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

[llandz]

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

Spoke to Jimmy Lee a few times about this in Vegas last year. What is coachable is less of the mechanics as that can take more than a season and is so built in to the player for years, but the mindset that goes with shooting free throws is what he said is totally coachable.

 

[phil77]

Should look at the VCU players if they enter the portal.

Djokovic, Hill, and Lewis Love what I saw from them in the games I watched. Think they would fit Gerry's style.

 

[Niastri]

I think he is a capable 6-7 min a game guy.

Based on his previous choices regarding roster construction, I think GMAC prefers bigger, heavier centers. He went with two guys this past season much bigger (and less athletic) than our biggest guys this season.

I can't begin to guess who will be on our roster next season, but one thing I feel is highly likely: We will go away from the Alex Kline model of small, athletic bigs next season.

A couple portal guys from mid major conferences that are 7', 250 and proven defenders and rebounders would be my guess in the middle, with a JB style "offense comes from the guards and forwards" roster construction.

In fact, if GMAC follows the forwards oriented offensive schemes JB favored, Freeman is an absolute prototype of that type of offense. Do it all forwards were a Syracuse specialty for nearly three decades.

Furthermore, Kingz looks like he could play the designated shooter slot... a lot like Trevor Cooney or Malachi Richardson (to pick two guys who played while GMAC was coaching the team). Kingz needed to have more plays called to get him open threes in the worst way. I think GMAC could get him those shots.

 

[Cuseball]

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.

Donnie will command money in the portal due to his size and stats and pedigree. The question is could this amount (no idea but maybe $2M) be better spent elsewhere as Cuse is building an actual team.

Gerry will also need to make a call as to if Donnie is willing to be coached hard and give 100% effort all the time.

If I were betting, I think Donnie goes elsewhere and puts up good stats.

 

[Blanko97]

What if Bryce James transfers? We should get him to attract Melo, LeBron and Adam W.

Great let’s bring in another pro voice who thinks their kid is better than they are. Let’s not forget that LeBron forced the Lakers to waste a pick on his kid

 

[Irishsecra1]

I am trying to be positive, but all this talk about Siena players is crazy, yes they had a great 3 days and yes they caught Duke sleeping, Dukes players flat out said they didn’t respect Siena before the game . People fail to mention how Siena got curb stomped by a Indiana team that finished 10 in big ten and missed the tourney, nobody mentions that performance.

As I said in an earlier thread, a deep dive needs to be made into why they played so badly at a road game at Indiana.
In the prior game (Vermont), they lost their starting center Tasman (their second leading scorer and leading rebounder) to a season ending knee injury. Mulvey also didnt play at Indiana. I think Vermont was the game he had the concussion and missed 8 games.. So, with a very short turnaround, Gerry had to suddenly replace his 2 most important big men.

Gerry is good but I believe that was too quick a period of time to deal with Indiana. Not to mention this was right before Christmas break. Indiana was the first game Chandler got the start, he developed into a pretty good player but not out of the box. Then Gerry lost him two weeks from the end of the season.

 

[RedtheGOB]

For the folks pushing for so many Cuse guys to come back.

How are you going to address the losing culture instilled in them this year?

Freshman gonna act like freshman when they have bad team leaders and bad coaching but for the others there's not an excuse for the effort.

I guess new coach and staff will...

-GMac sits them down and says you're back on the bench earning your mins.
-The new GM looks at their actual metrics and player rankings compared with the rest of portal and says we're cutting your NIL in half because that's how your performed and oh by the way you had a losing record this year.

Both conversations will drive out the dead weight I guess.

 

[007]

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.

$$$ It’s a different world now

 

[Blanko97]

Donnie isn’t staying, he came for straughn and red, both are gone

 

[Niastri]

As I said in an earlier thread, a deep dive needs to be made into why they played so badly at a road game at Indiana.
In the prior game (Vermont), they lost their starting center Tasman (their second leading scorer and leading rebounder) to a season ending knee injury and also lost Mulvey their backup center to a concussion. Mulvey for all purposes took over a month to get back on the court. So, with a very short turnaround, Gerry had to suddenly replace his 2 most important big men.

Gerry is good but I believe that was too quick a period of time to deal with Indiana. Indiana was the first game Chandler got the start, he developed into a pretty good player but not out of the box. Then Gerry lost him two weeks from the end of the season.

Chandler also wasn't a big. Listed at 6'6 215, he wasn't a replacement for 6'11 245 Mulvey and 6'10 235 Tasman Goodrick. They weren't merely replacing starters, they went from a traditional C, PF, SF, G, G lineup to essentially PF, WF, WF, G, G or maybe PF, W, G, G, G.

Nobody wants to do that, ever. Much less with short notice. Much less before a big road game where you are already big underdogs.

 

[Orangezoo]

I would love to see the big guy for Iowa who hit that winning shot against Florida hit the portal. Kid is a good shooter, plays his ass off and does a little bit of everything. His BPR has him second to Stirtz via Evan Miya. If Donnie leaves and you keep Sadiq then get a kid like this, a bigtime 5 man and replace George with a bigtime PG you are cooking. Then you just need Kingz to get his waiver and you can have both Doty and Kiyan off the bench. That would be a solid 7 to start with…

That would be -

Portal PG
Kingz
Sadiq
Folguerias
Portal C

Kiyan, Doty, Folefac , Betsey(?), portal backup or euro g, Portal backup or euro 5 , ,Moesch, cheaper depth after this.

