Grant is the key | Syracusefan.com
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Grant is the key

Actionthrill

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After watching most of the top teams play this week i got a good sense of how we match up. I feel Grant is our mismatch. Randle on Kentucky is a beast, but Grant is much to quick for him at the 4 spot. He would either have to foul Jeremy or let him go by. I feel the same way about all the teams I saw. None of them have a matchup for Grant unless they want to put their best player in foul trouble, especially with the new handchecking rules. Does Duke want to put Parker on Grant? He will either have to guard Grant of Fair and we know both can and will take him to the hole. And with Duke not having any Dominant bigs then it's either a layup or a foul. The same goes for Kansas and Wiggins. I feel when Grant is on the floor we have the best foreward combo in the country that will give teams nightmares. And it's up to Grant to play like the player we all know he can be. If he plays like that then the whole country will have to watch out for the Cuse. Not Kentucky, not Kansas, Not Michigan St, and not Duke. Syracuse will be the team that scares everyone and Grant's the key.
 
After watching most of the top teams play this week i got a good sense of how we match up. I feel Grant is our mismatch. Randle on Kentucky is a beast, but Grant is much to quick for him at the 4 spot. He would either have to foul Jeremy or let him go by. I feel the same way about all the teams I saw. None of them have a matchup for Grant unless they want to put their best player in foul trouble, especially with the new handchecking rules. Does Duke want to put Parker on Grant? He will either have to guard Grant of Fair and we know both can and will take him to the hole. And with Duke not having any Dominant bigs then it's either a layup or a foul. The same goes for Kansas and Wiggins. I feel when Grant is on the floor we have the best foreward combo in the country that will give teams nightmares. And it's up to Grant to play like the player we all know he can be. If he plays like that then the whole country will have to watch out for the Cuse. Not Kentucky, not Kansas, Not Michigan St, and not Duke. Syracuse will be the team that scares everyone and Grant's the key.

Couldn't scare Fordham or Cornell for 40 minutes (one half each game).

We have a ton of work to do before we make anybody shake in their boots.


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yep, uh-huh, we take a whole bunch from those two games, can't we?

Sorry, saying that we're the ones to watch out for and they're (MSU and Kansas) after MSU beat Kentucky and Kansas beat Duke while we played two really bad halves against Cornell and Fordham is a little crazy at this point of the season. Not saying we're not a contender or not very good, but it's too early to make claims like that IMO. MSU is returning all but one from a good team last year, Kansas has 3 guys who are probably lottery picks in probably the best draft in 10 years.


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Sorry, saying that we're the ones to watch out for and they're (MSU and Kansas) after MSU beat Kentucky and Kansas beat Duke while we played two really bad halves against Cornell and Fordham is a little crazy at this point of the season. Not saying we're not a contender or not very good, but it's too early to make claims like that IMO. MSU is returning all but one from a good team last year, Kansas has 3 guys who are probably lottery picks in probably the best draft in 10 years.


the same MSU team that was mediocre last year?
RE: Kentucky, Kansas, et al - freshmen are still freshmen.
I like our chances against any team. and I do mean any team.
 
After watching most of the top teams play this week i got a good sense of how we match up. I feel Grant is our mismatch. Randle on Kentucky is a beast, but Grant is much to quick for him at the 4 spot. He would either have to foul Jeremy or let him go by. I feel the same way about all the teams I saw. None of them have a matchup for Grant unless they want to put their best player in foul trouble, especially with the new handchecking rules. Does Duke want to put Parker on Grant? He will either have to guard Grant of Fair and we know both can and will take him to the hole. And with Duke not having any Dominant bigs then it's either a layup or a foul. The same goes for Kansas and Wiggins. I feel when Grant is on the floor we have the best foreward combo in the country that will give teams nightmares. And it's up to Grant to play like the player we all know he can be. If he plays like that then the whole country will have to watch out for the Cuse. Not Kentucky, not Kansas, Not Michigan St, and not Duke. Syracuse will be the team that scares everyone and Grant's the key.
I partially agree. I believe that Grant CAN be a key to our success and CAN be a match-up nightmare for other teams, but he isn't yet. Not against the other elite teams anyway. JG has the most upside and potential of anyone on our team and that is precisely what NBA moch drafts base much of their projections on. Right now Grant's production is based on his ability to out-leap and out-work everyone else, close to the rim. He has not yet proven a mid-range game nor the ability to dribble-drive. Basically, I don't see much development of an isolation game for Grant... yet. Also, getting his defender into foul trouble is great but JG has to start making the most of his trips to the line to cause real concern for the opposition. If and when he does develop in these areas he will become virtually unstoppable but we'll have to see a few more games this year to see what his arsenal is right now. The key, in my eyes, is still a need for consistent and dependable scoring from the low-post. I don't care who provides it but without it we won't get by the other teams mentioned.
 
Its not so much that Grant is a nightmare match up by himself, lots of teams have one tall athletic forward. The key here is that Grant and Fair together are a nightmare match up. We are not going to face many teams this year (maybe just Duke and UNC) that have two athletic 6'8 forwards that can match up with Grant and Fair. The rest of the time one of those two guys (at least) is going to have a mismatch, and its almost always going to be Grant, because teams are going to throw their best defender at Fair.

EDIT: Went back and took a look at our schedule, and Duke is the only team we play this year that Grant will not have an obvious size or talent mismatch against. Even North Carolina starts a 6'5 forward. They, along with a few other teams, have forwards they can bring off their bench to match up with Grant, but then they have to sit a better player in favor of a better match up, which in itself is a win for us.
 
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I like Grant's potential this year. But putting him in the category of the 3 top freshmen you mentioned is simply not fair to him and unrealistic. Those 3 are likely to be the top 3 players selected in the next draft. And if I could have any player in America to add to our team right now, it would be Randle. I'd switch Grant with him in a heartbeat. But Grant is our guy and I hope the optimism you have for him and our team comes true :) Let's Go Orange!
 
All I know is everyone better enjoy Grant one way or another this year, because he will be in the NBA next year.
 
Isn't randle the one on UK? I wouldn't switch anyone for something with that low of a personal integrity.
 
Couldn't scare Fordham or Cornell for 40 minutes (one half each game).

We have a ton of work to do before we make anybody shake in their boots.


That's what the pre-conference games are for. Last I knew, you don't get bonus points for dominating an opponent for 40 minutes.

JB uses these games to assess his scholarship players and determine what they might be able to give him this season, then he tightens up his rotations. A good portion of these games are played with combinations you are unlikely to ever see against a competitive opponent; those minutes may be entertaining, but they don't mean a hell of a lot in terms of this year's team.
 

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