Class of 2024 PF/C Petar Majstorovic (Serbia) SIGNED TO SYRACUSE (8/16/24)

[orangefog]

Agreed -- depth will be substantially improved compared to last year. We'll also be an older, more experienced group than last year's team.

Depth chart could look something like:

PG -- Carlos
-- No real proven commodity at PG behind him, but Cuffe / JJ / Westry could all chip in

SG -- JJ, who could be the team's offensive focal point
-- lots of depth, with transfer Taylor, incoming frosh Moore, and even potentially Westry / Cuffe

SF -- Bell
-- Westry, maybe Moore / Taylor

PF -- Freeman, who projects as a one-and-done
-- Jayre Davis, who was the top player at Delaware, with Majstorovic being able to play here as well

C -- Lampkin
-- Backed up by MacLeod, who is hopefully past the foot issue that significantly impacted his mobility
-- Majstorovic, who has really, really, really good post moves / footwork

That looks like a squad to me. I wish we had another PG, but we have quality depth at all other spots. We should have great practices.

 

[JarHeadJim]

Just catching up here with Nancy.

I agree. I've never faired well with Nancies.
Lisas, Lauras, Loris, Sarahs, ok! Just the way it works out some time.

The Karen's are dissatisfied with this!

 

[SU in Hershey]

The Karen's are dissatisfied with this!

Who would want to date a "Karen?" They are always dissatisfied, or more accurately, pissed off about something.

 

[McCuse]

Agreed -- depth will be substantially improved compared to last year. We'll also be an older, more experienced group than last year's team.

Depth chart could look something like:

PG -- Carlos
-- No real proven commodity at PG behind him, but Cuffe / JJ / Westry could all chip in

SG -- JJ, who could be the team's offensive focal point
-- lots of depth, with transfer Taylor, incoming frosh Moore, and even potentially Westry / Cuffe

SF -- Bell
-- Westry, maybe Moore / Taylor

PF -- Freeman, who projects as a one-and-done
-- Jayre Davis, who was the top player at Delaware, with Majstorovic being able to play here as well

C -- Lampkin
-- Backed up by MacLeod, who is hopefully past the foot issue that significantly impacted his mobility
-- Majstorovic, who has really, really, really good post moves / footwork

Creates a lot of possibilities. Can go small or big. Fresh legs for the long run. Bring on the season.

 

[RF2044]

That looks like a squad to me. I wish we had another PG, but we have quality depth at all other spots. We should have great practices.

It's as good of a group of 12 players as we've had in a long time.

Probably since 2012. Not suggesting that this team will be as good as that one, but that was the last time we had more than two solid units of players, who could all legitimately contribute.

 

[Hopkins16]

I love this team on paper. The hard part is making it work on the court. But, I am hopeful with the malcontents gone and all who are here seem to want to be here. This is a team filled with veteran/experienced players and Red is no longer a green head coach. Some are worried about the point guard position, but we didn't have a legit starting point guard last year and will be better off with what we've got this year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

That looks like a squad to me. I wish we had another PG, but we have quality depth at all other spots. We should have great practices.

I think JJ is going to initiate a lot of the offense. I don't think it's "Carlos or nothing" to run the point.

Cuffe is capable, and so is Westry, who if healthy projects as similar to Copeland. I think Red is always going to have 2 or 3 ball handlers out there, based on how he put together his lineups last year.

I think we are going to run more motion and try to fast break more often. I don't see PG being a problem, to be honest.

 

[orangefog]

I think JJ is going to initiate a lot of the offense. I don't think it's "Carlos or nothing" to run the point.

Cuffe is capable, and so is Westry, who if healthy projects as similar to Copeland. I think Red is always going to have 2 or 3 ball handlers out there, based on how he put together his lineups last year.

I think we are going to run more motion and try to fast break more often. I don't see PG being a problem, to be honest.

I agree, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. But, I think a perfect roster always has a great pure PG.

