Class of 2025 PF Francis Folefac (MD) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (4/27/26)

[SuFTW]

Most NBA caliber players have NBA level traits in late high school/early college that just need to be refined. You have a very small amount who obtain those traits during their later college years. Athleticism, finishing ability, shooting, post moves, defense, all of those things have clear indicators late in high school/ early college. He can be a good player for us and not be an NBA prospect. If he’s truly good enough to compete at an ACC level he shouldn’t need endless cheerleading to make us believe it. It’ll show on the court.

I think that’s true for NBA starters, but maybe debatable or not unanimous for bench players, depending on how developed you expect a trait to be.
The cheerleading is in part to counter the talk saying things like he only played in the MAAC, he only scored a few points against team X early in the season or that he only had one other offer out of high school.

 

[JarHeadJim]

This board has gone off the deep end.

 

[Newhouser]

Side note on that clip - Doty feeds the post better than any player we have had in ages.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I laughed at the Instagram comments on his commitment when Kiyan posted: "Bout time"

 

[Orangezoo]

I am not going to belabor the point, but I am underwhelmed. Statistically speaking, Folefac is a bad rebounder, an average finisher, turns it over too much and doesn't shoot well enough.

He isn't going to bully at the next level the way he did in the MAAC. I was really hoping his commitment was delayed because we were going to get somebody better, to compete with White for starting minutes.

Folefac is a decent 8th man, and I hope we won't need to rely on him more than that.

He gives us another player who weighs more than 240lbs, so that is good. We are highly unlikely to get pushed around in the paint the way we have for many years... But Wilson and Goodrick were already helping with that.

I just have doubts that taking the three best players from a MAAC team is the way to build a good ACC team. And Folefac doesn't look like a guy who will make the leap.

Signing Folefac just continues the trend of the team building overall, and that is hoping that things work out.

Right now, we are hoping for three things, none of which are sure things:

1) Hoping that players make the huge sophomore leaps we grew to expect during JBs tenure. If White and Anthony become way better than last year, and become above average ACC starters, our problems are solved. White in particular looks like he could become all ACC, but it would take a big leap in performance. JB isn't here, and we don't have a long track record of players getting significantly better under GMAC.

2) Hoping that International Men of Mystery become heroes in the United States. I have very high hopes for Mahmutovic and Siby. They might be good right away, they might be good eventually, or they may never be good. Hard to say.

3) Hoping good lower level players make the transition to a higher conference without losing effectiveness. Everybody else fits this category. It is a crap shoot.

Folefac is both 1 and 3.

Hope is not usually a winning strategy.

I'm hoping GMAC and his team are way better scouts than I am.

Sadiq is a 5 star guy who ran into foul issues but showed a ton of promise before the malaise took over for most of the team. If he’s not able to be out there 25 plus mins a game every night then the sophomore leap didn’t happen or FF shocked the world.

It’s hard to project FF when he played center most of the year and his job here will be as a backup 4. I’m not sure what better you would expect to come in and play the 4 behind a surefire starter who is also a bigtime prospect. I mean you could have kept Betsey if he wanted to still come off the bench but he was purely one dimensional and too slow footed to defend. This is the kind of player you are going to get as a backup 4 deeper bench 8/9 guy.

I will also add that Siena was 89th overall in the country in team rebounding pct last year which is respectable all things considered and another way to look at how you evaluate their undersized 5 man as he was doing his job eating up space as well given where the team landed overall rebound wise.

 

[sufan59]

I laughed at the Instagram comments on his commitment when Kiyan posted: "Bout time"

Kiyan Anthony is one of us lol. We were all thinking it.

 

[sufan59]

Sadiq is a 5 star guy who ran into foul issues but showed a ton of promise before the malaise took over for most of the team. If he’s not able to be out there 25 plus mins a game every night then the sophomore leap didn’t happen or FF shocked the world.

