How about Howard

[br801]

When he cuts out the careless turnovers , he'll be so much more effective. You can't have a PG who is loose with the ball and has a negative assist/to ratio. Really looking forward to seeing him develop.

Despite some bad looking turnovers last night and in other games, his assist/turnover ratio is actually 2.5 on the season. Not sure he can sustain that over a larger sample of minutes, but that bodes well.

 

[br801]

shifting the goal posts

my work here is done

sorry to everyone who read this

I find your obsession with digging through the board archives a bit creepy.

Between your stellar research work here and your preoccupation with how this board is moderated, I'd say you had yourself quite a day yesterday.

Edit: Oh my, congratulations. I just remembered you were the guy who called Bill Russell the most overrated player of all-time the other day.

 

[CIL]

shifting the goal posts

my work here is done

sorry to everyone who read this

You need help man.

 

[orangefog]

Skurey, do you work for the NCAA?

 

[Forza Azzurri]

When he cuts out the careless turnovers , he'll be so much more effective. You can't have a PG who is loose with the ball and has a negative assist/to ratio. Really looking forward to seeing him develop.

Be interested to get your take...

In the zone, I actually believe he does a nice job taking away dribble penetration...he moves his feet nicely when someone on his side tries to penetrate.

He can be lazy on closeouts, however.

He also consistently drops into the zone between the top of the circle and the free-throw line on D when off-ball side.

My guess would be that this is the way Boeheim teaches his baseline zone postioning off-ball at the top of the zone.

If you watch Cooney and Silent G, the offside guard will sometimes drop into that area but will sometimes play higher (up at, or even beyond, the circle). Silent G, especially, tends to play above the circle even off-ball.

This would seem to be a nuance that Howard has not yet picked up.

Just curious if anyone else has noticed this...

 

[NineOneSeven]

My only question about this kid is he doesnt seem very intense. He seems a little too cool for school out there. Not sure how that will play out when he's the guy running the show instead of a complimentary piece.

So did Tyler Ennis.

 

[kuethstheman]

He gets to play like 2 minutes a game and yet has multiple impact plays.

Both positive and negative.

 

[MonsterGame]

JB probably sees Howard as a guy who can spell G at the PG for 1 to 4 minutes per half. (This also allows for TC to sub out and G to move over to the 2 for any of those minutes.)

Howard appears to have very solid handle. By that I mean he doesn't let the defender rip the ball from him and he can get into the lane almost at will. He also appears to have great court awareness/vision and delivers quick, crisp passes on the move. (These appear to be his strengths at the moment. I'd add that at the end of the game last night, he got trapped a couple times and his passes out of the trap seemed a bit shaky. Maybe it's just something he needs to become more comfortable with.)

Howard's defense appears to be adequate at the moment. He does have the skills and build to be a great defender at the top of the zone, but I haven't seen anything amazing from him yet there and he's not yet moving like G and TC do. (Don't expect him to be that good on D as a frosh, just saying that's where he's at.)

Howard appears to offer very little in terms of shooting. Yes, I saw the 3 foot floater rattle home last night. It didn't instill me with much confidence. That being said, it looks like he can and should become a strong finisher at some point during his SU career. His outside shot is clearly not a finished product because if he takes it, JB pulls him from the game and gives him an earful. That part of his game needs significant improvement. (I'd add, that Howard isn't the only player that gets an earful from JB, Roberson spent some time on the hot seat last night early on. So Howard can take solace in that.)

 

[Sgt Cuse]

I think he will make a great backup point guard throughout his career here. He may start at some point, but I think that would mean we've missed on our major targets. If he is our backup, we have some great years ahead.

I disagree I think by his junior and definitely senior year he will be very good and starter material. He is a good program SU player being developed for his later years. He will be a great compliment next to a stud one and doner. That may well need to be in his junior year when SU gets picked over by the NBA and both Battle and MR leave.

FH's role will slowly increase. Right now JB gets riled up when he acts outside of the role his is supposed to be taking on. As years go on, JB will ask for more out of FH.

As of right now, FH looks to be a key player in the '17-'18 season. FH, 7'2", Moyer, and hopefully Lydon with some one and done scoring guard look like the makings of a good team.

 

[orangefog]

I disagree I think by his junior and definitely senior year he will be very good and starter material. He is a good program SU player being developed for his later years. He will be a great compliment next to a stud one and doner. That may well need to be in his junior year when SU gets picked over by the NBA and both Battle and MR leave.