 

[23Zone]

I like this team a lot on paper as well but I personally have a lot of concern about PG depth, behind Carlos.

Starling has no left hand at all.
Cuffe is not a PG by any stretch.
Westry coming off major injury

So yeah I have concerns.
Says jon Wick

 

[Orangezoo]

The French leagues are talent rich and putting out a lot of talent here in the states. We don’t know a lot other than the snippets we have seen but I wouldn’t underestimate a kid coming from the league he did, even being U-21. That’s not a prediction or expectation just to be clear but I think a fair statement.

 

[cardiac]

I love this team on paper. The hard part is making it work on the court. But, I am hopeful with the malcontents gone and all who are here seem to want to be here. This is a team filled with veteran/experienced players and Red is no longer a green head coach. Some are worried about the point guard position, but we didn't have a legit starting point guard last year and will be better off with what we've got this year.

I’m pretty high on the team being mature and deep. I just wish we had grabbed another proven guard scorer/shooter like Erik Reynolds, Malik Mack or even Leffew. I’m worried about the firepower in the backcourt. Have to make the tournament this year

 

[OmahaCuse]

I like this team a lot on paper as well but I personally have a lot of concern about PG depth, behind Carlos.

Starling has no left hand at all.
Cuffe is not a PG by any stretch.
Westry coming off major injury

So yeah I have concerns.
Says jon Wick

Starling has a good left hand and can go to the left just fine. He shoots with his right at the rim and needs to work on finishing with his left hand at the rim.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Starling has a good left hand and can go to the left just fine. He shoots with his right at the rim and needs to work on finishing with his left hand at the rim.

Cuffe can capably run the break and is very fast with the ball, advances it well.
Cuffe also keeps the ball moving on offense, which is really about all we expected from many of our PGs in the past, and just get the ball to the guy who can make a play.
Cuffe isn't going to excel at feeding the post or is not likely to create 6 assists a game.

But did you notice how Red almost always had 3 guys who could dribble together on the floor. Nobody really pressed us last year, and it wasn't just because of Judah. It was because we had a lot of guys who could hurt you on the floor, at least on paper when everybody was healthy.

And we will have more of them next year.

 

[Franz69]

Why do Euros always spell Peter wrong?

Give them credit for spelling Majstorovic correctly.

 

[Sbucketball]

At the very least, this roster has a lot of versatility with loads of different combinations, so we'll see how Red's feel for strategy is.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Cuffe can capably run the break and is very fast with the ball, advances it well.
Cuffe also keeps the ball moving on offense, which is really about all we expected from many of our PGs in the past, and just get the ball to the guy who can make a play.
Cuffe isn't going to excel at feeding the post or is not likely to create 6 assists a game.

But did you notice how Red almost always had 3 guys who could dribble together on the floor. Nobody really pressed us last year, and it wasn't just because of Judah. It was because we had a lot of guys who could hurt you on the floor, at least on paper when everybody was healthy.

And we will have more of them next year.

Didn’t need to press us. Judah limited the available shot clock all by himself.

 

[Orangezoo]

I’m pretty high on the team being mature and deep. I just wish we had grabbed another proven guard scorer/shooter like Erik Reynolds, Malik Mack or even Leffew. I’m worried about the firepower in the backcourt. Have to make the tournament this year

I think that’s why it’s so key we look to get more scoring in the paint. Eddie, Donnie, Davis, Chance, lobs to McLeod, using the mid range game too… plus the new guy has that skillset to score in the post. Even using 5 out and motion - allowing for more room to operate and attack the paint off of screening action and good entry passes to then play more inside out so we don’t have to rely so much on creating something off the bounce and pounding the rock into the floor for 20 seconds.

Unselfishness paired with maturity and ability to finish in the paint. The firepower will be having multiple shooters to play inside out with. That does mean that against teams that are good enough to force us to attack more off the bounce we could struggle at times but that’s where an X factor like Chance and the growth of other guys comes in even someone like Taylor to see how he can handle himself on the ball to make something happen. We are still a flawed team I’m sure and thus it’s going to be winning enough games to be a tourney team and overcome the adversity.

