What will this year's team look like?

[AZOrange]

Fairly tall. Not as skinny.

 

[Niastri]

Admittedly I don't follow recruiting much, so I'm perpetually ignorant about the guys we're bringing in until the school year begins.

However, the compounding factor this season is that we don't seem to have brought in many big name/big school guys via the portal either. I heard all about Lampkin. Then I was surprised to see that we brought in guys from Hofstra, Delaware and Georgia State too. Not that I'm saying they'll be bad, they just weren't names or programs that'd get me excited.

Football was the opposite this past offseason. Guys from Ohio State, Texas A&M, Georgia etc. Hard not to get interested when that happens.

Considering your point about where our transfers came from... I agree it was exciting when Fran Brown pulled starters from other power conference teams.

Red did that with Lampkin, btw... Other than that, consider this question:

Would you rather your depth be recruited from upperclassmen from lower levels of division one hairball, or from lower levels of high school recruits?

Last year, we had a stacked bench off guys that couldn't play behind the Highlander. Injury stopped Hima from contributing, but Carey and Patterson just weren't ready to play at all.

If we had the center equivalent of Davis, Lucas Taylor and Carlos last season instead of lightly recruited freshman backups, we make the tournament last year.

Once I started looking at our transfers through that lens, it makes a lot of sense.

Especially when you consider the fact that Red struck out on the various PGs he wanted.

We would be looking great on paper is we had gotten a bona fide starter at PG.

 

[5OutFred]

I think as a fanbase we also forget just how much went against Red last year:

- Starting PF and expected big contributor kicked off the team mid-season
- SG/SF placed into starting PF role while also losing all confidence in shooting ability
- Undersized 5 with no back-up forced to play all game (obviously Maliq was great, but out of position nonetheless)
- Lack of shooting and ball movement team-wide

Not to mention all the off-the-court immaturity, which manifested itself on the court in multiple blowouts.

This is part of the gig, of course, for Red. But looking at the offseason additions, many of those holes have been addressed, and I'm excited to see what Red can do with his guys.

 

[DoctahLexus]

My worry is that despite all of the mentioned setbacks we put the ball in the hoop at a respectable rate last year. It was our defense that was a bigger issue. We were 6th in the ACC in ppg. With all the talk of no ball movement and guys who can't shoot, whatever we were doing was getting passable results. But we were 13th of 16 teams in points allowed. Our 2 best defenders in Mintz and Maliq are gone now, but our two main defensive problem children remain (JJ and Bell). Then we add Lampkin who has some serious game on the offensive end and is strong on the boards, but struggles as a rim protector on defense.

Yes players can always improve in any area at any stage of their career, but we are really not setting ourselves up for a turnaround on the defensive end if we have Starling Bell and Lampkin out there for 30 plus minutes a game. I feel like using some of our depth pieces for more than just spot minutes could be crucial to turning things around on defense. Taylor Davis and a healthy McLeod all have potential to be strong on defense. If they are indeed the backups to Starling Bell and Lampkin, I hope the amount of run they get is at 15 mpg or higher. We cannot win giving up 80 plus against any team with a pulse this season.

The silver lining is that we will actually have a 4 playing the 4 and a 5 playing the 5. That could go a long way on the boards, especially if Freeman shows some promise there. Lampkin has a weak vertical but he can box out anyone. A good deal of our given up points last year could be attributed to our undersized/out of position front court. It sure seemed like teams had a zillion second chance points on us last year. Think there is still reason for some optimism.

 

[Orangezoo]

My worry is that despite all of the mentioned setbacks we put the ball in the hoop at a respectable rate last year. It was our defense that was a bigger issue. We were 6th in the ACC in ppg. With all the talk of no ball movement and guys who can't shoot, whatever we were doing was getting passable results. But we were 13th of 16 teams in points allowed. Our 2 best defenders in Mintz and Maliq are gone now, but our two main defensive problem children remain (JJ and Bell). Then we add Lampkin who has some serious game on the offensive end and is strong on the boards, but struggles as a rim protector on defense.

Yes players can always improve in any area at any stage of their career, but we are really not setting ourselves up for a turnaround on the defensive end if we have Starling Bell and Lampkin out there for 30 plus minutes a game. I feel like using some of our depth pieces for more than just spot minutes could be crucial to turning things around on defense. Taylor Davis and a healthy McLeod all have potential to be strong on defense. If they are indeed the backups to Starling Bell and Lampkin, I hope the amount of run they get is at 15 mpg or higher. We cannot win giving up 80 plus against any team with a pulse this season.

