Possible Portal Point Guards

[pwong]

So that means Mack isn't happening?

Yeah it’s not happening, even with the strong push past few days/week

 

[OttoinGrotto]

SMH Leffew #1 is a very good player. #2 He will be the guy. Get used to him. And he doesn't block the kids we are recruiting in next years class.

Your last line is extremely important.

We're well positioned to get one of the class's really good points guards.

 

[pwong]

Your last line is extremely important.

We're well positioned to get one of the class's really good points guards.

Banking on hs kids for success in the modern portal era seems backwards to me

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Banking on hs kids for success in the modern portal era seems backwards to me

Well you gotta do something.

 

[Ggaenzle]

Banking on hs kids for success in the modern portal era seems backwards to me

Especially the PG position

 

[Marsh01]

I think Leffew will score and shoot fine, but the defense might be all time bad with the team Red is building. We are going to need to score 80 a game.

worked for Alabama

 

[pwong]

Well you gotta do something.

We’re going to have to look for a portal pg next year anyways when Leffew graduates unless you want JJ Starling to start with a freshman pg

 

[dasher]

Yes, I mean p4 programs. I understand that he won't get that many shots on a team like SU, but those numbers aren't pretty even if the shots are limited. He seems like he does have some passing prowess but that means Syracuse is going to have to find more scoring.

He still shot 37% from 3. He is a good shooter.

 

[djcon57]

Banking on hs kids for success in the modern portal era seems backwards to me

Esspecially waiting a year for one. If we couldn’t get Mack, fine, but that excuse stinks

…and I’m not down on Leffew fwiw. Just felt Mack is going to be a solid multi year college player. The type we see do well in the tourney

 

[littlereg]

Heard the same. We like Leffew because he’s solid and we are after a couple high end HS PGs.

Ahhh so we’re still stuck in the past perfect.

 

[RyanCuse44]

Your last line is extremely important.

We're well positioned to get one of the class's really good points guards.

Who is to say if Mack did/does come here he would be here after 1 year. He would have options for NBA and the portal again.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Banking on hs kids for success in the modern portal era seems backwards to me

I'd be fine with it if we got another portal PG next year to start, but otherwise it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[Melancer46]

He still shot 37% from 3. He is a good shooter.

It's 25% against P5 conferences the last two seasons and also 25% against top 150 teams the last two years. The 37% is his FG% against top 150 (41% against P5).

I think he's probably a pretty good shooter in general; more an issue that he struggles to free himself up for good looks. He relied pretty heavily on step-backs/contested jumpers even against relatively weak competition.

You hope an offseason focusing on tightening up his handle/point guard duties improve that. Lampkin will certainly set stronger screens than he received in the MAAC as well, which should help.

 

[Jake]

Who is to say if Mack did/does come here he would be here after 1 year. He would have options for NBA and the portal again.

Try telling that to a HS stud and their handlers. Plus others will use it against you.

Red knows what he’s doing.

 

[RyanCuse44]

Try telling that to a HS stud and their handlers. Plus others will use it against you.

Red knows what he’s doing.

I hope so.

 

[5OutFred]

Leffew would be a quality add, but it's fair to ask the question of a guy making a big jump in competition:

Can he raise the ceiling of this roster to the level of a tournament team?

Red really can't afford a miss here.

 

[Marsh01]

Leffew would be a quality add, but it's fair to ask the question of a guy making a big jump in competition:

Can he raise the ceiling of this roster to the level of a tournament team?

Red really can't afford a miss here.

uconn just won a championship with a rutgers and a damn east carolina transfer. dalton knetch played in the damn big sky for effs sake

Lets see what happens before we all start predicting how these guys will turn out

the portal aside from the heavy hitters is GD crapshoot

 

[Biaxtar]

Leffew would be a quality add, but it's fair to ask the question of a guy making a big jump in competition:

Can he raise the ceiling of this roster to the level of a tournament team?

Red really can't afford a miss here.

Especially at the PG position. Because without a solid PG the team is toast. But if it is Leffew the staff wants then I will root for him to prove me wrong.

 

[5OutFred]

the portal aside from the heave hitters is GD crapshoot

My point exactly, taking a less-proven guy making a jump in competition here a big risk. Going to be an interesting case of staff's evaluation regardless of outcome, I trust Red.

