What should we expect from this class?

[Jeremy L.]

Obviously with them being Freshman, you really don't know until they step on the floor. But how good could somebody like Ennis, B.J., etc. be? Could Ennis be like a Jonny Flynn type PG?

 

[orangefog]

I don't think that Ennis will be as dynamic as Jonny Flynn, but he very well could be every bit as effective, if not more. From all accounts, he seems like a floor general. He can score when needed, but he has a high basketball IQ, and this team may not need his scoring as much as his game management, and he seems very poised and ready to provide the team just that.

 

[4evaOrange]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Chino or BJ redshirt, depending on players leaving early.

But I'm expecting a solid freshman campaign for Ennis, maybe an 11 and 5 year.
I'm excited for Roberson, he is the typical forward for us, hopefully he can improve his outside shoot.
And finally, I am expecting good showings from Buss, I like this kid a lot, from video that I have seen he looks good!! If the Coon doesn't improve, IMO, I wouldn't be surprised to see Buss get his minutes.

 

[baggerbob]

What I'd like to see from Ennis is leadership, Sherm had it, Z had it, and Billy had it that one year. Those 3 had the ability to change the pace of the game, to set up teammates, to be a scorer when needed, but most of all a feel for the game at hand.

 

[Orangezoo]

I fully expect this class to come in and exceed expectations. A lot of the guys coming in are big on the intangible things like high motor - bball iq, clutch - things that don't always apply to incoming freshmen. In addition - many are coming from a situation where stiff competition is no stranger. Adding that to a nucleus of CJ/Jerami alongside an improved DC2 should help all the frosh and should help Trevor and Rak be better as well. In addition I think we will retain length in the backcourt but add more quickness to that equation.

 

[armory]

I wouldn't really expect much more for 2013-2014 beyond Ennis playing PG. He will be a lot like MCW in the passing/assist department, a better shooter, better handler, but worse scorer/athlete/rebounder. His defense also will be a bit suspect, being a frosh and all.

Roberson might contribute some, but that will all depend on how well he shoots from 3. Think: a more fundamentally sound junior James Southerland.

I'm more interested in seeing DC2 make a quantum leap in his 2nd year.

 

[orangefog]

I wouldn't really expect much more for 2013-2014 beyond Ennis playing PG. He will be a lot like MCW in the passing/assist department, a better shooter, better handler, but worse scorer/athlete/rebounder. His defense also will be a bit suspect, being a frosh and all.

Roberson might contribute some, but that will all depend on how well he shoots from 3. Think: a more fundamentally sound junior James Southerland.

I'm more interested in seeing DC2 make a quantum leap in his 2nd year.

Absolutely and Grant taking a step up as well. Good things ahead.

 

[longislandcuse]

Im definately ready to see what a backcourt of Ennis/Gbinje brings with ridiculous depth behind them in Buss/Cooney. How much playing time do we see Roberson getting? Our frontcourt will be pretty stacked with Rak/DC2/Grant/CJ as guys who will be guaranteed playing time.

 

[orangefog]

Im definately ready to see what a backcourt of Ennis/Gbinje brings with ridiculous depth behind them in Buss/Cooney. How much playing time do we see Roberson getting? Our frontcourt will be pretty stacked with Rak/DC2/Grant/CJ as guys who will be guaranteed playing time.

And I would think Baye should see some minutes as a senior as well. I think both BJ and Roberson are going to make strong cases for playing time, but they may just get caught behind the guys that have been in the program a bit longer. But, the competition in practice will make them ALL better.

 

[tee1222]

I wouldn't really expect much more for 2013-2014 beyond Ennis playing PG. He will be a lot like MCW in the passing/assist department, a better shooter, better handler, but worse scorer/athlete/rebounder. His defense also will be a bit suspect, being a frosh and all.

Roberson might contribute some, but that will all depend on how well he shoots from 3. Think: a more fundamentally sound junior James Southerland.

I'm more interested in seeing DC2 make a quantum leap in his 2nd year.

Hey, sorry to disagree with you, but Roberson's game is not very similar to JSouth on most levels. He is more of a rebounder, inside out presence, while I think of James' as more of a shooter. Yes JSouth dunks, yes he blocks shots etc, but you really have to watch Roberson play live or the few full games TV has shown live.

