Geno Thorpe - COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE

[jordville]

 

[Deano]

Sign Geno and hopefully he ends up the starter.

 

[dasher]

I think a starting line up of Battle, TT, Thorpe, Brissett and Moyer is likely. With Marek,Howard and PC getting time.

 

[jordoo]

Strong chance of Jerami Grant growing 6"!

 

[jordoo]

I think a starting line up of Battle, TT, Thorpe, Brissett and Moyer is likely. With Marek,Howard and PC getting time.

I think Solejaz may sneek in as one of the starting forwards and Sidibe could overtake Chukwu. I could see your senario as well though.

 

[orangecuse]

Ugh! Just as strong a chance of missing the dance 3 out the last 4 years, a sub .500 ACC record, and continuance of our stout no-no pitching come ACC tourney time. 'Elite' has never looked so good.

 

[GooseMutt]

I think Solejaz may sneek in as one of the starting forwards and Sidibe could overtake Chukwu. I could see your senario as well though.

Not knowing how the recruits will perform leaves most of us very cautious. But what if we pick up Thorpe and Brissett and Dolejac end up playing like 5 star recruits. I think we end up being top third in ACC and definitely a tourney team.

 

[kcsu]

I think Solejaz may sneek in as one of the starting forwards and Sidibe could overtake Chukwu. I could see your senario as well though.

I see
1: FH starting but Thorpe getting more minutes. HW 3rd
2: Battle with Thorpe playing there as well. HW 3rd
3: Euro Bris Moyer
4: TT Moyer Sid Euro Bris
5: Chew Sid TT

3 4 and 5 are going to be wild. JB will have more choices than a Greek diner. I hope that he brings this team along in a positive fashion this season as there is a ton of interchangeable talent. I actually really like this group. Thorpe is critical as he can play both point and off G well. It will provide time for Washington to grow without pressure. Lets hope that Frank has his psyche together and if so we have a shot to make some noise.

 

[orangecuse]

Not knowing how the recruits will perform leaves most of us very cautious. But what if we pick up Thorpe and Brissett and Dolejac end up playing like 5 star recruits. I think we end up being top third in ACC and definitely a tourney team.

What if I win the Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Powerball Jackpot tonight. I'll pitch in half for the new dome roof.

 

[GooseMutt]

What if I win the Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge Powerball Jackpot tonight. I'll pitch in half for the new dome roof.

and new locker room please

 

[Flacusian]

Just my 2 cents... I think Otis Thorpe would be a great addition to the team. That would give us 2 former Providence players... what could go wrong?

 

[RF2044]

I see
1: FH starting but Thorpe getting more minutes. HW 3rd
2: Battle with Thorpe playing there as well. HW 3rd
3: Euro Bris Moyer
4: TT Moyer Sid Euro Bris
5: Chew Sid TT

3 4 and 5 are going to be wild. JB will have more choices than a Greek diner. I hope that he brings this team along in a positive fashion this season as there is a ton of interchangeable talent. I actually really like this group. Thorpe is critical as he can play both point and off G well. It will provide time for Washington to grow without pressure. Lets hope that Frank has his psyche together and if so we have a shot to make some noise.

A lot really comes down to whether or not Howard can get his head screwed on straight and be a lead guard that the coaches can rely upon, and whether he'll provided consistent shooting / scoring. If he can do all three, it would make the team's potential exponentially better. If not, then I think / believe that Thorpe would be an adequate replacement at lead guard, playing alongside a versatile talent like Battle. More than adequate.

The ability to march out a capable Frank playing alongside double-digit caliber Thorpe, Battle, and Thompson suddenly would be a formidable socring lineup. Throw in your big du jour to round out that group.

And IMO, the second biggest question centers around how much growth Chukwu will show with another year under his belt. If he's basically the same, then relegate him to some token reserve minutes. If he's better than that, then he could be an intriguing component on a team of capable scorers like the group listed above.

And of course, our group of three incoming "frosh" [including Moyer here, because he hasn't played] forwards will be interesting, as well.

This team has a lot more talent than when things looked bleak 6 weeks ago. Hope some of the questions listed above get answered positively, because this team might have the capacity to be quite a bit better than what many prognosticators expect / expected.

 

[IthacaMatt]

This team has a lot more talent than when things looked bleak 6 weeks ago. Hope some of the questions listed above get answered positively, because this team might have the capacity to be quite a bit better than what many prognosticators expect / expected.

I think that on paper this team is still far short of what we had last year.

 

[jordoo]

I think that on paper this team is still far short of what we had last year.

On paper? Most definitely less. On the court? Who knows, to many ifs ands or buts. Too many unknowns.

 

[longtimefan]

I think that on paper this team is still far short of what we had last year.

Offensively, probably so. Defensively? There is certainly a real possibility of being better.

 

[jordville]

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I feel pretty good about that.

 

[pearl31]

I think that on paper this team is still far short of what we had last year.

I don't.

 

[jdubs30]

I think a starting line up of Battle, TT, Thorpe, Brissett and Moyer is likely. With Marek,Howard and PC getting time.

Love that starting 5 and love Marek as a super sub. If TT is average defensively at the 5, that's huge for us. We don't need him to be Fab or Rak, but he can't be a liability.

 

[JLine]

Great to hear. Also, am I crazy or is everyone spelling Marek's last name differently? I don't know if I'm losing it, or missed out on the nickname. We need a nickname. MD works for me, for now.

