Lydon

[Briancuse]

I agree. It is tough when your PG is taking more shots than your NBA lottery pick, and your stretch four has more assists than your PG.

Who is an Nba lottery pick?

 

[OrangeDW]

I agree. It is tough when your PG is taking more shots than your NBA lottery pick, and your stretch four has more assists than your PG.

Yup, but in fairness...that's Gillon's game. Look at his stats his whole college career. He's not the best distributor. His skillset is what it is. He was the best guy we could get, and he did what could be expected of him.

We gotta get a PG that's here for a few years. We had a senior Scoop, Junior Triche, and freshman MCW all the on the same team! And now we're scrambling to find a PG every year...converting a lifelong Small forward, and bringing in a grad transfer best suited to be a spark plug scorer off the bench.

 

[NKR1978]

I thought so too but not when the description that best describes your game is "timid" (to put it mildly)

I don't recall a player where so many people get angry when they don't shoot. Couldn't keep track of how many times today people around me today screamed something along the lines of "just shoot" when he had the ball.

 

[justgold315]

Who is an Nba lottery pick?

Well, maybe not lottery pick, but NBA prospect (Lydon)

 

[Oráiste]

he's between a rock and a hard place: he doesn't have a position in the NBA and hasn't had (and by the looks of things won't have) a true PG to maximize his skills in college

 

[UnknownOrange]

Do people believe that if he stays for a 3rd and or 4th year he will automatically be better and less likely to see the D-League?

Do people really not believe that playing basketball full time (NBA / DLeague) will make you better than being a college basketball player? More competition, better facilities, more coaching, no classes, etc.

I understand the look that if he goes and is on a DLeague team at ANY point next year people will view it as a failure - but it's not. It's a kid working his ass off to make it in the NBA. Staying at 'Cuse for a 3rd and or 4th year doesn't mean he will get better. I'd argue it hurts his chances. His chances. Not every basketball player who walks into the carrier dome. Every case is different.

 

[Cusefan0307]

TBH even with the lack of shooting, everything else probably improves his stock(rebs/blocks/assists) since he will only be shooting corner jumpers in the NBA anyway. Rebounding carries over to the league more than any other stat.

 

[br801]

I hear ya and that's one of the main obstacles he'll have to overcome but he is only 19.

Except he isn't 19.

 

[br801]

I don't think he is a first round pick.

Did you get your hands on a better crystal ball than you had last season?

 

[orangenirvana]

Actually, he'll be 21 in a month.

Except he isn't 19.

Okay he's 20. My mistake! Which means he's at full mental maturity.

 

[Melancer46]

I still think the most accurate NBA comparison for Lydon is Ersan Ilyasova, not Channing Frye or Ryan Anderson.

 

[br801]

Okay he's 20. My mistake! Which means he's at full mental maturity.

So he'll be 21 and a half when the next NBA season starts, not exactly young by today's standards, and all the more reason he should take the money and run if he's likely to go at the back end of the first round in June.

 

[OrangeDW]

Do people believe that if he stays for a 3rd and or 4th year he will automatically be better and less likely to see the D-League?

Do people really not believe that playing basketball full time (NBA / DLeague) will make you better than being a college basketball player? More competition, better facilities, more coaching, no classes, etc.

I understand the look that if he goes and is on a DLeague team at ANY point next year people will view it as a failure - but it's not. It's a kid working his ass off to make it in the NBA. Staying at 'Cuse for a 3rd and or 4th year doesn't mean he will get better. I'd argue it hurts his chances. His chances. Not every basketball player who walks into the carrier dome. Every case is different.

The whole "stay one more year, get stronger, improve, and maybe he'll be a lottery pick" way of thinking is usually from people who haven't watched the NBA in 25 years.

 

[hungrychuck]

Agree with Cuseguy that he is not an NBA player at this time.

Not that that will stop him from leaving. He will.

Classic example of a guy who should stay four years and then maybe.

He's not a catch and shoot 4. He's a catch and hesitate and pass to someone who's covered 4.

If he leaves now his trajectory is D League and then Europe.

 

[cuseguy]

The whole "stay one more year, get stronger, improve, and maybe he'll be a lottery pick" way of thinking is usually from people who haven't watched the NBA in 25 years.

We get it. Understood. It's about the money. Everything in life is about the money.

It doesn't change the fact he's not an NBA player.

 

[OrangeYaGladi]

I can deal with the pump fakes. What I can't deal with is the pump fake, one dribble, pick up dribble, hold the ball, pass the ball.

 

[pfister1]

Agree with Cuseguy that he is not an NBA player at this time.

Not that that will stop him from leaving. He will.