But you're right in that from any level of experience I have seen of Dirty, Roberson is way more complete in that he can put the ball on the floor against a wing and is way more of a defensive presence, both rebounding and shot blocking. The better of both worlds, of PF and SF I want to say.

You'll see

 

[seanmac1844]

I have not seen Roberson either live or on tape. From what I have read, it seems like a little more athletic Chane Benhanon type. Is that a good comparison?

 

[newmexicuse]

It will be a changing of the guard.

I would expect at least two new starters - my early starting lineup projection would be Ennis & MG in the backcourt, DC2 in the middle, & CJ & Jerami at the forwards. Hopefully CJ stays for his senior season - he will be critical glue in holding a young team together. I think it will be a very long season without him.

Cooney will have to fight Buss for backup guard minutes. Roberson should be the first forward off the bench. BJ will probably need a year to get stronger & then watch out. Our three headed center will be back - somebody will need to improve quantumly & step up.

All in all, it should be a very deep team, unlike this year's team, and Jimmy will have lot's of new toys to play with.

It would be nice to actually see a young team improve as the season progresses for a change.

 

[Orangezoo]

The thing I really look for next year in addition to new faces is offense. Defense of course is important - but being a good offensive team helps the zone a lot. Making teams work harder while making them pay when they can't score is what its all about. One of the keys is going to be the ability to make shots. Jerami has shown spurts - we know CJ will make his share - who has next that will make shots. Ennis seems to be a good opportunist in this area - MG yet to be seen. Buss seems like a smart glue guy type who just makes plays. And then the x factor - trevor. For 3 games now he has brought energy, defensive disruption and a better looking shot. I am hoping that continues. I will so far to say that Im willing to sacrifice a poor post season this year to see Trevor really get a chance and have a couple of bigger games where he gets 10-12 shots. If he can develop that confidence and come into next year ready to be a real weapon.. look out.

 

[Ward]

The thing I really look for next year in addition to new faces is offense. Defense of course is important - but being a good offensive team helps the zone a lot. Making teams work harder while making them pay when they can't score is what its all about. One of the keys is going to be the ability to make shots. Jerami has shown spurts - we know CJ will make his share - who has next that will make shots. Ennis seems to be a good opportunist in this area - MG yet to be seen. Buss seems like a smart glue guy type who just makes plays. And then the x factor - trevor. For 3 games now he has brought energy, defensive disruption and a better looking shot. I am hoping that continues. I will so far to say that Im willing to sacrifice a poor post season this year to see Trevor really get a chance and have a couple of bigger games where he gets 10-12 shots. If he can develop that confidence and come into next year ready to be a real weapon.. look out.

Really? You would sacrifice a potential post season run this year, when by all accounts we've been a top 8-10 team all season, so that we can possibly have a good sixth man next year? People need to stop being delusional with him. He's had MAYBE 5 good showings all year long including last night. I don't really care if he's shooting 80% from 3 in practice because in games hes one of the worst 3 point shooters on the team. By the time he's a 5th year senior he very well could be a lethal 3 point threat, but right now he isn't close to being that type of x factor this team so badly needs. I wish he was but he isn't. He's a guard who's a 3 point specialist on a team that desperately needs a third guard in the rotation and some outside shooting and still can't see the floor.

 

[Orangezoo]

Really? You would sacrifice a potential post season run this year, when by all accounts we've been a top 8-10 team all season, so that we can possibly have a good sixth man next year? People need to stop being delusional with him. He's had MAYBE 5 good showings all year long including last night. I don't really care if he's shooting 80% from 3 in practice because in games hes one of the worst 3 point shooters on the team. By the time he's a 5th year senior he very well could be a lethal 3 point threat, but right now he isn't close to being that type of x factor this team so badly needs. I wish he was but he isn't. He's a guard who's a 3 point specialist on a team that desperately needs a third guard in the rotation and some outside shooting and still can't see the floor.

