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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4220233, member: 289"] [I]FORWARDS Last year we had five forwards on the team. They included one senior, one junior, two sophomores and a freshman, all very talented. We were set at these positions for years! And they are all gone! All could have returned, even the senior as a ‘super-senior’, but they all left, leaving Jim Boeheim and his staff to try to do a massive patch job. But they found some good pieces to do it with, although I don’t think we’ll have the sort of depth we would have had without the mass exodus.[/I] And, of course, this is our big issue. People complain that we aren’t getting the cream of the recruiting crop, that we are settling for players not in in the Top 20 or even the Top 50. How are we to compete with the schools that are. It’s a point but, in fact, we’ve been recruiting at this level for years. I know it’s a tired point, but I believe the two probation set us back on our heels in recruiting, with staying out of further trouble being a big priority. If we’d been able to continue the sort of recruiting we were doing in the late 80’s, we’d have a record like Duke or UNC. But these todays it’s not the one-and-doners that win championships. We did with one in 2003. Kentucky and Duke did the same in 2012 and 2015. But most of the national champs in this era have bene keyed by 3- and 4-year players who were good college players. That’s the type we’ve recruited – only we can’t keep them here for 3-4 years. Everyone can play this game but what if we’d retained Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, Chris McCullough, Malachi Richardson, Tyler Lydon or Oshae Brissett for 3-4 years, or if Tyus Battle or Elijah Hughes had stayed for their senior years? Everyone on last year’s team could have come back. What would have happened if they did? I did a study last year to see if we really lose players more frequently and with greater impact than other top schools and concluded that, indeed we do, to some extent, anyway: [URL="https://syracusefan.com/threads/losing-players-to-the-nba-they-hope.161739/"]Losing players to the NBA, (they hope)[/URL] And why did they leave? To make money in the pros, of course. Will NIL change that? Why did schools like Connecticut, North Carolina, Florida, Louisville, Villanova, Virginia and Baylor retain their players better than we did? Did it have something to do with the same thing normally sited as the biggest factor in recruiting – their relationship with the coaches? I can’t answer that question. [I]Players lost from last year’s forwards: Robert Braswell 6-7 206 Braswell was a talented reserve who I thought was getting lost in the crowd at this position. He was a track star with a 7 foot wingspan who could high-jump 6-10. As a basketball player he had a reputation as an outstanding shooter and in his freshman year, in limited play, he seemed to have a very advanced game. Shooting is the one thing he didn’t do well most of last year but in five ACC and NCAA tournament games he went 14 for 27 and scored 37 points in 117 minutes. Instead he proved to be a good rebounder and a fine defender who understood his role in Boeheim’s zone. He virtually supplanted Alan Griffin down the stretch, both due to the latter’ free-fall and his own usefulness. He could have had an even bigger role on this year’s team but he decided to look for greener grass and thinks he found it in Charlotte.[/I] Robert’s stats per 40 minutes, (and minutes per game), last year at Syracuse and this year at Charlotte, (who went 17-14 but got not post-season invitation): 2020-21: 12.1m 12.4p 6.2r 0.4a 1.4s 1.0b = 21.4+ 6.9mfg 0.4mft 4.1to 1.1pf = 12.5- = 8.9NP 2021-22: 19.9m 16.4p 2.9r 1.0a 0.8s 1.2b = 22.3+ 5.6mfg 0.1mft 1.6to 3.5pf = 10.8- = 11.5NP He’s played more and played better. He’s scored more and missed fewer shots but isn’t rebounding nearly as much. He’s also turned the ball over less. They must have him playing guard but shooting more conservatively. I don’t know if he would have bene better off but we would surely have been better off with him. [I]Marek Dolezaj 6-10 201 Marek will always be a huge favorite of SU fans. He came here from Slovakia with a tall, skinny body: 6-9 180. But he was quick and aggressive, hustling all over the court for loose balls, blocked shots, and rebounds. He could handle the ball well for a big man and was an excellent passer. Boeheim liked having him out there because the offense ran more efficiently with him on the court. I think he played as much center as he did not only because of the failure of our centers to stay healthy or develop but because Jim wanted to be able to put Marek on the court and still play his other forwards. He was overpowered inside by teams that had strong big men but he could also try to draw those guys from the basket where he could out-maneuver them. He one weakness in his game was a reluctance to shoot the ball. He could hit a medium range jumper and it would have opened everything else up for his drives and passes but he rarely pulled the trigger…He could have come back as a super-senior but returned home and signed with a pro team, BC Ternopil of the Ukrainian Basketball Super League. Good luck to him. If he’d stayed we probably would have had another year of a forward playing center while the true centers watched from the bench. I’d kind of like to see what those centers can do this year.