Has Coleman disappointed?

[UnderHisOwnPower]

If he doesnt belong there, then where do you propose to play him?

Bottom line, this was a huge miss by the staff.

He will look good next year as a backup 4 next to Chukwu

 

[PoppyHart]

If he wasn't Derrick's son, would he have been a McD AA and so hyped?

 

[djcon57]

If he wasn't Derrick's son, would he have been a McD AA and so hyped?

Bruv.

 

[FrancoPizza]

If he wasn't Derrick's son, would he have been a McD AA and so hyped?

By that measure we should stop recruiting duval because he's Dennis' son.

 

[AZOrange]

By that measure we should stop recruiting duval because he's Dennis' son.

wait...what?

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I mean...I'm not sure what we all expected a dude out for 2 years to be. But I hope he could have a little more offensive game than he's showing

I like our kids. Period.

As long as they're working hard, playing a team game, and representing our university well, it doesn't matter if they meet our expectations. It's the coaches' responsibility to get the most out of them.

Disappointed? That sounds kinda condescending. I want them each to attain their potentials. I wish DC hadn't had physical issues to overcome. But I'm happy for him every time he scores, rebounds, blocks a shot. I'm disappointed our TEAM isn't better.

 

[llandz]

Honestly I am seeing so much more from him than expected. We questioned if he would even be able to play, how many minutes he would be able to play. He looks so much better than anyone on here predicted before they got to see him, and heard all of the reports about his losing weight and moving well in early practices. The guy has been off the basketball floor for the better part of 2 years. He had surgery that most do not even come back for. I think he has worked his butt off to get back to the condition he is in. Imagine if he was not able to play this year, or was very spotty a day here a week off a day again. At least having him gives us something we may not have had. So how many rebounds and points he gives us each game is a gift. And the gift may grow. Let's see, it has been 2 months of playing after 2 years. Let's give it some more time. But if this is as good as it gets, it is still better than not having him at all.

 

[007]

He will look good next year as a backup 4 next to Chukwu

Who knows how well Chuk will play? How much bigger and better will Lydon be? Patterson is a 4; and then you have Moyer, maybe Thompson. I doubt DC will see one minute at the 4 next season.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Who knows how well Chuk will play? How much bigger and better will Lydon be? Patterson is a 4; and then you have Moyer, maybe Thompson. I doubt DC will see one minute at the 4 next season.

You mean Roberson ? (Not Patterson ?) I see what you are saying, but I still like the thought of Chukwu, DC at the 4 and any of the others at the 3. Make it Lydon at the 3 and that could be a formidable back line to block shots and rebound, something we are missing this year. I haven't seen DC play the C spot in the zone effectively this year, and I suspect that is why his minutes have not been more consistent.

 

[Consigliere]

I mean...I'm not sure what we all expected a dude out for 2 years to be. But I hope he could have a little more offensive game than he's showing

Going back to expectations when he first arrived at Syracuse I think it's fair to say his career output has been a disappointment and I'm sure DaJuan would agree. Based on expectations going into this year coming off the terrible injuries I can't say he has disappointed. I think we viewed him as an factor that could vault the team another level or two, but an X factor not materializing isn't really a disappointment.

From an effort and commitment perspective I don;t think he's disappointed at all.

 

[cuseguy]

Coleman is pretty much the same player now that he was before the injury. I give him credit for his comeback, but he's been a disappointment. If he had lived up to his billing, SU would be a different team now.

 

[pfister1]

If he doesnt belong there, then where do you propose to play him?

Bottom line, this was a huge miss by the staff.

This wasn't a miss. His career and development were interrupted by a serious injury. Big men rarely make huge contributions as frosh, they typically take time to develop. I don't think that the MCD's designation or the 5 star grade means the same thing on a center as it does on a guard or forward. Centers usually have more work to do in order to be able to compete at the Division I level.

Fab Melo was a mess for a year before the light bulb went off in his sophmore year.
Geez you could argue it took Rak 3 seasons before it went off for him.

But once both those guys had the development time and the bulb went off, they were terrific players and contributors for us. You can't truly grade Coleman pre-injury because his development was interrupted so he has to be an incomplete. You can't judge him post-injury because he simply doesn't have the same physical tools that he had before the injury.

That isn't a miss, that is a debilitating injury.

And as for the poster that questioned why we didn't recruit over him; well we did! But it isn't as though you can go out and replace a guy the moment it begins to become obvious that it isn't working out.

DC came in the class of 2013. At the time we had a soph Rak and junior Keita. Lots of depth at the position. His sophomore year (13-14) we again had a junior Rak and senior Keita, again lots of depth.

'13-'14 is probably the first season where it began to become apparent that he might not be the answer. But, he was injured and that wasn't the more severe injury at the time. So was his development curve delayed by the injury or was he going to be a bust?

Could we have gotten someone in the class that came in for '14-'15? Maybe, but I'm still not sure it was apparent that he was going to be as limited as he turned out to be and that '14-'15 season we had a Senior Rak coming back and a frosh McCullough, so there weren't a lot of minutes to promise to a young stud at the 4/5 position. As it turns out there were more minutes than we would have anticipated because of McCullough's injury.

