SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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THE TEAM
(I’ve included scholarship players only, although I’m not sure of Chaz Owens status. The class designations are just to establish how many years of eligibility the player has left: if he’s listed as a senior, this will be his last year to play at the college level: a junior, he could be back next year, etc. I didn’t make designations for COVID years, grad transfers, redshirts, etc.)
Centers
Last year we had four centers on the roster but wound up playing a power forward, (Maliq Brown) at the position because two of the centers, (Naheem McLeod and Mounir Hima) were career back-ups and dealing with injuries and the other two, (Peter Carey and William Patterson) weren’t ready yet, (and might not have been appropriate for this level anyway). This year we will have only two centers. But one, (Eddie Lampkin) has started for two different teams for three years. The other is McLeod. We may again have to pull some forwards in to help out at this position but it won’t be full-time with Lampkin available. Also, I think that with both center’s defensive limitations and McLeod’s height, Red Autry may have to go back to playing a zone this year.
Eddie Lampkin Jr. 6-11 265 (Senior)
Eddie is a classic modern college athlete. He played for Texas Christian for three years, then Colorado and now he’s here. After he’d already committed there still had so be negotiations over what NIL money he would get. He’s also started a restaurant business with a partner featuring the “Eddie Lampkin Dry Rub”. An article said that his partner is the cook and he’s the taster. Despite Eddies fascination with eating, he’s listed in Lindy’s preseason magazine as being 300 pounds but SU now lists him as 265 pounds, so he’s trying to increase his stamina and mobility. He played 3.4 minutes per game as a freshman at TCU, then 21.5 and 21.8 as a sophomore and junior before transferring to Colorado and averaging 27.8. He averaged 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Buffs. He hit 58% of his field goals and 66% of his free throws.
He didn’t attempt a three pointer, although Red has him practicing one from certain spots. Syracuse.com: “Coaches these days are growing increasingly interested in the 5-out concept of basketball, which emphasizes skills and opens the lane for driving excursions. Autry has long said his dream lineup consists of players at every position that can shoot, dribble and pass.” My dream line-up is having a 6-11 265 center who dominates in the paint.
NBA scouting live: “Eddie Lampkin is a strong big man that is having a solid senior season for Colorado, He excels at scoring in the post and can score and grab rebounds in the paint. He will need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal and he will need to show NBA teams that he can guard quicker players in space.”
Colorado won a couple of NCAA games last year and Lampkin was a big reason why with 37 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists against Boise State, Florida and Marquette. Here are his highlights from last season:
Eddie gives us the first real inside scorer we’ve had in years. An inside scorer is not a pick-and-roll guy who runs to the basket and gets a pass. It’s a guy who plants himself in the paint, gets a pass and dribbles around defenders to get to the basket, sometimes turning his back to the basket to protect the ball and turning in one direction or the other to get a shot off. When you have a guy like that, the defense tends to ‘sag in’ and that creates open shots for your jump shooters. The last guy we have had who could do this was Rakeem Christmas in 2015. Rakeem wasn’t a wide body like Eddie, who has been compared to Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, the twin inside scorers our great 2010 team had. He’s also been compared to NC State’s D. J. Burns from last year who helped that team get to the Final Four with his passing ability. DJ was 6-9 260, (officially – he’d probably be a fan of Eddie’s rub), thus the comparison. Eddie can also pass very well and I think his scoring ability is better than DJ’s. The fact that the highlight tape showed only a few seconds of Eddie’s defense is significant: it’s supposed to be a weakness his offensive skills more than make up for. At least we have a legit center who’s a legit starter.
I did his numbers at Colorado last year using my net points system:
27.8m 15.3p + 10.1r + 3.2a + 0.5s + 0.2b = +31.1, 4.5mfg + 1.6mft + 3.7to + 3.1pf = -12.9 =
18.2NP 9.2OE 9.0FG I’ll take it.
(points rebounds, assists, steal and blocks minus missed field goal, missed free throws, turnovers and fouls = Net Points. Points – mfg – missed ft = Offensive Efficiency. NP-OE = Floor Game)
Naheem McLeod 7-4 265 (Senior)
Naheem is the tallest player we’ve ever had here. He was our starter last year after two years at Florida State. The coach there, Leonard Hamilton loves big guys and he loves rotating players so Naheem played 11.1 and 13.1 minutes per game in his two years there. His stamina was such that he didn’t play much more as our starter: 14.6. Then he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot: that means that at least one of several bones in his foot were broken or separated from ligaments. Naheem said in an interview that doctors had told him he’s still growing and might reach 7-7. People who grow to extreme height sometimes have problems with their bodies adjusting to this growth. Maybe that’s part of the problem. Bill Walton had his career curtailed by foot injuries. I hope that’s not Naheem’s fate.
