sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
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- 115,434
I am temporarily filling in while OE recovers from surgery. Get well soon Dan.
News
Jerami Grant Has Yet to Decide If He Will Return for His Junior Year
Syracuse Faces Multiple Lineup Questions for 2014-15 Season (PS; Waters)
...Who will replace Tyler Ennis at the point? Whoever does will be the fourth starter at the point in as many years for the Orange.
Who steps up to fill the void created by C.J. Fair's departure? The four-year forward merely led Syracuse in scoring in each of the last two years.
Will Dajuan Coleman be ready for the start of the season? The 6-9, 280-pound center missed the bulk of the season due to a knee injury; the second year in a row that Coleman had his season shortened with a knee injury.
Will Trevor Cooney be the player that SU fans watched set nets afire in the first 22 games of the year or the player who struggled to find his shooting stroke in the latter third of the season? Cooney was a difference-maker for the Orange last season and could play an even bigger role next year.
And the biggest question in the here and now, will Jerami Grant return for his junior year or enter the NBA draft? Ennis has already announced that he will enter the NBA draft. Grant has until next Tuesday to make up his mind...
NCAA Ruling Might Cost Chino Obokoh a Year of Eligibility (PS; Ditota)
...At issue, essentially, is how many years Obokoh spent in high school. He came to the United States and Bishop Kearney High School from Nigeria in May 2010. He was classified, by Bishop Kearney personnel, as a freshman that year based upon his transcripts from Nigeria and his proficiency in English.
"When he first got here," said then-Kearney coach Jon Boon, "he couldn't speak very good English. He learned English by watching TV and movies. He understood it, but his reading wasn't that good."
Obokoh played three seasons of varsity basketball at Bishop Kearney, where he rose to become one of the nation's more intriguing talents at center because of his 6-foot-9 size and athleticism. Bishop Kearney, like all schools with students interested in playing college athletics, submitted Obokoh's paperwork as a part of the NCAA's initial eligibility process once his high school career ended.
Boon said Bishop Kearney sent Obokoh's transcripts and was asked, by the NCAA, to submit additional paperwork "explaining what we did for him academically."...
SU One of the 25 Most Successful Programs of the 64 Team Era (collegespun.com)
...10. Arizona – 960 Points
Interestingly enough, Lute Olsen took over at Arizona before the 1984-1985 season, the first year that the NCAA Tournament expanded its field to 64 teams. Olsen made the tournament that year, but was bumped in the first round as a 10-seed. Arizona would not make it out of that first round until 1988, when the Wildcats made a Final Four run, losing in the semifinals to Oklahoma. ‘Zona added another Final Four in 1994, and won a National Championship in 1997. The Wildcats have not been back to the final weekend of the tournament since, but they’ve been an Elite Eight fixture, and look to be on the upswing under Sean Miller.
9. Syracuse – 1,030 Points
Many criticize Jim Boeheim for his team’s play in the NCAA Tournament, but in reality, Syracuse has been a consistently successful tournament team, despite only having one championship. Boeheim has guided Syracuse to Final Fours in each decade since the 80s (as well as a berth as assistant coach in 1975), and won a ring in 2003. Orange fans often wonder how much better Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament legacy would be if not for the injury to Arinze Onuaku in 2010 and Fab Melo’s late season ineligibility in 2012, but they have a lot to be proud of already. Syracuse made a surprising Final Four run behind top point guard Michael Carter-Williams and one of the stingiest Syracuse zones to date in 2013...
Recruiting
Malachi Richardson (23)
Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon Set to Play in Mary Kline Classic on May 31st; Diagne, Bryant, Jones, Battle and Murray Also Expected to Play (PS; Waters)
...Both of Syracuse's commitments from the Class of 2015 will participate in the 4th annual Mary Kline Classic at West Orange (N.J.) High School on Saturday, May 31.
Malachi Richardson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Trenton, N.J., and Tyler Lydon, a 6-9 forward from Pine Plains, N.Y., will play in the underclassmen game in the high school all-star doubleheader.
Richardson and Lydon have both already given verbal commitments to play for Syracuse University. They will be teammates on Team Inspiration in the underclassmen game. The teams in both the senior game and the underclass game take names such as Courage and Inspiration as the Mary Kline Classic benefits cancer research.
In addition to Lydon and Richardson, Syracuse has several other recruiting targets taking part in the high school doubleheader.
