Trust the process | Syracusefan.com

Trust the process

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Cuseball

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Unbelievable amounts of panic across the board here. If a warm body becomes available, immediately there are pleas to sign the kid. To make everyone happy we should have 43 players on the roster for next year.

Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

He's also very smart and realizes if you have more than 6 frosh on the roster you eliminate your chances to pull in more than one of a star studded 2018 class.

Cuse!
 
Cuseball said:
Unbelievable amounts of panic across the board here. If a warm body becomes available, immediately there are pleas to sign the kid. To make everyone happy we should have 43 players on the roster for next year.

Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

He's also very smart and realizes if you have more than 6 frosh on the roster you eliminate your chances to pull in more than one of a star studded 2018 class.

Cuse!
Expand...

Yeah, I'm in this boat. Not sure anyone can be entirely thrilled with our recruiting of late but there is still significant value in prioritizing a few key targets. As you point out, you can't sign everyone and if you recruit everyone there's a chance you sign no one.
 
No panic here..and I think going after every able body is a bad idea as well but to think ayala and Tucker (who cuseball says is a priority) are locks for us is insane..it doesn't hurt to show some interest in a few of these available players..not saying everyone but the lists of schools that ayala and Tucker both have pursuing them still are no slouches...and Tucker WAS a priority for us...then became NOTHING for us for a long time and now we have jumped back in...lets hope that doesn't hurt our chances and we land him because I love his game and he fills a huge void for our roster
 
Cuseball said:
Unbelievable amounts of panic across the board here. If a warm body becomes available, immediately there are pleas to sign the kid. To make everyone happy we should have 43 players on the roster for next year.

Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

He's also very smart and realizes if you have more than 6 frosh on the roster you eliminate your chances to pull in more than one of a star studded 2018 class.

Cuse!
Expand...

I agree with the sentiment, in general. Good post.

But these guys aren't "warm bodies." Some of them we've evaluated, and decided not to pursue. That includes a five-star who might have been attainable.

So while I do think that JB deserves the benefit of the doubt to some degree based upon historical accomplishments--especially from a group of internet lunatics like us who often lack perspective and don't know a tenth of what JB knows about basketball--I also think that it is intellectually dishonest [in general, not saying this about you] to suggest that everything is going gangbusters in terms of recruiting. It isn't. We have three open scholarships to fill--right now, we'd only have 8 players on next year's squad, with two gaping holes in our lineup that we probably can't adequately fill with the personnel on hand.

You're right that hand wringing isn't going to accomplish anything. If we land Tucker, and if we land Ayala, a lot of people [including me] are going to be breathing a lot easier. And if we do, then the class will be top 25 caliber like you suggest. It would constitute a heckuva rebound from the fall signing period. And if those things happen, then JB deserves to be commended for righting the ship and replenishing the depth / talent base on the roster with a bunch of program guys who will be figural in shaping the program's direction over the next few seasons.

But right now, I understand why people are frustrated. And it isn't like we're recruiting tremendously well, and adding Player X would merely be icing on the cake. To the contrary, the two guys we're actively recruiting are "must gets" or next season is likely toast. That's why I hate to see us pass up players like Waters, the kid who just decommitted from Uconn [just as an example] without even kicking the tires. I can certainly understand JB not being as actively involved a few weeks ago, when it seemed like retirement was imminent and Hop would be taking over anyway in 2018. But a lot's changed in the past few weeks.

JB going out to see Tucker and Wright was a HUGE development. But we still need ink on paper with at least two guys who will directly impact our fortunes next season [if not three] before the job is done.

Again, good post.
 
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Cuseball said:
Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

Cuse!
Expand...

The problem is that our main competition in the ACC is recruiting at a top 5-10 class level usually. There is no reason Syracuse should ever be outside of the top 15-20 with our facilities, staff, history, and fan support. So somewhere in the 20's-30's (like you say our class will end up at) won't bode well if we're trying to compete with Duke, UNC, Louisville, etc year in and year out.

Also, Tucker and Ayala are not two future stars. They are two top 100 level recruits who are good against high school competition. There have been much better basketball players and much better athletes that turn out to be duds not only for Syracuse, but for many other schools as well. Neither are sure things to be stars, nor are they sure things to attend Syracuse. That's why it is imperative for the staff to work on a lot of the top end available players, whether they are high school recruits or transfers. The panic across the board is because our team has been crappy for a few years, and the longer we wait to turn it around, the harder it becomes to turn around the stigma of Syracuse's basketball program.
 