[/I] We missed what Marek could have done for us but I do think his absence allowed our centers to play more and develop their skills. Marek was not a better center than Jesse Edwards but he might have bene a better forward than Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim or Benny Williams. Marek going to play in the Ukraine seems to have been ill-timed. Fortunately he moved on to play in Greece. He’s had his ups and downs: [URL unfurl="true"]https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Marek-Dolezaj/Greece/GS-Iraklis-Thessaloniki/300806[/URL] [I]Alan Griffin 6-5 190 Griffin was an intriguing mystery man last year. He’d transferred in from Illinois, where he’d put up some big numbers per 40 minutes: 19.8p 10.0r 1.4a 1.0s 0.5b positives: 32.7 7.3mfg 0.4mft 1.7to 2.5pf negatives: 11.9 = NET: +20.8 That’s playing at an All-American level. Amazingly, he wasn’t the starter. He was behind an established star, Avo Dosunmu, who had similar numbers except for the rebounds and a couple other established players, Andres Feliz and Trent Frazier, who were said to be better defensive players. That was a red flag but still, if Griffin could put up numbers anywhere near that for us, he would be an enormous addition. Early on, that’s exactly what he seemed to be. He had 92 points and 39 rebounds in his first five games. Then he had a game where he played 24 minutes and failed to score, getting 4 rebounds. The next game he scored 24 points, had 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, one of which saved the game. He loved to trail the play on the other team’s fast break, catch up to the ball and swat it away from behind using his speed and leaping ability. He remained the team’s most statistically productive player most of the season, (vying with fellow forward Quincy Guerrier), but there was a 5 point, 3 rebound game against Miami, 5 and 4 against Notre Dame, 4 and 4 against North Carolina. Jim Boeheim seemed hesitant to praise him after his good games, suggesting that he was not entirely pleased with his new star. As late as the last game in the regular season, Griffin had 22 points and 10 rebounds against Clemson. In the post season, he seemed not to be interested and Boeheim had little patience with him. Griffin played pretty well against North Carolina State in the first round of the ACCT scoring 13 points, pulling down 8 rebounds and passing for 5 assists. But in the remaining four games, he played just 51 minutes, shot 1 for 13 from the field, scored 8 points and had 3 rebounds. Boeheim had Braswell on the court in his place during most of our run and it was no surprise to anybody when Griffin didn’t come back here for his senior year. He declared for the draft but went undrafted. He was last seen playing for the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team. He scored 10 points in 3 games. He just kept getting smaller and smaller until he just disappeared.[/I] He played for both the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Westchester Knicks of the G-League and was waived by both. It would have been fun to see him playing against this brother AJ at Duke – or trying to convince AJ to join him here. [I]Quincy Guerrier 6-7 220 Quincy came here from Canada, just as Oshae Brissett, who is starting to make a name for himself with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, was. Guerrier has constantly compared himself to Brissett since he came here, insisting that the big difference is that he had a better jump shot. In high school, he was mostly a perimeter player. He hasn’t been Brissett, who was more athletic, and he hasn’t been a perimeter player, either. He was 3 for 24 from the arc his first season and improved that to 23 of 74 last year, which is still a mediocre 31%. What he was was our strongest player and Jim Boeheim wanted him working inside. Against the early season teams, he was able to dominate. In our first 15 games, Quincy averaged 16.6 points and 9.5 rebounds, with 7 double-doubles. When we started playing ACC front lines, at 6-7 and not really a leaper, he found himself, using a Matt Park term, “getting roofed” by taller players. He also was hobbled by some injuries sustain in those paint wars down the stretch as his performance in the remaining 13 games fell to 10.3p/7.2r. Still, people where surprised when he left the team, first looking to the NBA draft but then putting himself in the transfer portal, winding up at Oregon. There were rumors that he felt Boeheim wasn’t allowing him to be the perimeter player he wanted to be and, at 6-7, might have to be to play in the NBA. Athlon lists him third in their article on “Transfers to Watch”, saying it