sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Cyber Monday!
Cyber Monday takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving, and is the largest online shopping day of the year in the United States. The term was coined by Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation, while working with Scott Silverman and others, at Shop.org. In 2005, shortly before Thanksgiving, Shop.org put out a press release highlighting the growing amount of sales that took place on the day. Research from 2004 had shown that the day was the 12th largest online shopping day of the year. After the term made its debut, it has been used as a marketing tool by retailers, and the public has embraced the day. As of 2017, sales have increased each year since its inception, transforming the day from the 12th largest online shopping day, to the largest. In 2006 there were $610 million of sales on the day, and in 2016 there were $3.45 billion in sales, marking the first time online sales had passed $3 billion on a single day in the United States. Half or more of the sales from the day are from work computers, suggesting that consumers still want to do more shopping after Black Friday, want to take advantage of the days' deals, or want to hide the gifts they are buying for family members.
SU News
Syracuse Orange guard Judah Mintz (3) drives to the basket on Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Anton Watson (22). Syracuse plays Gonzaga in the second of three games in the Maui Invitational Nov. 21, 2023. Nov. 21 2023. Brian Spurlock/KemperSports LIVEdnett@syracuse.com
SU basketball at the Maui Invitational: What we learned (PS; $; Ditota)
Syracuse left Honolulu on a sunny note.
The Orange defeated host Chaminade 105-56 to end a three-day run at the Maui Invitational. Syracuse faced two teams ranked in the AP’s Top 11. It lost to Tennessee, 73-56. It lost to Gonzaga 76-57.
There will be no rest for the travel-weary. Syracuse’s long journey back home included a 10-hour plane ride to New York City and then a bus back to campus.
LSU awaits Tuesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said Wednesday night he learned some things about his young team. He had been concerned about SU’s ability to defend and to rebound, two areas that could largely determine how successful Syracuse will be this season.
But on Wednesday, he talked about his offense.
The Orange averaged 56.5 points in losses to Tennessee and Gonzaga. SU plays with four men on the perimeter and a big man on one of the short corners. At times, Autry said, the ball stuck with one of his guards, resulting in less movement and more scoring stagnation.
Syracuse shot the ball better against Chaminade. After going a combined 9-for-44 from the 3-point line in its first two games, SU made 12-of-30 against the Division II Silverswords.
Justin Taylor, in particular, saw the ball drop through the hoop after five halves of frustration here. Taylor was 3-of-5 from the 3-point line in the second half of the Chaminade game. When Taylor makes shots, said Judah Mintz, “it makes everything better.”
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NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, Syracuse, and UCLA takeaways from Maui Invitational (bustingbrackets.com; Freeman)
What makes this year’s Maui Invitational so historically good is that you had big-named programs such as Gonzaga, UCLA, and Syracuse in it and they weren’t even in the top-4 of the group. There were four other top-10 programs in the field, all of whom won their opening games in the tournament, including against this field.
Still, Gonzaga was able to finish in 5th-place in this field, beating both Syracuse and UCLA in the consolation bracket. The other two didn’t fare as well, only winning against non-DI program Chaminade in the field. Still, there are some things to take away from this group of teams as they continue their respective non-con campaigns. Here are my thoughts on each team.
7th-place Syracuse Orange
Positive takeaway: Mintz/Starling backcourt shows signs of improvementThe final scores in the two losses to Gonzaga and Tennessee don’t show how completive they were at times in the second half. And they were spearheaded by the sophomore starters, with Mintz going for 22 points vs the Bulldogs to keep them in the game. Both players are score-first but they each are averaging over four assists a game. They’re a work in progress but there’s definitely long-term potential with this young roster.
Negative takeaways: Role players need to avoid bad games
Mintz and Starling can’t do it all and with respect to 7’4 center Naheem McLeod, the offensive production is going to come down to the guards and wings. Yet in order to have a shot against better opponents, can’t have 0-fers. Justin Taylor went scoreless in 28 minutes in the loss to Tennessee, while Chris Bell shot 2/18 from the field in the defeat to Gonzaga. If those guys could’ve had little better games, maybe the Orange would’ve had a real shot.
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https://www.tigerrag.com/lsu-defens...ame-heading-into-sec-acc-challenge-next-week/ (tigerrag.com; Horne)
LSU started sluggishly against North Florida on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, doubled the Ospreys scoring output by halftime and built a 57-27 lead early in the second half before having to hold on to win, 75-63.
