Oh, I by no means intend to say he was capable of producing at this level all along - the idea that he was is daft. I just doubt in one summer he developed a left hand that is far superior to the right we saw prior to this year. I think limited touches limited his productiveness - and to some extent a failure by the coaches to get the players to work the ball into the post.
I never really bought into the whole Rak was unfocused or lazy argument. From early in his Sophomore year on his biggest problem was that he spent too much time trying to box out on a team where nobody boxes out. His Frosh year through the early portion of his Sophomore year were the only years I would categorize him as unfocused - and lacking in hustle at all. He would pin a man, while two other had free reign on defensive possessions.
How do you be consistent in the post when you're touches are that limited? Guards control the ball, they dictate the posts ability to get shots.
Eh, I suppose ultimately taking it serious can account for a bit of a jump, but if that's all it was, I'm sure we would see player making monumental jumps all the time.
I would still say that if Grant and Ennis came back we would be seeing a Rak that goes for 8/7 - and rarely sees the ball. I just don't think the majority of this is Rak saying, "hey, JB said I can score if I work hard, and I can play in the NBA if I dominate..."
Let me throw a couple of points into the mix here. In years past, the problem with Rak was mental mistakes -- foolish fouls, lapses on defense, lack of aggression on the glass, etc. Although Rak didn't always play center, it bears mentioning that, when he did he didn't reach (or understand) the level of activity necessary in JB's system. The center has to close out on corner jump shooters sometimes (a long way from the basket), has to move up near the foul line when someone penetrates the lane and then back very quickly if the penetrator dishes, etc. It's a system that gives the 5 multiple responsibilities ... so "pinning his man" may get one thing done but it doesn't mean that Rak had the activity or focus that the staff was looking for.
Rak's stats are here.
http://stats.syracuse.com/cbk/players.asp?id=110466&team=553
Sophomore year his best game was 15 points against Providence, and he was beginning to show signs of offensive talent -- but getting minutes largely as a shot-blocker and inside defender. Because we had other players that could score, the times he was yanked usually involved poor defense -- letting an opposing guard drive the lane and score a layup got him yanked relatively quickly. At this point, Rak was logging 20 mpg and only scoring 5.1 points -- so that tells you that he was principally a defensive player and was not ready or needed to be a big part of the offense on a FF team.
Last year, once again we had scorers ... CJ, Grant and Ennis could all dazzle offensively with jumpers and slick moves to the basket. But their early success masked our inside scoring problem for 2/3's of the season -- a problem that in my judgment became a MAJOR FLAW. The lack of balance left us vulnerable as a perimeter team and resulted in a disappointing stretch run in the conference and an early exit from the tournament. The late-season slide wasn't SOLELY the result of Rak's slow development as a low-block scorer (6 points in 23 minutes pg). There were other factors: poor shooting nights (the achilles heal of a perimeter team); defense at the top of the zone; lack of depth at PG; coleman being out/hampered; Keita not being able to score, or even catch, the ball; etc.. I agree that our guards were not adept at feeding the post, but this was because inside scoring was not established as an integral part of the team's offensive sets. Rak was the only guy that was healthy and had the size and potential to score down low, and he was simply not consistent or confident enough to demand the ball (in the NCAA's last year he averaged 4.8 points per game).
This year, he has that confidence--and we are feeding the post. Maybe the "light went on" a year late, because now (inversely) Rak dominates inside but we don't have consistent perimeter shooting or effective penetration. Other players have played well for us, TC notably, MG in spots. But we're very inconsistent/inexperienced at the 1, 3 and 4 (three out of the 5 positions), allowing other teams to pressure Cooney and double Rak to keep him from going off for 25 or 30. With CMac out we're also smaller and are starting to get damaged on the glass.
So I think Rak's offensive development has been a function of lots of factors, but mostly his competence on the court and understanding of the game -- his maturity as a player. Bigs take time. I don't think the staff mishandled him at all last year -- in fact they used him to the maximum extent they could to help the team win. IMO.
