IMO we wil not get Bryant. Convince me I am wrong.

[Dave85]

I wouldn't discount the latter, though. From everything we've seen, TB wants to win before anything else. Won a state in NY. Boom. Went to Wiggy's prep school to play and compete among the best. Pow. Plays every minute like it's the final four.

If UK had him higher up the pecking order, he would have pulled the trigger. Thon Maker, Zimmerman, Rabb and maybe even Swanigan and Cheick Diallo might be on UK's wish list ahead of Bryant, not that I agree with that. I would still take Bryant over all but Rabb and Thon. Not a huge Zimmerman fan. Diallo and TB are a toss up. Different players but elite at their niche. Btw, Thomas Bryant has competed against most if not all of this class's big men, and he's easily held his own and outplayed some of these guys on both ends of the floor.
So that would leave us, IU and Mizzou.

I agree. He's not high on the UK pecking order. Even if CM plays another year TB would probably be replacing Christmas and would get a ton of playing time. Even at the 4 he's going to get a lot of playing time. There's lots of opportunity for him in Orange. I think hanging out with Malachi is going to be the difference.

 

[Dave85]

Already 1 LOI #1 Center according to ESPN
3 other outstanding offers rated higher according to ESPN (that doesn't even include Rabb and Diallo)
Just not sure how likely he ends up there.

I just can't imagine TB with all his talent ending up as a bench warmer in UK. It's like the skies are opening up for him to come to Syracuse. He will get tons of playing time. All I see is Orange all around!

 

[PhatOrange]

I hear what you're saying, but you're not factoring in some key areas. Low post offense. Easily TB. Has a ton of moves inside and out. Which brings me to another point. Did you see Diallo's outside shot attempts yesterday and prior games? Terrible. Cheick is the better athlete and shot blocker, and you're right. On springs. Impeccable timing. And they both play with urgency 24/7. But Bryant is the better true center. He's going to make people work on both sides of the court. Diallo, for now, and aside from his slashing and finishing, mostly on the defensive side. It's a factor to me. Edit: my bad if 'old school air craft carrier center' was that.

His outside shot? He's a center who cares.

 

[tee1222]

His outside shot? He's a center who cares.

Yeah, you're right. Not a "nice to have".

 

[tee1222]

All I know is Indiana sucks and Tom Crean is sitting on the hottest seat in the country. He's not very well liked or appreciated in Bloomington.

He gone

 

[Madbiker]

Yes, old school air craft carrier was that. I forget what commentator used to refer to centers like Ewing, Bill Wennington, Sampson, etc as air craft carriers but it refers to low post offense and being a true center. So yeah...what you said. And I'm not saying it is a slam dunk of Diallo over Bryant. For one year they might be similarly productive but in a long term situation, I'd give Diallo the edge. That being said, they are likely both one and dones.

Bryant looked awesome today...watched the first 3 quarters on DVR. He had one incredible span: nasty one-handed follow slam. A very long three from about 21 feet maybe a minute later. Those plays were maybe midway through the 2nd quarter.

I love the constant hustle on both ends and the leadership. He also hustled back on defense and then gave up his body to draw a tough charge.

He will be Orange. I have faith.

Al McGuire coined the term "Aircraft Carrier in the middle" to refer to true centers. That guy was a great commentator.

 

[Jack Hall]

I know this has been discussed before but i hope TB keeps this in mind: imo JB and SU do not get enough credit. So for ex when two other high profile Cs (like Bryant) ADavis and NNoel both picked UK over SU i was surprised how many posters here said they made the abso correct decision. And in ADavis 's case it seems like a no brainer. He was one and done AND he won a Ship. But on further inspection was it really a no brainer picking uk?? Lets say he comes to SU instead of UK, who wins the Ship? Not UK , SU prob does, we were loaded that yr, made the elite 8 w NO Fab, pretty clearly AD would have put SU over the top and he still would have been one and done. In other words the ONLY diff between SU and UK that yr was AD, he swung everything. In the end ADs 1 yr college experience could have been basically identical at both SU and UK, so fine he chose uk, whatever either choice would have been great - push between the two schools.
Now the case for Noel, which has been discussed before. He went to uk, was one and done and uk played in NIT (and even if he hadnt been injured uk was a bubble team that yr). Had he come to SU he still would be one and done but he would have been playing (if he stays healthy) on a team that was FF without him. With NNoel we have a great shot at a Ship. Imo NN should clearly have come to SU. Advantage SU.
Now lets look at KTowns this yr. He might win a Ship w uk and he will be one and done. If we had somehow landed him , SU in all likelihood is still not a title contender but he would still be one and done. He clearly should have gone to uk. Advantage uk .
Then in Dakari Johnsons case the yr before Towns, Uk was what a 7 seed w DJohnson last yr? We were a 3 seed without DJ, so with him we would have probably been higher. Advantage SU in the regular season. But then again they, despite their 7 seed, wound up making the title game and i doubt w DJ we would have. Advantage uk in postseason but in the end im gonna call it a push because he was not one and done and altho he is in FF he is buried behind Stein and Towns this yr. his stats would have been much better w SU this yr which would have helped his draft position.
But in 4 high profile Cs cases, AD and DJ were a push, the NN was advantage SU and KT was clear advantage uk. Bottom line if those 4 Cs pick us we are superior to UK, ie we are dead even w UK until one key recruit picks them over us.