I think Tucker and ayala have the skill set to be very very good players...they both can ball without a doubt...now I'm not sure exactly what the definition of a superstar is but I think most of these kids have aspirations of playing in the league and being superstars yet only very few actually make it and have successful careers and become allstars..no one is saying they are superstars but I don't think anyone is saying they won't or can't be...that goes for any recruit on any team. But they way you say they are only "two top 100 recruits that play good against highschool comp" is probably doing them a disservice...these two kids can play and will have no problem playing at the college level...i think they have played against very good competition most of there life in the various different leagues they both have played in. Make no mistake about it they would be HUGE additions to our team.
 
I respect that opinion but we need a PG and a good one now! I don't want to go into next season thinking that if Frank does Frank stuff we are screwed. I like Howard Washington but again don't want to bet the season on him. Ayala is neither a lock to come here or qualify and he's another not quite PG we are trying to put in that role. Yes fans paying attention are going to want the staff to get involved with PG's that decommitted and are highly rated.

I love targeting Tucker, I like Washington long term and I'd be thrilled to land Ayala but I don't want to pass on a possible starting PG.
 
Cuseball said:
Unbelievable amounts of panic across the board here. If a warm body becomes available, immediately there are pleas to sign the kid. To make everyone happy we should have 43 players on the roster for next year.

Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

He's also very smart and realizes if you have more than 6 frosh on the roster you eliminate your chances to pull in more than one of a star studded 2018 class.

Cuse!
Expand...
I agree. Have to find that happy medium if you will. Although we should prioritize our top few favorites , we still have to keep our second options open. Look what happened with Green.
 
spo023 said:
The problem is that our main competition in the ACC is recruiting at a top 5-10 class level usually. There is no reason Syracuse should ever be outside of the top 15-20 with our facilities, staff, history, and fan support. So somewhere in the 20's-30's (like you say our class will end up at) won't bode well if we're trying to compete with Duke, UNC, Louisville, etc year in and year out.

Also, Tucker and Ayala are not two future stars. They are two top 100 level recruits who are good against high school competition. There have been much better basketball players and much better athletes that turn out to be duds not only for Syracuse, but for many other schools as well. Neither are sure things to be stars, nor are they sure things to attend Syracuse. That's why it is imperative for the staff to work on a lot of the top end available players, whether they are high school recruits or transfers. The panic across the board is because our team has been crappy for a few years, and the longer we wait to turn it around, the harder it becomes to turn around the stigma of Syracuse's basketball program.
Expand...

A couple of thoughts:

The difference between 25-30 and and 10-15 in the rankings is a fair observation but don't forget that the landscape of college hoops has changed dramatically in the past few seasons. I mean that ranking difference is often based on signing one kid who's viewed as a potential one-and-done. Our recent history with those guys is ok but not great. Malachi's 10 mins vs uva were legendary but his season was up and down. McCullough really wasn't here long enough. D.C. Is a great kid but got hurt.

Bottom line: I think you could argue that solid depth in a class is extremely important long-term even if short term we struggle a bit.

Secondly, which I'm now realize I sort of addressed above, is that solid is arguably preferable to elite in a recruit. Four years of josh hart is an absolute gold mine in today's game. Can't bank on that but a top 25 recruit could very well give you one solid but not great season and be gone and you're back at square one.
 
I just wish this program would prioritize the point guard position. It's the most important player on the court and we constantly try shoehorning shooting guards into the role. We're looking at starting Frank Howard or hoping to land Ayala while trying to make him a PG. This is not ideal.

These are top 50 kids becoming available, why not get involved?

Why is Tucker all of a sudden a must-get after ignoring him for months? What was the plan here?
 
Cuseball said:
Unbelievable amounts of panic across the board here. If a warm body becomes available, immediately there are pleas to sign the kid. To make everyone happy we should have 43 players on the roster for next year.

Jimmy and staff are recruiting and showing the love to key players they are prioritizing. I have no doubts we'll end up with at least more two more excellent players and that will likely be it. Carrying 6 frosh is the max you can have if you want a chance to recruit Wright and others in 2018. Tucker and Ayala are the priorities as they should be.

Our class will end up being top 30 Jimmy is not being lazy. He's not being clueless about transfers and recent guys decommitting. You can't have them all and he has prioritized two future stars in Tucker and Ayala.

He's also very smart and realizes if you have more than 6 frosh on the roster you eliminate your chances to pull in more than one of a star studded 2018 class.