From the Class of 2015, Moustapha Diagne, a 6-9 forward from Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J.; Thomas Bryant, a 6-9 forward from Rochester who attended Huntington (W.Va.) Prep last year, and Derrick Jones, a 6-6 small forward from Philadelphia's Archbishop Carroll High School, will be in the underclassmen game.
From the Class of 2016, Tyus Battle, a 6-5 guard from Gill St. Bernard's in Edison, N.J.; and Jamal Murray, a 6-5 point guard from Toronto; will also be in the underclassmen game...
ACC Links
JD's Tyler Cavanaugh on New HC Danny Manning, His Wake Plans and Dajuan Coleman (PS; Ditota)
...How did you find out?
"One of my buddies (former J-D basketball player Petey Drescher) texted me and said, 'Congrats on Danny Manning.' That's how I found out. Our athletic director, Mr. Wellman, was at the Final Four and then we had a conference call and he explained how it happened."
When did you first meet Danny Manning?
"Yesterday, we had a brief meeting. He spoke to us a little bit, but it was all miked up and there were a lot of cameras, so it wasn't super informative. We're going to get on the floor this afternoon so that should be good. We'll get to see everyone and get to know him a little better. It's all about building relationships because he wasn't the guy that recruited you. My initial thoughts are good. He was one of the best big men to play college basketball and that's my position."
When are you heading home?
"My last final is May 7th. I'll be home in less than a month. It's crazy."
Any plans for the summer?
"I don't have any specific plans yet. I'm not sure if Coach Manning will put us on the same summer workout schedule. If that's the case, I'll be home from May 7 until the first week of July."
Have you heard from Dajuan?
"I've been talking to Dajuan. He seems to be doing much better. They've got him on this specific diet and he looks really skinny. He'll be limited, but hopefully, I'll be able to work out with him this summer."...
V Tech Season Wrap; Buzz Williams Has Work to Do (PS: Stevens)
Record: 9-22 (2-16 ACC)
Last seen: Losing 57-53 to Miami on the first day of the ACC tournament to cap a 1-17 tailspin after New Year's Day.
What went right:The Hokies took two of three games against Miami. They proved a frequent enough nuisance after switching to a zone defense in February, nearly beating North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Freshman point guard Devin Wilson made the conference's all-rookie team after ranking third in the league with 4.77 assists per game.
What went wrong: Just about everything, though it was to be expected that the Hokies' roster was largely composed of not-quite-yets and never-will-bes. Virginia Tech lost its opener to USC Upstate, later fell to UNC Greensboro and scored more than 70 points once in conference play...
BC Season Wrap: Bad and Might Not Get Better Soon (PS; Stevens)
Record: 8-24 (4-14 ACC)
Last seen: Losing to Georgia Tech in overtime on the first day of the conference tournament, a setback that tied the Eagles with 2011 Wake Forest for the most total losses in a season by an ACC team.
What went right: Boston College will always be able to claim a victory over the nation's top-ranked team, even if it was against a then-unbeaten Syracuse team just at the start of a 10-game shooting slump that left it looking like anything but the No. 1 team in the country. But aside from that 62-59 overtime victory on Feb. 19, there wasn't much to take from this season.
What went wrong: The Eagles lost their first three games and would never get closer to .500 than 3-4 the rest of the way against a schedule that didn't offer many places to hide. They played alarmingly bad defense, a deficiency that never sorted itself out for more than a game at a time. Despite a multitude of options for its rotation, very few players offered any sort of consistency.
Considering Boston College began the season with seemingly credible hopes of an NCAA tournament bid, it was an unmitigated disaster. Playing all but two games without center Dennis Clifford didn't help, but even the presence of a 7-footer to patrol the paint wouldn't have made enough of a difference to salvage something from this season.
Who's leaving: Reports surfaced shortly after Boston College's season ended that coach Steve Donahue would return for a fifth season. Less than a week later, he was fired. Forward Ryan Anderson plans to transfer, and rising junior guard Olivier Hanlan could still make a leap to the NBA. Anderson and Hanlan were the only players to average double figures for the Eagles this season...
Former Players
Dion Waiters' 22 Points Keeps Cavs Playoff Hopes Alive (syracuse.com)
Dion Waiters scored 22 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers, their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, routed the Detroit Pistons 122-100 on Wednesday night at Cleveland.
Cleveland entered the night trailing Atlanta by 3½ games for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
As the Hawks were hosting Boston, the Cavs played with passion and purpose — two things missing too often earlier this season.