might mean a third straight Pac-12 title for the Ducks. Per the article on Oregon, they have plenty of shooters and are looking for Quincy to provide “toughness in the post”. Good luck, Q! One of our problems last year was that our front line went 6-5, a skinny 6-10 and 6-7. This year we might go 6-9, 6-11, 6-9. In a zone, that can be a big difference. [/I] Unfortunately, 6-9, 6-11, 6-9 isn’t enough when they don’t have the feet to get them where their height can make a difference. As for Quincy,. Quincy’s stats, last year and this, (per 40 minutes): 2020-21: 32.9m 16.6p 10.2r 1.0a 1.0s 1.4b = 30.2+ 6.5mfg 1.4mft 1.3to 3.4pf = 12.6- = 17.6NP 2021-22: 26.5m 15.2p 7.9r 1.2a 1.1s 0.5b = 25.9+ 7.2mfg 1.5mft 1.8to 3.5pf = 14.0- = 11.9NP His three point attempts increased from 74 to 159 and his accuracy from 31% to 33%. Whether that impressed the NBA or not, I don’t know. His overall shooting percent age declined from 49% to 42% because a higher percent age of his shots were three pointers. His rebounding also went down and his turnovers went up as he played fewer minutes. Oregon went 20-15 and to the NIT after winning the Pac 12 two years in a row. [I]Woody Newton 6-8 200 Woody came in last year advertising himself as “the nation’s #1 lock-down defender”. I liked the attitude: to play defense, you’ve got to be committed to it. He also had pretty good offensive skills and good size. He had a nice run early in the season, a four-game stretch in which he scored 33 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in 60 minutes of play. Everyone was excited by his potential. The rest of the year he played 27 minutes, scored 5 points and had 2 rebounds. Then he left for Oklahoma State. There was talk he got hit hard by Covid but that wouldn’t explain the transfer. You wonder why he didn’t see everybody else leaving and stay. Athlon says, in their Oklahoma State article, “they’ll be deep and talented”. Lindy’s says of Newton that he “hopes for more playing time”.[/I] We could have used a guy like Woody this year. I always envisioned him pairing with Benny Williams in a forward tandem that was not only talented but had names I wouldn’t have to learn to pronounce, (as opposed to Marek Dolezaj, Bourama Sidibe, etc.). But Okie State, (15-15 and stayed home), didn’t have much use for Woody: 2020-21: 7.9m 17.5p 9.2r 0.5a 1.4s 1.4b = 30.0+ 6.9mfg 1.4mft 1.8to 4.1pf = 14.2- = +15.8NP 2021-22: 7.6m 10.9p 4.7r 1.2a 1.6s 0.9b = 19.3+ 7.1mfg 1.2mft 0.6to 4.3pf = 13.2- = +6.1NP 28 of his 35 shots were from three point range and he made just 29% of them. Last year it was 18 of 28 and he made 39%. His rebounds were sharply down and his assists went up, suggesting they were using him as a guard. [I]They’re all gone. So Jim Boeheim and his staff had to get “deep and talented” in a hurry. They did pretty well in the ‘talented’ part but I have concerns about ‘deep.’ The Current Group: Jimmy Boeheim 6-9 225 super senior Jimmy is the older brother of Buddy Boeheim. He spent his first three years playing for Cornell and didn’t play at all last year because the Ivy League canceled their season due to the pandemic. Then he decided to join his father and brother under the Dome, creating fantasies of the three of them, (and Julie), cutting down the nets as they all go off into the sunset: Jim into retirement, Buddy on to the NBA and Jimmy to whatever. JB takes a dim view of this, (and of other fan fiction). Even if that doesn’t happen, the media loves family stories and coach-son relationships so you’ll be hearing a lot about the Boeheims this year. Jimmy is a good college forward. I don’t know how much of an NBA prospect he is but I just heard a radio interview, with Mike Waters, who covers the team for the local paper, who says that Jimmy might start at forward ahead of lauded recruit Benny Williams, because of his experience at this level and because his father is the coach. People accused JB of nepotism with Buddy until he exploded at the end of last season. That silenced them and left the question of whether JB would start his son over a more qualified player unanswered. That debate could be rejoined this year, although I expect all three of the primary forwards to play. Jimmy…has a strong motor and some good moves to the basket. He can hit the long one but he’s more of a jack-of-all-trades than a gunner. He always played well against Syracuse. In his first game as a freshman he scored 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, his only double-figure scoring of the season. The next year he had 9 points, 6 rebs and 4 assists and as a junior he had 25/2/2. There’s been some suggestion that Jimmy could perform a Marek-like roll on this years team: playing center while our still-not-ready centers sit and watch. That seems unlikely due to the apparent depth at center and lack of depth at forward. He’s more likely to be in a rotation with Cole Swider and Benny Williams.