This year i hope Thomas Bryant decides to be that swing recruit. Only this time he choses his local school to push SU over the top instead of some school like uk or iu. TB could very well make us title contenders the next 1-2 years.

The other thing is i think its laughable all this talk about how only uk can get kids ready to be one and done. Give me a break. AD , NN and KTowns all would have been one and done no matter where they went and if they had gone to a school like SU they would have drafted in the same spot. In fact, in DJohnsons case you could make an excellent argument that he would have done better in the draft had he gone to SU. The main point of this post in not a recruitment pitch to TB, as i doubt players read this stuff, but just point out (as most on here already realize all to well) what a huge swing difference the recruitment of one player can be...

 

[SBU72]

I wouldn't discount the latter, though. From everything we've seen, TB wants to win before anything else. Won a state in NY. Boom. Went to Wiggy's prep school to play and compete among the best. Pow. Plays every minute like it's the final four.

If UK had him higher up the pecking order, he would have pulled the trigger. Thon Maker, Zimmerman, Rabb and maybe even Swanigan and Cheick Diallo might be on UK's wish list ahead of Bryant, not that I agree with that. I would still take Bryant over all but Rabb and Thon. Not a huge Zimmerman fan. Diallo and TB are a toss up. Different players but elite at their niche. Btw, Thomas Bryant has competed against most if not all of this class's big men, and he's easily held his own and outplayed some of these guys on both ends of the floor.
So that would leave us, IU and Mizzou.

If winning was the most important, then he could have stayed at Bishop Kearney and won at least 1 if not 2 more state championships and most likely be the NYS player of the year. All the college coaches would still have been in the stands watching him, JB, Cal and Crean included. It's not like going to prep school was going to improve his draft status.

 

[Jack Hall]

I just can't imagine TB with all his talent ending up as a bench warmer in UK. It's like the skies are opening up for him to come to Syracuse. He will get tons of playing time. All I see is Orange all around!

Not sure you intended it this way but reading ur post i get the distinct impression Uk will have way more talent than SU, especially at forward. Not sure i agree w that , remains to be seen. If uk loses 5-7 guys to the draft (out of Stein, Towns, Lyles, Poythress, Dakari, Harrisons, Booker) my guess is our talent will be right up there w UK. But i like a lineup of Bryant, DC, G, Trevor and Kaleb or Malachi or TRob as much as i like a line up of say Dakari, Skal, Ullis, Briscoe, and Lee or Thon or JBrown. Both lineups have lots of McDs but we have more experience.

Edit, i get your point, if Uk winds up w say Dakari, Lee , Skal and maybe Thon, its too crowded for TB to want to go there. But he wouldnt be a bench warmer behind those guys, imo hes just as good as most of them, or will be soon.

 

[jgeorge322]

I know this has been discussed before but i hope TB keeps this in mind: imo JB and SU do not get enough credit. So for ex when two other high profile Cs (like Bryant) ADavis and NNoel both picked UK over SU i was surprised how many posters here said they made the abso correct decision. And in ADavis 's case it seems like a no brainer. He was one and done AND he won a Ship. But on further inspection was it really a no brainer picking uk?? Lets say he comes to SU instead of UK, who wins the Ship? Not UK , SU prob does, we were loaded that yr, made the elite 8 w NO Fab, pretty clearly AD would have put SU over the top and he still would have been one and done. In other words the ONLY diff between SU and UK that yr was AD, he swung everything. In the end ADs 1 yr college experience could have been basically identical at both SU and UK, so fine he chose uk, whatever either choice would have been great - push between the two schools.
Now the case for Noel, which has been discussed before. He went to uk, was one and done and uk played in NIT (and even if he hadnt been injured uk was a bubble team that yr). Had he come to SU he still would be one and done but he would have been playing (if he stays healthy) on a team that was FF without him. With NNoel we have a great shot at a Ship. Imo NN should clearly have come to SU. Advantage SU.
Now lets look at KTowns this yr. He might win a Ship w uk and he will be one and done. If we had somehow landed him , SU in all likelihood is still not a title contender but he would still be one and done. He clearly should have gone to uk. Advantage uk .
Then in Dakari Johnsons case the yr before Towns, Uk was what a 7 seed w DJohnson last yr? We were a 3 seed without DJ, so with him we would have probably been higher. Advantage SU in the regular season. But then again they, despite their 7 seed, wound up making the title game and i doubt w DJ we would have. Advantage uk in postseason but in the end im gonna call it a push because he was not one and done and altho he is in FF he is buried behind Stein and Towns this yr. his stats would have been much better w SU this yr which would have helped his draft position.
But in 4 high profile Cs cases, AD and DJ were a push, the NN was advantage SU and KT was clear advantage uk. Bottom line if those 4 Cs pick us we are superior to UK, ie we are dead even w UK until one key recruit picks them over us.