 

[billsin01]

It's as good of a group of 12 players as we've had in a long time.

Probably since 2012. Not suggesting that this team will be as good as that one, but that was the last time we had more than two solid units of players, who could all legitimately contribute.

I think the best way to phrase this is that we appear to have more useful pieces than we have had in a while.

The questions I have are mainly two:

1) How does this all fit together? Lots of pieces here but the system on both ends of the court will be interesting to see because unlike 2012, I’m not sure we have quite the same high-end talent.

2) Can we find enough Basketball Players. I know that’s a really vague statement but I have concerns about the all-around game of most of these guys. Starling should put up some solid numbers this year but can he improve defensively and create more offensively (for himself and others)? Can Freeman step on the floor as a freshman and make an immediate impact on both ends and the boards? Can Bell consistently be something more than a spot-up shooter? Lampkin should get some buckets and help our rebounding. Seems like a good passer too. But can he hang defensively?

We’ve got a lot of pieces, which is a good thing. How they fit together and how good those individual pieces play are the questions I'm most interested in seeing. Feel like they could be a tournament-worthy team if everything goes right, but I wouldn't be totally shocked to see it be a really rough year either.

 

[RF2044]

I think the best way to phrase this is that we appear to have more useful pieces than we have had in a while.

The questions I have are mainly two:

1) How does this all fit together? Lots of pieces here but the system on both ends of the court will be interesting to see because unlike 2012, I’m not sure we have quite the same high-end talent.

2) Can we find enough Basketball Players. I know that’s a really vague statement but I have concerns about the all-around game of most of these guys. Starling should put up some solid numbers this year but can he improve defensively and create more offensively (for himself and others)? Can Freeman step on the floor as a freshman and make an immediate impact on both ends and the boards? Can Bell consistently be something more than a spot-up shooter? Lampkin should get some buckets and help our rebounding. Seems like a good passer too. But can he hang defensively?

We’ve got a lot of pieces, which is a good thing. How they fit together and how good those individual pieces play are the questions I'm most interested in seeing. Feel like they could be a tournament-worthy team if everything goes right, but I wouldn't be totally shocked to see it be a really rough year either.

I agree with your question #1 -- that's the million dollar question. Because a basketball team isn't just the sum of the individual parts, how the talent blends / compliments each other matters. A lot.

And we'll have lots of new faces playing together for the first time. This would have been a perfect year for one of those international tours, where the team could have gotten some game experience under their belts, and built some additional rapport / chemistry BEFORE the season starts next month.

As for #2 -- I strongly believe that you [and all of us, the fanbase] will be pleasantly surprised about this aspect. We're bringing in numerous transfers who have extensive starting experience. I agree 100% that last year, we didn't have enough guys who were just players and could get the job done. Jyare, Taylor, Carlos, and Lampkin can just play. Majstorovic looks like he's got a terrific all-around feel for the game, as well. Last year, we didn't have enough guys like that -- this year, we will.

How it all gels -- stay tuned.

But good post, bills.

 

[billsin01]

I agree with your question #1 -- that's the million dollar question. Because a basketball team isn't just the sum of the individual parts, how the talent blends / compliments each other matters. A lot.

And we'll have lots of new faces playing together for the first time. This would have been a perfect year for one of those international tours, where the team could have gotten some game experience under their belts, and built some additional rapport / chemistry BEFORE the season starts next month.

As for #2 -- I strongly believe that you [and all of us, the fanbase] will be pleasantly surprised about this aspect. We're bringing in numerous transfers who have extensive starting experience. I agree 100% that last year, we didn't have enough guys who were just players and could get the job done. Jyare, Taylor, Carlos, and Lampkin can just play. Majstorovic looks like he's got a terrific all-around feel for the game, as well. Last year, we didn't have enough guys like that -- this year, we will.

How it all gels -- stay tuned.

