so that the nonsense that was discussed on here was completely made up by posters on this board. At no point did Donnie ever say how he couldn’t wait to transfer, how he didn’t like Syracuse, how he hated playing for Red or anything of that nature. I said it game 10 that was coming back. Then he got injured. And everyone went scorched earth about he was gone and blah blah. It’s so frustrating to share information that I KNOW is true just to have posters say the complete opposite with zero factual knowledge. Misery loves company on this board and wish some info was taken differently when certain people bring it to the board.

The kid loves Syracuse, he loves Red and him coming back should help curb some stupid narratives around here. Go orange

 

[Melancer46]

It’s not a matter of waiting to say it. It’s more so that the nonsense that was discussed on here was completely made up by posters on this board. At no point did Donnie ever say how he couldn’t wait to transfer, how he didn’t like Syracuse, how he hated playing for Red or anything of that nature. I said it game 10 that was coming back. Then he got injured. And everyone went scorched earth about he was gone and blah blah. It’s so frustrating to share information that I KNOW is true just to have posters say the complete opposite with zero factual knowledge. Misery loves company on this board and wish some info was taken differently when certain people bring it to the board.

The kid loves Syracuse, he loves Red and him coming back should help curb some stupid narratives around here. Go orange

I totally hear you and can't express enough how much I appreciate your posts here. The only thing I would say here is that it wouldn't have been the first time that an SU coach was confident they knew how a player was feeling and then turned out to be wrong, but again, totally get how annoying this had to be as someone that actually does know behind the scenes stuff lol.

 

[Bulldog04]

I said it earlier in the year, we have NIL this year. We can get good kids in the portal.

Maybe people will actually believe what you and I have been saying for months now about this. This is the first step of many and there will be more excitement soon. But this should show that SU is serious in the nil world

 

[Sbucketball]

It’s not a matter of waiting to say it. It’s more so that the nonsense that was discussed on here was completely made up by posters on this board. At no point did Donnie ever say how he couldn’t wait to transfer, how he didn’t like Syracuse, how he hated playing for Red or anything of that nature. I said it game 10 that was coming back. Then he got injured. And everyone went scorched earth about he was gone and blah blah. It’s so frustrating to share information that I KNOW is true just to have posters say the complete opposite with zero factual knowledge. Misery loves company on this board and wish some info was taken differently when certain people bring it to the board.

The kid loves Syracuse, he loves Red and him coming back should help curb some stupid narratives around here. Go orange

It’s nothing personal, it’s just that your username was Bulldong at that time and people didn’t know what to make of it.

 

[Jeremy L.]

Maybe people will actually believe what you and I have been saying for months now about this. This is the first step of many and there will be more excitement soon. But this should show that SU is serious in the nil world

Always appreciate your guys insight on everything here.

When you say serious, is it on par with top 25 programs if you had to say? Will be hard to battle SEC money, but I like to hear how competitive our competitive is

 

[hoopsupstate]

Maybe people will actually believe what you and I have been saying for months now about this. This is the first step of many and there will be more excitement soon. But this should show that SU is serious in the nil world

Thank you. You two are usually money. Things can always change, but you’re about as full proof as we’re going to get with information within the program. Getting Donnie and JJ knocked down allows the staff to move forward with known budget costs firmly in place.

 

[Cappy3]

Agree with you there. For a guy with such a good pedigree, he never looked very good to me.

Don’t worry, he’s got a “Do not contact” so it’s really doubtful we’ll get him.

 

[Timonen]

Like in football when a receiver struggles as the #1 guy, having the best corner on him every play and lots of double teams. Then a new receiver comes and knocks him down to #2 and all of a sudden he thrives with less defensive attention.

Starling struggled to make winning plays down the stretch this year against locked in defenses. But man it sure looked like nobody else wanted the ball and D's were able to really focus on stopping him.

Sure, but we were running the Judah offense (flawed/basic/frustratimg in its own right) for jj which is the giant red flag I hope is addressed. We need a real offense AND it needs to be tailored to our talent. The lack of adjustment this season makes me extremely skeptical regardless of roster makeup but we’ll see.