This year i hope Thomas Bryant decides to be that swing recruit. Only this time he choses his local school to push SU over the top instead of some school like uk or iu. TB could very well make us title contenders the next 1-2 years.

The other thing is i think its laughable all this talk about how only uk can get kids ready to be one and done. Give me a break. AD , NN and KTowns all would have been one and done no matter where they went and if they had gone to a school like SU they would have drafted in the same spot. In fact, in DJohnsons case you could make an excellent argument that he would have done better in the draft had he gone to SU. The main point of this post in not a recruitment pitch to TB, as i doubt players read this stuff, but just point out (as most on here already realize all to well) what a huge swing difference the recruitment of one player can be...

anthony davis probably would've won the ship if he played for lemoyne. that guy was a dominant force in college.

 

[jordoo]

anthony davis probably would've won the ship if he played for lemoyne. that guy was a dominant force in college.

Exaggerating but solid point, pretty much any P5 team that made the tourney that year is the favorite with him on it.

 

[jgeorge322]

Exaggerating but solid point, pretty much any P5 team that made the tourney that year is the favorite with him on it.

i was. especially since lemoyne isnt even eligible for the tournament

 

[netman99]

waiting

Maybe the departure of Chris will help TB's decision to join SU!!! He prefers playing the PF position over center... Never know!!!

 

[Jeremy L.]

Whatever this is worth the SYRACUSE BBALL twitter handle just said that "Malachi Richardson says SYRACUSE has a 'good chance' at landing TB."

Ehh, taking it with a grain of salt. Not a great source for something like this. Good find though.

 

[Deano]

I know this has been discussed before but i hope TB keeps this in mind: imo JB and SU do not get enough credit. So for ex when two other high profile Cs (like Bryant) ADavis and NNoel both picked UK over SU i was surprised how many posters here said they made the abso correct decision. And in ADavis 's case it seems like a no brainer. He was one and done AND he won a Ship. But on further inspection was it really a no brainer picking uk?? Lets say he comes to SU instead of UK, who wins the Ship? Not UK , SU prob does, we were loaded that yr, made the elite 8 w NO Fab, pretty clearly AD would have put SU over the top and he still would have been one and done. In other words the ONLY diff between SU and UK that yr was AD, he swung everything. In the end ADs 1 yr college experience could have been basically identical at both SU and UK, so fine he chose uk, whatever either choice would have been great - push between the two schools.
Now the case for Noel, which has been discussed before. He went to uk, was one and done and uk played in NIT (and even if he hadnt been injured uk was a bubble team that yr). Had he come to SU he still would be one and done but he would have been playing (if he stays healthy) on a team that was FF without him. With NNoel we have a great shot at a Ship. Imo NN should clearly have come to SU. Advantage SU.
Now lets look at KTowns this yr. He might win a Ship w uk and he will be one and done. If we had somehow landed him , SU in all likelihood is still not a title contender but he would still be one and done. He clearly should have gone to uk. Advantage uk .
Then in Dakari Johnsons case the yr before Towns, Uk was what a 7 seed w DJohnson last yr? We were a 3 seed without DJ, so with him we would have probably been higher. Advantage SU in the regular season. But then again they, despite their 7 seed, wound up making the title game and i doubt w DJ we would have. Advantage uk in postseason but in the end im gonna call it a push because he was not one and done and altho he is in FF he is buried behind Stein and Towns this yr. his stats would have been much better w SU this yr which would have helped his draft position.
But in 4 high profile Cs cases, AD and DJ were a push, the NN was advantage SU and KT was clear advantage uk. Bottom line if those 4 Cs pick us we are superior to UK, ie we are dead even w UK until one key recruit picks them over us.

This year i hope Thomas Bryant decides to be that swing recruit. Only this time he choses his local school to push SU over the top instead of some school like uk or iu. TB could very well make us title contenders the next 1-2 years.

