Perspective...

[Oakland]

I'm sure that recruits talk amongst themselves about which schools they are considering. Many thought that QG would be the first commit and bring others with him. I think in the end, the opposite happened; QG intended to come to Syracuse and was actively recruiting other players to come here, but he bailed when he realized no other high level talent was going to join him. I have to think this is mostly related to JB's imminent retirement, some to the seriously depleted roster that they would be joining, some to playing zone,and some to the sanctions. Given the big time whiff we made in recruiting after a FF season, with playing time available, etc, I wonder if there is something we don't know about, like JB hinting that he won't be back for 2017 or just wouldn't commit to being back.

Yes, I wanted QG as much as the next poster here, but let's deal with reality and perspective:

1. This was a borderline Top 25 kid. It wasn't like he was considered to be a legit Top 5 super-elite talent that could take a school to a a FF by himself. It was only that we were very vested into him and that the rest of our recruiting has been awful in this cycle that the world seemed to revolve around him.

2. Many posters on this board were very delusional in thinking that if we did get QG that a slew of other Top 50 kids would follow him. Every kid & his family are different. All will make the decision that is best for them. There are very few package deals out there amongst the Top players. Additionally, I never read anywhere, even on thsi forum about any specific kid waiting to see where QG was going before deciding for himself what school would be best.

3. As good as the staff did in salvaging last year's recruiting with late gets, they have been that bad in this year's cycle. There was no Plan B. IMHO, the strength of our recruiting is identifying early and wrapping up the under the radar guys. The MCW's and Lydon's of this world. Quade was actually one of those kids except he blew up too early & did not wait until after he arrived on campus. But, the issue is why was he the only one of those kids, especially in this cycle when we had 7 scholies & we could afford a couple of misses if the staff was wrong ? He isn't our only need next year. We seem to be OK with bigs, but the game as shifted & we will badly need guards & wings, especially those who can shoot. Howard & Battle if he stays will be a solid starting backcourt, but they aren't enough by themselves & who knows if Battle will even be back.

4. I hate the recruiting strategy of putting all the eggs in one basket. There is no reason to not recruit other kids with interest. Worst that happens is we get serious with somebody else & then we can at least turn to Qudae & say, "you are the #1 pick, but if you don't pull the trigger & X does then we will be accepting his commitment".

5. Many posters here were confident about getting Randolph & some others. I am no recruiting guru, but I do read the stuff that is out there on the net. Fact is, amongst the other various Top 50 kids that we missed on at no point did I read that we were the leader for any of them except for Green. There was a lot of delusion in this recruiting cycle. Comes back to begging the question, why wasn't the staff pursuing other when we have soo many openings ? It is not like we had a full house & could only take two kids in which case i am also all for swinging for the fences.

6. Forward going, let's stop kidding ourselves. We are not Duke or Kentucky. It is very rare that we will beat those programs head to head if they also really want a kid we are after. Our recruiting sweet spot is the 40 to 100s & finding the under the radar guys. How many Top Twenty kids do we get ? Off the Top since Melo I am only thinking of McCulloch who was ranked that high. Again, I am not against trying, but I am against not having a Plan B when going after those types.

Yes, i am frustrated, but more so by the staff & the lack of a plan B than by a HS kid who may have been swayed by a bag or maybe just by an overall better program as much as we hate to admit it.

 

[two3zone]

Nice to have your contributions on this board, Cliver. I'm one of the few here who respect UK and Cal's game ON the court. Generally they improve like you say and are "humming" in March. Age does not matter for the most part. I do respect Cal's method of getting those divas (and they are divas lets be honest) to play together, sacrifice stats, play hard, and play good fundamental ball. I don't think just any coach can make it work with these types of players in Lexington.

Syracuse has a mixture this year of youth and old. The prize returning player from the F4 team is Tyler Lydon who is a 6'9 true soph and an under the radar gem recruit last year. He's on the draft boards as a possible lottery guy as a perfect NBA 'Stretch 4.' Think like Chandler Parsons meets Tom Chambers. Also from last year...

Frank Howard. 6'5 PG. Great passer. True soph and seldom used last year but came on in the Tourney. Good athlete. Great court vision. Made huge strides in the offseason in his strength and shooting. He's averaging 9pts/6apg so far in a little over 20mpg. He's been splitting time with John Gillon. More on him later.

DaJuan Coleman. 6'9 C. A former Cal/UK target. He missed a whole season then some due to two major knee injuries. He's in great shape now but with bad knees ultimately we fear. He's a good rebounder and can make an occasional post move. He's there to mostly bang with bigs when we need to.

Paschal Chukwu. 7'2 C. Splitting time with Coleman right now at C. Transfer from Providence who sat out his soph season. Raw but a deterrent defensively. Good athlete and pretty fluid for a guy his size.

Tyler Roberson. 6'8 PF. Senior. Former Top 50 recruit from Union, NJ. He's your Alex Poythress. Really good athlete and a GREAT rebounder when he is dialed in especially on the offensive boards. Can make a short jumper. He had 14 and 20 (!) last Jan at Duke.

NEW GUYS:

Tyus Battle. 6'6 SG. Athletic true freshman combo guard. Ranked anywhere between 25-38 depending on the recruiting service. He's figuring it out but can do it all. Played at St. Joseph's in NJ so he had good coaching. Originally committed to Michigan but changed to Syracuse.

John Gillon. 5'11 PG. Perhaps one of the most exciting players on the team. He's a one of two grad transfers in the rotation. From Colorado State. Think a more physical Ulis-type. He's been splitting time with Frank Howard at PG and has been averaging 11/5 so far. He's been a lighting bug of the bench. Really quick, crafty around the rim, good shooter.

Andrew White. 6'7 SF. Andrew White has been filling the void due to Malachi Richardson's sudden departure to the NBA. Another grad transfer but he's from Nebraska and was a Kansas recruit originally. Old school game. GREAT shooter, physical, decent athlete. Just a scorer. Much needed.

Taurean Thompson. 6'10 PF/C. Really a pleasant surprise here. True freshman and a guy Michigan State wanted badly. He was #75 by ESPN 2016. Played at St. Anthony's before transferring to Brewster for his senior year so he has had great coaching. He has been getting minutes at C and PF so far and is producing. 15 mpg and averaging 8/4. Really polished game around the basket and nice touch. Has been making some jumpers. Reminds me of a poor man's yet more physical Chris Bosh at the same stage.


That's your 9-man rotation. They have been sprinkling in some M2M along with the zone of course. This team will press some as well depending on game situations and on which unit is in there for Boeheim to unleash it. It's a solid rotation with no scrubs, really. Cheers.

What a difference a few months makes. Sigh... UK would trounce us by 30.