Southerland | Syracusefan.com

Southerland

pearl31

in cahoots
Joined
Nov 8, 2011
Messages
14,836
Like
34,964
Hi all, longtime lurker in Minneapolis, MN - decided it's finally time to join in...

I was surprised at how many minutes JS got today. And, I thought he really took advantage of those minutes and played with good confidence - which is the one thing I feel has held him back. Peeking at the box score, looks like he even managed 4 boards in 20 min. Hoping today was a sign of things to come from Dirty this season.

Thoughts?
 
Agreed. Quickly stroked his first three and knocked it down, aimed his next one and missed it short. Beyond that, smartest and most physical he's been in awhile. And he had an interesting quote after the game - something about putting skills to more facets of the game, "If I can get up high for an alley-oop, I should be able to get up high for a rebound." Same thing many of us have been saying for a couple years. A very nice start.
 
He certainly has the athletic ability to excel, and although it's probably still mediocre at best, he's at least serviceable when dribbling the ball now. It's going to come down to consistency, he had a good look last year and wasn't able to put together enough good minutes to stay on the court. If he puts the effort in to grab some rebounds he can still be productive even when his shot is off and avoid being relegated to the bench.

Kid has a great touch with the mid-range jumper - hopefully he takes more of those shots this year as well.
 
Same old song and dance each year. I wish he was good enough to play major minutes in big games, but he's just not.

He's a great high-mid-major player, but at the high-major level he will always struggle until he gets stronger and/or gets a better handle.
 
Yes, I thought he had a good game tonight. Is obviously trying to improve his weaknesses and I like his effort!
 
He's a great high-mid-major player, but at the high-major level he will always struggle until he gets stronger and/or gets a better handle.

This is where I think people get greedy. I agree on the stronger/more physical parts of his game. He needs to be able to hang inside on the glass and rebound on the weak side to earn minutes. But why is everyone so intent on seeing him develop as a ball-handler? He's long, athletic, can run the floor, cover ground on D, and flat-out stroke it. He can absolutely contribute significantly and help this team this season. Will he? I don't know. But I really think people get caught up wanting every player to develop into Carmelo.
 
This is where I think people get greedy. I agree on the stronger/more physical parts of his game. He needs to be able to hang inside on the glass and rebound on the weak side to earn minutes. But why is everyone so intent on seeing him develop as a ball-handler? He's long, athletic, can run the floor, cover ground on D, and flat-out stroke it. He can absolutely contribute significantly and help this team this season. Will he? I don't know. But I really think people get caught up wanting every player to develop into Carmelo.

I said and/or. If he's not a good rebounder, he won't play the "4" and if he doesn't develop a handle he can't play the "3".

He is a skilled player who is fatally flawed at the highest of levels, which Syracuse is at right now. If he were playing for Rutgers or Seton Hall, he'd play 20-30 minutes a game. But the more he plays against better competition, the more his flaws are exposed.
 
He is a skilled player who is fatally flawed at the highest of levels, which Syracuse is at right now. If he were playing for Rutgers or Seton Hall, he'd play 20-30 minutes a game. But the more he plays against better competition, the more his flaws are exposed.

I guess we just disagree on whether or not a long, athletic, shooter who can play some defense but will struggle a bit on the glass can be an effective part of a rotation for a really good team. I'm not saying 20-30 mpg, but I wouldn't be surprised to see 12-15 even when Big East play starts. I just see him as a really unique player. Not perfect, potentially exposed by better teams if he's on the floor for too long. But still a potentially valuable asset to a team still trying to find it's offense a bit.
 
Good post.

Hes got to rebound, and toughen up so he can catch high post passes with his back to the basket. And most of all learn to create some team offense off a few dribbles so that midrange Jabstep will be tougher. If you ever noticed he always throws a pass back out to the three point line rather then a quick transition assist. If his passing/court vision gets better off of one to two dribbles he could even post up alittle closer then long midrange.

As far as who to compare him to who knows? I see alittle Wes Johnson in him but then again I see alittle Larry Bird in him to. But, right now he has a long way to go.
 
I love the jab step jumper we've seen a couple times from the baseline. He says, "I'm much taller than you. You can't block me. I will shoot now." Swish.
 
i thought he played bigger and better yesterday. seems to grasp that he has 5 fouls to give underneath and swatted at every easy deuce.
 
his inability to rebound will keep him off the courst as the competition gets better
 
I consider James Southerland the Vinnie "the microwave" Johnson of the SU team when he gets hot he can score12-15 points in a half easily, but he doesn't warm up enough to get that much credit. He is great K-Jo, C.J. Fair, and Christmas insurance and should get 10-12 minutes a game depending if he is on or not.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
167,128
Messages
4,681,754
Members
5,900
Latest member
DizzyNY

Online statistics

Members online
311
Guests online
2,169
Total visitors
2,480


Top Bottom