Class of 2021 SG Lucas Taylor (NC) TRANSFERRING TO SYRACUSE (6/4/24)

[RF2044]

i was surprised that starling shot 39% from 3 in conference

Starling had an atrocious start to shooting from 3 at the beginning of last season -- which was a concern, given that he only shot 29% from three at Notre Dame the year before. But even accounting for that horrendous start, he ended up around 33%, with that percentage being dragged down by the poor statistics for the first handful of games.

His skill set was highly similar to Mintz, so there may have been a situation where two guys with similar skill sets / limitations may not have been the best "fit" to play together, or that their skill similarity meant that the backcourt wasn't optimized. But with Mintz now gone, I bet JJ will have a big year. He's the man this year.

 

[ZeroSugar]

Starling had an atrocious start to shooting from 3 at the beginning of last season -- which was a concern, given that he only shot 29% from three at Notre Dame the year before. But even accounting for that horrendous start, he ended up around 33%, with that percentage being dragged down by the poor statistics for the first handful of games.

His skill set was highly similar to Mintz, so there may have been a situation where two guys with similar skill sets / limitations may not have been the best "fit" to play together, or that their skill similarity meant that the backcourt wasn't optimized. But with Mintz now gone, I bet JJ will have a big year. He's the man this year.

I am eager to see JJ attack the basket more. I don't expect his play making, balance, finishing to be as good as Judah's was but he can be good enough there imo.

 

[cusefan88]

I am eager to see JJ attack the basket more. I don't expect his play making, balance, finishing to be as good as Judah's was but he can be good enough there imo.

He's much stronger. Hope he uses that and can draw fouls. Work on FT jumper this summer.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Nicknack]

But with Mintz now gone, I bet JJ will have a big year. He's the man this year.

Yeah, I can also see him having a big year as well. However, I kinda hope he doesn't try to be the man because it appears we have a lot of balance and options on offense.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Lucas has video from his SU photo shoot on his IG story right now...

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Kinda weird to have kids cradling a trophy they had nothing to do with—from when they were infants…. Someone should maybe take a look at that messaging.

 

[Orangezoo]

Yeah, I can also see him having a big year as well. However, I kinda hope he doesn't try to be the man because it appears we have a lot of balance and options on offense.

He doesn’t strike me as the type of kid who would go full on hero ball mode especially if Red is looking for team ball. Definitely can see him having a big year though if he puts it together. One of the fastest guards in the country on the break.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Red has/is building a roster without any chaff. Last year, we had erratic and unproductive Benny, offensive ‘liabilities’ in Taylor and McLeod, and erratic Copeland. Those spots have been replaced with guys who are at minimum ‘solid’ and who were responsible for offensive production at their former schools.

We may not have ‘knocked anything out of the park’ with any of the individual signings, but in aggregate, we seem to have eliminated all the holes (except backup C, as I can’t leap over the potential for recurring injuries for McLeod). And if the psychology is now improved, we should have significant improvement, at least on a consistency basis. I think there is balance, but Red will have to balance egos and expectations with that number of players who probably all think they deserve as much or more than the next guy in the lineup. There may not be much or any delineation between starters and reserves, which might eventually become difficult to manage.

I went into this off season thinking I would be much less interested and engaged in next season because of the short term mercenaryness of it all, but Donnie and Moore somewhat alleviate that, and I’m interested to see how it all melds together over the course of ~30 games.

 

[Niastri]

Yeah, I can also see him having a big year as well. However, I kinda hope he doesn't try to be the man because it appears we have a lot of balance and options on offense.

We're going need to to make up 18.8 points from Mintz, 9.5 from Brown, 5 points from Taylor and 9.6 from Copeland. That's about 43 ppg we need to make up to average the same points.

I think Starling and Bell will take up some of that slack, maybe increasing from 25 combined to 30 between then, but other than that we're expecting a ton from transfers and freshman.

I think Freeman will average 12-15, Lampkin 12-15, but where else does the scoring come from? Do we expect the 6-11 rotation slots to all average 4 to get us to 80 ppg? Or will Red settle into a 9 man rotation with a couple guys only getting in the game rarely?

