Henny & Coke
2nd String
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- Aug 26, 2011
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The 2 reasons why I think the 2014-15 version of SU Basketball will be another good, possibly great team.
I'm of belief that these 2 areas (long distance/outside shooting & big man play) take the longest time to develop into a strength in recent SU teams (and quite possibly college bball in general) - and I think that in Trevor Cooney & Rakeem Christmas we should be better off then most in these areas.
Long Distance/Outside Shooting - Guys like Demetris Nichols, Andy Rautins and James Southerland are all examples of how it can take a number of years of playing/gaining experience before a guy can put it all together and more consistently hit outside shots at a good percentage. Although it may not seem like a great bet at the moment, I do believe that Trevor Cooney - in now his 4th season in the program, 3rd season playing, 2nd season getting big minutes - will be a more consistent outside shooting threat this season & hopefully a better all-around scorer in general.
Big Man Play - Guys like Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Darryl Watkins, and even Fab Melo did not make immediate impacts in the early parts of their Syracuse careers. As a general rule, it seems that big men basketball players require a good amount of time & patience in the early going (usually at least first 2 years) while they try to figure out the game, especially, it seems, their responsibilities in the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense. It can take many years actually of getting that playing time (learning how to avoid fouling all the time & developing some good/reliable moves on offense) before a big man can consistently impact the game. Rakeem Christmas finally seems to be at this point in his development, although it may have taken much longer than many had anticipated. And his performance in the first game is only more encouraging – 21 points (career high?) and 9 rebounds in only 24 mins of playing time. Now, I realize that putting up numbers against Kennesaw St is not exactly the same as doing so against ACC-level competition, but it is all we have to go on at the moment, so I’ll take it & continue to be encouraged.
So, if outside shooting & play inside generally requires reps & experience to really become a team strength, then how about some of the other functions of the team? Point guard play, overall defense, rebounding, playmaking/other scoring – it’s my belief that these are areas that can be filled by talented, more inexperienced players, for which Syracuse also has.
We’ve seen talented Freshmen come in and assume the Point Guard position and play really well (Jonny Flynn, Tyler Ennis, and MCW was ready as a Freshman if needed, even Triche played about as well Freshman year as he would even year after) almost immediately. I am confident that Kaleb Joseph will be next in line, continuing the succession & tradition of the SU PG that leads the team to success early in his career.
We’ve had talented players come in & contribute right away at the Forward position, rebounding well & scoring points with the minutes they are given early in their careers. Guys like Carmelo Anthony, Donte Green, Paul Harris, Kris Joseph and even Jerami Grant last year are all guys who came in and made pretty big impacts within their first 2 years. And I feel that we have talented guys to fill these roles this year as well, highly rated recruits like Tyler Roberson and Chris McCullough (both top 30ish overall recruits), who should be able to rebound and score right out of the gate.
Add it all up, and you got experienced guys to provide the contributions that usually come with reps & time in system (Cooney – outside shooting, RAK – big man play), you got a talented newcomer in Kaleb Joseph to plug-in at the Point, you got talented Forwards like Roberson & McCullough to immediately begin to contribute in terms of rebounding & scoring…and also a nice cast of other players to fill in everything else, some with experience (Gbinije) and others that don’t, but are talented and have a year in the system already (BJ & Patterson). I feel like this team has all the parts necessary to make a deep run – as many have said recently, there may be some early growing pains, but I’m excited to see this team grow & come together during the course of a season, and hopefully play their best basketball in Feb/March. I’m def encouraged & ready for another big year of SU Hoops – I don’t see much of a drop-off coming from recent SU teams and what they achieved.
I'm of belief that these 2 areas (long distance/outside shooting & big man play) take the longest time to develop into a strength in recent SU teams (and quite possibly college bball in general) - and I think that in Trevor Cooney & Rakeem Christmas we should be better off then most in these areas.
Long Distance/Outside Shooting - Guys like Demetris Nichols, Andy Rautins and James Southerland are all examples of how it can take a number of years of playing/gaining experience before a guy can put it all together and more consistently hit outside shots at a good percentage. Although it may not seem like a great bet at the moment, I do believe that Trevor Cooney - in now his 4th season in the program, 3rd season playing, 2nd season getting big minutes - will be a more consistent outside shooting threat this season & hopefully a better all-around scorer in general.
Big Man Play - Guys like Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Darryl Watkins, and even Fab Melo did not make immediate impacts in the early parts of their Syracuse careers. As a general rule, it seems that big men basketball players require a good amount of time & patience in the early going (usually at least first 2 years) while they try to figure out the game, especially, it seems, their responsibilities in the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense. It can take many years actually of getting that playing time (learning how to avoid fouling all the time & developing some good/reliable moves on offense) before a big man can consistently impact the game. Rakeem Christmas finally seems to be at this point in his development, although it may have taken much longer than many had anticipated. And his performance in the first game is only more encouraging – 21 points (career high?) and 9 rebounds in only 24 mins of playing time. Now, I realize that putting up numbers against Kennesaw St is not exactly the same as doing so against ACC-level competition, but it is all we have to go on at the moment, so I’ll take it & continue to be encouraged.
So, if outside shooting & play inside generally requires reps & experience to really become a team strength, then how about some of the other functions of the team? Point guard play, overall defense, rebounding, playmaking/other scoring – it’s my belief that these are areas that can be filled by talented, more inexperienced players, for which Syracuse also has.
We’ve seen talented Freshmen come in and assume the Point Guard position and play really well (Jonny Flynn, Tyler Ennis, and MCW was ready as a Freshman if needed, even Triche played about as well Freshman year as he would even year after) almost immediately. I am confident that Kaleb Joseph will be next in line, continuing the succession & tradition of the SU PG that leads the team to success early in his career.
We’ve had talented players come in & contribute right away at the Forward position, rebounding well & scoring points with the minutes they are given early in their careers. Guys like Carmelo Anthony, Donte Green, Paul Harris, Kris Joseph and even Jerami Grant last year are all guys who came in and made pretty big impacts within their first 2 years. And I feel that we have talented guys to fill these roles this year as well, highly rated recruits like Tyler Roberson and Chris McCullough (both top 30ish overall recruits), who should be able to rebound and score right out of the gate.
Add it all up, and you got experienced guys to provide the contributions that usually come with reps & time in system (Cooney – outside shooting, RAK – big man play), you got a talented newcomer in Kaleb Joseph to plug-in at the Point, you got talented Forwards like Roberson & McCullough to immediately begin to contribute in terms of rebounding & scoring…and also a nice cast of other players to fill in everything else, some with experience (Gbinije) and others that don’t, but are talented and have a year in the system already (BJ & Patterson). I feel like this team has all the parts necessary to make a deep run – as many have said recently, there may be some early growing pains, but I’m excited to see this team grow & come together during the course of a season, and hopefully play their best basketball in Feb/March. I’m def encouraged & ready for another big year of SU Hoops – I don’t see much of a drop-off coming from recent SU teams and what they achieved.
