We have 4 returning starters and a Top 5 Recruiting Class

[pfister1]

Bryant was a bit of a loss, but if you are really honest with yourself, history says he would't have been that good as a freshman big man here.

This is an excellent point. Who was the last freshman big to come in and dominate, or really even hold his own, on an SU team. Not Rak, DCII, or Fab. All McD's All Americans none was capable of more than just the token starter role. Why expect that TB would have been differnt, other than because he went elsewhere.

 

[SoBristol]

This is an excellent point. Who was the last freshman big to come in and dominate, or really even hold his own, on an SU team. Not Rak, DCII, or Fab. All McD's All Americans none was capable of more than just the token starter role. Why expect that TB would have been differnt, other than because he went elsewhere.

Maybe because Bryant did OK in the McD's game and has physical attributes the others lacked?
We do not need a big center to come in and dominate -- we need stout defense and rebounding. Maybe a Craig Forth would be sufficient, when we have talent at the other 4 spots.

 

[jordoo]

I think its more than reasonable to assume that Kaleb will be an improved player in fact I'd say its likely. Its also reasonable to be concerned about him improving enough to be an asset as a PG since he had such a long way to go. He will be a better player but how much better will determine a lot about our offense and he absolutely must play better defense.

I think Tyler is at a place where he is pretty much over his confidence issues and after a season of big improvements he should be able to spend the summer working on a few skills to round his game out. Its reasonable to assume he comes back with a more consistent jump shot and at least marginally better ball skills to go with a better understanding of how and when to use them. Perhaps he will also work on covering the deep corner on overload situations.

Mike and Trevor will work on things and tweak what they have but they are much closer to finished products than than most college guys. I expect improvements but production will be more about how they are defended and their decision making than an huge improvements in actual skill IMO. Still these two guys are coming back very experienced.

Coleman is said to have really improved (in practice) and to have been moving well up and down the floor toward the end of the season in practice. Great signs and its reasonable to expect that he will be a better player than last we saw him once he gets used to game action again. He is slimmed down, worked his butt off rehabbing and has some fire on the court. Even when he struggled early in his career he got the the FT line and rebounded. If he has learned to keep the ball high he COULD be an offensive force. Obviously its more than reasonable to worry about his health and its reasonable to question how effective he will be 1.75 years removed from competitive play at which time he wasn't really filling it up. For me its more or less the health concern because I think if he can play 25min a game it wouldn't take a lot of improvement from the last time we saw him to be putting up somewhere in the 8-12points 5-8rebound neighborhood.

The only other returner is Chino and I would say for sure he will be much improved but like Joseph he needs a ton of improvement. Still if Coleman is healthy he is not likely to be needed much and if he's not he should be more prepared next year to play 8-10 minutes than he was last year.

I know some are skeptical of the incoming class and how much of an impact they will have but lets remember even without Bryant these guys more or less are only needed to be the bench next year. If they can provide backup to the front and back court without being anemic on offense then we have a better bench than this years squad did as there are more guys who can back up more positions. I don't see any reason why this group cannot be a much better bench than we had this year.

Certainly its a concern if Coleman cannot stay healthy and Diange is forced into big minutes because we would be thin at center again. Those that follow recruiting can tell you however that Diange will be able to contribute right away and is physically more ready than any big we've had come in recently.

Richardson is a shooter and scorer more than anything so he probably has a chance at being the spark plug scorer off the bench and with Mike ability to run the offense from the SF position Richardson can sub in for either guard spot like Buss did last year. He is a McD and very skilled recruit but he doesn't need to be putting up 18 a game to help us.

Lydon is just a tad bit shorter, not quite as long and perhaps not quite the elite athlete that Chris was. Still his build is similar, he has better ball skills, (passing, shooting, dribbling) and doesn't mind mixing it up on the glass or inside despite his lean frame. I think like a freshman CJ fair he could be the kind of kid that is just productive with his time when he gets the chance. Chris leaving has opened the door for Tyler to get minutes next season IMO.

Howard is obviously behind the most guys to see meaningful time but he is a playmaker on offense whatever position people want to label him. He's also a good fit physically for the top of our zone. I don't have a great feel for how ready he is to contribute this coming season but I'd expect he can at least step in and give us what Buss did.

