Rank Cooney,Grant,Fair(pre march),Rak,Coleman,Keita(pre march) on improvement.

[orangefan13]

Any Early guesses? I am guessing this thread is going to be all over the place.

Mine.
1. Dajaun - I think hes going to get aleast 15 minutes which says enough already with his scoring.
2. Fair- In march he became the go to guy he knew he could be.
3. Grant - I don't know why I have him 3rd but it depends on his offense.
4. Keita- starting to show some offense.
5. Rak/Cooney tie - Both of these guys could be the most improved though.
6. Rak/Cooney tie - Hope I am wrong on Rak and he finds the later quickness to play the four but until I hear 1. he wants it and 2.is out training with someone I won't believe it. I am estatic at the thought of Cooney playing some PG on the right side for us if he can knock down some threes.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Any Early guesses? I am guessing this thread is going to be all over the place.

Mine.
1. Dajaun - I think hes going to get aleast 15 minutes which says enough already with his scoring.
2. Fair- In march he became the go to guy he knew he could be.
3. Grant - I don't know why I have him 3rd but it depends on his offense.
4. Keita- starting to show some offense.
5. Rak/Cooney tie - Both of these guys could be the most improved though.
6. Rak/Cooney tie - Hope I am wrong on Rak and he finds the later quickness to play the four but until I hear 1. he wants it and 2.is out training with someone I won't believe it. I am estatic at the thought of Cooney playing some PG on the right side for us if he can knock down some threes.

Something is seriously wrong if Rak and Cooney are both behind Keita.

For the record, that's not a knock on Baye.

 

[CU44SE]

I believe Cooney will make the biggest jump this upcoming year. I think the game will slow down for him. Last year, he played entirely way to fast and rushed shots. He was playing entirely way to fast because he was a year removed from the speed of the game and was playing against more athletic kids in a faster paced game. I know he practiced his whole redshirt year, but we can all agree that game speed and practice are totally different animals. Not to mention, he was apart of the scout team where he was asked to do things the opponents would do, not necessarily what he would do. I believe these circumstances were difficult to adjust too. I think he will be fine in the long run. I mean look at Andy, he shot 32% (3pt) his freshman year without missing any time (until his injury, junior year). I believe he will be a vital part of our offense this coming year.

 

[jdubs30]

1. Grant
2. Coleman
3. Cooney
4. Fair (mostly because he doesn't have that much he can improve compared to the others)
5. Rak
6. BMK

 

[Trueblue25]

1. Coleman
2. BMK
3. Grant
4. Fair
5. Rak
---------------------

...Cooney
...

 

[Brooky03]

1. Coleman (he better be the most improved)
2. Grant (showed a lot of potential and U-19 team should help)
3. Rak (he has to get better eventually. Right???)
4. Cooney (has the ability, despite what most seem to think)
5. Fair (not a whole lot of room for improvement)
6. Keita (limited by body frame and not much to work with offensively)

Coleman better do something pretty great next season or he'll be one of the bigger busts in recent memory. Grant could be limited if Roberson really impresses and takes some of his minutes. Cooney will be the 3rd guard and he has to hope Patterson isn't D1 ready right away. Gbinije won't be as established at SG as Triche was, obviously, so Cooney should see a significant increase in PT. Keita seems to have maxed out his potential. I hope I'm wrong but I'm not sure Keita has the foundation needed to drastically improve on offense. His defense will improve and his rebounding will probably continue to be a weak spot because of his size.

 

[cap2nine]

I will qualify my answers by specifically stating that they are based on expected improvement, not necessarily on overall contributions.

1. Grant- We've seen glimpses of what he is capable of but he has only scratched the surface. He has all the athleticism he will ever need, can play above the rim and plays with fantastic energy. If he adds just a little quickness and a consistent mid-range game, he will be on his way to greatness.

2. Coleman- I believe we will see a Fab Melo-esque leap from freshman to sophomore year for DaJuan. He won't make a Melo type impact on defense but with improved fitness and stamina (and of course a healthy knee) I expect him to be a better all around rebounder and become a viable offensive option in the low post.

3. Keita- In my opinion Baye was hands-down our best center last season and has shown improvement every year (when healthy). I expect his senior year to be his best with some improved offense (fewer missed put-backs and lay-ups). He and Coleman should split time at center, almost 50/50.

4. Fair- How much "improvement" should we really expect? He was our leading scorer and rebounder, shot 47% from the field (inside and outside the arc), was our second best free-throw shooter and was almost never in foul trouble despite averaging 35 mpg. I've called him the "Steady Eddie McCaffrey" of SU basketball and there's no reason to not expect more of the same, at a minimum.

5. Cooney- Obviously plenty of room for improvement here. He played some solid and energetic D but was never really comfortable or in control on offense. I'm not sure he'll ever be the guy to run point (even as a backup) and it scares me to see him handle the ball. But, what troubles me most is that shooters shoot but so far Cooney thinks and then shoots. If he can get his head out of the way of his body, he'll start to knock them down consistently.

6. Rak- Despite all the hype, potential and upside, he is the odd man out. I have to admit that it cannot have been easy for him, to be shifted to the 5 so much in the past two years when the intent was to develop him at the 4. But he doesn't seem to have the motor for the college game, no matter what position he plays. His flat-out athleticism is such a rare and beautiful thing but unless he decides to really "get after it" and make sure his legs are in position where his arms can make a play, there's too much talent behind him to allow him to keep underperforming for more than 5 to 10 minutes per game.