Recruiting for the Zone...

[AlaskaSU]

DG mentioned on the postgame something about JB recruiting for the Zone. He said it matter of factly, and in a somewhat complimentary way. Remember during the Feb swoon, zone detracters had blamed the offensive woes on JB recruiting first and foremost for his beloved zone. I have some questions concerning this concept:

1. What does that mean exactly? I can understand the long and athletic thing, but is there anything else?
2. Is it true? I think it is all because of MCW, but he was a McD, who wouldn't want him (I understand JB was on him early but still). I had been under the impression JB went after top players, mostly offensive. Players like Johnny F, Devo, PH, AO. RJ, and even DC2 really don't seem to fit the zone definition.
3. Should we now do it? We're getting more selective. It could start becoming kind of a self fulfilling thing where if you were a 6'5" pg where would you want to go. We would need to be careful to try and combat our nemesis the on-guard pressure.

Thoughts?

We recruit players with high growth potential, like Grant who will be 7'2" next year.

 

[Gabjon]

Seth Greenburg said Triche's wingspan is 6'10" (didn't seem right to me) but Patterson is 6'3 200. Triche is 6'4" about 220, if they both have the same wingspan then there's no reason to think Buss can't be effective at the top of the zone.

I read 6'3" with a 6'11" wingspan one of the larges disparities every recorded...

Note: This was from a quote by Tom Crean before he pulled his scholarship

 

[Rossco123]

Homerism aside, our defense as of now is one of the best college defenses I have ever seen. Long, fast, athletic and they close out unbelievably fast on shooters. We're making it so basically the only way you can score is if you have a guy who can hit the foul line jumper because once you get any closer your getting your shot blocked by our rim protectors or turning it over trying to pass it out of the spiderweb you just walked into. Our defense is a freak show. Scary part is we should be better on offense. Looking at the offensive individual talent of MCW, Triche, Fair and Southerland they all can go off any game. Lets hope they unleash that firepower in the Final 4. MCW is growing into a future NBA star in front of our very eyes, Triche finally realized teams can't stop him in the lane and Fair/Southerland just keep doing their thing. Love this team and I love the freak show defense!

P.S. Does anyone know what adjustment we made to take away Gardners high post scoring? I know we did something but the defense looked the same and Gardner just got swallowed up in the second half.

The offside Guard shaded a little deeper and the 5 dropped all pretence of closing on other middle distance shooters.

 

[Orange&Blue44]

I think Patterson may end up being the quintessential "recruit for the zone" guy. He's only a top 150 type talent. But he's VERY long, athletic, and seems to genuinly relish the chance to be part of a dominant defensive team.

IMO, This guy is going to pickpocket like the artful dodger off others dibble, and his long wingspan is going to really cover passing lanes. He will be committing larceny like there is no tomorrow.

 

[PhatOrange]

http://syracusefan.com/threads/patterson-is-orange.35173/page-4

I can't post he URL for some reason but watch the video from page 4 of the Patterson thread

 

[TinyManInside]

DG mentioned on the postgame something about JB recruiting for the Zone. He said it matter of factly, and in a somewhat complimentary way. Remember during the Feb swoon, zone detracters had blamed the offensive woes on JB recruiting first and foremost for his beloved zone. I have some questions concerning this concept:

1. What does that mean exactly? I can understand the long and athletic thing, but is there anything else?
2. Is it true? I think it is all because of MCW, but he was a McD, who wouldn't want him (I understand JB was on him early but still). I had been under the impression JB went after top players, mostly offensive. Players like Johnny F, Devo, PH, AO. RJ, and even DC2 really don't seem to fit the zone definition.
3. Should we now do it? We're getting more selective. It could start becoming kind of a self fulfilling thing where if you were a 6'5" pg where would you want to go. We would need to be careful to try and combat our nemesis the on-guard pressure.

Thoughts?

We already went through this exact discussion with you last year.

Boeheim absolutely DOES recruit with the zone in mind. An assistant coach on the team confirmed it to me directly when I asked him about it.

 

[Francis03]

Official wingspans of all the committed recruits that I have notes on.

Ennis 6'5
Patterson 6'10
BJ 6'8
Roberson 7'1
McCullough 7'3
Obokoh is the only one that I don't have.

Interesting note is that CJ's wingspan is only 6'9, but he's still a very good shot blocker.

 

[tbonezone]

checked 2 sources and carter-williams wingspan is listed at 6'5 . and tyler ennis is only listed as 6'2 in shoes.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

Official wingspans of all the committed recruits that I have notes on.

Ennis 6'5
Patterson 6'10
BJ 6'8
Roberson 7'1
McCullough 7'3
Obokoh is the only one that I don't have.

Interesting note is that CJ's wingspan is only 6'9, but he's still a very good shot blocker.

Wow, that is some serious length. As long as they can learn the nuances the beat should go on. We just need to shore up the defensive center. Do you think that would be Goodluck? Do you have his wingspan?

 

[Francis03]

Wow, that is some serious length. As long as they can learn the nuances the beat should go on. We just need to shore up the defensive center. Do you think that would be Goodluck? Do you have his wingspan?

Don't have Goodluck's wingspan yet, but he's the best shot blocker in the 2014 class and would be a terror in the middle of our zone. 2015 guard Isaiah Briscoe has a wingspan of 6'9. After watching Obokoh and Thomas Bryant recently, I gotta believe that they both have wingspans over 7ft, because both are very long.

 

[tbonezone]

what kind of bump does another final 4 give us in recruiting ? post NC classes were a bit disappointing.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

We already went through this exact discussion with you last year.

Boeheim absolutely DOES recruit with the zone in mind. An assistant coach on the team confirmed it to me directly when I asked him about it.

Last year? Last year there was no dissing of JB, we went 34-3. Last year there was no talk of recruiting for the zone, major minutes were given to Scoop and Dion, not exactly zone recruits.

The recruiting for the zone comments came up in our Feb swoon. I mentioned it again because DG brought it up, but this time as a compliment.

I understand your frustration though. Say something a year ago, you shouldn't have to say it again.

 

[Francis03]

what kind of bump does another final 4 give us in recruiting ? post NC classes were a bit disappointing.

Well we already have Chris McCullough, a top 5 prospect in the fold. Goodluck, Kaleb Joseph, Isaiah Briscoe, Thomas Bryant etc etc are all high quality prospects that we're going after and have good chances of landing them.

 

[tbonezone]

these have been good times indeed recruiting wise. just a little nudge would be nice.

 

[Madbiker]

We also need to recruit a couple kids who can create their own shot and shoot the 3 well. Otherwise with James, BT, and MCW leaving we may never score.

 

[LGO85]

We also need to recruit a couple kids who can create their own shot and shoot the 3 well. Otherwise with James, BT, and MCW leaving we may never score.

As of now, we still have CJ.