Maliq Brown to Duke

[zilo]

I'm guessing Red recently told Maliq he will be the 6th man off the bench next year and that is why he is leaving so he can go be a starter. I personally would rather bring the 18 year old off the bench and start the vet, but what do I know? I still believe there is 25 - 30min per game for Maliq here even if he is first off the bench. Sucks we lost our best player to the portal 2 years in a row. Welcome to CBB in 2024 I guess...

 

[Marsh01]

. Losing Brown sucks but why don't we wait to see what we get in before we head to the bridge to lean over it?

1986...pearl declares for the NBA draft. The city went full you know what

Funny how the PG position changed in 1987

Breathe people

 

[dasher]

How’s the program doing? Let’s say, over the last decade?

Give me a break. No one is expecting walkons. Louisville didn’t play walkons.

You think we are at Louisville level?

 

[Fly Rodder]

So JJ is a dud or a zero? Harsh.

Dud. He was very underwhelming and disappears on the court, can’t play D, and yet plays the most minutes.

Losing Browen sucks but why don't we wait to see what we get in before we head to the bridge to lean over it?

Because that’s the same line fed to fans for the last decade. “He’s a HOFer, you think he doesn’t know what he’s doing?” Best class! Look at these guys we’re recruiting!”

There’s a search function. Same stuff. Never the staff’s fault.

 

[Fly Rodder]

You think we are at Louisville level?

Did I post that?

I’m responding to someone who thinks that fans are overreacting and think the issue is that we’re gonna play walkons.

A team can be terrible and not play walkons. I’d prefer we play the best players possible. This has not been the case for a decade.

 

[Orangezoo]

Best case outcome I see :

C: Lampkin ( since seems this is best lead at the 5 spot) backed up by McLeod and portal small ball 5( Brown returning being best but least likely outcome)
PF - Freeman backed up by portal guy (small ball 5) or Brown
SF- Bell/ Westry
SG- JJ/Moore/Cuffe
PG- high level portal add, Westry, depth small school guard.

In best case outcome it’s Brown returning, Westry re igniting talk as a next level prospect, Freeman being a lottery pick with Bell and JJ improving massively or being pushed for their minutes or both. Additionally whoever the depth portal add at forward is should be physical and a strong rebounder.

 

[dasher]

Dud. He was very underwhelming and disappears on the court, can’t play D, and yet plays the most minutes.

Because that’s the same line fed to fans for the last decade. “He’s a HOFer, you think he doesn’t know what he’s doing?” Best class! Look at these guys we’re recruiting!”

There’s a search function. Same stuff. Never the staff’s fault.

Okay, you have said it. But now you seem to be most upset that others aren't as upset as you. And that is ridiculous. As for the staff, JB decided who he wanted. I know for a fact, a fact, that coaches have wanted other guys and JB said No. Where we are is on JB. And it is unfair to blame the new guy. That he was here as an ass't is not relevant seeing that JB called the shots, not the ass'ts. I think that we will all be glad to have JJ on this team over the next 2 years. You don't. Time will tell.

 

[FrancoPizza]

But what is Maliq’s concern/problem? That’s the question.

he was going to have a significant role on next year’s team. Really sounds like Clemson or another team dropped a number that was just too high for him to pass up.

 

[pearl31]

For a decade.

clearly Maliq deciding to portal in 2024 = the the stuff happening 2015-2023 under JB

 

[Sherman20]

.

I wouldn't put money on that. I think Va tech might be a place that Brown ends up at. And last I looked, they might not have 5 guys to start most games.

Then why wouldn’t Brown just stay here and help us compete for an ACC title? We’re only a couple of pieces away from being that. I’d rather play on a winning team than a losing team that’s a complete rebuild.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Okay, you have said it. But now you seem to be most upset that others aren't as upset as you. And that is ridiculous. As for the staff, JB decided who he wanted. I know for a fact, a fact, that coaches have wanted other guys and JB said No. Where we are is on JB. And it is unfair to blame the new guy. That he was here as an ass't is not relevant seeing that JB called the shots, not the ass'ts. I think that we will all be glad to have JJ on this team over the next 2 years. You don't. Time will tell.

We can blame JB for this year’s mess, but going forward it’s all on red. That includes the here and now with the transfers and portal speed dating.

 

[cuseincincy]

Maliq is not a center. He's not a bad center, he is flat not a center and should never play there again. And I think he knows that. And he also is not a stretch 4 nor does he have a skillset that can play the 3. Freeman and Brown could have probably played some together but not for extended periods. Maliq may have wisely determined that if he wanted PT he would have to get 15+ minutes of that at center. And as I said above, he is not a center. I think people are overestimating how good Mailq is in comparison to how disappointing Benny was.

 

[dasher]

.
Then why wouldn’t Brown just stay here and help us compete for an ACC title? We’re only a couple of pieces away from being that. I’d rather play on a winning team than a losing team that’s a complete rebuild.

