OttoMets
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We shouldn't draw too many conclusions from an exhibition, but since we've got an unusually unknown team, I learned a little about a lot of guys:
Howard: Not his best game, a little too bold with a few passes that just weren't open. I hated both of his top-of-the-key threes in the first half (a make and a miss, if I remember correctly), and I've been a huge defender of his shooting; his role should be to run the offense and shoot if open, not take contested threes off screens. I thought he was far and away our best defensive guard in the zone, which shouldn't surprise anyone.
White: Interesting, since I'd never even seen him dribble a basketball before but have read praise on here that makes him out to be an All America. Shouldn't take too much away, since he's feeling his way along with new teammates and a new system. First, he plays very hard. Second, he's incredibly slow - he might've started at the 2, but it's clear that he's not a guard. On that note, he didn't show much vision as far as passing goes; on a night where we saw everyone setting up transition baskets for teammates, White was the one guy who pulled an MCW and badly bungled a two-one-one break by not passing the ball. Final observation: he seems to like to rebound. We sometimes see teams with no players like that, and this year we have two or three. Cool.
Lydon: Quiet game. I think we'll see too much of him at the five, where he'll be a minus defensively (but, of course, with another year of learning and weight-lifting, better than he was last year). He looked to dunk a lot on offense, which is nice.
Roberson: Looked fit, rebounded aggressively, and showed a very patient and successful back-to-the-basket move in the second half. I've never seen that from him in a game, but I hope we see it again.
Coleman: Remember the first-round tournament game in 2013? Yeah. Let's not get carried away about what Coleman, or any big, does against small teams. But it's still worth noting that he kept the ball high (or at least not low) in the post and finished decisively. I was pleasantly surprised. He was a little shaky on defense. On the whole, he looked a bit better than I expected.
Gillon: Unspectacular but solid. Seems to have good court vision and genuinely enjoys distributing the ball; I thought he'd shoot a lot more. It's nice to see a guard who can get by his defender.
Battle: No one with those mechanics is going to shoot like that over the course of a year. Expect a few 1-9 games sprinkled here and there. That's the only quasi-critical thing I've got to say. This kid can play. Good fundamentals, carried himself well, played hard. He plays bigger than his size, but he seems comfortable enough with the ball in his hands. He might not see a sophomore year.
Chukwu: His hands were way better than I thought, and on both ends: he got some defensive rebounds despite poor position due to his hand strength and he also made good catches on offense. His positioning is OK, but he's going to have some difficulty sealing his man on offense. (I like that we looked to pass to the post so often, by the way, and I hope this isn't just a short-lived experiment.) He's clearly been well-coached in the past; he's fairly decisive and automatic in turning and getting his shot onto the glass, something bigs have never consistently done at SU in my lifetime. He's also pretty slow and clearly needs a ton more game reps to know where he needs to be on defense. Fitness may be a concern, too. He looked exhausted after his first-half run.
Thompson: Wildly impressed. Yeah, I made a John Wallace comp in another thread and I'm not walking that back. The last time I was this pleasantly surprised with a freshman big's offensive skill was Rakeem's freshman year, and if last night is a fair representation, Thompson's way ahead of Rakeem and Onuaku at the same stage. He's confident with the ball in his hands, seems to have good passing vision, and I just can't remember a young Syracuse big who's so mellow when he catches the ball in scoring position: no panic, no rush. That said, his ceiling, minutes-wise, is Michael Carter-Williams in 2012. He's going to play in February over Lydon? No chance. Keep this kid happy and find him a guard to get him the ball next season. Meanwhile, we'll enjoy watching his limited time on the court.
Moyer: Redshirt this kid. Odds are that the NBA isn't in his future and, regardless of what he'll do on the court after he gets back to playing shape, he's got no path to playing time this winter. He'll be a fan favorite, but not a producer this year.
Howard: Not his best game, a little too bold with a few passes that just weren't open. I hated both of his top-of-the-key threes in the first half (a make and a miss, if I remember correctly), and I've been a huge defender of his shooting; his role should be to run the offense and shoot if open, not take contested threes off screens. I thought he was far and away our best defensive guard in the zone, which shouldn't surprise anyone.
White: Interesting, since I'd never even seen him dribble a basketball before but have read praise on here that makes him out to be an All America. Shouldn't take too much away, since he's feeling his way along with new teammates and a new system. First, he plays very hard. Second, he's incredibly slow - he might've started at the 2, but it's clear that he's not a guard. On that note, he didn't show much vision as far as passing goes; on a night where we saw everyone setting up transition baskets for teammates, White was the one guy who pulled an MCW and badly bungled a two-one-one break by not passing the ball. Final observation: he seems to like to rebound. We sometimes see teams with no players like that, and this year we have two or three. Cool.
Lydon: Quiet game. I think we'll see too much of him at the five, where he'll be a minus defensively (but, of course, with another year of learning and weight-lifting, better than he was last year). He looked to dunk a lot on offense, which is nice.
Roberson: Looked fit, rebounded aggressively, and showed a very patient and successful back-to-the-basket move in the second half. I've never seen that from him in a game, but I hope we see it again.
Coleman: Remember the first-round tournament game in 2013? Yeah. Let's not get carried away about what Coleman, or any big, does against small teams. But it's still worth noting that he kept the ball high (or at least not low) in the post and finished decisively. I was pleasantly surprised. He was a little shaky on defense. On the whole, he looked a bit better than I expected.
Gillon: Unspectacular but solid. Seems to have good court vision and genuinely enjoys distributing the ball; I thought he'd shoot a lot more. It's nice to see a guard who can get by his defender.
Battle: No one with those mechanics is going to shoot like that over the course of a year. Expect a few 1-9 games sprinkled here and there. That's the only quasi-critical thing I've got to say. This kid can play. Good fundamentals, carried himself well, played hard. He plays bigger than his size, but he seems comfortable enough with the ball in his hands. He might not see a sophomore year.
Chukwu: His hands were way better than I thought, and on both ends: he got some defensive rebounds despite poor position due to his hand strength and he also made good catches on offense. His positioning is OK, but he's going to have some difficulty sealing his man on offense. (I like that we looked to pass to the post so often, by the way, and I hope this isn't just a short-lived experiment.) He's clearly been well-coached in the past; he's fairly decisive and automatic in turning and getting his shot onto the glass, something bigs have never consistently done at SU in my lifetime. He's also pretty slow and clearly needs a ton more game reps to know where he needs to be on defense. Fitness may be a concern, too. He looked exhausted after his first-half run.
Thompson: Wildly impressed. Yeah, I made a John Wallace comp in another thread and I'm not walking that back. The last time I was this pleasantly surprised with a freshman big's offensive skill was Rakeem's freshman year, and if last night is a fair representation, Thompson's way ahead of Rakeem and Onuaku at the same stage. He's confident with the ball in his hands, seems to have good passing vision, and I just can't remember a young Syracuse big who's so mellow when he catches the ball in scoring position: no panic, no rush. That said, his ceiling, minutes-wise, is Michael Carter-Williams in 2012. He's going to play in February over Lydon? No chance. Keep this kid happy and find him a guard to get him the ball next season. Meanwhile, we'll enjoy watching his limited time on the court.
Moyer: Redshirt this kid. Odds are that the NBA isn't in his future and, regardless of what he'll do on the court after he gets back to playing shape, he's got no path to playing time this winter. He'll be a fan favorite, but not a producer this year.
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