The other thing is i think its laughable all this talk about how only uk can get kids ready to be one and done. Give me a break. AD , NN and KTowns all would have been one and done no matter where they went and if they had gone to a school like SU they would have drafted in the same spot. In fact, in DJohnsons case you could make an excellent argument that he would have done better in the draft had he gone to SU. The main point of this post in not a recruitment pitch to TB, as i doubt players read this stuff, but just point out (as most on here already realize all to well) what a huge swing difference the recruitment of one player can be...

Davis and Noel picked UK cause of $$$$.

 

[KaiserUEO]

waiting

Kentucky is going undefeated and Calipari will leave for the NBA.

the state of Indiana doesnt like gays and black people so theyre out.

Syracuse by default.

youre waiting is over, have a seat...

Oh Lord

 

[albanycuse]

Kentucky is going undefeated and Calipari will leave for the NBA. the state of Indiana doesnt like gays and black people so theyre out. Syracuse by default. youre waiting is over, have a seat... Oh Lord

Romper room right?

 

[KaiserUEO]

Romper room right?

gets worse every year.

 

[Halfmooncuse]

waiting

Watch the watch and repeat "Bryant commits to SU, Bryant Commits to SU!"

 

[BludOrange]

Besides Camby, is there a big man that Coach Cal has coached up and really helped make into a solid pro? Davis, Randle, Noel and Towns were projected top picks long before being a Wildcat. Noel still is not big threat on offense. Cauley-Stein has little offensive game and has the same athleticism he had when he arrived at UK. Cal does not call plays for him other than to be a recipient of an alley-oop. He calls plays for a freshman center or forward(Lyles) instead. Dakari has shown us nothing other than being a big body who plays 10-15 minutes a game. Probably would be more advanced and in a better draft position this year if he had played elsewhere. Daniel Orton was an NBA bust, top ten recruit Eloy Vargas did nothing, Wiltjer got forced out of there and may make the pros. I can't recall him ever doing what JB and his staff have done and transform a raw big like Rak or other bigs into a solid player.

If TB goes to UK, he will take same path as Dakari and not advance as fast as he could or would at Cuse IMO.

 

[Dave85]

gets worse every year.

I don't think I will miss CMac like I missed Grant or TE coming back. Grant was so much fun to watch.

 

[KaiserUEO]

I don't think I will miss CMac like I missed Grant or TE coming back. Grant was so much fun to watch.

agree.

i really like watching guys grow and develope into great players, NBA players...the gold standard being Hak, but Etan and Hart also fit here. not to mention guys growing into great college guys like Rick and Rak.

grant being in the 1st group.

cmc doesnt even make the second group...hes in the bin with Intravenious Di Milo and Shark Sandwich.

 

[two3zone]

Besides Camby, is there a big man that Coach Cal has coached up and really helped make into a solid pro? Davis, Randle, Noel and Towns were projected top picks long before being a Wildcat. Noel still is not big threat on offense. Cauley-Stein has little offensive game and has the same athleticism he had when he arrived at UK. Cal does not call plays for him other than to be a recipient of an alley-oop. He calls plays for a freshman center or forward(Lyles) instead. Dakari has shown us nothing other than being a big body who plays 10-15 minutes a game. Probably would be more advanced and in a better draft position this year if he had played elsewhere. Daniel Orton was an NBA bust, top ten recruit Eloy Vargas did nothing, Wiltjer got forced out of there and may make the pros. I can't recall him ever doing what JB and his staff have done and transform a raw big like Rak or other bigs into a solid player.

If TB goes to UK, he will take same path as Dakari and not advance as fast as he could or would at Cuse IMO.

There is something to be said about coming into college as a top pick and not fulfilling that. Cal's guys fulfill the hype while playing for him and I don't want to bring up our past with McDonalds AA bigs but we don't have that same success.

 

[dan7800]

The sample size on CMAC is really too small to judge. He did ok against weak NC, but had a bad spell.

I wouldn't call him a bust by any means, I'd just say that we do not have enough data to go by.

 

[BludOrange]

There is something to be said about coming into college as a top pick and not fulfilling that. Cal's guys fulfill the hype while playing for him and I don't want to bring up our past with McDonalds AA bigs but we don't have that same success.

They fulfill the hype? He sure did make MKG into an NBA all star, laugh. Doron Lamb is playing where? Archie Goodwin, Marquis Teague, Ryan Harrow are all household NBA names. James Young is just tearing it up at the next level as well. Orton and Vargas were not even studs in the Chinese league. Poythress may make the league after being considered a top 10 draft pick before playing college ball, Harrison twins were suppose to be top 5 picks, then they played for Cal. Is Dakari just plain abusing people down low and I've just not seen it? Has Cauley-Stein improved so much, he will be a 20 and 10 type player in the League? The No. 17 recruit in his class, Marcus Lee has not even scored 100 points total in two seasons.

The only ones to fulfill the hype, are those that would have fulfilled it no matter what college they attended.