Idk what KJ (sophomore year) you were watching but he could only slash and bring high energy off the bench. Also idk why you bring up the emergency center thing, the guy did it once when everyone was fouled out. I did think he was going to explode, unfortunately that never happened. I believe CJ's game is much more refined (except for his 3pt shot, which KJ didnt have his sophomore year either) and he will finish with a great college career.
I believe he will have a great year next year. I think he does everything a little better then KJ did, but his height and length will prevent him from doing anything in the NBA. I hope I'm wrong about this but there is no way CJ is 6'7, he is closer to 6'5 and he is not a long lengthy guy. This will be a problem because 3's in the NBA are generally long lengthy 6'8 guys. In the NBA he would have the game of a 4 in a 2's body.
I agree with quite a bit in your post. Like you, I think he's poised for a big year next season. Moqui and I disagree about CJ's game [have had a friendly ongoing debate about this for two years], but I agree with you that CJ is further along than KJ in just about every dimension, with the lone exception that KJ showed more of an ability to handle in the open floor / slash to the hole in transition than what CJ has showed so far. Please note that this doesn't mean that CJ can't handle the ball, just that he generally plays within himself, generally doesn't try to do too much / force [a function of high basketball IQ], and in practice handles the ball much more than what he's shown in games up to this point. But I believe that CJ is further along in his developmental curve on every other dimension of the developmental curve--rebounding, defense footwork, mid-range shooting, passing, general basketball IQ.
Two other quick things. First, I think that CJ is going to show much more expanded ability to put the ball on the floor than what most seem to believe next year. KJ at the same stage [sophomore year] took it to the ball well in transition, but showed no complimentary offense to doing that. He didn't have a mid-range game--and in fact, never developed one during his career at SU--and he didn't start showing a consistent three point shot until his junior year. Many of the same questions about CJ's shooting today were the same things people were saying about KJ after his sophomore year, In fact, many posters expressed the opinion between KJ's soph / junior campaigns that he would never develop as a shooter, and as we know he came back with a much improved three point shot the following year. I'd expect CJ to show the same improvement between this year and next.
Second, a lot of people in this thread suggest that CJ is an undersized 4. I don't believe that at all--I think that that's where the team NEEDED him to play, so he fulfilled that role to the best of his ability. In fact, he is a 3 who is going to show a more versatile, expanded skill set as a firmly entrenched starter next season.
To maximize his potential, he needs to do three things: (1) demonstrate that he can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot, (2) show more consistency on his jump shot, out to three point range, and (3) develop the ability to score with his back to the basket. I'm very confident about the first two skills. He hasn't shown any semblance of a low post game as yet [neither did KJ, for that matter]. If he adds that third dimension, he's going to be a walking mismatch at the collegiate level.
