Geno Thorpe - COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE

[RF2044]

I doubt him because before his 37% shooting he shot 30%. Free throws are nice but he doesn't shoot 90%, he shoots closer to 80%, that doesn't bother me because 80% is good but he isn't a 90% shooter.

What really bothers me with him though is his 2pt %. 40% is putrid and his assist to turnover ratio is garbage.

I'm not sure he is much better than Frank Howard.


All that said, I welcome him, we need depth, but my expectations are very very low.

Exhibit A of why players shouldn't be evaluated solely on the basis of stats alone. There's quite a bit of context behind some of those numbers.

 

[GooseMutt]

I doubt him because before his 37% shooting he shot 30%. Free throws are nice but he doesn't shoot 90%, he shoots closer to 80%, that doesn't bother me because 80% is good but he isn't a 90% shooter.

What really bothers me with him though is his 2pt %. 40% is putrid and his assist to turnover ratio is garbage.

I'm not sure he is much better than Frank Howard.


All that said, I welcome him, we need depth, but my expectations are very very low.

You... twozone are a tough cookie with many valid points. But you need to come out of your shell and say what you really mean.

 

[dasher]

I doubt him because before his 37% shooting he shot 30%. Free throws are nice but he doesn't shoot 90%, he shoots closer to 80%, that doesn't bother me because 80% is good but he isn't a 90% shooter.

What really bothers me with him though is his 2pt %. 40% is putrid and his assist to turnover ratio is garbage.

I'm not sure he is much better than Frank Howard.


All that said, I welcome him, we need depth, but my expectations are very very low.

Of course they are. I did watch him last year and I thought he was good. Now, who cares what he shot two years ago. He shot 37% last year. That is where he is now. And his free throw shooting is right at about 85%. Damn good. Howard has to improve to be as good as this kid.

 

[CuseLifer11]

You... twozone are a tough cookie with many valid points. But you need to come out of your shell and say what you really mean.

The next valid point he makes will be his first. Spouting negative over the top opinions does nothing for this forum.

God bless America.

Marek and Thorpe are dynamite players. And this sad dude will be the first to raise the pom poms when we go dancing.

 

[iommi]

Thorpe and Battle are players we can count on per past history. I would include Taurean but I really think he's gonna be very defensive minded this year because a- he wants to help team b- he wants to prove critics wrong c- he wants to get NBA ready and d- he seems very willing and coachable. The others with much potential, are yet to be seen. It could be a great scenario.

Taurean Thompson will never be defensive-minded. He might play better defense, as it'd be hard to play worse, but he will never be a defensive-minded player. Never.

 

[dasher]

Taurean Thompson will never be defensive-minded. He might play better defense, as it'd be hard to play worse, but he will never be a defensive-minded player. Never.

never say never.

 

[dasher]

Thorpe at USF last year 15.1 pts per game .846 from the free throw line .375% from 3
Howard at S>U> last year 4.5 pts per game .623 from the free throw line .316 from 3
They aren't even

 

[iommi]

never say never.

Ha. Never. I know you're busting chops because I said "never" a bunch of times. Defensive-minded means he's a defense-first player. TT will not be that. Ever.

 

[iommi]

Thorpe at USF last year 15.1 pts per game .846 from the free throw line .375% from 3
Howard at S>U> last year 4.5 pts per game .623 from the free throw line .316 from 3
They aren't even

And I've heard nothing but good things about Thorpe's attitude. That's good too.

 

[two3zone]

Thorpe at USF last year 15.1 pts per game .846 from the free throw line .375% from 3
Howard at S>U> last year 4.5 pts per game .623 from the free throw line .316 from 3
They aren't even

They're not even, but we need a point guard and Thorpe's A/To ratio is extremely concerning and I don't think it's unfair to say that.

 

[two3zone]

And I've heard nothing but good things about Thorpe's attitude. That's good too.

Great attitudes are awesome to have in the clubhouse without a doubt and better than bad attitudes. Chinoso, Buss, Kaleb, and BJ seemingly had great attitudes as well. We need and hopefully have a lot of talent to compete.

 

[orangefog]

They're not even, but we need a point guard and Thorpe's A/To ratio is extremely concerning and I don't think it's unfair to say that.

I see your point on the assist to turnover ratio, but he had complete crap around him to make shots. Hopefully his surrounding cast is considerably better this year. I guess what I am saying is, it is conceivable that his assists can go up with a better cast around him and his turnovers can go down because he won't have to force as much.

