Elijah Hughes

[Fly Rodder]

Well, this answers some questions. Not all, but some.

 

[KevMonstah]

This kid sounds like a decent enough player, so we'll see what happens. FWIW, the staff probably looked at Hughes, Dolezaj,
Tucker, and still keeping an eye on Hameir Wright and Wilson, and probably said any two of the three would be fine. If they
get another commit, they probably have a tough choice between Ayala and Thorpe. Thorpe might be better short term, but
I might prefer Ayala, should he choose to go 2017. If he remains in 2018, I can't see room for him*, and if he does choose SU
in 2017, I'd hope his presence wouldn't dissuade either Quinerly or Carey from choosing SU.

* - at most, SU has 3 spots at most available in 2018 if they get another SF and Ayala this year, which you'd guess would
be for Swider, Carey/Quinerly, Shittu/Reid. I'd be happy with that roster. Getting Thorpe or not getting Ayala for 2017
gives you one more spot, which I think would be perfectly filled by Jeenathan Williams. Hopefully, from my typing to
someone's ears ...

kev

 

[EastCoast2]

It is still the case. They think very highly of the Euro dude. Think he will be a star. they really like hughes as well. Think better of him than anyone here does. That is for sure.

Dasher any idea or rumblings on timing for Dolezaj's decision?

 

[Grbac]

Trying not to put my Pollyanna glasses on but Elijah is no question athletic, strong, aggressive, confident, a presence and seemingly happy to join Cuse. Boeheim knows better them me yet I also see tremendous upside in him. He also has the attitude and willingness to work hard. I can't help but be optimistic

What really turns my gears is this kids defensive tenacity. Watching his highlights that is what stands out the most. Not the dunks or drives, its the steals and blocked shots. In my opinion we are at our best as a team when the zone is solid. A guy like this can make our zone so much better.

 

[iommi]

I guess the question is how confident are they in Howard and Washington manning the PG spot this season?

Well we can look at it this way: it's obvious we do feel the need for another guard since we are looking at two combos in Thorpe and Ayala. We have offers out to Ayala, Tucker, Thorpe. All of those guys could fill that need because they're capable of playing the 2. Only Ayala and Thorpe can play the 2 and the lead guard spot. They are essentially the same recruit as far as their potential roles. I have to guess one of our big selling points to Tucker is that he can play huge minutes at the 3 and also some solid minutes at the 2.

Dolezaj can only play the forward spots. He's 6'9" or so. He clearly won't affect Ayala or Thorpe. They don't play the same position. He can play a little at the 3 but wouldn't take minutes away from Tucker. He's talented but very raw. I think we will land Dolezaj soon and that will give us another guy the staff thinks can help us on the perimeter. That might be true but we'd still need more scoring and shooting, so we'd grab one of those other guys too. Dolezaj will probably be on board within the next week or so. Regardless, I'm very optimistic.

Summing up: I don't think we are 100% confident in the lead guard position but we are confident enough in it that we don't need to pursue another pure lead. If we get Tucker, he sures up the 3 and could be play some 2. Ayala is a long shot to go '17 and a lot of this is moot anyway, since we are all waiting on Tucker. The dominoes fall once Tucker announces.

I do like that we have some options, since all of these guys can play two positions. If we don't get Tucker: OB, MM and Dolezaj battle for minutes at the 3.

I know I went far beyond your question but I wanted to think out loud about all of these possibilities.

PS: Sid Wilson could come into play but to me, he doesn't solve enough of our problems. He's a 3/4 but he's not a great shooter. That's why I think he might wind up elsewhere.

 

[justgold315]

What really turns my gears is this kids defensive tenacity. Watching his highlights that is what stands out the most. Not the dunks or drives, its the steals and blocked shots. In my opinion we are at our best as a team when the zone is solid. A guy like this can make our zone so much better.

Our best recent teams have been the ones with the best defense. The recent FF run was based upon our smothering zone D.

 

[dasher]

Dasher any idea or rumblings on timing for Dolezaj's decision?

No, but I don't think we will have a long wait. Hopefully I don't come to regret this post.

 

[iommi]

No, but I don't think we will have a long wait. Hopefully I don't come to regret this post.

