Class of 2019 PG Dakota Leffew (GA) Portal to Georgia

[kcsu]

He does not. There was never an offer or a contract. Orange United won’t engage until the transfer is official. Money is in the general men’s basketball fund and tagged as coming from syracusefan / SyraCRUZ Tailgate NIL. It will go toward funding a tailgate visit by other basketball players.

Lets give it to the hofstra kid

 

[XC Cuse]

Or, he always planned on taking his visits and then making a decision. We don't really know.

But listening to everyone scream "MORE MONEY" all the time is getting tedious when we had two portal kids this cycle say it wasn't about the money.

From my view it looked like a play for more money. If it's not, then it's not, but I can speculate, and pass judgement. Not the end of the world, we all make choices in life, he's not immune to minor critique of how the recruitment played out.

At this point it's done and over, hope we find a good player. Leffews not an SU player, so this is it for my commentary of the recruitment. At the end of the day it's a message board, so not sure why your surprised some posters views differ from yours.

 

[kcsu]

From my view it looked like a play for more money. If it's not, then it's not, but I can speculate, and pass judgement. Not the end of the world, we all make choices in life, he's not immune to minor critique of how the recruitment played out.

At this point it's done and over, hope we find a good player. Leffews not an SU player, so this is it for my commentary of the recruitment. At the end of the day it's a message board, so not sure why your surprised some posters views differ from yours.

Of course it was money. Kid most likely committed, reneged and got a bigger bag from the home team. Good for him. Time to put the saint from marys on a shelf.

 

[Nicknack]

Catching up on this thread, a few thoughts...

- I'm more disappointed that Red and staff didn't get their guy. I trust them on the roster so that's where my disappointment rests. Leffew seems like a solid player, but not one I have been very excited about from the very beginning. There have been other players in the portal that got me excited, not him.

- Again, Leffew seems like a solid player but certainly not worthy of all the attention he has gotten in this thread. Definitely not 96 pages worthy (but I've been guilty of posting here too).

- I don't know if we have an NIL problem or not. Just because we don't get our guy doesn't really mean anything necessarily. That said, we have missed out on a few and weren't even in the game with other guys who came with higher price tags. Therefore, I do feel a bit uneasy about our ability to recruit at a high enough level to get back to consistent top 25 caliber teams.

- Lastly, I think we have a much better roster fit going into next year than what we've had. We won't have guys having to play out of their natural positions, so that's good (finally). If we can just land a high caliber PG, we would be rolling. Still time.

 

[two3zone]

There’s 3 roster spots and I’m sure a good chunk of NIL money to spend. Let’s see what happens next

This is where I think we may not have a good chunk, at least enough to sway any of these premium guys who seem to be coming out of the cracks now that all these mid-level guys are signing.

 

[Orangezoo]

This is where I think we may not have a good chunk, at least enough to sway any of these premium guys who seem to be coming out of the cracks now that all these mid-level guys are signing.

It’s possible but also possible it wasn’t worth what GA was willing to throw at Leffew. That GA roster is barely an NIT team and probably not. If they were willing to go nuts on the $$ front then so be it. If we strike out the rest of the way I’ll worry but I have a hunch we don’t and end up just fine. We shall see.

 

[two3zone]

It’s possible but also possible it wasn’t worth what GA was willing to throw at Leffew. That GA roster is barely an NIT team and probably not. If they were willing to go nuts on the $$ front then so be it. If we strike out the rest of the way I’ll worry but I have a hunch we don’t and end up just fine. We shall see.

At this point "wasn't worth the money" isn't going to play. This is a starting position, if you're not willing to overpay for a dire need then what's the point of paying anyone. Freeman is gone after this year no matter what happens, whatever investment made into him is a waste if you don't have a complete team. We'd really blow a season over a couple hundred grand for a starting point guard? We play this game and Red will be gone sooner than later.

