JUDAH'S BACK

[SUintheVille]

For those worries about Benny

Got to imagine a new tempo pace and style, coupled with an increase in energy and competitive practices, will push his game to the next level.

Confident he makes the leap to being consistently good and occasionally great this year.

Maliq, showed so much potential last year. Im confident he takes a leap to consistently good this year as well.

Hope the boys get a nice relaxing weekend in. Because they need to start getting intensive cardio sessions in for all the running they are going to do on the court this year.

Yeah, Benny could have a huge season. His key will be his passion and desire to rebound. He has a somewhat laid back approach, apparently who he is, but showed some excellent glimpses end of last season. If he is hungry and can be a beast on the boards to match his improved shooting, then Benny can be a major force out there, and also finish some monster alley-oop jams from the deep talented back court. Exciting times coming.

 

[qdawgg]

My only concern is starting the season with that brutal Maui lineup.

I’m not too worried about this. The outcome in Maui is pretty meaningless overall, IMO. The players will still be trying to figure each other out, I almost want them to struggle a little so the trajectory keeps going up through the season. If they play lights out in Maui you gotta think they’ll come back down to earth at some point. So to me, an okay or even poor performance in Maui won’t mean much at all.

 

[SU94]

We have Chance at the 3 bringing the ball up? I wouldn’t be against it.

My wish lineup is

Judah
JJ
Chance
Benny
McLeod

Taylor first off the bench

Red may cause a stir in Hawaii. JJ and Judah will shoot for a higher clip from three than many expect.

JJ is going to shoot at worst 35% from 3. I see a likely landing spot between 36-38%.
He won't be shooting off the dribble nearly as much as he did at ND.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Speaking of Negative Nellies, it might be time to change your tag line underneath your profile pic...

Hah. Forgot I still had that up because I mainly post on my phone. It's changed as of today.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I posted this awhile back, but how many scholarships are we at? Over 13 right?

Edit- WRONG

Lol. I answered you the last time you posted as well. We were never over.

 

[kingtidge]

This news... it's fantastic.

 

[Hopkins16]

McLeod should be able to give us a minimum of 20 minutes a game and possibly up to 25, leaving 15 to 20 minutes between Hima and Carey. Brown could get some action at center if really needed, or if the opposing center is undersized.

A lot of teams don't have traditional centers so there will be times when we can go with 2 forwards and 3 guards.

With quality defensive guards, I believe we will be able to better lock down 3 point shooters which was an issue this past season. The team isn't perfect but we have the type of talent that if we jell and with good coaching cover up well our deficiencies, sky's the limit.

 

[kcsu]

YES!!!!!!!

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[GoCuse14]

McLeod should be able to give us a minimum of 20 minutes a game and possibly up to 25, leaving 15 to 20 minutes between Hima and Carey. Brown could get some action at center if really needed, or if the opposing center is undersized.

A lot of teams don't have traditional centers so there will be times when we can go with 2 forwards and 3 guards.

With quality defensive guards, I believe we will be able to better lock down 3 point shooters which was an issue this past season. The team isn't perfect but we have the type of talent that if we jell and with good coaching cover up well our deficiencies, sky's the limit.

I think we see brown there more than you think

 

[Fly Rodder]

Maliq with a power lifting program and a Michael Phelps diet would turn him into a 240 lb wrecking machine capable of playing center against most.

 

[orangezen]

Practices are going to be fierce

 

[cliftonparksufan]

This has to make the other players want to work harder because their leader is all in. This summer will probably be the best off-season in a long time. What's that expression, Iron sharpens iron. Judah is iron.

 

[RF2044]

This has to make the other players want to work harder because their leader is all in. This summer will probably be the best off-season in a long time. What's that expression, Iron sharpens iron. Judah is iron.

The second unit on this team could be Copeland, Cuffe, Taylor, Bell, and Hima.

Practices are going to be intense -- which is how you drive improved performance.

 

[walsh2012]

Man if only Jesse hadnt left

 

[CardiacCuse]

The second unit on this team could be Copeland, Cuffe, Taylor, Bell, and Hima.

Practices are going to be intense -- which is how you drive improved performance.