But good post, bills.

Yeah, obviously we agree on the first point. I don't disagree on the second point either.

I also think there is potential for some of the returnees who weren't quite able to get the job done (at least on both ends) last season to improve. Bell will probably never be my favorite player, but if he moves without the ball and works hard on the defensive end, he has a chance to put up a very good junior season. JJ seems like a good kid and a hard worker. He was productive last year. If he can consistently get to that mid-range, like he did vs. UNC, and be more aggressive overall on both ends, he can clearly be a good player. I even think a kid like Cuffe, if he got in shape, has the confidence and athleticism to contribute in a meaningful way.

The newcomers all appear to have some potential to contribute -- really liked what little we got to see of Majstorovic as well.

So, the bottom line is this. If you're right and the new guys can play and we add in some improvement from the returnees -- that is a really good situation. Where I differ is that I'm not totally confident in that. I get concerned about Lampkin's fit defensively and was underwhelmed by McLeod (obviously the injury may be thing here). I worry about teaching instincts with guys like JJ and Bell -- you can tell Bell to move more and JJ to be more aggressive, but can you teach them feel? Not sure. I worry a bit about the jump in competition for some of the new guys.

Anyway, potential for good things is there. I just wish i felt better about our reaching that potential.

 

[Niastri]

I think the best way to phrase this is that we appear to have more useful pieces than we have had in a while.

The questions I have are mainly two:

1) How does this all fit together? Lots of pieces here but the system on both ends of the court will be interesting to see because unlike 2012, I’m not sure we have quite the same high-end talent.

2) Can we find enough Basketball Players. I know that’s a really vague statement but I have concerns about the all-around game of most of these guys. Starling should put up some solid numbers this year but can he improve defensively and create more offensively (for himself and others)? Can Freeman step on the floor as a freshman and make an immediate impact on both ends and the boards? Can Bell consistently be something more than a spot-up shooter? Lampkin should get some buckets and help our rebounding. Seems like a good passer too. But can he hang defensively?

We’ve got a lot of pieces, which is a good thing. How they fit together and how good those individual pieces play are the questions I'm most interested in seeing. Feel like they could be a tournament-worthy team if everything goes right, but I wouldn't be totally shocked to see it be a really rough year either.

I think Lampkin is going to be a big upgrade defensively compared to late last season.

Possession after possession, Brown and Taylor would be overpowered and opposing players would get easy shots because our guys were overmatched. Lampkin is not going to get pushed around (even "slim" Lamp has serious girth). Importantly, Bell and Freeman are lengthy, athletic types that will thrive on weakside shotblocking as opposing players are forced to fade away from Lampkin.

I think the interior defense is going to be greatly improved, as opponents won't be shooting layups every possession off routine post play.

Brown was great in a few ways, but upgrading to Lampkin's size, and having McLeod back is going to be a huge improvement over Brown's insufficient size. Having Freeman instead of Taylor inside will compound the improvement.

Bell will be Bell, but he looks a little bigger, so hopefully his rebounding will tick up a bit, and he'll be able to bother his guy a little more while playing defense.

 

[Orangezoo]

I think Lampkin is going to be a big upgrade defensively compared to late last season.

Possession after possession, Brown and Taylor would be overpowered and opposing players would get easy shots because our guys were overmatched. Lampkin is not going to get pushed around (even"slim" Lamp had serious girth). Importantly, Bell and Freeman are lengthy, athletic types that will thrive on weakside shotblocking as opposing players are forced to fade away from Lampkin.

I think the interior defense is going to be greatly improved, as opponents won't be shooting layups every possession off routine post play.

Brown was great in a few ways, but upgrading to Lampkin's size, and having McLeod back is going to be a huge improvement over Brown's insufficient size. Having Freeman instead of Taylor inside will compound the improvement.

Bell will be Bell, but he looks a little bigger, so hopefully his rebounding will tick up a bit, and he'll be able to bother his guy a little more.

