Geno Thorpe - COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE

[two3zone]

Agreed I think there are two battles for PT on this roster:
Sidibe/Chukwu
Washington/Howard

I'd add in Brissett/Marek as well. Outside of Battle I think they're the only 2 that can play the 3 and we need Battle at the 2 far too much to give him extended time at the 3.

 

[iommi]

I've stated which I'm sure you've read but are choosing to ignore as well, I've stated multiple times that we need him and want him to sign.

I got the same resistance when I said that our defense will suffer before last season losing the experience from G and Cooney at the top of the zone but was told that Battle and Howard would be better defenders.

He shot 37% from outside which is great, I like that. But why are his A/TO numbers being ignored if he's going to be playing some point guard with us?

He's also a first year player in the zone, it's not the easiest defense for newcomers to pick up.

This is not a glass half empty argument, these are legitimate questions that nobody wants to answer and are ignoring.

I'll try to answer your questions directly. His A-TO margin can be explained by not having much talent to give the ball to. I'm sure he had to force the issue a lot of times. It's a concern, sure, but with more talent than he's seen at USF, I'm confident that will be improved quite a bit. It might still be an issue to some extent.

The first year in the zone thing is a real issue but would've been no matter what. Let's say we got QG. A (maybe) 6' freshman guard would've struggled in our zone. A much taller Thorpe should do much better than Gillon. Who knows? Maybe Thorpe will get his hands up occasionally?

 

[dasher]

That's fair, but out of the many guys that couldn't finish at USF, Geno was one of them that couldn't.

Once again, he was the key of every team that played them's defense.

 

[Day2]

The first year in the zone thing is a real issue but would've been no matter what. Let's say we got QG. A (maybe) 6' freshman guard would've struggled in our zone. A much taller Thorpe should do much better than Gillon. Who knows? Maybe Thorpe will get his hands up occasionally?

Didn't someone say Thorpe played some zone at one of his stops? Not our zone, of course, but the experience should give him a decent head start. From the video, it sounds like he takes pride in playing good D.

 

[two3zone]

Those are fair questions. But I think most infer from your posts a negative sentiment. I'm not alone in that. I also don't really care. You are free to feel and think anything you want. But if you did watch him play last year, there weren't many guys that finished at South Florida. It takes two to tango. A great pass, and I don't think he is a great passer, still needs someone to convert it.

It can come across as negative but I don't see the point of a message board to see whomever signs with Syracuse to ignore the flaws or question marks and high five our way to a 18 win season. Those are legit questions I have about these guys so I can get a grasp on where we are at next season.

Last season was rough, I was on board that this team could make an amazing regular season and post season run, I wasn't alone in believing that and the team on paper looked amazing. Had size, experience, inside and outside game, some great rebounders and shooters and it ended up being one of the worst teams in the Boeheim era. Maybe it's opposite world and we have a great year as I don't think we even match up to last year on paper and we do amazing. I hope we do and that's why the games are played but it seems we could be in for another long one.

 

[iommi]

I'd add in Brissett/Marek as well. Outside of Battle I think they're the only 2 that can play the 3 and we need Battle at the 2 far too much to give him extended time at the 3.

The staff thinks Moyer can play the 3. You can disagree, sure. So all those guys should be the forwards rotation.

 

[dasher]

Against the competition we face and what Howard faced it could change a lot of things for Thorpe.

I never said he would be "barely better than Howard", I said I'm not sure how much better than Howard he is, mainly being a distributor as a point guard.

We'll see how it will play out. I hope he is everything everybody is saying he is, but you can almost go down the entire roster and the expectations on these new guys is almost comical.

At the end of the day we're losing Lydon, White, Gillon, Roberson and DC. DC wasn't much but I'd be happy if 72 matched his production from last year. Roberson was awful, but I hope Sidibe can match his production. If Geno matches Gillon, I'd be happy. We're left with Lydon and White. Does Marek, Moyer, and Brissett match their productivity? I don't think they do, defense should be better, but how much? Enough to match the loss of offensive production?

We have been down this road so many times over the past 41 years. We have brutal losses and lo and behold, we still have a decent team the following year. I think Thorpe is a great addition for us. I also think that as I have said many times that we will have a team coming back after this season that we will be excited about. Guys that we are confidant will improve. I hope and believe that we will have a good recruiting class to go with it. Today is a good day for Syracuse basketball. And honestly, we haven't had that many in the last year.

 

[two3zone]

The staff thinks Moyer can play the 3. You can disagree, sure. So all those guys should be the forwards rotation.

I don't disagree with that, I'm sure the staff does see him able to play there. I hope his outside shot has improved for that but at the end of the day it's another question mark.

 

[ssbriefcase]

I'd add in Brissett/Marek as well. Outside of Battle I think they're the only 2 that can play the 3 and we need Battle at the 2 far too much to give him extended time at the 3.

I will by hyper focused on this battle for time at the 3. Almost left Moyer out of this, that was dumb on my part. 3 different players from what little I know, it will make a fun battle no doubt, and I really don't have a favorite, I really like all of them.

 

[jordoo]

I'd add in Brissett/Marek as well. Outside of Battle I think they're the only 2 that can play the 3 and we need Battle at the 2 far too much to give him extended time at the 3.

No doubt they will be competing for minutes at the 3 but I think they will still both get minutes there. I feel those other two battles are more all or nothing once we get to the meat of the schedule.

