How freaking good is Maliq Brown?

[RF2044]

Man, I love his game. So smooth -- always in the right place, always moving without the ball to position himself to get the ball, great hands, and he's got a fantastic left hand. Great feel around the paint, with hesitations mixed in to let defenders go past him and set himself up for better shots.

Career high 18 points today.

Kid is really good. He's the best low post forward we've had since Hakim, in my opinion.

 

[HoustonCuse]

He has the knack that Benny doesn’t. Seems like good things just happen around him or because of him. Whereas Benny seems snake bit, even when he does things right, they seem to go wrong a high percentage of the time.

 

[PhatOrange]

100% right on.

Im going with Ricky Jackson comparison though. Straight up power forwards. Hak could play the wing but point taken.

Ricky had the same intangibles, right place, hi field IQ, rebounder, good hands, a little handle and make all the bunnies. Browns game is refreshing.

 

[Orangezoo]

The amazing thing is he is doing it despite teams knowing we aren't going to just chuck 3s.

You can actually see JB run stuff for Jesse to work with Benny early in games on the block and while it's been working in stretches, when Brown comes in to run the same stuff it's been extremely hard for teams to stop.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Proving ball players don’t HAVE to hit threes all game to have a major impact on the game.

Glad JB finally recognized what’s been very obvious all year.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Proving ball players don’t HAVE to hit threes all game to have a major impact on the game.

Glad JB finally recognized what’s been very obvious all year.

I don't think that anybody feels that power forwards have to hit 3's. They just want him to do power forward things, and that is what he is doing. I'm sure that Maliq will be working on extending his range beyond a few feet though in the off-season. He got lost in the zone a few times as well. Baby steps on those development areas, however. I love the way that the guards are looking for him near the basket and how he and Jesse work together. Solid game for him and he is really becoming a force.

 

[PhatOrange]

when Brown comes in to run the same stuff it's been extremely hard for teams to stop.

Yes, and Brown can put it on the floor to.

His ceiling is high.

 

[two3zone]

Reminds me of a more athletic Rick Jackson.


Kid needs to start.

 

[PhatOrange]

I don't think that anybody feels that power forwards have to hit 3's.

I think he’s saying from the players perspective..,they all want to sit on the wing and shoot 3s and nobody nowadays wants to actually be a true power forward.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’ve never seen a player with as little waste in his game. As a result, he makes the game look so easy. I think he’s finally convinced JB that he has some special qualities.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Grbac]

This is why I was so angry that he only played 13 minutes against Miami. He plays 30 we win the game. You won’t convince me otherwise.

 

[two3zone]

This is why I was so angry that he only played 13 minutes against Miami. He plays 30 we win the game. You won’t convince me otherwise.

Not going to argue this

 

[jbsu44]

Moten was the same way, always around the rim heads up player. You look at the scoreboard and there's 16-20 pts.

 

[Vorony]

He reminds me of a young CJ Fair - always in the right place at the right time. If he can develop a little floater and some extra range, he’ll be extremely tough to contain. Hope he develops on a similar trajectory.

 

[RF2044]

This is why I was so angry that he only played 13 minutes against Miami. He plays 30 we win the game. You won’t convince me otherwise.

Brown didn't have a typical game against Miami. So you could make the counter-argument that if he played normally and produced [say, 10 points] the way he has the last 6 out of 7 games, we win.

 

[Cusefan0307]

This is why I was so angry that he only played 13 minutes against Miami. He plays 30 we win the game. You won’t convince me otherwise.

One of JB’s biggest issues during this near one decade slide is actually playing his best players in their best positions. This is about the 4th different year this has happened.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Brown didn't have a typical game against Miami. So you could make the counter-argument that if he played normally and produced [say, 10 points] the way he has the last 6 out of 7 games, we win.

He didn’t, but you have to think he grabs at least one of those rebounds we gave up second chance points on in the second half the other night.

 

[MSOrange]

If you didn't read it then, this is a profile of Maliq from May 2022 after he committed. It's subscriber only but describes his game in high school and it's exactly what we have seen at SU.

"And Brown, Lemcke said, personified the concept of team basketball player. He wanted to win but didn’t need the glory of 20 shots each game to achieve that goal. Instead, he hustled, defended, rebounded and set screens."

He was also a really good student - 3.2 GPA, favorite subjects physics and math. He's just a really smart young man on and off the court it seems.

Syracuse basketball recruit Maliq Brown’s transformation from football star to basketball wonder

Brown, a native of Culpeper, Virginia, is a member of Syracuse's large Class of 2022 basketball recruits.

www.syracuse.com

 

[Cuse'91]

Maliq is a proponent of the K.I.S.S. discipline. Such a stark contrast with others on this team sometimes; shooting like there are more points awarded for high degree of difficulty baskets.

 

[RF2044]

He didn’t, but you have to think he grabs at least one of those rebounds we gave up second chance points on in the second half the other night.

Agreed. But I think it was one of those things where when he got into the game, he didn't do much, so Boeheim didn't play him the way he has other nights.

If Brown had made a bit more happen, then maybe he would have gotten more run.

But enough ifs and buts -- Maliq Brown is a stud.

 

[Red Holzman]

The board blew up at that horrible charging call-
Maliq's notable response: quick look of disbelief, got up, then hustled back on D.

Never a loss of focus, and no woofing -makes me an even bigger FanBoy.

 

[Dcuse]

This is why I was so angry that he only played 13 minutes against Miami. He plays 30 we win the game. You won’t convince me otherwise.

I won’t try.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Underrated aspect of his game. He’s excellent at anticipating where passes are headed and makes these soft, directed deflections that not only get us the ball, but put us in immediate attack mode

 

[cusefan88]

I can't wait to see how he rounds out his game. He adds a mid-range jumper to his low post game and watch out