The big questions to me are Coleman's health and Joseph's improvements. I feel very confident about everything else and optimistic about these two things.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Who plays more: Diagne or Chino?

Do we have a 3 outside of G/Richardson?

I will be very disappointed to see Cooney play 36 minutes a game, and closer to 40 in ACC play.

 

[RF2044]

Who plays more: Diagne or Chino?

Do we have a 3 outside of G/Richardson?

I will be very disappointed to see Cooney play 36 minutes a game, and closer to 40 in ACC play.

Diagne will play exponentially more than Chino. They aren't remotely similar in that regard. And Diagne has a "man's" body for an incoming frosh, so he'll be highly ready to contribute--either as a starter or in a reserve capacity.

In terms of 3's, I don't think we have one on the roster besides G. BJ would have been, but he's gone. Roberson is a combo forward, but more of a 4 who can play three in a non-ideal pinch. Richardson is a 2, who could probably play 3 in a non-ideal pinch [but who would be undersized on the back line].

 

[jordoo]

Who plays more: Diagne or Chino? Diange

Do we have a 3 outside of G/Richardson? Lydon will play either forward spot but I think G is our only true 3 on the roster.

I will be very disappointed to see Cooney play 36 minutes a game, and closer to 40 in ACC play.

I would at least be prepared for disappointment although Cooney at about 32 minutes per would be great because it would mean someone else had stepped up and he had some legs left.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I would at least be prepared for disappointment although Cooney at about 32 minutes per would be great because it would mean someone else had stepped up and he had some legs left.

Oh, I'm prepared. In a perfect world, Trevor plays 20-25 minutes per game as an outside thread off the bench.

How many minutes do people see Richardson getting? Every year it seems people over shoot freshman minutes.

 

[RF2044]

Oh, I'm prepared. In a perfect world, Trevor plays 20-25 minutes per game as an outside thread off the bench.

How many minutes do people see Richardson getting? Every year it seems people over shoot freshman minutes.

Great question--I think it really depends. I'm not putting too much stock in Richardson's poor performance from the McDonald's game--but he needs to be more than just a stationary jumpshooter to earn minutes. If that's all he is, then I don't see him playing much. If he's a bit more versatile--and acclimates to playing out top fairly quickly, then I could see him getting about 15 minutes per game.

But I qualify that by acknowledging that I have no idea how ready he is. I take the reports from those who have seen him play who are both positive and negative [like BPO's] as being equally likely to be true. Hope he can contribute, though. Would be great to have another shooter, and a guy who can eat minutes at several positions to help bolster depth.

 

[jordoo]

Oh, I'm prepared. In a perfect world, Trevor plays 20-25 minutes per game as an outside thread off the bench.

How many minutes do people see Richardson getting? Every year it seems people over shoot freshman minutes.

I think it depends on his defense and how much Kaleb improves. If Kaleb is still on the outside looking in offensively rather than an involved PG who can also score on his own then I could see Richardson getting a lot of minutes as long as he plays decent defense out top. It would give you 3 shooters in G, Trev and Mal which is something we haven't had in quite some time. If Kaleb makes a big leap as a sophomore and plays defense then Malachi is not going to get as many minutes IMO.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Great question--I think it really depends. I'm not putting too much stock in Richardson's poor performance from the McDonald's game--but he needs to be more than just a stationary jumpshooter to earn minutes. If that's all he is, then I don't see him playing much. If he's a bit more versatile--and acclimates to playing out top fairly quickly, then I could see him getting about 15 minutes per game.

But I qualify that by acknowledging that I have no idea how ready he is. I take the reports from those who have seen him play who are both positive and negative [like BPO's] as being equally likely to be true. Hope he can contribute, though. Would be great to have another shooter, and a guy who can eat minutes at several positions to help bolster depth.

Right. Very curious about Howard coming in. He will be even further removed from the injury, stronger, and who knows; perhaps the role of switching to a lead guard/ballhandling comes easy for him or easier than for Joseph. We all know that for a few seasons now, lack of enough ball handlers and playmakers has been a handicap and has limited the ceiling of how far the team could go. By now, most people know I am not high on Joseph nor his future development. I am not trying to be a debbie downer nor is it smart to blindly believe he will make a Rak type leap which is what I think almost needs to happen for him to become effective. I think there is reasonable chance that if Joseph doesn't improve when fall practices come and Howard comes in guns blazing and is absorbing the teaching then Howard will have every chance to start. As long as we have more credible guards out there playing solid minutes, driving, not playing hot potato with the ball, and not picking up their dribbles, etc. then I think we could be OK in that dept.

