Class of 2018 SG Eric Ayala (DE/IMG) to Maryland

[GooseMutt]

Kid had a shot to come to Cuse and most likely start. While this hurts our team, it also scares the heck out of me about our future. Not closing here is big.

I think there's something seriously wrong up there. If we miss on Tucker too, I think it will be undeniable.

I still maintain that our zone defense is turning high recruits away. The zone has been historically effective for Cuse but times are achangin. Players now are obsessed with getting to NBA and feel zone doesn't prepare them as well. The Zone made us and is now breaking us.

 

[AZOrange]

I still maintain that our zone defense is turning high recruits away. The zone has been historically effective for Cuse but times are achangin. Players now are obsessed with getting to NBA and feel zone doesn't prepare them as well. The Zone made us and is now breaking us.

It isn't just that. A lot of it is the kids we're going after have higher aspirations and want that U.K./Duke love...that's the cost of recruiting these guys...

 

[cuseguy]

A lot of questions here.

Did he really decide not to reclassify?

If there's possible clearinghouse issues, why would SU put in so much time looking to recruit him? This is an important add -- not just an extra guy on the roster. Wouldn't SU want to go with someone who was guaranteed of qualifying? So either SU is or was rolling the dice -- or they're not very smart.

If Ayala winds up a 2018 kid, I think we move on.

 

[Lucid]

I still maintain that our zone defense is turning high recruits away. The zone has been historically effective for Cuse but times are achangin. Players now are obsessed with getting to NBA and feel zone doesn't prepare them as well. The Zone made us and is now breaking us.

Again, every time this is mentioned it begs the question, then why do so many of our kids leave early to get drafted in the first round?

If all zone, all the time spoils them for the NBA, maybe somebody ought to tell the NBA.

 

[GooseMutt]

It isn't just that. A lot of it is the kids we're going after have higher aspirations and want that U.K./Duke love...that's the cost of recruiting these guys...

Yes I agree we could be more active and warm and fuzzy to recruits but the zone is the one distinction that some high level recruits have verbally expressed no interest in playing zone. Where there is smoke there's fire. You know the old saying about when someone complains about a business there are a hundred others who feel the same but don't take the time to express their displeasure. I like our zone under most circumstances but ...

 

[GooseMutt]

Again, every time this is mentioned it begs the question, then why do so many of our kids leave early to get drafted in the first round?

If all zone, all the time spoils them for the NBA, maybe somebody ought to tell the NBA.

Good point and I wonder why great guards aren't lining up for this reason. It is a great stage with phenomenal exposure and I can't understand why great players want to be buried on the Duke or Kentucky benches as other marquis players play when they could be the marquis player here who would be revered. There are so many Kentucky/Duke players that come and go you can't even remember them all. Not so here

 

[Orangefan1]

This isn't a matter of not closing but not classifying idk how Syracuse is blamed for that it's Ayalas decision.

 

[Ryand877]

This isn't a matter of not closing but not classifying idk how Syracuse is blamed for that it's Ayalas decision.

His coach said his grades and scores are good. If that is the case, its fair to wonder why Syracuse was not able to close his recruitment. It pains me to say G-MAC can't close recruits, he's one of my favorite all time players (look at my avatar), but after Green and Ayala(assuming he doesn't come), its fair to wonder.

 

[cuse10]

This is not on the coaching staff. From the quotes that we've seen of him, he's alluded to staying in the 2018 class. The longer the decision was drawn out, this was the likely conclusion. It doesn't make any sense for him to play in any AAU tournaments and reclassify into 2017. If he was going to reclassify, he would have done so already. The ball is in his and his handler's court.

 

[hungrychuck]

Kid has said he's turned off by the uncertainty over JB's tenure and by our failure to make the tourney last year. That seems pretty blunt. Is there any reason to doubt him?

We can invent all kinds of tortured scenarios, but maybe he's just not that into us.

 

[Ryand877]

This is not on the coaching staff. From the quotes that we've seen of him, he's alluded to staying in the 2018 class. The longer the decision was drawn out, this was the likely conclusion. It doesn't make any sense for him to play in any AAU tournaments and reclassify into 2017. If he was going to reclassify, he would have done so already. The ball is in his and his handler's court.

To me, this is becoming a trend more than an exception, It's fair to look at all aspects to figure out the problem.

 

[JazzNC]

We're losing recruits for several reasons:
1. All-in recruiting strategy
2. Negative recruiting by other programs d/t Boeheim's age, and strictly zone defense.
3. Too much gullibility and trust placed on verbal communication with prospects. Unless the kid signs the NLI they cannot be considered a locked up prospect. We've done this and been burned.

Number one and three can change. Number two cannot. The only way to stop negative recruiting is a younger talented coach, willing to play a mix of defenses with man to man. Right or wrong, that's what these kids want. I'm not implying that JB isn't an amazing coach. BUT IMO he lacks the ability to adapt to today's game, recruiting changes and what the higher caliber players are looking for.