News
Jerami Grant Has Yet to Decide If He Will Return for His Junior Year
Syracuse Faces Multiple Lineup Questions for 2014-15 Season (PS; Waters)
...Who will replace Tyler Ennis at the point? Whoever does will be the fourth starter at the point in as many years for the Orange.
Who steps up to fill the void created by C.J. Fair's departure? The four-year forward merely led Syracuse in scoring in each of the last two years.
Will Dajuan Coleman be ready for the start of the season? The 6-9, 280-pound center missed the bulk of the season due to a knee injury; the second year in a row that Coleman had his season shortened with a knee injury.
Will Trevor Cooney be the player that SU fans watched set nets afire in the first 22 games of the year or the player who struggled to find his shooting stroke in the latter third of the season? Cooney was a difference-maker for the Orange last season and could play an even bigger role next year.
And the biggest question in the here and now, will Jerami Grant return for his junior year or enter the NBA draft? Ennis has already announced that he will enter the NBA draft. Grant has until next Tuesday to make up his mind...
NCAA Ruling Might Cost Chino Obokoh a Year of Eligibility (PS; Ditota)
...At issue, essentially, is how many years Obokoh spent in high school. He came to the United States and Bishop Kearney High School from Nigeria in May 2010. He was classified, by Bishop Kearney personnel, as a freshman that year based upon his transcripts from Nigeria and his proficiency in English.
"When he first got here," said then-Kearney coach Jon Boon, "he couldn't speak very good English. He learned English by watching TV and movies. He understood it, but his reading wasn't that good."
Obokoh played three seasons of varsity basketball at Bishop Kearney, where he rose to become one of the nation's more intriguing talents at center because of his 6-foot-9 size and athleticism. Bishop Kearney, like all schools with students interested in playing college athletics, submitted Obokoh's paperwork as a part of the NCAA's initial eligibility process once his high school career ended.
Boon said Bishop Kearney sent Obokoh's transcripts and was asked, by the NCAA, to submit additional paperwork "explaining what we did for him academically."...
SU One of the 25 Most Successful Programs of the 64 Team Era (collegespun.com)
...10. Arizona – 960 Points
Interestingly enough, Lute Olsen took over at Arizona before the 1984-1985 season, the first year that the NCAA Tournament expanded its field to 64 teams. Olsen made the tournament that year, but was bumped in the first round as a 10-seed. Arizona would not make it out of that first round until 1988, when the Wildcats made a Final Four run, losing in the semifinals to Oklahoma. ‘Zona added another Final Four in 1994, and won a National Championship in 1997. The Wildcats have not been back to the final weekend of the tournament since, but they’ve been an Elite Eight fixture, and look to be on the upswing under Sean Miller.
9. Syracuse – 1,030 Points
Many criticize Jim Boeheim for his team’s play in the NCAA Tournament, but in reality, Syracuse has been a consistently successful tournament team, despite only having one championship. Boeheim has guided Syracuse to Final Fours in each decade since the 80s (as well as a berth as assistant coach in 1975), and won a ring in 2003. Orange fans often wonder how much better Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament legacy would be if not for the injury to Arinze Onuaku in 2010 and Fab Melo’s late season ineligibility in 2012, but they have a lot to be proud of already. Syracuse made a surprising Final Four run behind top point guard Michael Carter-Williams and one of the stingiest Syracuse zones to date in 2013...
Recruiting
Malachi Richardson (23)
Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon Set to Play in Mary Kline Classic on May 31st; Diagne, Bryant, Jones, Battle and Murray Also Expected to Play (PS; Waters)
...Both of Syracuse's commitments from the Class of 2015 will participate in the 4th annual Mary Kline Classic at West Orange (N.J.) High School on Saturday, May 31.
Malachi Richardson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Trenton, N.J., and Tyler Lydon, a 6-9 forward from Pine Plains, N.Y., will play in the underclassmen game in the high school all-star doubleheader.
Richardson and Lydon have both already given verbal commitments to play for Syracuse University. They will be teammates on Team Inspiration in the underclassmen game. The teams in both the senior game and the underclass game take names such as Courage and Inspiration as the Mary Kline Classic benefits cancer research.
In addition to Lydon and Richardson, Syracuse has several other recruiting targets taking part in the high school doubleheader.