The silver lining is that we will actually have a 4 playing the 4 and a 5 playing the 5. That could go a long way on the boards, especially if Freeman shows some promise there. Lampkin has a weak vertical but he can box out anyone. A good deal of our given up points last year could be attributed to our undersized/out of position front court. It sure seemed like teams had a zillion second chance points on us last year. Think there is still reason for some optimism.

Defense is a concern for sure. I feel like that was a combination of the drama, poor communication, youth and guys not playing the positions they should by necessity. Paired with overall ending up as a smaller team for most of the year.

We brought in a coach who has a history of being a defensive tactician and have much better size, especially up front.

Lampkin was a poor defender at Colorado but was solid at TCU( not winning any awards but not a weak spot either). He dealt with a back issue last year as well. Just looking at his practice tape now vs his game tape even as recent as the tourney you can see he’s slimmed down a good bit which was definitely needed.

JJ is a gym rat and has committed it seems ( his words ) to using his speed and athleticism more on the defensive side of the ball to pair with honing his playmaking skills on offense.

Carlos is a decent defender, Taylor showed on tape he can be and coaches seem to see him as a good defender and he has the size and frame where he should be. Naheem being healthy means we have a post presence and Donnie being the athlete he is should be able to help on the weak side as we will be challenged on ball screens and pick and roll with the big guys. The staff and players have noted the importance of the big guys handling being put in that action.

Cuffe has trimmed down and looks explosive and showed to be a decent on ball defender in stretches but he just was too heavy last year.

So far it seems everyone is eyes wide open about defense so it comes down to execution. Red made what he could out of having one committed defender last year (maybe two in Taylor) in Brown. Judah was Jekyll and Hyde on defense. Had he committed every game we might have made the tourney but that’s in the past.

I’m neutral until we see them play a game but there is more reason to be hopeful about defense when you look at everything leading up. Notice I am silent on Bell- he’s got a long ways to go so I’m still expecting he is probably a major weak spot out there.

 

[IthacaMatt]

But we were 13th of 16 teams in points allowed. Our 2 best defenders in Mintz and Maliq are gone now, but our two main defensive problem children remain (JJ and Bell). Then we add Lampkin who has some serious game on the offensive end and is strong on the boards, but struggles as a rim protector on defense.

Please stop with this nonsense. Judah was our worst defender, by a mile. It wasn't even close. At least a half dozen times a game, we played 4 on 5 because he was busy yapping at the ref about why didn't get a call. He played matador defense when he did bother to run back. HE WAS THE WORST. And he's gone.

Justin Taylor was a good kid, but a terrible basketball player, and was asked to guard guys bigger than him. He was bad on defense, and he's gone.

Maliq is a very good player, but he was a defensive problem trying to guard centers down low after MacLeod was out for the year in December or January. He was a big liability, every game. He's gone.

JJ Starling was not the problem. He played with effort. That's the most important thing on defense. He had no shot blocker behind him, and often the other guard (Mintz) was out of position.

Defense is a team thing, not an individual thing. But when individuals have breakdowns, or are out of position, it makes the other guys look bad.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Please stop with this nonsense. Judah was our worst defender, by a mile. It wasn't even close. At least a half dozen times a game, we played 4 on 5 because he was busy yapping at the ref about why didn't get a call. He played matador defense when he did bother to run back. HE WAS THE WORST. And he's gone.

Justin Taylor was a good kid, but a terrible basketball player, and was asked to guard guys bigger than him. He was bad on defense, and he's gone.

Maliq is a very good player, but he was a defensive problem trying to guard centers down low after MacLeod was out for the year in December or January. He was a big liability, every game. He's gone.

JJ Starling was not the problem. He played with effort. That's the most important thing on defense. He had no shot blocker behind him, and often the other guard (Mintz) was out of position.

Defense is a team thing, not an individual thing. But when individuals have breakdowns, or are out of position, it makes the other guys look bad.

You're opinion of JJ's defense is in the severe minority my friend. Stats do not tell the whole story but he had almost literally the lowest defensive rating of any ACC guard last year. That is a remarkable feat for a guy who was not the problem. You see something in his defense that almost nobody else does. I am sure at least 90% of the board agrees with me that JJ and Bell were our worst defenders last season.

