Red opens up about new Syracuse players:

[orange79]

Some folks already mentioned the Center spot. I'm hopeful that Kyle will be a productive player. But he's got almost no track record, and neither do the guys behind him.

I'm concerned that we're counting on frosh to be big contributors in the rotation. I would expect both growing pains and flat-out poor performances from Anthony, White, Fennell and Womack. None of these guys have the pedigree of Freeman, and even he was just starting to tap into his potential when he got hurt.

I'm glad that they landed a shooter in Kingz. I'm concerned that his defense will be subpar, and that will be exacerbated when coupled with Starling.

There's other things but I'll leave it be for now. I think they had a good, but not great, offseason in the portal. They addressed many of their needs but not all. I'm concerned we're 1 or 1.5 players short of being a tourney team, and we'll be relying a LOT on the frosh to step up and fill that void. We've had a history of that reliance turning sour for us in recent years.

Bah God, that's bnoro's music!!!

 

[hoopsupstate]

Some folks already mentioned the Center spot. I'm hopeful that Kyle will be a productive player. But he's got almost no track record, and neither do the guys behind him.

I'm concerned that we're counting on frosh to be big contributors in the rotation. I would expect both growing pains and flat-out poor performances from Anthony, White, Fennell and Womack. None of these guys have the pedigree of Freeman, and even he was just starting to tap into his potential when he got hurt.

I'm glad that they landed a shooter in Kingz. I'm concerned that his defense will be subpar, and that will be exacerbated when coupled with Starling.

There's other things but I'll leave it be for now. I think they had a good, but not great, offseason in the portal. They addressed many of their needs but not all. I'm concerned we're 1 or 1.5 players short of being a tourney team, and we'll be relying a LOT on the frosh to step up and fill that void. We've had a history of that reliance turning sour for us in recent years.

JB said today to not count on much from the freshman. Veterans will be the main focus on this team and all others too. They will get some spot minutes. He likes Kyle a lot.

 

[MSOrange]

Whole lotta negative to chew on there.

I get wanting to be positive about your team after going through many losing seasons with the Bills and SU football. But we're 4 years into an NCAA drought and you're still doing these ridiculous one liner H0T Takes to respond to anyone who might not be convinced this is the year we're going to turn it around?

Scooch doesn't need me to defend him, but his history on the board seems like it deserves a bit more of a reasoned response than this if you are going to disagree with him and accuse him of being too negative. Fortunately, I'm guessing he's like most of the board and just laughs you off and doesn't take you seriously.

 

[jdubs30]

JB said today to not count on much from the freshman. Veterans will be the main focus on this team and all others too. They will get some spot minutes. He likes Kyle a lot.

Weird thing for JB to say in June

 

[RF2044]

Weird thing for JB to say in June

JB says stuff.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

JB said today to not count on much from the freshman. Veterans will be the main focus on this team and all others too. They will get some spot minutes. He likes Kyle a lot.

Yeah, I mean... unless Kiyan is completely unplayable he's got to see some minutes. White might be at risk of not much playing time but it's unusual for your top recruit to not get any run. I think we're optimistic about Fennell.

It's highly unlikely that any freshmen start but I think those dudes will see minutes.

 

[tptcuse]

Bah God, that's bnoro's music!!!

Hard to be super optimistic given how many games we lost coupled with HOW we lost them. Blowouts all over the place the last two years. Some sort of addition/change to the coaching staff would help a lot.

 

[cuseincincy]

Injury and depth chart is built in to why we got him and how much we paid. I don't really care why he had the numbers he had, the fact is he hasn't produced in P4 as you said.

Doesn't mean he can't. Just that the idea that we have no holes seems unrealistic when the center position is pretty obviously not a definitie. This board tends to minimize our question marks every offseason the last 5 years. Hence, an average player from Hofstra being called a Poor Man's Ennis

I wonder how people would feel if we had just signed a center that was the Summit League defensive player of the year, 1st team all Summit, Summit Tournament MVP from South Dakota State that also ranked 12th in the country in FG% and has been to 2 NCAA tournaments? If healthy there is good reason to expect more than Kyle was able to contribute at UCLA.

 

[djcon57]

I wonder how people would feel if we had just signed a center that was the Summit League defensive player of the year, 1st team all Summit, Summit Tournament MVP from South Dakota State that also ranked 12th in the country in FG% and has been to 2 NCAA tournaments? If healthy there is good reason to expect more than Kyle was able to contribute at UCLA.

IF HEALTHY is baked into the cake.

With all we've seen with injuries and centers, the idea we can just excuse "if healthy" is insane.

Not to mention, Westry. Hell, even JJ to a degree.

 

[cusefan88]

I wonder how people would feel if we had just signed a center that was the Summit League defensive player of the year, 1st team all Summit, Summit Tournament MVP from South Dakota State that also ranked 12th in the country in FG% and has been to 2 NCAA tournaments? If healthy there is good reason to expect more than Kyle was able to contribute at UCLA.

His summer videos look good. Plenty of power and bounce. He seems to be in excellent shape.

 

[FrancoPizza]

I think you'll see them try and run more full-court press. White, Souare, and Betsey are all lengthy athletic frontcourt players. Could provide an interest spark off the bench.

Athletes or no athletes, the trunk monkey blitzkrieg is not a legit pressing strategy. I would've hoped Red had learned a scheme that is more evolved.