We were a top 8-10 team because of early season polls and stealing a couple wins at Louisville and against cincy. Reality is we are a top 25 team. Where on that spectrum is difficult to say. Right now our ceiling looks like the 2nd weekend. Should things change I guess maybe that changes but think about it... The two biggest weaknesses are an inside scoring option and outside shooting. Thats not going to change overnight or with the current flow of minutes. You have to be a glass is 3/4 full kinda person to think that. If you put Trevor out there and he fails - so be it. If you put him out there and he does well you kill two birds with one stone. You have a late season addition to a team that is regressing in the NCAA seeding picture and you have a better picture for what you have in Trevor. So yes I would say its worth the risk- much like starting DC2 and giving him plenty of opportunity to show his stuff made it clear he is not ready and needs a good off-season of development which is something Trevor has already had. When you think about it- given the lack of production from our guards maybe its not even a risk. We went on a run in the first half with Trevor in there.. and he is by far the quickest of the guards...

 

[Ward]

We were a top 8-10 team because of early season polls and stealing a couple wins at Louisville and against cincy. Reality is we are a top 25 team. Where on that spectrum is difficult to say. Right now our ceiling looks like the 2nd weekend. Should things change I guess maybe that changes but think about it... The two biggest weaknesses are an inside scoring option and outside shooting. Thats not going to change overnight or with the current flow of minutes. You have to be a glass is 3/4 full kinda person to think that. If you put Trevor out there and he fails - so be it. If you put him out there and he does well you kill two birds with one stone. You have a late season addition to a team that is regressing in the NCAA seeding picture and you have a better picture for what you have in Trevor. So yes I would say its worth the risk- much like starting DC2 and giving him plenty of opportunity to show his stuff made it clear he is not ready and needs a good off-season of development which is something Trevor has already had. When you think about it- given the lack of production from our guards maybe its not even a risk. We went on a run in the first half with Trevor in there.. and he is by far the quickest of the guards...

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Yes we started out high up in the polls and that contributed to our high ranking all year, but reality is that even tho we aren't even close to being as good as we were a year ago, the rest of the country is very bad this year too. You can say I'm being a glass 3/4 full guy because I see very few if really good teams this year and almost no great ones and think that we have just as good a chance minus 2 or 3 teams of making a deep run as anybody. It's wide open but I could say you're being a glass 1/4 full guy by saying that we're a top 25 team and should basically just give up any hope of making a run this year because we lost a few games lately. Including a game we lost by 3 on the road when the ft shooting discrepancy was 35-7, not blaming the refs just stating that that is an extremely big and rare advantage that's tough to overcome. My point is we're in a slump and are undoubtedly a flawed team, but so is everybody else and to think we should give up hope on this years team because god forbid we might only be a 4 seed and just start preparing for next year is irrational.

 

[Orangezoo]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Yes we started out high up in the polls and that contributed to our high ranking all year, but reality is that even tho we aren't even close to being as good as we were a year ago, the rest of the country is very bad this year too. You can say I'm being a glass 3/4 full guy because I see very few if really good teams this year and almost no great ones and think that we have just as good a chance minus 2 or 3 teams of making a deep run as anybody. It's wide open but I could say you're being a glass 1/4 full guy by saying that we're a top 25 team and should basically just give up any hope of making a run this year because we lost a few games lately. Including a game we lost by 3 on the road when the ft shooting discrepancy was 35-7, not blaming the refs just stating that that is an extremely big and rare advantage that's tough to overcome. My point is we're in a slump and are undoubtedly a flawed team, but so is everybody else and to think we should give up hope on this years team because god forbid we might only be a 4 seed and just start preparing for next year is irrational.

Im not giving up hope - I still think there is a chance if we get the right matchups. We have to win some games to get a decent seeding though. We are hanging onto a win at Louisville and home against cincy really. Otherwise its the carrier win against SDST and the win at Arkansas. I personally think we need to see if Trevor can be a threat if given the minutes for a game... especially if Brandon/MCW/Dirty continue to struggle. As of right now I see us as very similar to the 2011 team that lost to Marquette in the round of 32. Last night there were some bright spots from Baye and Trevor. One thing would be if we could get a lead and then attack the basket vs getting a lead and trying to win it from 25 ft..