Anyway, hoping for good news soon about a visit, then a quick commit. If Ayala wanted to come he had his chance. He can change his mind all he wants, but obviously isn't sure of what he wants to do.

Time to get Geno in here, and let's go to work. The top of the zone will be looking good. The back too, once the best emerge. I know people are worried about so many new guys learning the zone, but Geno is experienced and we have some intelligent youth around.

I want Geno hitting the game winner against Pitt. Not the game winner against us for Pitt. Well, I'd rather we just blow them out and Geno will help with that.

 

[cuseattle]

I don't.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts sometimes. In Battle I trust.

 

[jordoo]

It seemed this was inevitable since Thorpe was waiting and it became more and more obvious that Ayala was going to complete the summer circuit. Plus there is no guarrante he would switch to 17 and come to SU, that became iffy once he joined his AAU team. I'm glad the staff has decided that finalizing the roster and moving forward is the best for this team.

 

[Footey04]

Yup lock him up and I think this Syracuse team will really surprise people this year!

 

[jdubs30]

I don't.

This year has a lottery pick in Battle, that's something we didn't have last year.
You could make the argument that TT could be a 1st rounder after next year depending how he plays. Last year's team MAY get 1 st rounder if Lydon goes.

The length and depth of our forwards will make our zone more effective and our players more rested. No more 40 minutes of AW3 on defense. Having the ability to have Marek, MM, OB, TT and even Battle play the wings will be a big advantage. We won't be able to replace the shooting of AW3 though. Having 3 guys who can play the 5 will also help. I think Sidbie might be super underrated.

The zone overall should be better no matter what - at worst, Howard is an upgrade defensively to Gillon. I think our forwards all have the athletic ability and build to be successful in the zone. The question simply will be how fast will they pick it up? Battle IMO will join Triche and MCW as the best top of the zone defenders of the last decade for us. Gillon just wasn't good most of the time up there, and while AW3 finally picked it up later in the year, he's not the type of body JB prefers down there. JB wants the long athletes with the crazy wingspan - which is what MD, OB and MM bring.

2 obvious advantages from last year:
1. Our 3pt shooting. We all know what AW3 did from deep, we had Gillon, Lydon and Battle. No matter what happens this year we won't be that good from 3 again. Battle will be our best, the addition of Thorpe will be massive and hopefully Howard improves from 3. However I don't see much 3pt offense comi,ng from our forwards. TT might be able to step out, but nothing close to Lydon
2. Lydon at the 5. For as much as he had quiet games offensively, Lydon at the 5 was really, really good. He was very good on the glass, blocking shots, and rotations. The difference of him and TT last year was monumental. I don't expect PC, TT or Sidbie to be as good as Lydon was defensively at the 5, but if those guys can be just average and not hurt us and block shots, I think it will be passable.

I think this year will be more fun to watch, because I think we have the foundation of a young core that we can build on for the next 4 years - it felt like a while since we had that. I also think that Battle might be our best player since Waiters/MCW. The kid is gonna be a blast to watch this year.

 

[kcsu]

This year has a lottery pick in Battle, that's something we didn't have last year.
You could make the argument that TT could be a 1st rounder after next year depending how he plays. Last year's team MAY get 1 st rounder if Lydon goes.

The length and depth of our forwards will make our zone more effective and our players more rested. No more 40 minutes of AW3 on defense. Having the ability to have Marek, MM, OB, TT and even Battle play the wings will be a big advantage. We won't be able to replace the shooting of AW3 though. Having 3 guys who can play the 5 will also help. I think Sidbie might be super underrated.

The zone overall should be better no matter what - at worst, Howard is an upgrade defensively to Gillon. I think our forwards all have the athletic ability and build to be successful in the zone. The question simply will be how fast will they pick it up? Battle IMO will join Triche and MCW as the best top of the zone defenders of the last decade for us. Gillon just wasn't good most of the time up there, and while AW3 finally picked it up later in the year, he's not the type of body JB prefers down there. JB wants the long athletes with the crazy wingspan - which is what MD, OB and MM bring.

2 obvious advantages from last year:
1. Our 3pt shooting. We all know what AW3 did from deep, we had Gillon, Lydon and Battle. No matter what happens this year we won't be that good from 3 again. Battle will be our best, the addition of Thorpe will be massive and hopefully Howard improves from 3. However I don't see much 3pt offense comi,ng from our forwards. TT might be able to step out, but nothing close to Lydon
2. Lydon at the 5. For as much as he had quiet games offensively, Lydon at the 5 was really, really good. He was very good on the glass, blocking shots, and rotations. The difference of him and TT last year was monumental. I don't expect PC, TT or Sidbie to be as good as Lydon was defensively at the 5, but if those guys can be just average and not hurt us and block shots, I think it will be passable.

I think this year will be more fun to watch, because I think we have the foundation of a young core that we can build on for the next 4 years - it felt like a while since we had that. I also think that Battle might be our best player since Waiters/MCW. The kid is gonna be a blast to watch this year.

Good post. Two points. Lydon was adequate in the post but playing out of position. Chewy and Sid will provide us with a solid 5 hopefully allowing TT to play the 4. Thorpe is Huge. He upgrades the top of the zone and his ability to shoot the 3 and play both the 1 and 2 allows a ton of options while his outside threat should open up driving lanes for our 3s. I also think that euro moyer and Bris are going to surprise with the long ball. Add Thorpe and i like this team.