 

[Orangezoo]

You're opinion of JJ's defense is in the severe minority my friend. Stats do not tell the whole story but he had almost literally the lowest defensive rating of any ACC guard last year. That is a remarkable feat for a guy who was not the problem. You see something in his defense that almost nobody else does. I am sure at least 90% of the board agrees with me that JJ and Bell were our worst defenders last season.

They were our worst and Judah was our most inconsistent.

 

[djcon57]

Please stop with this nonsense. Judah was our worst defender, by a mile. It wasn't even close.

You can have an opinion, but per every metric, you're just wrong.

Your points about Judah yapping with officials and not getting back are BAKED into the numbers.
Same as JJ TRYING real hard.
And Maliq allegedly not being able to guard centers.

The numbers include every possession not just anecdotal plays

 

[djcon57]

They were our worst and Judah was our most inconsistent.

Agreed with this take

 

[two3zone]

FWIW, last year SU led the ACC in fast break points per game.

We definitely could put points up.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You're opinion of JJ's defense is in the severe minority my friend. Stats do not tell the whole story but he had almost literally the lowest defensive rating of any ACC guard last year. That is a remarkable feat for a guy who was not the problem. You see something in his defense that almost nobody else does. I am sure at least 90% of the board agrees with me that JJ and Bell were our worst defenders last season.

Those ratings are trash, for the most part. Nobody is grading 350 college basketball teams twice a week who knows anything about anything.

 

[althea]

Those ratings are trash, for the most part. Nobody is grading 350 college basketball teams twice a week who knows anything about anything.

This is a take on par with the earth is flat. The numbers are what they are.

 

[Niastri]

The silver lining is that we will actually have a 4 playing the 4 and a 5 playing the 5. That could go a long way on the boards, especially if Freeman shows some promise there. Lampkin has a weak vertical but he can box out anyone. A good deal of our given up points last year could be attributed to our undersized/out of position front court. It sure seemed like teams had a zillion second chance points on us last year. Think there is still reason for some optimism.

We were 296th in offensive rebounds allowed and 318th in total rebounding last season.

It is clear having a power forward at center and a small forward at power forward and a poor rebounding small forward out there all at the same time killed us.

We also weren't able to contest the shot effectively once we did give up the offensive rebounds. Brown being completely helpless against Clemson in the season deciding blowout was merely the worst example of our lack of interior size hurting us.

 

[Scooch]

Considering your point about where our transfers came from... I agree it was exciting when Fran Brown pulled starters from other power conference teams.

Red did that with Lampkin, btw... Other than that, consider this question:

Would you rather your depth be recruited from upperclassmen from lower levels of division one hairball, or from lower levels of high school recruits?

Last year, we had a stacked bench off guys that couldn't play behind the Highlander. Injury stopped Hima from contributing, but Carey and Patterson just weren't ready to play at all.

If we had the center equivalent of Davis, Lucas Taylor and Carlos last season instead of lightly recruited freshman backups, we make the tournament last year.

Once I started looking at our transfers through that lens, it makes a lot of sense.

Especially when you consider the fact that Red struck out on the various PGs he wanted.

We would be looking great on paper is we had gotten a bona fide starter at PG.

Like I said in my post, I'm not suggesting these mid-major transfers are going to be bad. Just that there's naturally more excitement that comes from landing a major conference transfer who's produced previously. I'm sure Clemson was psyched to get Girard last year, and I'm sure Duke fans are excited for Brown.

Great thing about sports is that we'll see how it all plays out and know if Red's approach was a good one. Fingers crossed.

 

[hoopsupstate]

The fact that we have a point guard this year that won’t be the last guy back on defense is a major plus. Our transition defense last year was poor at best. Mintz NEVER was the first guy back on defense. It was so disturbing to watch our players try to defend in transition and Mintz was almost walking back on defense. There were dozens of times where he never got back to half court.

 

[Idiocuse22&]

This is typically the time of year I start thinking about hoops in earnest -- particularly since today is the first day it feels a bit like Fall in MD. But this group feels nearly impossible to project, at least in my scenario where I don't have any sort of 'in' with the staff.

