Field of 68 Offseason Review

[Moten]

 

[Orangezoo]

Already posted in offseason thread..

 

[Oakland]

Great listen. Those guys seem very knowledgeable and were upfront with reasonable criticism. I'm more optimistic about the offense this season, and agree with almost everyone that the D will determine success.

 

[Sherman20]

They gave us an A for the offseason grade. Said we did everything right and that we have the talent to be a solid ncaa tourney team. Now it all comes down to Red and coaching. We have to have much better offensive actions that allow Nate George to get everyone involved and we have to play good defense.

 

[Niastri]

They gave us an A for the offseason grade. Said we did everything right and that we have the talent to be a solid ncaa tourney team. Now it all comes down to Red and coaching. We have to have much better offensive actions that allow Nate George to get everyone involved and we have to play good defense.

Nice synopsis. I watched the video last night, and I agreed with almost everything they said. In particular, I liked the roster analysis, it seems to match up pretty well with what we think here.

I didn't like that they gave much of the credit for Nate George's excellent passing abilities to offensive scheme by Stoudemire. I thought that was a little uncharitable to minimize the kid's gifts that way.

 

[Giants1973]

Its about DEFENSE!!!!!

 

[Orangezoo]

Nice synopsis. I watched the video last night, and I agreed with almost everything they said. In particular, I liked the roster analysis, it seems to match up pretty well with what we think here.

I didn't like that they gave much of the credit for Nate George's excellent passing abilities to offensive scheme by Stoudemire. I thought that was a little dopey to minimize the kid's gifts that way.

They aren’t wrong about how Stoudemire set George up to succeed but it’s also true it wasn’t something overly complex he was doing with the GT offense either. They ran a lot of PNR, let him push the tempo and gave him space to operate. All things that are similar to what I’d expect Red to deploy this year.

 

[sufan59]

Now we are listed as Rob Dauster most underrated team in the ACC. He is thinking NCAA tournament and borderline top 25. You know they did a great job in the offseason when we are getting love from a national pundit that is a UConn guy. I hope they prove Dauster right this upcoming season! Would be amazing for the Northeast if we join UConn in being good again.

 

[sufan59]

We really need this. College Basketball really needs this. Syracuse being good again and filling up the dome!

 

[nocohalo]

Even though it ended up being a dud, just look at the crowds for the TBT games. Central/Upstate/North Country is absolutely dying for a relevant Cuse team. If you win them they will come.

 

[Blanko97]

boy i hope so... Key is defense. I would have loved to see a defensive guru get added to the coaching staff but maybe something clicked for the staff, who knows.

 

[hoopsupstate]

boy i hope so... Key is defense. I would have loved to see a defensive guru get added to the coaching staff but maybe something clicked for the staff, who knows.

I think what clicked is we finally have some athletes on the roster who are Power Four worthy.

 

[baggerbob]

I think what clicked is we finally have some athletes on the roster who are Power Four worthy.

When you have big athletic people who can block shots, and deflect passes, it makes the defense better.

 

[walsh2012]

The biggest thing is not just whether or not kyle can defend, but defend without picking up early fouls.

He has the athleticism to log a lot of minutes and we’re going to need him to do that. We’re so thin at big after him and Donnie - there will be times when it would almost be better for him to give up a bucket rather than make a challenge that results in him going into foul trouble early.

My biased take is that it’s nice to finally have someone in the media see our full potential. Still, these guys gave some very smart, objective analysis. I’m confident that the internet darlings like Matt Norlander have no idea whether or not we hired a GM, let alone name him so effortlessly.

Their points about Autry being able to manage roles is very astute, but I’m not worried about our guys buying into a team forward mentality.

For all that’s been said about the players, as people I don’t seem them as extremely high ego, “me first” type players. Frankly, in the 17 years I’ve followed the team closely I can only remember one situation about role that was an issue. We just tend to attract humble guys.

I’ll call my shot now. Assuming no major injuries, this will be a tournament team. Autry will sing a tune sweet enough to earn his supper and get an extension, or at least not get fired.

 

[Niastri]

The biggest thing is not just whether or not kyle can defend, but defend without picking up early fouls.

He has the athleticism to log a lot of minutes and we’re going to need him to do that. We’re so thin at big after him and Donnie - there will be times when it would almost be better for him to give up a bucket rather than make a challenge that results in him going into foul trouble early.

My biased take is that it’s nice to finally have someone in the media see our full potential. Still, these guys gave some very smart, objective analysis. I’m confident that the internet darlings like Matt Norlander have no idea whether or not we hired a GM, let alone name him so effortlessly.

Their points about Autry being able to manage roles is very astute, but I’m not worried about our guys buying into a team forward mentality.

For all that’s been said about the players, as people I don’t seem them as extremely high ego, “me first” type players. Frankly, in the 17 years I’ve followed the team closely I can only remember one situation about role that was an issue. We just tend to attract humble guys.

I’ll call my shot now. Assuming no major injuries, this will be a tournament team. Autry will sing a tune sweet enough to earn his supper and get an extension, or at least not get fired.

I think this is a really good post.

