Donnie Freeman in the portal

[Cusefan0307]

Clemson did 3 things we couldn't do for Girard:

• Played him in his natural position (and didn't shoehorn him into PG)
• Got him on a diet and dropped his weight (nutrition)
• Got him his in the best shape of his college career (S&C)

Will be interesting to see if GMAC puts any focus on nutrition and S&C... The program has been in the dark ages on that front for long enough...

You missed another. They didn't play in an isolation based offense.

 

[kingtidge]

You missed another. They didn't play in an isolation based offense.

I wasn't gonna beat that dead horse...

 

[Knicks411]

I think MMM will be pretty good; I have a fair amount of faith in Givony. Seems reasonable to have pretty high expectations for him.

Definitely a little underwhelmed with the haul so far; especially with how the Gmac hire was sold regarding the budget. And yes I know there are teams that win with transfer classes like this; there are also a lot of teams that lose with classes like this.

I also don’t want to be the cynic who just assumes everything won’t work out. That was a pretty good block to be on the last 5 seasons but I’m really hoping the worm has turned.

 

[littlereg]

Eddie played in the Pac12 Matt get it right. Carlos was tiny, had horrible metrics, and wasn’t even a top 4 player on Hofstra. And ffs we are signing Folefac to be a backup at best. People were talking about Jyare Davis like he was the second coming of Charles Barkley when he signed.

I don’t agree with what Matt is saying mostly but I just read the first couple pages of the Davis thread and the large majority of people were calling him a great backup piece. A very small handful of people acting like he’s the second coming of Jesus isn’t close to some large quantity, it’s just the same bias fanatics that every fanbase has. We gotta stop making these disingenuous statements to back our opinions.

 

[sufan59]

Donnie’s agent did a great job. I said Syracuse should let him walk once it got beyond 1.25 million. Syracuse pays him 3 million plus, how are you also building a roster around him to win with the floated numbers on this board that Syracuse has? Too risky with the injuries and inconsistent play and Donnie is not the type to carry a team. Whoever chooses him better be ready to spend a lot (which both of these places are) to ensure the supplementary pieces are there around him or either fan base will be disappointed. Worst case scenario is Pope gets fired or Pitino gets sent into retirement.

 

[cusefan88]

Donnie’s agent did a great job. I said Syracuse should let him walk once it got beyond 1.25 million. Syracuse pays him 3 million plus, how are you also building a roster around him to win with the floated numbers on this board that Syracuse has? Too risky with the injuries and inconsistent play and Donnie is not the type to carry a team. Whoever chooses him better be ready to spend a lot to ensure the supplementary pieces are there around him or either fan base will be disappointed. Worst case scenario is Pope gets fired or Pitino gets sent into retirement.

I just don't see how he will handle Pitino's coaching. If he does Donnie can be a POY.

 

[JRHEETER]

What I have learned from this thread is that there are some posters here who simply will not be happy no matter what happens.

Fascinating really.

 

[Knicks411]

Another thought I had is I’m not sure it’s totally logically consistent to on one hand say Autry was a very bad coach (which I very much think he was) and also say it’s not really a big deal to lose talented players like freeman and George. (Granted your mileage can vary on the talents on both, especially George). But just making the point if Gerry is a big upgrade on red he probably could get more out of those guys

 

[sufan59]

I just don't see how he will handle Pitino's coaching. If he does Donnie can be a POY.

I will say that Pitino has a way of forcing it to happen and it’s why he is that good.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Donnie’s agent did a great job. I said Syracuse should let him walk once it got beyond 1.25 million. Syracuse pays him 3 million plus, how are you also building a roster around him to win with the floated numbers on this board that Syracuse has? Too risky with the injuries and inconsistent play and Donnie is not the type to carry a team. Whoever chooses him better be ready to spend a lot (which both of these places are) to ensure the supplementary pieces are there around him or either fan base will be disappointed. Worst case scenario is Pope gets fired or Pitino gets sent into retirement.

Make him give $500 k back for every cross court pass to the other team.

 

[kingtidge]

Make him give $500 k back for every cross court pass to the other team.

$3 mil+ for Freeman??

Glad we aren't ponying up that amount for him...

 

[Willy75]

I will say that Pitino has a way of forcing it to happen and it’s why he is that good.

Part of his way is showing the door to those who don't buy into the system.