It’s hard to project FF when he played center most of the year and his job here will be as a backup 4. I’m not sure what better you would expect to come in and play the 4 behind a surefire starter who is also a bigtime prospect. I mean you could have kept Betsey if he wanted to still come off the bench but he was purely one dimensional and too slow footed to defend. This is the kind of player you are going to get as a backup 4 deeper bench 8/9 guy.

Best kind of player you can possibly get for that role. Only a handful of programs will have a better option for the backup PF in all of College Basketball and that may be generous if Folefac really continues on his upward trajectory. I saw some other names being thrown out and they were quite comparable to Folefac right now, but these guys were Seniors and much older. That's where the tips scale in favor of Folefac truly being the best option in front of your eyes that if he was that good of defender as a freshmen and showed flashes of what his offensive game can be as a freshmen, you have to do what you can to get him on board. Yes we are reliant on Sadiq making a big leap that a player of his caliber should be taking to raise the ceiling of nexg season. Hopefully seeing Folefac, really motivates Sadiq to put the work in the weight room to not even make it a question come the season who should be the starter. If he does that, we are in very good shape at that position in the front court going into next season.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I think Folefac is a good pickup as long as he is a 15-18 mpg guy this season. You can run second team DHO and pick and roll with him. Folefac has a nice foul line jumper. He was Siena’s best defender by a significant margin analytically. If we lost White and replaced him with FF, then I would be angry. Folefac is a low risk backup that knows the staff and system.

 

[QUSE]

Got some Anthony Mason in him

 

[orangepassion]

What’s interesting is that if Doty doesn’t start, our backup front court will be the Siena 3.

 

[Sherman20]

Competition FF vs Sadiq at practice will make both better.
Both win, regardless who starts. Likely that both contribute and get good PT.

Sadiq will start without a doubt. As others have alluded to in other threads, it was a big win for Gmac and the staff to get Sadiq to return. He had high level suitors. Getting him to come back was one of the key wins of the portal season. Retention is also key to building a program. He will be huge for us next season.

 

[Orangezoo]

What’s interesting is that if Doty doesn’t start, our backup front court will be the Siena 3.

That will depend on Siby too. If he is ready to contribute defensively it may depend on matchup and need as to who is the first big off the bench. Also if Kiyan and Tobiason start you could have M3 the first wing off the bench coming in at SF. A lot to work out with the pecking order this summer. Also the sooner we can get news on another PG will be great too. I would hope it’s a guy who can run the point but is a scorer and then a facilitator given we have a true pass first guy already.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I am not going to belabor the point, but I am underwhelmed. Statistically speaking, Folefac is a bad rebounder, an average finisher, turns it over too much and doesn't shoot well enough.

He isn't going to bully at the next level the way he did in the MAAC. I was really hoping his commitment was delayed because we were going to get somebody better, to compete with White for starting minutes.

Folefac is a decent 8th man, and I hope we won't need to rely on him more than that.

He gives us another player who weighs more than 240lbs, so that is good. We are highly unlikely to get pushed around in the paint the way we have for many years... But Wilson and Goodrick were already helping with that.

I just have doubts that taking the three best players from a MAAC team is the way to build a good ACC team. And Folefac doesn't look like a guy who will make the leap.

Signing Folefac just continues the trend of the team building overall, and that is hoping that things work out.

Right now, we are hoping for three things, none of which are sure things:

1) Hoping that players make the huge sophomore leaps we grew to expect during JBs tenure. If White and Anthony become way better than last year, and become above average ACC starters, our problems are solved. White in particular looks like he could become all ACC, but it would take a big leap in performance. JB isn't here, and we don't have a long track record of players getting significantly better under GMAC.

2) Hoping that International Men of Mystery become heroes in the United States. I have very high hopes for Mahmutovic and Siby. They might be good right away, they might be good eventually, or they may never be good. Hard to say.

3) Hoping good lower level players make the transition to a higher conference without losing effectiveness. Everybody else fits this category. It is a crap shoot.

