Southerland

[SU8888]

I have read some threads were people have said they believe he will start. I just do not see it. He can not dribble, create his own shot, or rebound. He has serious weaknesses in his game and KJ/CJ are to good to keep off the floor. X mas upside is through the roof and he can rebound/defend from the get go.

 

[General20]

I would not bet on Southerland starting either, but dont sell his skill set short. He is 6'8, among the best athletes on the team, and has the potential to be an excellent 3 point shooter. DNich lead the big east in scoring with a similar skill set, even though he could not dribble or create his own shot.

 

[OttoMets]

I have read some threads were people have said they believe he will start. I just do not see it. He can not dribble, create his own shot, or rebound. He has serious weaknesses in his game and KJ/CJ are to good to keep off the floor. X mas upside is through the roof and he can rebound/defend from the get go.

Players do tend to, you know, improve during the summer.

By that logic, Z Sims (who couldn't dribble, create his own shot, rebound, pass, or even run) wouldn't have gotten any court time and we'd have seen David Patrick running the offense.

 

[SU8888]

I am not trying to bash him (even though i kind of did). I guess i just do not see how he was going to get minutes unless we struggle shooting threes.

 

[SU8888]

Players do tend to, you know, improve during the summer.

By that logic, Z Sims (who couldn't dribble, create his own shot, rebound, pass, or even run) wouldn't have gotten any court time and we'd have seen David Patrick running the offense.

at the same time KJ CJ and Baye who could play the 4 are all also going to improve this summer also.

 

[EastCoast2]

at the same time KJ CJ and Baye who could play the 4 are all also going to improve this summer also.

Baye will play zero minutes at the 4 this year

 

[EastCoast2]

I said this before, Southerland is my dark horse to start at the 4. I think it will be Christmas, but watch for Dirty.

He is the best athlete on the team, and maybe the best 3 point shooter. Other guys on the team have put muscle on this summer, why not Dirty?

 

[jordoo]

Southerland is the type of kid who you look at and see the length, athletic ability, shooting form and think wow this kids going to be a monster . . . . . . . at some point. And maybe he will be the potential is there. Heck he improved his ball handling from absolutely horrible (as in worse than mine) to not so noticeably bad in one off season. If he could develop a couple one or two dribble slashing moves he'd really help himself out. I like his energy on defense and weak side shot challenging. He can really cover a lot of ground quickly on the wing.

My biggest critique of James last year was that when his shot didn't fall it really effected the rest of his game.

I think if he has improved his handle, shoots with confidence no matter what the last shot was like, gets to/holds onto more rebounds and just settles down a bit on defense he could easily be the 3rd forward and be very effective doing it.

I don't see him starting or playing more than CJ or Kris. That's just my opinion of course.

 

[EastCoast2]

I don

Southerland is the type of kid who you look at and see the length, athletic ability, shooting form and think wow this kids going to be a monster . . . . . . . at some point. And maybe he will be the potential is there. Heck he improved his ball handling from absolutely horrible (as in worse than mine) to not so noticeably bad in one off season. If he could develop a couple one or two dribble slashing moves he'd really help himself out. I like his energy on defense and weak side shot challenging. He can really cover a lot of ground quickly on the wing.

My biggest critique of James last year was that when his shot didn't fall it really effected the rest of his game.

I think if he has improved his handle, shoots with confidence no matter what the last shot was like, gets to/holds onto more rebounds and just settles down a bit on defense he could easily be the 3rd forward and be very effective doing it.

I don't see him starting or playing more than CJ or Kris. That's just my opinion of course.

I don't think he'll play more than CJ, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Southerland start in an attempt to get an early lead. Let him run with Scoop and co. and take a couple threes. See if we can't get up 8-10 points 5 minutes into the game then bring in D and rebounding in Rak, or a more stable game with CJ. JB likes CJ off the bench. Whether CJ starts or stays 6th man, he will get starters minutes

 

[netman99]

I have read some threads were people have said they believe he will start. I just do not see it. He can not dribble, create his own shot, or rebound. He has serious weaknesses in his game and KJ/CJ are to good to keep off the floor. X mas upside is through the roof and he can rebound/defend from the get go.

