SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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Centers
Then:
Two things Jim Boeheim has said over the years stick in my mind. He often says that big men take longer to develop so we need patience. I recall his strength and conditioning guy on his show last year saying that an athlete doesn’t really fill out until he has topped off- stopped growing taller. They have to grow into their new bodies. The other thing Boeheim often says is that foreign players also take longer to develop because they didn’t grow up playing the sport. Both are very logical points. So why do we keep recruiting big men from abroad? In this decade we’ve had Arinze Onuaku, (actually, he was born in Maryland to Nigerian immigrants- his father was a soccer player), Rakeem Christmas, (actually he was born in New Jersey but lived from ages 2-13 in the Virgin Islands), Fab Melo from Brazil, Baye Moussa Keita from Senegal, Chinonso Obokoh from Nigeria and Paschal Chukwu from Nigeria. Then there was Moustapha Diagne from Senegal who was going to come here but the NCAA wouldn’t approve his academic record from Senegal before his visa expired. (He’s now playing for LaSalle). Now we have four centers and a power forward born abroad. All are 6-10 or 6-11. None of them weigh 220 pounds. All are still learning the game. Why can’t we recruit American big men who will have had more protein in their diet and grown up playing the sport?
Now:
There have been no announced recruits or transfers for the center position but it’s early. JB may be satisfied with Bourama Sidibie from Mali, who will give it another try, Jesse Edwards from the Netherlands and Frank Anselem from Nigeria. Bourama was a double-double machine at the end of his junior season. Edwards was becoming a defensive force at the end of this season. Anselem has a 7-5 wingspan and was wowing people in practice before something- possibly and injury or Covid- shut his season down.
Looking at our basketball recruiting forum, we are still trying to get 7-1 255 Donovan Clingan from Bristol, Connecticut so maybe the philosophy here is changing.
Then:
Jesse Edwards, a 6-11 215 sophomore from Amsterdam, Netherlands / IMG Academy (Fla.)
Jesse grew up in the Netherlands. They do have basketball there but he never played it until he heard of Lebron James and started watching him play on You-Tube. He decided he wanted to play that sport, too, although he’s a very different player from LeBron. He was only 188 pounds when we recruited him. Like Ajak, he had more of a reputation as an offensive player than a defensive player. 24-7 has him as a 3 star, the 198th best player in the country and the 38th best center – but if you click on the ‘history’ button, that becomes 138/27. ESPN/Scout had him as a 3 star and the 48th best center prospect. Rivals didn’t rate him at all. (All of these big men look better than their recruiting rankings. I suspect the fact that they came from other countries and had limited exposure to the people who make these evaluations is a factor.)
He played limited minutes last year but looked promising. He moved well and had an awareness of what was going on around him. He never got credited with an assist but had the best pass of the season, a wrap-around no looker that bounced off Quincy Guerrier’s hands because he couldn’t believe it. He wound up playing 146 minutes and averaged 13.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per 40 minutes while shooting 79.2% from the field.
Jim Boeheim: “He’s got a very good skillset. He can shoot it, pass it very well for a big guy. He’s just not strong enough yet to play. He’s got to get stronger and that’s going to take time. “In Jesse’s case it’s just physical strength. Nothing else.”
Now:
Jim kept saying that Jesse “isn’t ready yet” when people asked why he wasn’t playing. For much of the season he didn’t do a lot when he was in there. But late in the season, he made a big difference on defense, especially in the final game against Houston, (even as everything else was collapsing around him). He isn’t really a shot-blocker yet but he’s learned to keep himself between the ball and the basket, to hold his ground and use his long body to provide a barrier the opposing player couldn’t shoot over. He came in when we were down 5-12 at the 12:25 mark and left at 2:20 just after a Houston three pointer broke a 20-20 tie. During that time He’d scored 3 points, pulled down 2 rebounds and blocked 2 shots but also closed down the middle for scoring. After he left Houston scored another 7 unanswered points to take a 20-30 halftime lead and we never got back into it. When asked why he had removed Jesse, Jim said that he was ‘tired’. Jesse just sems to be scratching his potential and next year could be his big chance to take control of the position. At the very least, he’ll be in the middle of the competition for it.
Then:
Bourama Sidibe, a 6-10 216 senior from Bamako, Mali / St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)
Last year after off-season surgery he was moving much more freely and as the season progressed the game seemed to slow down for him. He got better at avoiding fouls, which is often a matter of knowing where to be and what’s going on around him. In his last six games he played 25-35 minutes per game and had 6/10/1 against Georgia Tech, 13/10/4 against Pittsburgh, a really impressive 17/15/6 in the Dome loss to North Carolina, 9/12/1 against Boston College, 2/10/2 against Miami, and 12/13/2 in the season-ending route of the Tar Heels. It brought to mind how Rakeem Christmas, after struggling on the offensive end for 2 ½ seasons, started to make places on the offensive end last in his junior season and went on to have a big senior year, averaging 17.1/9.5/2.5. I’ll be surprised if Bourama puts up those numbers, (Christmas was a much more highly ranked recruit), but I’ll take a continuation of the numbers he was putting up in those last six games.