 

[jordoo]

Right. Very curious about Howard coming in. He will be even further removed from the injury, stronger, and who knows; perhaps the role of switching to a lead guard/ballhandling comes easy for him or easier than for Joseph. We all know that for a few seasons now, lack of enough ball handlers and playmakers has been a handicap and has limited the ceiling of how far the team could go. By now, most people know I am not high on Joseph nor his future development. I am not trying to be a debbie downer nor is it smart to blindly believe he will make a Rak type leap which is what I think almost needs to happen for him to become effective. I think there is reasonable chance that if Joseph doesn't improve when fall practices come and Howard comes in guns blazing and is absorbing the teaching then Howard will have every chance to start. As long as we have more credible guards out there playing solid minutes, driving, not playing hot potato with the ball, and not picking up their dribbles, etc. then I think we could be OK in that dept.

I think we should keep the book open on Kaleb until we see the exhibition and early season games. He has some good tools to work with and I still feel he was overwhelmed last season and not as poor a player as he showed. Concern is of course very reasonable and its not out of the question that Howard becomes the starter next season at some point but I would hope if that happens its more about Howard's game being very good for a freshman.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think we should keep the book open on Kaleb until we see the exhibition and early season games. He has some good tools to work with and I still feel he was overwhelmed last season and not as poor a player as he showed. Concern is of course very reasonable and its not out of the question that Howard becomes the starter next season at some point but I would hope if that happens its more about Howard's game being very good for a freshman.

Agreed. I almost want a heated competition during practices and exhibitions for the starter's gig. Like I said; the more the merrier we can throw out there from the PG/ball handling perspective and play confidently. It still blows my mind that Duke dismissed one of their best drivers/playmakers/ball handlers (obviously he needed to go) and they haven't missed a beat.

 

[jordoo]

Agreed. I almost want a heated competition during practices and exhibitions for the starter's gig. Like I said; the more the merrier we can throw out there from the PG/ball handling perspective and play confidently. It still blows my mind that Duke dismissed one of their best drivers/playmakers/ball handlers (obviously he needed to go) and they haven't missed a beat.

The more options we have at PG the better that is surely something we have learned the hard way of late. It would be awesome if either Howard or Joseph came in ready to be an impact type of PG next season.

 

[RF2044]

Right. Very curious about Howard coming in. He will be even further removed from the injury, stronger, and who knows; perhaps the role of switching to a lead guard/ballhandling comes easy for him or easier than for Joseph. We all know that for a few seasons now, lack of enough ball handlers and playmakers has been a handicap and has limited the ceiling of how far the team could go. By now, most people know I am not high on Joseph nor his future development. I am not trying to be a debbie downer nor is it smart to blindly believe he will make a Rak type leap which is what I think almost needs to happen for him to become effective. I think there is reasonable chance that if Joseph doesn't improve when fall practices come and Howard comes in guns blazing and is absorbing the teaching then Howard will have every chance to start. As long as we have more credible guards out there playing solid minutes, driving, not playing hot potato with the ball, and not picking up their dribbles, etc. then I think we could be OK in that dept.

I'm really excited about Howard. I know, I know--he's still a combo making the transition to point, but he is a guy who exels at getting into the lane. AND he's a shot maker. Kid is really fantastic once he gets into the paint area.

I am highly optimistic that Joseph is going to take a major step forward this off-season. I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen. I understand the skepticism, but I really saw a lot of the tools in place for this kid to be a difference maker at lead guard. He's got his work cut out for him to validate that confidence I have in him--I'll readily admit htat.

 

[iommi]

I'm really excited about Howard. I know, I know--he's still a combo making the transition to point, but he is a guy who exels at getting into the lane. AND he's a shot maker. Kid is really fantastic once he gets into the paint area.

I am highly optimistic that Joseph is going to take a major step forward this off-season. I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen. I understand the skepticism, but I really saw a lot of the tools in place for this kid to be a difference maker at lead guard. He's got his work cut out for him to validate that confidence I have in him--I'll readily admit htat.

