What do you want to see in the next 60 days?

[RF2044]

We will soon find out. You might be very surprised!

After the last few years, literally nothing will surprise me.

I'm desensitized to the pervasive dysfunction, unfortunately. Sucks, but it is what it is.

 

[pearl31]

JJ can be a legit weapon *if used optimally and made to play defense* as well as a needed vet presence

 

[Brooky03]

In the next 60 days?

I think there will be some good NBA games to watch and the Masters. I look forward to those.

 

[Fly Rodder]

They need to jump about 75-85 spots in Ken Pom to be in the tourney. Maybe more.

Cant have a guy taking 18 shots a game and scoring 22 or fewer and not making plays for his teammates. It’s not a winning recipe and it’s been the Syracuse way for a long time.

Need at least three guys capable of 35%+ from three. Need much much much better defense. Like a complete 180. Talent needs to improve, coaching needs to vastly improve.

Portal acquisitions need to be the best players from their previous teams if a high major and best in the league from their lower teams.

 

[kcsu]

We need to move on from JJ. We have seen how he as our alpha scorer plays out. If he's here he sucks oxygen out of the ball, we need movement.

No. And we didn't need to move on from or blame Judah either

 

[Fly Rodder]

No. And we didn't need to move on from or blame Judah either

How’d we do again? Our best players aren’t good enough and aren’t put in the right situation. The days of a volume shot taker who can’t shoot are long over.

 

[Cusefan0307]

No. And we didn't need to move on from or blame Judah either

Big difference in abilities between those two players. We moved on from Girard and he produced more than JJ. Syracuse fans are obsessed with isolation scoring because it’s all we know.

 

[Newhouser]

No. And we didn't need to move on from or blame Judah either

Judah is a ton better than JJ.

 

[Irt4su]

I’d like to see us win the ACCT make the NCAA then win that too. Then with the next 30 days or so I’d like to see myself winning the lottery

 

[PoppyHart]

I’d like to see us build “this thing”.

 

[Sherman20]

There will be.

Westry / Bell are near locks to leave. I've heard that the Moore camp has also had enough. And I lean towards Freeman also leaving.

TBD with respect to Cuffe / JJ, although neither would surprise me if they elected to bail [I could also see both returning]. Petar is the only one I see returning at near 100%.

Add that on to the five seniors who run out of eligibility [McLeod, Lampkin, Davis, Taylor, Carlos] and we could be looking at 8 - 12 players leaving, with four coming in [at least 1 of which might be a year away].

We're going to have a LOT of work to do in the portal.

Having to replace 10 guys is untenable. They should fire Red if that’s the case. What is Choppa’s camp mad about? He’s gotten plenty of chances to play this season as a freshman. He’s been inconsistent but Red has given him opportunities. And why would Westry leave? He hasn’t even been healthy enough to play yet!

 

[kcsu]

How’d we do again? Our best players aren’t good enough and aren’t put in the right situation. The days of a volume shot taker who can’t shoot are long over.

Judah and JJ are not our problem. Without them we don't win. The issue is the rest of the team lacks any offensive threats. We need kids that can shoot. Bell is a streaky one dimensional player. He can play a role but he is limited. Any good team has multiple threats. We don't.

 

[Sherman20]

Unless the available NIL money is doubling I don't expect a huge improvement. Even then we would be counting on this staff to identify the right targets. The guys they wanted last year and missed on were all pretty much no factors for their teams anyway. Hopefully Kline will help in this regard but he's unproven.
Can't see Moore returning with Anthony Jr coming in and playing the same position. No PT available and a HC that didn't trust him to play this year. Going to be a problem with JJ too since he's a really a SG as is Anthony, neither will be happy playing 20 MPG. He's in no way a PG. Retaining Donny will take a chunk of the available NIL since he probably will be targeted by some deep pocketed programs. It just feels like the program is rudderless and unless a new regime with a proven winning HC from the outside comes in to take over (like Pitino did at St. Johns) I don't see how that changes.

If we could return Donnie, he and Sadiq could be an interesting forward combo that could give us some real length and athleticism and rim protection. But I’m not getting my hopes up.

 

[Sherman20]

And? What part of that is unclear?

Players that are good generally don't WANT to play for losing programs. They want success. And they generally have multiple suitors, so they don't need to settle for an option that is subpar compared to other options.

The players that Louisville brought in weren't top notch guys -- they were decent portal adds, that Louisville had to overspend to land. Precisely because they were a losing program.

That's exactly the dynamic we'll have to face, if / when we have to replace 8+ players this offseason, due to roster attrition.

The reason that Louisville was better than expected this season is because they have a coach who knows what he is doing. He took an island of misfit toys that weren't an optimized roster, and made them a competitive group. The opposite of what Red was able to accomplish this year with a similar group of mismatched parts.

But back to the main point. What elite player is going to want to come to a team that barely qualified for the ACCT, without being grossly over-compensated to do so? And can we afford to pay that, if we need to get 5, 6, or 7 portal players?

