Class of 2018 - PF Nate Roberts (MD / NH) Commits to Washington | Page 3 | Syracusefan.com

Class of 2018 PF Nate Roberts (MD / NH) Commits to Washington

Nate's numbers at the Oladipo Skills Academy (4 games)...
9.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.5 BPG, 0.5 SPG
 
I love that we made it and see upside but I'm divided because I really like Carrigans defense for the zone. Roberts seems athletic and more offensive minded but when our zone defense is working, it is our offense for fast breaks and transition
 
Red doing work


Syracuse: “I chose the Cuse because they were a part of the picture from when my recruitment started to take off and Coach (Adrian) Autry and I have had a very close relationship from the start and Coach (Jim) Boehiem and I have talked quite a few times and he believes in me and thinks I would be great in his system.”
 
dasher said:
I think the staff would rather have Carrigan for that reason.
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Hmm, but in 18, Sidibe (Soph) and Chukwu (2d/3d year Tr/MRS) will probably still be here barring something unexpected. They can both defend the rim and block shots.

The problem is, neither is a scorer. My guess is ... that's the reason behind the mutual interest between Roberts and the staff.
 
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reedny said:
Hmm, but in 18, Sidibe (Soph) and Chukwu (2d/3d year Tr/MRS) will probably still be here barring something unexpected. They can both defend the rim and block shots.

The problem is, neither is a scorer. My guess is ... that's the reason behind the mutual interest between Roberts and the staff.
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If Roberts can protect the rim I'm 100 percent in!
 
GooseMutt said:
If Roberts can protect the rim I'm 100 percent in!
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That's the 64K question. At 6-8 (Roberts's dated size), I'll take Carrigan. But at 6-11+ ... Roberts becomes intriguing. I'm not getting too excited b/c TT's 6'10 and I wasn't blown away with his rim protection (although his FR year he had no idea where to position himself).

So all these projections are in the hands of the experts ... (I'm just speculating).
 
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reedny said:
That's the 64K question. At 6-8, I'll take Carrigan. But at 6-11+ ... Roberts becomes intriguing. I'm not getting too excited b/d TT's 6'10 and I don't seem much rim protection from him (although his FR year he had no idea where to position himself).

So all these projections are in the hands of the experts ... (I'm just speculating).
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I totally hear ya!
 
reedny said:
That's the 64K question. At 6-8 (Roberts's dated size), I'll take Carrigan. But at 6-11+ ... Roberts becomes intriguing. I'm not getting too excited b/c TT's 6'10 and I wasn't blown away with his rim protection (although his FR year he had no idea where to position himself).

So all these projections are in the hands of the experts ... (I'm just speculating).
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I've never been more hopeful for a player to come back and feed everyone a huge crap burger than I have for TT's defense. I truly hope he makes us all eat our words. If he plays better defense he could be the single biggest addition to the team!
 
Funk Doc said:
I've never been more hopeful for a player to come back and feed everyone a huge crap burger than I have for TT's defense. I truly hope he makes us all eat our words. If he plays better defense he could be the single biggest addition to the team!
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To my mind, there are two possibilities: 1) TT was just a freshman learning/struggling with zone D; or 2) TT just doesn't have the bulk, strength or BB IQ to play the defensive QB position (Center) and should be moved to PF. My guess is .. JB is leaning towards option 2. He just said 2 weeks ago that we need Chukwu (and Sidibe) to play a bigger role inside on Defense.

Of course, at 6'10, TT can slide over and guard the middle in games where we're not totally undersized and matchups require more scoring. Obviously, we need him on the floor because of his scoring. But we also need someone to defend the rim, rebound and cover the foul line/baseline areas -- things he doesn't do well. Over and over, TT has shown me that he's a PF -- with a mid-range offensive game and limited size/skills inside on D. So maybe if the Sidibe/Chukwu combination is more effective this year, we can mask TT's liabilities on Defense a little better by playing him at his natural position.

Roberts looks like the same mold. He's more offensively inclined (it seems from highlights) than Carrigan, and could slide into the PF spot opposite Baze -- either to back up TT or take his place if TT jumps to the NBA. Baze gives us flexibility b/c he can play either forward spot.
 
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reedny said:
Over and over, TT has shown me that he's a PF -- with a mid-range offensive game and limited size/skills inside on D. So maybe if the Sidibe/Chukwu combination is more effective this year, we can mask TT's liabilities on Defense a little better by playing him at his natural position.
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Im hoping to see a big sophomore jump in defensive acuity from TT this year, but last year he was equally as bad on the wing of the zone as in the center. Missing out on summer sessions is not a great start.
 
maxxyz said:
Im hoping to see a big sophomore jump in defensive acuity from TT this year, but last year he was equally as bad on the wing of the zone as in the center. Missing out on summer sessions is not a great start.
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This is my thinking as well. First he was a poor enough defender that having him play both on the wing and in the middle this year seems like a head-scratcher to me. He got in late last year started out learning the wing (where he was a bad defender) then got thrust into playing the middle (where he was a bad defender). Let TT play one position defensively and be done with it. Personally I hope its the middle because his issues there are fixable IMO and with weak side shot blocking help you can get by with a center playing good position defense. I do not think TT has the lateral quickness to cover as needed on the wing.

As far as Roberts goes, he's grown a couple inches but doesn't seem like an aggressive type of big to me. That is one of the things I like about Carigan, he's aggressive and goes after it on both ends. Also having a legit shot blocker in the middle can erase many defensive errors.
 
maxxyz said:
Im hoping to see a big sophomore jump in defensive acuity from TT this year, but last year he was equally as bad on the wing of the zone as in the center. Missing out on summer sessions is not a great start.
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jordoo said:
This is my thinking as well. First he was a poor enough defender that having him play both on the wing and in the middle this year seems like a head-scratcher to me. He got in late last year started out learning the wing (where he was a bad defender) then got thrust into playing the middle (where he was a bad defender). Let TT play one position defensively and be done with it. Personally I hope its the middle because his issues there are fixable IMO and with weak side shot blocking help you can get by with a center playing good position defense. I do not think TT has the later quickness to cover as needed on the wing.

As far as Roberts goes, he's grown a couple inches but doesn't seem like an aggressive type of big to me. That is one of the things I like about Carigan, he's aggressive and goes after it on both ends. Also having a legit shot blocker in the middle can erase many defensive errors.
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Both of you make good points. TT's not great defensively on the wing either, as Jordoo points out. And as Max points out, he might improve and start finding his way inside.

My problems with him are not on offense-- he's a capable mid-range scorer that spaces the floor -- but on D: 1) he lacks the bulk and athleticism to rebound and block shots; 2) his defensive problems are bad anywhere, but they're far worse in the middle because that's such a vital/vulnerable position. I don't think "captain" of the defense is an inaccurate way to describe the 5 in JB's (defensive) system. He has to cover the foul line, the base line and he has to be able to position himself for rebounds and maintain the position. So far, he can do NONE of those things.

So time will tell. For my money, I'd like to see him at PF if our other bigs -- both of whom are bigger and more capable of defending the rim -- can rise to the level we need them to play at for TT to move over to PF.
 
Sorry for the detour. And now back to Nate Roberts.

I assuming that JB is not going to take a commitment from anyone not named Jalen Carey until we have additional open schollys. We have two open currently - one from Thorpe graduating (Bazley) and one back from the sanctions (hopefully Carey). Does that mean we don't see a SF, PF, or C commit until spring? Have we ever accepted a verbal without an open spot?
 
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Have to like our chances with that list, but would definitely prefer Carrigan. I'll leave this one to the staff.
 
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