I would argue one point, though. I think this is our first team in a long time that can suffer foul trouble and not have a huge dropoff in production as a result.

If Kyle gets into trouble, we have Freeman, Souare and Diawara.

If Freeman gets into trouble, we have White and Betsey.

If Kingz gets into trouble, we have Betsey, Anthony and Womack.

If Starling gets into trouble, we have Anthony and Fennell.

If George gets into trouble, we have Starling, Fennell and Zephir.

While I fully expect Freeman to be our best player, unlike previous years, I don't think the dropoff to his backups will be catastrophic. I think the same is true for all of our guys,with the possible exception of George. I don't like Starling as our primary point guard for very long, and Fennell is largely unknown at this point.

But the overall point is this. Our second string is more talented than some teams of starters we've run out there lately...

In fact, I think some guys who would have been starters on last years squad are going to have trouble making this year's rotation.

Betsey, Souare and Fennell would have really helped a team that had Lucas Taylor, Davis and Carlos in our top 6 for minutes played.

Going back a year further, would you rather have Souare playing center or PF rather than Justin Taylor? Anthony or Fennell playing 10 minutes a game instead of Cuffe?

This team is loaded, and foul trouble might be a blessing in disguise some games, as it will dictate Red going deeper into the rotation than his JB determined basketball DNA would otherwise allow.

 

[walsh2012]

I think this is a really good post.

I would argue one point, though. I think this is our first team in a long time that can suffer foul trouble and not have a huge dropoff in production as a result.

If Kyle gets into trouble, we have Freeman, Souare and Diawara.

If Freeman gets into trouble, we have White and Betsey.

If Kingz gets into trouble, we have Betsey, Anthony and Womack.

If Starling gets into trouble, we have Anthony and Fennell.

If George gets into trouble, we have Starling, Fennell and Zephir.

While I fully expect Freeman to be our best player, unlike previous years, I don't think the dropoff to his backups will be catastrophic. I think the same is true for all of our guys,with the possible exception of George. I don't like Starling as our primary point guard for very long, and Fennell is largely unknown at this point.

But the overall point is this. Our second string is more talented than some teams of starters we've run out there lately...

In fact, I think some guys who would have been starters on last years squad are going to have trouble making this year's rotation.

Betsey, Souare and Fennell would have really helped a team that had Lucas Taylor, Davis and Carlos in our top 6 for minutes played.

Going back a year further, would you rather have Souare playing center or PF rather than Justin Taylor? Anthony or Fennell playing 10 minutes a game instead of Cuffe?

This team is loaded, and foul trouble might be a blessing in disguise some games, as it will dictate Red going deeper into the rotation than his JB determined basketball DNA would otherwise allow.

Glad you like the post! I think we’re on the same page, but with one clarification

I agree with your point about this being the best second string we’ve had in a long time.

My mention of foul trouble was specifically for bigs. Donnie will be on the floor with WK at the jump, but forcing Donnie to go extended minutes at the 5 with no good option behind him is a worry for me.

 

[Niastri]

Glad you like the post! I think we’re on the same page, but with one clarification

I agree with your point about this being the best second string we’ve had in a long time.

My mention of foul trouble was specifically for bigs. Donnie will be on the floor with WK at the jump, but forcing Donnie to go extended minutes at the 5 with no good option behind him is a worry for me.

That's the thing. I think the "big man" rotation of Freeman, Kyle, Souare, Betsey, White (and Diawara in case of emergency) is going to be just fine. They are all long limbed and athletic. In many ways, they will be interchangeable on defense, as the average standing reach is around 9' for all of them. Any one of them would have been super helpful to us the last couple seasons (where Davis and Justin Taylor manned the PF position...).

Even on offense, where losing Freeman could really hurt us, Betsey is "Freeman-lite" as an offensive player. He came in highly recruited and gained a ton of weight last season. He's no longer a small forward in body type, he looks like a power forward. Yet, all his highlights demonstrate his guard skills. The extra weight should allow him to do more things on the court than before.

Actually, the intense weight gain is a theme among all our big men. Souare has gained at least 30lb since coming to college, Betsey 25-30lb, Freeman 20lb, Kyle 40lb, and White was listed at 180lb only 12 months ago on one recruiting site, now commonly listed as 205lb.

These guys were always tall and long limbed, and now they have packed on the pounds as well.

The thing is, in at least the case of Souare and Betsey, the rapid weight gain seemed to really sap their athleticism. It's hard to adapt to extra mass quickly without losing something. An extra off-season at the bigger weight, with a top notch trainer like Rob Harris pushing them to excel should really make a difference.

I am expecting a much better defensive team this upcoming season, as we will have a rotation of excellent athletes who are switchable and who all will be able to get deflections and blocks at a much higher rate than last year. At least this season our defense of "hoping they miss and get the rebound" will be a thing of the past.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Glad you like the post! I think we’re on the same page, but with one clarification

I agree with your point about this being the best second string we’ve had in a long time.

My mention of foul trouble was specifically for bigs. Donnie will be on the floor with WK at the jump, but forcing Donnie to go extended minutes at the 5 with no good option behind him is a worry for me.

