Elijah Moore Entering the Transfer Portal

[orangenauburn]

We desperately, as a fan base, need to understand that Kline is a 30 year old scout who has access to the same numbers and same algorithms that everyone else has

I think we overvalue him as much as we overvalue the players

I'm guilty of it in the past and with football too

I really don't have much faith in the whole basketball program as it is currently constructed.

By the way, our former big buck booster was promoting a Facebook story from a fan reminiscing when we chased away our potential big booster during our time of need

 

[phil77]

Reading through this thread and all I can say is you guys never disappoint. Thank you

 

[llandz]

So let’s get him.

Hate to be the bearer of such obvious news. He won't be playing at any college next season.

 

[kcsu]

I liked Moore. He played with energy. Had passion. Wanted to win. He was mishandled. Not saying that we won't replace him with better talent. Also if JJ stays he plays the 2. Melos kid 2. Aussie can play the 2. Choppa can only play the 2. Probably good he is moving on.

 

[Scott11]

I’d like him to come back to come off the bench and losing him hurts a little bit unlike with Bell and Cuffe. But I don’t see a good path to playing time for him, especially since I think the plan is to get a real point guard and play JJ at two. And Chopra knows that Kiyan is not coming to play.

In the old better days, we would watch this guy develop into a really good college player. Sadly, those days are long gone.

 

[jsshap]

Beat me I would rather he stays over JJ but the writing was on the wall with this one. Wish him the best.

I'll take JJ over choppa for next year all day and 2x on Sunday

 

[tptcuse]

But players and Analytics Experiment™ don’t coach the players. That might be the missing link.

I am truly enjoying the board's recent embrace of the trademark™ symbol. OttoinGrotto is a trendsetter™.

 

[phil77]

I'll take JJ over choppa for next year all day and 2x on Sunday

I don't get this board fascination with inefficient volume ISO scorers. The game has changed so much that they are just not winning players anymore. Especially ones as bad on defense as JJ was. I would rather keep Moore and replace JJ in the portal with a better more complete player that my Sophomore and Freshman can learn good habits from. That is how you build a program and build culture. Now that could have been what Red wanted and Moore said peace out anyway nobody knows but I doubt it.

I don't think anyone really understands how bad JJ was this year. He took 16 shots a game to score just under 18 points per game. Shot 40% from the field 27% from 3 (on over 5 attempts per game) and 69% from the line. under 4 rebounds per game under 3 assists per game under 1 steal per game over 2 turnovers per game. Those are just the basic counting stats his advance stats are worse.

 

[atlanticuse]

so him leaving has nothing to do with anything other than he wanted to leave. Not saying he’s a gift from above, but couldn’t coaching have helped him improve in year 2?

 

[grepal]

I don't consider it that simple, because his minutes were completely unrelated to how well he played. Token starter that got jerked around.

He was Terrible for us. There is potential upside here but he was a disaster. I wish him luck and hope the game slows down for him also he learns to guard.

 

[Fly Rodder]

He was Terrible for us. There is potential upside here but he was a disaster. I wish him luck and hope the game slows down for him also he learns to guard.

Similiar to an uncomfortable number of recent players for SU who were well regarded as recruits but didn’t look capable of playing high major ball until transferring out and spending time at low majors before being OK at best in their 5th year.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

He was Terrible for us. There is potential upside here but he was a disaster. I wish him luck and hope the game slows down for him also he learns to guard.

I'm not making the case that overall Choppa played well. He struggled. Nobody is making the case that Choppa played well the whole year.

I'm making the case that guaranteeing we got what's likely the worst college basketball of his career by immediately turning an early enrollee off of the program is not a recipe for success.

There are multiple interrelated problems to address. One is talent and performance. Moore didn't help much on that front this past season. Point taken.

But another is program continuity and building something that guys believe they're a part of. We're not working from a position of strength on that front.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Quite frankly I think the coaching and development is so bad I’m not sure we saw what he was capable of this year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm not making the case that overall Choppa played well. He struggled. Nobody is making the case that Choppa played well the whole year.

I'm making the case that guaranteeing we got what's likely the worst college basketball of his career by immediately turning an early enrollee off of the program is not a recipe for success.

There are multiple interrelated problems to address. One is talent and performance. Moore didn't help much on that front this past season. Point taken.

But another is program continuity and building something that guys believe they're a part of. We're not working from a position of strength on that front.

Great post. Moore wasn’t good as a freshman. That happens quite a bit. He had offers from Bama and other SEC schools. Do you think they thought he stunk?

There’s an argument to be made we are ruining kids career here. At some point our hit rate stinks because our coaching stinks.

