How good could Edelin have been? | Syracusefan.com

How good could Edelin have been?

Not sure he didn’t have an amazing shot. Gut feeling is we benefited tremendously from the fact that he was good right away and a guy that as a Fr is similar to what you’d get as a Sr. And he was a little older of course. But that said he didn’t have the style to be prone to regress. He’d have likely gotten a cup of NBA coffee if not a lengthy career.

Now how good could we have been is a different story. Experienced Gerry Billy 3 years 2 with Hak and JP all with rings is a hell of a core. And the other guys had talent. One more really good player and Gerry focusing on scoring and not PG responsibilities would have been awesome.
 
We'd have been back to the final four the next year. Not sure about 04-05 but I am confident we wouldn't have faced Vermont round 1 And probably would have been at least sweet sixteen, possible elite eight. 05-06 (Sr yr) I don't think we see a first round exit. Gerry wouldn't have had to carry such a heavy load and the team would have been much more balanced. Probably top end would be sweet sixteen.
 
Individually I don't know. Against nearly everyone who played man (other than UConn and Pitt, of course), Billy was able to dominate even as a sophomore. He disappeared sometimes against zones. But most kids learn how to shoot eventually, and his mechanics were fine. A little slow. He'd have benefitted from good teammates through his junior year, and imagine McNamara as only a 30-mpg player in 2006 with Billy playing extended minutes alongside Devendorf. That could've been a great combo.

From the team perspective, I once estimated that Billy in the lineup for all three years would've netted SU at least 16 more wins. Found my notes from back when I had time to conduct these ridiculous hypotheticals (and save notes about them):

"2004: losses to Providence, Notre Dame, and BC become wins. We'd be 24-5 or 25-5 after advancing and losing in the BET and would've earned way better than a 5 seed in the West with UConn. Probably would've played at the Meadowlands and could've squeezed a couple more wins out of the draw.

2005: losses to Pitt, UConn, and BC become wins; even if we split Pitt and UConn (three of those four were close games), we'd have ended up 30-3 and the 1 seed in the East without ever having to see Vermont. Final Four favorite.

2006: losses to Florida, Bucknell, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, DePaul, and Nova become wins. Totally different complexion for a young team, burden would have been taken off the big men and McNamara and team could have developed normally instead of losing early games and having crazy no-shows against Cinci and DePaul."

Lot of what-ifs in there, but these college teams are so often a house of cards. Losing one guy changes a lot.
 
There were times his sophomore year I thought he was out best player.

Yes. We definitely had a “big 3” that year for the first couple months. He put up 14-5-4, and that’s with a couple games towards the end where he was on the way out and did nothing, bringing his averages down a bit.
 
I remember Troy Weaver said something like he could be the next Andre Miller or be out of basketball in a couple of years.
Andre Miller is a good comp he had a lot of Andre Miller in him. It really is a shame had he stayed he four years he could have been an all time cuse great. We don't win a title without his contributions off the bench in 03.
 
If you watch the games in the tourney, how Billy got the ball to teammates in scoring position. He could be dribbling and suddenly the ball would be in Gerry's hands for a 3.

He was a true lead guard -- he knew what to do with the ball, and where to get the ball to teammates where they could be most effective.
 
If you watch the games in the tourney, how Billy got the ball to teammates in scoring position. He could be dribbling and suddenly the ball would be in Gerry's hands for a 3.
Yeah. And it's tough for a shooter to be a shooter when he is expected to also be the guy that runs the offense. Billy would've made everyone better those next few years.
 
He would of been top 10 in assists at Syracuse. “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices you will make will shape your life forever”
 
I remember Troy Weaver said something like he could be the next Andre Miller or be out of basketball in a couple of years.


Cross between Andre Miller and Jason Kidd to me.
 
He would of been top 10 in assists at Syracuse. “the saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices you will make will shape your life forever”


I saw him for years and years in the County Clerk's office. Had the chance to speak to him at ABCD the summer before his senior year when he and Julius Hodge had such great camps. I was (and remain) a very big fan. I thought his dad was a solid guy, too, who shared their experience of the recruiting process with other parents and HS players in the DC / VA / Baltimore area.
 
He would of been top 10 in assists at Syracuse.

Billy had 53 assists in 23 games as a frosh. As a full-time point guard as a soph he averaged 5.2 apg. Let's say he increases by a half assist as a junior (5.7 app) and another half assist as a senior (6.2 apg.) If he played in all our games those years, that would put him at a 641 total assists. Likely third or even second all-time since that would have cut into GMac's need to pass as much.

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I saw him for years and years in the County Clerk's office. Had the chance to speak to him at ABCD the summer before his senior year when he and Julius Hodge had such great camps. I was (and remain) a very big fan. I thought his dad was a solid guy, too, who shared their experience of the recruiting process with other parents and HS players in the DC / VA / Baltimore area.
I was a huge fan of his game and what I thought he was capable of. Who knows what happened to him. But the recent picture i saw of him he didn’t look too great. Too many skeletons in his closet weighed him down.
 

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