 

[pwong]

It’s possible but also possible it wasn’t worth what GA was willing to throw at Leffew. That GA roster is barely an NIT team and probably not. If they were willing to go nuts on the $$ front then so be it. If we strike out the rest of the way I’ll worry but I have a hunch we don’t and end up just fine. We shall see.

Worth is based on what an individual team is able to afford. Making numbers up but $300k to a $2M NIL budget is worth more than $400k to a $3M budget.

 

[Cusefan78]

At this point "wasn't worth the money" isn't going to play. This is a starting position, if you're not willing to overpay for a dire need then what's the point of paying anyone. Freeman is gone after this year no matter what happens, whatever investment made into him is a waste if you don't have a complete team. We'd really blow a season over a couple hundred grand for a starting point guard? We play this game and Red will be gone sooner than later.

Portal kids are underwhelming and basically roll players. I really hope they get another playmaker to complement freeman. If not I think you’re right and red won’t be here long.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

From my view it looked like a play for more money. If it's not, then it's not, but I can speculate, and pass judgement. Not the end of the world, we all make choices in life, he's not immune to minor critique of how the recruitment played out.

At this point it's done and over, hope we find a good player. Leffews not an SU player, so this is it for my commentary of the recruitment. At the end of the day it's a message board, so not sure why your surprised some posters views differ from yours.

It is literally a free agency situation. In any sport that has free agency, the player goes to the ‘highest bidder’ 95% of the time. Are you passing the same “judgement” then? Yes, it’s sucky when it’s in college and your program gets spurned or doesn’t have the fundage, that that’s the new reality and it’s kinda silly to fault the kid for operating in the current scheme.

 

[two3zone]

Portal kids are underwhelming and basically roll players. I really hope they get another playmaker to complement freeman. If not I think you’re right and red won’t be here long.

Have to disagree, there are great players in the portal, corner pieces, solid starters and role players. The guy we just lost on was ranked around 125 and he may have been our highest rated guy coming in.

 

[Cusefan78]

Have to disagree, there are great players in the portal, corner pieces, solid starters and role players. The guy we just lost on was ranked around 125 and he may have been our highest rated guy coming in.

Sorry Typed that wrong. The players we have landed so far from the portal have been underwhelming. Red needs to land a good pg from the portal.

 

[Cusefan69]

Worth is based on what an individual team is able to afford. Making numbers up but $300k to a $2M NIL budget is worth more than $400k to a $3M budget.

Actually it's more what value the team places on the player. If you don't want to pay the 147th ranked player top 30 money, it doesn't mean you can't pay top 30, it just means you had no interest going above the price you have for that player. I have no insider knowledge but if Red is budgeting Nil, I have no problem with that. Through out this thread people have been kinda slamming Red and Syracuse but if Syracuse sits middle of the pack for Nil, they can buy a high end player or two. Right now Red is having to rebuild the Cuse hoops brand. You don't do that by over paying for B and C level pieces. Still plenty of time between now and next season, let's see what happens.

 

[Cuse1055]

I’m pretty sure Red knows how important this upcoming season is not just for the program, but also for him as the head coach. With that being said, I’m going to trust that he’s going to do everything he possibly can to put the best players and team on the court as possible.

 

[pwong]

Actually it's more what value the team places on the player. If you don't want to pay the 147th ranked player top 30 money, it doesn't mean you can't pay top 30, it just means you had no interest going above the price you have for that player. I have no insider knowledge but if Red is budgeting Nil, I have no problem with that. Through out this thread people have been kinda slamming Red and Syracuse but if Syracuse sits middle of the pack for Nil, they can buy a high end player or two. Right now Red is having to rebuild the Cuse hoops brand. You don't do that by over paying for B and C level pieces. Still plenty of time between now and next season, let's see what happens.

I wouldn’t consider $400k to be top 30 transfer money. Maybe top 20%.