Now, the transfer portal and massive player movement every year naturally guarantees that there will be a fair collection of unknowns headed into most every season for the time being. But this almost feels like a second go-round of Red's first season.

Consider:

• Last year: Red wanted to play up-tempo on offense and pressure man on defense. It also became obvious given the personnel that the idea was to put some shooters (we thought Taylor was at least a solid shooter) on the floor with guys who could create off the dribble -- JJ, Judah and Q. This year: I have no idea what the system will be but it can't look like last year's on either end, right? Lampkin and McLeod aren't up-tempo guys and definitely pressure man defender types. Judah, Brown and Q are gone ... likely our best defensive play-makers (not that Q or Judah were super consistent on the defensive end) and those guys were three of our four best offensive play-makers as well (Starling was the fourth; obviously Bell put up numbers but largely as a standstill shooter, not as a creator). There's no way Red can bank on transition/drive-and-kick/individual creation offensively and I struggle understanding how we can play five players on five islands the way we played defense last year.
  
  
• Last year: We didn't know in the preseason but it became clear we had five guys who could play -- Judah, JJ, Q, Brown and Bell. So we really weren't able to see how Red planned to set a rotation -- no need when it's answered for you by only having 5 players, essentially. This year: In a perfect world there are maybe 12 guys who contribute. But even if Westry/McLeod are dealing with some injury issues and Moore/Majstorovic may not factor in; you're still talking about 8-ish players (JJ/Bell/Lampkin/Taylor/Carlos/Davis/Freeman/Cuffe) who figure to play some sort of role.
  
  
• Last year: There was almost no frontcourt to speak of when McLeod got injured. Even in the preseason, not much was expected of Hima/Carey/Patterson and Bell/Taylor aren't actual bigs. The backcourt was considered the strength with JJ/Judah/Q and the hope that Westry/Cuffe might chip in. This year: The roster is more balanced but in terms of options, but the strength is likely bigs with Lampkin and Freeman as shoe-in starters and key figures and likely significant contributions from Davis along with Bell obviously playing a bunch as a shooter/scorer. The backcourt, meanwhile, has Starling and Cuffe returning and three additions in Moore/Carlos/Taylor. But of the five guys, only Starling's minutes feel certain and even his role is a little fluid in terms of on-ball/off-ball.
  
  
• Last year: There wasn't much carryover from the previous season as Carey sat out, Bell and Taylor had struggled as freshman, Edwards, Girard and Torrence, had departed, Benny was a huge question mark and Hima hadn't played much. But you at least had an all-league type talent in Judah and a guy most of us thought would be a good anchor down low in Brown. This year: Similar in that there's not a ton of carryover, but with your best player, we don't know if he's our ball-handler or shooting guard (maybe both); will Cuffe factor in or get squeezed by Taylor/Carlos and, less likely, Moore; and can Bell be more than just a shooter? McLeod is another one that is more questions than answers at this point.

Anyway, it all just leads to a series of scenarios that could all happen -- some more likely than others -- but almost no confidence in predicting much of anything. For example -- they spent a bunch of dough on Lampkin and, it appears at least, kind of prioritized him over Brown (correct me if I'm wrong). So Lampkin adds some offensive skill, plenty of size and rebounding ... but can he guard in a pressure man situation? Can McLeod play at all on the perimeter? Is he even healthy? What happens if Freeman and Davis are two of our best 4 or 5 players? Could Majstorovic surprise and become a factor? Is a healthier, in-shape cuffe more of a factor?

The list goes on. I just am so fascinated to see how all of this plays out ... and I have zero clue where I actually land other than simply thinking this team will look almost nothing like last year's team.

Nice. I am also looking forward to how this team comes together!
The thing that sticks out to me is we have a team full of mature grown ass men, at least compared to last years team.
I could be wrong but did we hit the portal and land next years hot portal guys?
Seems like most of our incoming guys have 2 years to play.
Plus, Petar that has a couple years experience comparable to ?? i dont know...but I bet he is ready to go like a battle tested sophomore at least. I am thinking he is more than ready at this level. Could be huge if Naheem is injury riddled.?
Then Donny as our most promising recruit since Melo.
Add Choppa, mature guy that can shoot.

This team has the pieces to be legit. I would not be surprised if we finish top3 ACC. 4 seed ncaa. Would be surprised if we finish below 6th în ACC or below 9 seed în tourney.
...Not shocked...but what would shock me is if we are on bubble and miss the tourney.

