#loaded

[Delmar]

And who ends up in his dog house

With this kind of depth it could turn into a kennel.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

White coming to Cuse is not only huge from a talent and skill standpoint but this still allows us to use Lydon as a stretch 4 without sacrificing our defense at all. Think about it, without White, Lydon would possibly have to play the three. I do not believe Gillon, Battle, and Howard could be on the floor at the same time (Which would keep Lydon as the stretch 4). White gives us a BONAFIDE three man which is huge for our offense and spacing. Frankie and Johnnie are great out of the PNR and having Lydon as a stretch 4, White spotting up and spaced out, and a 7'2 beast as a dump off man gives us a HUGE advantage offensively... Not to mention Im sure Battle is going to be a force out of PNR situations and will give us the transition threat we need to get some easy baskets while our zone makes life difficult for everyone on the other end... THIS IS A GREAT ROSTER! We just have to gel it. No idea why Rothenstein has us 5th in the ACC. This team could easy finish top 3

 

[Cusefan0307]

I don't think anybody in the national media realizes we also have a 7'2'' center to go with our 6'10'' shot blocking power forward. There's no reason why we can't be the best defensive team in the country.

 

[pearl31]

I don't think anybody in the national media realizes we also have a 7'2'' center to go with our 6'10'' shot blocking power forward. There's no reason why we can't be the best defensive team in the country.

conceivably our shortest guy on the court for spans will be 6'6 (anchored by a 7'2 center) if we go with a AW/Battle backcourt - that's ridic

 

[AZOrange]

Now we have to live up to the expectation...

 

[rrlbees]

I don't think anybody in the national media realizes we also have a 7'2'' center to go with our 6'10'' shot blocking power forward. There's no reason why we can't be the best defensive team in the country.

We need to not overlook the experience of Cooney and G up top. Their experience and knowing where to be and when can't be over emphasized. We may have better athletes now but in JBs zone, knowledge and experience is every bit as important.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We need to not overlook the experience of Cooney and G up top. Their experience and knowing where to be and when can't be over emphasized. We may have better athletes now but in JBs zone, knowledge and experience is every bit as important.

No doubt, but it'll be comforting knowing that we don't go into 75 percent of games at a size disadvantage like last year.

 

[NKR1978]

We need to not overlook the experience of Cooney and G up top. Their experience and knowing where to be and when can't be over emphasized. We may have better athletes now but in JBs zone, knowledge and experience is every bit as important.

I expect us to out score teams early in the year, then hopefully by the middle of conference play we'll have it all put together on both sides of the ball.

 

[MSOrange]

I expect us to out score teams early in the year, then hopefully by the middle of conference play we'll have it all put together on both sides of the ball.

I agree and as much as I love what our defense does for us, I'm looking forward to hopefully watching a high powered offense again

 

[CuseTroop]

I thought this was going to be a Cuse Troop thread

I was a little worried when i saw the title too...

 

[cusetown1]

When's the last time we could have a lineup of 4 players that have the ability to shoot and not really have to go small? It's unreal if you think about it.

 

[SWFLCUSE]

White is the New Orange

 

[Deano]

And who ends up in his dog house

I think his two whipping boys will be Frank and TT with TRob close behind.

 

[chlywtr]

My shorts feel tight

 

[NineOneSeven]

Good. We weren't top 25 before the 2003 NC season.

And lost our opener.

 

[007]

We need to not overlook the experience of Cooney and G up top. Their experience and knowing where to be and when can't be over emphasized. We may have better athletes now but in JBs zone, knowledge and experience is every bit as important.

Really good post.

60% of the roster will be playing their first minutes in an SU uniform and in JB's system. It matters. I'm more than fine with the national media not seeing us as Top 20 team preseason.

On the other hand, the addition of AW was crucial to this team having a legit shot at a high seed come NCAAT. We needed another shooting threat, and scorer, IMO, to balance the floor. AW gives us both and will make Lydon's game even more effective.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Yeah I think expectations need to be tempered...at least initially.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Yeah I think expectations need to be tempered...at least initially.

See you in phoenix, Doc!

 

[IthacaMatt]

We are loaded. It will be fascinating to see which seven players JB will use in his rotation.

It's going to be 8 or 9 this year. This is one of those teams where he will actually do it, because we need all those different parts.

For example, Coleman and Chukwu are going to play center, but Thompson is probably going to be needed in a handful of games, just like Xmas got some time as the third center behind Keita and Fab Melo in 2012.

Everyone knows that Lydon, Roberson, Gillon and White are going to be in the rotation, without question.

Then you have Frank Howard, who people are saying good things about. I think the amount of time Frankie sees this year depends on how well he feeds the post in the half-court offense. That could be the thing that gets him on the floor, along with excellent defense.

