Point guard "what if"

[RF2044]

Semi-despressing, but the other day I watched an Iowa State game, and saw Monte Morris play. Now, obviously--he plateaued after a phenomenal sophomore campaign, and is probably not an NBA prospect. But he's been a three year starter, and quarterbacked some pretty good ISU teams [I don't think they're as good this year as the previous two seasons].

This is a kid from Detroit, who drove up here with his mom to attend the elite camp, and came away expecting to get a scholarship offer. He was ready to commit. We didn't offer, instead focusing on Tyler Ennis. Morris indicated that he was okay coming even with Ennis. We had a lot of scholarships to use that year, and eventually brought in a five player class, so we could have definitely taken both.

I wonder how the past three years would have unfolded if we'd landed Morris that year along with Ennis, instead of say Ron Patterson. In 2013, we had zero guard depth and no real backup point guard. Morris would have helped with both issues, spelling Ennis.

The next year, he would have taken over. That was the year Rak had a big season--and we were forced to play Kaleb Joseph who wasn't ready and proved to not be what the coaches thought when they made him their top prospect. Morris would have given us a legit starter at lead guard, and probably made that team a lot better than 18 wins. He was a flat out stud that year in the Big 12, on a very good Iowa State team. We beat two top ten teams [Notre Dame and Louisville--who I think was actually ranked 11th] that season. With a legit lead guard, we might have actually joined them as a top 10 caliber team.

Last season, we were forced to move Gbinije to 1--and he admittedly did a solid job. But maybe we would have been better off with Morris feeding him instead of Gbinije having to run the show. Who knows.

But I'm fairly certain we would have been better off all four of these years if we'd offered Morris. While his developmental curve hasn't been as steep as some thought after the 2014 season, no doubt he would have been an asset.

Just a random thought, given our point guard issues.

 

[orangehomer]

Semi-despressing, but the other day I watched an Iowa State game, and saw Monte Morris play. Now, obviously--he plateaued after a phenomenal sophomore campaign, and is probably not an NBA prospect. But he's been a three year starter, and quarterbacked some pretty good ISU teams [I don't think they're as good this year as the previous two seasons].

This is a kid from Detroit, who drove up here with his mom to attend the elite camp, and came away expecting to get a scholarship offer. He was ready to commit. We didn't offer, instead focusing on Tyler Ennis. Morris indicated that he was okay coming even with Ennis. We had a lot of scholarships to use that year, and eventually brought in a five player class, so we could have definitely taken both.

I wonder how the past three years would have unfolded if we'd landed Morris that year along with Ennis, instead of say Ron Patterson. In 2013, we had zero guard depth and no real backup point guard. Morris would have helped with both issues, spelling Ennis.

The next year, he would have taken over. That was the year Rak had a big season--and we were forced to play Kaleb Joseph who wasn't ready and proved to not be what the coaches thought when they made him their top prospect. Morris would have given us a legit starter at lead guard, and probably made that team a lot better than 18 wins.

Last season, we were forced to move Gbinije to 1--and he admittedly did a solid job. But maybe we would have been better off with Morris feeding him instead of Gbinije having to run the show. Who knows.

But I'm fairly certain we would have been better off all four of these years if we'd offered Morris. Kid was a flat out stud in 2014, and while his developmental curve hasn't been as steep as some thought that season, no doube he would have been an asset.

Just a random thought, given our point guard issues.

this is a great post, but you are going with kid gloves when I think what you want is to question the staff. i'm with you, if someone wants to throw a big fit and say that the roster is all because of the sanctions, well who am I to say otherwise. but I just don't see it. the decisions by this staff when it comes to roster have been mind-boggling to say the best.

 

[longislandcuse]

Semi-despressing, but the other day I watched an Iowa State game, and saw Monte Morris play. Now, obviously--he plateaued after a phenomenal sophomore campaign, and is probably not an NBA prospect. But he's been a three year starter, and quarterbacked some pretty good ISU teams [I don't think they're as good this year as the previous two seasons].

This is a kid from Detroit, who drove up here with his mom to attend the elite camp, and came away expecting to get a scholarship offer. He was ready to commit. We didn't offer, instead focusing on Tyler Ennis. Morris indicated that he was okay coming even with Ennis. We had a lot of scholarships to use that year, and eventually brought in a five player class, so we could have definitely taken both.

