Next year's class | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Next year's class

We need our bigs to play well or we are doomed. DC2, TR, MD & TL all have to contribute & rebound well or we are in for another long season. Otherwise ACC we eat us alive in the paint.
 
There are 2 reasons this class is ranked top 5 currently.

-We have 4 recruits so that we get a few extra points for having more players than some
-A lot of the top talent is still unsigned

When the dust settles it won't be a top 5 class. Solid, but not top 5
 

Despite the fact that there will only be 6 such players, I think next year will be about returning players, not newcomers. This past season we had three positions open: point guard and the two forwards. We started two freshmen and at at the other position were a little-used sophomore and a jack-of-all-trades, master of none reserve. This coming year I think our starting line-up is highly likely to be Kaleb Joseph, Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, Tyler Roberson and DaJuan Coleman. I think Kaleb will be improved and at least a servicable point guard. Trevor will be Trevor but could be a better Trevor is we get him some help with the outside offense, which i think we can. Gbinije showed what he could do in the stretch in February and I think he'll play at or near that level all year and be the star of the team. Roberson ended the season strong and should be a more confident player. I'm hoping he can master that 10-12 foot jump shot. I'm taking the reports that Coleman was moving well and holding his own vs. Christmas in practice at face value. The other returnee is Obokoh, who I think has some upside,: I'm just not sure how mach.

The new guys all look good to me. I think they all have a chance to be good college players. We'll see about the NBA later, (but, of course sooner than we'd like to). I see Diagne as similar to Rick Jackson: a guy who could play power forward or center for us. I think he'll probably be more advanced as a freshman. He ahs more bulk than Roberson but still seems to move very well. I think he'll get playing time at both positions. Lydon has a rep as a great shooter and at 6-9 nobody's going to block it. He's supposed to be able to put it on the floor to score. I don't know what he gives us on defense or on the boards. He seems awfully skinny, (200 pounds) so I don't know how much we'll see of him next year. Our guys never seem to do much in the high school all-star games so I'm not concerned about Malachi Richardson. Again, I'll take the reports at face value that he may be the most ready to help us right away and that he can both shoot form outside or drive to the basket to score. There's been conflicting reports about his defense. I think he'll be a swing man and our first "instant offense" guy off the bench since Dion. I think Frank Howard might surprise people. He seems to really know what's going on out there in the clips I saw. He's big and quick. Someday he and Malachi could give us the sort of 'long' backcourt that makes the zone impenetrable. I think the new guys will supply the depth we need and if any of the starters falter, they could do more than that.

This team could be fun to watch. We need a team like that.
 
Howard - think a more raw version of MCW. I'm not saying he's ever going to be as good as MCW, but that's who his game and body type remind me of. He's still learning to play PG, though, and is - at best - a streaky shooter. He's got a solid handle, he's a good passer but from when I've watched him play, he seems to try to get a little too flashy sometimes and it leads to turnovers.

Richardson - probably the most "ready" to contribute early, though it's going to be tough for him to take minutes from Cooney and Gbinije. Good size and frame, solid but not spectacular athlete, good shooter (he hit 74 threes in 27 games as a senior). He's fundamentally sound, and a scorer, pure and simple. His defense needs work, though.

Lydon - I think in five years we'll look back and realize he was the best player in this class, but from a physical standpoint he needs to hit the weight room hard. 6-8, working on becoming a small forward. He can shoot, he's very athletic. He led the USA U18 team in rebounding last summer, too. I think he's gonna be a Dome favorite sooner than later because he works hard and can throw down some highlight reel dunks as well as knock down threes.

Diagne - a little undersized to play the 5, but we're going to need him to play there at least some. He's more of a 4 but necessity will dictate he rolls over to the 5 depending on 1) Chino's development and 2) Coleman's health. He can be an animal on the glass, and his offensive game is extremely underrated. He's got a smooth looking jumper that he can knock down pretty consistently out to 15 feet. I think he'll surprise people.

Nice post. CMac is really brave. Can you imagine if he doesn't get drafted! Holy Crap! I don't think he's signed yet so maybe there's a chance he returns.
 
We need our bigs to play well or we are doomed. DC2, TR, MD & TL all have to contribute & rebound well or we are in for another long season. Otherwise ACC we eat us alive in the paint.
Kind of like it ate ND alive this past season with 6'5 Connaughton at PF and 6'8 August at C?
(of course we don't have the same style/approach as ND, but the point is you don't have to run 7'0/6'10/6'9 across the frontline to win games in the ACC)
 
We need our bigs to play well or we are doomed. DC2, TR, MD & TL all have to contribute & rebound well or we are in for another long season. Otherwise ACC we eat us alive in the paint.

"doomed" is too strong of a word. We just need 20 wins and Diagne playing his best ball going into the ACC tournament. We should do fine.
 
Kind of like it ate ND alive this past season with 6'5 Connaughton at PF and 6'8 August at C?
(of course we don't have the same style/approach as ND, but the point is you don't have to run 7'0/6'10/6'9 across the frontline to win games in the ACC)

ND and Wisconsin played terrific motion offenses. If anything, we need better positioning and movement on offense. Our defense wasn't bad the 2014-15 season. The offense was streaky.
 
Thanks for posting those videos, SWC!

Yeah, those videos were awesome! Red compared Howard to MCW and Hop compared Malachi to Andy Rautins. That's pretty good company.

In watching the Diagne highlights I am a little concerned about center. There will be a lot pressure on whoever plays the center of the zone.
 
Our defense wasn't bad the 2014-15 season. The offense was streaky.
Streaky? Sign me up for that right now because that would be an improvement. You don't get 18-13 without major ineffectiveness on both ends of the floor.
 
Howard will be stuck behind to many other guys

Richardson will get limited minutes behind Cooney

Diagne is not a Center so not sure

Lydon's body is not ready to play at this level

If Richardson can beat out Cooney we are in trouble
 
Streaky? Sign me up for that right now because that would be an improvement. You don't get 18-13 without major ineffectiveness on both ends of the floor.

The defense was okay enough to win 18 games. It seemed to me the games we lost were not the result of playing bad defense.

"McCullough currently does not appear on the mock draft boards of noted NBA Draft sites NBADraft.net or Draftexpress.com."

CMac is really taking a HUGE risk entering the draft. If doesn't get drafted at all he's going to be very deep trouble!
 

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