Roster set...expectations?

[NineOneSeven]

I disagree. I believe he got way to much hate defensively by both fans an Boehiem. He was not good but there were times that Lydon screwed up and Thompson was on an island against two offensive players and Jim would yell at Thompson. I think Lydon digressed big time defensively after our final 4 run.

Wow

 

[two3zone]

Wow

From what I read on here it's amazing we won any games with that bum Lydon on the roster.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

From what I read on here it's amazing we won any games with that bum Lydon on the roster.

Lydon occupies the area where we weren't any good with him last season but really needed him if there's hope to be good next season.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I disagree. I believe he got way to much hate defensively by both fans an Boehiem. He was not good but there were times that Lydon screwed up and Thompson was on an island against two offensive players and Jim would yell at Thompson. I think Lydon digressed big time defensively after our final 4 run.

Yeah let's pick on the center who singlehandedly won the game on the defensive end against FSU and Virginia.

 

[Jeremy L.]

Biggest thing I've taken away is that Thompson may not be at Cuse after this season.

 

[CuseLifer11]

Pump the brakes a little, man. I think we would all gladly take 10 wins with so many uncertainties. Calling out cautious projections is just as "silly."

Not to get in to semantics, but a ceiling implies there is absolutely zero chance to beat 10 ACC wins. And that is very far from the case. Pretty naive for anyone to state that. Ceiling is a definite word that is overused and often misused.

SU will be just fine as we have been for several decades.

 

[CuseLifer11]

Biggest thing I've taken away is that Thompson may not be at Cuse after this season.

This is 99.9%.
NBA or europe.
Very slight chance of a transfer.
Not SU.

Let's leave it at that and hope he gives full effort this year. I have been touting him as a 17 or per game guy but recent things that have been mentioned to me make me think I was wrong. Hope not.

 

[SBU72]

Boeheim has won 25+ games before with less talent than last year's team
.

Those teams did not play in the ACC. I hate making predictions, but I think 23 would be an extremely successful season. Would probably mean over 500 in the ACC and not on the bubble.

 

[SBU72]

I'm optimistic about Marek's readiness. He's used to playing against more physically matured players. The adjustment might not be about strength as much as it is a different level of athleticism.

I have not read a lot about Marek, but I haven't seen any comparisons to Warrick. An tall, skinny unknown, accepting late in the process. Surprise player of the 2001-2 season.

 

[OttoMets]

...

2. D - two issues with the D - the first is just that we will have a lot of new guys on the roster - as a group they are long enough and athletic enough to play good D, but how long will it take them to jell ? ...

This was my biggest concern going into last season and it was answered in an uglier way than anyone on here could have predicted.

So I'm calling it the #1 thing to watch this fall, too. Right now I'd have to be crazy to be optimistic. It seems like a similar situation to last year with a million new faces to integrate into the team culture and the defense. Plus there's been a staff shakeup.

So maybe they'll come together and play well. But there's a steep learning curve for everyone, especially graduate transfers and freshman who the coach expects to lean on.

 

[OttoMets]

I disagree. I believe he got way to much hate defensively by both fans an Boehiem. He was not good but there were times that Lydon screwed up and Thompson was on an island against two offensive players and Jim would yell at Thompson. I think Lydon digressed big time defensively after our final 4 run.

I think Thompson was awful, but I saw what you did with Lydon. He was a liability on defense. (Actually, they all were.)

Heard the same things as others about Thompson's demeanor and rapport with teammates/coaches. Love his offensive skills but don't think he's a 100% lock to build on last year's good play because of this history of being difficult.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think Thompson was awful, but I saw what you did with Lydon. He was a liability on defense. (Actually, they all were.)

Heard the same things as others about Thompson's demeanor and rapport with teammates/coaches. Love his offensive skills but don't think he's a 100% lock to build on last year's good play because of this history of being difficult.

We were plus 16 per 100 possessions with Lydon on the court. We were minus 8 per 100 with TT on the court. That was in ACC play.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I for one think we could surprise next year..but I also thought last year's team was the most talented we had (on paper) in 20 years so who knows. I do know we are in good hands with Battle and Thompson. Much of our success will be our ability to defend.

This feels like a 18-20 win team, if things gel. Around .500 in the ACC and probably in the NIT.

 

[OttoMets]

We were plus 16 per 100 possessions with Lydon on the court. We were minus 8 per 100 with TT on the court.

