We have some special players

[GooseMutt]

Hughes is an elite shooter and recently has been driving the basket at will. Very calm, cool, and collective.

Buddy is a lights out streaky shooter that can take over a game.
Goodine is a raw elite athlete with a very high ceiling.

Quincy is a hungry athlete with bounce and doesn’t miss gimmes like Oshae.

Marek is a Swiss Army knife out there, now driving the basket and willing to score

But this guy Joe G is special. Really special. He gets thrown into a hornets nest at pg as a freshman, barely knowing his teammates and their games. He is vocal and leading as a frosh. His handle is really good and sees the courtwell. His passes are right on, his intentions are right on and he rebounds too! We know he can shoot and recently he has been putting up numbers beginning to come into his own. He looks very evasive with the ball and is a handful for defenders. This guy is gonna be something special throughout his career here.

 

[CaptainJ]

There certainly are a lot of things we can be encouraged by, nice post.

That said, when I saw the thread title and before I clicked, the word "special" reminded me of the one position I really don't see on there, a center. I (now regrettfully) scolded someone for saying rooting for DC2 was like rooting for Corky. Now after even more years of doing that for our centers, I see that I took his post in the wrong spirit, and now fully agree with him. I wonder when it will end?

 

[DonLightfoot]

I like the original post and agree with most of it. The only drawback I see with JG is sometimes he thinks he's a quarterback and his passes are like bullets. Seen several of those this year. He'll adjust.

 

[Brooky03]

My mom told me I’m special

 

[tbonezone]

wife told me last game that marek looks like 30 ROCK's kenny. i always thought beck.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

Nope man for man we are middle of the pack major conference team. That’s why we desperately need to catch a break like Hughes back next year. But as far as stars go Eli might be better than most ACC teams stars but not by much all have a guy somewhat close to him.

Everyone has a good PG a good 3 point specialist versatile 4s which we have 2 of and most not all have a better center than Sid. Most teams have a better group of reserves than Brycen Edwards and Washington our 7-9 guys who barely play.


We have not caught a break in 5+ years our only big time recruit skipped college to intern at New Balance and our fans are just off and deluded who push freshmen out the door after one good game they did it with Carey who is terrible and wanted to start the same garbage with Guerrier this year until it was clear he was close to unplayable first part of the year.

We need Hughes to not leave to go undrafted and collect DNPs in the G league. Please give me that break.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Hughes is an elite shooter and recently has been driving the basket at will. Very calm, cool, and collective.

Buddy is a lights out streaky shooter that can take over a game.
Goodine is a raw elite athlete with a very high ceiling.

Quincy is a hungry athlete with bounce and doesn’t miss gimmes like Oshae.

Marek is a Swiss Army knife out there, now driving the basket and willing to score

But this guy Joe G is special. Really special. He gets thrown into a hornets nest at pg as a freshman, barely knowing his teammates and their games. He is vocal and leading as a frosh. His handle is really good and sees the courtwell. His passes are right on, his intentions are right on and he rebounds too! We know he can shoot and recently he has been putting up numbers beginning to come into his own. He looks very evasive with the ball and is a handful for defenders. This guy is gonna be something special throughout his career here.

I think he is having a top 10 SU freshman type of year, considering all of the things he is being asked to do.

 

[TinyManInside]

Hughes is an elite shooter and recently has been driving the basket at will. Very calm, cool, and collective.

Buddy is a lights out streaky shooter that can take over a game.
Goodine is a raw elite athlete with a very high ceiling.

Quincy is a hungry athlete with bounce and doesn’t miss gimmes like Oshae.

Marek is a Swiss Army knife out there, now driving the basket and willing to score

But this guy Joe G is special. Really special. He gets thrown into a hornets nest at pg as a freshman, barely knowing his teammates and their games. He is vocal and leading as a frosh. His handle is really good and sees the courtwell. His passes are right on, his intentions are right on and he rebounds too! We know he can shoot and recently he has been putting up numbers beginning to come into his own. He looks very evasive with the ball and is a handful for defenders. This guy is gonna be something special throughout his career here.

