Hats off to the staff on this "reload"

[chugg21]

We could have signed Bryant and we still wouldn't have beat UNC...

Not really sure what that has to do with anything.

 

[Alsacs]

JB shut my anxiety up. I was really nervious about next year with the scholarships we needed to use.

If we get White we are a top 10 team with depth at every position and are using 10/11 scholarships. That is great looking at using only 8 scared me.
JB and staff are going for the jugular and that makes me feel great.

 

[CusefanATL]

We could have signed Bryant and we still wouldn't have beat UNC...

sign bryant and we would have been a 6 seed and would have needed a miracle comeback to beat 11 seed Gonzaga in the 1st round as opposed to sweet 16.

 

[pearl31]

I was really nervious about next years team

You were, how would we have known?

 

[pearl31]

I will always be head of the doom and gloom camp.

Give that man a badge!

 

[Dave85]

At the beginning of June, when Mali elected to remain in the draft, the coaching staff was faced with a situation where they only had 7--SEVEN--scholarship players returning! And of those 7, we were imbalanced by being frontcourt heavy, and only had two guards heading into next year. That meant limited depth and not much margin for error--especially in the backcourt, and not having the ability even practice 5 on 5 with scholarship players.

We thought we were in a good position to add a grad transfer who was a shooter, but who could also fill in at the point, who would have bolstered depth--but the staff lost him to Cal, and things looked dire.

Fast forward 6 weeks:

• We added Gillon, who is a better player than Mullins
• We added Taurean Thompson, after a topsy-turvy recruitment process
• Reportedly, we've added Andrew White

Net result:

• Backcourt depth has been significantly bolstered
• We added extensive experience, with two fifth year grad transfers
• We filled a major roster gap at SF
• We've added more size / versatility to an already talent rich frontcourt
• We've added lots of proven / double digit scoring pop to an unproven roster
• We added a LOT of shooting in Gillon / White

Hat's off to JB and the coaching staff for making things happen this summer! The roster composition looks a LOT different than it did at the beginning of June. Not saying that it is going to happen for sure--anything can happen in march madness, as we saw last year--but this has the makings of a top 10 team that could be a true title contender if a few things fall into place.

The staff did a great job! I just hope we actually do get AW3.

 

[cuseattle]

I will always be head of the doom and gloom camp.

But with what we were looking at the staff seems to have done as good as possible. Now to see if it translates to the court.

 

[Dave85]

View attachment 70173

Good one! Lots of Eeyores here.

 

[br801]

The gloom and doomers we have here now can't hold a candle to BlueCurtain.

 

[Dave85]

The gloom and doomers we have here now can't hold a candle to BlueCurtain.

Who is BlueCurtain?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Who is BlueCurtain?

Exactly

 

[br801]

Who is BlueCurtain?

You really missed out, Dave. Perhaps he will return one day.

 

[Dave85]

You really missed out, Dave. Perhaps he will return one day.

I just did a search on "BlueCurtain" and read some of his posts and people's reactions to them. He was not very well "liked".

 

[br801]

I just did a search on "BlueCurtain" and read some of his posts and people's reactions to them. He was not very well "liked".

He was the anti-tee1222.

 

[OrangeAl]

Definitely have seen JB make a few changes to his usually rigid routines, albeit mostly out of necessity. Rarely have we brought in transfers in his 40+ years, and on next years team we will have 3. Last year our best player was a transfer, although he was developed by our coaches. It's a new game. There is almost a free agent market in college hoops. With guys leaving early, its essential we play that game to stay on top. Kudos to the coaches for sure.

Regarding transfers: I have nothing against long-term transfers like Mike and Pascal. And, the staff is doing a great job of working the current system of one more and done transfers. But, the purist in me says college athletics should played by real students who become real alums - not hired guns who feign interest in graduate studies. Other than that I'm happier than a clam!

 

[Dave85]

He was the anti-tee1222.

That's not possible.

 

[Dave85]

Regarding transfers: I have nothing against long-term transfers like Mike and Pascal. And, the staff is doing a great job of working the current system of one more and done transfers. But, the purist in me says college athletics should played by real students who become real alums - not hired guns who feign interest in graduate studies. Other than that I'm happier than a clam!

The game was more pure when we had 4-and-dones too. We now have Pokemon Go and domestic police drones. We have Hillary and Trump. Vampires are going hungry. There's very little purity left in the world.

 

[skurey]

Don't you talk ish about Pokémon Go

 

[jsshap]

It wasn't just one or two idiots. there was a long thread about what the new normal was for Syracuse. How it would take years for us to get back to being Syracuse. Well, we went to the final four this year and we are loaded next year. You will forgive those of us who poo pooed the naysayers if we strut around a bit.

Spot on.

 

[tee1222]

He was the anti-tee1222.

 

[OrangeDW]

We'd have 2 guards if we didn't get Gillon, one who can't shoot and looked lost outside of his court vision and a freshman. We had 10 years of college basketball experience in our back court and were a bubble team, not sure how we would have been pretty good.

Gillon was probably our most important move this off season, if White can even come to 75% of his production he turns us into a legit contender. Can't downplay what Gillon and White bring to the table.

So outside of being the best passer on the team who often came in and sparked the offense, Howard looked "lost"? I really dont get that one.

He made some mistakes like everyone else, but offensively I thought he had more court sense than most of the team. He's going to be good.

 

[skurey]

Spot on.

We barely got into the tournament thanks to an historically weak bubble, beat a 15 seed in the second round, an 11 in the Sweet 16. Yeah it was a fun ride but let's not pretend we weren't an extremely flawed team.

 

[OrangeDW]

We barely got into the tournament thanks to an historically weak bubble, beat a 15 seed in the second round, an 11 in the Sweet 16. Yeah it was a fun ride but let's not pretend we weren't an extremely flawed team.

Eh, we lost a bunch of games when our coach was out and we finished the year losing a bunch of close games mostly on the road to good teams(brutal schedule). We were flawed like basically all of college hoops, but we had some things working against us when we were "struggling".

 

[Cuse'91]

So outside of being the best passer on the team who often came in and sparked the offense, Howard looked "lost"? I really dont get that one.

He made some mistakes like everyone else, but offensively I thought he had more court sense than most of the team. He's going to be good.

Howard's passing with Battle, White, and Lydon on the floor is pretty tantalizing...

 

[OrangeDW]

Howard's passing with Battle, White, and Lydon on the floor is pretty tantalizing...

Yup. I think Howard will play a key role again and will have his moments, and should really shine when he runs the show as a junior.

This whole roster is tantalizing. Lots of potential. It will be interesting to see what combinations work best. That we keep getting posts of people trying to predict the lineup speaks volumes about the good "problems" that we should have this year. Loaded with options!