From the Class of 2015, Moustapha Diagne, a 6-9 forward from Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J.; Thomas Bryant, a 6-9 forward from Rochester who attended Huntington (W.Va.) Prep last year, and Derrick Jones, a 6-6 small forward from Philadelphia's Archbishop Carroll High School, will be in the underclassmen game.
From the Class of 2016, Tyus Battle, a 6-5 guard from Gill St. Bernard's in Edison, N.J.; and Jamal Murray, a 6-5 point guard from Toronto; will also be in the underclassmen game...
ACC Links
JD's Tyler Cavanaugh on New HC Danny Manning, His Wake Plans and Dajuan Coleman (PS; Ditota)
...How did you find out?
"One of my buddies (former J-D basketball player Petey Drescher) texted me and said, 'Congrats on Danny Manning.' That's how I found out. Our athletic director, Mr. Wellman, was at the Final Four and then we had a conference call and he explained how it happened."
When did you first meet Danny Manning?
"Yesterday, we had a brief meeting. He spoke to us a little bit, but it was all miked up and there were a lot of cameras, so it wasn't super informative. We're going to get on the floor this afternoon so that should be good. We'll get to see everyone and get to know him a little better. It's all about building relationships because he wasn't the guy that recruited you. My initial thoughts are good. He was one of the best big men to play college basketball and that's my position."
When are you heading home?
"My last final is May 7th. I'll be home in less than a month. It's crazy."
Any plans for the summer?
"I don't have any specific plans yet. I'm not sure if Coach Manning will put us on the same summer workout schedule. If that's the case, I'll be home from May 7 until the first week of July."
Have you heard from Dajuan?
"I've been talking to Dajuan. He seems to be doing much better. They've got him on this specific diet and he looks really skinny. He'll be limited, but hopefully, I'll be able to work out with him this summer."...
V Tech Season Wrap; Buzz Williams Has Work to Do (PS: Stevens)
Record: 9-22 (2-16 ACC)
Last seen: Losing 57-53 to Miami on the first day of the ACC tournament to cap a 1-17 tailspin after New Year's Day.
What went right:The Hokies took two of three games against Miami. They proved a frequent enough nuisance after switching to a zone defense in February, nearly beating North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Freshman point guard Devin Wilson made the conference's all-rookie team after ranking third in the league with 4.77 assists per game.
What went wrong: Just about everything, though it was to be expected that the Hokies' roster was largely composed of not-quite-yets and never-will-bes. Virginia Tech lost its opener to USC Upstate, later fell to UNC Greensboro and scored more than 70 points once in conference play...
BC Season Wrap: Bad and Might Not Get Better Soon (PS; Stevens)
Record: 8-24 (4-14 ACC)
Last seen: Losing to Georgia Tech in overtime on the first day of the conference tournament, a setback that tied the Eagles with 2011 Wake Forest for the most total losses in a season by an ACC team.
What went right: Boston College will always be able to claim a victory over the nation's top-ranked team, even if it was against a then-unbeaten Syracuse team just at the start of a 10-game shooting slump that left it looking like anything but the No. 1 team in the country. But aside from that 62-59 overtime victory on Feb. 19, there wasn't much to take from this season.
What went wrong: The Eagles lost their first three games and would never get closer to .500 than 3-4 the rest of the way against a schedule that didn't offer many places to hide. They played alarmingly bad defense, a deficiency that never sorted itself out for more than a game at a time. Despite a multitude of options for its rotation, very few players offered any sort of consistency.
Considering Boston College began the season with seemingly credible hopes of an NCAA tournament bid, it was an unmitigated disaster. Playing all but two games without center Dennis Clifford didn't help, but even the presence of a 7-footer to patrol the paint wouldn't have made enough of a difference to salvage something from this season.
Who's leaving: Reports surfaced shortly after Boston College's season ended that coach Steve Donahue would return for a fifth season. Less than a week later, he was fired. Forward Ryan Anderson plans to transfer, and rising junior guard Olivier Hanlan could still make a leap to the NBA. Anderson and Hanlan were the only players to average double figures for the Eagles this season...
Former Players
Dion Waiters' 22 Points Keeps Cavs Playoff Hopes Alive (syracuse.com)
Dion Waiters scored 22 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers, their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, routed the Detroit Pistons 122-100 on Wednesday night at Cleveland.
Cleveland entered the night trailing Atlanta by 3½ games for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.
As the Hawks were hosting Boston, the Cavs played with passion and purpose — two things missing too often earlier this season.
