I'm Delighted with Red's Portal

[tbonezone]

Best big man I’ve ever seen in terms of slapping the ball away and creating steals. Middle of the pack in terms of pure rebounding ability. Above average shot blocker.

kinda funny maliq made the ALL ACC defensive team based on steals i guess. he wasn't ever physically able to match up with any skilled bigs inside.

 

[baggerbob]

I don’t know he was played in a situation where he’s gonna get a ton by default especially being on the floor with guys like Bell.

Best big man I’ve ever seen in terms of slapping the ball away and creating steals. Middle of the pack in terms of pure rebounding ability. Above average shot blocker.

Lamkin is terrifyingly poor at blocking shots. But great at rebounding. Davis seems to be a naturally great rebounder too. Both are one and dones and a changeup from the pogo stick big men I like the overall move. Doesn’t mean I don’t want a Brown type Swiss Army knife big in the future.

Freeman will get more rebounds then Taylor and Bell did together.

 

[Knicks411]

Brown and Lampkin had nearly identical defensive rebounding rates last year (18.7% for Brown, 18.1% for Lampkin) but Colorado was very good at defensive rebounding (25th in the country) and we were very bad (308th) so I would buy the idea that part of the reason Brown's defensive rebounding was as good as it was is because he had no competition for defensive boards from any of his teammates.

Lampkin's block rate is troubling low for a guy his size, but Colorado wasnt great at block rate last year and still had a decent 2 point defense, while we were good at blocking shots and bad at defending 2s, so maybe there's some hope there. The positive spin is you're trading off some activity (Malik was great at steals and solid at blocks) for the size/positioning, but I have no idea if thats really true

 

[rrlbees]

I don’t know he was played in a situation where he’s gonna get a ton by default especially being on the floor with guys like Bell.

Best big man I’ve ever seen in terms of slapping the ball away and creating steals. Middle of the pack in terms of pure rebounding ability. Above average shot blocker.

Lamkin is terrifyingly poor at blocking shots. But great at rebounding. Davis seems to be a naturally great rebounder too. Both are one and dones and a changeup from the pogo stick big men I like the overall move. Doesn’t mean I don’t want a Brown type Swiss Army knife big in the future.

What makes brown a middle of the pack rebounder and Lampkin a naturally great rebounder? The receipts don’t support that.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It’s a shame this team doesn’t get an early season challenge like Maui because it looks well suited to some tough early matchups you’re expected to lose.

Older but with 2 big time freshmen, filled the big holes, 2 proven big bodied rebounders the exact type of big men we’ve drastically gone away from the last decade plus. Lots of outside shooting and 1 guy who can get hot from long range as much as anyone in the country.

The one thing I would dispel is the assumption this group will have great chemistry get along and all that. They haven’t even practiced together. Complete unknown and we probably have 1-2 too many guys for the 200 minutes per night that can go around and a couple will get pissed off they don’t play more. D is a question mark but you can coach that up with an older squad we don’t want to try and win rock fights.

Excellent post! Yes, sort of a "missed opportunity" for the relative experience of this team. But as you said, not having that pressure cooker right away gives them time to develop some chemistry.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Brown and Lampkin had nearly identical defensive rebounding rates last year (18.7% for Brown, 18.1% for Lampkin) but Colorado was very good at defensive rebounding (25th in the country) and we were very bad (308th) so I would buy the idea that part of the reason Brown's defensive rebounding was as good as it was is because he had no competition for defensive boards from any of his teammates.

Lampkin's block rate is troubling low for a guy his size, but Colorado wasnt great at block rate last year and still had a decent 2 point defense, while we were good at blocking shots and bad at defending 2s, so maybe there's some hope there. The positive spin is you're trading off some activity (Malik was great at steals and solid at blocks) for the size/positioning, but I have no idea if thats really true

Nice post! There is a trade off between block rate and rebounding rate. At SU under Boeheim, we used to sell out to block the shot, perhaps leaving ourselves even more open to giving up offensive rebounds. But from JB's perspective, I think he felt like we're going to rebound the block and have a fast break opportunity. That's how we used to run it in our early 2000's peak.

So, it sounds like Colorado's defensive approach was to seal off the boards, and limit the offense to one shot. One and done. Nothing wrong with that. It's just how you approach it.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

What makes brown a middle of the pack rebounder and Lampkin a naturally great rebounder? The receipts don’t support that.

Size?

Again it’s been forever since we’ve gotten wide shoulder rebounding and inside scoring is their best assets Chevy Troutman type PFs.

We got 2 they are older only here 1 season. I like it. Lampkins gonna get points and boards. We can now pass into the post and run the offense that way. It’s a welcomed change from what we’ve had because in the zone that guy has to cover guards.

