Guys you wish had panned out

[RF2044]

Billy left the team high and dry during two promising seasons. We could've beat Alabama in '04 and Vermont in '05. Having his contributions all year could have led to better seeds those two years too. With him we probably could have had 3-4 additional tournament wins those two years. I think the guy gets off a little easy on this board.

I also agree about the whole '03 class. There was a ton of hype about that class and the teams of 06 & 07, when they were at their peak, were highly disappointing.

It also would have enabled GMac to play off of the ball and catch / shoot, which is what he did best. That team [the year after the championship] got off to a good start, and seemed to have good chemistry. We went to Missouri and ran them off of the floor, with Billy setting up his teammates for easy scores.

Then, his issues manifested and he was gone, and that really compromised the team's potential. And we never really recruited another good point guard until Flynn.

 

[orangefog]

Billy left the team high and dry during two promising seasons. We could've beat Alabama in '04 and Vermont in '05. Having his contributions all year could have led to better seeds those two years too. With him we probably could have had 3-4 additional tournament wins those two years. I think the guy gets off a little easy on this board.

I also agree about the whole '03 class. There was a ton of hype about that class and the teams of 06 & 07, when they were at their peak, were highly disappointing.

That 2003 class had two guys that were ridiculous athletes and were impressive to look at, but lacked any basketball skill. Another guy that had the size and shooting to become a great player, but lacked the mental toughness to become a star. And then there was Louis, I have no words for Louis.

 

[jekelish]

Would it be cheating to say "all of them"?

But Terrence Roberts was maybe the most disappointing for me, just because he had the size and athleticism, and I really felt like he could have developed the skills to be a great player. He was just a spaz, unfortunately.

 

[kuethstheman]

Rick Harmon
Rodney Walker
Earl Duncan
Billy Edelin
Wright Brothers

 

[djcon57]

4 years of Allen Griffin at point guard.

Really a guy who just got stuck with bad timing thanks to J Hart and his SR year he was stuck with a bunch of spazzes and chuckers. (and his confidence with his shot was killed by that pt too)

 

[RF2044]

Would it be cheating to say "all of them"?

But Terrence Roberts was maybe the most disappointing for me, just because he had the size and athleticism, and I really felt like he could have developed the skills to be a great player. He was just a spaz, unfortunately.

Agree with this [and preceding posts] about how frustrating TRob was.

But after he played that last part of his senior year on a bad knee, sporting that large knee brace, and gutted it out to finish the year for the team as opposed to shutting it down for surgery, I vowed not to ever bad mouth the kid again.

 

[cuseincincy]

Winfred Walton, Josh Wright, Dayshawn Wright. Many of the other players imo did pan out. They just did it somewhere else. Anthony Harris, Rock Lloyd, Sekunda, Bland, Tony Scott, Richard Manning, Lazor, Gelatt all had some success other places. Bland and Manning are 2 that would have been particularly useful the year after they left.

 

[reedny]

Tony Scott.

Earl Duncan.

Was just going to mention him (Scott). Good memory, OE. Also, although it doesn't (strictly) fit the thread's rubrick, I'm throwing Andray Blatche in there anyway. No we didn't "sign" him -- he went right to the NBA, which at the time was permitted.

That was a pity, b/c talented bigs that are at (or near) 7' are pretty hard to come by. And to loose one in your back yard really stunk.

 

[mgurtz79]

Tony Scott-Always felt like he was just on the edge of having a big game but never really did

Michael Edwards-Had a huge game against G'Town and was a starter his freshmen year but Red Autry came and bumped him out

Josh Wright-I remember watching him in the Empire State Games after his senior year and thinking he had a little Allen Iverson in him (small guard, great scorer)

Paul Harris-Great rebounder and effort but was never the offensive player I thought he could be.

James Southerland-Much like what people have said about Terrance Roberts, his freshman year at the Midnight Madness was crazy and people were walking out talking about him as a starter...very good player but never lived up to what he looked like then.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Surprised more have not said Paul Harris.

Biggest discrepancy between preseason hype and actual results that I can remember.

 

[cuseclappy]

Josh Wright is at the top of my list.. averaged around 30 ppg as a high school senior which is not easy for a 6 foot guard and how short high school games are. thought he would come here and immediately contribute and allow gmac to play off the ball more. that clearly did not happen.. although he did hit those game clinching ft's over pitt in the BE tourney in 06. so thats something atleast

 

[Cuseology]

Billy left the team high and dry during two promising seasons. We could've beat Alabama in '04 and Vermont in '05. Having his contributions all year could have led to better seeds those two years too. With him we probably could have had 3-4 additional tournament wins those two years. I think the guy gets off a little easy on this board.

I also agree about the whole '03 class. There was a ton of hype about that class and the teams of 06 & 07, when they were at their peak, were highly disappointing.

Didnt Billy have medical issues? That to me is really different than other situations. "Getting off easy" is a tough way to put it, although I will agree that being instrumental to our NC buys quite a bit of goodwill.

 

[djcon57]

Surprised more have not said Paul Harris.

Biggest discrepancy between preseason hype and actual results that I can remember.

He should've went to Pitt.