If the original post was accurate the team would be 19-6 now, not 14-11. We have a lot of very nice players who would be good role players/best case 4th options on good SU teams of the past. Honestly I admire this team for playing hard every night out. They’re getting everything they can out of the talent. IMO Boeheim is doing a very good job with this team. There isn’t a high ceiling here. JB needs to recruit a lot better.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Hughes is an elite shooter and recently has been driving the basket at will. Very calm, cool, and collective.

Buddy is a lights out streaky shooter that can take over a game.
Goodine is a raw elite athlete with a very high ceiling.

Quincy is a hungry athlete with bounce and doesn’t miss gimmes like Oshae.

Marek is a Swiss Army knife out there, now driving the basket and willing to score

But this guy Joe G is special. Really special. He gets thrown into a hornets nest at pg as a freshman, barely knowing his teammates and their games. He is vocal and leading as a frosh. His handle is really good and sees the courtwell. His passes are right on, his intentions are right on and he rebounds too! We know he can shoot and recently he has been putting up numbers beginning to come into his own. He looks very evasive with the ball and is a handful for defenders. This guy is gonna be something special throughout his career here.

If Hughes decided to come back, for some reason (I know, I know, we do this every year ...), I think we could be an outstanding team next year. If you think about it from Hughes' point of view, yes, he will have his degree, and yes, he could start earning money a year earlier.

But in my long time being a fan, there is an undeniable fact that players on the best teams get rated higher for draft purposes than players on poor teams. It happens every year. He's probably nowhere on the draft boards right now, but if he matched this kind of season next year, and we won 25 games and competed for ACC honors, then he certainly would be a mid-first round pick, in my opinion.

This year, Hughes has kind of shown the ACC that he's one of the top 5 players in the conference, but because Jordan Nwora and Louisville are having an outstanding year, he'll likely be the ACC MVP and a top 10-ish pick in the draft (sorry, haven't looked it up).

If he were coming back next year with all the publicity he would get, and if we returned the entire lineup, and somebody like Carey decided to come back, or Goodine made a jump, then I think we are looking at a Top 4 ACC team and a Top 4 line in the tournament next year.

 

[FrancoPizza]

If the original post was accurate the team would be 19-6 now, not 14-11. We have a lot of very nice players who would be good role players/best case 4th options on good SU teams of the past. Honestly I admire this team for playing hard every night out. They’re getting everything they can out of the talent. IMO Boeheim is doing a very good job with this team. There isn’t a high ceiling here. JB needs to recruit a lot better.

Agree. Special? No. Nice? Yes. And nice doesn’t cut it in the ACC.

 

[Orangezoo]

If the original post was accurate the team would be 19-6 now, not 14-11. We have a lot of very nice players who would be good role players/best case 4th options on good SU teams of the past. Honestly I admire this team for playing hard every night out. They’re getting everything they can out of the talent. IMO Boeheim is doing a very good job with this team. There isn’t a high ceiling here. JB needs to recruit a lot better.

I think you really see it in our opponents. We have guys who can shoot it , some playmaking abilities but then they are weaker , lack athleticism or the opposite. Then we face an opponent and see guys who have all those things. Like you say , that is recruiting. You need skill, strength and athleticism together with role players that specialize wrapped around.

 

[IthacaMatt]

If the original post was accurate the team would be 19-6 now, not 14-11. We have a lot of very nice players who would be good role players/best case 4th options on good SU teams of the past. Honestly I admire this team for playing hard every night out. They’re getting everything they can out of the talent. IMO Boeheim is doing a very good job with this team. There isn’t a high ceiling here. JB needs to recruit a lot better.

Bit of a sourpuss response. We have gotten a lot better since November, and we have lost a few more close games than usually happens with Boeheim, especially considering that this is a very good FT shooting team by our historical standards.