I wonder how the past three years would have unfolded if we'd landed Morris that year along with Ennis, instead of say Ron Patterson. In 2013, we had zero guard depth and no real backup point guard. Morris would have helped with both issues, spelling Ennis.

The next year, he would have taken over. That was the year Rak had a big season--and we were forced to play Kaleb Joseph who wasn't ready and proved to not be what the coaches thought when they made him their top prospect. Morris would have given us a legit starter at lead guard, and probably made that team a lot better than 18 wins. He was a flat out stud that year in the Big 12, on a very good Iowa State team.

Last season, we were forced to move Gbinije to 1--and he admittedly did a solid job. But maybe we would have been better off with Morris feeding him instead of Gbinije having to run the show. Who knows.

But I'm fairly certain we would have been better off all four of these years if we'd offered Morris. While his developmental curve hasn't been as steep as some thought after the 2014 season, no doubt he would have been an asset.

Just a random thought, given our point guard issues.

Well this is tough to read.

Wow, is all I have to say.

 

[RF2044]

this is a great post, but you are going with kid gloves when I think what you want is to question the staff. i'm with you, if someone wants to throw a big fit and say that the roster is all because of the sanctions, well who am I to say otherwise. but I just don't see it. the decisions by this staff when it comes to roster have been mind-boggling to say the best.

I definitely think that there is a parallel between this and the class of 2017. We could have landed Isaiah Washington in tandem with Quade Green. We have 5 and potentially could have as many as 7 open scholarships if some players leave. Now, obviously we didn't land Green. But bringing in a Washington wouldn't have hindered us on that front.

I just think we need to be smarter about recruiting. I fully understand that Monte Morris wasn't rated as high as Tyler Ennis. I fully understand that Washington wasn't ranked as high as Green. But in a recruiting season where we needed to bolster the backcourt / wing positions most of all, the two recruits we have lined up are a PF and a C. And while I'm extremely excited about those guys, as of today we are in dire straights in terms of next years perimeter players. Even if Battle comes back.

And I understand that it is an exercise in futility to play the what if game. Would we have been better off landing a kid like Alex Tyus who really, really, really wanted to come to SU instead of Donte Greene that year? Greene was a McD's all american--a guy who ended up being a one-and-done. All Tyus did was be a 3.5 year starter at PF for Florida. :noidea:

Again, I realize that we can play this game until we're blue in the face, but sometimes the bird in the hand isn't a bad thing. We've had some really imbalanced teams in recent years.

 

[OrangeFoo]

This is also the problem with playing a limited rotation... coach doesn't want program players because in his music only the first 7/8 guys matter. I've never seen another program have under their max scholarship limit like I see at Syracuse. I also think that we have become really bad at developing secondary talent... it seems like players have left the program because they know they won't get any chance to develop outside practice.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I think it's more the zone defense than anything. The staff is so focused on the zone that if a player doesn't meet their zone requirements, they're not recruited. When the zone has the right players and they know what they're doing, its a thing of beauty. However, it's readily apparent that the zone defense takes players a while to learn and some never get there.

 

[jdubs30]

This is also the problem with playing a limited rotation... coach doesn't want program players because in his music only the first 7/8 guys matter. I've never seen another program have under their max scholarship limit like I see at Syracuse. I also think that we have become really bad at developing secondary talent... it seems like players have left the program because they know they won't get any chance to develop outside practice.

Disagree here. Look back the last 6 or 7 years. Kris Joseph, CJ Fair, Jerami Grant, Dion Waiters, MCW, Cooney, Gbinjie - hell even BMK and Rak Christmas. All those players played little to no role in their freshman years, then their roles grew the longer they were here and they improved.

Guys like Obokoh, Patterson, Kaleb, etc. just didn't seem good enough to play at this level - and that happens, a lot of schools miss on kids.

Our main issue is guys leaving earlier than expected. MCW, Ennis, Grant, Richardson, etc. - those guys had 1 good year and left. Meanwhile guys like KrisJo, Fair, Rak, etc. stayed all 4 years.