JB could easily go 17-15 with that 5...no questions asked

 

[Orangezoo]

The second unit on this team could be Copeland, Cuffe, Taylor, Bell, and Hima.

Practices are going to be intense -- which is how you drive improved performance.

That second unit with lots of on paper potential is going to outshine many other teams bench and be a weapon as a result too. Its different and a challenge in its own right, while likely having different combos too.

It won't be easy and Red will have to manage but a number of our guys can have good years where they can show their stuff but not have to average crazy figures to do so i.e. strong per 40 numbers more than aggregate with some big individual games.

This is where have an analytics guy like Straughn is so nice.

 

[DoctorBombay]

I’m not too worried about this. The outcome in Maui is pretty meaningless overall, IMO. The players will still be trying to figure each other out, I almost want them to struggle a little so the trajectory keeps going up through the season. If they play lights out in Maui you gotta think they’ll come back down to earth at some point. So to me, an okay or even poor performance in Maui won’t mean much at all.

Totally agree.
In years past we'd start seasons like gangbusters, and then gradually fade out.
A faceplant in Maui is not the end of the world.
We'll see what our new HC is made of, as he navigates and gets these guys primed for March.

 

[Scott11]

One other great thing that came out of all of this was how supportive and professional our staff was with respect to Judah. From Red’s initial statement when Judah declared to Straughn going out to the combine and showing his support, the staff did everything right. This is a far cry from JB saying a player is not ready, even if in fact that was the case. it used to look awful when the head coach was criticizing a kid in public in a way that could hurt his draft stock. And obviously in many ways it was counterproductive for the program because you want any kid who leaves to get drafted as high as possible which reflects well on the program.

I don’t think this support will go unnoticed by other players and recruits. Red is trying to build a family atmosphere and stuff like this goes a long way towards that goal and means a ton to the players and their families during a very stressful time when dreams are trying to be fulfilled. I also thought it was telling that the program had a nice video ready to release when Judah made his decision. that shows there was communication between the program and the family.

I sincerely hope at this time next year, Red is making plans to be with Judah at the draft and my guess is he will be. This staff is off to a tremendous start.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Man if only Jesse hadnt left

 

[007]

The second unit on this team could be Copeland, Cuffe, Taylor, Bell, and Hima.

Practices are going to be intense -- which is how you drive improved performance.

A more subtle benefit of practice time going forward will be that all the players will be coached and drilled in pressure man defenses. Which means that in scrimmage and live breakdown drills, the players will not be competing against defenders that have been coached primarily to play zone. I think we will see a noticeable uptick in the efficiency of the man offense as a result - in addition to whatever improvement we could see from the move to a more positionless offense. I think the term "3 guard offense" is a misnomer for the way Red might actually run things.

 

[CuseTG2003]

Red’s toughest job is finding minutes for everyone. This will be his hardest job. Wanting minutes and earning minutes are two different things. There will be talent not playing next year. How Red handles this will determine how successful this team is. Thirteen players are not going to play. Lucky to have 9-10. Good luck.

A lot of mouths to feed, but damn, that's a good problem to have.

Judah has a chance to become a 'Cuse legend if all goes well. The leader who came back to start the Red Autry era w/ a bang.

 

[Zepharus]

I just want to take a moment to remind everyone that I am sure while Judah is excited, he is also disappointed at the same time, and we have to remember that. I am sure he wanted the NBA to work out this year, so just thinking of the emotions he is going through tonight.

NIL & Pops aint broke. I think he is ok for now

 

[mark79]

Tournament team 10000% How good we are will be determined by our center position.

In my dreams, our center and forwards combined average 25 rebounds a game against ACC teams and our guards another 15 (we do have big, active guards). I have a vivid imagination and like to dream big.

Mcleod / Hima 12
Benny / Maliq / others 13
All of our amazing guards 15

A big ask but that’s why they call it a dream…

 

[mark79]

So let’s think about 2 years ago recruiting when we were pursuing a bunch of big names and came up empty until the last minute when Judah came calling after JJ spurned us (along with Chance). Now we have all 3 along with Cuffe. Never in a million years. We are going to be really good

I think Benny is the X factor. If he is really good we could be really dangerous.