Naheem’s production here, even when healthy, wasn’t much more than it was at Florida State: 4.5 points and 2.1 rebounds as a freshman, 3.6/2.7 as a sophomore and 3.9/4.3 here. His rebounding has improved but not his scoring. His shot-blocking has gone from 0.4 to 1.2 to 1.9. If you look at least year’s numbers per 40 minutes of play, (the length of a college basketball game), it’s actually pretty impressive:
10.7P 11.9r 0.2a 0.6s 5.3b = 28.7+ 2.6mfg 1.4mft 1.2to 2.2pf = 7.4- = 21.3NP 6.7OE 14.6FG
He was 59% from the field and 70% from the line. He also didn’t attempt a three pointer. His statistical strength is the lack of negatives. The complaints from the fans were about a lack of positives. He didn’t do a lot of anything, except those blocks.
Fans expect 7-4 players to dominate and any failures are magnified. Naheem let some rebounds hit the floor that he might have gotten. He kept bringing the ball down when he got passes, allowing defenders to get at it, (you are as tall a where you hold the ball). He wasn’t much at dribbling the ball or passing it. He could block shots but couldn’t guard players away from the basket – he lacked the agility to keep up with them. He’s the ideal center for a zone – a big shot blocker who stays in the paint – and that’s what we would be playing with Naheem in there.
His Florida State highlight film looks terrific:
Naheem Mcleod - Rim finishing big - Florida State - 2022-23 Transfer Portal Highlights
But he didn’t look that energetic or athletic here last year, (maybe he already had the Lisfranc injury). Here are his highlights last year:
Naheem McLeod Third Year Highlights - 2023-2024 - Syracuse Orangemen
25-30 minutes from Lampkin and 10-15 minutes from McLeod would be great but I suspect they are going to need a little help from time to time based on injuries, foul trouble or overtime. If McLeod continues to have foot problems, we’re going to be awfully thin here.
(I’ve included scholarship players only, although I’m not sure of Chaz Owens status. The class designations are just to establish how many years of eligibility the player has left: if he’s listed as a senior, this will be his last year to play at the college level: a junior, he could be back next year, etc. I didn’t make designations for COVID years, grad transfers, redshirts, etc.)
Centers
Last year we had four centers on the roster but wound up playing a power forward, (Maliq Brown) at the position because two of the centers, (Naheem McLeod and Mounir Hima) were career back-ups and dealing with injuries and the other two, (Peter Carey and William Patterson) weren’t ready yet, (and might not have been appropriate for this level anyway). This year we will have only two centers. But one, (Eddie Lampkin) has started for two different teams for three years. The other is McLeod. We may again have to pull some forwards in to help out at this position but it won’t be full-time with Lampkin available. Also, I think that with both center’s defensive limitations and McLeod’s height, Red Autry may have to go back to playing a zone this year.
Eddie Lampkin Jr. 6-11 265 (Senior)
Eddie is a classic modern college athlete. He played for Texas Christian for three years, then Colorado and now he’s here. After he’d already committed there still had so be negotiations over what NIL money he would get. He’s also started a restaurant business with a partner featuring the “Eddie Lampkin Dry Rub”. An article said that his partner is the cook and he’s the taster. Despite Eddies fascination with eating, he’s listed in Lindy’s preseason magazine as being 300 pounds but SU now lists him as 265 pounds, so he’s trying to increase his stamina and mobility. He played 3.4 minutes per game as a freshman at TCU, then 21.5 and 21.8 as a sophomore and junior before transferring to Colorado and averaging 27.8. He averaged 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Buffs. He hit 58% of his field goals and 66% of his free throws.
He didn’t attempt a three pointer, although Red has him practicing one from certain spots. Syracuse.com: “Coaches these days are growing increasingly interested in the 5-out concept of basketball, which emphasizes skills and opens the lane for driving excursions. Autry has long said his dream lineup consists of players at every position that can shoot, dribble and pass.” My dream line-up is having a 6-11 265 center who dominates in the paint.