 

[2B20Again]

Another thought I had is I’m not sure it’s totally logically consistent to on one hand say Autry was a very bad coach (which I very much think he was) and also say it’s not really a big deal to lose talented players like freeman and George. (Granted your mileage can vary on the talents on both, especially George). But just making the point if Gerry is a big upgrade on red he probably could get more out of those guys

I don’t disagree, however if their respective salaries (combined) last year was between 4 and 5.5 million based on what appears to be NIL budget to give them raises based on performance I can understand the decision. Just came down to $$$.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

$3 mil+ for Freeman??

Glad we aren't ponying up that amount for him...

It’s insanity. I think it’s crazy Doty is getting as much as he is. Make him prove his ability for a season at this level before opening the checkbook that wide. And Donnie has proven he can’t elevate a team at this level. No idea how others would think he’s capable of earning that level of money.

 

[Knicks411]

I don’t disagree, however if their respective salaries (combined) last year was between 4 and 5.5 million based on what appears to be NIL budget to give them raises based on performance I can understand the decision. Just came down to $$$.

For sure I’m not even making the argument to keep them at all. But if a large part of the reason we were bad last year is because of how bad the coaching it was it stands to reason at least some of the players will look better with different coaching; here or elsewhere.

 

[rrlbees]

It’s insanity. I think it’s crazy Doty is getting as much as he is. Make him prove his ability for a season at this level before opening the checkbook that wide. And Donnie has proven he can’t elevate a team at this level. No idea how others would think he’s capable of earning that level of money.

maybe im misreading your post but doty isnt getting $3m.

 

[Eric15]

I will say that Pitino has a way of forcing it to happen and it’s why he is that good.

I know Pitino is a bit of an old school hard ass, but I've never gotten the sense that he wasn't a players coach. Like you can yell at players and they can still love you. Those things aren't mutually exclusive. Tom Izzo is that way.

 

[orangepassion]

It’s insanity. I think it’s crazy Doty is getting as much as he is. Make him prove his ability for a season at this level before opening the checkbook that wide. And Donnie has proven he can’t elevate a team at this level. No idea how others would think he’s capable of earning that level of money.

He did it for a few games when he came back for injury. I think with the right coach who will hold him accountable, he will do it this year.

 

[sufan59]

I know Pitino is a bit of an old school hard ass, but I've never gotten the sense that he wasn't a players coach. Like you can yell at players and they can still love you. Those things aren't mutually exclusive. Tom Izzo is that way.

My post was to say that Pitino has a way of forcing every bit of talent out of a player

 

[CuseFaninVT]

maybe im misreading your post but doty isnt getting $3m.

Yeah, I thought he was in the $1 million area but couldn’t remember exactly so I left it vague. If he is getting that, Gary should just quit now.

 

[Eric15]

My post was to say that Pitino has a way of forcing every bit of talent out of a player

Yep agreed. I was just building upon your thought.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We don’t agree at all here. He’s a skilled player that will play a position for us that we’ve too often relied on the attributes you’ve mentioned and then wonder why they can’t throw it in the ocean.

I'm saying a "5 star prospect" has BOTH elite basketball skill AND athleticism.

Our foreign guy lacks the elite athleticism. At best he would be a 4 star for that reason.

That's not a knock; that's HS kids rated 25-75 in the nation.
That's going to be the key to how well he performs; whether he can take the speed and physicality of the NCAA.

 

[DoctahLexus]

It’s insanity. I think it’s crazy Doty is getting as much as he is. Make him prove his ability for a season at this level before opening the checkbook that wide. And Donnie has proven he can’t elevate a team at this level. No idea how others would think he’s capable of earning that level of money.

He has proven he can't carry a team on his back at this level. But have him as a piece on a team with a legit point guard and other strong weapons, which he never really had at cuse, and he certainly has potential to raise your ceiling. We have only seen him play with a bad to terrible supporting cast and Red Autry as head coach. Only reason I would question the price tag is his health, but the price of all these guys goes up due to the bidding war as well.

 

[sufan59]

 

[CuseFaninVT]

He has proven he can't carry a team on his back at this level. But have him as a piece on a team with a legit point guard and other strong weapons, which he never really had at cuse, and he certainly has potential to raise your ceiling. We have only seen him play with a bad to terrible supporting cast and Red Autry as head coach. Only reason I would question the price tag is his health, but the price of all these guys goes up due to the bidding war as well.

If you say so, but I don’t see it. He plays to the level of the people around him so why pay him like he’s more than just a nice piece?