Experience and new ideas coaching wise hopefully get our team defense to be better too. We need individual defensive skills of course but communication and movement matters so much and it was a mess last year. So the combination of those factors plus a shot blocker off the bench at the 5 should help improve team defense even if we don’t have an alpha defender on the team and have some average to below average defenders too.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think the best way to phrase this is that we appear to have more useful pieces than we have had in a while.

The questions I have are mainly two:

1) How does this all fit together? Lots of pieces here but the system on both ends of the court will be interesting to see because unlike 2012, I’m not sure we have quite the same high-end talent.

2) Can we find enough Basketball Players. I know that’s a really vague statement but I have concerns about the all-around game of most of these guys. Starling should put up some solid numbers this year but can he improve defensively and create more offensively (for himself and others)? Can Freeman step on the floor as a freshman and make an immediate impact on both ends and the boards? Can Bell consistently be something more than a spot-up shooter? Lampkin should get some buckets and help our rebounding. Seems like a good passer too. But can he hang defensively?

We’ve got a lot of pieces, which is a good thing. How they fit together and how good those individual pieces play are the questions I'm most interested in seeing. Feel like they could be a tournament-worthy team if everything goes right, but I wouldn't be totally shocked to see it be a really rough year either.

Nice observations. Generally speaking, I think having more experienced guys means that we ought to have more well-rounded "basketball players". They've been through it before, and if they were completely one dimensional, I don't think we would have brought them in.

Guys like Bell and Starling can and should improve. They both came on as the year progressed. I like that we have options at SF if Bell doesn't put effort into the defensive end, and needs to sit for a while and watch. I like that Starling doesn't have to be the primary ball handler for 30 minutes. I like that we have 4 guys who can bring the ball up.

I don't think we will have quite as many "pure shooters" as we have had in recent seasons, but I think we have enough, in Starling, Moore, Lucas Taylor, Carlos and Cuffe. And Donnie Freeman looks capable, as well. I don't feel like we're super-burly, but we should be able to match teams' physicality.

We have Lampkin, Davis, Freeman, Westry and MacLeod who should be pretty decent defensively.

 

[MikeSU02]

It's as good of a group of 12 players as we've had in a long time.

Probably since 2012. Not suggesting that this team will be as good as that one, but that was the last time we had more than two solid units of players, who could all legitimately contribute.

I think finding the 8-9 guys and finalizing the rotation is going to be key. We aren't going 12 guys unless something bad happened (not saying having 12 good dudes is a bad thing, to be clear).

I think the lead guard (JJ vs Carlos) is key. I think finding Donnie's role will be key. And I think seeing what Lampkin can do when JJ is running the show vs Carlos will be key.

I'm not as bullish on the transfers as others, but I do think that our defense should hopefully be better just from working together more in sync. Defending a basic screen last year was an adventure and I expect that to not be the case. Would love to see who steps up as our defensive captain because I'm hoping the experience we now have will lend itself to that type of player.

 

[Orangezoo]

I think finding the 8-9 guys and finalizing the rotation is going to be key. We aren't going 12 guys unless something bad happened (not saying having 12 good dudes is a bad thing, to be clear).

I think the lead guard (JJ vs Carlos) is key. I think finding Donnie's role will be key. And I think seeing what Lampkin can do when JJ is running the show vs Carlos will be key.

I'm not as bullish on the transfers as others, but I do think that our defense should hopefully be better just from working together more in sync. Defending a basic screen last year was an adventure and I expect that to not be the case. Would love to see who steps up as our defensive captain because I'm hoping the experience we now have will lend itself to that type of player.

Good stuff - I think whoever ends up 10-12 can still be the “hired guns” to add value in certain matchups but a core 9 probably locks in at some point organically. It may be a blessing or a curse but I only see a few guys who are absolutely guaranteed to always play their chunk of minutes with pretty much the rest of the roster fighting to be that next 6. To me that means 12 will play but might be some practice battles that have a hand in that especially later in the year.