iommi
Living Legend
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 12,658
- Like
- 27,306
I noticed that this is going to be post #4444 for me, so instead of wasting that special # on some random post or response, I thought I'd give some off-season thoughts and my expectations for the coming season. Hopefully, this will spark some discourse on the board during what has been a slow time lately.
Before I get started on that, I wanted to type a brief note of thanks to everyone who makes this board special. You know who you are. Rather than omitting someone, I'd rather keep my thanks generic, but I especially want to thank the mods and our regular posters. I've been posting on some version of this board since the 2001-2002 season and many of the same posters still grace us with their presence. It's been a lot of fun. I tend to be a very emotional guy, and I am very passionate about the sports I follow, but in particular SU hoops and football; and this board (and the previous versions) has been a tremendous outlet for me. So thanks to everyone who makes this place great.
Now, onto my off-season thoughts and a look ahead to 2014-2015 and the future.
This off-season, SU has solidified their future, stockpiling tremendous talent with their 2015 class. I love the scoring punch that all of our '15 recruits bring to the table. I live in NJ, so I have followed Malachi Richardson and Moustapha Diagne very closely.
Malachi has been given a ton of accolades for his pure shooting stroke, and rightfully so. That being said, I think people are underestimating his athletic ability and all-around game. He's working diligently on all aspects of his game, particularly his handle and ability to score in mid-range and off the bounce. This kid is also a stone cold assassin in crunch time. He needs to put on more than a few pounds but this kid can be special. Correction: Malachi WILL BE special.
Moustapha has no such concerns with his frame. I've seen him play in person a few times and this man is built like a truck. Huge tree trunk legs give the Moose a big-time base. One of the things that always that jumps out at me (and everyone else who has watched him), is that he is ambidextrous. Moose has a handful of go-to post moves (imagine that, SU fans!!!) and the last time I saw him live he was able to put the ball on the floor and take his guy off the bounce. He's not a weapon as a shot blocker but he should be able to get 1-2 a game.
As far as Franklin Howard and Tyler "Rotten" Lydon are concerned, they both seem promising. Howard should have a nice senior campaign after getting back his strength following knee surgery and should give us some versatility at the guard spot. I saw he and Moose live at the Mary Kline Classic and he wasn't favoring his surgery-repaired knee. I also had a chance to say hi to him and he seemed like a very nice kid.
"Rotten" will make a great stretch 4, something we haven't had in a long time. He's another guy who gets labeled a shooter but can play above the rim. He does need to hit the weights big time. I named him "Rotten" after Johnny Rotten Lydon of Sex Pistols infamy and I hope it sticks. Good nickname IMO if I do say so myself.
Looking ahead to the 2014-2015 campaign, I'd say I'm guardedly optimistic. We really did lose a ton of production from last year. It seems to be an annual thing we deal with but one of these years it could lead to a down year. Now a "down year" for SU basketball would be a dream season for a lot of schools. Still, I expect us to be somewhere in the range of the 4th or 5th best team in the ACC, maybe 3rd best if JB does a great job of building chemistry with what will essentially be a new team. A tough non-conference slate will challenge us, as well as having to play Duke twice. Adding Louisville to the mix too, don't forget, and they are never an easy win, to say the very least.
I'm very sceptical that Roc Christmas will have a huge breakthrough senior season, like some have suggested. He just seems to me to the kind of guy without a fire for greatness. I am not saying he doesn't try. It's just that way too often he disappears from games. Some guys have BMW engines, some guys have Prius engines. Roc has a Prius engine. He's content doing 64 on the highway in the right lane. It's hard to teach a motor and it's hard to improve it. Roc has (by all accounts) been a model citizen and a great student (graduating in 3 years!), so I'm very happpy he's on the team. I just wish the guy got nasty on the court and realized how good he could be. I'd sign up for a 10 and 7 average from Roc in a heartbeat.
Speaking of motors, that's my biggest concern with McCullough. From what I've seen, he needs to play with more fire but hopefully, finally playing with the big boys in college gets him motivated. If he wants to be one and done he'll need to play well. Yes, the NBA does draft on promise but if they see him dogging it out there, his stock will drop considerably. I'm sure JB will tell him that. Having to put food on the table can be a big motivator. I think he and Roc are huge keys to our team because if they play well, our team will be very good. This team is built for speed so if those two guys are playing good d, rebounding and blocking shots, our transition game could be lethal this year.