Cuse!
Expand...
Why would I trust a process that is leading the program down a path to mediocrity ? We need make changes in many areas. In the big East we were the co kingpin program with various pretenders through out the league history. In the acc we are in the second tier. Can we get to the top tier ? Why not, but only if we adapt and adjust. In recruiting our focus should be the three and four year kids and hope for a sprinkling of top twenty types. We can't ever allow the success of a class to depend on getting any one kid as we did a green. In playing style we need to figure out how to defend the trey line, with or wo the zone. Every team now has multiple long distance shooters. We cannot lay back and hope that they eventually miss. Our o needs to become more creative w better ball movement.
 
As much as you guys focus on the PG for offense, still think we sport the best teams when we have a great center on our defense to anchor the zone. We can go all the way back to Bowie but since then JBs teams only excel when we have an "enforcer" in the middle of the zone. The new freshman recruit, forgot his name, really encouraging for the zone to become effective again (TT is no enforcer and is really a 4). A skilled shot blocker/alterer is what we need otherwise it's going to be a long season again...
 
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chakka3421 said:
  • As much as you guys focus on the PG for offense, still think we sport the best teams when we have a great center on our defense to anchor the zone. We can go all the way back to Bowie but since then JBs team only excel when we have an "enforcer" in the middle of the zone. The new freshman recruit, forgot his name, really encouraging for the zone to become effective again (TT is no enforcer. A skilled shot blocker is what we need otherwise it's going to be a long season again...
Expand...

Bourama Sidibe.
 
Man, watching the games tonight, it is so important to have quality guards. The athleticism and offensive skills are not something we seem to recruit well at guard. These teams have multiple players than can do so much. We have Tyus Battle, who's awesome, but the best teams have 3-4 kids with similar ability, even if not the same pro prospects.
 
Jasoncuse said:
You think he'll play right away? He can't be much worse than PC, I'd hope.
Expand...

I don't know how much he will play but he is A LOT better than PC. He can play the 4 too. He's mobile with great hands and knows how to play. Needs to add weight. Has played well against great competition, including getting the best of guys like Deng Gak and Nick Richards. He's also played a lot of zone and it was an active one too. I keep comparing him to Chris Silva and I think it's a perfect comparison in a ton of ways. I think he can help us next year if given a legit chance. Kid is well coached.
 
chakka3421 said:
As much as you guys focus on the PG for offense, still think we sport the best teams when we have a great center on our defense to anchor the zone. We can go all the way back to Bowie but since then JBs teams only excel when we have an "enforcer" in the middle of the zone. The new freshman recruit, forgot his name, really encouraging for the zone to become effective again (TT is no enforcer and is really a 4). A skilled shot blocker/alterer is what we need otherwise it's going to be a long season again...
Expand...

I'm scratching my head. I get the importance of guard play and see it mentioned here about tonight's games, but did people not notice the centers on the winning teams?!? Meeks has a career game, including the offensive board on a free throw that sealed it.

Speaking of systems, I much prefer whatever system Roy Williams is using, that allowed him not only to keep Kennedy Meeks for his junior year, but his senior year as well. At Syracuse, it'd be typical for him to be gone after after his sophomore season...asuming we could ever get another dominant center.
 
chakka3421 said:
As much as you guys focus on the PG for offense, still think we sport the best teams when we have a great center on our defense to anchor the zone. We can go all the way back to Bowie but since then JBs teams only excel when we have an "enforcer" in the middle of the zone. The new freshman recruit, forgot his name, really encouraging for the zone to become effective again (TT is no enforcer and is really a 4). A skilled shot blocker/alterer is what we need otherwise it's going to be a long season again...
Expand...
Of course, when we had Rosie, we played primarily man to man, with 2-3 zone on under the basket in bounds. Same with Seikaly. Wasn't until the Wallace run that we went all zone. That team had the dual mountains of Otis Hill and BJ Reifsnyder. The best team we had playing zone had Arinze at it's anchor: hardly a shot blocking force.
 
CaptainJ said:
I'm scratching my head. I get the importance of guard play and see it mentioned here about tonight's games, but did people not notice the centers on the winning teams?!? Meeks has a career game, including the offensive board on a free throw that sealed it.

Speaking of systems, I much prefer whatever system Roy Williams is using, that allowed him not only to keep Kennedy Meeks for his junior year, but his senior year as well. At Syracuse, it'd be typical for him to be gone after after his sophomore season...asuming we could ever get another dominant center.
Expand...
I love Meeks' game, he might be the best offensive rebounder in the country, but do you really think that he could compete athletically with most NBA big men? I think the answer is no, which is why he is still in college. Not sure that has anything to do with Roy, unless he knowingly recruits less athletic players, who are great at the game, but won't stand out. In that regard, yes...it's a great system!
 
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