He didn't fit in what we do at all.

 

[SBU72]

He should've went to Pitt.

He didn't fit in what we do at all.

I don't think that Pitt would have worked either. Some of Paul's best games were at the 2 where he could overpower his opponent. At the 3 he lacked out side touch and at the 4 way to small. I think this points to the hype on him. He matured way earlier than other kids in hs and was able to overpower all of them. When he got to college he wasn't able to.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

How about Billy Edelin?

Billy is the list for me. He really could have been spectacular, but in his quiet way.

 

[CusefanATL]

This seems like a good topic for the off season - which Syracuse players were you really excited about when we signed, that never really panned out?

Here's my list -

Rock Lloyd was totally different from typical Syracuse guards. I really think he could have been an interesting player for us, but supposedly he got in the dog house and didn't fight his way out and ended up transferring.

Lasean Howard had some great moments including an out of left field monster performance in over time late in his sophomore season (can't remember the opponent, but he was forced into playing time and responded in a huge way). As I recall, he ended up doing pretty well at the school he transferred to.

Eric Williams looked like a guy that was so close to being pretty good, but just never put it together. He could have been a really intriguing power forward.

Winfred Walton could have been an all-time great. Him not being able to suit up really hurt.

Any others you have a soft spot for?

That is 1 recruiting class... ouch.

 

[Eric15]

We went to Missouri and ran them off of the floor, with Billy setting up his teammates for easy scores.

That was great, I just loved when Billy would take his man off the dribble from the top of the key, and then give a slow and methodical old man spin move, and would score like 60% of the time.

Chris Thomas has nightmares about this.

 

[RhymesWithOrange]

For me it would have to be Z. I'm not saying he was a bust, but there always seemed to be so much more there just under the surface.

He played with such fluidity that it was obvious the game just came naturally to him. MCW had many moments this year that reminded me of him.

 

[orange79]

Jim Boeheim

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Jim Boeheim

Yeah, he really underachieved as a golf coach.

 

[moqui]

this is a tough one, because I think in a lot of cases we (or at least I) am to blame because I had over-inflated expectations. So, how much goes to the player for "not panning out" and how much to me (or we) for having unreasonable expectations? We've got a whole thread where people are predicting ACC POY someday for Jerami Grant - if he tops out at, say all ACC Honorable Mention, did he really fail to "pan out"?

So, on the one hand, I can't help but think if just one of Southerland, Christmas or Coleman had played like the player I thought they'd be, SU would be national champs. But, maybe I just wildly over-estimated their top end (in Dirty's case) or their stage of developmental progression (Roc, DC2).

 

[djcon57]

this is a tough one, because I think in a lot of cases we (or at least I) am to blame because I had over-inflated expectations. So, how much goes to the player for "not panning out" and how much to me (or we) for having unreasonable expectations? We've got a whole thread where people are predicting ACC POY someday for Jerami Grant - if he tops out at, say all ACC Honorable Mention, did he really fail to "pan out"?

So, on the one hand, I can't help but think if just one of Southerland, Christmas or Coleman had played like the player I thought they'd be, SU would be national champs. But, maybe I just wildly over-estimated their top end (in Dirty's case) or their stage of developmental progression (Roc, DC2).

Well, I think it's fair to say if Big East Tourney James played against Michigan, we'd be at worst NCAA National Runner-ups.

 

[PeteCalvin]

We have no shortage of guys that could fill this list, but if you're looking for someone who would have been an impact player and exponentially changed the out come of a two season stretch, the answers have to be Winfred Walton and Billy Edelin

Winfred Walton was the "Next DC". The annointed heir to John Wallace. He was the next #44. He would have turned what was ultimately a successful class (Jason Hart, Etan Thomas, later Ryan Blackwell) into a phenomenal class. The dark years of 1997 and 1998 would have been wiped off the map. Walton was that good. He would have anchored that team in the paint and allowed Otis Hill to play in 1997 the way he played in 1995 and 1996. SU would have been a monster team.

Billy is an enigma in that his presence in 2003 was a huge factor in our title run. Technically, he panned out for that season. However, had he played the following two seasons, there is no Alabama loss and there is no Vermont loss. Billy would have been invaluable to the success of those 2004 and 2005 teams. With Billy, we have a shot to get back to another Final Four. Losing Billy led to the wear and tear on GMAC.

I suppose you could argue about guys like Chuck Gelatt, Bobby Lazor, Tony Scott, Tony Bland, etc, but they would have been nice to haves as their teams already had talent, but they could have been tremendous role players. You could argue about TRob and Mookie Watkins too, but they were who they were and stayed all four years. Terrence was never going to be a scorer.

The only other guy I wished had stayed and blossomed was Earl Duncan. He would have given us a senior, playmaking point guard for Derrick Coleman's senior year. Instead we had the Stevie Thompson experiment.

 

[Eric15]

Well, I think it's fair to say if Big East Tourney James played against Michigan, we'd be at worst NCAA National Runner-ups.

True - but what if National Player of the Year Trey Burke (1-8 from the field against us) shows up for Michigan?

 

[moqui]

He was the next #44.

and, in fact, he was the last #44