Hughes would start for almost every team in the league. Buddy has slumped the last couple games, but is a top 5 shooter in the league. I agree that the others are role players, but those 2 guys would have a spot on almost every ACC team, although Buddy would be coming off the bench as 6th man for several of them.

 

[Nicknack]

My mom told me I’m special

He agrees, you are very special.

 

[Cusefan0307]

And even with that lack of talent the last 6 games we lost by were just 21 points. We don’t need to improve all that much.

 

[jdubs30]

And even with that lack of talent the last 6 games we lost by were just 21 points. We don’t need to improve all that much.

The ACC is bad this year though. I think we are better than our record, but if this was a normal ACC year we’d have an extra 2-3 losses probably.

Granted I’m not sure how much better the ACC will be next year

 

[Cusefan0307]

The ACC is bad this year though. I think we are better than our record, but if this was a normal ACC year we’d have an extra 2-3 losses probably.

Granted I’m not sure how much better the ACC will be next year

I don't think it's insurmountable next year that's for sure. Every year people say CBB is down. This is CBB in this era. Nobody gets old anymore and if you do, you probably need a couple years to develop.

 

[RMH44]

If Hughes decided to come back, for some reason (I know, I know, we do this every year ...), I think we could be an outstanding team next year. If you think about it from Hughes' point of view, yes, he will have his degree, and yes, he could start earning money a year earlier.

But in my long time being a fan, there is an undeniable fact that players on the best teams get rated higher for draft purposes than players on poor teams. It happens every year. He's probably nowhere on the draft boards right now, but if he matched this kind of season next year, and we won 25 games and competed for ACC honors, then he certainly would be a mid-first round pick, in my opinion.

This year, Hughes has kind of shown the ACC that he's one of the top 5 players in the conference, but because Jordan Nwora and Louisville are having an outstanding year, he'll likely be the ACC MVP and a top 10-ish pick in the draft (sorry, haven't looked it up).

If he were coming back next year with all the publicity he would get, and if we returned the entire lineup, and somebody like Carey decided to come back, or Goodine made a jump, then I think we are looking at a Top 4 ACC team and a Top 4 line in the tournament next year.

I think Jesse Edwards could be poised to make a huge jump in productivity next year. The kid is the best athlete we've had at the 5 in years and his skills are under valued on this board.

With an additional 15-25 lbs and increased confidence, I think he could be a legitimate option inside.

 

[kcsu]

What needs to be understood is that unless you are bringing in a star or have a backup who is ready you dont replace a player like Hughes. Unless we land a stud next year will be the first year in decades that we wont have a go to star.

 

[Fat tire 13]

I think it is more of a mixed bag. Credit is definitely due for improvement, and ability to stay competitive despite some injuries and inexperienced roster

Looking at next year, in my opinion - QG has the most upside, followed by JG, and then you hope Goodine/Carey/Braswell/Edwards/Akok become some sort of contributor

Marek/Sidibe - are likable, but don't see them making any huge leaps. Sidibe being healthy will help. Marek becoming a 12/7 guy isn't a big leap, but important.

Buddy - will work really hard, but his limitations are clear.

If we are going to be significantly better next year, I think QG/JG are the key players to watch. If QG becomes a 15/9 guy that can hit a jumper, and JG shoots 35% from downtown, that will really help.

 

[jdubs30]

What needs to be understood is that unless you are bringing in a star or have a backup who is ready you dont replace a player like Hughes. Unless we land a stud next year will be the first year in decades that we wont have a go to star.

Not necessarily. If guys like JG3 and Q take big jumps and Goodine continues to improve that will be enough.

This year this is our PPG:
Hughes 19ppg
Buddy 16ppg
JG 13ppg
Marek 10ppg
Q 7ppg

If next year we get (moderate/cautious guesses)
Buddy 16ppg
JG 16ppg
Marek 13ppg
Q 10ppg
Goodine 7ppg


That would suffice. I also think JG3 will be a stud next year and a go to at the end of games