Naheem McLeod Transferring to Syracuse (5/15/23)

[Orangezoo]

For those mentioning Chukwu... Naheem is 255. Chukwu was 228 at his heaviest...

 

[GooseMutt]

He WANTS to be here! He’s got something to prove. The players around him will inspire him cause that’s how teams work. Welcome to the family and time to do some work!

 

[Timonen]

Hope he chooses #1 like in the photo. Will be slimming and give the illusion of extra height.

 

[SUOrangeSU]

I know for a fact that Griff is extremely excited for this kid. That alone, I’m good with. Yes, do I wish we had someone a little bit more proven but lets see how this turns out

 

[721Comstock]

Basically been our center recruiting for about a decade now. Just grabbing as many lottery tickets as possible and hoping to hit on one.

... like we did with Jesse?


At least now we're not hamstrung needing our 5 to be able to hold down the middle of the zone, while also covering the corner 3.

(because of certain other former players not being able to do the latter)

Dude is tall, pretty athletic, not a beanpole, and at least has some P5 experience.

Not a terrible Plan B after losing Jesse.
(and likely never really having a legit shot at Dickinson)

 

[Toga]

Guess that means we aren't getting the 7'7" Chinese kid.

 

[Admiral33]

3 ppg bench guy from a 9 win team. We’re popping champagne to this?

This guy, you must be fun at parties.

 

[Trueblue25]

Red’s not looking for warm bodies he’s looking for dogs.

Big fan of the pickup and have faith in our staff.

 

[Ringostar57]

This going to be a "you got a role/job, now do your job" team. Clan McLeod....He is the ONE! Blocks, rebounds and thunderous dunks for 8/9 points a game 3 blocks a game and 9/10 rebounds per game.

 

[CuseBlock]

A center who actually dunks the ball

 

[chugg21]

... like we did with Jesse?


At least now we're not hamstrung needing our 5 to be able to hold down the middle of the zone, while also covering the corner 3.

(because of certain other former players not being able to do the latter)

Dude is tall, pretty athletic, not a beanpole, and at least has some P5 experience.

Not a terrible Plan B after losing Jesse.
(and likely never really having a legit shot at Dickinson)

Jesse certainly was a hit. But for every Jesse there are 3 or 4 Obokoh's. Guess that's why I'm fine with grabbing as many as possible. It's the only real way to find one because the dudes that are 7 foot and 250 lbs with offensive ability aren't trying to play school.

 

[chugg21]

This going to be a "you got a role/job, now do your job" team. Clan McLeod...He is the ONE! Blocks, rebounds and thunderous dunks for 8/9 points a game 3 blocks a game and 9/10 rebounds per game.

I would kind of guess he's going to be a modern Jeremy McNeil for us. Dunks, Blocks, Boards and Fouls. Capable of putting up 5 of any or all in any 20 min span.

 

[Niastri]

I think The Highlander is a decent pickup, at our greatest position of need. The team went into the transfer season expecting Edwards to stick around, leaving a hole in the middle.

McLeod fills that hole with size and length. He will be both the tallest and heaviest player on our roster, at a svelte 250lbs.

Every player has pros and cons. McLeod is no exception, as you can see potential and also reasons for concern.

I like that he dunks everything he can. Unfortunately, I think that is because his coaches got very sick of him missing layups. A 7'4" guy who never shoots from even 5ft away shouldn't average 57% on his shots like the Highlander did last year. In his freshman season, McLeod shot a more likeable 73%. Looking at this highlight, it feels like his offensive rebounding numbers are inflated by his own missing of bunnies. Still, he dunks, a lot.

McLeod is good at catching alley oops. Several times he's contorted his body a bit to get to the ball and get it into the basket. He's not going to do something like Roberson's famous Duke alley oop, but he isn't going to drop them out of bounds, either. Only 1.7 turnovers per 40 in conference play. He also seems to have good decision making on bringing it down and going back up. He should be helpful in punishing double teams when our perimeter guys get into the lane.

He's decent at cutting to the basket, either in the half court or as the trailer on the break. When he gets it, he goes right up to dunk, no messing around. After years of guys dribbling when they should have been dunking, McLeod will be refreshing.

McLeod is pretty good at blocking shots, but not Edwards good. He averaged 3.2 per 40 in ACC play last year. What he does very well is not fouling. I've heard conditioning limits his playing time, but the Highlander doesn't take himself out of games with foul trouble. He seems to use his long arms to contest shots without jumping much a lot of the time, which decreases blocks and fouls alike. Still, he's pretty intimidating inside.

I'm worried about his rebounding... He only got 8 boards per 40 and that includes however many of his own missed bunnies he rebounded. Hopefully he gets better, but being as big as he is, it feels like he's not a natural rebounder. If we are playing three guards, this has me worried.

I'm glad we have him... Hima and McLeod should be able to hold down the middle, with Carey and Patterson available in case of emergency. (Carey may be a tall forward at heart anyway.) Seeing how McLeod played against us last year gives me some heart. I think we won't get boss squirreled with him playing, unlike so often in the past. I hope he can make it to campus soon, so these guys can form a team before practice starts.

 

[GoCuse14]

I will hold judgment until I see him play in our new system.

Thats not fun...you are supposed to cry and complain. Thats the Syracuse way.

 

[kingtidge]

Red is Red-Hot!

Top 5 incoming class assuredly now...

Are we calling him "BigDuke" or "Highlander"

7'4"... There can be only one...

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

I don’t think he’ll be much of a drop off especially going away from the zone. You can’t teach size and we don’t need consistent scoring just a couple big plays per game and him to throw off the other teams best big.

Just bring back Mintz and we are in great shape.

 

[Yeti]

He's gonna avg 20 boards a game and none of you can convince me otherwise.

In all seriousness all the positive recruiting/portal grabs coming from Autry have me more excited than i have been in years.

 

[Chip]

Given hints from Jake sounds promising given whichever outcome we get around Judah

Jake is a notorious tease.

Ask any girl from Oswego to Binghampton, Auburn to Utica.

 

[orangefog]

Jake is a notorious tease.

Ask any girl from Oswego to Binghampton, Auburn to Utica.

I didn't realize that many women were interested in potential Syracuse point guards.

 

[pearl31]

Oh no….

cusefanVT awaiting Mcleod's first game for us

 

[two3zone]

No it isnt. It shows that our staff has the ability to help players improve.

Laughable. We’ve been on the bubble for a decade. We’ve had way more guys who’ve not improved than did.

 

[two3zone]

One discussion point that I was just pondering to consider...yeah, Naheem's stats aren't huge from 2022-23, and FSU was not good. But Hamilton plays a deep bench. Plus, take a look at his sophomore stats and compare them to Jesse's...Jesse made a huge leap as a junior, and maybe Naheem can, too. I get the skepticism, but there's promise there, too!

So should we field a team of awful sophomore seasoned players? Just because one team player had a jump doesn’t mean it’s a rule.

 

[two3zone]

This guy, you must be fun at parties.

You boomers need new jokes. I was banging cheerleaders at parties you were looking through the windows at.

 

[two3zone]

Thats not fun...you are supposed to cry and complain. Thats the Syracuse way.

Or have irrational optimism. Miss the hotel bookings for the final four posts.

 

[Scott11]

At the very least his highlights show he can dunk with authority, a trait in a big man Cuse fans of the last decade should not take for granted. Also seems to know how to block shots without bringing his hands down.
Let's give the staff a chance to see what they can do with this behemoth.