Class of 2020 G Bryce Zephir (CA) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (4/16/25)

[pearl31]

What makes people think he is a depth piece when we fielded half a team of similar caliber players last year. We had players from Georgia State, Hofstra, and Delaware.

This is just who Autry is as a recruiter.

SHEER BRILLIANCE. BEHOLD

 

[djcon57]

Would it shock you guys that this guy so many ppl are crapping has actually been to the Tourney. He didn’t play last year in the game but was on the team. This Montana st team was in the tourney 3 years straight years from 22-24.

How many of our guys from the last few years sniffed the tourney. Not many.

He was not on the roster when they made the tourneys. He was playing at a CC until last year.

 

[MSOrange]

What makes people think he is a depth piece when we fielded half a team of similar caliber players last year. We had players from Georgia State, Hofstra, and Delaware.

This is just who Autry is as a recruiter.

Because we looked at the current roster and saw at least four guys ahead of him is how we think he's a depth piece. It doesn't compare to the depth that we had and the roles we were bringing in Carlos, Davis and Taylor to play

 

[Niastri]

What makes people think he is a depth piece when we fielded half a team of similar caliber players last year. We had players from Georgia State, Hofstra, and Delaware.

This is just who Autry is as a recruiter.

It’s kind of a stupid take. Last year, we had plans for McLeod, Westry, Freeman and Bell to be top contributors alongside Lampkin, Starling and missing Transfer Point Guard.

If any of ten things had gone better, Lucas Taylor, Davis and Carlos are all less than 10 min a game reserves. If the even played that much. Instead, those three guys combined for 65 starts! If the injuries, ailments and failures to perform hadn’t occurred, this three guys would have had 65 DNPs instead of 65 starts.

Red’s biggest failure was falling to recruit a point guard. This year, we got one of the best transfers at point guard.

The starting lineup of this upcoming season is better than the starting lineup from last season. And we’re taking going into the season, not including unpredictable injury/illness/collapse.

The bench of this upcoming season is better than the bench of last season. The recruits coming in are better than last seasons recruits.

This recruit, Zephir, doesn’t move the needle. He didn’t need to… the improvement, on paper, has been made. Hopefully he plays about 30 minutes all season long.

 

[Cusefan0307]

SHEER BRILLIANCE. BEHOLD

We’re only a few posts away from someone suggesting he will be the starting point guard.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

We’re only a few posts away from someone suggesting he will be the starting point guard.

With the proper dedication to S & C.

 

[Blanko97]

I don't know that and neither do you. The offense only goes through KIngz? Freeman can't step up? He is a double figure scorer. JJ with a top flight pt guard? A solid pt guard. We may not be good. But right now, we don't know how we will look. Good or bad. And I would be shocked if we added another front end starter. Unless Deng comes aboard and is a starter.

I would prefer to look good and be good. Last year we played the same "well we don't know how we will look" game and I think we can all agree it turned out poorly. The team had clear deficiencies and was only proped up some practice attendees who mistook our awful defensive showing for good offensive prowess.

Here's what i see:

- Donnie scoring 10-12 a game probably isn't enough to make up for the offense you lose going from Lampkin to Kyle. Will he be a 16 point guy from the 4?

- Kyle speaks for itself, you're replacing a double double guy with someone who is unproven and struggled to find playing time.

- JJ was already an 18 a game guy and the team still only won 14 games. I'm not sure a PG is the solution to JJs limitations as his problem wasnt getting open shots it was making them.

- Kingz is a good shooter and will be relied upon to be what chris bell couldn't be. He will need to open the court up for the two head-down and drive heavy guards we are once again putting on the court.

- George will definitely be more helpful on offense than Carlos was so thats a + but we once again are trotting out a starting 5 with only 1 shooter.

Maybe White will be an ace in the hole and he will come in and give some double-digit Davis type games this year but every minute he is on the court your either taking out donnie (a low post threat) or Kingz (your only good 3 point shooter), can the offense withstand having either of those guys on the bench?

