Now and Then

[SWC75]

Now I’ll take a look at next year’s team to the extent of what we know right now, (March 24, 2014).


CENTERS


Rakeem Christmas- Rakeem has one more year to prove himself for the NBA. We saw signs this year- that jump hook that went in for a few games, an occasional jump shot. But he needs a lot of work on his moves to the basket. He’ll easily be our best defensive option but he’ll need help from the guards out front so he doesn’t have to cover too much territory.


DaJuan Coleman- DaJuan also has to get his act together. Both he and Rakeem were McDonald’s All-Americans- the only two we have. It’s time they showed why. DC is our one guy who can really rebound and score inside. He’s got to stay healthy and keep the ball above smaller players. His big problem is on defense where he has to be able to move and keep himself in front of the opposition. If he doesn’t he’ll draw too many fouls to stay in the game. Again, Arinze Onuaku is the template. He, too, had early injury injury problems but overcame them. His third year, (2007-08) was the first time we started to see those offensive and defensive moves. He became a strong inside scorer. He was never a shot blocker but he learned to stop drives to the basket by maintaining his position, (and staying on his feet) with his arms up. He got to redshirt one year. DaJuan won’t have that privilege but this will be his third year.


Chinoso Obokoh- We last one tall, skinny guy from Africa and now we get another, (Nigeria, not Senegal). The highlight material on You-tube is limited and mostly interviews but I see a more-broad-shouldered, stronger looking guy than Keita. Per the Media Guide, ESPN rated Obokoh the #19 center in the class. People will inevitably compare him to Keita but my gut feeling is that he’ll turn out to be a better player. He makes some moves here that I’ve never seen from Baye:


But he’ll be the third option next year as long as Christmas and Coleman are healthy

 

[SWC75]

FORWARDS


Jerami Grant- The big question for Grant is: will he be coming back? I saw an item on the news that listed his rankings as a possible NBA draft choice and he was just outside of the lottery, which suggests he’ll be coming back but who can say for sure? He needs to continue developing his moves to the basket. The spin move is spectacular but he needs more than that. He needs to get stronger and get a better handle. He needs to become a consistent medium range jump shooter. I think he’ll do those things. He has his father and uncle as examples of what it takes to become an NBA player.


Tyler Roberson: He has a good body and good form on his jump shot. He’s shown some ability to rebound. He just wasn’t ready to play a major role as a freshman, as often happens. JB complained that he didn’t understand the offense or defense. I have a feeling that his progress will be slow but steady and that he’ll be a good four year player but not a star. He’ll battle Chris McCullough for the other forward position opposite Grant, unless JB goes back to the experiment of having Christmas start at forward next to Coleman. He may have to do that in any case if Roberson and McCullough aren’t ready for prime-time.


BJ Johnson: He might see time at shooting guard but at 6-7 he’s probably more of a small forward. I loved his high school film:


Kid’s a firecracker who could win a dunk contest or a three point contest. JB said before the season he might be our best three point shooter. He could be the second outside threat Trevor Cooney desperately needs. BJ didn’t get a real shot to show what he could do this year but I think he’ll get it next year if the field opens up for him a bit. But if the Christmas experiment works or Roberson or McCullough come through big, we might not see as much of BJ as I’d like.


Chris McCullough: He’s listed at 6-10 215 but appears heavier, or at least capable of adding pounds to his frame without losing anything in speed. His wingspan is 7’ 2”, so he’s the kind of “long” player Boeheim loves. Most of his highlights are of dunk shots, which doesn’t tell me much about a 6-10 guy. But the dunks are often one handed, which means he has large hands and can control the ball. I like this tape, which is actually from his sophomore season in high school, because it shows the rest of his game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTnTLUVqbzM

He’s a good outside shooter with a quick release and, at his height, impossible to block. He can drive to the basket or pull us for jumpers. He’s also a quick leaper on the shot block and plays the passing lanes well. Of course it is a highlight film but you can see why he was labeled an NBA project and our best recruit since Carmelo. But he changed schools, didn’t have a big senior season and his ranking went down a bit, (still #29 overall). And he’s got to learn Boeheim’s system, which was a problem for Roberson. I’ve read some reports questioning his motor, his shot selection and his defensive fundamentals. Also, he doesn’t box out for rebounds, which means he should fit in very well at SU. He has exciting potential but a wait and see attitude about his freshman year seems appropriate.

 

[SWC75]

GUARDS


Tyler Ennis- he had a spectacular freshman year and looks to be one of our best ever point guards- if he stays. Those same polls that had Grant just outside the lottery had Ennis just in it. I suspect our offensive collapse at the end of the year might increase the likelihood that we will have him back and I hope we do. He still needs to work on his outside shooting, get a bit stronger and maybe get a little more confident in his teammates so he’s more willing to push the offense. But you can’t complain very much about what we’ve seen in this first year. If he does come back, Kaleb Joseph can become what JB probably envisioned Ennis’s role to be this year- a capable back-up to a star point guard, (MCW). It would be nice to have two options back there.


Trevor Cooney- There’s nothing wrong with Cooney that couldn’t be solved with a second outside threat the defense would have to account for. McCullough or Johnson could provide that. And I’m hoping Trevor can add some more dimension to his game by using the dribble to set up his shot more or by driving all the way to the basket. He’s capable of being a scorer, not just a shooter. And he’s a good defensive player, too. Anybody who is his team’s sole outside threat is going to be made to look bad. The opposing coach will make a point of it.


Ron Patterson- I hope Buss will be given a real chance to compete with Cooney for a job. He’ll push Trevor and give us another option back there. If Trevor isn’t hitting, try Patterson. And he came here with a reputation for his defensive prowess.


Michael Gbinije- I’ve posted his high school tapes several times. He’s just got so much more ability than we’ve seen this season. The Dayton game was the first game he really began to show it. He should be an ideal sixth man, a guy who can play multiple positions and scores as well. What he isn’t is a point guard. He also isn’t a good enough rebounder to be a true forward. But he can give us a lot more than we’ve seen and, perhaps with a year under his belt in this system we’ll see more of it next year.


Kaleb Joseph- Kaleb looks like an exciting player:


He’s listed at 6-3 but looked to be about Tyler Ennis size, (6-2). He has Jonny Flynn’s hops and penchant for proving he can dunk over people. I also see Pearl’s cross over dribble, setting up a jump shot, (check out the dribbling exhibition late in the tape). He’s a flashy passer. I think the fans are going to love this kid. But, while me might make more spectacular plays than Tyler Ennis, he’ll probably also make more bad ones, trying to show off. He could probably do with a year understudying Mr. Steady but if Ennis goes pro, this is our guy, agai9n with no real back-up.


Summary: We don’t get bad at Syracuse but that mix of veteran players and young players JB loves will get seriously disrupted if Grant and Ennis go pro. Without them we are probably looking at a line-up of Christmas/Coleman at center, McCullough and Roberson at forward and Joseph and Cooney at guard. That could certainly be a good team but it’s so young and unproven that it could be a team like North Carolina or Kansas this year: full of size and talent but less than the sum of its parts. We may see Christmas at forward again but if Coleman continues to struggle, (or if Christmas continues to struggle), that won’t work. If we want to get back into contention for a conference and national title, we really need Grant and Ennis back.


The conference is surely going to get tougher. Duke and North Carolina don’t’ stay down for long and here comes Louisville. Virginia isn’t going away. The other schools will get better trying to compete with the top ones. We can’t afford to rebuild. We’ve got to reload.