[/I] I had thought Jimmy would be a 6th man, coming off the bench to relieve both Swider and Williams but Benny was such a bust that he became the starter. He may have had the defensive limitations that our other forwards and guards had but could fill up a box score: 34.7m 15.8p 7.1r 1.8a 1.0s 0.1b = 25.8+ 7.1mfg 1.3mft 1.5to 1.9pf = 11.8- = 14.0NP His free throw shooting slipped from 72% to 64% but he increased his three-point shooting from 29.5% to 38%, higher than his brother’s 34%. He was the perfect guy to take advent age of the defensive attention Buddy, Cole and Joe got because he could drive through the defense to score, pull up for shots or provide a fourth guy to cover on the perimeter. And watching him put up 28 on Duke, trying to extend his brother’s career touched even the coldest heart. Jimmy gave us good service this year and we can forgive him for scoring 25 on us that long-ago game. [I]Cole Swider 6-9 225 senior Cole was heavily recruited by Syracuse coming out of high school but he went to Villanova, where he didn’t quite fit in. He was the first guy Jim and the staff brought in after the mass exodus at this position. He was a four-star recruit, rated #44 nationally by 247 and the #9 power forward, much higher than anyone we lost. SI: “Cole Swider is an elite shooter, but he is not just that. Swider was a prolific three point shooter in high school and that translated to his time at Villanova. He shot over 40% from the outside last season. Swider, however, has other elements to his game. He can hit the mid-range shot, attack off the dribble and finish around the rim. Swider has added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame with the Wildcats and is up to 225-pounds. That allows him to be physical inside, play in the post at times and also score through contact. His body type and strength could allow him to play in the middle of the zone if Syracuse elects to go small at times. Similar to how the Orange used Tyler Lydon. Swider has a better handle than most would think and is also a solid passing forward. As a rebounder, Swider is not afraid to mix it up inside. He shows solid rebounding instincts, so his numbers on the boards should improve with a more consistent role.” Orangefizz: “Swider is crafty at finding open passing lanes, where teammates can locate him from behind the arc for open threes. He’s also terrific in transition and is able to sprint past transitioning defenders for easy buckets. While he’s not the quickest player on the court, Swider is solid at finding openings within a defense, and moves very well without the ball. This past season there were plenty of moments where Syracuse’s off-ball offensive players simply stood around, waiting for a dribbler to create shots. Swider doesn’t do that. Instead, he rotates well and moves into passing lanes. At 225 pounds, Swider has the size and bulk that Syracuse is lacking. While he’s best in catch and shoot opportunities, Swider will also back down smaller defenders into the paint when there is a size mismatch. Once he’s on the low blocks, the junior likes to utilize an easy hook shot to score over his defender.” Nunes: “Q: Cole Swider had plenty of hype around him out of high school but didn’t seem to hit that potential at Villanova. What do you think was the main reason(s) for that? A, (from Chris Lane at VU Hoops): It’s a tough one. He looked like a perfect fit for Villanova when he signed, but it just never really clicked for him under Jay Wright. I’d argue that he finally took a major step forward on the offensive end this season, but the athletic/defensive shortcomings limited his ability to become a major contributor. Offensively he’s on the scouting report for the shooting but never fully developed other parts of his offensive game. And despite that good size, he was never really a threat to score in the paint. Jay Wright’s offense is another factor here. He leans heavily on skilled player that can create their own shot, as well as create for others. Swider never really showed an ability to do either and mostly required others to get his shots for him. I don’t think that offensive style and his skillset ever really fit together well.” On his defense: “Swider is limited athletically compared to a lot of the guys he was going up against every night in the Big East. That won’t change with a move to the ACC. He’s a fighter on the boards and always give s 100%, but he can be -- and often was — targeted defensively because he doesn’t have the feet to stay in front of many players on the perimeter. It reached the point late in the season at Villanova where there were games he just couldn’t play in because of bad matchups. Obviously with the zone at Syracuse, they should be able to hide him a bit more… Villanova’s switch-heavy defense left him exposed in a mismatch a lot, and he could get lost and into scramble mode fairly easily against teams that attacked and required the defense to help and rotate. That shouldn’t happen much if at all in the zone. At 6’9” he’s got really good size as well and should be able to contribute on the defensive glass.” That doesn’t seem like the same player SI and Orangefizz talked about. The Daily Orange asked Cole why he transferred: “The work