The other part of this is Moore was only about 3 points worse over 100 possessions than our starting shooting guard as a freshman but if that is brought up half the board acts like the people who think Starling isn’t good are crazy.

 

[newmexicuse]

I would have preferred to have Elijah back, but that being said he was a tale of two players.

The first player was the early season Elijah who seemed so full of capability and who us fans kept chanting needed more minutes. If only he got those minutes...

Then suddenly it happened, he became a starter and had all the opportunity in the world to shine. The problem was not only did he not shine, but he was not even playing at a level of mediocrity.

What happened ? He lost his confidence and his game. Why would he lose confidence AFTER he became a starter ? Could some of that be on the Coach or did something suddenly take a left turn with the kid ?

I dont have that answer, so in the end are we losing an incipient star or are we losing a major disappointment ???

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There’s an argument to be made we are ruining kids career here. At some point our hit rate stinks because our coaching stinks.

That's sobering.

 

[Jake]

Here’s my take on Moore. I saw a player that struggled with confidence all year long. Not unusual for freshmen. It’s harder for fans to be patient with players when they’re getting paid.

But Moore had about the same playing time as Demetris Nichols as a frosh. And shot the ball at a higher Pct.

It’s an interesting perspective. I think he’s going to be a good player for someone eventually. But in this new world, you almost want other programs to develop players, and you snag them once they can be solid contributors to a rotation.

He “might” be ready next year, but as a school you have to decide if he’s worth the investment.

 

[85SUAlum]

Thought if he stayed 3-4 years he would be really good here. Oh well.

This is why I'm losing interest in college hoops, and caring less and less about SU hoops. I'm tired of seeing basically an entirely different team each year. I miss watching players develop and teams gel together over time.

 

[RF2044]

Great post. Moore wasn’t good as a freshman. That happens quite a bit. He had offers from Bama and other SEC schools. Do you think they thought he stunk?

There’s an argument to be made we are ruining kids career here. At some point our hit rate stinks because our coaching stinks.

The other part of this is Moore was only about 3 points worse over 100 possessions than our starting shooting guard as a freshman but if that is brought up half the board acts like the people who think Starling isn’t good are crazy.

Very good post.

He was a frosh who struggled, playing on a team that struggled all season long. Frosh often have a big adjustment to P4 ball [not all, but many]. Who knows what he'll eventually be, or what he would be in a different system / with different coaching. But with Anthony coming in playing the same position, this departure makes a lot of sense.

 

[Fly Rodder]

He had offers from Bama and other SEC schools. Do you think they thought he stunk?

I’m not disagreeing but there are quite a few players in the portal who are former 4-star recruits who started their careers at high majors. Including one who started out at Alabama. We just had one from Kansas for two seasons and he’s transferring out.

Sometimes top-100 recruits don’t work out. We have had a concerning number of them lately.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’m not disagreeing but there are quite a few players in the portal who are former 4-star recruits who started their careers at high majors. Including one who started out at Alabama. We just had one from Kansas for two seasons and he’s transferring out.

Sometimes top-100 recruits don’t work out. We have had a concerning number of them lately.

I agree with your last sentence. I happen to think it’s more of a Syracuse coaching problem than anything else.

 

[Finwad32]

I know this board is for discussion, analysis, rationalization and opinion sharing. But man, it just kind of sucks to be a fan right now.

I’m in Boston with a big group of friends for an event, most of which have been longtime STH’s. It’s the 1st weekend of March Madness and we’re all talking about how many kids are leaving, how painful it is to go to the Dome at 9PM on a Tuesday to get waxed and golf.

Syracuse Basketball used to carry us through the Winter. It was a source of pride and hope. And I think hope is what’s missing right now. Not very much to cling onto that this thing’s moving in the right direction.

Forever Orange, but constant roster churn and a sub par product certainly test loyalty. Really hope we’re able to turn water into wine next year with some fresh faces and start to build back.

 

[Scooch]

He “might” be ready next year, but as a school you have to decide if he’s worth the investment.

Agree. I think he’s a couple years, and maybe a couple schools, away from being a high level player on a tourney team.

 

[Sherman20]

Beat me I would rather he stays over JJ but the writing was on the wall with this one. Wish him the best.

I don’t understand. Why was the writing on the wall with Choppa? Red was his recruiter and he had a decent season here before getting injured the last few games. Why can’t these guys be patient and stick around the develop? What went wrong here?

 

[Sherman20]

Carlos got 500 more minutes than him on the season. Ridiculous.

Carlos plays PG… Choppa does not. What’s your point? We had no other PG on the roster.