Southerland does not rebound like the other forwards he is competing with.

 

[CuseManiac]

I think he will get a decent amount of playing time, he can shoot the three but his playing time will depend on his improvement on defense and rebounding

 

[OrangeMuskyFish]

I think Rak gets the start at the 4 and about 20 minutes a game average. The rest of those minutes at the 4 will come down to a combination of, has CJ's jumper advanced more quickly than Southerland's willingness to do dirty work? And will MCW improve faster than both of them, so Joseph can slide to the 4-spot for short bursts of a 3 guard lineup? Unless people have access to pickup games, we really won't know that until practices (and perhaps even the OOC games) have concluded.

 

[Ghost]

He'll stand a better chance if he can improve on his rebounding. He can jump, but doesn't seem to have the strength or jump quickly enough to really battle (at least not yet).

That being said, if his handle improves a bit he'll be invaluable especially when we're playing uptempo. He can shoot it very well (too streaky thus far in his career, but with more playing time hopefully that fades) and can jump out the gym.

 

[OttoMets]

at the same time KJ CJ and Baye who could play the 4 are all also going to improve this summer also.

For sure. But I would argue that Joseph is closer to his ceiling than Southerland is to his, leaving more room for improvement. I might say the same thing about Southerland as compared to CJ, too, but CJ's a heck of a ballplayer so I'd better not get too bold.

For what it's worth, I bet CJ will start over Southerland. But Southerland's got some real upside; he could surprise everyone.

 

[OttoMets]

He'll stand a better chance if he can improve on his rebounding. He can jump, but doesn't seem to have the strength or jump quickly enough to really battle (at least not yet).

That being said, if his handle improves a bit he'll be invaluable especially when we're playing uptempo. He can shoot it very well (too streaky thus far in his career, but with more playing time hopefully that fades) and can jump out the gym.

Rebounding is mostly about want. Carmelo had that want. CJ has that want. I've never seen Southerland demonstrate any want.

If he didn't develop that over the summer, Boeheim won't let him see the light of day. If he did develop it, he could be one of our most valuable players.

 

[realorange]

Rebounding is mostly about want. Carmelo had that want. CJ has that want. I've never seen Southerland demonstrate any want.

If he didn't develop that over the summer, Boeheim won't let him see the light of day. If he did develop it, he could be one of our most valuable players.

Agree Otto. Southerland needs to demonstrate want, but perhaps even more, he needs to demonstrate confidence. He looked like a lost soul at times last year.

If you don't think you can do it, you never will.

 

[dollarbill44]

It is a lot easier to improve dribbling and rebounding than an outside shot. 20 minutes a day dedicated to ball-handling will work wonders and rebounding is 50% tenacity and 30% positioning. (btw, those percentages have an error of +/-5%).

 

[orangefan13]

Southerland has potential to be a enigma with the deep college midrange jumpshot. Potential to be One of the best long jumpshooters ever at Syracuse and thats without a outstanding dribble or speed burst. Hes just that long and athletic and has the players around to do so.

He should watch some Larry Bird footage or something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULvo7__wwBU

I hope we run some screens rollouts for him someday and he starts knocking some down. He doesn't have to be open from three to shoot.

 

[pfister1]

Southerland is the type of kid who you look at and see the length, athletic ability, shooting form and think wow this kids going to be a monster . . . . . . . at some point. And maybe he will be the potential is there. Heck he improved his ball handling from absolutely horrible (as in worse than mine) to not so noticeably bad in one off season. If he could develop a couple one or two dribble slashing moves he'd really help himself out. I like his energy on defense and weak side shot challenging. He can really cover a lot of ground quickly on the wing.

My biggest critique of James last year was that when his shot didn't fall it really effected the rest of his game.

I think if he has improved his handle, shoots with confidence no matter what the last shot was like, gets to/holds onto more rebounds and just settles down a bit on defense he could easily be the 3rd forward and be very effective doing it.