 

[ORRange]

I expect and hope to see at least one of the recruits be able to make a jumpshot. We need Tyler,Buss and/or BJ to make jumpshots. It's critical or our offensive problems could continue without James. We desperately need a scorer or CJ will be double teamed all year. Word is that silent G is good but not yet great. We could use a pleasant surprise from Buss or BJ. Doesn't need to be a shocker like Moten or Trey Burke, but a better option than we have.

 

[tee1222]

I have not seen Roberson either live or on tape. From what I have read, it seems like a little more athletic Chane Benhanon type. Is that a good comparison?

Here's the game I went to. Note the all-around offensive game, but add in that he sent away a bunch of shots, some against a 6'9 center from the other team (they didn't show those in this clip) and the best defensive rebounder I saw in the tournament.
He grabbed a bunch and some were up against physical, some suspect non-calls, in my honest, unbiased opinion.
As I said somewhere else, without me mentioning it, with position he got hacked when rebounding, others from another team were laughing about it.
1:28 into the video. Watch the whole clip if you can, as he has a nice putback rebound dunk, a few other plays above the rim. He really was all over the place to bring them back to win from down early.
This is against a decent Pope John team that was missing Lawrence. They're always missing Lawrence.

 

[CaliCuse]

Here's the game I went to. Note the all-around offensive game, but add in that he sent away a bunch of shots, some against a 6'9 center from the other team (they didn't show those in this clip) and the best defensive rebounder I saw in the tournament.
He grabbed a bunch and some were up against physical, some suspect non-calls, in my honest, unbiased opinion.
As I said somewhere else, without me mentioning it, with position he got hacked when rebounding, others from another team were laughing a I like it far more than this year's edition . OK Trevor may yet deveolp into a real threat. i'm holding my opinion about DC until next year. if he doesn't come back improved he can then be labeled a total dud.

 

[CaliCuse]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Yes we started out high up in the polls and that contributed to our high ranking all year, but reality is that even tho we aren't even close to being as good as we were a year ago, the rest of the country is very bad this year too. You can say I'm being a glass 3/4 full guy because I see very few if really good teams this year and almost no great ones and think that we have just as good a chance minus 2 or 3 teams of making a deep run as anybody. It's wide open but I could say you're being a glass 1/4 full guy by saying that we're a top 25 team and should basically just give up any hope of making a run this year because we lost a few games lately. Including a game we lost by 3 on the road when the ft shooting discrepancy was 35-7, not blaming the refs just stating that that is an extremely big and rare advantage that's tough to overcome. My point is we're in a slump and are undoubtedly a flawed team, but so is everybody else and to think we should give up hope on this years team because god forbid we might only be a 4 seed and just start preparing for next year is irrational.

I've never been a glass half full guy because it depends which half you have . Top or bottom Think about it.(n)

 

[Antiprodigy]

You can guarantee, no matter what seed SU is, there will be at least one team good at playing zone in their bracket. Bank on it. Whether SU gets past them or not is yet to be determined.

What I hope to have happen over the summer, is for Grant to work on his outside shot. I know he hit it in high school, and hope he can add that to his arsenal (at least on occasion be able to pop out and hit one, like CJ does)
If he can do that, it will allow CJ to get a rest, and give the Beast a chance to play a few minutes. Tyler isn't getting minutes at the 3, but could get a few at the 4. But only if Grant can slide over to the 3 and be at least a bit of a threat.

Plus, I hope Rak figures it out. As a SU fan, I really want him to succeed. If he doesn't next year, he may not get any more chances.

 

[anomander]

Im definately ready to see what a backcourt of Ennis/Gbinje brings with ridiculous depth behind them in Buss/Cooney.

Be careful what you wish for

 

[anomander]

For 3 games now he has brought energy, defensive disruption and a better looking shot. I am hoping that continues. I will so far to say that Im willing to sacrifice a poor post season this year to see Trevor really get a chance and have a couple of bigger games where he gets 10-12 shots. If he can develop that confidence and come into next year ready to be a real weapon.. look out.

REALLY??? Now I have seen it all.

 

[longislandcuse]

Be careful what you wish for

I'm really struggling to envision how they could be worse than the slop our guards are putting out there right now.