Class of 2025 PG Luke Fennell (Australia) COMMITTED & SIGNED TO SYRACUSE (10/23/24)

[billsin01]

All is fair except one sentence. The notion that JJ is selfish player is completely ridiculous.

JJ is not selfish. He’s also not a very good PG. Red got very frustrated with JJ’s decision making at the end of the last season.

Red didn’t think he had options down the stretch (he didn’t).

I think JJ will have to earn his minutes this year.

The point about Red not thinking he had options is spot on, IMO.

It seems like Red will have multiple options this coming season. How good those options ultimately are remains to be seen. But I think it's a safe bet that George will be a significant upgrade at the PG position and this will result in a ripple effect on the rest of the roster. This includes allowing JJ to concentrate on the things he does best. I suspect he will have a LONG leash.

I think this is an interesting debate. Agree that JJ is not selfish -- seems like a good kid who has some elite athletic traits.

My primary concern, however, is does JJ do enough to be an integral part of a good/very good/elite team? I hope he blows it out in his final season (at least I think this is his final season) and lives up to/exceeds the hype he had coming out. But to this point, he's a high-volume/low efficiency scorer who brings almost nothing else to the table. Harsh, I know, but I don't know how else you'd describe a player who is a 29% career 3-point shooter with basically a 1:1 assist/TO ratio, who struggles defensively.

The question with Fennell is sort of similar -- kid appears to be a shooter. But how good an overall athlete is he? Can he hang defensively? Can he get a step on a defender? Can he put the ball on the floor at all at this level?

I'm not sure what the lineup and minutes distribution will look like ultimately, but the bulk of the minutes need to go to guys who can bring value in more than one aspect of the game. We just haven't had enough of those guys the past several years.

 

[SYR2RDU]

I looked up the roster for the team they played last week, their best player is 24 years old and played for Texas Rio Grande in the WAC last year… His stats are a bit better in the NBL1 than in Division 1. Fennell is playing against experienced pros, some of whom have four years of D1 basketball.

I’d say the quality of competition is as good or better as what Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White are playing against. The highest end talent might not be there, most of the kids in the EYBL are going to play D1, and some are going to play in the NBA. But many of the players in the NBL1 are definitely making up for that difference in raw talent with their experience and being grown men instead of high school kids.

He’s not competing for minutes against those 2. Was he playing against better competition and putting up better numbers than George last year?

 

[Niastri]

He’s not competing for minutes against those 2. Was he playing against better competition and putting up better numbers than George last year?

I don’t think Fennell is likely to be better than either George or Starling. I was merely giving a data point about his quality of competition.

I doubt there’s any argument that the EYBL is the best high school league in the United States… Which is where the other two play.

I think you’re wrong about Fennell and Anthony being in competition.

With Kingz, George and Starling being the likely starters at the three guard positions, I think Anthony and Fennell are in direct competition to be the first guard off the bench.

 

[IthacaMatt]

i hope the playing time isnt pre-decided...or based on personality like it has been with carlos, taylor, etc etc

and is simply based on who plays best

with guys like anthony, fennell and white,...theres a good chance one or more are better than the supposed starters at their positions...if so they need to start

Give them all a month to earn it, and then I agree.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The question with Fennell is sort of similar -- kid appears to be a shooter. But how good an overall athlete is he? Can he hang defensively? Can he get a step on a defender? Can he put the ball on the floor at all at this level?

I'm not sure what the lineup and minutes distribution will look like ultimately, but the bulk of the minutes need to go to guys who can bring value in more than one aspect of the game.

As I look at Fennell, I remember that this kid is 6-5 or 6-6 as a PG, not 5-10 or so like Carlos or John Gillon before him.

Chris Mullin, or Manu Ginobli, or Dan Majerle, or even Michael Carter-Williams, did not have truly elite athleticism. They knew how to use their bodies to create space to get their shots off on the drive. They had an enough of an outside shot (or the ability to get to the rim) to keep defenders honest, and not sag off them too much.

Same with Billy Edelin or Scoop Jardine, except this guy Fennell is 3 inches taller.

Most importantly to me, all of these players had great vision as to where the right pass is. I feel like Fennell has that.

 

[IthacaMatt]

JJ is not selfish. He’s also not a very good PG. Red got very frustrated with JJ’s decision making at the end of the last season.

Red didn’t think he had options down the stretch (he didn’t).

I think JJ will have to earn his minutes this year.

Your last sentence is the key to this year's success.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The point about Red not thinking he had options is spot on, IMO.

It seems like Red will have multiple options this coming season. How good those options ultimately are remains to be seen. But I think it's a safe bet that George will be a significant upgrade at the PG position and this will result in a ripple effect on the rest of the roster. This includes allowing JJ to concentrate on the things he does best. I suspect he will have a LONG leash.

He seemed to have some options last year, too, but didn't use them until the season was already in the toilet. He has to be willing to play guys early this season and see what guys can give him.