The Va Tech was just a guess on my part. And while he still might do what you suggest, I guess he wants more than that.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Not at all. We can be better by being a complete team. Having a real 4. A real 5 A real 1. That would make us better. Guys that actually play the position that they are assigned to play. Our best teams have always had that.

I thought red was moving toward position-less basketball to stay up with the times.

 

[Madbiker]

Since Bell hasn't appeared in the portal the assumption is Red has told him he's the starting SF again next season. Freeman starts at PF. Red clearly wants a true center from the portal. Weather Lampkin fills that role is debatable. So Brown was looking at a bench role backing up the PF/C. Which was not acceptable to him. At least that is the possible story that makes sense. I can't blame Brown if that is the situation.
The problem is what is Red really doing with the C spot and why is Bell who is a non factor as a rebounder and a poor m2m defender cast back in the starting 30 mpg role? IMO he's a 6th man off the bench 3 pt sniper. But of course if that was laid out for him he'd be in the portal too. It's a maddening job trying to put this puzzle together. All I can do is hope Red knows what he's doing and gets some good talent from the portal. Unfortunately the news about bringing in Lampkin is distressing.

 

[Chip]

Eh, disappointing in many ways for sure. But four 20-win seasons, four tourney berths, two sweet 16s and a final four with one losing season (still 16 wins) isn’t that atrocious. Add into that the fact that it was the end of an incredibly long tenure by a legendary coach (almost always a rocky ride at the finish) and a first-year head coach in an unprecedented era of player movement, the introduction of the era of players being paid above board in a Wild West type scenario, and penalty-free transfers while conferences are being constantly realigned.

That scenario is going to make for a lot of uncertainty and we’ve certainly felt that. Definitely ugly at times and disappointing for sure, but I wouldn’t call it comical nor would I say it’s been thoroughly shocking.

Just hope we can weather the storm and come out ok on the other side sooner than later.

Never underestimate one's expectations for SU hoops. We should be better than we've been, but as you said, given the transition, I don't know why people thought it would happen so quickly.

Oh, and a shout out to anyone born when we won our only national championship. In just 5 days, they'll be able to legally drink.

 

[Sherman20]

0-4 Hmmm I don't consider JJ a miss. We still have two more years. I like what I saw on offense the last 2 months of the season. He needs to be better on defense. Westry was hurt. Cuffe wasn't much. Still has time. And Naheem got hurt and needs work. He does need to do better this year. And it will be easier to make those changes ina second year than a first year.

I’m with you on Starling. I think that kid is gonna be a star next year. Add a really good PG to the mix and a healthy Westry, plus Choppa Moore, who has a reputation as a great shooter, and we’ll have a nice backcourt. Plus Cuffe who’s another wild card.

 

[Sherman20]

what kills me with some of these posts are i dont think people really grasp at how the portal works, what a kid is thinking and to set feelings aside. Here is how I approach every off season

Assume EVERY kid is leaving once the season ends. EVERY kid

I dont get attached emotionally to players anymore. Im too old and the game has changed.

Understand that if you were in their position you would declare for the portal as well. I would have drank a cup of piss in college if someone gave me $20 for beer money. Why wouldnt a kid look at leaving if someone offered him $800k?

Just accept that its the way the game works now. All this "I cant believe he left" and "its a massive loss...we arent gonna recover" is ridiculous. Move on and adapt.

We didnt even sniff the post season with this cast of characters. Maybe (gasp!) we could actually get the RIGHT players in here and get back to the NCAA's?

The constant transfers is how you alienate fan bases and ruin interest in college basketball. The unlimited transfer rule has to change at some point. We can’t have a Wild West every year. It doesn’t work for growing and maintaining interest in the sport long term. The only solution, imo, is for the players to unionize and then negotiate a collective bargaining agreement and have contracts with limited amounts of transfers/restrictions on free agency.

 

[orangejunkie]

Maliq had a very good year but he isn't a traditional down low back to the basket center that puts pressure on the opposing defense. Also, other than an occasional 3 from the top of the key, I don't recall him ever taking shots from the wing. He might get there in another season but not there his first two years.

His strengths were his mobility and ability to defend all over the court as well as his passing. Rebounding was a major weakness on the team. Hopefully a strong center transfer, the arrival of Freeman, and another possible forward addition in the transfer portal can address that. Bell might make some incremental improvements in his defense and rebounding but that remains to be seen.

 

[pokercuse08]

Right, and let's not act like Syracuse is at all unique in scrambling to figure this out right now.

No, but it's frustrating because to me the writing has been on the wall about exactly how this will work, and how top programs should adapt. But I have a very analytical mind and this is right at the intersection of a few of my interests and areas of expertise, so it's just annoying to feel like I know the right strategy and then watch us struggle.

