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

[CuseLifer11]

I'll start this by saying I'd be glad to land either EA or Thorpe.

But can someone explain to me why there's a belief that EA's going to come in and take Franks job? I understand Frank's a head case and has done much to put his job, which would otherwise be locked to him with his size and experience, in jeopardy. However, I haven't seen much at all that shows me EA would be ready to start from day 1 or even by February.

Recruits need time to mature and adjust. Don't want to make another Kaleb Joseph out of a quality recruit in EA. Frank hasn't even started for us yet and some of you are calling him our worst point guard ever. It's like we've all accepted that SU is incapable of developing guards or something.

Great post. As i have stated in other threads, EA will 100% Not start this year if we get him. Neither will Thorpe for that matter. The HC loves Frank and he will start. Of course this could change like last year... But we r not recruiting over FH. We need a 10th guy and the best avail happen to be guards.

Remember... The master plan was Marek and Tucker. Neither are guards. Frank is our PG this year.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I am in agreement with some of your points, specifically on to get Thorpe. Regarding FH, he is still unproven and what happens if he gets injured. Believe that Thorpe and Washington could handle the job better than Washington and Alaya.

I wonder what is going on with Alaya and Syracuse. Is there some special secret verbal/handshake/wink-wink between the two parties? Would hate to wait to August to find out that the "wink-wink" was really a cinder in his eye.

There are questions about who would provide the most value between Thorpe and Alaya in 2017-2018. They both have to learn the system and become acclimated with playing with new teammates. All which takes time. Believe that Thorpe (based on experience) has the better upside for the next year but perhaps the Syracuse staff see Alaya having the best upside in year 2 and beyond. While it is a crap shoot, it is up to the staff (head coach) to determine which is the best player for his needs.

Regarding Thorpe, I do not see many teams (outside of Pitt) really fighting for his services and conversely, I do not see any other graduate transfer guards beating down the door to play for Syracuse. While I suggested in another post that a stake be placed in the ground, I now believe that this decision on Alaya/Thorpe may be 1-2 months away. Who has the strongest patience: Thorpe/Syracuse or Syracuse/Alaya? Hope that this does not bite us in the a__es again.

Why are no other p-5 teams of consequence interested in Thorpe?

 

[cuse10]

This isn't news that he was going to make his decision in August. He said at the end of Summer. His coach said he changes his mind every day. The staff is letting him drag his feet when they should be exploring other options if they aren't already.

 

[Footey04]

Great post. As i have stated in other threads, EA will 100% Not start this year if we get him. Neither will Thorpe for that matter. The HC loves Frank and he will start. Of course this could change like last year... But we r not recruiting over FH. We need a 10th guy and the best avail happen to be guards.

Remember... The master plan was Marek and Tucker. Neither are guards. Frank is our PG this year.

Hate to break it to you but if Thorpe comes here he will be starting at point guard guaranteed!

 

[orangefog]

Hate to break it to you but if Thorpe comes here he will be starting at point guard guaranteed!

I would guarantee him the starting position, but only if he changes his first name to Otis. If my last name were Thorpe, I would name all my sons Otis and I would consider my daughter's as well.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Hate to break it to you but if Thorpe comes here he will be starting at point guard guaranteed!

I doubt he would be handed the keys point blank and/or told he would start immediately. He would have to earn it and show it in practice. That being said, I would bet a lot of money that he would separate himself from Frank quickly in practice as the better player.

 

[Trueblue25]

Great post. As i have stated in other threads, EA will 100% Not start this year if we get him. Neither will Thorpe for that matter. The HC loves Frank and he will start. Of course this could change like last year... But we r not recruiting over FH. We need a 10th guy and the best avail happen to be guards.

Remember... The master plan was Marek and Tucker. Neither are guards. Frank is our PG this year.

The master plan was Quade Green, I thought.

 

[jordoo]

The master plan was Quade Green, I thought.

Initially it was, a long time ago. Once Dolezaj visited the staff was trying to land both him and Tucker to close out the 17 class. I'm not sure if Dolezaj would have followed if Tucker chose SU but that is what the staff was hoping for.

 

[CuseLifer11]

Hate to break it to you but if Thorpe comes here he will be starting at point guard guaranteed!

This could not be more false. I can leave it at that. We are all sU fans so everyone can believe what they want. Not gonna get in to an immature shouting match with a random internet poster. Frank will be starting at PG game 1 this year regardless of who comes in. This is something to bet the house on.

Thorpe 100% will be guaranteed nothing. He won't beat out Howard either. Thorpe will not know the zone well enough. Have u ever watched SU? U do know how JB rolls right?