Nah, you're good. I don't see any unlucky numbers around.

 

[Consigliere]

Given JB's reluctance to bring in underclassmen transfers and the almost universal success they have achieved - Leo Rautins, LeRon Ellis, Ryan Blackwell Wes Johnson, Michael Gbinijie vs. Ethan Cole - I'm permitting myself some optimism here.

 

[50YRsofCuse]

Given JB's reluctance to bring in underclassmen transfers and the almost universal success they have achieved - Leo Rautins, LeRon Ellis, Ryan Blackwell Wes Johnson, Michael Gbinijie vs. Ethan Cole - I'm permitting myself some optimism here.

Add Fred Saunders (Chocolate Thunder) to the positive mix.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Based on that article, it seems JAB really liked Hughes before he went to ECU. I'm thinking that he would have rather had Hughes red shirt this last season at SU, but couldn't because of scholarship limitations (one of which he ended up giving to a walk-on) and Hughes had already committed to ECU (my guess is that he had already signed his NLI and couldn't get out of it once SU figured out they would have a scholarship left). Or, in combination with the above, there was a difference of opinion between Hop (who would have been coaching 2018) and JAB and Hughes wasn't prioritized. Or a combination of everything and once the dust settled, Hughes was able to announce his transfer with everything essentially being a done deal (thus no real other competitors).

 

[Consigliere]

Add Fred Saunders (Chocolate Thunder) to the positive mix.

Yeah, had him and even Billy Drew but they were Danforth players, weren't they?

 

[HoustonCuse]

Based on that article, it seems JAB really liked Hughes before he went to ECU. I'm thinking that he would have rather had Hughes red shirt this last season at SU, but couldn't because of scholarship limitations (one of which he ended up giving to a walk-on) and Hughes had already committed to ECU (my guess is that he had already signed his NLI and couldn't get out of it once SU figured out they would have a scholarship left). Or, in combination with the above, there was a difference of opinion between Hop (who would have been coaching 2018) and JAB and Hughes wasn't prioritized. Or a combination of everything and once the dust settled, Hughes was able to announce his transfer with everything essentially being a done deal (thus no real other competitors).

Dude! This made my day!

 

[50YRsofCuse]

Yeah, had him and even Billy Drew but they were Danforth players, weren't they?

Yes they were

 

[Footey04]

I think it's goin to be Thorpe and tucker when all said and done and we would have the possibility of being better than we expect next year! Go orange!!!

 

[JLine]

It is still the case. They think very highly of the Euro dude. Think he will be a star. they really like hughes as well. Think better of him than anyone here does. That is for sure.

Love to hear that. I'm high on Hughes, and Marek. If Tucker wants to come that's great too. I really want Thorpe as well, and we are good to go this year.

I'm all for getting all four. Tucker and Marek man the 3 this year, while Marek is a 3/4 in 18-19. Tucker is a 2/3 in 18-19, so we have him, and Hughes there when Tyus leaves. If we unfortunately can't land Thorpe then Tucker would play some 2 this year. If he comes. Hopefully the dominoes start falling.

 

[dasher]

Yeah, had him and even Billy Drew but they were Danforth players, weren't they?

Billy Drew didn't play with Saunders. Saunders was in '74 and Drew didn't get here to play until the '76/77 season. He did have to sit out '75/'76.

 

[Consigliere]

Billy Drew didn't play with Saunders. Saunders was in '74 and Drew didn't get here to play until the '76/77 season. He did have to sit out '75/'76.

Hey, at this point I'm proud to get the DECADE right! Still made him a Danforth "recruit" thiugh, right?

 

[gmacfor3]

Another story about JB long being intrigued by Hughes...two summers ago Hughes lit up young Jimmy B's Central team at the BCANY Classic in Binghamton. Young Jimmy was telling people his dad was kicking himself for not already offering the already ECU commit.