Now:
Bourama played four minutes in the 11/27 season opener against Bryant before he injured his knee, tearing his meniscus. This was particularly frustrating as he’d spent his first two years here battling tendonitis in his knees and that had held him back. It was originally said that he’d be back in 4 weeks. Instead, he made one appearance the rest of the season, on 2/8 against Clemson, when he played 11 ineffectual minutes. In 15 minutes he scored 3 points, pulled down 1 rebound and blocked a shot. He also had a turnover and 4 fouls, a rate of 11 fouls over minutes. There were thoughts he would simply end his basketball career and move on but he’s announced he’s going to try to come back for the 2021-22 season. If he’s fully healthy, he could be our center next year. If not, that might be it for him.
Then:
Frank Anselem, a 6-10 210 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria / Westlake (Ga.)/Lincoln Academy (Ga.)/Prolific Prep (Calif.)
2-4-7 ranks Frank a 4-star recruit, (our of 5), the 24th best center prospect, saying “Athletic center with outstanding frame. Good size, wide shoulders and very long arms. Strong kid but not maxed out. Still raw on offense but physical tools give him very high upside. Has budding elbow jumper and hook shot but footwork and post moves can improve. Has chance to be high level rebounder and rim protector given size, length and athleticism. Still inconsistent but upside is very high. Projects as high major starter with professional upside dependent on development of skill.” NunesMagician: “Still, standing at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Anselem is a great fit at Syracuse. His length and athleticism should translate well in the 2-3 zone. He should excel on the defensive side of the ball but offensively he’s still raw. The tools are there for him to develop, however. He has good hands, he can run the floor and finish above the rim. He’ll be able to rebound it well on both ends of the floor.”
Now:
Frank, we hardly knew ye. He played a total of 26 minutes in four early games and scored 6 points with 2 rebounds, a steal and a block. He had 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He got waylaid by Covid and then by an ankle injury. There has bene speculation that he might be leaving, although the reasons are not very clear. The position will be wide open next year and he was a higher rated recruit than either Edwards of Sidibe. They three of them could give us a spirited coemption for the center spot and excellent depth- if they are fully healthy and ready to make the most of their abilities. More than anything else the thing that ahs kept us pinned to the bubble and out of the rankings in recent years was the inability to put a natural and competent center in the middle of the zone. Paschal Chukwu was good on defense but not on the boards or offensively. All three of these guys have the potential to be better. I’m tired of playing forwards at center.
Then:
Two things Jim Boeheim has said over the years stick in my mind. He often says that big men take longer to develop so we need patience. I recall his strength and conditioning guy on his show last year saying that an athlete doesn’t really fill out until he has topped off- stopped growing taller. They have to grow into their new bodies. The other thing Boeheim often says is that foreign players also take longer to develop because they didn’t grow up playing the sport. Both are very logical points. So why do we keep recruiting big men from abroad? In this decade we’ve had Arinze Onuaku, (actually, he was born in Maryland to Nigerian immigrants- his father was a soccer player), Rakeem Christmas, (actually he was born in New Jersey but lived from ages 2-13 in the Virgin Islands), Fab Melo from Brazil, Baye Moussa Keita from Senegal, Chinonso Obokoh from Nigeria and Paschal Chukwu from Nigeria. Then there was Moustapha Diagne from Senegal who was going to come here but the NCAA wouldn’t approve his academic record from Senegal before his visa expired. (He’s now playing for LaSalle). Now we have four centers and a power forward born abroad. All are 6-10 or 6-11. None of them weigh 220 pounds. All are still learning the game. Why can’t we recruit American big men who will have had more protein in their diet and grown up playing the sport?
Now:
There have been no announced recruits or transfers for the center position but it’s early. JB may be satisfied with Bourama Sidibie from Mali, who will give it another try, Jesse Edwards from the Netherlands and Frank Anselem from Nigeria. Bourama was a double-double machine at the end of his junior season. Edwards was becoming a defensive force at the end of this season. Anselem has a 7-5 wingspan and was wowing people in practice before something- possibly and injury or Covid- shut his season down.
Looking at our basketball recruiting forum, we are still trying to get 7-1 255 Donovan Clingan from Bristol, Connecticut so maybe the philosophy here is changing.
Then:
Jesse Edwards, a 6-11 215 sophomore from Amsterdam, Netherlands / IMG Academy (Fla.)
Jesse grew up in the Netherlands. They do have basketball there but he never played it until he heard of Lebron James and started watching him play on You-Tube. He decided he wanted to play that sport, too, although he’s a very different player from LeBron. He was only 188 pounds when we recruited him. Like Ajak, he had more of a reputation as an offensive player than a defensive player. 24-7 has him as a 3 star, the 198th best player in the country and the 38th best center – but if you click on the ‘history’ button, that becomes 138/27. ESPN/Scout had him as a 3 star and the 48th best center prospect. Rivals didn’t rate him at all. (All of these big men look better than their recruiting rankings. I suspect the fact that they came from other countries and had limited exposure to the people who make these evaluations is a factor.)