ethic followed him to Nova, but the opportunities didn’t. Although his mindset on the game mirrored Jay Wright’s program, his offense-first playing style subverted him to a reserve role. The sharpshooter averaged 4.4 field goal attempts per game in his three seasons with the Wildcats. When he noticed a logjam in Villanova’s frontcourt due to every player receiving an extra year of eligibility, he knew it was time for a change.” I love his highlight tape, (which is from 2019-20): 2019-20: [MEDIA=youtube]wjUyYE0PAzs[/MEDIA] Yes, it’s a highlight tape and all the shots go in but he looks like an NBA player to me. Quick, smooth release, able to create his own shot and drive to the basket, back a guy down off the dribble. It’s all offensive but he looks like he could be a very good player for us.[/I] I watched that highlight tape for the first time since I posted my preview. It’s a wonderful highlight reel with Cole showing himself to be a jump-shooting machine abut also showing that he could drive aggressively through the defense. It notably doesn’t show defensive highlights. It’s clear that those highlights were taken from a lot of different games: he was a reserve and so his highlights were likely to be widely separated. The big thing is that I didn’t see many of those drives to the basket to score this year. I doubt you could find a similar number of drives to make a highlight film for us this year. “He can hit the mid-range shot, attack off the dribble and finish around the rim.”: We didn’t see a lot of that. “While he’s not the quickest player on the court, Swider is solid at finding openings within a defense, and moves very well without the ball. This past season there were plenty of moments where Syracuse’s off-ball offensive players simply stood around, waiting for a dribbler to create shots. Swider doesn’t do that. Instead, he rotates well and moves into passing lanes.” Well, he did “do that” this year, waiting for a dribbler to create his shots. Nunes was right: “never fully developed other parts of his offensive game. And despite that good size, he was never really a threat to score in the paint. Jay Wright’s offense is another factor here. He leans heavily on skilled player that can create their own shot, as well as create for others. Swider never really showed an ability to do either and mostly required others to get his shots for him.” ““Swider is limited athletically compared to a lot of the guys he was going up against every night in the Big East. That won’t change with a move to the ACC. He’s a fighter on the boards and always give s 100%, but he can be -- and often was — targeted defensively because he doesn’t have the feet to stay in front of many players on the perimeter. It reached the point late in the season at Villanova where there were games he just couldn’t play in because of bad matchups.” Yup. That’s what we saw. Cole started ut the season in a shooting slump, a particular problem for a players whose strength that is. Through our first 10 games, (the Georgetown game), Cole was 40 for 108 from the field: 37%. He was 20 for 62 from the arc (32%) and 20 for 46 (43%) inside of it. One thing he was doing well was rebounding. He had double-doubles in three games and was a point short in another. Through most of the season he was the third option behind Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard and sometimes the 4th behind Jimmy Boeheim. But he started to assert himself late in the season, especially after Jesse Edwards went down. In ur last 13 game she averaged 16.2 points per game, including a team season high of 36 at North Carolina and a 28-point 13 rebound game against Florida State in the ACC. He still had a couple of bad games when the other team decided to get in his face. He had 2 points and no rebound in a 14 minute stint against Duke in the Dome, a game where he did not foul out but was instead upstaged by Benny Williams. Next came the 36 point game against UNC, followed by a 6 point game in the Dome against Miami, when eh shot 2 for 9 and made the turnover that led to the and one that gave the Canes the lead and eventually ended the winning season streak. He needs to come back, not only to give us a veteran, productive player but to round out his game. He needs to work on his ball handling skills and see what he can do to improve his defense. If not, the NBA will have little interest in him. [I]Benny Williams 6-8 215 freshman Benny is our first 5 star recruit in quite a while, (although, checking 247, he’s now a 4 star, probably because he chose us). He was ranked the 31st best recruit in the country and the 6th best small forward. People have tended to assume he would start immediately but word from inside the program suggests that he might find himself behind Jimmy Boeheim. It really doesn’t matter. With three legitimate forwards, they will all play a lot, splitting up 80 minutes a game. 247: “Has positive length for a combo forward. Is thin, however, and needs to build up mass and strength. A high leaper with athleticism. Can struggle to utilize athleticism