 

[two3zone]

Actually it's more what value the team places on the player. If you don't want to pay the 147th ranked player top 30 money, it doesn't mean you can't pay top 30, it just means you had no interest going above the price you have for that player. I have no insider knowledge but if Red is budgeting Nil, I have no problem with that. Through out this thread people have been kinda slamming Red and Syracuse but if Syracuse sits middle of the pack for Nil, they can buy a high end player or two. Right now Red is having to rebuild the Cuse hoops brand. You don't do that by over paying for B and C level pieces. Still plenty of time between now and next season, let's see what happens.

The problem is you don't rebuild by being too stingy, probably don't keep your job too long either. He needs players, relying on a freshman to be THE guy is risky, and if we don't pick up a guard on the level of Leffew and it was lost because you didn't overpay by a hundred grand or two then the team lost out.

Unfortunately overpaying is the name of the game, these are like one year baseball contracts without a salary cap or penalty. College basketball season doesnt have a minor league to develop for good teams, this is a buy it now to be relevant. We lost our main target to Georgia, that's not leading us anywhere good.

 

[dasher]

Lets give it to the hofstra kid

Not my money. I want a real ACC level pt guard. Nothing against this kid.

 

[djcon57]

At this point "wasn't worth the money" isn't going to play. This is a starting position, if you're not willing to overpay for a dire need then what's the point of paying anyone. Freeman is gone after this year no matter what happens, whatever investment made into him is a waste if you don't have a complete team. We'd really blow a season over a couple hundred grand for a starting point guard? We play this game and Red will be gone sooner than later.

The comment about Freeman is a really great point. Teams with their best player as freshman have done nothing the last, what, 3-4 years? If you aren’t paring him with a big time player, the odds are against us

 

[dasher]

The comment about Freeman is a really great point. Teams with their best player as freshman have done nothing the last, what, 3-4 years? If you aren’t paring him with a big time player, the odds are against us

Nothing as in what? Winning the title? I am not even thinking of anything like that. I just want to be good.

 

[kcsu]

I’m pretty sure Red knows how important this upcoming season is not just for the program, but also for him as the head coach. With that being said, I’m going to trust that he’s going to do everything he possibly can to put the best players and team on the court as possible.

Red has plenty of time to build the program back. Especially after the amazing job he did last season. the guy inherited a dumpster fire and got us to 20 wins with a team of misfits and drama queens. He kept a lid on everything and pulled of a miracle. He is so far from the hot seat he needs a heater to stay warm. Don't you think that JW knows what a mess he was left with.

 

[kcsu]

Not my money. I want a real ACC level pt guard. Nothing against this kid.

Then you shouldn't have given it to the other kid either. Question do you think that he is an ACC level point? You would know more than most. I thought he was a good piece, a solid player and maybe that is exactly what we need. Time will tell

 

[djcon57]

Nothing as in what? Winning the title? I am not even thinking of anything like that. I just want to be good.

Nothing as in all the above. USC had a bunch of 1 and dones, no tourney. Kentucky, 1st round loss.
Indiana, Miami, Pittsburgh.

All will prob have 1st round picks and didn’t do anything last year

 

[dasher]

Then you shouldn't have given it to the other kid either. Question do you think that he is an ACC level point? You would know more than most. I thought he was a good piece, a solid player and maybe that is exactly what we need. Time will tell

Yes I do. I will tell you why. Because the coaches thought so. They really wanted the kid. That is good enough for me. Plus, I loved that he shot 37 and 38% from 3 his last two years. That would give us a couple of Bells. I wanted that. Plus, he had good size. Now, maybe he would have been a bust. I don't know. But I quickly sent my $100 that we agreed on.

 

[dasher]

Nothing as in all the above. USC had a bunch of 1 and dones, no tourney. Kentucky, 1st round loss.
Indiana, Miami, Pittsburgh.

All will prob have 1st round picks and didn’t do anything last year

The no tourney is the one that bothers me. I think we will have a balanced team. Not one relying on Freeman. As long as we get a pt guard. If not, all bets are off.

 

[djcon57]

The no tourney is the one that bothers me. I think we will have a balanced team. Not one relying on Freeman. As long as we get a pt guard. If not, all bets are off.

Agreed I’ll take 10 seed this year. No questions asked