Brown does a couple things extremely well and then is just another guy at everything else. Wanted to shoot more 3s and be a perimeter stretch big if he stayed. Pass. No point knocking him getting an NIL bag at Duke might be better for him than entering the draft and getting called late 2nd. He could do great there or fall out of the rotation. I’m not happy he’s gone or anything but he was replaced with much older stronger beefier PFs.

 

[Knicks411]

Nice post! There is a trade off between block rate and rebounding rate. At SU under Boeheim, we used to sell out to block the shot, perhaps leaving ourselves even more open to giving up offensive rebounds. But from JB's perspective, I think he felt like we're going to rebound the block and have a fast break opportunity. That's how we used to run it in our early 2000's peak.

So, it sounds like Colorado's defensive approach was to seal off the boards, and limit the offense to one shot. One and done. Nothing wrong with that. It's just how you approach it.

I've never really seen Lampkin play before, but the interesting thing is he went from having bad block rates for a guy his size at TCU (around 1.5 per 100 possessions) to a laughably (maybe less funny if he's on your team) low of 0.3 per 100. Which is really almost hard to believe for a guy his size. The guy blocked 5 shots all season! Justin Taylor blocked 8, as a point of reference.

Back to the point, maybe there is something to the idea that Colorado decided to have him not really go for blocks. Again, Colorado was a good defensive rebounding team and a decent 2 point defense team, so there could be something to that. 5 blocks in over 1000 minutes for a 6-11 guy, that really is almost impossible to believe. I would love to see some of the on/off splits and see how Colorado defended when Lampkin was on the court

 

[Trueblue25]

I left a few games last year feeling like I didn’t even like some of the players on the team I root for.

Im looking forward to fresh faces and an open attempt to right the culture of a weakened program. Cuse isn’t gone yet but prima-donnas arent going to rebuild it.

Get some pride back

 

[pearl31]

There's still time, and there are still quality players available. Seems like the obvious question is do we have sufficient NIL funds for a quality (i.e., ACC starting caliber) player, namely a point guard. Maybe we'll end up being surprised, but it doesn't appear that there is currently an ACC-starting caliber point guard on the roster.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

PG, front court depth and better shooting all need to be addressed by Red. This roster still has some major holes in it heading into next year.

 

[shu 49]

kinda funny maliq made the ALL ACC defensive team based on steals i guess. he wasn't ever physically able to match up with any skilled bigs inside.

When he played forward he did really well and he shut down big dude at state first 2 games.

 

[Cusefan0307]

There's still time, and there are still quality players available. Seems like the obvious question is do we have sufficient NIL funds for a quality (i.e., ACC starting caliber) player, namely a point guard. Maybe we'll end up being surprised, but it doesn't appear that there is currently an ACC-starting caliber point guard on the roster.

I think we would have given Reynolds more than we would have given Leffew so take that fwiw.

 

[007]

I think we would have given Reynolds more than we would have given Leffew so take that fwiw.

I think this is true. I also think we were holding a spot while Reynolds made his decisions.

 

[Sbucketball]

Maybe Reynolds will pull a Maliq Brown.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Hey, I got the other 11 letters right!

92%.
A- !

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Ignoring that a ‘red portal’ sounds like an embarrassing medical condition, I’m not quite “delighted.” Still time to go, but i rate it as a C so far. Not because of dissatisfaction with who we got, but with dissatisfaction over the level of player we didn’t even get connected to. All that has to be factored against 1) the spots/roles we have available; and 2) the time remaining.

Doesn’t feel good to have a position of primary need still open while it seems everyone else is signing top 50 transfers and we get joinked by a small school #147. I really hope the ‘pivot’ is a massively pleasant surprise, and more, that we improve sufficiently next year that our national standing makes us more of a ‘destination’ than it currently is.

 

[l'orange]

Ignoring that a ‘red portal’ sounds like an embarrassing medical condition, I’m not quite “delighted.” Still time to go, but i rate it as a C so far. Not because of dissatisfaction with who we got, but with dissatisfaction over the level of player we didn’t even get connected to. All that has to be factored against 1) the spots/roles we have available; and 2) the time remaining.

Doesn’t feel good to have a position of primary need still open while it seems everyone else is signing top 50 transfers and we get joinked by a small school #147. I really hope the ‘pivot’ is a massively pleasant surprise, and more, that we improve sufficiently next year that our national standing makes us more of a ‘destination’ than it currently is.

I agree. I don't this next year's team beats this years team in a matchup. I hope I am wrong and the puzzle comes together but I think we're in trouble.

 

[Cuse1055]

I agree. I don't this next year's team beats this years team in a matchup. I hope I am wrong and the puzzle comes together but I think we're in trouble.