NBA scouting live: “Eddie Lampkin is a strong big man that is having a solid senior season for Colorado, He excels at scoring in the post and can score and grab rebounds in the paint. He will need to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal and he will need to show NBA teams that he can guard quicker players in space.”
Colorado won a couple of NCAA games last year and Lampkin was a big reason why with 37 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists against Boise State, Florida and Marquette. Here are his highlights from last season:
Eddie gives us the first real inside scorer we’ve had in years. An inside scorer is not a pick-and-roll guy who runs to the basket and gets a pass. It’s a guy who plants himself in the paint, gets a pass and dribbles around defenders to get to the basket, sometimes turning his back to the basket to protect the ball and turning in one direction or the other to get a shot off. When you have a guy like that, the defense tends to ‘sag in’ and that creates open shots for your jump shooters. The last guy we have had who could do this was Rakeem Christmas in 2015. Rakeem wasn’t a wide body like Eddie, who has been compared to Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, the twin inside scorers our great 2010 team had. He’s also been compared to NC State’s D. J. Burns from last year who helped that team get to the Final Four with his passing ability. DJ was 6-9 260, (officially – he’d probably be a fan of Eddie’s rub), thus the comparison. Eddie can also pass very well and I think his scoring ability is better than DJ’s. The fact that the highlight tape showed only a few seconds of Eddie’s defense is significant: it’s supposed to be a weakness his offensive skills more than make up for. At least we have a legit center who’s a legit starter.
I did his numbers at Colorado last year using my net points system:
27.8m 15.3p + 10.1r + 3.2a + 0.5s + 0.2b = +31.1, 4.5mfg + 1.6mft + 3.7to + 3.1pf = -12.9 =
18.2NP 9.2OE 9.0FG I’ll take it.
(points rebounds, assists, steal and blocks minus missed field goal, missed free throws, turnovers and fouls = Net Points. Points – mfg – missed ft = Offensive Efficiency. NP-OE = Floor Game)
Naheem McLeod 7-4 265 (Senior)
Naheem is the tallest player we’ve ever had here. He was our starter last year after two years at Florida State. The coach there, Leonard Hamilton loves big guys and he loves rotating players so Naheem played 11.1 and 13.1 minutes per game in his two years there. His stamina was such that he didn’t play much more as our starter: 14.6. Then he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot: that means that at least one of several bones in his foot were broken or separated from ligaments. Naheem said in an interview that doctors had told him he’s still growing and might reach 7-7. People who grow to extreme height sometimes have problems with their bodies adjusting to this growth. Maybe that’s part of the problem. Bill Walton had his career curtailed by foot injuries. I hope that’s not Naheem’s fate.
Naheem’s production here, even when healthy, wasn’t much more than it was at Florida State: 4.5 points and 2.1 rebounds as a freshman, 3.6/2.7 as a sophomore and 3.9/4.3 here. His rebounding has improved but not his scoring. His shot-blocking has gone from 0.4 to 1.2 to 1.9. If you look at least year’s numbers per 40 minutes of play, (the length of a college basketball game), it’s actually pretty impressive:
10.7P 11.9r 0.2a 0.6s 5.3b = 28.7+ 2.6mfg 1.4mft 1.2to 2.2pf = 7.4- = 21.3NP 6.7OE 14.6FG
He was 59% from the field and 70% from the line. He also didn’t attempt a three pointer. His statistical strength is the lack of negatives. The complaints from the fans were about a lack of positives. He didn’t do a lot of anything, except those blocks.
Fans expect 7-4 players to dominate and any failures are magnified. Naheem let some rebounds hit the floor that he might have gotten. He kept bringing the ball down when he got passes, allowing defenders to get at it, (you are as tall a where you hold the ball). He wasn’t much at dribbling the ball or passing it. He could block shots but couldn’t guard players away from the basket – he lacked the agility to keep up with them. He’s the ideal center for a zone – a big shot blocker who stays in the paint – and that’s what we would be playing with Naheem in there.
His Florida State highlight film looks terrific:
Naheem Mcleod - Rim finishing big - Florida State - 2022-23 Transfer Portal Highlights
But he didn’t look that energetic or athletic here last year, (maybe he already had the Lisfranc injury). Here are his highlights last year:
Naheem McLeod Third Year Highlights - 2023-2024 - Syracuse Orangemen
25-30 minutes from Lampkin and 10-15 minutes from McLeod would be great but I suspect they are going to need a little help from time to time based on injuries, foul trouble or overtime. If McLeod continues to have foot problems, we’re going to be awfully thin here.
