Taurean Thompson

[kmart128]

Thompson looks great tonight. I think he is our best freshman forward since Melo. I'm projecting here but love him.

hmmm... not sure about that with Lydon, Richardson, McCullogh, and Green

 

[CaptainJ]

Thompson looks like he's going to be better than McCullough, in my opinion. What a HUGE get he was!

 

[nycfan]

Thompson looks great tonight. I think he is our best freshman forward since Melo. I'm projecting here but love him.

He sure does. TT plays with such confidence, and a much better shooter than I expected. Doesn't seem to get rattled out there and his shots look unrushed and in the flow of the game. I can now envision him having a huge year next season. If Battle comes back this team will still be good as we could have 3 studs--TT, Battle, and Howard.

 

[supp]

OK, maybe not Melo, but definitely got a lot of CJ Fair in his game.

VERY glad to see he's ok. More than OK - took that one dude to school.

Fair was less of an inside player at this stage than Thompson is, though. Thompson has a better build, better jumpshot, and similar athleticism. Any other year and I think Thompson's good for 14 and 7 a night. The guy is eating into Roberson's minutes as it is.

 

[Trueblue25]

Fair was less of an inside player at this stage than Thompson is, though. Thompson has a better build, better jumpshot, and similar athleticism. Any other year and I think Thompson's good for 14 and 7 a night. The guy is eating into Roberson's minutes as it is.

All while Roberson's improving himself!

 

[cuseinseattle]

hmmm... not sure about that with Lydon, Richardson, McCullogh, and Green

I think he is better than McCullough and Green. I think of Mali as a guard that played small forward but not a forward.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Thompson is good at basketball.

 

[RandygoCuse]

He gone

 

[AZOrange]

Thompson is good at basketball.

That dunk was awesome.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

This guy is going to be a legit 3 point shooter sooner than later. He's got a seriously sweet , effortless , and relatively quick stroke. All the while hoisting the shot from a 6'10 frame. And the kicker is , dude has something you can't teach...soft hands. He makes clean catches in traffic. You either have that ability or you don't..

 

[heresjohnny88]

Hard not to be impressed by this kid. Defense will improve - not really worried about that.

More than anything, he just seems to belong out there.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Kid is going to be a star.

 

[jordoo]

37 points in 76 minutes. That's 19.47 per 40 minutes. Oh I almost forgot, he's shooting .667 from the floor and .714 from the stripe.

 

[longislandcuse]

This is one of the most skilled offensive big men I've ever seen at Syracuse as a freshman.

If we could get some guards to come play here next year, we look to be pretty loaded in the front court with Chukwu, Thompson, Moyer, Brissett and Sidibe.

I bring up next year because as good as Thompson is, I think come big game time, Roberson is going to get the bulk of the minutes at the 4.

 

[orangefan13]

That dunk was awesome.

Flashbacks of hakim on that one.

I love his slow motion style, people might hate the comparison but I see a little otto porter in him.
He may be our best one on one player on this team, and a big part is you can't afford to leave Lydon open.
Speaking of Lydon, his rebounding in the second half was ridiculous. I think he was up to the box on all of those. He could of had 15 boards had he stayed in the game. Just ridiculous athleticism between these two roberson and chuckwu.

 

[OttoMets]

The references to McCullough have me thinking:

In what world could McCullough have been a top 20 recruit while Thompson got whatever unmemorable ranking he did?

All one needs to do is watch five minutes of play during each guy's freshman year to recognize that one is superior in nearly every facet of the game.

Thompson is really good. The poster who said he's the most skilled forward since Anthony isn't totally crazy.

I hope his tenure here goes well, because he's a special talent.

 

[doc05]

To me it seemed he had a dramatic improvement in his senior year that wasn't necessary reflected in his final ranking (75-80ish range) -- evident in him dominating the Jordan Regional game.

 

[orangefog]

He deserves super fast internet.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

The references to McCullough have me thinking:

In what world could McCullough have been a top 20 recruit while Thompson got whatever unmemorable ranking he did?

All one needs to do is watch five minutes of play during each guy's freshman year to recognize that one is superior in nearly every facet of the game.

Thompson is really good. The poster who said he's the most skilled forward since Anthony isn't totally crazy.

I hope his tenure here goes well, because he's a special talent.

Did he have a late growth spurt or something ? He has small man skills. Most of us figured he was the next Eric Williams

 

[billsin01]

The references to McCullough have me thinking:

In what world could McCullough have been a top 20 recruit while Thompson got whatever unmemorable ranking he did?

All one needs to do is watch five minutes of play during each guy's freshman year to recognize that one is superior in nearly every facet of the game.

Thompson is really good. The poster who said he's the most skilled forward since Anthony isn't totally crazy.

I hope his tenure here goes well, because he's a special talent.

Not sure exactly where he fits in since Melo -- I'd have to feel like he's up there but I tend to feel like there is a big difference between a good 4 and a good 3 even though they are both forwards. I think Fair is an interesting comp -- not sure Thompson is better but I'd say maybe fair was the best 3 and Thompson may be the best 4?

Anyway, I love what I see. So calm with the ball. I think his issues defensively stem a bit from getting used to the speed of the game at this level. He's trying to anticipate but getting there a step late and ultimately taking himself out of the play. I think his anticipation and judgment of when to gamble and when to stay home will improve. Really impressive looking player.

 

[ROCcuse]

Flashbacks of hakim on that one.

I love his slow motion style, people might hate the comparison but I see a little otto porter in him.
He may be our best one on one player on this team, and a big part is you can't afford to leave Lydon open.
Speaking of Lydon, his rebounding in the second half was ridiculous. I think he was up to the box on all of those. He could of had 15 boards had he stayed in the game. Just ridiculous athleticism between these two roberson and chuckwu.

Perfect comparison imo. Dangerous player who can beat you in the high post in any way.

 

[zhanjuzi]

The references to McCullough have me thinking:

In what world could McCullough have been a top 20 recruit while Thompson got whatever unmemorable ranking he did?

All one needs to do is watch five minutes of play during each guy's freshman year to recognize that one is superior in nearly every facet of the game.

Thompson is really good. The poster who said he's the most skilled forward since Anthony isn't totally crazy.

I hope his tenure here goes well, because he's a special talent.

And this is why the QG loss doesn't bother me. The staff will continue to bring in under the radar finds like TT.

 

[tbonezone]

t-square was not under the radar. he was a highly coveted top 50 pick up. no blip say what ???? he was ping ping ping !

 

[cliftonparksufan]

The references to McCullough have me thinking:

In what world could McCullough have been a top 20 recruit while Thompson got whatever unmemorable ranking he did?

All one needs to do is watch five minutes of play during each guy's freshman year to recognize that one is superior in nearly every facet of the game.

Thompson is really good. The poster who said he's the most skilled forward since Anthony isn't totally crazy.

I hope his tenure here goes well, because he's a special talent.

Amazing how good TT has looked so far. He is almost in a perfect situation where the expectation for him is minimal and he is playing behind a senior with an established reputation. It's almost like the old days where the frosh had to sit and learn while paying their dues. Well, TT has played so well that it is going to be hard to keep him off the floor. A great situation that hopefully continues.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Thompson looks like he's going to be better than McCullough, in my opinion. What a HUGE get he was!

There were folks on here suggesting SU stop recruiting him because he didn't commit on their timeline.