I don't see him starting or playing more than CJ or Kris. That's just my opinion of course.

What "rest of his game"? From my view all there is to his game up to now is his outside shot. When its not falling, which more often than not it wasn't, he doesn't bring anything else. I don't see all the potential that so many others do. If this were a 3 way horse race between James, CJ and Rak, all of my money is going down on CJ to be the guy who ultimately gets the starting role and/or wins the bulk of the playing time.

 

[newmexicuse]

I have read some threads were people have said they believe he will start. I just do not see it. He can not dribble, create his own shot, or rebound. He has serious weaknesses in his game and KJ/CJ are to good to keep off the floor. X mas upside is through the roof and he can rebound/defend from the get go.

Forget all of those individual skill shortcomings.

The bottom line for James is that he will not be more than a role player who may get some PT when he proves he is hot until such time as a shows some scrapiness & moxie on the court. He has the size & athelticism to be a decent boardman. There is really no excuse why he can't grab a rebound.

 

[jordoo]

What "rest of his game"? From my view all there is to his game up to now is his outside shot. When its not falling, which more often than not it wasn't, he doesn't bring anything else. I don't see all the potential that so many others do. If this were a 3 way horse race between James, CJ and Rak, all of my money is going down on CJ to be the guy who ultimately gets the starting role and/or wins the bulk of the playing time.

LOL, fair enough. I just felt like the 2-3 games he did make shots he was much more active all over the court. Came up with a couple steals, blocks and moved around a lot more on offense.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I really don't like Southerland threads. They are the same as Mookie threads. Mookie Light, if you will.

He will not start and may play sparingly. If CJ has mastered his three point shot, then JS won't see the court in any meaningful time. Mookie is in worse shape.

Let's face it, beyond early season games, these two are bench food...barring any injuries of course. And our luck in that department hasn't been to good over the years. So, maybe they will see the court (God forbid, poo poo, bite my tongue, etc, etc).

 

[senorpalmer]

I will be shocked if Fair isn't the other starting forward. The rotation will be very tricky this year, lots of guys have chances to play, including Southerland. He and Rak both have high ceilings but are probably far away from them. I think one and only one of them ends up as a regular this coming season.

 

[orangefan13]

All I can say to sum up James southerland other then his long high arching three pointers was one play at the dome. Against Notre Dame last year he practically did a high post up took one or two dribbles was fouled and made a long fade away sort of turnaround two from the corner in awesome fashion. Sorry but few Seniors can make that shot. That was truly NBA when he was feeling some pressure.

He is NOWHERE near Mookie. He already is and has shown to be a solid 6th man potential. The stats show it. Mookie has been nothing more then a fill not a 6th man. Although hes working hard to get there. His defense improved a step last year. Sorry its rediculous to compare the two.

Once Joseph leaves, A senior southerland and Jr Fair are going to exciting, solid, and superathletic. There is NO need to put one over the other.
And Jerami grant will get some token minutes and take over SF with a Senior CJ the year after in Nice Fashion!

 

[PeteCalvin]

All I can say to sum up James southerland other then his long high arching three pointers was one play at the dome. Against Notre Dame last year he practically did a high post up took one or two dribbles was fouled and made a long fade away sort of turnaround two from the corner in awesome fashion. Sorry but few Seniors can make that shot. That was truly NBA when he was feeling some pressure.

He is NOWHERE near Mookie. He already is and has shown to be a solid 6th man potential. The stats show it. Mookie has been nothing more then a fill not a 6th man. Although hes working hard to get there. His defense improved a step last year. Sorry its rediculous to compare the two.

Once Joseph leaves, A senior southerland and Jr Fair are going to exciting, solid, and superathletic. There is NO need to put one over the other.
And Jerami grant will get some token minutes and take over SF with a Senior CJ the year after in Nice Fashion!

I don't disagree with you...about NEXT season. This season, unless he outperforms CJ, James will be sitting next to Red and Gerry. Case closed.