That leads me to my next focus, which is Kaleb Joseph. I think a lot of people are not really clear on what we have here. This kid will be a ton of fun to watch this year. He has a swagger about his game. He thrives in transition. He HAS a BMW motor. Kaleb loves to run. Great vision. Great mid-range. Great ability to change gears. Like Pat Healy, in There's Something About Mary, he "can run a little hot." LOL (weird reference, I know). I mean that he will make some mistakes because he plays a little helter skelter at times (I'm basing this mainly on youtubes and francis' reporting), but that's to be expected. One last thing: I love gym rats. Kaleb is a gym rat. Did I mention this kid will be a ton of fun to watch this year?
I am very optimistic about Tyler Roberson if he ever gets comfortable. He's a very introverted kid but there's a ton of promise there. I also saw him play in high school and he's a big time talent. I predict he'll be our leading rebounder. He also would benefit from a quicker pace. If this kid becomes more aggressive on the court, look out.
A few more bullet points:
**Trevor Cooney should work well in tandem with Kaleb's ability to penetrate...now, can TC knock down his shots with regularity? The drive and kick will be there in transition and halfcourt and I hope they're working on their rapport. This could be a lethal 1-2 punch if Trevor is more consistent than he has been.
**BJ and Buss are the X factors. What will their roles be? Buss seems like he could be a gunner off the bench and BJ should see some floor time due to his versatility. I think BJ gets some time, predominantly at the 3, whereas to me Buss should steal some minutes from Cooney, especially in those games where TC can't find the bottom of the net. Buss could be a factor at the PG if his handle is sufficient but I still think JB will lean on Silent G to get some lead guard minutes.
**I hope Coleman comes back and is able to pitch in a little. He's an easy kid to root for. Even 10 minutes a game from him could be huge with our lack of depth at the 5. I just hope he's okay to play and confident enough to play. If he's not confident (because he fears injury), he won't be effective, even if he's healthy.
**I hope Chino is at least ready to contribute as a rebounder and energy guy. I can't expect much more from a kid who has such limited experience playing basketball.
**I look for Silent G to be a glue guy and play a variety of roles. His role may be similar to last year but hopefully, he brings the aggression on offense he showed down the stretch last year. He played pretty well the last few weeks last season and I was a detractor. I just hope that other guys step up, so he doesn't have to play huge minutes. I see Gbinije as a contributor more so than a big time scorer.
**Thanks for reading and... Let's go, Orange!!!!!
ps: Any mods know how I can fix an issue I've been having: I try to post at work and then the site makes me post a poll and even so, my post does not go through...I get a pop up that says, "post a valid message." Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.
Before I get started on that, I wanted to type a brief note of thanks to everyone who makes this board special. You know who you are. Rather than omitting someone, I'd rather keep my thanks generic, but I especially want to thank the mods and our regular posters. I've been posting on some version of this board since the 2001-2002 season and many of the same posters still grace us with their presence. It's been a lot of fun. I tend to be a very emotional guy, and I am very passionate about the sports I follow, but in particular SU hoops and football; and this board (and the previous versions) has been a tremendous outlet for me. So thanks to everyone who makes this place great.
Now, onto my off-season thoughts and a look ahead to 2014-2015 and the future.
This off-season, SU has solidified their future, stockpiling tremendous talent with their 2015 class. I love the scoring punch that all of our '15 recruits bring to the table. I live in NJ, so I have followed Malachi Richardson and Moustapha Diagne very closely.
Malachi has been given a ton of accolades for his pure shooting stroke, and rightfully so. That being said, I think people are underestimating his athletic ability and all-around game. He's working diligently on all aspects of his game, particularly his handle and ability to score in mid-range and off the bounce. This kid is also a stone cold assassin in crunch time. He needs to put on more than a few pounds but this kid can be special. Correction: Malachi WILL BE special.
Moustapha has no such concerns with his frame. I've seen him play in person a few times and this man is built like a truck. Huge tree trunk legs give the Moose a big-time base. One of the things that always that jumps out at me (and everyone else who has watched him), is that he is ambidextrous. Moose has a handful of go-to post moves (imagine that, SU fans!!!) and the last time I saw him live he was able to put the ball on the floor and take his guy off the bounce. He's not a weapon as a shot blocker but he should be able to get 1-2 a game.
As far as Franklin Howard and Tyler "Rotten" Lydon are concerned, they both seem promising. Howard should have a nice senior campaign after getting back his strength following knee surgery and should give us some versatility at the guard spot. I saw he and Moose live at the Mary Kline Classic and he wasn't favoring his surgery-repaired knee. I also had a chance to say hi to him and he seemed like a very nice kid.