And of course the biggest issue is defense. This roster doesn't seem to address the elephant in the room outside of center (and really anyone would be better than Lampkin on athleticism alone). I do hope im wrong but last year instills no confidence and the wiff at the center position despite all the money we claimed to have seems like it will rear its ugly head early on.

 

[Orangezoo]

I would prefer to look good and be good. Last year we played the same "well we don't know how we will look" game and I think we can all agree it turned out poorly. The team had clear deficiencies and was only proped up some practice attendees who mistook our awful defensive showing for good offensive prowess.

Here's what i see:

- Donnie scoring 10-12 a game probably isn't enough to make up for the offense you lose going from Lampkin to Kyle. Will he be a 16 point guy from the 4?

- Kyle speaks for itself, you're replacing a double double guy with someone who is unproven and struggled to find playing time.

- JJ was already an 18 a game guy and the team still only won 14 games. I'm not sure a PG is the solution to JJs limitations as his problem wasnt getting open shots it was making them.

- Kingz is a good shooter and will be relied upon to be what chris bell couldn't be. He will need to open the court up for the two head-down and drive heavy guards we are once again putting on the court.

- George will definitely be more helpful on offense than Carlos was so thats a + but we once again are trotting out a starting 5 with only 1 shooter.

Maybe White will be an ace in the hole and he will come in and give some double-digit Davis type games this year but every minute he is on the court your either taking out donnie (a low post threat) or Kingz (your only good 3 point shooter), can the offense withstand having either of those guys on the bench?

And of course the biggest issue is defense. This roster doesn't seem to address the elephant in the room outside of center (and really anyone would be better than Lampkin on athleticism alone). I do hope im wrong but last year instills no confidence and the wiff at the center position despite all the money we claimed to have seems like it will rear its ugly head early on.

So this is clearly the downside point of view.

There are a few things though worth pointing out that are not super controversial.

1- George is a better defender than Carlos and JJ. It’s evident on tape and advanced metrics. Also at 34 pct he’s a capable outside shooter and his form reflects that. That is a step up at the PG position on both fronts.

2- Donnie hit nearly 34 pct of his triples in 14 games. His defensive positioning was a struggle but his on ball defense was solid at times. There should be an improvement factor here regarding him making the leap into year 2. Also his per 40 numbers were 21 and 12. Rebounding is a part of defense and he showed evidence he can be elite on the boards as he keeps improving.

3- With the capable other options and a traditional PG- JJ should be running at a lower usage rate and the burden on the team defense thus reduced by fewer dumb turnovers and wasted possessions. Not to mention he can be a 29 mpg guy with the depth available.

4 - freshmen are always hard to gauge but there are multiple shooters coming on board plus the capabilities of Donnie and George even if they aren’t specialists. Thus the argument of having one shooter in the starting lineup is a bit misleading. We had no real facilitators last year which was a massive problem and further was a hindrance on getting good looks for the shooters we did have and then resulting in JJ shooting waaaaay too much.

5- So far both big guys brought in are defensive minded with great athleticism and length. Defense in the paint and the ability for these guys to switch is an immediate upgrade on that side of the floor.

Overall as a roster there is a clear on paper upgrade which will only be more pronounced when Deng or another wing who shoots it will comes on board. Roster construction is solid across the board looking at what Kiyan, Sadiq and Fennell can bring as supplemental contributors and not forced into being relied on heavily. Coaching will be the key as we all knew it and we can haggle over roster semantics all day - reality is coaching is and always was going to be the X factor as we knew we would have more money and a better approach with a full year having a GM.

 

[Hopkins16]

I would prefer to look good and be good. Last year we played the same "well we don't know how we will look" game and I think we can all agree it turned out poorly. The team had clear deficiencies and was only proped up some practice attendees who mistook our awful defensive showing for good offensive prowess.

Here's what i see:

- Donnie scoring 10-12 a game probably isn't enough to make up for the offense you lose going from Lampkin to Kyle. Will he be a 16 point guy from the 4?

- Kyle speaks for itself, you're replacing a double double guy with someone who is unproven and struggled to find playing time.

- JJ was already an 18 a game guy and the team still only won 14 games. I'm not sure a PG is the solution to JJs limitations as his problem wasnt getting open shots it was making them.

- Kingz is a good shooter and will be relied upon to be what chris bell couldn't be. He will need to open the court up for the two head-down and drive heavy guards we are once again putting on the court.

- George will definitely be more helpful on offense than Carlos was so thats a + but we once again are trotting out a starting 5 with only 1 shooter.

Maybe White will be an ace in the hole and he will come in and give some double-digit Davis type games this year but every minute he is on the court your either taking out donnie (a low post threat) or Kingz (your only good 3 point shooter), can the offense withstand having either of those guys on the bench?

And of course the biggest issue is defense. This roster doesn't seem to address the elephant in the room outside of center (and really anyone would be better than Lampkin on athleticism alone). I do hope im wrong but last year instills no confidence and the wiff at the center position despite all the money we claimed to have seems like it will rear its ugly head early on.

I believe that if Donnie steps up and contribute on both sides of the ball in a dominant way, we will be able to win. He is a top 5 recruit going into his second year and not a one and done due to his leg injury, which held him back last year. We’ve got better matching pieces than last year. I also believe that Fennell can provide some long distance shooting that we will need. The major upgrade at the pg position is huge, being that we could not get anything going on offense with Carlos and on defense he was atrocious.

If Freeman can play up to his potential, our veterans pick up the slack, and our coach can figure out a system and rotation, we should make the tournament. I know, a lot of Ifs.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

Game reminds me of Ron Patterson. I nice fill position with a known and possibly developing skill set (depending on work ethic, coaching and injuries).

 

[PauliePeppas]

Donnie will avg 17-20, people are sleeping how much he can improve. First rounder next year

 

[hoopsupstate]

So are we like, done taking people if we are filling the back end of the bench? This is not a tournament roster right now if the starters are who they are. Defense is still a major issue and the offense basically only comes through Kingz. I know we will getmroe people, but we need another top end starter

The starters are already on the roster.

 

[Orangezoo]

Donnie will avg 17-20, people are sleeping how much he can improve. First rounder next year

While JJ should be down 3-5 ppg with lower usage, with the additions and returning guys you have 60 ppg in productivity, which would be 67 with adding Deng on the roster. 55 of that in the starting lineup.

 

[hoopsupstate]

It’s kind of a stupid take. Last year, we had plans for McLeod, Westry, Freeman and Bell to be top contributors alongside Lampkin, Starling and missing Transfer Point Guard.

If any of ten things had gone better, Lucas Taylor, Davis and Carlos are all less than 10 min a game reserves. If the even played that much. Instead, those three guys combined for 65 starts! If the injuries, ailments and failures to perform hadn’t occurred, this three guys would have had 65 DNPs instead of 65 starts.

Red’s biggest failure was falling to recruit a point guard. This year, we got one of the best transfers at point guard.

The starting lineup of this upcoming season is better than the starting lineup from last season. And we’re taking going into the season, not including unpredictable injury/illness/collapse.

The bench of this upcoming season is better than the bench of last season. The recruits coming in are better than last seasons recruits.

This recruit, Zephir, doesn’t move the needle. He didn’t need to… the improvement, on paper, has been made. Hopefully he plays about 30 minutes all season long.

Good read. Only thing I disagree is him playing only 30 minutes all year. I hope we are in a lot of winning blowouts and he gets lots of minutes

 

[Todoubled23]

This is a good pick up. Even if he doesn’t get on the court unless garbage time, he will be a good practice body/opponent simulation, and should be more competitive than a walk on. Every team needs a few Chaz Owen’s type.

Lets not kid ourselves. There can only be ONE.

 

[Blanko97]

So this is clearly the downside point of view.

There are a few things though worth pointing out that are not super controversial.

1- George is a better defender than Carlos and JJ. It’s evident on tape and advanced metrics. Also at 34 pct he’s a capable outside shooter and his form reflects that. That is a step up at the PG position on both fronts.

2- Donnie hit nearly 34 pct of his triples in 14 games. His defensive positioning was a struggle but his on ball defense was solid at times. There should be an improvement factor here regarding him making the leap into year 2. Also his per 40 numbers were 21 and 12. Rebounding is a part of defense and he showed evidence he can be elite on the boards as he keeps improving.

3- With the capable other options and a traditional PG- JJ should be running at a lower usage rate and the burden on the team defense thus reduced by fewer dumb turnovers and wasted possessions. Not to mention he can be a 29 mpg guy with the depth available.

4 - freshmen are always hard to gauge but there are multiple shooters coming on board plus the capabilities of Donnie and George even if they aren’t specialists. Thus the argument of having one shooter in the starting lineup is a bit misleading. We had no real facilitators last year which was a massive problem and further was a hindrance on getting good looks for the shooters we did have and then resulting in JJ shooting waaaaay too much.

5- So far both big guys brought in are defensive minded with great athleticism and length. Defense in the paint and the ability for these guys to switch is an immediate upgrade on that side of the floor.

Overall as a roster there is a clear on paper upgrade which will only be more pronounced when Deng or another wing who shoots it will comes on board. Roster construction is solid across the board looking at what Kiyan, Sadiq and Fennell can bring as supplemental contributors and not forced into being relied on heavily. Coaching will be the key as we all knew it and we can haggle over roster semantics all day - reality is coaching is and always was going to be the X factor as we knew we would have more money and a better approach with a full year having a GM.

I don't think the roster is worse than last year, I just don't know if its good enough to make the tournament. It takes significant upgrades across the board to go from what we had last year in a historically awful ACC to what we'd like to see. I recognize there are upgrades but that isnt saying much unfortunately

 

[Orangezoo]

I don't think the roster is worse than last year, I just don't know if its good enough to make the tournament. It takes significant upgrades across the board to go from what we had last year in a historically awful ACC to what we'd like to see. I recognize there are upgrades but that isnt saying much unfortunately

The upgrades are pretty significant honestly and I don’t think that’s controversial either. The real unknown is coaching. With good coaching this roster should be hands down a tournament team once we add Deng or a similar player. With the coaching we have? A huge unknown.

 

[hoopsupstate]

We have three potential all ACC players in Freeman, JJ and George. That’s a pretty good start. We also have several pieces that are good, especially Kingz. This roster is going to be pretty good when it’s completed.

 

[Orangefizz]

Because we looked at the current roster and saw at least four guys ahead of him is how we think he's a depth piece. It doesn't compare to the depth that we had and the roles we were bringing in Carlos, Davis and Taylor to play

Carlos Davis and Taylor were all originally recruited to be depth pieces.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I would prefer to look good and be good. Last year we played the same "well we don't know how we will look" game and I think we can all agree it turned out poorly. The team had clear deficiencies and was only proped up some practice attendees who mistook our awful defensive showing for good offensive prowess.

Here's what i see:

- Donnie scoring 10-12 a game probably isn't enough to make up for the offense you lose going from Lampkin to Kyle. Will he be a 16 point guy from the 4?

- Kyle speaks for itself, you're replacing a double double guy with someone who is unproven and struggled to find playing time.

- JJ was already an 18 a game guy and the team still only won 14 games. I'm not sure a PG is the solution to JJs limitations as his problem wasnt getting open shots it was making them.

- Kingz is a good shooter and will be relied upon to be what chris bell couldn't be. He will need to open the court up for the two head-down and drive heavy guards we are once again putting on the court.

- George will definitely be more helpful on offense than Carlos was so thats a + but we once again are trotting out a starting 5 with only 1 shooter.

Maybe White will be an ace in the hole and he will come in and give some double-digit Davis type games this year but every minute he is on the court your either taking out donnie (a low post threat) or Kingz (your only good 3 point shooter), can the offense withstand having either of those guys on the bench?

And of course the biggest issue is defense. This roster doesn't seem to address the elephant in the room outside of center (and really anyone would be better than Lampkin on athleticism alone). I do hope im wrong but last year instills no confidence and the wiff at the center position despite all the money we claimed to have seems like it will rear its ugly head early on.

Gave it a like although I don't agree with all. At least your takes are reasonable and thought out though which is more than most here.

The JJ and Eddie takes make sense. These were the 2 positions that at least after the JJ injury and Eddie's back were stable and we knew what we'd get. It's fair to compare I think them to next year plans.

-Kingz isn't just replacing Bell, Bell was already replaced at the 3. Bell did not make a 3 for a month in December with JJ out and the season was over. He was benched and Lucas coming in and playing up and down.

-Donnie not injured and Sadiq (not withstanding if we pick up Deng too) is much different than Davis and Petar which is what we rolled with last year.

-Backcourt. It was not just Carlos and JJ to compare, Remember Carlos was benched at the 1. Moore got several starts before having a rough go and getting injured himself. We were actually running the back court at times with 6 and 6'2 Carlos and Cuffe which is absurd to think about.

So I look at is as we did not have P5 players at the 1,3, and 4 last season. This year we have all capable P5 players at least at the 1-4 as starters, with potential backups that may or may not be P5 caliber too (too soon to predict the Fresh and the deeper pieces). Kyle would be the weakest of that group at the 5 I would agree. Personally I don't expect the centers to score at all unless they're dunking but that's just me.

 

[MSOrange]

Carlos Davis and Taylor were all originally recruited to be depth pieces.

Well we never could get another PG to make Carlos a depth piece. This year we have 4 guards ahead of Bryce. True for Davis and Taylor, but they were higher on the depth chart than Bryce is.

 

[Blanko97]

The upgrades are pretty significant honestly and I don’t think that’s controversial either. The real unknown is coaching. With good coaching this roster should be hands down a tournament team once we add Deng or a similar player. With the coaching we have? A huge unknown.

Coaching is part of this whole thing though, Last years roster might have been good enough to be a fringe tournament player if you had pitino or oats coaching it, granted they would've never constructed such a bad roster. I think maybe that is where the disconnect is, these guys are better but are they good enough to overcome Red's uh... coaching? So i dont disagree with you there at all. I just feel like another really top level player would cement this as a roster that can consistently win versus consistently compete.

 

[Orangezoo]

Coaching is part of this whole thing though, Last years roster might have been good enough to be a fringe tournament player if you had pitino or oats coaching it, granted they would've never constructed such a bad roster. I think maybe that is where the disconnect is, these guys are better but are they good enough to overcome Red's uh... coaching? So i dont disagree with you there at all. I just feel like another really top level player would cement this as a roster that can consistently win versus consistently compete.

Fair and I hear you but I will say coaching last year maybe is worth a few wins but overall the roster, when you factor Westry couldn’t go, McLeod for much of the season couldn’t go , Bell regressed and overall roster construction was clearly abysmal after just a few games in.

 

[littlereg]

Coaching is part of this whole thing though, Last years roster might have been good enough to be a fringe tournament player if you had pitino or oats coaching it, granted they would've never constructed such a bad roster. I think maybe that is where the disconnect is, these guys are better but are they good enough to overcome Red's uh... coaching? So i dont disagree with you there at all. I just feel like another really top level player would cement this as a roster that can consistently win versus consistently compete.

Last years team wasn’t sniffing the Tournament with Jesus at HC, and every single HOF coach in the bench with him. We played multiple players that weren’t high major talent. And btw I don’t disagree about your red take it’ll all hinge on the coaching.

 

[Blanko97]

Last years team wasn’t sniffing the Tournament with Jesus at HC, and every single HOF coach in the bench with him. We played multiple players that weren’t high major talent. And btw I don’t disagree about your red take it’ll all hinge on the coaching.

I think there were more games than you might think that hinged a lot on reds coaching. Defense is easy to point to, how many more wins do you get if you are able to shave 7-8 points off your allowed PPG? Skill factors in here but effort is way more important.

Another is subbing, how much better is the team if red ran with the hot hand in games instead of sticking to a seemingly predetermined rotation?

And then finally, what happens if you run a coherent offense in the last 10 minutes instead of forcing it into JJ and having him play hero ball every night?

As crazy as it is, i think we are underestimating how badly red managed the team.