 

[two3zone]

I see your point on the assist to turnover ratio, but he had complete crap around him to make shots. Hopefully his surrounding cast is considerably better this year. I guess what I am saying is, it is conceivable that his assists can go up with a better cast around him and his turnovers can go down because he won't have to force as much.

Jamal Murray was pretty damn good, by far the best player on the USF team, but the team is garbage outside of Murray and Thorpe.

It just doesn't tickle me the way it does others to get the second best player of a 7 win AAC team who failed at Penn State.

Gillon gets a lot of hate around here but I don't think this guy does any better than Gillon.

 

[iommi]

Great attitudes are awesome to have in the clubhouse without a doubt and better than bad attitudes. Chinoso, Buss, Kaleb, and BJ seemingly had great attitudes as well. We need and hopefully have a lot of talent to compete.

Dasher was comparing GT to Frank The Crank statistically; that's why I brought up GT's solid attitude as another plus. I'm not sure what to expect from this team or even from GT in our system. I'm certainly not penciling in certain numbers. He looks like a nice fit with his skill set. I do hope Geno will be an improvement over FH on the court but bringing leadership qualities will be nice too. FH cannot be a leader here.

A huge plus, if we get Thorpe, is that we will be able to go after a 4* PG in '18. No excuses not to net a major talent. Many people have said that but it bears repeating.

 

[iommi]

Jamal Murray was pretty damn good, by far the best player on the USF team, but the team is garbage outside of Murray and Thorpe.

It just doesn't tickle me the way it does others to get the second best player of a 7 win AAC team who failed at Penn State.

Gillon gets a lot of hate around here but I don't think this guy does any better than Gillon.

He should do better defensively because he's a half a foot taller. Maybe he can be more consistent than Gillon offensively. Gillon was all over the place game-by-game.

 

[orangefog]

Jamal Murray was pretty damn good, by far the best player on the USF team, but the team is garbage outside of Murray and Thorpe.

It just doesn't tickle me the way it does others to get the second best player of a 7 win AAC team who failed at Penn State.

Gillon gets a lot of hate around here but I don't think this guy does any better than Gillon.

At this point, I am glad we will have competition at PG. Also, Thorpe seems to be a high character guy and hopefully will provide some much needed leadership on a young team.

 

[two3zone]

Dasher was comparing GT to Frank The Crank statistically; that's why I brought up GT's solid attitude as another plus. I'm not sure what to expect from this team or even from GT in our system. I'm certainly not penciling in certain numbers. He looks like a nice fit with his skill set. I do hope Geno will be an improvement over FH on the court but bringing leadership qualities will be nice too. FH cannot be a leader here.

A huge plus, if we get Thorpe, is that we will be able to go after a 4* PG in '18. No excuses not to net a major talent. Many people have said that but it bears repeating.

I agree. I want Thorpe to come but I just don't expect him to be this world changing player that seems to be going around.

Between the Slovakian more athletic Van Horn, the amazing Thorpe, the top 8 pick Battle, the two and doner Thompson, and the flute playing basketball wizard Moyer it seems like we're a lock to win the title if I were a stranger reading this board.

In all reality with Thorpe or not (I'm guessing we get him) we're a bubble team in the bottom half of the ACC. A lot needs to go right for us not to be on the bubble, when I say a lot I mean more than I can even imagine.

Defense may not be an issue as it was last year but just because it's not as bad as last year doesn't mean it's automatically good this year. We have a LOT of new players coming in, that's tough for the zone. We have one outside shooter who was a third option last season. Battle will be fine but it does concern me that the defense is going to be all over him every game. That happens Thorpe turns into a volume shooter, not sure what happens to his numbers if that's the case. Without outside threats the paint is going to be locked down by opposing defenses which is going to hurt our talented front court.

This season just doesn't look any better than last to me.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

Thorpe at USF last year 15.1 pts per game .846 from the free throw line .375% from 3
Howard at S>U> last year 4.5 pts per game .623 from the free throw line .316 from 3
They aren't even

I want Thorpe here. I am optimistic.

It will be interesting to see if JB puts him above FH in the pecking order right from the start. Last year getting the right starters and players to their right positions took a while, and probably cost us a seat at the dance.

This year's front court looks undetermined to me. I hope the starting pg isn't added to that list.

 

[iommi]

I agree. I want Thorpe to come but I just don't expect him to be this world changing player that seems to be going around.

Between the Slovakian more athletic Van Horn, the amazing Thorpe, the top 8 pick Battle, the two and doner Thompson, and the flute playing basketball wizard Moyer it seems like we're a lock to win the title if I were a stranger reading this board.

