SWC75
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From my preview of the 2019-20 season:
JESSE EDWARDS Freshman 6-11 208-215
The two new centers in the fold, are like so many of our centers in this decade, foreign born big men: (Note: Arinze Onuaku was of Nigerian decent but born in Maryland), Fabricio de Melo, (Fab Melo, from Brazil), Baye Moussa Keita (Senegal), Rakeem Christmas, (born in Philadelphia but lived in the Virgin islands from age 2-13), Chinoso Obokoh, (Nigeria), Moustapha Diagne, (Senegal), who never even got to play for us thanks to the NCAA , Paschal Chukwu (Nigeria), Bourama Sidbie (Mali), Marek Dolezaj (Slovakia) and now Jesse Edwards, (who, despite the name is from the Netherlands) and John Bol Ajak, (the Sudan).
Two things come to mind that Jim Boeheim has said many times: that big men take longer to develop and that foreign players take longer to develop. Big men have to “grow into their bodies” and learn new skills as they progress from guard to forward to center. One SU assistant coach, discussing Marek Dolezaj, said that players don’t’ really begin to get stronger until they stop growing and fill out. Dolezaj was 6-8 when he was recruited, reached 6-9 as a freshman and 6-10 last year. He’s now begun to gain weight and develop some muscles. That’s been an issue with all of our foreign big men. Foreign players usually have not been playing basketball since childhood and are behind in fundamental skills. Yet we keep recruiting foreign big men and then becoming impatient when they don’t see to be developing the way we’d like.
It helps if the foreign player is from Europe where basketball has become a big-time sport and the players may have been playing it for a longer period of time. Marek Dolezaj arrived here with an advanced, versatile game and “high basketball IQ”. Jesse Edwards started playing basketball at age 13. He’d already finished second in a national high jumping completion and had grown to 6-1. His older brother was watching Lebron James videos on the internet and Jesse became interested in the sport. That was a good thing as he grew another 10 inches. “I’m quite new at the game. There’s a lot of things I can still work on. There’s a lot of room to get better.’’ His British father, despite being 6-7, was a cricket player. Syracuse.com: “Edwards’ lack of basketball experience puts him in stark contrast with most American-born players. He has both size and athleticism plus a smooth shooting stroke shot that allows him to step away from the basket and loft feathery jump shots….Aside from those LeBron James videos, Edwards watched very few actual NBA games. College basketball was even more of a mystery to him. “I had no idea until a year or two years ago,’’ Edwards said. “I’m still learning most of the teams.”
Edwards decided he need a year in prep school in the states to prepare for college and went to IMG Academy in Florida, a place with college-level training facilities that specializes in preparing not only students but athletes for college stardom. When Syracuse first recited him, he was listed as 6-11 185. He’s now listed as much as 215, although even that is rather skinny for a 6-11 guy. He’s been working out with another Amsterdam native, Purdue’s Matt Haarms, who is 7-3. “I definitely learned from him,’’ Edwards said. “If you can shoot over him, you can pretty much shoot over anybody.’’
Edwards missed some early practices for the Italian trip to spend time with his family and it showed in the first game, (the only competitive one). He was 1 for 4 from the field, scored 2 points and committed 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He did have 7 rebounds. “Edwards, Boeheim said, was considerably better in SU’s second game, when he was more aware, more comfortable and showed some of the skills he can bring to the basketball court. He worked a high pick and roll with Brycen Goodine, his grace and footwork evident even though officials negated the basket by calling him for a charge.” He scored 8 points, had 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 21 minutes of a 115-56 blow-out. Four the four games, he played 52 minutes, scored 19 points, had 18 rebounds and 5 blocks. But he committed 12 fouls, indicating he has to learn where he needs to be in Boeheim’s system and how to keep players in front of him.
“Most players in Europe grow up playing out of position. In America, if you are big, you are a center, where you just stand under the basket and grab rebounds,” he said. “So I grew up doing a whole lot of different stuff, you know? I’m used to playing a lot of different positions, doing more than just grabbing rebounds. I think that’s what the coaches liked about me. I don’t have really one thing – I’m mostly just an all-around player.” His coach at IMG, Brian Nash: ““He has some things you can’t teach. He’s got some moves in the post. He’s got a spin move, he can face up, he can put the ball on the floor and he shoots the three. He’s really talented.’’