A guy starting, playing 30 minutes a game, and playing the best basketball of his life and then having his minutes reduced the next season probably will not be happy in that role. Maybe if we can get back to being a top tier program again, we might have more leeway for stuff like that, but in our current state, I think most players facing a demotion in role will at least consider transferring.

In this situation it's really important to manage expectations at each point in time. Like if I were Red I would have made it clear to Maliq that I didn't think him playing 30 minutes per game was in his best interest, and it was greatly appreciated that he was sacrificing for the team both in playing the 5 and playing more minutes than ideal, and that we'd make sure to get him a better mixture of position/minutes next year.

I'd also be trying to cap most of my starters in the 27-30 minute range, which lets you play 6 or 7 guys "starter minutes." You can then get a little gimmicky and have a "Starting Stretch 4" and a "Starting PF" and try to get those guys bought in to starting when the matchup favors them.

Basically the goal is to have ~7 players above a certain skill level, and then 2-3 more who can play, so you have to kind of work backwards from there and figure out the best way to get buy-in from the players.

 

[pokercuse08]

The constant transfers is how you alienate fan bases and ruin interest in college basketball. The unlimited transfer rule has to change at some point. We can’t have a Wild West every year. It doesn’t work for growing and maintaining interest in the sport long term. The only solution, imo, is for the players to unionize and then negotiate a collective bargaining agreement and have contracts with limited amounts of transfers/restrictions on free agency.

This makes too much sense to everyone involved not to happen, and hopefully the system can be set up to help mid-majors stay a little competitive. Something like one "free" transfer, and after that you have to sit out one year for your second transfer, two years for your second, etc. But if you transfer down a level in terms of conference, you knock a year off sitting out.

I'd also love to see some kind of luxury tax off the portal that goes to teams that develop and lose players, but I don't see how to get the power conferences to agree.

Paying players to sit out would also be a way the top programs could stash more talent and spend more money. Both after transferring and as a redshirt.

 

[littlereg]

i dont know if I need to offer some people in here an inhaler or a shot, or both?

 

[jdubs30]

No, but it's frustrating because to me the writing has been on the wall about exactly how this will work, and how top programs should adapt. But I have a very analytical mind and this is right at the intersection of a few of my interests and areas of expertise, so it's just annoying to feel like I know the right strategy and then watch us struggle.



In this situation it's really important to manage expectations at each point in time. Like if I were Red I would have made it clear to Maliq that I didn't think him playing 30 minutes per game was in his best interest, and it was greatly appreciated that he was sacrificing for the team both in playing the 5 and playing more minutes than ideal, and that we'd make sure to get him a better mixture of position/minutes next year.

I'd also be trying to cap most of my starters in the 27-30 minute range, which lets you play 6 or 7 guys "starter minutes." You can then get a little gimmicky and have a "Starting Stretch 4" and a "Starting PF" and try to get those guys bought in to starting when the matchup favors them.

Basically the goal is to have ~7 players above a certain skill level, and then 2-3 more who can play, so you have to kind of work backwards from there and figure out the best way to get buy-in from the players.

Maliq got screwed this year - he was not put in a position to succeed . And his reward for his play last year was to come back to less minutes, and direct PT competition from the programs best recruit in a decade. His best friend is transferring and got booed at home - and his lead recruiter just left. And on top of all of that, I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t trust the staff after what happened this year.

 

[MadNY3]

Pringle, Griffin and Sears weren’t on Bama last year?

Clemson didn’t have Hall, Schieffelin, and Hunter last year?

I won’t get into UNC.

Guys transfer sure. They aren’t losing their best players.

Monumental failure.

That's...a bit dramatic. Coming off a year where...:

• We had our best regular season in five years
• We had our highest regular season wins in the ACC since we are #1 in the USA a decade ago
• We were in 4th place going into the last regular season
• We lost multiple impact players before (Westry) and during the season (Benny, everyone at the 5)

...under a first-year coach taking over from a predecessor and was clearly installing new things, "monumental failure" seems super emotional if not unreasonable.

If we get zero transfers and take a step backwards next year, I'm up for failure. But this is far from monumental when you look at where we are now versus one/two years ago.

 

[MadNY3]

I'm guessing Red recently told Maliq he will be the 6th man off the bench next year and that is why he is leaving so he can go be a starter. I personally would rather bring the 18 year old off the bench and start the vet, but what do I know? I still believe there is 25 - 30min per game for Maliq here even if he is first off the bench. Sucks we lost our best player to the portal 2 years in a row. Welcome to CBB in 2024 I guess...

I doubt Red ran him off. Brown is/was an asset.

We are lucky in that we have Freeman coming in and is by all accounts an upgrade at the four. Brown likely has new option$ and didn't waant to play the 5. Sucks, but the transfer portal is more th norm than not.