Senior center Will Baker led LSU with 18 points, while Jordan Wright added 15 points. Tyrell Ward scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers in the second half to help the Tigers stave off UNF, which cut LSU’s lead to nine points with 3:44 left to play.
LSU freshman point guard Mike Williams had 11 points, his first career double-figure output.
UNF freshman guard Jalen Smith scored 13 points to lead the Ospreys. Smith’s points all came in the second half, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc.
LSU (4-2) started the game sluggishly but then amped itself up using an aggressive man defense, strong defensive rebounding, and took advantage of its size advantage to outmuscle the smaller Ospreys offensively to build a 36-18 halftime lead.
UNF (4-3) never led and fell behind by 30 at 57-27 with just under 15 minutes to play in the game but then heated from 3-point range by knocking down eight 3s after only hitting three in the first half and went on a 17-3 run at one point.
UNF cut the Tigers lead to nine points, 68-59, when Max Hrdlicka buried a 24-foot 3 with 3:44 left to play in the game.
Ward, however, responded with a 3-pointer of his own to make it a 71-59 and LSU maintained a 12-to-14-point lead until the end from that point.
“Thankful to get the win here tonight,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said.
“I thought our guys really came out dialed on the defensive side of the ball. We have a lot of respect for North Florida and their three-point attack. They were out scoring their opponents by almost 24 points a game from behind the three-point line. I just loved our effort there on the defensive side for about the first 27 minutes of the game. We were able to create some turnovers – I think Mike Williams had six steals and did a really nice job with putting pressure on the basketball. Big key was there in the first half. We won every media segment, but we had nine turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the game. We didn’t turn it over the rest of the half and we were able to build our lead.
“Lots of teachable moments, obviously, there in the last 10 minutes of the game. But, thrilled to win and excited for the opportunity we have on Tuesday at Syracuse.”
UNF coach Matt Driscoll said LSU’s defense manhandled his team in the first half and that after falling behind by 30 the Ospreys’ goal was to get within striking distance by the 4-minute media timeout.
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Syracuse Basketball: On3 NIL Valuations of Kiyan Anthony, 5-star recruits (itlh; Adler)
Let’s take a look at the latest On3 NIL Valuations of various Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star recruiting targets.
Per the On3 Web site, this valuation is a proprietary algorithm that “calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.”
The On3 NIL Valuation looks at the brand and roster values of student-athletes, factoring in three main categories, which are performance, influence (i.e., social media) and exposure. The valuation, by the way, can change from week to week.
When I wrote this article, and to reiterate, these valuations could have changed by the time this column was published, I counted at least five Orange recruits who were in national rankings for high school basketball players as it relates to their On3 NIL Valuations.
The On3 NIL Valuations of Syracuse basketball four-star and five-star targets.
Kiyan Anthony
No. 5 overall, On3 NIL Valuation of $538,000
Anthony, a 2025 four-star shooting guard, is a junior at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y. He received a scholarship offer from the Orange last November and took an official visit to the Hill in late October of this year.
Joson Sanon
No. 43 overall, On3 NIL Valuation of $157,000
A 2025 five-star wing, Sanon is a standout junior at the Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vt. The Syracuse basketball coaching staff offered him in late October of this year.
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Syracuse Basketball: 4-stars, 5-stars emerging as priority recruits in 2025 (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball has offered scholarships to 19 prospects in the 2025 class, according to media reports, recruiting services, comments from analysts, and social media posts.
Several of these 2025 players have eliminated the Orange from contention, whether through list cuts or based on reports that suggest the ‘Cuse isn’t a contender for them. By extension, there are likely some 2025 prospects who were offered by the Orange, but Syracuse basketball coaches aren’t actively pursuing them these days.
In any event, it does seem like a handful of four-star and five-star players in the 2025 cycle have emerged as priority recruits for the ‘Cuse coaching staff, evidenced by a lot of these guys taking visits to the Hill in recent months.
Naturally, the recruiting processes of top-flight prospects will ebb and flow, so I’ll continue to monitor various things, including new scholarship offers, official visits scheduled, updated national rankings, and so on.
Priority targets have unfolded for Syracuse basketball in the 2025 class.
This article is strictly my opinion, although I base my thoughts here in part on interviews given by players, reports, visits taken, my discussions with national recruiting analysts, and other resources.