At this point, coming into this season ('15-'16) JB is fully aware that he needs to make arrangements at center and he makes a concerted effort to do just that. We had Diagne locked up and may very well have had Bryant if not for the sanctions. Those are two guys who were recruited to play in front of DCII.

 

[FortyFourCT]

Not just DC, but any player who plays for SU, keeps his nose clean and gives 100% effort is NEVER a disappointment to me.

 

[JHarris44]

Coleman is pretty much the same player now that he was before the injury. I give him credit for his comeback, but he's been a disappointment. If he had lived up to his billing, SU would be a different team now.

Completely agree. At the time of his recruitment we were hot after him, Nerlens Noel, and Tyler Cavenaugh. I think it's safe to say DC is the weakest of the 3.

 

[721Comstock]

So, a curious question for the masses. If he played 30 minutes a game and averaged 10 and 8 would that change any perception about him.

THIS. I was just going to post this exact thing.

IF he was putting up 10/8 in 30 minutes, that would actually compare pretty favorably to AO, RickJack, etc.
Other than Rak's Sr (ok, Graduate) year, and RickJack's Sr. year we haven't had a C who put up 10 & 8 in ages.

 

[djcon57]

Not just DC, but any player who plays for SU, keeps his nose clean and gives 100% effort is NEVER a disappointment to me.

Agreed with this.

FWIW, My question was posed more in response to the Cooney thread. Amazingly you can have a thread about a player with some critical thoughts and some positive without it turning into "haters" and "supporters".

 

[two3zone]

How DC isn't a disappointment and Cooney is confuses me. Yes, the injury was big but even before that he wasn't exactly lighting it up. He is clueless in the back of the zone. If I was DC, along with the rehab the only other thing outside of schoolwork I would have been doing is studying tape of 5's in the zone. He's had 3 years to do this and there is been zero improvement. His knee also doesn't have any effect on him breaking the backboard with his bunnies. Hate to pile on the guy but he is a big time miss.

 

[pearl31]

I feel like at this point he's physically ready (i.e. he trusts the knee and he's in good enough condition) to play 25-30 mn/game. He just has to learn to play without fouling at the rate of 6.7 per 40 mn (as someone noted above). I believe our best potential defensively is with DC at center.
To answer the question, no he's not been a disappointment.

 

[Spock344]

Love the kid's enthusiasm on the bench and always cheering the team on...With that said... he's one of the most over-hyped players ever to be named a McD's AA. Ever. Injury or not... his skill set is no different from Day 1 as a freshman. I equate his performance every game similar to playing the game-show Press Your Luck and always hitting the whammie. Like c'mon already, every game can't be the friggin' whammie... where's the '$10,000 and a spin', Dajuan? Maybe you'll surprise me, one of these games...

 

[RandygoCuse]

If we are talking about his career at SU, I would say that yes, he has been a disappointment. When he signed with Cuse, I was sure we would get more out of him. I even understood that he could be 4-year player as his lack of athleticism would keep him from jumping early. But I thought he would better than how he has turned out.

This is not to say I have any resentment toward him. I don't think his not living up to expectations has anything to do with effort. He had a lot of bad luck with his knees. He could have just given up and gotten fat, but instead he lost a ton of weight. That's commendable. And from what I understand, he's on track to graduate. My guess is he will leave after this year - he's not getting drafted either this year or next so he may as well start making money. I wish him nothing but the best.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

his lack of athleticism would keep him from jumping early.

I see what you did there. Good one.

 

[Scotch]

I feel like at this point he's physically ready (i.e. he trusts the knee and he's in good enough condition) to play 25-30 mn/game. He just has to learn to play without fouling at the rate of 6.7 per 40 mn (as someone noted above). I believe our best potential defensively is with DC at center.
To answer the question, no he's not been a disappointment.

But the fouling is a result of him not being tall enough, quick enough, or athletic enough to cover ACC-level big men. It's not the problem, it's a symptom of the larger problem. He plays two feet below the rim and lacks lateral quickness. He can't defend the post or score in the post at the high-major level.

The sad thing is that he might be our best defensive option at center, although I would like to see Roberson in that spot. I think JB/Hop prefer Roberson's athleticism covering ground on the wing, which makes sense, but we need to find a way to protect the rim.

 

[RandygoCuse]

I see what you did there. Good one.

Love the avatar. I met someone a few weeks ago who had Sanders as her 6th grade basketball coach. I asked if anyone lead the team in scoring or if he insisted that the ball be spread around evenly. I was really impressed with my own joke.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Love the avatar. I met someone a few weeks ago who had Sanders as her 6th grade basketball coach. I asked if anyone lead the team in scoring or if he insisted that the ball be spread around evenly. I was really impressed with my own joke.

Want to play a game? Let's see if I know the person, or someone from her family. One degree of separation is a real thing in Vermont. PM me her name and I'll let you know if it works.

Bernie used to live around the corner from me in my old hood. His neighborhood before that was about a mile away.

By the way, that is a good joke you had.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I feel bad for Coleman because he's been hurt, but thought he was on his way to giving us more after Atlantis. He played decent there, but has been unable to improve since then. I knew DC personally when he was in High School from his day's working out at the Y and root for him to do well, but he hasn't been able to put it together. I'm hesitant to call him a bust, because if he comes back he still has all of next year, yet it's hard to see him reach that five star status.