Lydon

[cuse522]

The one thing working in our favor for their decision is that while they may be told after this run, especially if we win it all, that they are first rounders, it's still hard to imagine either of them being lottery players... And if they come back, they have a pretty good chance IMO to be slam dunk lottery picks. When you weigh the risk-reward financially, that's a pretty significant potential bonus to staying. Not even worrying about this until a week from tomorrow, though.

 

[Cuse_1999]

We need to capitalize this year, cuz after yesterday Malachi is gone.

 

[CusefanATL]

In the four tournament games Lydon has posted a stat line of 10.75 PPG, 6 RPG, and 4.5 BLOCKS PER GAME!!

Think about that for a moment, has a freshman ever been such a defensive force in a tournament run before? For someone "whose not big enough to man the middle" he has done an absolute amazing job at coming up with timely blocks and rebounds on the defensive end. He's been just as important on offense late with those huge threes tonight and that tip in vs Zaga last round.

The prospect of a trio of Frank, Tyler, and Mali all making some sort of sophomore leap next year is tantalizing, we very well could be looking at back to back final fours, but lets take care of our business in this one first!

LETS GO ORANGE!!!SUball

It's funny how much the narrative shifted because that narrative would have been "we lost because of Lydon" had we lost to Gonzaga who just played his worst game of seAson on offense and worst defensive game I've ever seen from a center in a Syracuse uniform for 35 minutes. His +/- of who he was guarding had to have been -15 or more.

But instead he scored the 4 big points. Made a few nice defensive plays in a row andy then THE BLOCK PART DEUX and now you can look at the blocks per game, the shoeless shot, and other stats and relish in it. Because frankly we ain't here without Lydon.

 

[NineOneSeven]

We need to capitalize this year, cuz after yesterday Malachi is gone.

Yeah?

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

It's funny how much the narrative shifted because that narrative would have been "we lost because of Lydon" had we lost to Gonzaga who just played his worst game of seAson on offense and worst defensive game I've ever seen from a center in a Syracuse uniform for 35 minutes. His +/- of who he was guarding had to have been -15 or more.

But instead he scored the 4 big points. Made a few nice defensive plays in a row andy then THE BLOCK PART DEUX and now you can look at the blocks per game, the shoeless shot, and other stats and relish in it. Because frankly we ain't here without Lydon.

He wasn't bad against Gonzaga. Saboinis is that good.

 

[MELOKEITH]

Lydon plays best angry. We've seen it more than once this tournament. Credit to someone in the chat (sorry - can't remember who) during the game who said someone should punch him in the face. This was after the hard fall he took. Dude turns up the intensity but still stays under control.

 

[cuse522]

Lydon plays best angry. We've seen it more than once this tournament. Credit to someone in the chat (sorry - can't remember who) during the game who said someone should punch him in the face. This was after the hard fall he took. Dude turns up the intensity but still stays under control.

Yeah, they should be REALLY physical during player intros running onto the court. Everyone should body check him when they run past. How hilarious would that be to watch in One Shining Moment? Then when he checks in for Coleman, DC gives him a really aggressive slap on the back, just to make sure.

 

[MELOKEITH]

The baby face (even with Rico) juxtaposed with this fire under the surface and aggressive play that comes out of him is awesome.

 

[RandygoCuse]

I'm just wondering how the legend of the shoeless three point shot will grow over time??!!

Within a few years he will have lost the entire foot.

 

[alphaorange]

The one thing working in our favor for their decision is that while they may be told after this run, especially if we win it all, that they are first rounders, it's still hard to imagine either of them being lottery players... And if they come back, they have a pretty good chance IMO to be slam dunk lottery picks. When you weigh the risk-reward financially, that's a pretty significant potential bonus to staying. Not even worrying about this until a week from tomorrow, though.

Like I posted before, Mali is already slotted at 17 by nbadraft.net, and that is pre-tourney (15 on up is lottery). He like will move up barring a bomb next game. The list is very fluid right up until the draft but to say it is hard to imagine is wrong. I hope they both return.

 

[cuse522]

Like I posted before, Mali is already slotted at 17 by nbadraft.net, and that is pre-tourney (15 on up is lottery). He like will move up barring a bomb next game. The list is very fluid right up until the draft but to say it is hard to imagine is wrong. I hope they both return.

Oh wow, I didn't catch that. 17 pre-tourney seemed kind of high, but right now it's not shocking. To be honest, what's in his best interest right now (and obviously two big games and a title next week change that) is probably to take out an insurance policy against injury and come back. He might be borderline lottery right now, but he's got the tools to be a slam dunk lottery pick with one more year. That not only means more money up front, but it boosts the chances of getting meaningful playing time early and thus sticking in the NBA for a long, productive career.

Guys who don't have the kind of talent to have a really high shot at that, it makes sense to leave and go for it if you've gotten a good run like this. It hurts your odds of a longer/better career, but $ wise it is probably a higher expected value. Guys like Mal, I'd like to think they're better off staying one more year with really high likelihood of banking that much more coin afterward.

 

[SWFLCUSE]

Like I posted before, Mali is already slotted at 17 by nbadraft.net, and that is pre-tourney (15 on up is lottery). He like will move up barring a bomb next game. The list is very fluid right up until the draft but to say it is hard to imagine is wrong. I hope they both return.

