Now that GMac is HC, what does next year's squad look like?

[Orangezoo]

I’m going into the 26-27 season with low expectations. It will be Gerry’s first season at the helm with a few transfers from a lower tier program, and a few holdovers who need development and growth in many areas.

There aren’t any remaining recruits out there who are difference makers so our only hope of putting together a competitive team will be finding a few gems from the portal.

Any success will be because of hardworking players buying into a system and a coach who can actually coach up.

12-13 million should do him a lot better than a few gems. That should provide for the ability to bring in at least two big names at key positions alongside several other solid contributors alongside the 2 Siena guys, Moesch and then the short list of returnees he wants.

 

[SaveSUHoops]

Reports from the dismissed staff? Their talent evaluation is a bit suspect, no?

He played an entirety of 10 minutes last season... I know it's still a difficult concept for SU fans because of how awfully we've used the portal since it's inception but we can just let these players walk. If we're being serious about next year's roster, guys like Diawara, Fennell, and Womack have no business being a part of it.

 

[Orangezoo]

Fully agree.

I'm ok bringing 1 or 2 guys, maybe even a deep bench recruit, but I'm seeing talk about bringing 3+ and multiple recruits going on, not to mention the full staff. I think that's crazytown.

Doty, Folefac and the commit Moesch all seems reasonable. Anything over that makes little sense. I’ll trust Gerry on Moesch in terms of if he thinks he can compete at this level. His tape looks pretty good for a 6-0 guard from a smaller area.

 

[Gotothehole]

Let’s get serious. We need to win games and get better and not babysit the children of hall of famers.

He was freshman. are you saying that he will not get better?

 

[50YRsofCuse]

Not to be contrarian, but why would his recruiting be any different now than it was in when he was an assistant here for like 15 years.

One difference I that GMAC will be doing the closing where before someone else closed.

 

[MikeSU02]

If we have the money being rumored, no one from Siena should start and maybe one should be rotation.

All due respect to those guys, sincerely. His dudes played hard and clearly were coachable. Doty looks like he could contribute. If other guys are end of bench just in case, cool.

Some other notes:
If Kiyan is going to play, he has to commit to getting his body right, playing any sort of defense and knowing what a pass is.

I’m fine if they want to let Donnie walk, but for all his faults he was efficient and produced. Jus need to fill that gap.

I would kill to have Sadiq back. I think GMac could mold him into an All ACC defender and he’d produce enough offensively.

I would love Kingz back but he has that odd connection with the previous staff (I think), so would guess he bounces regardless of if he gets the waiver.

George has to walk. He can’t beat his guy off the dribble. And for his money, not enough ROI.

I know a lot of guys didn’t reach their potential bc of coaching. Totally fair. I think Sadiq will make a monster jump under the right staff. I think Kiyan will get there eventually.

 

[TheCusian]

I want every guy new and old on the team to fit the new culture. Guys who play and train how GMac sees things working out long term. I don’t need to see the best $ can buy at a position, just guys who fit that mold first and foremost. Talent, athleticism, skill - can all be boxes checked *after* the culture fit.

 

[Doc5120]

Honestly the only su/siena guys I'm interested in are white,kingz, doty, and folelac sp. I know kiyan will be here. I want the rest of the roster from the portal.

I want Betsey here. He has a role as a 3 point specialist. He has such a smooth jumper.

 

[JSCuse]

What kind of style can we expect from a GMAC team? All the top teams play fast these days, and Siena plays slow. I'm assuming some of that was the injuries/lack of depth. All the top teams play fast these days, and in addition to $$$, your style seems to be a factor in getting guys.

 

[SUfanNC]

Not to be contrarian, but why would his recruiting be any different now than it was in when he was an assistant here for like 15 years.

FWIW I have no idea if Gerry is a good recruiter.

Based on what a few have said I think 2 things are different.

- Gerry (based on what I have read here) is a capable recruiter. It sounds like he got recruits to the point to have JB close and for one reason or another it didn’t get there.

- NIL game is different from his asst days with JB.

To me I’m not worried as much about him recruiting as I would like 1 or 2 on staff to be able to get Gerry in the room with a recruit.

 

[ezbeezy214]

Let’s get serious. We need to win games and get better and not babysit the children of hall of famers.

If Adam W’s money is so important, he won’t have to spend it trying to look cool, he can do it on the team.

 

[capeorange]

Not to be contrarian, but why would his recruiting be any different now than it was in when he was an assistant here for like 15 years.

Because he's in charge now and based on what he says, he looks for tougher, harder working and high basketball IQ vs just pure talent. We've several talented but soft players over the last few years.
I believe he has a better grasp of putting a team together than just getting players that don't compliment each other.
I wouldn't be surprised if Donnie is one of the first players Gerry says goodbye to.

 

[Niastri]

My biggest fear this off season is we low ball Freeman, or run him off altogether.

Then he goes to another team that coaches him well, and we literally told an All American to start packing.

On a bad team, with bad coaching, without consistently enforced role or system, Freeman was 16.5ppa, 7.2rpg with almost a block and a steal on defense, handing out 1.3 assists. In spite of the animated trauma response that was our team defense, Freeman dramatically improved on that end. He came out of high school literally not knowing how to rotate to the middle to contest shots. He got way better very quickly.