Folefac is both 1 and 3.

Hope is not usually a winning strategy.

I'm hoping GMAC and his team are way better scouts than I am.

Another long post saying more of the same. When you compare this roster with the top 4 in the ACC or really the top 4 in the SEC/BIG/B12 we are not up there.

Our roster is better than the bottom half of the ACC and will be competitive with the 5th-9th teams in the ACC, but will come down to how the pieces fit.

All about expectations. This isn't a top 25 or sweet 16 team but should land somewhere in the next tier of teams and be tourney bound in a 76 team tournament.

 

[Orangezoo]

Another long post saying more of the same. When you compare this roster with the top 4 in the ACC or really the top 4 in the SEC/BIG/B12 we are not up there.

Our roster is better than the bottom half of the ACC and will be competitive with the 5th-9th teams in the ACC, but will come down to how the pieces fit.

All about expectations. This isn't a top 25 or sweet 16 team but should land somewhere in the next tier of teams and be tourney bound in a 76 team tournament.

Pending an additional PG, this teams regular season ceiling would be top 25. That would be all things click and fit and you get the luck factor that can come with a team that plays well together. The floor however is low. I would say .500 to slightly under is the floor.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Side note on that clip - Doty feeds the post better than any player we have had in ages.

I don't think I can say it enough, but Doty has a 10+ rating in intangibles. He can affect a game without scoring a point. Cuse is very lucky to have Doty on the roster next season.

 

[Sherman20]

This. Goodwill has some legs right now but another year not making the tournament - no way.

I think fans want to see progress in terms of having an actual vision, more innovative offensive and defensive schemes, crisp execution, toughness and playing with 100 percent effort, and buy-in to the culture from the players. That will go a long way to fans buying into what Gmac is selling. More money will flow into the program and Blair will help us build out the NIL infrastructure, and that will hopefully help us retain key guys and land bigger fish next spring. We need to see visible progress in year 1, and hopefully that will lead to a tourney bid. If we miss the tourney, it may be forgivable if we know that more money is coming and we see that Gmac can be a good coach at this level. If it’s more of the Red era stagnation with no vision, then people will revolt.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Another long post saying more of the same. When you compare this roster with the top 4 in the ACC or really the top 4 in the SEC/BIG/B12 we are not up there.

Our roster is better than the bottom half of the ACC and will be competitive with the 5th-9th teams in the ACC, but will come down to how the pieces fit.

All about expectations. This isn't a top 25 or sweet 16 team but should land somewhere in the next tier of teams and be tourney bound in a 76 team tournament.

I think the way the OOC schedule will shake out, the team will be in pretty good position going into the ACC as I think the team will gel around GMAC, his staff and Kiyan/Sadiq/the Siena guys.

And if we can finish in the top half or better in the conference that's a good result.

 

[CbusCuse]

There is no doubt that Folefac is going to be on the floor quite a bit next year. Sadiq White isn't able to play too many minutes.

Sadiq had 6.62 personal fouls per 40 minutes. He fouled out 5 games in which he played minutes of just 19, 10, 15, 20, and 11 minutes. And the foul issues were not only in the beginning of the season. That trend continued all year. Hopefully Sadiq is starting to add some more mass. That would help a bit.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/5101831/sadiq-white-jr

 

[007]

I'm hoping GMAC and his team are way better scouts than I am.

Yup, this is our only hope.

Seriously though, once the NIL market predictably exploded for high end profiles, this top to bottom roster rebuild was always going to be about Gerry's ability to "know good" when he sees it. The other important factor was, and will continue to be, how well the versatility of the pieces mesh with Gerry's vision of toughness, on ball defense, rebounding, attacking on offense, and avoiding turnovers.

The only real test of all that, including the stuff you mentioned in your posts (BTW I appreciate the consistent thoroughness of your analysis) will play out on the court. IMO, we need to be competitive to the degree that we have a legit chance of beating any team on any given night.

