Class of 2014 With Ennis declaring for the NBA

[SoBeCuse]

A true combo guard would be nice. I guess you could put Gbinije in that camp but don't think that Cooney or Patterson have that skill set. Fans are maybe more concerned about this than the staff. They may see things in one of the returning guards, like Gbinije, that with an off season of work, could be an adequate backup or even starter with Joseph coming off the bench. I think that it is not a stretch to say that the overall guard situation will be deeper than this past season. If Patterson, Cooney, Gbinije, and even BJ Johnson aren't significantly improved, we are in trouble anyway. If we get lucky and Joseph becomes the player we are hoping, it will be huge for this team. My biggest concern with Joseph are turnovers. He appears to be a more dynamic player than Ennis but probably more turn over prone.

I will take some turnovers for some increased tempo and fast break ball. My concern are the minutes for a frosh PG and Cooney if the others aren't good enough to get minutes again. It will be the same worn out starting guard scenario and Boeheim will have to revisit that quote from the other day again.

 

[Orangezoo]

Right. Obviously JB and the staff didn't plan on the Ennis scenario. Next season would've been a fantastic PG combo of Joseph as Ennis' apprentice. The only thing that remotely makes sense is that JB expects all of these guards to improve considerably. It is "playing with fire" as Francis says. It's one thing to simply bring the ball up the court to spell Joseph. It's another thing to be able to get the team into some sort of rhythm or not allow the offense to get totally dicombobulated vs some pressure D. Then there is the whole injury potential as everybody has pointed out. I sure hope this plan works. If not then it would be some very poor roster handling and guard development. Intolerable, really.

I think one of the most frustrating things as a fan is we saw so little of the 3 frosh this year that their is a huge unknown as to what we will look like next year. Roberson showed some flashes that are exciting as did Rak. Jerami gives you some good things but really every single returning player has serious improvements to make. Couple that with 2 freshman who could play key roles. If JB was more prone to playing 9 or 10 guys with such a young and unpolished roster I would be happy to think we could deal with 8-9 losses and be a force in March. The short bench means we need guys to get on the production wagon early so that the primary 7.5 can improve throughout. With that in mind a ready to go 5th year guy would seemingly be the best stopgap with all the unknowns.

 

[tbonezone]

this is syracuse basketball and the carrier dome. you're competing for minutes against a frosh. shouldn't be a hard sell.

 

[TheCusian]

I think one of the most frustrating things as a fan is we saw so little of the 3 frosh this year that their is a huge unknown as to what we will look like next year. Roberson showed some flashes that are exciting as did Rak. Jerami gives you some good things but really every single returning player has serious improvements to make. Couple that with 2 freshman who could play key roles. If JB was more prone to playing 9 or 10 guys with such a young and unpolished roster I would be happy to think we could deal with 8-9 losses and be a force in March. The short bench means we need guys to get on the production wagon early so that the primary 7.5 can improve throughout. With that in mind a ready to go 5th year guy would seemingly be the best stopgap with all the unknowns.

Pretty sure playing guys so fans know what to expect has never entered JB's mind.

 

[Francis03]

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN 36m
Here's a good 5th-year transfer to add to market: IUPUI's Ian Chiles told ESPN he will leave. Averaged 15.8 ppg last season. Eligible ASAP.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/56540/ian-chiles

Chiles headed to Tennessee.

 

[Francis03]

http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2013-14/div1/players/tarikphillipruek
Was told that's the best JUCO guard available fwiw. 6'3 PG from Brooklyn that was a South Carolina commit out of HS. Put up around 19ppg, 5apg, and 7rpg this season. West Virginia recently offered with others looking for a late addition expected to follow.

Signed with West Virginia.

 

[SWFLCUSE]

Chiles headed to Tennessee.

Tennessee has completely overhauled their roster in the past week, they could end up being better than last year's S16 team