 

[cuse10]

Also, he's been getting more attention as of late. That's what these kids like. They want the attention and schools to cater to them. Now he has another year of where he and his handlers are in control of the process.

 

[cuse10]

To me, this is becoming a trend more than an exception, It's fair to look at all aspects to figure out the problem.

So its the coaching staff's fault that he and his team decided it was best for him to stay in the 2018 class? Got it. As I mentioned, more schools are coming into play. It looks like another Quade situation in the sense that he was always looking for bigger offers.

You guys set yourself up for this disappointment. The writing has been on the wall for some time now. Stop living vicariously through these kids.

 

[Brooky03]

Good point and I wonder why great guards aren't lining up for this reason. It is a great stage with phenomenal exposure and I can't understand why great players want to be buried on the Duke or Kentucky benches as other marquis players play when they could be the marquis player here who would be revered. There are so many Kentucky/Duke players that come and go you can't even remember them all. Not so here

MCW and Tyler Ennis are cashing big paychecks in the NBA and Tyus Battle might go in the lottery next year. We've gotten our fair share of elite level guard talent in recent years.

If fans want us to recruit like Duke or Kentucky, then they're not being realistic. We're not going to compete with those two schools in recruiting. The good news is teams don't need to recruit like them to be successful. Both have embraced the OAD model and get the big recruits as a result. That's not our model, and there are plenty of recruits willing to play zone so that they can play at one of the top 10 NCAA programs all-time, for a HOF coach. I doubt the zone hurts us as much as the success as a result of the zone has helped us.

m2m defense is not hard to coach or learn and playing zone for a year or two, in which you're playing m2m over half the time anyway, doesn't make a player incapable of playing m2m defense that he's played for 90% of his life up to that point.

 

[Ryand877]

So its the coaching staff's fault that he and his team decided it was best for him to stay in the 2018 class? Got it. As I mentioned, more schools are coming into play. It looks like another Quade situation in the sense that he was always looking for bigger offers.

You guys set yourself up for this disappointment. The writing has been on the wall for some time now. Stop living vicariously through these kids.

To a degree, it could be. Lets say he wants to look at other offers. That means we were unable to close. I'm sorry, it does. This pains me to say, I love Syracuse so much, but I try to be as objective as I can be. G-MAC has been in contact quite frequently from what I am hearing. If the decision is not basketball related or academic, then okay, it was his decision and not our fault. This is more me venting over the trends than Ayala himself. I've lived and breathed Cuse basketball for 31 years, so this is difficult for me to digest.

 

[cuse10]

And do not put much stock into the coach's comments. He is a major player in the recruitment for his own interests. After Hamidou spurned UConn for Kentucky, he ripped into him and his game. He could very well be trying to steer Ayala to UConn for '18. There are numerous factors here that are outside of Boeheim's control.

 

[Day2]

This staff takes things 18 year olds say as gospel...

You're not seeing the irony here, are you?

 

[Day2]

A year ago today, most of you were still four days away from knowing who John Gillon was. Dude would go on to score 43 points in a game and hit a buzzer beater against Duke, and a year ago today you wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a lineup. Had someone asked you a year ago today, "Who is John Gillon?" you would have been more likely to say Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Commando than a PG at Colorado State.

We've got a long way to go...and that includes Ayala.

 

[orangefog]

A year ago today, most of you were still four days away from knowing who John Gillon was. Dude would go on to score 43 points in a game and hit a buzzer beater against Duke, and a year ago today you wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a lineup. Had someone asked you a year ago today, "Who is John Gillon?" you would have been more likely to say Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Commando than a PG at Colorado State.

We've got a long way to go...and that includes Ayala.

I don't think any of us will ever REALLY know John Gillon.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I still maintain that our zone defense is turning high recruits away. The zone has been historically effective for Cuse but times are achangin. Players now are obsessed with getting to NBA and feel zone doesn't prepare them as well. The Zone made us and is now breaking us.

Times are certainly changing. When the NBA was founded 2 years ago it really changed everything about what kids are looking for in college programs.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Times are certainly changing. When the NBA was founded 2 years ago it really changed everything about what kids are looking for in college programs.

Of course. The NBA is all about defense.

 

[Consigliere]

The person said clearinghouse so I think your right

Are you sure you're not mixing him up with Duarte?

 

[JeremyCuse]

Are you sure you're not mixing him up with Duarte?

No, Duarte has major grade issues. Ayala's are no where near that bad.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

A year ago today, most of you were still four days away from knowing who John Gillon was. Dude would go on to score 43 points in a game and hit a buzzer beater against Duke, and a year ago today you wouldn't have been able to pick him out of a lineup. Had someone asked you a year ago today, "Who is John Gillon?" you would have been more likely to say Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Commando than a PG at Colorado State.

We've got a long way to go...and that includes Ayala.

And the team still missed the tournament...