 

[Footey04]

This could not be more false. I can leave it at that. We are all sU fans so everyone can believe what they want. Not gonna get in to an immature shouting match with a random internet poster. Frank will be starting at PG game 1 this year regardless of who comes in. This is something to bet the house on.

Thorpe 100% will be guaranteed nothing. He won't beat out Howard either. Thorpe will not know the zone well enough. Have u ever watched SU? U do know how JB rolls right?

I've watched a lot of Syracuse basketball and you can say whatever you want. I d like to take your money on this being your so cocky. Guarantee if Thorpe comes here he starts at point guard day 1 whether boeheim guarentees it or not. Don't run your mouth frank Howard is terrible.

 

[Deano]

This could not be more false. I can leave it at that. We are all sU fans so everyone can believe what they want. Not gonna get in to an immature shouting match with a random internet poster. Frank will be starting at PG game 1 this year regardless of who comes in. This is something to bet the house on.

Thorpe 100% will be guaranteed nothing. He won't beat out Howard either. Thorpe will not know the zone well enough. Have u ever watched SU? U do know how JB rolls right?

Howard's been here for 2 years and doesn't know the zone well enough so what makes so sure Thorpe wouldn't be a better fit. I would take Thorpe over FH in a heartbeat.

 

[SoBeCuse]

This could not be more false. I can leave it at that. We are all sU fans so everyone can believe what they want. Not gonna get in to an immature shouting match with a random internet poster. Frank will be starting at PG game 1 this year regardless of who comes in. This is something to bet the house on.

Thorpe 100% will be guaranteed nothing. He won't beat out Howard either. Thorpe will not know the zone well enough. Have u ever watched SU? U do know how JB rolls right?

Unless you are actually Frank Howard or Jim Boeheim (assuming he wants FH starting); it's sort of ridiculous to guarantee that Howard starts. The best man will play according to what happens in practice and/or against any sort of good competition. Syracuse's guard depth and quality has been pretty poor the past few seasons so anybody FH has been going against in practice is not a fair test. We saw what happened to Frank last year against good competition. Gillon made SU an above .500 team. Thorpe if he signs will be given a fair shot. Boeheim may decide to start Frank after all in the beginning of the season. But, it is not at all out of the realm of possibility that Thorpe or somebody else plays the majority of the minutes at PG. Then there are the defensive woes and Frank has struggled there also.

 

[Footey04]

Howard's been here for 2 years and doesn't know the zone well enough so what makes so sure Thorpe wouldn't be a better fit. I would take Thorpe over FH in a heartbeat.

Exactly he's terrible offensively and defensively and I would bet he considers transferring if Thorpe comes here as well!

 

[GooseMutt]

I am in agreement with some of your points, specifically on to get Thorpe. Regarding FH, he is still unproven and what happens if he gets injured. Believe that Thorpe and Washington could handle the job better than Washington and Alaya.

I wonder what is going on with Alaya and Syracuse. Is there some special secret verbal/handshake/wink-wink between the two parties? Would hate to wait to August to find out that the "wink-wink" was really a cinder in his eye.

There are questions about who would provide the most value between Thorpe and Alaya in 2017-2018. They both have to learn the system and become acclimated with playing with new teammates. All which takes time. Believe that Thorpe (based on experience) has the better upside for the next year but perhaps the Syracuse staff see Alaya having the best upside in year 2 and beyond. While it is a crap shoot, it is up to the staff (head coach) to determine which is the best player for his needs.

Regarding Thorpe, I do not see many teams (outside of Pitt) really fighting for his services and conversely, I do not see any other graduate transfer guards beating down the door to play for Syracuse. While I suggested in another post that a stake be placed in the ground, I now believe that this decision on Alaya/Thorpe may be 1-2 months away. Who has the strongest patience: Thorpe/Syracuse or Syracuse/Alaya? Hope that this does not bite us in the a__es again.

Good post. I read Ayala would decide end of July but my concern is that Thorpe can't wait forever. He needs a landing spot and get familiar with a new system.

 

[CuseLifer11]

Unless you are actually Frank Howard or Jim Boeheim (assuming he wants FH starting); it's sort of ridiculous to guarantee that Howard starts. The best man will play according to what happens in practice and/or against any sort of good competition. Syracuse's guard depth and quality has been pretty poor the past few seasons so anybody FH has been going against in practice is not a fair test. We saw what happened to Frank last year against good competition. Gillon made SU an above .500 team. Thorpe if he signs will be given a fair shot. Boeheim may decide to start Frank after all in the beginning of the season. But, it is not at all out of the realm of possibility that Thorpe or somebody else plays the majority of the minutes at PG. Then there are the defensive woes and Frank has struggled there also.