Classic example of a guy who should stay four years and then maybe.

He's not a catch and shoot 4. He's a catch and hesitate and pass to someone who's covered 4.

If he leaves now his trajectory is D League and then Europe.

Couldn't disagree with this more. There are no guarantees that he will stay two additional years and be better positioned to succeed in the league. Far, far more guys are destined to get their try out and fail, then actually make an impact in the league. If he can get a guaranteed 3 year contract, he should probably take it bank the money and work his butt off in the D league to try to make a place for himself. Chances are whether he goes after this season or stays and goes after two more he is still going to be a D League and then Euro league guy. The difference if he goes this year, is that he may be able to bank some cash thanks to the NBAs system which requires it to give 30 kids each year 3 year guaranteed contracts and its burning desire to give those contracts to underclassmen and Euros.

Do you really believe that Ennis or Grant would have fared better economically if they had stayed in school? They'd certainly have had a few more years of college highlights and memories, but I don't believe that they would have been better positioned for longevity in the NBA because they stayed longer.

 

[OrangeDW]

We get it. Understood. It's about the money. Everything in life is about the money.

It doesn't change the fact he's not an NBA player.

If someone's going to draft him and pay him and give him a uniform for at least part of the year, then he is.

I don't see him as being ready to contribute much to an NBA team next year, but that's also true of many other players who will be drafted.

 

[Briancuse]

If someone's going to draft him and pay him and give him a uniform for at least part of the year, then he is.

I don't see him as being ready to contribute much to an NBA team next year, but that's also true of many other players who will be drafted.

I just don't see him being a first round pick this year, like I said before its his career, hopefully he listens to the advice given to him.

 

[UnknownOrange]

We get it. Understood. It's about the money. Everything in life is about the money.

It doesn't change the fact he's not an NBA player.

I mean it is about money but not solely. Don't you go to college to get a job? You want him to stay 4 years and then never pick up a basketball again?

 

[OrangeDW]

Couldn't disagree with this more. There are no guarantees that he will stay two additional years and be better positioned to succeed in the league. Far, far more guys are destined to get their try out and fail, then actually make an impact in the league. If he can get a guaranteed 3 year contract, he should probably take it bank the money and work his butt off in the D league to try to make a place for himself. Chances are whether he goes after this season or stays and goes after two more he is still going to be a D League and then Euro league guy. The difference if he goes this year, is that he may be able to bank some cash thanks to the NBAs system which requires it to give 30 kids each year 3 year guaranteed contracts and its burning desire to give those contracts to underclassmen and Euros.

Do you really believe that Ennis or Grant would have fared better economically if they had stayed in school? They'd certainly have had a few more years of college highlights and memories, but I don't believe that they would have been better positioned for longevity in the NBA because they stayed longer.

Grant is a guy who much of this board was in agreement on...he wasn't ready for the NBA. He was skinny, had no jumper, and teams just sat on that spin move because it was all he had.

He got on a terrible team that was tanking and actually got minutes in year 1, has improved every year, and is now at least a rotation player on a decent team. He's not great, but he's a legit NBA player.

 

[br801]

We get it. Understood. It's about the money. Everything in life is about the money.

It doesn't change the fact he's not an NBA player.

But will you consider him an NBA player when he's playing in the NBA next season, or won't that count for some reason?

 

[Ish88888]

Lydon has really fallen off in recent games. He had more aggressiveness with his shot in November of his freshman year. No idea what has happened to him. But he has absolutely zero of that alpha type player look you expect of somebody who is going to be a first round pick. Of course, this is Syracuse though so he will be gonzo along with Battle, while Luke Kennard will absolutely be back.

Yes, some of these kids come to the cuse with $$$ shaded glasses and after 1 good year they think they are doing us a favor by coming back. TL regressed and i dont even see the potential and upside in the pros. Stretch forwards in the league these days are 7 foot and have a legit shot. But, he will leave bc the league drafts on the "possibilities" which hurts the college game and makes the nba borderline unwatchable. Actually, AAU is mostly to blame. Kids grow up playing tons of games with running clocks and are taught to take an open 25 footer if you cant dump it down to the rim. Zero mid range game or inside out post play. Its a new Era of hoops and its ugly.

 

[cuseguy]

I mean it is about money but not solely. Don't you go to college to get a job? You want him to stay 4 years and then never pick up a basketball again?

He'd land a job next year or the year after playing in Europe making good money.

That's a job.

 

[OrangeDW]

I just don't see him being a first round pick this year, like I said before its his career, hopefully he listens to the advice given to him.

The good thing is, he'll have a chance to get evaluated and get feedback. He'll have to see what happens there and make what he thinks is the best decision.