You're right with your evaluation of Howard. He's a slasher and can create his own shot. The problem is he is not a good OUTSIDE shooter. Everything is mid-range and at the basket. He also has a funky delivery. Howard is talented but clearly a work in progress as you know.

 

[BomberOrange]

At the same time, no one predicted 18-13 either.

Ummmmm...... From my Iggy award entry back in the Fall:

) Regular season record. 18-13
2) ACC season record. 9-9
3) ACC Tournament record. 1-1
4) Post-season record: 2-1 NIT
5) Leading scorer and how many points per game: McCullough 15.5
6) Leading rebounder and how many rebounds per game: McCullough 7.8
7) TIEBREAKER. Player with most minutes per game and how many: Joseph 34.5
BomberOrange, Nov 11, 2014 Report

 

[sufandu]

Ummmmm... From my Iggy award entry back in the Fall:

) Regular season record. 18-13
2) ACC season record. 9-9
3) ACC Tournament record. 1-1
4) Post-season record: 2-1 NIT
5) Leading scorer and how many points per game: McCullough 15.5
6) Leading rebounder and how many rebounds per game: McCullough 7.8
7) TIEBREAKER. Player with most minutes per game and how many: Joseph 34.5
BomberOrange, Nov 11, 2014 Report

You clearly have no clue about our basketball team, your postseason predictions weren't even close.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The middle of the zone was vulnerable for much of last year, after it was decided that protecting Rak on the defensive end for his offensive contributions was necessary.

Well, you have to look at Joseph's inability to stop the drive as exposing our interior defense too often. Cooney wore down, too, defensively. That's why Patterson got so much run. Plus we had no center to spell Christmas.

I am usually an optimist, but to me, the last few days have been a disaster. If this team had McCullough and Bryant, we would be a Final Four contender. Even without one of them, we were still a top 25 team.

Now, we have a lineup that looks like Wake Forest - we are too thin in the front court and not physical enough. We will likely be a .500 team in the ACC next year, unranked and on the bubble. Crappy way to start the NCAA torture. I was hoping for a great season next year, just to rub the NCAA's face in it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Is it me or does it seem like Chino is shorter than he's listed on the roster.

Yeah, he looks about 6-8.

 

[IthacaMatt]

When the dome crowd goes wild when chino grabbed a rebound, well I'll say he's a little more than a work in progress. But in the spirit of positivity, he'll be great next year!

If he's as good as Keita was, that's all we need from him.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You're right with your evaluation of Howard. He's a slasher and can create his own shot. The problem is he is not a good OUTSIDE shooter. Everything is mid-range and at the basket. He also has a funky delivery. Howard is talented but clearly a work in progress as you know.

Howard has some Josh Pace to his game. We could use a guy who can get his shot at the rim. We've been missing that the last couple years.

 

[RF2044]

Well, you have to look at Joseph's inability to stop the drive as exposing our interior defense too often. Cooney wore down, too, defensively. That's why Patterson got so much run. Plus we had no center to spell Christmas.

I am usually an optimist, but to me, the last few days have been a disaster. If this team had McCullough and Bryant, we would be a Final Four contender. Even without one of them, we were still a top 25 team.

Now, we have a lineup that looks like Wake Forest - we are too thin in the front court and not physical enough. We will likely be a .500 team in the ACC next year, unranked and on the bubble. Crappy way to start the NCAA torture. I was hoping for a great season next year, just to rub the NCAA's face in it.

I'm not melodramatic, but I agree--the last week has been a disaster for the program.

Doesn't mean we can't withstand / bounce back, but there's no other way to view how impactful those two announcements were last week.

 

[MSOrange]

I'm not melodramatic, but I agree--the last week has been a disaster for the program.

Doesn't mean we can't withstand / bounce back, but there's no other way to view how impactful those two announcements were last week.

All the bad news is starting to mix together in my brain. When you said two announcements, I remembered Bryant but it took me a few minutes to come up with McCullough as the other announcement from last week. Make it stop!

 

[Dave85]

Yeah, he looks about 6-8.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[jordoo]

Its funny in college bball 1 player can be the difference between a top10 squad and a bubble team. There is no sugar coating the fact that in the last week we have lost out on 2 guys who very likely would have started fro us and played big minutes. Still we have other options and as long as Coleman is healthy and someone steps up at PG we won't have any glaring weaknesses next year.