"Rotten" will make a great stretch 4, something we haven't had in a long time. He's another guy who gets labeled a shooter but can play above the rim. He does need to hit the weights big time. I named him "Rotten" after Johnny Rotten Lydon of Sex Pistols infamy and I hope it sticks. Good nickname IMO if I do say so myself.
Looking ahead to the 2014-2015 campaign, I'd say I'm guardedly optimistic. We really did lose a ton of production from last year. It seems to be an annual thing we deal with but one of these years it could lead to a down year. Now a "down year" for SU basketball would be a dream season for a lot of schools. Still, I expect us to be somewhere in the range of the 4th or 5th best team in the ACC, maybe 3rd best if JB does a great job of building chemistry with what will essentially be a new team. A tough non-conference slate will challenge us, as well as having to play Duke twice. Adding Louisville to the mix too, don't forget, and they are never an easy win, to say the very least.
I'm very sceptical that Roc Christmas will have a huge breakthrough senior season, like some have suggested. He just seems to me to the kind of guy without a fire for greatness. I am not saying he doesn't try. It's just that way too often he disappears from games. Some guys have BMW engines, some guys have Prius engines. Roc has a Prius engine. He's content doing 64 on the highway in the right lane. It's hard to teach a motor and it's hard to improve it. Roc has (by all accounts) been a model citizen and a great student (graduating in 3 years!), so I'm very happpy he's on the team. I just wish the guy got nasty on the court and realized how good he could be. I'd sign up for a 10 and 7 average from Roc in a heartbeat.
Speaking of motors, that's my biggest concern with McCullough. From what I've seen, he needs to play with more fire but hopefully, finally playing with the big boys in college gets him motivated. If he wants to be one and done he'll need to play well. Yes, the NBA does draft on promise but if they see him dogging it out there, his stock will drop considerably. I'm sure JB will tell him that. Having to put food on the table can be a big motivator. I think he and Roc are huge keys to our team because if they play well, our team will be very good. This team is built for speed so if those two guys are playing good d, rebounding and blocking shots, our transition game could be lethal this year.
That leads me to my next focus, which is Kaleb Joseph. I think a lot of people are not really clear on what we have here. This kid will be a ton of fun to watch this year. He has a swagger about his game. He thrives in transition. He HAS a BMW motor. Kaleb loves to run. Great vision. Great mid-range. Great ability to change gears. Like Pat Healy, in There's Something About Mary, he "can run a little hot." LOL (weird reference, I know). I mean that he will make some mistakes because he plays a little helter skelter at times (I'm basing this mainly on youtubes and francis' reporting), but that's to be expected. One last thing: I love gym rats. Kaleb is a gym rat. Did I mention this kid will be a ton of fun to watch this year?
I am very optimistic about Tyler Roberson if he ever gets comfortable. He's a very introverted kid but there's a ton of promise there. I also saw him play in high school and he's a big time talent. I predict he'll be our leading rebounder. He also would benefit from a quicker pace. If this kid becomes more aggressive on the court, look out.
A few more bullet points:
**Trevor Cooney should work well in tandem with Kaleb's ability to penetrate...now, can TC knock down his shots with regularity? The drive and kick will be there in transition and halfcourt and I hope they're working on their rapport. This could be a lethal 1-2 punch if Trevor is more consistent than he has been.
**BJ and Buss are the X factors. What will their roles be? Buss seems like he could be a gunner off the bench and BJ should see some floor time due to his versatility. I think BJ gets some time, predominantly at the 3, whereas to me Buss should steal some minutes from Cooney, especially in those games where TC can't find the bottom of the net. Buss could be a factor at the PG if his handle is sufficient but I still think JB will lean on Silent G to get some lead guard minutes.
**I hope Coleman comes back and is able to pitch in a little. He's an easy kid to root for. Even 10 minutes a game from him could be huge with our lack of depth at the 5. I just hope he's okay to play and confident enough to play. If he's not confident (because he fears injury), he won't be effective, even if he's healthy.
**I hope Chino is at least ready to contribute as a rebounder and energy guy. I can't expect much more from a kid who has such limited experience playing basketball.
**I look for Silent G to be a glue guy and play a variety of roles. His role may be similar to last year but hopefully, he brings the aggression on offense he showed down the stretch last year. He played pretty well the last few weeks last season and I was a detractor. I just hope that other guys step up, so he doesn't have to play huge minutes. I see Gbinije as a contributor more so than a big time scorer.
**Thanks for reading and... Let's go, Orange!!!!!
ps: Any mods know how I can fix an issue I've been having: I try to post at work and then the site makes me post a poll and even so, my post does not go through...I get a pop up that says, "post a valid message." Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.
Last edited:
