Is it probable our incoming freshman

[richmondcuse03]

View attachment 236988

And this is why Freeman is the top NBA prospect we've had in awhile.

The expectations are very high for Donnie. Like close to Melo high.

 

[5OutFred]

The expectations are very high for Donnie. Like close to Melo high.

Some had similar expectations for Benny, it's a dangerous game to play

 

[richmondcuse03]

Some had similar expectations for Benny, it's a dangerous game to play

Agree. But to be fair these are from people close to the program. Not sure they ever felt the same about Benny as folks did outside the team.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Some had similar expectations for Benny, it's a dangerous game to play

Benny probably wasn’t accurately ranked because he was maturing during Covid and there was not as much game tape to grade guys on. He was also about 15 spots lower to begin with. Freeman puts up the same stats as Cooper Flagg in the same league. There’s a lot more to go on here.

 

[SP_Gilbs]

Some had similar expectations for Benny, it's a dangerous game to play

Echoing what Cusefan0307 said above but Benny never consistently faced high end competition in high school. His AAU season was basically cancelled his junior going into senior season and then he played for the IMG post grad team his senior year. The competition for the post grad squad is horrible and while Benny put up big numbers, it’s hard to get a full read on how it would translate given the competition. I will say, his jumper in high school was really nice and had way more arc. If he was currently the shooter that he was back then I think we’d have a very different opinion of his game now. Not really sure how it got broken so badly. Freeman on the other hand has consistently performed against top 100 kids since this past summer, which makes it a lot easier to project that he will have success here, even as a freshman. Could he end up disappointing? Sure, anything’s possible with freshmen, but it would be a lot more surprising than Benny if you look at both situations objectively.

 

[MikeSU02]

The expectations are very high for Donnie. Like close to Melo high.

Whoever is thinking that needs to stop. Immediately.

 

[PoppyHart]

Yes, easily a > 50% proposition

 

[SUFan44]

Sometimes, I see this board as an echo chamber for 5-6 posters (not pearl31). Somehow, if our five starters are not sure-fire first-rounders averaging 17-19ppg (in exactly 29-31 minutes) and every bench player does not show up on the All-ACC third team, then we need to start sending out calendar invites for "the talk" with multiple players? At midseason?

• Bell is a helluva shooter and growing on the defensive end.
• JT is gonna get better as an upperclassman. He's Mike Hopkins v.1994. A winning player.
• Carey can help us win games in the coming years. He could be JB Reifsnyder for a new generation.

Please, let these kids play, let Red/staff coach and stop treating the program like your dreadful fantasy football team that you quit on mid-season because your QB got injured.

LOL.

Taylor is not Mike Hopkins. Please.

Maybe they’ve been miscast due to poor recruiting the last 4-6 years, and should not be playing as much as they do (newsflash: they shouldn’t be). That doesn’t mean these guys are good enough to help us win games.

Bell plays zero defense. None. His shooting isn’t even that great. Of the 17 players who have 90+ attempts from three this year in the ACC, Bell’s 37.9% ranks 14th. If you can’t do anything other than shoot, your shooting better be much better than 37.9%.

And don’t get me started on Taylor.

 

[miamicuse]

Taylor was recruited to be Buddy 2.0

 

[AlaskaSU]

Time will tell.

I assume that Freeman will be the highest upside / top NBA prospect. But our "best" player is subjective -- Brown as an upperclassman, experienced starter, and a guy who shoots 74% from the field / 89% from the line / 40% from three point range will probably be our "best" returning player. Heck, you could make an argument that he's our best player NOW, even over Mintz.

I also assume that Mintz will be gone, so our foundation guys will be players who are sophomores this year -- Brown, Copeland, Starling. Experienced guys who are playing starters minutes this year. That nucleus will be complimented by Benny [if he's still around], Westry [finally healthy next year?], and the two frosh.

If Brown is around. My guess is that to keep him we need to bring in a starting center.

 

[AlaskaSU]

LOL.

Taylor is not Mike Hopkins. Please.

Maybe they’ve been miscast due to poor recruiting the last 4-6 years, and should not be playing as much as they do (newsflash: they shouldn’t be). That doesn’t mean these guys are good enough to help us win games.

Bell plays zero defense. None. His shooting isn’t even that great. Of the 17 players who have 90+ attempts from three this year in the ACC, Bell’s 37.9% ranks 14th. If you can’t do anything other than shoot, your shooting better be much better than 37.9%.

And don’t get me started on Taylor.

Bell tries on D but he cannot stay in front of his man.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

The expectations are very high for Donnie. Like close to Melo high.

Melo is a once in a generation player. No incoming freshman should be compared to Melo. Donnie is a top tier recruit, but he’s not Melo.

 

[Niastri]

Melo is a once in a generation player. No incoming freshman should be compared to Melo. Donnie is a top tier recruit, but he’s not Melo.

We're already on to another generation... I am ready for our next "once in a generation" player to come win it all for us.