I think we'll need to score more to have a similar record because we're going to give up more points next year. Copeland, Brown and Mintz were great at forcing turnovers and turning it into offense. Next season we're going to need to force misses and rebound because steals and blocks are going to go from a strength to a weakness season over season.

I personally think we'll be much more spread out in scoring than last year, but who knows how the rotation shakes out?

 

[kcsu]

We're going need to to make up 18.8 points from Mintz, 9.5 from Brown, 5 points from Taylor and 9.6 from Copeland. That's about 43 ppg we need to make up to average the same points.

I think Starling and Bell will take up some of that slack, maybe increasing from 25 combined to 30 between then, but other than that we're expecting a ton from transfers and freshman.

I think Freeman will average 12-15, Lampkin 12-15, but where else does the scoring come from? Do we expect the 6-11 rotation slots to all average 4 to get us to 80 ppg? Or will Red settle into a 9 man rotation with a couple guys only getting in the game rarely?

I think we'll need to score more to have a similar record because we're going to give up more points next year. Copeland, Brown and Mintz were great at forcing turnovers and turning it into offense. Next season we're going to need to force misses and rebound because steals and blocks are going to go from a strength to a weakness season over season.

I personally think we'll be much more spread out in scoring than last year, but who knows how the rotation shakes out?

we will be better on D

 

[Niastri]

we will be better on D

Show your work, please?

I think we'll be better at rebounding, even with our four best rebounders playing elsewhere.

I don't know if we can stay in front of anybody and I don't think we can force turnovers.

My hope is that the new assistant coach, whose team was very good defensively last season, gets good individual efforts out of guys that didn't play very good defense last season.

I also hope that he can install and manage a solid team defensive concept.

Engelstad's team was extremely good at preventing offensive rebounds last season, for instance. If I was Red, that's one of the things I'd have been looking for in a coach this off-season, considering last year's rebounding woes as well as JB's legacy issues with defensive rebounding.

 

[tptcuse]

Red has/is building a roster without any chaff. Last year, we had erratic and unproductive Benny, offensive ‘liabilities’ in Taylor and McLeod, and erratic Copeland. Those spots have been replaced with guys who are at minimum ‘solid’ and who were responsible for offensive production at their former schools.

We may not have ‘knocked anything out of the park’ with any of the individual signings, but in aggregate, we seem to have eliminated all the holes (except backup C, as I can’t leap over the potential for recurring injuries for McLeod). And if the psychology is now improved, we should have significant improvement, at least on a consistency basis. I think there is balance, but Red will have to balance egos and expectations with that number of players who probably all think they deserve as much or more than the next guy in the lineup. There may not be much or any delineation between starters and reserves, which might eventually become difficult to manage.

I went into this off season thinking I would be much less interested and engaged in next season because of the short term mercenaryness of it all, but Donnie and Moore somewhat alleviate that, and I’m interested to see how it all melds together over the course of ~30 games.

I agree. This reminds me of one of those random TBT teams that has no big names but wins the tournament because they put together a roster of players that complement each other. I'm looking forward to the season.

 

[Talljoey503]

As mentioned earlier throughout this thread it will be great to see a more balanced style of play. Having threats all over the floor will be nice to see.

 

[Orangezoo]

Show your work, please?

I think we'll be better at rebounding, even with our four best rebounders playing elsewhere.

I don't know if we can stay in front of anybody and I don't think we can force turnovers.

My hope is that the new assistant coach, whose team was very good defensively last season, gets good individual efforts out of guys that didn't play very good defense last season.

I also hope that he can install and manage a solid team defensive concept.

Engelstad's team was extremely good at preventing offensive rebounds last season, for instance. If I was Red, that's one of the things I'd have been looking for in a coach this off-season, considering last year's rebounding woes as well as JB's legacy issues with defensive rebounding.

Forcing turnovers was fools gold last year as we gave up easy buckets gambling too much or certain players specifically. Maliq was the true menace given he both forced turnovers and played solid defense.

Rebound and have much more discipline and pride on D and we can be better. Probably still limited in that the ceiling is a top 50 to 75 team in adj D but still good enough that a more balanced and efficient offense makes us a combined better overall team.