FH's role will slowly increase. Right now JB gets riled up when he acts outside of the role his is supposed to be taking on. As years go on, JB will ask for more out of FH.

As of right now, FH looks to be a key player in the '17-'18 season. FH, 7'2", Moyer, and hopefully Lydon with some one and done scoring guard look like the makings of a good team.

I can see that. But, imagine his development just as you see it, but we have recruited players good enough to keep him coming off the bench. Right now, I think worst case is what you have laid out, and I would be cool with that, but the future could be even brighter than that.

 

[NYCorange]

I disagree I think by his junior and definitely senior year he will be very good and starter material. He is a good program SU player being developed for his later years. He will be a great compliment next to a stud one and doner. That may well need to be in his junior year when SU gets picked over by the NBA and both Battle and MR leave.

FH's role will slowly increase. Right now JB gets riled up when he acts outside of the role his is supposed to be taking on. As years go on, JB will ask for more out of FH.

As of right now, FH looks to be a key player in the '17-'18 season. FH, 7'2", Moyer, and hopefully Lydon with some one and done scoring guard look like the makings of a good team.

Yah, I think Howard plays a major role next year. Idk if he starts (probably not), but I'd be surprised if he wasn't a major part of the rotation (10-15 minutes a night). He'll also be one great insurance for if either of our guards go down with injury. Additionally, if MR leaves (please, please no), he probably starts and plays most of the game at the 1.

 

[pearl31]

Agreed. Battle is quicker than Howard and can score easily pretty much from anywhere. Either way I think we will be more than adequate at PG. But, my money is also on Battle getting more run there.

Are you confident he (Battle) has the handle for it?

 

[SoBeCuse]

Are you confident he (Battle) has the handle for it?

I am. I watched two games online now. It really seems easy and comfortable for him to me. He has some razzle-dazzle too. Definitely faster and more explosive than Howard. It will be a matter of how well he learns the nuiances of running an offense. I'm optimistic about that. I've been trying to come up with a comparison and am going with a poor man's Penny Hardaway. Just my $.02 which could be a bunch of malarkey.

 

[NKR1978]

I can see that. But, imagine his development just as you see it, but we have recruited players good enough to keep him coming off the bench. Right now, I think worst case is what you have laid out, and I would be cool with that, but the future could be even brighter than that.

Just curious, after their freshmen year, would you have thought Scoop Jardine or Andy Rautins would have ever been as great as they were for us by the end of their careers?

Not saying FH will be that good, but you can't discount that he can grow into the guy we want starting over whatever 5* freshman we might bring in.

 

[NYCorange]

Apparently Howard played with a fractured thumb yesterday. Not bad, not bad at all...

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...actured_left_thumb_against_florida_state.html

 

[OrangeinNH]

I think that he'll be more than capable shooting the ball. He currently has no leash for missed jumpers, and that makes it tough to shoot it confidently. His form is good, and I think he's going to be a very well rounded lead guard. His laid back appearance on the court is reminiscent of one Tyler Ennis

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I didn't think this one of his best outings - he definitely has a great feel for where people should be though. Good instincts out there.

Yeah, I meant to say something along these lines as well. He got loosey-goosey with the ball, or at least I believe that's the technical terminology, and he definitely needs to be careful with not getting a charge after he passes the ball, but he's got great court vision and really wants to make everyone around him better. Once he proves in practice that he can shoot (assuming he does) and JB takes the leash off, I think we will see exactly what he is really capable of.

 

[Ghost]

Agreed. Nobody is harder on our lead guards than I am, and I'm scratching my head a bit about the universal enthusiasm.

And for the record, Howard was / is my favorite recruit from class of 2015. I just think some of the playmaking superlatives are over the top at this stage of his developmental curve.

I don't think I would call it universal. I do think it's probably a symptom of what the PG position has looked like the past few years.

Even as you go back to Ennis you didn't see much creativity off the dribble. He managed the game well, incredibly well, but he played a very slow pace and that allowed him to limit mistakes - which was incredible to see from a Freshmen.

After that we've seen Joseph (almost zero aptitude/feel for the PG position), and G (out of position, but performing admirably considering the circumstances). I think out of the starters the past two years, Richardson seems to have the best vision/creativity when it comes to passing. He occasionally fires the ball at 183 MPH, but nevertheless, he does slip in some difficult passes.

I think the positive reaction to Howard has a lot to do with just seeing someone who is recognizing where the offense is going and then delivering the ball to people in a position to score - often doing it off the bounce with some tough passes. I'm not sure anyone else on the team recently has shown that ability to anywhere near the extent he has in limited PT.