 

[Cuse4455]

Now let's hope they both learn how to play defense.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Boom. Soooo happy to eat crow about Donnie , everything I heard from the aau scene was that he was gone. Two legit scorers coming back. Please do well in the portal Red

If we had a player for every player who said they would be back, and weren’t….

 

[Sdot]

Just googled him. Center? Block numbers look good.

Looks to be a bigger forward/center.

 

[dasher]

Always appreciate your guys insight on everything here.

When you say serious, is it on par with top 25 programs if you had to say? Will be hard to battle SEC money, but I like to hear how competitive our competitive is

I only know what we have. It's a lot. As I said, if I asked you to make a hopeful guess, you would be short of what we have. We can be competitive. With JJ and Freeman, we still have a lot more left on the table. The worry I have is that we aren't really Syracuse anymore. So, it isn't easy to get guys when the people we are competing against have just gone far in the NCAA tournament. But, there are a lot of good players out there and we will get our share. Some people here won't be happy with who we get. They will pick the stats that work for them showing why such and such a player falls short. But let us not make the perfect the enemy of the good. We need three good players. Maybe four.

 

[Sherman20]

Hopefully getting Donnie back can help attract better players from the portal.

 

[baggerbob]

It's not crazy to think JJ, as a senior, can come back as a much improved basketball player and give us his best year of basketball.

We seem to be forgetting that's how it normally works.

If he just gets better on defense and passing the ball to open shooters he will be a plus.

 

[baggerbob]

I only know what we have. It's a lot. As I said, if I asked you to make a hopeful guess, you would be short of what we have. We can be competitive. With JJ and Freeman, we still have a lot more left on the table. The worry I have is that we aren't really Syracuse anymore. So, it isn't easy to get guys when the people we are competing against have just gone far in the NCAA tournament. But, there are a lot of good players out there and we will get our share. Some people here won't be happy with who we get. They will pick the stats that work for them showing why such and such a player falls short. But let us not make the perfect the enemy of the good. We need three good players. Maybe four.

I never worry about individual stats coming in fitting into a team no I in team is the concept to look for.

 

[Jeremy L.]

I only know what we have. It's a lot. As I said, if I asked you to make a hopeful guess, you would be short of what we have. We can be competitive. With JJ and Freeman, we still have a lot more left on the table. The worry I have is that we aren't really Syracuse anymore. So, it isn't easy to get guys when the people we are competing against have just gone far in the NCAA tournament. But, there are a lot of good players out there and we will get our share. Some people here won't be happy with who we get. They will pick the stats that work for them showing why such and such a player falls short. But let us not make the perfect the enemy of the good. We need three good players. Maybe four.

Perfect response, and thank you for sharing.

Not related to NIL but like you said, my worry is also the reputation of Syracuse in 2025. We all know the history, but 18 year old kids last saw us as a powerhouse when they were 6-10 years old.

We have the Dome, which is unique and special. But beyond that, what do we offer compared to other schools? Even the ACC competition, kids can play at Clemson, Louisville, etc. and still get the "You get to play Duke and UNC!" pitch.

Gotta find what's special to the players today, but we all know how special Syracuse is.

 

[Janner]

I only know what we have. It's a lot. As I said, if I asked you to make a hopeful guess, you would be short of what we have. We can be competitive. With JJ and Freeman, we still have a lot more left on the table. The worry I have is that we aren't really Syracuse anymore. So, it isn't easy to get guys when the people we are competing against have just gone far in the NCAA tournament. But, there are a lot of good players out there and we will get our share. Some people here won't be happy with who we get. They will pick the stats that work for them showing why such and such a player falls short. But let us not make the perfect the enemy of the good. We need three good players. Maybe four.

Good to hear we are able to put some solid NIL money to work. I hope its enough to get this program back on its feet and back to where we should be. Dasher you know why we didn't have the NIL funding last year? I know its been said that we were not "ready", what does that mean? We're we doing due diligence on the NIL process, or, was it more of an issue with not being staffed to handle it? I ask because it seemed like the footbal side was a bit more prepared to hit the ground running, but with football starting before basketball it seemed a bit odd?