 

[dasher]

I don't disagree with that, I'm sure the staff does see him able to play there. I hope his outside shot has improved for that but at the end of the day it's another question mark.

I honestly think that is a bigger question mark than MD and OB

 

[iommi]

I don't disagree with that, I'm sure the staff does see him able to play there. I hope his outside shot has improved for that but at the end of the day it's another question mark.

It is. Moyer has worked his ass off. He's now in great shape and he's worked very hard on his shot. Rooming with Battle has been very big for his development. Battle is a workout warrior and that rubbed off on MM.

 

[iommi]

I honestly think that is a bigger question mark than MD and OB

Yeah, Moyer will put out maximum effort. I think he will be fine but may struggle a bit against superior athletes. He has worked on his foot speed but that could be an issue in some games.

Moyer is a tweener. His skill set is better for a 4 but he's probably a generous 6'8", and is not very imposing, so he looks the part of a 3. If he can take guys off the dribble, that will help and that's where I'm a bit sceptical.

 

[reedny]

I've stated which I'm sure you've read but are choosing to ignore as well, I've stated multiple times that we need him and want him to sign.

I got the same resistance when I said that our defense will suffer before last season losing the experience from G and Cooney at the top of the zone but was told that Battle and Howard would be better defenders.

He shot 37% from outside which is great, I like that. But why are his A/TO numbers being ignored if he's going to be playing some point guard with us?

He's also a first year player in the zone, it's not the easiest defense for newcomers to pick up.

This is not a glass half empty argument, these are legitimate questions that nobody wants to answer and are ignoring.

Ok, fair enough. Those are all valid concerns. I've said as much in my posts, as has Jordoo. There will be a learning curve, no doubt. We're not sure about his (zone) D. We're not sure if he's the distributor that we've been pining for since Ennis went pro.

As far as his A/TO's ... I'd say that's the surrounding cast.

 

[iommi]

No doubt they will be competing for minutes at the 3 but I think they will still both get minutes there. I feel those other two battles are more all or nothing once we get to the meat of the schedule.

I know high school coaches say stuff, especially about their own players. However, Sidibe's high school coach, Mark Taylor, told me in no uncertain terms that Bourama is going to play big minutes as a freshman at SU. He didn't imply the coaches guarantee big minutes but that they see him playing a big role. Take that for what it's worth. He said it it very definitively. He also told me that St. Benedict's are ready to play right away and indeed, that has been the track record for their players in division 1 programs. Nobody expected Tyler Ennis to do what he did as a freshman. I'm not saying that will be Sidibe too but the Gray Bees do come to to college ready to go.

 

[jordoo]

I know high school coaches say stuff, especially about their own players. However, Sidibe's high school coach, Mark Taylor, told me in no uncertain terms that Bourama is going to play big minutes as a freshman at SU. He didn't imply the coaches guarantee big minutes but that they see him playing a big role. Take that for what it's worth. He said it it very definitively. He also told me that St. Benedict's are ready to play right away and indeed, that has been the track record for their players in division 1 programs. Nobody expected Tyler Ennis to do what he did as a freshman. I'm not saying that will be Sidibe too but the Gray Bees do come to to college ready to go.

That is really good news, and hopefully it winds up being accurate. I expect Thompson to start and play a majority of his minutes at the 5. That said I expect him to be more engaged on defense and he is already foul prone. We need a reliable guy who can play 20+ minutes off the bench there if needed. Plus Sidibe from what I have seen will defend the rim and that adds another dimension at the 5 for us.

 

[tee1222]

Wicked psyched to be here!

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Wicked psyched to be here!

 

[Cuse'91]

Awww yeah!

 

[tee1222]

Get the wins we should get early, to better our resume down the road.

That's it in a nutshell to me as well. Let's not muck that stuff up next season like we did this year.

So I will do my part for once. I will not attend MSG games. I will not attend Barclays games. :bang:

 

[tee1222]

One of my favorites.

 

[RoatanCuse]

Dear Jim,
Close, kindly.
Thanks!
tee

Dear Geno,
Sign on the line which is dotted.
Many Thanks!
tee

Geno, would you prefer the gold pen, the silver pen or the all black pen? Right here...by the X.

 

[RoatanCuse]

"

Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated - maybe even premature.

"Premature anything is not good"...JB

 

[Sherman20]

Agreed I think there are two battles for PT on this roster:
Sidibe/Chukwu
Washington/Howard

That seems right to me. I hope we can go 8 deep and that seems like a possibility. That would really help. we had no bench last year after Coleman's knees went kaput, Chukwu's eye injury and Frank's regression, and that really hurt us.

 

[Sherman20]

I've stated which I'm sure you've read but are choosing to ignore as well, I've stated multiple times that we need him and want him to sign.

I got the same resistance when I said that our defense will suffer before last season losing the experience from G and Cooney at the top of the zone but was told that Battle and Howard would be better defenders.

He shot 37% from outside which is great, I like that. But why are his A/TO numbers being ignored if he's going to be playing some point guard with us?

He's also a first year player in the zone, it's not the easiest defense for newcomers to pick up.

This is not a glass half empty argument, these are legitimate questions that nobody wants to answer and are ignoring.

They are fair questions. True. But no one has the answers about how Thorpe's game will translate and adjust, and even JB won't know til next fall exactly what we have. So some people will choose to be optimistic and others will choose to be skeptical. Neither group is wrong.