My Take

[kcsu]

Good post as always Tom. Taylor is going to be a very good 2 for us in the future. Good to hear Jb acknowledge that he is in fact a 2. Thought that Judah played his best all-around game. He is first and foremost a scoring G but he is really starting to become a solid distributor. Brown opens up Jesse down low it's a major key. Team looked good still wish JB would mix it up on the D side. Would like to see pressure before we fall behind.

 

[sutomcat]

He has to really improve his shooting. The media like him, but he's nowhere near as good as he's being portrayed. He's a good guard, still learning how to be a PG, and still needs a lot of work on an outside shot.

Agree.

His ball handling is really good. His ability to penetrate is elite. His defense is good and continually improving. He has been leading the conference in steals all season.

He draws fouls well. As of now, it looks to me as though he is third in the conference in FTs attempted.

His assist numbers are okay and as noted need improvement. Though you can see he is capable of more here, and I think we will see more here (9th in the conference in assists/game). His assists to turnover ratio is okay. The turnover number is not bad at all….he is being held back by a relatively low number of assists, which I think will continue to improve as he develops (and scorers around him continue to develop).

The only area where we have not seen a lot of promise is with his outside shooting. We know he shot 40% from the 3 point circle last year in HS and we know he is shooting 77% from the FT line, so he has the ability to make this shot. But this is the biggest thing holding him back and it might be the reason we will see him play in a Syracuse uniform again next season.

 

[Niastri]

He has to really improve his shooting. The media like him, but he's nowhere near as good as he's being portrayed. He's a good guard, still learning how to be a PG, and still needs a lot of work on an outside shot.

I'm starting to see a little Avery Johnson in him... Avery couldn't shoot from ten feet away when he started his career, but was a really valuable player because nobody could stay in front of him. He never attempted more than .4 threes per game in his career, but played in the NBA until he was 38 years old.

You don't have to shoot to be good, and Mintz may have some of what it would take.

Of course, Life would be a lot easier if Mintz could drain wide open threes. I'm hoping he sticks around till next year and adds that part to his game.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Agree.

His ball handling is really good. His ability to penetrate is elite. His defense is good and continually improving. He has been leading the conference in steals all season.

He draws fouls well. As of now, it looks to me as though he is third in the conference in FTs attempted.

His assist numbers are okay and as noted need improvement. Though you can see he is capable of more here, and I think we will see more here (9th in the conference in assists/game). His assists to turnover ratio is okay. The turnover number is not bad at all….he is being held back by a relatively low number of assists, which I think will continue to improve as he develops (and scorers around him continue to develop).

The only area where we have not seen a lot of promise is with his outside shooting. We know he shot 40% from the 3 point circle last year in HS and we know he is shooting 77% from the FT line, so he has the ability to make this shot. But this is the biggest thing holding him back and it might be the reason we will see him play in a Syracuse uniform again next season.

He’s also very slight in build. He’s physically not close to being ready to play in the NBA. He’s needs to get much stronger. Added strength will also help his three point range. His foul line jumper late in the game looked effortless and smooth. He can’t shoot that way from three.

 

[MikeSU02]

Agree.

His ball handling is really good. His ability to penetrate is elite. His defense is good and continually improving. He has been leading the conference in steals all season.

He draws fouls well. As of now, it looks to me as though he is third in the conference in FTs attempted.

His assist numbers are okay and as noted need improvement. Though you can see he is capable of more here, and I think we will see more here (9th in the conference in assists/game). His assists to turnover ratio is okay. The turnover number is not bad at all….he is being held back by a relatively low number of assists, which I think will continue to improve as he develops (and scorers around him continue to develop).

The only area where we have not seen a lot of promise is with his outside shooting. We know he shot 40% from the 3 point circle last year in HS and we know he is shooting 77% from the FT line, so he has the ability to make this shot. But this is the biggest thing holding him back and it might be the reason we will see him play in a Syracuse uniform again next season.

I’m way less worried about shooting than others and primarily focused on his decision making once he passes the first defender.

if that gets better his assist numbers should go up.

The other area is finishing around the hoop. If he gets just a a bit better with angles/body control/gets a little bit stronger, he’ll be a beast.

I don’t mean to dismiss his jump shooting. But I just think it will marginally get better and I’m fine with it if the other stuff gets better.

 

[MikeSU02]

I'm starting to see a little Avery Johnson in him... Avery couldn't shoot from ten feet away when he started his career, but was a really valuable player because nobody could stay in front of him. He never attempted more than .4 threes per game in his career, but played in the NBA until he was 38 years old.

You don't have to shoot to be good, and Mintz may have some of what it would take.

Of course, Life would be a lot easier if Mintz could drain wide open threes. I'm hoping he sticks around till next year and adds that part to his game.

I've been trying to find the right comp for Judah and it is hard. There is part Brandon Knight (but not nearly the three point shooter), part Marquis Teague (but Judah, I think, is actually measuring more efficient).

I also think Judah is trusting his teammates more, which should have come sooner. But better late than never.

It's tough, I think he will at least test the NBA draft waters, but if the kid comes back and gets just a tad better at decision making and finishing around the tin, he's going to be a beast.

I'm really hoping with the top of this draft being so loaded and pushing all normal picks back 3-4 picks, that some guys that may usually be early 2nd round picks might stay, especially if they have solid NIL deals.

Next year with Judah, JT, Brown, Bell and TBD center can be a really fun lineup.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I'm starting to see a little Avery Johnson in him... Avery couldn't shoot from ten feet away when he started his career, but was a really valuable player because nobody could stay in front of him. He never attempted more than .4 threes per game in his career, but played in the NBA until he was 38 years old.

You don't have to shoot to be good, and Mintz may have some of what it would take.

Of course, Life would be a lot easier if Mintz could drain wide open threes. I'm hoping he sticks around till next year and adds that part to his game.

I'm still sticking with Jason Hart as my comparable. Solid but not spectacular handle. Gets to the rim, but not dominant at it. Excellent defender. Improving point guard skills over time. Adequate shot that got better over time. Judah even dribbles with a similar, somewhat bent-over posture as I recall from Hart.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Here's a clip of vintage Jason Hart. You'll notice that his defense is great, he quickly looks up court when he turns over the defender. This is from Hart's senior year, and by then he could hit the pull up or the three. He even shows some of the same herky-jerky motion on his dribble to try to get the defender off balance like Judah uses.

 

[IthacaMatt]

He’s also very slight in build. He’s physically not close to being ready to play in the NBA. He’s needs to get much stronger. Added strength will also help his three point range. His foul line jumper late in the game looked effortless and smooth. He can’t shoot that way from three.

Good observation.