He also has played only 37 career games... Freeman is a leap in effectiveness away from being a superb player that can make a team's season. That is no less true going into next season as it was this season.

The difference is that I am far less optimistic of him reaching his potential after this past season... But I also am very content to lay a lot of the blame for this bad past season on the coaching staff. Red just never really seemed to have the team after Vegas, and it got worse as the season went along.

Each of the Red's seasons were punctuated with chaos on and off the court. I can only hope GMAC, coming in after two seasons as head coach, manages player personalities and expectations better than Red did.

 

[SUfanNC]

If Adam W’s money is so important, he won’t have to spend it trying to look cool, he can do it on the team.

You should be happy there is a potential for donors like AW. Whether he donates or not is obviously up in the air. The fact it’s so out in public can understandably be a turn off to some. There are plenty other donors that potentially have some warts too that you don’t see because it’s behind closed doors and not so public.

It sorta is what it is. If it generates buzz or money that helps NIL in anyway, I would think that’s a net positive.

 

[RedtheGOB]

EvanMiya BPR and Player Rankings. BTW Doty is 550, Mulvey and Folefac in the 900's, Shoats 1200.

Nate 211

Kingz 220

Donnie 355

Kyle 849

JJ 1167

Betsy 1176

Sadiq 1350

Kiyan 2342

]​

I don't think people realize just how bad our Frosh were and JJ...

​

 

[phil77]

PG - Portal/Portal
SG - Doty/Anthony
SF - Portal/White
PF - Portal/White
C - Portal/Portal

I am giving up the SG spot because I think there is no way Anthony and Doty aren't back.
Shooting at the PG and Forward spots will be massive...
Then add a couple of incoming Freshman for more depth on the wings..
White I like and love his potential but if we have that much money he should be recruited over. When we played the bigger frontlines he was bullied and got into quick foul trouble. Tremendous potential but with our money he shouldn't be starting.

The trick will be to get quality back up PG and C in the portal.

 

[Melancer46]

If we have the money being rumored, no one from Siena should start and maybe one should be rotation.

All due respect to those guys, sincerely. His dudes played hard and clearly were coachable. Doty looks like he could contribute. If other guys are end of bench just in case, cool.

Some other notes:
If Kiyan is going to play, he has to commit to getting his body right, playing any sort of defense and knowing what a pass is.

I’m fine if they want to let Donnie walk, but for all his faults he was efficient and produced. Jus need to fill that gap.

I would kill to have Sadiq back. I think GMac could mold him into an All ACC defender and he’d produce enough offensively.

I would love Kingz back but he has that odd connection with the previous staff (I think), so would guess he bounces regardless of if he gets the waiver.

George has to walk. He can’t beat his guy off the dribble. And for his money, not enough ROI.

I know a lot of guys didn’t reach their potential bc of coaching. Totally fair. I think Sadiq will make a monster jump under the right staff. I think Kiyan will get there eventually.

Yeah I'm not in a rush to push Donnie out the door. He's a good player. We need as many of those as we can get.

But I suspect even if we do have a large NIL budget next season that we probably have to choose between White and Donnie. Who we should keep may depend on how we feel about the types of players we can bring in but either way it goes, I won't really be surprised. My guess right now is it's slightly more likely that we prioritize White but I don't think it's a given.

 

[rrlbees]

EvanMiya BPR and Player Rankings. BTW Doty is 550, Mulvey and Folefac in the 900's, Shoats 1200.

Nate 211

Kingz 220

Donnie 355

Kyle 849

JJ 1167

Betsy 1176

Sadiq 1350

Kiyan 2342

]​

I don't think people realize just how bad our Frosh were and JJ...

​

i fixed your formatting

 

[Eric15]

I want Donnie on the team. I think with proper coaching and motivation he can be an excellent player.

 

[llandz]

I want Betsey here. He has a role as a 3 point specialist. He has such a smooth jumper.

And Gmac can only make him better.

 

[RedtheGOB]

i fixed your formatting

Thanks it was driving me nuts ha. Never would I have thought Kiyan was so far down. It almost looks like a typo but I'm sure both his Off and Def metrics were really bad.

 

[Irishsecra1]

Is free throw shooting coachable? If it is, no one told our previous regime that.

It must be. Siena had some great free throw shooters.

 

[llandz]

I want White, Kiyan, maybe Kingz and maybe Donnie

 

[cusefan88]

You need shooting. I would like to keep Betsey.

 

[OCESIP]

In today's NIL world, anything that we offer $$ wise is going too be matched (or bettered) by other programs. We can't expect to out bid and build a roster just with $$. It becomes an important starting point, but not a singular decision point for players. We are competitive $$ wise, but not a dominant player in today's environment.

Given that money alone is just one factor, GMac has to sell a concept and a style of play that makes SU standout. He's fighting to distance himself from recent program mediocrity and create a new and dynamic environment. To recreate the dome hysteria that existed a decade ago is a major challenge, but having been part of that he has a fan base that will jump on the opportunity to get there again. The spark has been lit, but to get the fire to burn will take a lot of work. Would love to see it all come together again.