Freeman > Taylor (by a longshot)
Lampkin > Brown (at the Center position, not saying he’s better overall than Brown but as a Center I think he is)
JJ and Bell should be better than last year’s versions of themselves.
So that leaves us with PG, which obviously is a vital position. We will see what happens.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I agree. I don't this next year's team beats this years team in a matchup. I hope I am wrong and the puzzle comes together but I think we're in trouble.

I’m not sure I’d go that far. I was only grading the portal, not the entire team. As someone else detailed, I think we are ‘plus’ at most positions next year vs this, and eliminating turmoil and adding chemistry is another plus. The two keys are the PG and if we can count on health from both Westry and McLeod. Those two items may be the difference between a season result like this year’s vs a middle NCAA seed. I am not counting on Freeman to be good enough for one and done. Maybe after a second year. He may be good, but I think we will have more options and he’s probably not a Carmelo-type dog. He might go off in the tournament for a half and beat Virginia, though, so I won’t be surprised if we only have him for one year….

 

[tbonezone]

OK so i myself have not seen lampkin play even one minute of basketball. therefore i am in no position to judge whether or not this is a significant upgrade at the 5 spot. with that said , the fact that i have never heard of eddie lampkin jr or watched him play troubles me a bit. same goes for donnie freeman. i have not seen this dude play. he is very highly rated (as was benny) but to me both are big unknowns on the front line. i've seen a lot of chris bell and a lot less of what i would have liked to have seen of mcleod. those guys i know. not exactly superstars.
honestly i don't know what we are in for next season . but my gut says nothing special.

 

[IthacaMatt]

OK so i myself have not seen lampkin play even one minute of basketball. therefore i am in no position to judge whether or not this is a significant upgrade at the 5 spot. with that said , the fact that i have never heard of eddie lampkin jr or watched him play troubles me a bit. same goes for donnie freeman. i have not seen this dude play. he is very highly rated (as was benny) but to me both are big unknowns on the front line. i've seen a lot of chris bell and a lot less of what i would have liked to have seen of mcleod. those guys i know. not exactly superstars.
honestly i don't know what we are in for next season . but my gut says nothing special.

He made the NCAA tournament and we didn't.

 

[tbonezone]

He made the NCAA tournament and we didn't.

ok. him and a couple hundred other dudes . many of whom i heard of. i see three colorado buffs on the all pac12 teams and his name ain't one of them . he did however win the stephane pelle rebounding award at the team banquet .

edit: who is stephane pelle you ask ?
Stéphane Pelle (born April 15, 1980) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player. After growing up in Belgium and Kenya, he moved to the United States and he played high school basketball at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he was named a Parade All-American in his senior year in 1999. He signed to play in college at Colorado, where he was a two-time all-conference selection, and finished as the all-time rebounding leader with 1,054 career rebounds, and the first player in program history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.[1] After going undrafted in the 2003 NBA draft, he played in the NBA Summer League with the Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the team, but was later released before the NBA season.[2] He started his professional career with Tekelspor in Turkey, where he led the league in rebounding. He played in the 2004–05 Euroleague with French club ASVEL, and then spent the remainder of his career in Belgium.

 

[IthacaMatt]

ok. him and a couple hundred other dudes . many of whom i heard of. i see three colorado buffs on the all pac12 teams and his name ain't one of them . he did however win the stephane pelle rebounding award at the team banquet .

edit: who is stephane pelle you ask ?
Stéphane Pelle (born April 15, 1980) is a Cameroonian former professional basketball player. After growing up in Belgium and Kenya, he moved to the United States and he played high school basketball at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he was named a Parade All-American in his senior year in 1999. He signed to play in college at Colorado, where he was a two-time all-conference selection, and finished as the all-time rebounding leader with 1,054 career rebounds, and the first player in program history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.[1] After going undrafted in the 2003 NBA draft, he played in the NBA Summer League with the Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the team, but was later released before the NBA season.[2] He started his professional career with Tekelspor in Turkey, where he led the league in rebounding. He played in the 2004–05 Euroleague with French club ASVEL, and then spent the remainder of his career in Belgium.

In 3 tournament games, he averaged 16 points and 6 rebounds against Boise State (10 seed), Florida (7 seed) and Marquette (2 seed) in the Sweet 16.

He shot 20-31 from the floor against those tournament teams, on the biggest stage.

In the play-in round, he was hampered by foul trouble, and didn't have a great game.

To dismiss him as some schmoe is short sighted.

Here are his Colorado highlights that he put up for the portal. Big body, pretty good footwork. Plays below the rim. Pretty good passer, but a bit turnover prone.

 

[tbonezone]

To dismiss him as some schmoe is short sighted.

i said i hadn't seen him. never heard of him. therefore can't judge him. he's your SHAQ.