against contact and while in traffic. Has a great shooters touch. Finishes well on the move going to the basket. Is a reliable three-point shooter. Has potential to really extend his range. Not necessarily a nifty ball handler, but Williams is a reliable handler and can see the floor and distribute while on the move. Is a straight line driver who likes to utilize a crossover early in the drive. Has potential has a versatile defender and overall rebounder. Developing physical strength and toughness is vital.” Some highlights: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rewls6drKQw[/URL] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoGlwHZBmZE[/URL] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agz6pxS6qf0[/URL] He seems to have all the skills you’d want and to have an “isn’t it fun to be me” attitude. He enjoys the game and how he can play it…we’ve got a potentially strong rotation of three forwards. But if anyone gets injured, (and too many have in recent years for SU), the situation here could get pretty thin in a hurry. [/I] Here are the highlights of the Benny Williams that showed up in the Dome this season: [ATTACH type="full"]215960[/ATTACH] Players develop at difference rates and times but I’ve never seen a bigger difference between expectations and performance in a freshman season. People tried to compare him to other players who had had slow starts but went on to distinguished careers. I did a study of “Freshmen Forwards” and found that Benny’s level of performance was unprecedented for a any recruit of his ranking or any player who later made good: [URL unfurl="true"]https://syracusefan.com/threads/freshmen-forwards.167069/[/URL] Benny seemed devoid of confidence, totally tentative. When he a chance to make a play, he’d find a way to screw it up. He had a nine-game stretch where he never made a shot, going 0 for 12. His shot was flat as a pancake, (in the above highlights it has some arc on it). His play had a joylessness to it, as far as possible from what we saw in those highlights. He kept working at it, even working out on the Carrier Dome court after a game in front of reporters. But he never seemed to improve. He seems to lack the drive and confidence of a player who will ever become a star – except for one game. I remembered getting angry after the Villanova and Georgetown games that those teams each had a freshman who badly out-performed our star freshman, (and the only player we had in that class) and that was a major reason for the loss. I decided to look at all our losses and record Benny Williams’ net points and those of the other team’s best freshman in that game for comparison: Colgate Benny Williams +2NP Colgate played no freshmen Virginia Commonwealth Benny Williams 0NP Jayden Nunn +6NP Auburn Benny Williams -1NP Jabari Smith +22NP Villanova Benny Williams -3NP So much for my memory- all their players were juniors and seniors. Georgetown Benny Williams 0NP Aminu Mohammed +32NP he was 247’s #24 recruit Benny was #32. Georgetown won their next game over Howard to go 6-4 and then lost their next 21 games in a row to close out the season. Virginia Benny Williams +4NP Taine Murray +7NP U of Miami 1 Benny Williams +2NP Bensley Joseph +4NP Wake Forest Benny Williams +1NP Matthew Cleveland +6NP Duke 1 Benny Williams -1NP Paolo Banchero +24NP Pittsburgh 2 Benny Williams -1NP Nick Santos 0NP Virginia Tech Benny Williams -1NP Sean Pedulla -1NP Notre Dame Benny Williams 0NP Blake Wesley +4NP Duke II Benny Williams +18NP AJ Griffin +19NP North Carolina Benny Williams -3NP The Heels didn’t use a freshman. U of Miami II DNP – injured Bensley Joseph +3NP Duke III DNP – injured Paolo Banchero +19NP The number of games in which our prized freshmen out-played any freshman on the other team was zero. The one game in which Benny Williams showed us where Benny Williams is capable of was the Duke game in the Dome, (and even then AJ Griffin as slightly better). Why did benny take off the Clark Kent suit for that game? One reason might have been that we were never in it. Duke came out en fuego and we fell behind 0-14 and eventually 18-48 before losing 72-97. So Duke’s intensity may not have bene there the whole game. But I think the big factor was that Peter Carey, Justin Taylor and Chris Bunch, three of the five recruits for next year and all of whom could possibly play forward for us next year, were in attendance and sitting right behind the SU bench. Maybe that’s what Benny needs: someone with more future eligibility than he has who can play his position being on the team. If he could live up to his ranking we’d essentially be adding a 5 star recruit to a 5 man class. At the same time, his experience, (and those of Jalen Carey, Brycen Goodine, Woody Newton, etc.) all into question how much we can depend on the new class of freshmen to help us next year. At least we’ll have some options. We won’t just have one freshmen and we won’t have three players for two positions at forward or in the backcourt, as we did this year. [/QUOTE]

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