College basketball analysts all praised Louisville’s portal additions last offseason. It wasn’t an island of misfit toys. They got some of the top players in the portal. With Pat Kelsey at the helm and talent all over the roster, college basketball reporters were bullish on the Ville coming into the season.

Agree on the rest of what you said.

 

[JaySU22]

Need to add 1-2 assistants to help with whatever the staff feels like they’re weakest at.

I would try to keep as many of the freshmen as possible plus JJ. If Chance and Cuffe want to stay as low cost deep bench pieces, fine, if not you give em a handshake and wish them well. Let Bell be overpaid by someone else in the portal. Retaining those guys and the freshmen class incoming could actually be a decent selling piece to a few portal targets. Ideally we get 2-3 transfers who are proven and could play their last 2 years here.

 

[Red2003]

Need to add 1-2 assistants to help with whatever the staff feels like they’re weakest at.

I would try to keep as many of the freshmen as possible plus JJ. If Chance and Cuffe want to stay as low cost deep bench pieces, fine, if not you give em a handshake and wish them well. Let Bell be overpaid by someone else in the portal. Retaining those guys and the freshmen class incoming could actually be a decent selling piece to a few portal targets. Ideally we get 2-3 transfers who are proven and could play their last 2 years here.

The first part would've been word for word my exact post. Just to add.

If they are coming back they need to also realize we're not getting in bidding wars for them. We're talking final offer sign on the dotted line right now so we can move on or we put their name in the portal like Fran was doing.

There's very few positives we have from this season but one will be having Kline out there early jumping on guys in the portal and having playing time to offer. Right now there is not a single guaranteed returning starter back on this team so there are plenty of minutes to earn. Even JJ the most likely returning starter has been injured for large parts of 2 out of his 3 seasons and is trending down to low 30's mins.

Two other things that are hard to quantify but should help us land better portal guys:

-The Players Era tournament. 18 teams that will get a direct infusion of money that goes to the players. It's going to be a huge opportunity to get paid and show their talent over Thanksgiving.
-The Anthony family factor I think is real. Not the on-court Kiyan will save us with his talent crap, he won't. I'm talking Carmelo and LaLa, and the success that Kiyan already has off the court. There will be portal players that are drawn to that story and want to be a part of it. Money will matter most but if the money is close that may sway them.

Also I think we need closer to 4-5 Portal guys. We need 2 Centers, 2 Guards and if Donnie goes another front court piece.

 

[5OutFred]

Also I think we need closer to 4-5 Portal guys. We need 2 Centers, 2 Guards and if Donnie goes another front court piece.

Fans should slightly temper expectations in regard to NIL, IMO. As others have mentioned, teams in SU's position often end up paying quite a premium to acquire high-level players.

If SU really needs 4-5 difference-making portal guys, the necessary warchest for that is SEC level.

Kline will be huge in finding 'value' for new additions, but replacing the majority of a roster, as will have to be done, may not come with the guys fans are expecting.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Having to replace 10 guys is untenable. They should fire Red if that’s the case. What is Choppa’s camp mad about? He’s gotten plenty of chances to play this season as a freshman. He’s been inconsistent but Red has given him opportunities. And why would Westry leave? He hasn’t even been healthy enough to play yet!

I think a more realistic outcome for Westry is that he medically retires from basketball. Sad that I even have to write this. Always wished he could have reached his full potential

 

[Cusefan0307]

Having to replace 10 guys is untenable. They should fire Red if that’s the case. What is Choppa’s camp mad about? He’s gotten plenty of chances to play this season as a freshman. He’s been inconsistent but Red has given him opportunities. And why would Westry leave? He hasn’t even been healthy enough to play yet!

Meh. Compared to Carlos he has not.

 

[Stevenson]

Syracuse basketball as we knew it is dead.

It’s over.

 

[Toga]

The sinking of the remainder of Russia's Black Sea fleet

 

[Cusefan0307]

Judah and JJ are not our problem. Without them we don't win. The issue is the rest of the team lacks any offensive threats. We need kids that can shoot. Bell is a streaky one dimensional player. He can play a role but he is limited. Any good team has multiple threats. We don't.

What did you think of Starlings performance today when we got ahead by 13 with about 10 minutes to go?

 

[sweetpea]

What did you think of Starlings performance today when we got ahead by 13 with about 10 minutes to go?

I honest to God almost said to my daughter that JJ was playing within himself today. Then of course, it all went to hell.

 

[Sherman20]

What did you think of Starlings performance today when we got ahead by 13 with about 10 minutes to go?

I like Starling but that was absolute trash. His defense was atrocious and he didn’t make up for it at all on offense.

 

[McCuse]

I honest to God almost said to my daughter that JJ was playing within himself today. Then of course, it all went to hell.

That dreaded matador defense. Ole! Go ahead around.