 

[walsh2012]

Starting doesn’t matter it’s who finished that’s important.

My hs coach would say this

 

[walsh2012]

JJ is not selfish. He’s also not a very good PG. Red got very frustrated with JJ’s decision making at the end of the last season.

Red didn’t think he had options down the stretch (he didn’t).

I think JJ will have to earn his minutes this year.

Earn them at PG you mean, i'm assuming. I would prefer he be able to fully concentrate on playing off ball

 

[walsh2012]

he's a high-volume/low efficiency scorer

I think a large part of this should be attributed to the lack of other off the dribble scorers he's played with here.

An obvious defensive strategy for those teams would be "we're gonna lock down Starling and have high pressure on him all game. If we lose because someone else goes off, then it is what it is. But we're not going to lose because we let Starling get going."

the extra focus tires him out, makes shots tougher. I think he will do better with less of the burden and having that focus be distributed more evenly.

His rebounding ability is underrated I feel too

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Starting doesn’t matter it’s who finished that’s important.

Meh.

That's a thing people say to make it sound like starting doesn't matter.

We all know it does.

 

[Niastri]

Meh.

That's a thing people say to make it sound like starting doesn't matter.

We all know it does.

I played hockey, and if I ever talked about sports with a basketball player, the only thing they ever asked me was “Do you start?”

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I played hockey, and if I ever talked about sports with a basketball player, the only thing they ever asked me was “Do you start?”

Which is great, because hockey is arguably the sport that reaches deepest into its bench.

 

[Niastri]

Which is great, because hockey is arguably the sport that reaches deepest into its bench.

Yeah, I was all league, played power play and penalty kill, but technically was second line when five on five.

The question “do you start?” was always used as a proxy for “are you any good?”

To say starting doesn’t matter is kind of ridiculous.

 

[Actionthrill]

As far as Fennell’s athletics goes look at Luka in the NBA. That dude’s not athletic at all but he’s one of the top 5 players in the world. Fennell’s tape reminds me of a shorter Luka. Hopefully he plays defense better than Luka but with his shooting and passing at his size I think we might have found something special here.

 

[billsin01]

As I look at Fennell, I remember that this kid is 6-5 or 6-6 as a PG, not 5-10 or so like Carlos or John Gillon before him.

Chris Mullin, or Manu Ginobli, or Dan Majerle, or even Michael Carter-Williams, did not have truly elite athleticism. They knew how to use their bodies to create space to get their shots off on the drive. They had an enough of an outside shot (or the ability to get to the rim) to keep defenders honest, and not sag off them too much.

Same with Billy Edelin or Scoop Jardine, except this guy Fennell is 3 inches taller.

Most importantly to me, all of these players had great vision as to where the right pass is. I feel like Fennell has that.

Yeah, we shall see. I agree that's a possibility. Really hard to make any judgments off a pretty short highlight clip. There certainly appears to be potential but it looked (from the short clips I've seen) like more of a shooter to me. Should be interesting.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My hs coach would say this

It's about who plays when the game is on the line. That can occur at many different times in the game, not just at the end. When is the game in danger of getting away, and who plays in that moment? Those are the guys the coach trusts the most.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I played hockey, and if I ever talked about sports with a basketball player, the only thing they ever asked me was “Do you start?”

Of course. Hockey substitutes every couple minutes because of the effort required. Hoops should play half as hard,

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah, we shall see. I agree that's a possibility. Really hard to make any judgments off a pretty short highlight clip. There certainly appears to be potential but it looked (from the short clips I've seen) like more of a shooter to me. Should be interesting.

Remember, we're projecting who this kid could be if he becomes the "Best Version of His Talent". Not who he is on Day One. He has a lot of tools that indicate he could be a contributor, if he's given 8 minutes a game.

 

[hoopsupstate]

As far as Fennell’s athletics goes look at Luka in the NBA. That dude’s not athletic at all but he’s one of the top 5 players in the world. Fennell’s tape reminds me of a shorter Luka. Hopefully he plays defense better than Luka but with his shooting and passing at his size I think we might have found something special here.

If he plays any defense it’s better than Luka’s.

 

[007]

He seemed to have some options last year, too, but didn't use them until the season was already in the toilet. He has to be willing to play guys early this season and see what guys can give him.

Maybe you're right. But to me, it looked like Red was playing a lot of guys from game one trying to find combos that worked and sometimes it seemed like he was playing guys just for the sake of making substitutions.

Red needs to accelerate his learning curve as a HC and learn how to maximize the talent he has available. I'm also hoping, now that the roster looks to be better constructed/more talented, that he holds players accountable via playing time - especially on D.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Give them all a month to earn it, and then I agree.

well actually i think it should be a fluid thing throughout the year not decided in novemebr and then static through march

 

[PeteCalvin]

Luke Fennell shaves with a Rambo knife. He’s starting.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

 

[Cuse_NYC]

That first move is legit