Here’s Jesse’s highlight film, showing him doing things we’ve never seen Paschal Chukwu do, like jump shots and spin moves, floaters, heck, even lay-ups. The lack of defensive highlights is a concern. Taurean Thompson looked great on offense, too, but gave as much on defense as he scored on offense and committed so many fouls he couldn’t stay on the court. I hope that won’t be true with Edwards.
JOHN BOL AJAK Freshman 6-9 205-222
Bola Ajak, (I’ve heard it pronounced as one word: Bowl-ah-jaque), is the other new center Jim Boeheim has brought in. If he felt that either one was an immediate answer at that positon there probably wouldn’t be two of them, (since we also have Dolezaj). JBA is so far “under the radar” that he not only didn’t make the top 100 lists but he didn’t even make some top 200 lists. Part of that may be due to an Achilles injury that limited his play on the AAU circuit. He couldn’t play in Italy because the US has some problems with visas issued by the Sudan and he might not have been able to get back into the US if he left the country.
The Daily Orange: “When he was just 10 months old, his mother, brother and sister fled the ongoing war in South Sudan and moved to Kenya, Ajak said. They settled in Kakuma, Kenya, in a refugee camp with fellow South Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees. His father stayed back to fight in the war, Ajak said. In Kenya, Ajak said almost everyone plays soccer. He grew up kicking the soccer ball around with his friends and didn’t discover basketball until his teenage years. He never played for any organized teams in Kenya.” He came to this country at age 14 – by himself, although with the help of some people who help immigrants come to the US. “Four days after arriving at Church Farm, Ajak called his mom, crying. He wanted to come home. He thought he had made a mistake. His teammates grew impatient with his lack of knowledge of the game. After his first few basketball practices, Ajak was lost. His coach talked to him. “He could see, physically I was blessed,” Ajak said, “but I didn’t know how to play basketball at all. I was terrible.”
“Throughout his entire freshman year, Ajak barely played. He appeared off the bench in the state playoffs, receiving a pass in the paint. He didn’t know many post moves at that point, he said, but he tried a pump fake. His defender jumped into the air, and Ajak made the lay-up. The next possession, he took a charge against the opposing team’s leading scorer. He played seven minutes in that game, the most he had played all season. After Church Farm lost that game, Ajak cried on the court. In a sport he picked up in less than a year, Ajak became committed to fueling his passion and pushing his game even further.”
“His junior year, Ajak battled an Achilles injury. The competition he faced at Church Farm, rarely facing players taller than 6-foot-3, led to double and triple teams. He wasn’t improving. Ajak wanted to transfer to Westtown, which has produced Duke’s Cam Reddish and top NBA draft pick Mohamed Bamba. This past spring, Ajak was allowed into a program that rarely accepts one-year players.
The first day of practice, Ajak got the ball in the high post and made a lay-up. Westtown head coach Seth Berger immediately noticed a problem with his footwork. Berger said: “Bol took about 12 pitty-pat steps to the rim. I said, ‘What the hell was that?’” Berger showed Ajak how to move to the hoop. He showed Ajak how to take two steps to turn, two to gather and finish at the rim. The next play, Ajak did exactly as he was taught.”
He will continue his development at Syracuse here is his highlight film. Again, we never saw Chukwu do any of this but where are the defensive highlights? (Update: Gerry McNamara, in a radio interview, compared JBA to BMK: Baye Moussa Keita, who became a very good defensive center her. Gerry called John “an energy guy”.)
6' 11" JOHN BOL AJAK Westtown School c/o 2019 (Syracuse Commit)
I love this interview with John. It shows how quickly he picks things up: the language, the culture, the history and the game itself. He also provides a breakdown of his own game and progress:
JOHN BOL AJAK commits to SYRACUSE (2019 Westtown School)
I think both Edwards and Bol Ajak will have strong careers here and be able to do things we haven’t seen from our centers in a long time. We’ll see the pick and roll come alive with them in there and Dolezaj’s passing skills should make a great fit with these guys. They seem to have more forward skills than center skills and could play there if we need them as well. But somebody has to play defense and rebound. And, as freshmen foreign big men, it remains to be seen what they can give us this year.