Well OK...but those numbers don't have much to do with my observation (Thompson was awful, Lydon was a liability, it was not uncommon for Lydon to miss a rotation and leave Thompson in a bad spot).

 

[Cusefan0307]

Well OK...but those numbers don't have much to do with my observation (Thompson was awful, Lydon was a liability, it was not uncommon for Lydon to miss a rotation and leave Thompson in a bad spot).

You want to say Lydon was bad. That is fine. TT was an abomination. I also think he's really overrated offensively. The math says he was only better than Frank and DC.

 

[Brooky03]

You want to say Lydon was bad. That is fine. TT was an abomination. I also think he's really overrated offensively. The math says he was only better than Frank and DC.

The numbers show that he's not overrated offensively. His defense was atrocious, I think we all agree on that point. But his offense was stellar for a Frosh (or even an upperclassman), especially one not expected to contribute much.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I disagree. I believe he got way to much hate defensively by both fans an Boehiem. He was not good but there were times that Lydon screwed up and Thompson was on an island against two offensive players and Jim would yell at Thompson. I think Lydon digressed big time defensively after our final 4 run.

Thompson had Kaleb Joseph disease last year - he just wouldn't keep his hands up, as passes whistled by him in the post. That's the biggest thing he has to improve on, just to get to "adequate" defensively.

 

[SoBeCuse]

You want to say Lydon was bad. That is fine. TT was an abomination. I also think he's really overrated offensively. The math says he was only better than Frank and DC.

Not to mention TT was probably not on the scouting report much if at all. I think Thompson can be a fine college player someday but to say he is a NBA prospect right now because he can hit some open mid-range jumpers is sort of crazy. Then there is the requisite NBA athleticism, the fact that he can't play defense, etc. This has been discussed earlier somewhere about his best chance to sniff the NBA is probably turning himself into a real Stretch 4.

 

[SoBeCuse]

The numbers show that he's not overrated offensively. His defense was atrocious, I think we all agree on that point. But his offense was stellar for a Frosh (or even an upperclassman), especially one not expected to contribute much.

He has some skills for sure on offense. But, let's just see what happens when he is on the scouting report moving forward.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The numbers show that he's not overrated offensively. His defense was atrocious, I think we all agree on that point. But his offense was stellar for a Frosh (or even an upperclassman), especially one not expected to contribute much.

You can like his skillset, but the math says otherwise. Roberson produced more on offense on a per possession basis than TT did.

 

[jordoo]

Biggest thing I've taken away is that Thompson may not be at Cuse after this season.

It does seem that way. He is a very talented offensive player for a big guy. He looked a little mechanical/methodical on his post moves and around the rim but most guys his size as freshman don't have that footwork or those moves. I think that will come more naturally this season. He looks very smooth facing up from 15'-20' and is hard for opposing bigs to cover. If he leaves after this season he will be able to get payed to play basketball for a long time. I don't know if he will get drafted in the NBA or stick but he will easily be able to get paid to play ball.

 

[Brooky03]

He has some skills for sure on offense. But, let's just see what happens when he is on the scouting report moving forward.

He was pretty well known early in conference play.

 

[Brooky03]

You can like his skillset, but the math says otherwise. Roberson produced more on offense on a per possession basis than TT did.

What numbers are you looking at? The stats I'm seeing don't support that at all. I'll put it this way, based on the stats, if you think TT wasn't good on offense, then you think Lydon wasn't good on offense. TT had the same eFG%, a better PER, and scored significantly more on a per 40 basis than Lydon.

 

[Cusefan0307]

What numbers are you looking at? The stats I'm seeing don't support that at all. I'll put it this way, based on the stats, if you think TT wasn't good on offense, then you think Lydon wasn't good on offense. TT had the same eFG%, a better PER, and scored significantly more on a per 40 basis than Lydon.

I was looking in Conference play where TT was under water. I think a lot of people love TT because they see that he scores so easily, but it's hard to find any other strengths he has.

His non conference stats significantly inflated the season he had. He also had the highest usage rate on the team.

His per 100 possession stats aren't as good, win shares/40 min and Box/PM.

 

[CuseLifer11]

TT has the potential to be an issue... And honestly we will be ok if that's the case. A lineup with chukwu or sidibe in the middle surrounded by thorpe-battle-marek-OB (Or moyer) will score just fine and be crazy long.

TT is super gifted offensively for his age but he is by no means irreplaceable (like Battle is)