Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Melancer46, post: 2074308, member: 1674"] I think there's a difference between leaving when you're ready and leaving when your draft stock is at its peak. Almost all of the recent guys that have left early from Syracuse would fall in that latter group, with the exception of probably Dion (though his value sky-rocketed later on in the draft process to a point that it was definitely at its peak) and maybe MCW (I think he had developed pretty much as much as he ever would at Syracuse). Ennis and Malachi left at the peak of their stock IMO. I still think Grant had the most to gain by returning of our early entrants. In Lydon's case, I wouldn't say he's ready, but I do think he has a lot to lose by returning for another year. I think he has a shot to be a nice role player in the NBA, but I don't think he's really capable of dominating college basketball, and if he doesn't make a major leap as a junior, he'd probably start sliding into the 2nd round territory. Right now, he has a few NBA skills: - shooting ability - shot blocking ability - at least average leaping ability for an NBA 4, if not above-average He'll certainly want to build up some more strength, but that's a lot easier to do when you get on an NBA diet and in NBA training rooms than it is in college. Lydon is no weaker than Thon Maker, who, despite basically everyone thinking he had no chance to hang with NBA big men, is playing significant time for the Milwaukee Bucks as a rookie. And Maker has been doing it against centers, while Lydon will be dealing with smaller players at the 4. In the NBA, Lydon will basically always be spotting up for 3, or setting a screen and then popping out to the 3 point line. He's capable of doing that today, and I think he has just enough of an inside game to take advantage if defenses close out too hard on him. Defensively, we'll have to see. It's hard to really project him out of the zone. He certainly won't be playing center in the NBA. It'll have to be as a PF, where he'll certainly have the length and leaping ability to survive. The question is his lateral agility. All in all, if he shoots it in the NBA the way he has for two years here, he should be able to get NBA minutes almost right away (though this will also obviously depend on the team he goes to). Luckily, a lot of the teams picking in the 18-25 range could really use a player like Lydon (OKC, Toronto, Washington, for example). [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?