JESSE EDWARDS Freshman 6-11 208-215
The two new centers in the fold, are like so many of our centers in this decade, foreign born big men: (Note: Arinze Onuaku was of Nigerian decent but born in Maryland), Fabricio de Melo, (Fab Melo, from Brazil), Baye Moussa Keita (Senegal), Rakeem Christmas, (born in Philadelphia but lived in the Virgin islands from age 2-13), Chinoso Obokoh, (Nigeria), Moustapha Diagne, (Senegal), who never even got to play for us thanks to the NCAA , Paschal Chukwu (Nigeria), Bourama Sidbie (Mali), Marek Dolezaj (Slovakia) and now Jesse Edwards, (who, despite the name is from the Netherlands) and John Bol Ajak, (the Sudan).
Two things come to mind that Jim Boeheim has said many times: that big men take longer to develop and that foreign players take longer to develop. Big men have to “grow into their bodies” and learn new skills as they progress from guard to forward to center. One SU assistant coach, discussing Marek Dolezaj, said that players don’t’ really begin to get stronger until they stop growing and fill out. Dolezaj was 6-8 when he was recruited, reached 6-9 as a freshman and 6-10 last year. He’s now begun to gain weight and develop some muscles. That’s been an issue with all of our foreign big men. Foreign players usually have not been playing basketball since childhood and are behind in fundamental skills. Yet we keep recruiting foreign big men and then becoming impatient when they don’t see to be developing the way we’d like.
It helps if the foreign player is from Europe where basketball has become a big-time sport and the players may have been playing it for a longer period of time. Marek Dolezaj arrived here with an advanced, versatile game and “high basketball IQ”. Jesse Edwards started playing basketball at age 13. He’d already finished second in a national high jumping completion and had grown to 6-1. His older brother was watching Lebron James videos on the internet and Jesse became interested in the sport. That was a good thing as he grew another 10 inches. “I’m quite new at the game. There’s a lot of things I can still work on. There’s a lot of room to get better.’’ His British father, despite being 6-7, was a cricket player. Syracuse.com: “Edwards’ lack of basketball experience puts him in stark contrast with most American-born players. He has both size and athleticism plus a smooth shooting stroke shot that allows him to step away from the basket and loft feathery jump shots….Aside from those LeBron James videos, Edwards watched very few actual NBA games. College basketball was even more of a mystery to him. “I had no idea until a year or two years ago,’’ Edwards said. “I’m still learning most of the teams.”
Edwards decided he need a year in prep school in the states to prepare for college and went to IMG Academy in Florida, a place with college-level training facilities that specializes in preparing not only students but athletes for college stardom. When Syracuse first recited him, he was listed as 6-11 185. He’s now listed as much as 215, although even that is rather skinny for a 6-11 guy. He’s been working out with another Amsterdam native, Purdue’s Matt Haarms, who is 7-3. “I definitely learned from him,’’ Edwards said. “If you can shoot over him, you can pretty much shoot over anybody.’’
Edwards missed some early practices for the Italian trip to spend time with his family and it showed in the first game, (the only competitive one). He was 1 for 4 from the field, scored 2 points and committed 3 fouls in 17 minutes. He did have 7 rebounds. “Edwards, Boeheim said, was considerably better in SU’s second game, when he was more aware, more comfortable and showed some of the skills he can bring to the basketball court. He worked a high pick and roll with Brycen Goodine, his grace and footwork evident even though officials negated the basket by calling him for a charge.” He scored 8 points, had 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 21 minutes of a 115-56 blow-out. Four the four games, he played 52 minutes, scored 19 points, had 18 rebounds and 5 blocks. But he committed 12 fouls, indicating he has to learn where he needs to be in Boeheim’s system and how to keep players in front of him.
“Most players in Europe grow up playing out of position. In America, if you are big, you are a center, where you just stand under the basket and grab rebounds,” he said. “So I grew up doing a whole lot of different stuff, you know? I’m used to playing a lot of different positions, doing more than just grabbing rebounds. I think that’s what the coaches liked about me. I don’t have really one thing – I’m mostly just an all-around player.” His coach at IMG, Brian Nash: ““He has some things you can’t teach. He’s got some moves in the post. He’s got a spin move, he can face up, he can put the ball on the floor and he shoots the three. He’s really talented.’’