As it stands right now, here are the top-five recruiting targets for the Orange in the junior cycle, in no particular order:
Kiyan Anthony
The four-star shooting guard, who attends Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., was offered by Syracuse basketball last November and took an official visit to the Hill in late October of this year.
Nigel James
The four-star point guard, a teammate of Anthony’s at Long Island Lutheran, picked up a ‘Cuse offer in late August. Not long thereafter, in mid-September, he went on an official visit to Syracuse basketball.
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3-star Albany PG, who holds Syracuse basketball offer, ‘tremendous’ leader (itlh; Adler)
National recruiting analysts and scouts have been giving a lot of love lately to 2025 three-star point guard Keyshuan Tillery, who holds a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball.
The 6-foot-1 Tillery, who is from Albany, N.Y., received an offer from the ‘Cuse coaching staff in late August, around the time that he took an unofficial visit to the Hill to compete in the Orange’s annual Elite Camp.
He is a vastly underrated national prospect. Tillery is just getting started with his junior season in the 2023-24 campaign at the New Hampton School in New Hampton, N.H., which is a member of a top high school league in the Northeast, the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (“NEPSAC”).
As I noted in another recent column, multiple Syracuse basketball recruits suit up for NEPSAC squads and will face each other in 2023-24. These ‘Cuse targets include 2025 five-star wing Joson Sanon of the Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vt., and 2025 four-star small forward London Jemison of the St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Conn.
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Some ACC-SEC Challenge Notes (DBR; King)
The first ACC/SEC Challenge fires up on Tuesday and it should be interesting. We’re going to start with a few ruminations now and get into specific matchups on Game Days.
Mississippi State is coached by Chris Jans, who started his D-I career at Bowling Green. He only lasted one year though. Why? Did he lose?
Well, no. He won actually. But he did get drunk after the season ended and acted inappropriately at a bar. Bowling Green saw the video and fired him for violating a morals clause. The women of Bowling Green were no doubt pleased and relieved.
He spent a couple of years after that working at the Gregg Marshall Character Finishing School at Wichita State, so naturally New Mexico State hired him in 2017 where he helped lay the groundwork and build the culture for the disastrous scandals that hit the school recently. There’s no arguing that he wins though: his JUCO winning percentage is .779 and his NCAA percentage is .748.
South Carolina had a moment with Frank Martin, making the Final Four in 2016-17 (and beating Duke along the way) but the Gamecocks never made the postseason again under Martin, who was let go in 2022.
South Carolina hired Lamont Paris from Chattanooga to replace Martin. Trivia: his predecessor at Chattanooga left for UMass. Martin ended up replacing that coach at UMass after being canned in Columbia.
Paris finished his first season at USC 11-21; so far this year, the ‘Cocks (hey, it’s their thing, send complaints to stupidchicken@USCAthletics.com) are 5-0. However, the only reasonable team they’ve played is Virginia Tech and they did win that one. The other games are against turkeys USC Upstate (3-5), VMI (2-5), DePaul (1-5) and Grand Canyon (4-1).
Grand Canyon actually takes the game seriously, but still: this is not a schedule that screams I’M CONFIDENT DAMMIT!
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(youtube; scheduled podcast; The Hoops Southbound Show)
ACC/SEC Challenge Preview
Other
Syracuse now under Winter Storm Watch for 4 to 9 inches of snow; Tug Hill could get up to 30 inches (PS; Kirk)
Syracuse is now under a Winter Storm Watch as 4 to 9 inches of snow are possible this week, and the previous warning for Tug Hill is up to 30 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Onondaga, Madison, and Southern Oneida counties have been added to the list for snow. Winds up to 35 miles per hour are also expected, weather officials said. The heaviest snowfall for these counties will happen Tuesday afternoon into evening.
The watch expires Wednesday morning. Both Tuesday’s commute home and Wednesday’s morning commute could be affected by difficult travel conditions, officials said.
A Lake Effect Snow Warning is already in effect for the Tug Hill region. The region originally expected up to 20 inches but it’s now been increased to 30 inches possible, officials said. Snow is expected to fall at a rate of 3 inches an hour at times, officials said. The most persistent areas could see 1 to 2 feet. Wind is expected to creating blowing snow and drifts.
Travel in Oswego, Jefferson and Lewis counties is expected to be “very difficult to impossible,” officials said. The snow is expected to start Monday around 4 p.m.