He played limited minutes last year but looked promising. He moved well and had an awareness of what was going on around him. He never got credited with an assist but had the best pass of the season, a wrap-around no looker that bounced off Quincy Guerrier’s hands because he couldn’t believe it. He wound up playing 146 minutes and averaged 13.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per 40 minutes while shooting 79.2% from the field.
Jim Boeheim: “He’s got a very good skillset. He can shoot it, pass it very well for a big guy. He’s just not strong enough yet to play. He’s got to get stronger and that’s going to take time. “In Jesse’s case it’s just physical strength. Nothing else.”
Now:
Jim kept saying that Jesse “isn’t ready yet” when people asked why he wasn’t playing. For much of the season he didn’t do a lot when he was in there. But late in the season, he made a big difference on defense, especially in the final game against Houston, (even as everything else was collapsing around him). He isn’t really a shot-blocker yet but he’s learned to keep himself between the ball and the basket, to hold his ground and use his long body to provide a barrier the opposing player couldn’t shoot over. He came in when we were down 5-12 at the 12:25 mark and left at 2:20 just after a Houston three pointer broke a 20-20 tie. During that time He’d scored 3 points, pulled down 2 rebounds and blocked 2 shots but also closed down the middle for scoring. After he left Houston scored another 7 unanswered points to take a 20-30 halftime lead and we never got back into it. When asked why he had removed Jesse, Jim said that he was ‘tired’. Jesse just sems to be scratching his potential and next year could be his big chance to take control of the position. At the very least, he’ll be in the middle of the competition for it.
Then:
Bourama Sidibe, a 6-10 216 senior from Bamako, Mali / St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.)
Last year after off-season surgery he was moving much more freely and as the season progressed the game seemed to slow down for him. He got better at avoiding fouls, which is often a matter of knowing where to be and what’s going on around him. In his last six games he played 25-35 minutes per game and had 6/10/1 against Georgia Tech, 13/10/4 against Pittsburgh, a really impressive 17/15/6 in the Dome loss to North Carolina, 9/12/1 against Boston College, 2/10/2 against Miami, and 12/13/2 in the season-ending route of the Tar Heels. It brought to mind how Rakeem Christmas, after struggling on the offensive end for 2 ½ seasons, started to make places on the offensive end last in his junior season and went on to have a big senior year, averaging 17.1/9.5/2.5. I’ll be surprised if Bourama puts up those numbers, (Christmas was a much more highly ranked recruit), but I’ll take a continuation of the numbers he was putting up in those last six games.
Now:
Bourama played four minutes in the 11/27 season opener against Bryant before he injured his knee, tearing his meniscus. This was particularly frustrating as he’d spent his first two years here battling tendonitis in his knees and that had held him back. It was originally said that he’d be back in 4 weeks. Instead, he made one appearance the rest of the season, on 2/8 against Clemson, when he played 11 ineffectual minutes. In 15 minutes he scored 3 points, pulled down 1 rebound and blocked a shot. He also had a turnover and 4 fouls, a rate of 11 fouls over minutes. There were thoughts he would simply end his basketball career and move on but he’s announced he’s going to try to come back for the 2021-22 season. If he’s fully healthy, he could be our center next year. If not, that might be it for him.
Then:
Frank Anselem, a 6-10 210 freshman from Lagos, Nigeria / Westlake (Ga.)/Lincoln Academy (Ga.)/Prolific Prep (Calif.)
2-4-7 ranks Frank a 4-star recruit, (our of 5), the 24th best center prospect, saying “Athletic center with outstanding frame. Good size, wide shoulders and very long arms. Strong kid but not maxed out. Still raw on offense but physical tools give him very high upside. Has budding elbow jumper and hook shot but footwork and post moves can improve. Has chance to be high level rebounder and rim protector given size, length and athleticism. Still inconsistent but upside is very high. Projects as high major starter with professional upside dependent on development of skill.” NunesMagician: “Still, standing at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Anselem is a great fit at Syracuse. His length and athleticism should translate well in the 2-3 zone. He should excel on the defensive side of the ball but offensively he’s still raw. The tools are there for him to develop, however. He has good hands, he can run the floor and finish above the rim. He’ll be able to rebound it well on both ends of the floor.”
Now:
Frank, we hardly knew ye. He played a total of 26 minutes in four early games and scored 6 points with 2 rebounds, a steal and a block. He had 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He got waylaid by Covid and then by an ankle injury. There has bene speculation that he might be leaving, although the reasons are not very clear. The position will be wide open next year and he was a higher rated recruit than either Edwards of Sidibe. They three of them could give us a spirited coemption for the center spot and excellent depth- if they are fully healthy and ready to make the most of their abilities. More than anything else the thing that ahs kept us pinned to the bubble and out of the rankings in recent years was the inability to put a natural and competent center in the middle of the zone. Paschal Chukwu was good on defense but not on the boards or offensively. All three of these guys have the potential to be better. I’m tired of playing forwards at center.