In all reality with Thorpe or not (I'm guessing we get him) we're a bubble team in the bottom half of the ACC. A lot needs to go right for us not to be on the bubble, when I say a lot I mean more than I can even imagine.

Defense may not be an issue as it was last year but just because it's not as bad as last year doesn't mean it's automatically good this year. We have a LOT of new players coming in, that's tough for the zone. We have one outside shooter who was a third option last season. Battle will be fine but it does concern me that the defense is going to be all over him every game. That happens Thorpe turns into a volume shooter, not sure what happens to his numbers if that's the case. Without outside threats the paint is going to be locked down by opposing defenses which is going to hurt our talented front court.

This season just doesn't look any better than last to me.

This is a great post. My only real quibble is with your third paragraph, since I could see us being quite a bit better than that if everything clicks. I could also seeing us being quite a bit worse than last year too, so don't think I'm drinking the Kool-Aid.

Going through your points, anyone who thinks Thorpe is a game-changer, really needs to wake up. I think he'd help us and give us another option on the backcourt. A huge plus will be his ability to spell Battle a few minutes here and there.

Your second paragraph is funny. Battle could be a lottery pick but he needs to show he can go left on occasion. I also agree, he will be keyed on. That could impact him a lot but I think he will be fine. Personally, I'm expecting him to wind up either second or third team All-ACC. That is a realistic expectation.

I agree with just about every word with your paragraph on our defense.

One concern I have is our rebounding. Thompson has not shown to be a good rebounder. Lydon was. Dolezaj is a stick figure. Moyer can rebound. I think he will be fine there. Not sure about Brissett but he's a great athlete. Chukwu is not a good rebounder. Sidibe can board but he's also thin. In a nutshell, we have a lot of thin guys who can get pushed around. We also have some good athletes up front. I'd sign up to be a middle of the ACC pack rebounding team. I do hope JB instructs Tyus and our guards to help more on the glass this year. One part of Tyus's game that could come out this year is that he's a good rebounder. He's close to 6'7", so we should utilize that. We don't run much anyway. Maybe we should but if we don't, then have the guards chip to help get rebounds.

I will still be concerned by our 3-pt shooting, even if we ink Thorpe. It could be okay but I'd be shocked if we are better than league average from deep.

One other huge key: keep Battle healthy. That's another reason we need Thorpe. He can give Battle some rest and he's a small insurance policy.

 

[iommi]

That is amazing. Keith Van Horn was one of the best college players of the past 30 years. He'd be in my top 20 pretty easily. He was a dominant college player. LOL.

 

[OrangeDW]

Jamal Murray was pretty damn good, by far the best player on the USF team, but the team is garbage outside of Murray and Thorpe.

It just doesn't tickle me the way it does others to get the second best player of a 7 win AAC team who failed at Penn State.

Gillon gets a lot of hate around here but I don't think this guy does any better than Gillon.

We don't win 10 games without Gillon. Season turned around and we became a decent, competitive team once he got the keys.

Hopefully this kid will play at a similar level(and I think that's realistic), and because he's 6'4 and not 5'9 he'll automatically be better defensively for us.

 

[iommi]

We don't win 10 games without Gillon. Season turned around and we became a decent, competitive team once he got the keys.

Hopefully this kid will play at a similar level(and I think that's realistic), and because he's 6'4 and not 5'9 he'll automatically be better defensively for us.

Gillon was a huge shot in the arm but as I said, he had some MIA games mixed in with some otherworldly ones. My hope is that Thorpe is more consistent. You're probably right about how we'd have struggled without Gillon last year and that speaks to how awful The Crank was. With Howard Washington and (hopefully) Thorpe, at least we have options.

 

[OrangeDW]

Gillon was a huge shot in the arm but as I said, he had some MIA games mixed in with some otherworldly ones. My hope is that Thorpe is more consistent. You're probably right about how we'd have struggled without Gillon last year and that speaks to how awful The Crank was. With Howard Washington and (hopefully) Thorpe, at least we have options.

Oh, he definitely had some games where he did nothing mixed in with some all time great performances. On the whole, I'd take another Gillon level player for next season in a heartbeat.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Can't wait to land this cat, get him on campus, and start prepping for next year. Bunch of question marks but lots of pieces and opportunity.

 

[Day2]

He's our only natural PG.

Is he a natural PG, though? For this roster, I'd give that title to Washington. Of course, he probably won't play much this year.