One interesting option might be to see if that the MAAC player of the year who was a frosh hits the portal. Could be a backup PG option and Gerry certainly knows his game. Anyways all about spending that money and building a team. Figured I would expand upon my absurdly early guess. Also I put Sadiq at the 3 because I think he needs to be able to use the bounce a little and really attack to expand his game. He is a menace defensively but he isn’t strong enough to constantly be defending in the post. Get stronger, work on his shot and handle and he can play the 3 with a big guy like the Iowa stretch 4.

 

[MGP]

That dude Cruz Davis from Hofstra is an absolute bucket...

 

[boog7]

That dude Cruz Davis from Hofstra is an absolute bucket...

100%

 

[ElwoodJBlues]

That dude Cruz Davis from Hofstra is an absolute bucket...

Him and Tejeda from Towson are two CAA players I’d have my eye on. Tejeda is just a bully with the ball that has been sorely missed.

 

[Orangezoo]

That dude Cruz Davis from Hofstra is an absolute bucket...

He also brings some serious concerns defensively. Not a very good defender at all.

 

[Acesn8s]

As I said in an earlier thread, a deep dive needs to be made into why they played so badly at a road game at Indiana.
In the prior game (Vermont), they lost their starting center Tasman (their second leading scorer and leading rebounder) to a season ending knee injury. Mulvey also didnt play at Indiana. I think Vermont was the game he had the concussion and missed 8 games.. So, with a very short turnaround, Gerry had to suddenly replace his 2 most important big men.

Gerry is good but I believe that was too quick a period of time to deal with Indiana. Not to mention this was right before Christmas break. Indiana was the first game Chandler got the start, he developed into a pretty good player but not out of the box. Then Gerry lost him two weeks from the end of the season.

I dont think anyone needs to do a real deep dive, they were not a great team, its not a knock on Gerry or anyone else, its not the same level of basketball. The talent is not the same, yes kids develop and can be power 5 players, it happens every year, but we are setting ourselves up for some real heartbreak if we are depending on players from Siena.

 

[Newhouser]

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.

Good summary and I think it is spot on. I am on record that balancing Doty and Kiyan's minutes is going to be a stern test for Gerry. He's not bringing Doty to sit and he's (I'm guessing) not allowed to sit Kiyan.

Kiyan really needs to come back improved.

The rest is using $ for the best fits for what Gmac wants the team to be. Can't wait to see what that is.

 

[atlanticuse]

Donnie will command money in the portal due to his size and stats and pedigree. The question is could this amount (no idea but maybe $2M) be better spent elsewhere as Cuse is building an actual team.

we lost with him.
we can lose without him.
or win without him.

 

[Scott11]

I continue to be amazed how willing people are to say goodbye to Donnie. Yes his toughness, defense, passing and other aspects of his game need significant work. But guys who average 17 and 8 in the ACC don't grow on trees. I'd love to see Gerry and his staff coach him up and give him some tough love if the money works.

 

[Hopkins16]

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

I see where Kiyan can improve and round out his game, with a very good offensive skill set that he already possess. LeBron’s kid is a 4 year off the bench player.

 

[Hopkins16]

That dude Cruz Davis from Hofstra is an absolute bucket...

Well, Hofstra owes us one after Carlos.

 

[NCo’range]

For the folks pushing for so many Cuse guys to come back.

How are you going to address the losing culture instilled in them this year?

Freshman gonna act like freshman when they have bad team leaders and bad coaching but for the others there's not an excuse for the effort.

I guess new coach and staff will...

-GMac sits them down and says you're back on the bench earning your mins.
-The new GM looks at their actual metrics and player rankings compared with the rest of portal and says we're cutting your NIL in half because that's how your performed and oh by the way you had a losing record this year.

Both conversations will drive out the dead weight I guess.

Ever had that coach that you and everybody else loved to play (hard) for? I believe deep down that coach Gmac is that type, something that Red did not possess.
To win consistently , teams haves to both love the coach and his team mates.
Not just one.
Positive things coming.

 

[Orangezoo]

I continue to be amazed how willing people are to say goodbye to Donnie. Yes his toughness, defense, passing and other aspects of his game need significant work. But guys who average 17 and 8 in the ACC don't grow on trees. I'd love to see Gerry and his staff coach him up and give him some tough love if the money works.

Donnie hasn’t been able to play a whole season yet in an SU uniform and missed critical games this past year. He does have a lot to improve on but I still have to point back to the injury issues.

Gerry just came off a season where he had to manage a ton of injury issues and I have to wonder if he really is gung ho gambling it won’t happen again.

Lastly, and this isn’t on Donnie specifically, but he’s spent two of his critical years of development in college playing losing basketball. There are many things and habits that must be corrected to flip the script across the board. So for me, even with his numbers and obvious talent , I worry about the risk here and whether it’s worth it…

 

[jdubs30]

Donnie will be PC’s big get

 

[Scooch]

I hope we have the $$$ to target good players on P5 teams. Sure we can find a couple guys from mid-majors who can step up, but let's actually try to get proven talent.

I don't like that people are immediately settling for lower tier players. Aim higher.