That is for next year's draft, they don't have him listed going anywhere this year, and I am completely ok with that.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2017mock_draft

Edit: Added link above

 

[Budley]

I'm just wondering how the legend of the shoeless three point shot will grow over time??!!

That will be known as the origin of the word "shoe-ting"

 

[Ajflood12]

A bit worried if Lydon goes to the pre draft workout. I have posted this before but was sitting next to the charlotte scout during the Bahamas tourney against UCONN. He said then Lydon was the most skilled player on the floor and oozed potential. If they give us a title i'll take them leaving but man that would be tough to see.

 

[alphaorange]

That is for next year's draft, they don't have him listed going anywhere this year, and I am completely ok with that.

http://www.nbadraft.net/2017mock_draft

Edit: Added link above

Duh...I knew that. Don't know why I forgot

 

[Fly Rodder]

We need to capitalize this year, cuz after yesterday Malachi is gone.

Which would suck. But there's also the possibility that a certain 5-star SG could reclass from 2017 to 2016 if there were minutes suddenly available to him.

Don't want to think about next year though. This team has two more games to win.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I have no idea, because the NBA is a mystery to me, but I do know that they would be the best players to stay (at SU) in quite a while. So I'm assuming both gone, but many people who follow it here say that is crazy talk so I am hoping.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I have no idea, because the NBA is a mystery to me, but I do know that they would be the best players to stay (at SU) in quite a while. So I'm assuming both gone, but many people who follow it here say that is crazy talk so I am hoping.

The new rules are going to make it a lot less predictable. Quite a few people like to post that Player X should come back one more season because they would be a lottery pick next draft ... well, don't you think that some NBA exec with a 25th pick this season and maybe no chance at the lottery next season might think the same thing? Some team could really take a shine to Malachi in the combine and think that they'd be better off grabbing him at 28 instead of watching him go to some other team at 12 next season.

 

[alphaorange]

The new rules are going to make it a lot less predictable. Quite a few people like to post that Player X should come back one more season because they would be a lottery pick next draft ... well, don't you think that some NBA exec with a 25th pick this season and maybe no chance at the lottery next season might think the same thing? Some team could really take a shine to Malachi in the combine and think that they'd be better off grabbing him at 28 instead of watching him go to some other team at 12 next season.

Why would either go if they thought they would drop to 28th? Teams are not allowed to make promises or encourage them to come out. NBA execs won't be part of the info the players get.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Like I posted before, Mali is already slotted at 17 by nbadraft.net, and that is pre-tourney (15 on up is lottery). He like will move up barring a bomb next game. The list is very fluid right up until the draft but to say it is hard to imagine is wrong. I hope they both return.

Ok you need a 24-hour ban for citing misleading and inflammatory information. I went from being hopeful that he was returning to being quite depressed that he gone, just by taking your post at face value.

 

[alphaorange]

Ok you need a 24-hour ban for citing misleading and inflammatory information. I went from being hopeful that he was returning to being quite depressed that he gone, just by taking your post at face value.

Well, now you should be happy. Until he shows up in this years projections, which he will if he finishes strong. That's just life with the current system. I'd love to have these type of guys 3 years. The college game would be so much better.

 

[721Comstock]

!!VIVA RICO JUAN ZAPATO!!!

!!VIVA LA REVOLUCION NARANJA!!

 

[Fly Rodder]

Why would either go if they thought they would drop to 28th?

Because they would be in the NBA? McCullough went 29th. He seems happy with that decision.

Givony also addressed this in a recent article for Yahoo:

If a team can select a player in the second round who might develop into a lottery pick in a year or two, should a team do that? The number of open roster spots is extremely limited, but there is no question that some younger players will be lured into staying in the draft with the promise of guaranteed second-round money.

For example, Kris Dunn will be a lottery pick in 2016 after spending four years in college. But what if an NBA team could have drafted him in the second round (with the lure of a guaranteed contract) after his first or second season at Providence? Oklahoma's Buddy Hield will be a lottery pick because of an incredibly prolific and efficient scoring campaign as a senior. But he received a mid-second-round grade last spring and was there for the taking from any NBA team willing to make a commitment to him when he was waffling over whether to enter the draft. Things never got that far because he was forced to make a decision in April, but if he had the entire month of May to roam around NBA team facilities, would he really have done the same thing? It’s difficult to say.

Look at Brooklyn, for example, they don't have a 1st round pick in 2016 and could lose out in 2017 if Boston swaps picks. If, for example, internally they would really like to draft Lydon in 2017, but feel he'll be a lottery pick just like all the armchair scouts on Syracusefan.com, why not offer him a team workout after the 2016 combine? Lydon would only have 10 days after the combine withdraw from the draft, but if he knows he's getting an official workout from Brooklyn, he probably has a really good reason to stay in the draft.

Teams are not allowed to make promises or encourage them to come out. NBA execs won't be part of the info the players get.

There are a lot of things that people aren't allowed to do, but happen all the time. Especially at the nexus of college and professional sports.

 

[bigbov]

Mali and Lydon...look in more and more like NBAers...

Dam sure did last night.

 

[andyw715]

All those blocks and he still has 2 more games left!!!!