I think this kid will be a great addition. A couple years ago, I think it was during Ennis's year, JB was quoted on an ESPN gameday behind the scenes feature that the program has always been built on having strong seniors (that year it was CJ Fair). Hughes fits the system (long, athletic) and could be turn in to an exceptional player by the time he's a 23 year old senior with 4 years in the program. He put up good numbers at the end of the year against good comp (SMU, Cincy). No problem at all with taking guys like this...the key now is that they develop. We've been stung lately by having too many program guys either not develop (Obokoh, Patterson, etc.) or get their confidence completely shattered after showing a glimmer of promise (Roberson, Joseph, Johnson, Howard-jury's still out). Until recently, Syracuse under JB had always been strong at developing underated players who became standouts (Damone Brown, Allen Griffin, Z Sims, Keuth Duany, Hakim Warrick, Brandon Triche, CJ Fair, Rick Jackson, James Southerland, etc). I'm hoping this 2017 class provides some much needed stability back to the program.

 

[GooseMutt]

Well, this answers some questions. Not all, but some.

I love Elijah's comment that it hasn't hit him yet that he's going to be playing for one of his "favorite" schools growing up. An ex- teammate of Moyer who feels the same They both also played with Tremont Waters who s available and top 50 recruit but we choose to ignore right now. Is Cuse one of his favorites growing up too? Let's unite the boys and play ball!

 

[TinyManInside]

As someone who knows recruiting and the program well, I'm not pleased to see you be so negative. What do you see happening in the next few years? I'm thinking a consistent mid-tier ACC program, but one that struggles to break into top 5-6.

jr4750 - I'm not particularly bullish on the program's situation in the short term. A lot of things have been really messy behind the scenes recently. The 'transition' was handled in about the poorest way possible (IMHO of course). You can expect recruiting struggles when you lose a guy who has a huge network of NE contacts in both AAU and high school. I think we're a bubble team for the time being until Red, Allen, and Gerry can build the recruiting network back up.

 

[jr4750]

jr4750 - I'm not particularly bullish on the program's situation in the short term. A lot of things have been really messy behind the scenes recently. The 'transition' was handled in about the poorest way possible (IMHO of course). You can expect recruiting struggles when you lose a guy who has a huge network of NE contacts in both AAU and high school. I think we're a bubble team for the time being until Red, Allen, and Gerry can build the recruiting network back up.

Thanks. Pretty much as I figured. Just didn't seem like JB was hands on at all, and I was totally of the belief that when Hop decided to go, or even when he realized JB wasn't going anywhere, there was no sit-down meeting to reallocate responsibility. It just seemed like everyone was waiting around for someone to make some decisions. I would love to have a candid conversation with JB about whether he was prepared for the amount of work that needed to be covered once MH left. When you're the boss for 40 years, and have gotten used to your 1st Lt. doing the grunt legwork, you don't just pick it back up when he/she leaves. How quickly we can dig out of this, will say a ton about our trajectory. The fact that we are not in on some of these bigger recruits top 8 lists, who are right in our backyard, has me very concerned. I am not even talking about getting these kids, just being in the conversation a year away from their decisions. Scary times.

 

[RF2044]

Thanks. Pretty much as I figured. Just didn't seem like JB was hands on at all, and I was totally of the belief that when Hop decided to go, or even when he realized JB wasn't going anywhere, there was no sit-down meeting to reallocate responsibility. It just seemed like everyone was waiting around for someone to make some decisions. I would love to have a candid conversation with JB about whether he was prepared for the amount of work that needed to be covered once MH left. When you're the boss for 40 years, and have gotten used to your 1st Lt. doing the grunt legwork, you don't just pick it back up when he/she leaves. How quickly we can dig out of this, will say a ton about our trajectory. The fact that we are not in on some of these bigger recruits top 8 lists, who are right in our backyard, has me very concerned. I am not even talking about getting these kids, just being in the conversation a year away from their decisions. Scary times.

That's my fear, as well.

 

[jr4750]

That's my fear, as well.

I'm very detailed oriented. My boss, like I'm sure JB is, hasn't concerned himself with details, procedure, etc in 25 years. He wouldn't even know what he was missing, if the same happened to him. It's not even a matter of laziness, per say. It's not having dealt with the logistics, small nuances in so long that you couldn't even if you wanted too. Doesn't JB refuse to use a computer? He's facing a huge learning curve, should he even want to be back front and center.

 

[OrangeXtreme]