Here’s Jesse’s highlight film, showing him doing things we’ve never seen Paschal Chukwu do, like jump shots and spin moves, floaters, heck, even lay-ups. The lack of defensive highlights is a concern. Taurean Thompson looked great on offense, too, but gave as much on defense as he scored on offense and committed so many fouls he couldn’t stay on the court. I hope that won’t be true with Edwards.
JOHN BOL AJAK Freshman 6-9 205-222
Bola Ajak, (I’ve heard it pronounced as one word: Bowl-ah-jaque), is the other new center Jim Boeheim has brought in. If he felt that either one was an immediate answer at that positon there probably wouldn’t be two of them, (since we also have Dolezaj). JBA is so far “under the radar” that he not only didn’t make the top 100 lists but he didn’t even make some top 200 lists. Part of that may be due to an Achilles injury that limited his play on the AAU circuit. He couldn’t play in Italy because the US has some problems with visas issued by the Sudan and he might not have been able to get back into the US if he left the country.
The Daily Orange: “When he was just 10 months old, his mother, brother and sister fled the ongoing war in South Sudan and moved to Kenya, Ajak said. They settled in Kakuma, Kenya, in a refugee camp with fellow South Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees. His father stayed back to fight in the war, Ajak said. In Kenya, Ajak said almost everyone plays soccer. He grew up kicking the soccer ball around with his friends and didn’t discover basketball until his teenage years. He never played for any organized teams in Kenya.” He came to this country at age 14 – by himself, although with the help of some people who help immigrants come to the US. “Four days after arriving at Church Farm, Ajak called his mom, crying. He wanted to come home. He thought he had made a mistake. His teammates grew impatient with his lack of knowledge of the game. After his first few basketball practices, Ajak was lost. His coach talked to him. “He could see, physically I was blessed,” Ajak said, “but I didn’t know how to play basketball at all. I was terrible.”
“Throughout his entire freshman year, Ajak barely played. He appeared off the bench in the state playoffs, receiving a pass in the paint. He didn’t know many post moves at that point, he said, but he tried a pump fake. His defender jumped into the air, and Ajak made the lay-up. The next possession, he took a charge against the opposing team’s leading scorer. He played seven minutes in that game, the most he had played all season. After Church Farm lost that game, Ajak cried on the court. In a sport he picked up in less than a year, Ajak became committed to fueling his passion and pushing his game even further.”
“His junior year, Ajak battled an Achilles injury. The competition he faced at Church Farm, rarely facing players taller than 6-foot-3, led to double and triple teams. He wasn’t improving. Ajak wanted to transfer to Westtown, which has produced Duke’s Cam Reddish and top NBA draft pick Mohamed Bamba. This past spring, Ajak was allowed into a program that rarely accepts one-year players.
The first day of practice, Ajak got the ball in the high post and made a lay-up. Westtown head coach Seth Berger immediately noticed a problem with his footwork. Berger said: “Bol took about 12 pitty-pat steps to the rim. I said, ‘What the hell was that?’” Berger showed Ajak how to move to the hoop. He showed Ajak how to take two steps to turn, two to gather and finish at the rim. The next play, Ajak did exactly as he was taught.”
He will continue his development at Syracuse here is his highlight film. Again, we never saw Chukwu do any of this but where are the defensive highlights? (Update: Gerry McNamara, in a radio interview, compared JBA to BMK: Baye Moussa Keita, who became a very good defensive center her. Gerry called John “an energy guy”.)
6' 11" JOHN BOL AJAK Westtown School c/o 2019 (Syracuse Commit)
I love this interview with John. It shows how quickly he picks things up: the language, the culture, the history and the game itself. He also provides a breakdown of his own game and progress:
JOHN BOL AJAK commits to SYRACUSE (2019 Westtown School)
I think both Edwards and Bol Ajak will have strong careers here and be able to do things we haven’t seen from our centers in a long time. We’ll see the pick and roll come alive with them in there and Dolezaj’s passing skills should make a great fit with these guys. They seem to have more forward skills than center skills and could play there if we need them as well. But somebody has to play defense and rebound. And, as freshmen foreign big men, it remains to be seen what they can give us this year.