 

[albanycuse]

uconn just won a championship with a rutgers and a damn east carolina transfer. dalton knetch played in the damn big sky for effs sake

Lets see what happens before we all start predicting how these guys will turn out

the portal aside from the heave hitters is GD crapshoot

Hell, someone with the right attitude and positive energy with some game to go along with it is a huge step in the right direction compared to what we had. A good attitude and energy can move mountains.

 

[jdubs30]

this kid will be a 5th year senior and is a proven scorer at the D1 level. This will automatically be the best team he’s ever been on with the most talent around him. He’s overall burden will be significantly lessened and with that we could see higher assist numbers and more efficient 2P shooting numbers. He will not be the main focus of the defense unlike last year. I am sure Red sees something in his passing ability that makes him believe he can be a starting PG at the ACC level.

I’d rather have that than say an Aden Holloway. Who right now is living off his HS ranking as opposed to his production on the court.

Holloway would probably seen as a better get, at least nationally —- but at this point give me the guys who’ve proven they can play at the D1 level than relying on HS kid or someone who really struggled their first year D1.

 

[Orangezoo]

What is this grade school? There were several mentions by reliable posters that we were going after Wagner because of the connection to Fran Brown.

They mentioned the connection no one said we are targeting or going after him. Learn to read - hence the term pontificating in my original post. You just took a random pot shot at Red using a lame excuse

 

[zilo]

Leffew would be a quality add, but it's fair to ask the question of a guy making a big jump in competition:

Can he raise the ceiling of this roster to the level of a tournament team?

Red really can't afford a miss here.

Agreed. If the coaches like him and want him that's good enough for me. I trust the coaches. It's Red's job that is potentially on the line, not mine. If he misses here and year 2 and year 3 end up similar to year 1, he would likely be on the hot seat going in to year 4. Obviously I am rooting for success for the entire team/coaches, but Red needs to play his cards right over these next 2-3 years. I hope he does (and I think he will)

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I mean do people not understand that every college player, portal or not, begins as a freshman?

Portal players aren't spontaneously created.

 

[littlereg]

uconn just won a championship with a rutgers and a damn east carolina transfer. dalton knetch played in the damn big sky for effs sake

Lets see what happens before we all start predicting how these guys will turn out

the portal aside from the heave hitters is GD crapshoot

I’ve seen multiple people make these comparison and I hate it tbh

Spencer played at Rutgers as you mentioned, LEVELS above MT. St Mary’s, averaged over 10 a game on 40% shooting in his career at Rutgers. He was a quality player in one of the best conferences in the sport.

Knect is an outlier, not the norm and not even close to something that should be looked at to be replicated because it’s simply not possible, the whole thing is already a crapshoot. But to play the same game, he averaged 20+ a game on almost identical shooting numbers as his last season at northern Colorado. 40% from 3 on 6 attempts s game, 59 ts%, etc while also putting in some other good numbers like 7 boards a game. The big sky was 19th in net last season, The maac 23rd, while this year they were 22nd and 24th.

We’ve been over Leffews numbers. A pretty good shooter, likes to shoot off screens, on the move, step backs, etc. he has a better ast% than his tov suggest so thats promising almost with the climb in that area in general. He’dbe the second best pure shooter and scorer in this roster I believe. He’s got some decent hands and gets some steals and blocks and I think In our system the steals would go up even more.

My biggest worry with Leffew is even though the assist numbers(4.3a game this season) have gone up some, they aren’t the prettiest, with a 1.37 a/t. Watching tape the handle worries me. He’s crafty and got some inside game getting to the basket, can throw it down but I just don’t see an actual point guard out of his play. And this is where my concern and judgement comes from. We need a point guard I don’t think Leffew is really a point guard, nor did his team until this season unless of course it was out of necessity as well.

All in all I like this game, i think he can help us but i dont know how well, and how well it’ll translate coming from one of the bottom leagues in the country, and being the only big fish in a small pound could be a positive or a negative for him in his next step, I hope for our sake it’s positive. I trust red and I trust the staff and have really like their jobs so far but I’m worried about the point guard and roster management around it still.