 

[FireballPhil]

You're opinion of JJ's defense is in the severe minority my friend. Stats do not tell the whole story but he had almost literally the lowest defensive rating of any ACC guard last year. That is a remarkable feat for a guy who was not the problem. You see something in his defense that almost nobody else does. I am sure at least 90% of the board agrees with me that JJ and Bell were our worst defenders last season.

Matt is 100% correct. The stats are definitely skewed against JJ. Multiple times per game last season JJ was back trying to defend two guys. You can't do that and get away with it playing decent teams, and it didn't work last year. The result is the metrics everyone loves to quote. Bell on the other hand, it is hard to disagree with. If he wasn't so good at blocking from behind we would have gone completely insane last year. He was just plain beat over and over and over...

 

[jordoo]

My take on last years defense:

1. With no center we often had Brown and Taylor guarding bigger players. Brown was still a pest and a very good defender until he was on the block against legit bigs. Taylor in less minutes guarding wings would have been fine IMO.

2. Judah's complaining resulted in 9-12 4on5's a game. He would also have stretches where he didn't play half court defense much because he was upset. He was a good defender when he wanted to be but that was maybe 25% of the time.

3. Bell's effort came around throughout the season and he has the physical tools but didn't seem to understand the concept of defense. Which is to deny the offensive player progress on their intended path and then to contest the shot. He would move laterally with the driving player but never cut off their path or force a wider path. He would also often overplay or bite on fakes allowing straight line drives.

4. JJ rarely lacked for effort on defense and has all the physical tools to be a good defender but like Bell lacks basic defensive instincts and thus always seemed to be chasing or defending hard without deterring the offensive playing in any meaningful way.

5. As far as the rebounding go back to number 1 and add in the fact that Bell is probably the worst rebounding SF I can remember at SU.

The good news is 1 seems to have been addressed which will also boost 5. Judah is gone so 2 will not be a problem. As far as 3 and 4 there is no where to go but up however both players will play big minutes and were extremely poor defenders last year.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

It's tough not having a connection with the basketball team, every year we saw the same 6 or 7 guys playing 35+ a game for years, now we get guys that play a year or two. I'd be shocked if I remember half the guys on this roster in 5 years, probably less. This is getting kinda sad for me.

I am with you on this.

Over the summer, came across a mention of Alan Griffin in an article. It mentioned that he played at Syracuse.

I literally had zero recollection of who he was or when he played for us. Had to look him up.

 

[Newhouser]

For me - guys improve and yadda yadda but for the most part we know what they are.

The game changer is Freeman. Can he board and help rim protect and get double figures? If so our expectations go way up (assuming the guys who have played college ball before maintain or improve last year levels).

 

[Cusefan0307]

Who guards the other teams best perimeter player? Bell and JJ have terrible defensive reputations and Carlo's is small. There seems to be room for Lucas Taylor to get big minutes if he makes shots and can defend.

 

[two3zone]

Who guards the other teams best perimeter player? Bell and JJ have terrible defensive reputations and Carlo's is small. There seems to be room for Lucas Taylor to get big minutes if he makes shots and can defend.

At least we won't play zone with Carlos.

 

[Orangezoo]

At least we won't play zone with Carlos.

Don’t jinx it…

 

[DoctahLexus]

Matt is 100% correct. The stats are definitely skewed against JJ. Multiple times per game last season JJ was back trying to defend two guys. You can't do that and get away with it playing decent teams, and it didn't work last year. The result is the metrics everyone loves to quote. Bell on the other hand, it is hard to disagree with. If he wasn't so good at blocking from behind we would have gone completely insane last year. He was just plain beat over and over and over...

The reason for JJ’s numbers is not that he had to defend multiple guys in transition several times per game. That is just not true. I don’t want to get too deep into another Judah thing but the lengths people go to pin last years problems on him is literally insane. I’m not saying that never ever happened, but the notion that it happened so many times a game that it gave JJ the worst defensive numbers of almost any ACC guard is simply ridiculous. JJ got beat plenty, he showed little effort plenty, despite his athleticism. He would shadow guys but not actually contest anything they did. He would lose his man with a simple pick. He would be lazy contesting the three ball. I will find clips if I have too. Judah was far from perfect but the numbers for JJ are not a result of Judahs play.