This is all pretty valid. I never said FH would play the majority of the minutes. I do know from about as close to the situation as there is that JB plans to roll FH as starting pg next year. Thorpe will not change that. People are making him out to be more than he is. He is a rotational guard who will probably play 20 mins a game. And that's fine.

There is a reason we aren't all over Thorpe and it isn't just Ayala. He's a nice stop gap like gillon was.

 

[Footey04]

Good post. I read Ayala would decide end of July but my concern is that Thorpe can't wait forever. He needs a landing spot and get familiar with a new system.

Agree I'd give Ayala an ultimatum and then go w Thorpe if he doesn't budge!! Thorpe will be a big reason we make tourney next year and brissette being better than people think!!!

 

[Footey04]

This is all pretty valid. I never said FH would play the majority of the minutes. I do know from about as close to the situation as there is that JB plans to roll FH as starting pg next year. Thorpe will not change that. People are making him out to be more than he is. He is a rotational guard who will probably play 20 mins a game. And that's fine.

There is a reason we aren't all over Thorpe and it isn't just Ayala. He's a nice stop gap like gillon was.

He's 10x better than Howard or gillon I think your underestimating how good Thorpe is!

 

[AZOrange]

Initially it was, a long time ago. Once Dolezaj visited the staff was trying to land both him and Tucker to close out the 17 class. I'm not sure if Dolezaj would have followed if Tucker chose SU but that is what the staff was hoping for.

Yep. I think that's what people are missing here. We'd be done in 2017 if JT came, we were going 3G then...

 

[Trueblue25]

Initially it was, a long time ago. Once Dolezaj visited the staff was trying to land both him and Tucker to close out the 17 class. I'm not sure if Dolezaj would have followed if Tucker chose SU but that is what the staff was hoping for.

I was just implying that the original master plan was to recruit over FH. Which itself means that his job's anything but safe regardless of who we do or dont bring in.

 

[littlereg]

As I posted previously a week or so ago, expect Ayala to announce his decision sometime after July 15th which is the last day of the UAA finals.

 

[ssbriefcase]

This is all pretty valid. I never said FH would play the majority of the minutes. I do know from about as close to the situation as there is that JB plans to roll FH as starting pg next year. Thorpe will not change that. People are making him out to be more than he is. He is a rotational guard who will probably play 20 mins a game. And that's fine.

There is a reason we aren't all over Thorpe and it isn't just Ayala. He's a nice stop gap like gillon was.

Welcome to the board Frank. I hope you don't spend too much time here, we need you to use your free time to get that J up to par.

 

[HoustonCuse]

This. I really don't understand how this discussion is even close. Thorpe is by far the better option. An established player who has proven he can produce and steps into ample playing time vs. a guy who might be able to help us out in 2018? But...next season is 2017.

Some of our very credible recruiting people (basically Francis) say that JB is/has been lazy to the point of destroying the program. If we take that to be truth: Maybe JB prefers EA because it simply means one less spot to recruit for next year. Somebody else pointed out that with the class we've brought in for 17, we'll have a raft of guys leaving in 2021. The upshot is, Boeheim can essentially retire from recruiting for the rest of his life if he gets Ayala.

 

[CuseLifer11]

He's 10x better than Howard or gillon I think your underestimating how good Thorpe is!

I hope I am wrong. Trust me. I like Thorpe as well... Alot for this team. But as this is the Ayala thread, My main point is that bringing him in is 100% Not recruiting over FH. There is no shot he would start if he chose us. None.

JB is stubborn as a mule and that in part led to Hop peacing out. And FH happens to he on the good side of his stubbornness. Like it or not.

 

[CuseLifer11]

Thanks Mrs. Ayala. Happy to be here. I am in the gym daily. I promise.

Welcome to the board Frank. I hope you don't spend too much time here, we need you to use your free time to get that J up to par.

 

[jordoo]

I completely agree with CuseLifer11 that right now JB's plan is to role with Howard as the PG. I think its also why he prefers Ayala. Ayala can backup either guard spot, and gives us insurance in the case of Frank playing like last year. He will be around for at least a couple years and gives us flexibility and depth in the backcourt. That said I think Red likes Thorpe a lot and wants to bring him in.

Right now Frank is the starter once we bring in Ayala or Thorpe and practices start things could change when JB sees all the guys. Yes JB is stubborn and set in his ways but he also likes to win so . . . . if there is a big difference in play and ability he very well may start someone else or have Frank on a super short leash.


On a side note its nice to see both Frank and Mrs. Ayala posting in the thread