We shouldn’t deal with being pushed around physically this year as well. A healthy Westry plays a big role in the teams defensive ceiling in that we would have a true lockdown defender in the arsenal.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Georgia State play-by-play commentator Dave Cohen joins Tim Leonard to discuss the recent transfer of Lucas Taylor from the Panthers to Syracuse and more.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Luka was the most obvious recent Euro superstar to enter the draft because he dominated the best Euro league there was at the time his pre draft year vs adults. Most of the guys projected in the lottery are crapshoots who mostly play against guys their age and maybe get garbage minutes vs the grown men or play in a country without a high end pro league. I think he played a key role for Real Madrid for 2 years before the Mavs took him anyone who didn't know he was the real thing is a fool he was supposed to be #1 in that draft a year out but slipped a little when they obsessed over the athleticism.

I think Vlade Divac still has a job despite passing on him and also being Serbian.

doing well when up an age group is a key metric that should always be a huge green flag in ahtletics

its not always a slam dunk...but its pretty close

 

[Orangezoo]

Georgia State play-by-play commentator Dave Cohen joins Tim Leonard to discuss the recent transfer of Lucas Taylor from the Panthers to Syracuse and more.

Another hard worker from a smaller school who’s improved his game. Love that trend

 

[Dinkyspond]

Who would have guess the two players remaining on Syracuse who played in JB's last game are Chris Bell and Lucas Taylor

Wake Forest vs. Syracuse Box Score (Men), March 8, 2023 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Wake Forest vs. Syracuse Box Score (Men), March 8, 2023

www.sports-reference.com

Jeez, Benny had a monster game, 18 points, 11 boards. 7-14 from field, 3-5 from 3 in 38 minutes. So much potential if he ever got his head straight. He's got one last chance at UCF, it'll be interesting to watch how things unfold.

 

[djcon57]

Jeez, Benny had a monster game, 18 points, 11 boards. 7-14 from field, 3-5 from 3. So much potential if he ever got his head straight. He's got one last chance at UCF, it'll be interesting to watch how things unfold.

I think we all know how it will end.

 

[Dinkyspond]

I think we all know how it will end.

Whaddya' think? I think he realizes it's his last chance and he excels, IMHO

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Whaddya' think? I think he realizes it's his last chance and he excels, IMHO

I don’t think he will. Has no feel for the game. Amazing athlete who really doesn’t get it.

 

[djcon57]

Whaddya' think? I think he realizes it's his last chance and he excels, IMHO

I think he'll make it through the season without being suspended or kicked off the team. If that equals excelling, I'll agree.

 

[ClamOtto]

Georgia State play-by-play commentator Dave Cohen joins Tim Leonard to discuss the recent transfer of Lucas Taylor from the Panthers to Syracuse and more.

Dave Cohen is a fantastic announcer. Way better than he should be at a Sun Belt school.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Saw this recent interview with Cuban about Ayton vs Luka:

“Then we started really paying attention. Our scouts liked him, our analytics guys loved him… They (the scouts) had (Deandre) Ayton number one. Our numbers guys were like, ‘this is the only superstar in the draft.'”

When your eye test guys had Ayton over Luka and your number guys said Luka is a sure thing...I think it's at least worth listening to the number guys once in awhile.

There is a balance of the two, I would think.
Numbers should be used to expose flawed specimens who overwhelm senses with fantastical athleticism.
The eyes should look at some lesser ranked numbers guys for intangibles that might raise the rating.
I don’t know how Z Sims would rate analytically, but he always made the right play and we don’t get to the FF without him as our PG. You had to watch him to appreciate all he did.

Coach fell in love with Benny W. but I bet analytics would have told a different tale.
It would be great if there were appropriate psychological testing that were allowed by NCAA that could get into how players might react under pressure or adversity. That would be the third leg.


The scene in “Air” where Sonny Vaccarro is explaining why Nike had to sign Jordon is a microcosm of intangibles. In the movie (unsure if totally true) Dean Smith knew the freshman was the guy to take the shot, not the All American James Worthy.

 

[jordville]