 

[kingtidge]

I wonder how people would feel if we had just signed a center that was the Summit League defensive player of the year, 1st team all Summit, Summit Tournament MVP from South Dakota State that also ranked 12th in the country in FG% and has been to 2 NCAA tournaments? If healthy there is good reason to expect more than Kyle was able to contribute at UCLA.

...or if we signed a PG that was named to the "All-Defensive Team" in the Coastal Athletic Conference.

Reminder: Said player could not play requisite defense in the ACC.

 

[Sbucketball]

I get wanting to be positive about your team after going through many losing seasons with the Bills and SU football. But we're 4 years into an NCAA drought and you're still doing these ridiculous one liner H0T Takes to respond to anyone who might not be convinced this is the year we're going to turn it around?

Scooch doesn't need me to defend him, but his history on the board seems like it deserves a bit more of a reasoned response than this if you are going to disagree with him and accuse him of being too negative. Fortunately, I'm guessing he's like most of the board and just laughs you off and doesn't take you seriously.

The ironic thing is that I don't perceive Scooch's post or similar posts to be negative, but I perceive Dcuse's posts to have a very negative vibe. Like a gray storm cloud over the board.

 

[cuseincincy]

...or if we signed a PG that was named to the "All-Defensive Team" in the Coastal Athletic Conference.

Reminder: Said player could not play requisite defense in the ACC.

I get the point you're attempting to make but Carlos was NOT All conference (not even honorable mention), he was NOT Defensive POTY, he was NOT 12th in the country in FG%, he was NOT the tournament MVP and he never played in the NCAA tournament. Actually, I guess I don't get your point?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Weird thing for JB to say in June

Probably wants some visibility for the Tournament this summer. He'll be doing lots of commercials this season, too, I'll bet.

 

[althea]

JB says stuff.

I mean wasn’t he asked to “say stuff”?
He does know a lot about basketball. Like everyone, he is sometimes wrong, but about basketball he is usually right.

 

[Niastri]

Athletes or no athletes, the trunk monkey blitzkrieg is not a legit pressing strategy. I would've hoped Red had learned a scheme that is more evolved.

You don’t have to go far back in time to see the full court press save a game. Houston beat Duke in a big comeback in the Final Four because of their press.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You don’t have to go far back in time to see the full court press save a game. Houston beat Duke in a big comeback in the Final Four because of their press.

I agree with you that the full court press is a tremendous tool, and it has won championships for the early UCLA Wooden teams, Pitino at Louisville, Nolan Richardson's 40 minutes of hell winning a championship or two at Arkansas.

Our JB trunk monkey press was mayhem without really trying to trap, force turnovers or even block shots. It was mostly about creating tempo and opening up the game. The strategy was more about the other team making mistakes than your defense actually forcing them.

 

[kingtidge]

I get the point you're attempting to make but Carlos was NOT All conference (not even honorable mention), he was NOT Defensive POTY, he was NOT 12th in the country in FG%, he was NOT the tournament MVP and he never played in the NCAA tournament. Actually, I guess I don't get your point?

I am not believing the hype on Kyle until I see it in games.

That's all.

I believed the hype at this point in the year on last year's team. Not doing that again.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I am not believing the hype on Kyle until I see it in games.

That's all.

I believed the hype at this point in the year on last year's team. Not doing that again.

If you look at Kyle, and we get 6 pts and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes, with a block or two, that's great, as far as I'm concerned.

Then, if Soare is up to it, or the newest big guy, then give me 10 minutes, with 4 points and 4 rebounds, maybe a block or a steal. That's all we need from whoever that 2nd "real" center is.

And then Freeman or White might turn into a really good small ball center for 10 minutes a game. That's all we need from these guys, so long as he gives them all enough time to show what they've got.

Don't ask players to do more than they are capable of. Take and use what they can give you.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I agree with you that the full court press is a tremendous tool, and it has won championships for the early UCLA Wooden teams, Pitino at Louisville, Nolan Richardson's 40 minutes of hell winning a championship or two at Arkansas.

Our JB trunk monkey press was mayhem without really trying to trap, force turnovers or even block shots. It was mostly about creating tempo and opening up the game. The strategy was more about the other team making mistakes than your defense actually forcing them.

Sorry to reply to myself, but John Wooden's full court press in the 1960s was legendary. It was a 2-2-1 zone press. The front two guys would pick up the inbounds guy and the one he threw it to. They would start out in relatively tight toward the middle of the floor. Their role was to funnel the ball handler to the sideline.

The second line of 2 in Wooden's classic press were probably 5-10 feet inside the center court line. The guy guarding the ball handler would get steered toward the sideline, where that guy would block his path to the front court, and create an opportunity for a trap, with the sideline acting as your third defender.

Of course, when he later had all-world centers to erase mistakes, it was imperious, unbeatable. But even before Kareem, he won a couple championships on the back of his zone press.

 

[Scooch]

Other than that, how'd you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

He asked. I answered.

 

[Scooch]

Whole lotta negative to chew on there.

Not really. Just offering my opinion because I was asked. Others will be all Pollyanna-ish. Which is cool.

 

[Niastri]

Not really. Just offering my opinion because I was asked. Others will be all Pollyanna-ish. Which is cool.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

JB said today to not count on much from the freshman. Veterans will be the main focus on this team and all others too. They will get some spot minutes. He likes Kyle a lot.

Best recruiting class ever! ‘Nuff said