Finger crossed.

 

[shu 49]

I think both will get minutes. Be interesting to see AO develop Sadiq on the box. Jump hook or actual post move. Can Folefac work the post in the ACC like he was at the end of last season? Time will tell. If Folefac does nothing he at least gives us a big with a bicep. Nice change from our beanpole norm.

White has a nice baby hook now.

 

[Niastri]

Sadiq is a 5 star guy who ran into foul issues but showed a ton of promise before the malaise took over for most of the team. If he’s not able to be out there 25 plus mins a game every night then the sophomore leap didn’t happen or FF shocked the world.

It’s hard to project FF when he played center most of the year and his job here will be as a backup 4. I’m not sure what better you would expect to come in and play the 4 behind a surefire starter who is also a bigtime prospect. I mean you could have kept Betsey if he wanted to still come off the bench but he was purely one dimensional and too slow footed to defend. This is the kind of player you are going to get as a backup 4 deeper bench 8/9 guy.

I will also add that Siena was 89th overall in the country in team rebounding pct last year which is respectable all things considered and another way to look at how you evaluate their undersized 5 man as he was doing his job eating up space as well given where the team landed overall rebound wise.

I think at the core of it, I am hoping that we aren't done shopping at the top of the roster.

Especially if "5 for 5" goes through, if we don't pick up some of those top of the roster players, we're going to fall even further behind. I fear this roster is at best a middle of the pack ACC team, without a bunch of things going right.

My hope (there's that word again) is that GMAC is conserving funds to make a big splash when the fifth year seniors become available.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Another long post saying more of the same. When you compare this roster with the top 4 in the ACC or really the top 4 in the SEC/BIG/B12 we are not up there.

Our roster is better than the bottom half of the ACC and will be competitive with the 5th-9th teams in the ACC, but will come down to how the pieces fit.

All about expectations. This isn't a top 25 or sweet 16 team but should land somewhere in the next tier of teams and be tourney bound in a 76 team tournament.

As long as we finish higher in the ACC than Clemson, Louisville and NC State, I’m good (caveat being we finish 5th or better)

Being Top 4 would be nice for a change, knocking UNC or UVA down especially. Would love to see Louisville trip on their $50M roster.

(Note - for those with low sarcasm meters, I know Louisville didn’t spend that much on their roster. It was only $40M. )

 

[OmahaCuse]

As long as we finish higher in the ACC than Clemson, Louisville and NC State, I’m good (caveat being we finish 5th or better)

Being Top 4 would be nice for a change, knocking UNC or UVA down especially. Would love to see Louisville trip on their $50M roster.

(Note - for those with low sarcasm meters, I know Louisville didn’t spend that much on their roster. It was only $40M. )

Miami has a big budget also. So if we are top 3rd, would be Duke, UL, Miami, Virginia, SMU, UNC?

 

[Orangezoo]

I think at the core of it, I am hoping that we aren't done shopping at the top of the roster.

Especially if "5 for 5" goes through, if we don't pick up some of those top of the roster players, we're going to fall even further behind. I fear this roster is at best a middle of the pack ACC team, without a bunch of thinks going right.

My hope (there's that word again) is that GMAC is conserving funds to make a big splash when the fifth year seniors become available.

Seems the 5 for 5 is not going to add in many if any guys to this years portal as structured and just be a bunch of lawsuits for certain guys. If you listen the to interview posted he had with Rothstein he mentioned adding a couple other pieces.

 

[RedtheGOB]

us

Miami has a big budget also. So if we are top 3rd, would be Duke, UL, Miami, Virginia, SMU, UNC?

Exactly. You got the clear top 4. Miami and SMU are OGs when It comes paying players going back 30 years. Hard to know how much money they spend on hoops but likely more than us if they want to. Haven’t been impressed with SMUs portal haul tho really and Miami seems to like the splash guys but not a lot of depth guys.