Gillon and Battle are downhill, straight to the basket guys, and we are going to run out of the zone when those 2 are at the top, back like the days of Scoop and Dion and Triche. So Frank offers something the other 2 PGs don't. I think if he can throw the oop to Chukwu in the halfcourt, that could return as an offensive weapon that we haven't seen in a while.

Then you have Moyer, who is a tremendous kid, but has his foot in a boot, and maybe didn't build up his upper body as much as they might have liked this summer.

I think we'll see a fair amount of those 9 players this year. Depending on Matt Moyer's foot or ankle, if it's broken and he takes a redshirt, it may help him in the long run. He's got a great motor and is a combo forward whose outside game still needs a bit of development. Ryan Blackwell sat out that year when he transferred in from Illinois, and it really helped him fill out and improve as a player.

I think the question is who is number 8 and who is number 9 among Howard and Thompson. If White is not much of a guard as some fear, then Howard will be needed.

If White is a competent guard, Howard's minutes will probably be limited to about 10 per game, but that's ok, that's how much time guys like MCW and Allen Griffin got, and then they really improved an enormous amount the next year.

I'm so happy that Coleman had a healthy year. I'm hopeful that he can improve this year, but he's knees limit his athleticism. The kid is as fit as you could hope. He has really trimmed down. But he lacks explosiveness down low. Can he adjust his game and have an Arinze or Rick Jackson, below-the-rim offensive game? Can he use his body better on offense this year and give us a dependable 8 or 10 PPG, and be a legit low post threat in the half-court offense?

If the answer is yes, and Coleman plays 20+ minutes a game, and not 12 or 14, then Thompson won't get a lot of run this year, unless there's foul trouble or we play a deep physical team inside, like a North Carolina or Florida State from last season.

However, if Coleman still is getting his shots blocked by ACC level defenders, Thompson has some offensive skills and can shoot the little jump hook over either shoulder. He really came on and improved his senior year. He had been a bit slow and not that assertive as a junior and that summer before on the AAU circuit. But he was a late bloomer last year, and could help us if Coleman and Chukwu don't offer us any offense in a half court game.

So, to me, those are the scenarios for who will make up the rotation this year. I am SO glad we have White. His three point shooting to go with Lydon, Gillon and Battle makes them all more of a threat, because it won't all be on them so much to hit the threes to loosen up a packed-in defense to cut off Gillon and Battle on the drive. We can have shooters on either side of the floor from the guy who drives.

White helps our spacing enormously, so people don't just cheat off on Rico as the pick and pop guy. We have another great target man. I think White as a trailer on the break is going to be devastating, like a Southerland or a Shumpert.

 

[IthacaMatt]

and just to illustrate the crazy versatility we'll have - it is quite likely that Rico Lydon will see significant time at all 3 front-court positions - and be dangerous/hard to guard at each one... oh the possibilities...

I'll be shocked if Lydon plays significant time at center this year. The only way I could see it is if we do it out of desperation against a small ball lineup trailing Duke with 5 or 10 minutes left in the game.

We have our best new shot blocker since Fab Melo this year. We have a senior who stayed healthy last year in Coleman, and we have a 6-10 kid who we would like to give some minutes to for his development. Lydon doesn't need to play center on this team. He's going to be the featured guy on offense, and we have so many parts around him.

 

[HOFCeluck]

See you in phoenix, Doc!

LOL. Yeah that. Don't know what came over me. ALL IN.

 

[Delmar]

It's going to be 8 or 9 this year. This is one of those teams where he will actually do it, because we need all those different parts.

I think you are right. But my guess is that JB's line up will be shorter than many of the fan base would wish --as it usually is. JB will have no problem shortening the line up when a win is at stake.

 

[pearl31]

I'll be shocked if Lydon plays significant time at center this year. The only way I could see it is if we do it out of desperation against a small ball lineup trailing Duke with 5 or 10 minutes left in the game.

We have our best new shot blocker since Fab Melo this year. We have a senior who stayed healthy last year in Coleman, and we have a 6-10 kid who we would like to give some minutes to for his development. Lydon doesn't need to play center on this team. He's going to be the featured guy on offense, and we have so many parts around him.

yeah, "significant" probably isn't the word to use for Lydon's projected minutes at the 5 - but I do think there will be certain games where JB goes with that, at least for stretches

 

[CuseMan4]

What can't go unnoticed is the competition in practice. 7 of these guys can be starters on most other teams in the country so practices will be all about pushing each other. This team should be going full steam ahead going into March.

 

[SWC75]

We were this:

(The original battleship Missouri, launched in 1900)

With all the recruiting, we are now this:

(the famous one, launched in 1944)