James development

[albanycuse]

he used to be strictly a shooter and when that wasn't working he got the hook. good to see him develop a midrange game and become a better rebounder. he had a nice dunk last night and now makes good basketball plays. great to see.

 

[Garbs]

agreed great to see him showing other things when his shot isn't falling

how was that not an and 1 on that dunk?

 

[NovaOrange]

I thought his best play was that amazing lay up when he first came into the game.

 

[moqui]

he used to be strictly a shooter.

that's not all he was . . . even last season, he was the best defender among the forwards (given that Ricky was spending most of his time at the 5). He rarely blows his rotations, his lateral quickness and overall length are by far the best of the three (JS, KJ and CJ), and his closeouts are explosive.

his weakness last year was rebounding. it has picked up, but it still isn't good. he should have had double figure rebounds last night (he had his hands on 4 or 5 boards that slipped away from him), but he doesn't squeeze the ball and he mistimes his jumps. Still, it has greatly improved (he and CJ are now just about dead even in rebounds per minute in conference play) and that will allow JB to play him alongside KJ.

his offensive game was limited to "shooter" because that was the only role that JB gave to him. Last night, he posted up like a pure 4 on several occasions. Would still like to see JB run some screen and rolls for him (he would be wide open as opponents have him scouted as a shooter and overplay him for the pick and pop) and especially to run some plays for him at the high post.

My biggest regret for James is that he didn't redshirt one of his first two seasons. I think he could have been even better with one more year in the incubator.

 

[djcon57]

agreed great to see him showing other things when his shot isn't falling

how was that not an and 1 on that dunk?

I was SHOCKED no one said anything on the broadcast. The cincy guy literally cracked him on the wrist. Clear as day in slo mo

 

[Section 314 Row C]

Loved the nifty reverse layup in the 2nd half. I couldn't believe it was Southerland.

 

[jordoo]

that's not all he was . . . even last season, he was the best defender among the forwards (given that Ricky was spending most of his time at the 5). He rarely blows his rotations, his lateral quickness and overall length are by far the best of the three (JS, KJ and CJ), and his closeouts are explosive.

his weakness last year was rebounding. it has picked up, but it still isn't good. he should have had double figure rebounds last night (he had his hands on 4 or 5 boards that slipped away from him), but he doesn't squeeze the ball and he mistimes his jumps. Still, it has greatly improved (he and CJ are now just about dead even in rebounds per minute in conference play) and that will allow JB to play him alongside KJ.

his offensive game was limited to "shooter" because that was the only role that JB gave to him. Last night, he posted up like a pure 4 on several occasions. Would still like to see JB run some screen and rolls for him (he would be wide open as opponents have him scouted as a shooter and overplay him for the pick and pop) and especially to run some plays for him at the high post.

My biggest regret for James is that he didn't redshirt one of his first two seasons. I think he could have been even better with one more year in the incubator.

Excellent post. I agree will all of this. To me he is by far our best wing defender out of the forwards and its not really that close. He can cover the most ground, he bothers the shooters on his contests more than anyone else, he is the most disciplined in his rotations, his exchange with the guard @ the FT line extended is by far the quickest and he also provides good weakside shot blocking which is at least on par with CJ's.
He is learning to fight for rebounds and get a body on guys before going up after the ball, you are right that he struggles to squeez all the rebounds he gets to. When he is on a roll with his jumper he is a very valuable player for us. He has even improved his handle to the point where he is not afraid to try and make a play but he has also made some bad plays dribbling this year, I expect he will clean that up and improve a good bit with that this off season. I too lament that James didn't redshirt as a freshman.

 

[tbonezone]

agreed great to see him showing other things when his shot isn't falling

how was that not an and 1 on that dunk?

agreed . mabooty absolutely clobbered james on the dunk! super obvious call again somehow missed.

 

[Garbs]

if james was the best wing defender he would have been playing a lot more minutes the last year and a half

:bat:

 

[jordoo]

if james was the best wing defender he would have been playing a lot more minutes the last year and a half

:bat:

JB gave him every opertunity last season early on. He didn't rebound well and lost focus when his shot was not falling. Still in the few BE games he played well we won BIG.

 

[Garbs]

but if he is the best defender the rebounding would not have mattered

CJ is the best defender and that is why he plays so many minutes

 

[jordoo]

but if he is the best defender the rebounding would not have mattered

CJ is the best defender and that is why he plays so many minutes

CJ is a good defender in the zone but IMO James is better. CJ gets caught out of possition a more than James and when the offense really moves the ball well and makes a good play James has the greatest ability to recover and effect the shots. I consider defensive rebounding to be part of a front court players defense and until this season CJ was a better rebounder than James and a much more cosistant offensive producer. CJ is still a better ball handler. But as a complete player right now James is right there with CJ. IMO better overall defense, better shooter not as good of a playmaker/handler as CJ.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Southy is a guy that's always had the physical tools but is just starting to really get the mental aspect of it.

It's confidence and you can watch it grow. He shoots more, goes harder after rebounds, etc. Rebounding is the mentality of "I'm going to go get this rebound" vs "I might go get this rebound" for he, CJ, and Rak. Fun to watch the progress.

 

[orangejunkie]

Moqui, if I'm not mistaken he graduated from Cardoza HS in Queens and SU asked him to do a prep school year. So he did essentially have a redshirt year.

 

[moqui]

Moqui, if I'm not mistaken he graduated from Cardoza HS in Queens and SU asked him to do a prep school year. So he did essentially have a redshirt year.

yes, that is correct, but his first season as an Orangeman was wasted. I'm not talking so much about further development, just further eligibility. I think James is going to have a very good year next season, and I wish we had 2 more left instead of just one.

 

[ForeverOrange]

He made a lot of big plays in that game, I was amazed how active he was doing some of everything. And he does a pretty good job on defense too.

 

[Cuse_MN]

>> even last season, he was the best defender among the forwards (given that Ricky was spending most of his time at the 5). He rarely blows his rotations, his lateral quickness and overall length are by far the best of the three (JS, KJ and CJ), and his closeouts are explosive. >>

Totally agree with this statement, have been saying it for awhile. JB asks his forwards to rotate incredibly high then hand off to the guard on that side and rotate back down. James is the best at doing this among the current forwards. His quickness actually allows him to almost play a 3-2 type zone on his side, he almost always plays up top then has the quickness to rotate down, whereas KJ and CJ stay down low and rotate up when the ball swings their way, with help from the guards. James covers the most ground in the zone.

 

[cuseatduke]

Loved the nifty reverse layup in the 2nd half. I couldn't believe it was Southerland.

Ha yea I remember thinking it was a great play by kjo