The foul trouble is a legit concern but I would challenge people to go out and find the bigs across the ACC that are going to dominate. Bancot played 12 years and got fouled 8000 times and was gone last year and all those clemson bigs finally gone too.

Reynauld at Stanford is the best center in the ACC and they're not on the calendar. Sure Ngongba could be a problem but the whole Duke team will be a problem on the road. The SMU big man from Turkey maybe. Then there's a few other transfers coming in.

I want our to have a solid bigs rotation but the 5 isn't exactly the strongest position in the ACC this year.

 

[cusefan88]

The foul trouble is a legit concern but I would challenge people to go out and find the bigs across the ACC that are going to dominate. Bancot played 12 years and got fouled 8000 times and was gone last year and all those clemson bigs finally gone too.

Reynauld at Stanford is the best center in the ACC and they're not on the calendar. Sure Ngongba could be a problem but the whole Duke team will be a problem on the road. The SMU big man from Turkey maybe. Then there's a few other transfers coming in.

I want our to have a solid bigs rotation but the 5 isn't exactly the strongest position in the ACC this year.

Reynaud got drafted in the second round FYI. He's off to the pros.

 

[walsh2012]

That's the thing. I think the "big man" rotation of Freeman, Kyle, Souare, Betsey, White (and Diawara in case of emergency) is going to be just fine. They are all long limbed and athletic. In many ways, they will be interchangeable on defense, as the average standing reach is around 9' for all of them. Any one of them would have been super helpful to us the last couple seasons (where Davis and Justin Taylor manned the PF position...).

Even on offense, where losing Freeman could really hurt us, Betsey is "Freeman-lite" as an offensive player. He came in highly recruited and gained a ton of weight last season. He's no longer a small forward in body type, he looks like a power forward. Yet, all his highlights demonstrate his guard skills. The extra weight should allow him to do more things on the court than before.

Actually, the intense weight gain is a theme among all our big men. Souare has gained at least 30lb since coming to college, Betsey 25-30lb, Freeman 20lb, Kyle 40lb, and White was listed at 180lb only 12 months ago on one recruiting site, now commonly listed as 205lb.

These guys were always tall and long limbed, and now they have packed on the pounds as well.

The thing is, in at least the case of Souare and Betsey, the rapid weight gain seemed to really sap their athleticism. It's hard to adapt to extra mass quickly without losing something. An extra off-season at the bigger weight, with a top notch trainer like Rob Harris pushing them to excel should really make a difference.

I am expecting a much better defensive team this upcoming season, as we will have a rotation of excellent athletes who are switchable and who all will be able to get deflections and blocks at a much higher rate than last year. At least this season our defense of "hoping they miss and get the rebound" will be a thing of the past.

If these weight gains you mentioned are accurate, I’m on the same page as you.

I think that training camp and getting a lot of conditioning in at these new weights will fix a lot of the growing pains

 

[nocohalo]

The foul trouble is a legit concern but I would challenge people to go out and find the bigs across the ACC that are going to dominate. Bancot played 12 years and got fouled 8000 times and was gone last year and all those clemson bigs finally gone too.

Reynauld at Stanford is the best center in the ACC and they're not on the calendar. Sure Ngongba could be a problem but the whole Duke team will be a problem on the road. The SMU big man from Turkey maybe. Then there's a few other transfers coming in.

I want our to have a solid bigs rotation but the 5 isn't exactly the strongest position in the ACC this year.

In true delusional fashion, UVA and UNC fans think their transfer bigs are going to light the world on fire. Very strange fanbases.

 

[Niastri]

If these weight gains you mentioned are accurate, I’m on the same page as you.

I think that training camp and getting a lot of conditioning in at these new weights will fix a lot of the growing pains

It's not an exact science figuring out actual heights and weights... But my numbers are guesstimates based off recruiting pages and college rosters. It's weirdly hard to find accurate heights and weights.

Just as an example, look at Souare in his earliest highlight video from before attending Georgia Tech, he looks completely different now. He definitely is up a ton of weight since 2023 before entering Georgia Tech. Betsey is listed at 225lb, his listed weight in a recruiting profile was 175lb about two years ago.

Sadiq White, in April '23 was weighed at one of the official prospect tournaments at 181, now listing at 205.

Donnie Freeman's McDonald's AA weight in January 2024 was 190lb, by the time he played for us last fall, he was listed at 205lb, and somewhere it was posted he's up to 215ish now. He has a visible improvement in his physique the last 24 months.

William Kyle was listed at 200 lbs in his last ESPN high school ranking, and has gained at least 30lb as of last season. This is comparatively gradual compared to some of the others. His social media states that he's gained more weight this off season.

My numbers won't be exact, but all these guys have gotten way bigger the last few years, especially Souare and Betsey. Gaining 25-35lb in only 24 months is substantial and will take time to adjust to.

All things considered, I think we're going to look really good getting off the bus. Rob Harris has done a bang up job getting these kids bigger, and also a great job getting fans excited with his social media posting.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Reynaud got drafted in the second round FYI. He's off to the pros.

Hah ooph what was I thinking.