The Filthy One said:
I'm usually a doomsdayer by default, so take it for what it's worth, but if Grant and Ennis both leave (which I think they will) I think SU could be in for a down year next year. Unless someone like Ron Patterson steps up and becomes a big-time shooter, they are stuck with Cooney as the 2 and the only deep threat. They will be starting Kaleb Joseph at the point. Maybe Joseph is Ennis 2.0, but you have to worry about playing the freshman point guard lottery two years in a row. And there's the larger question of who the offense flows through. No Fair, no Ennis, no Grant...I guess McCullough could come in and be a star right away, but freshmen big men are rarely ready to be the focal point of an offense.
This is a year where I'd welcome a junior college player or last-minute transfer. Just so tough to see them being a good offensive team next year with the roster as presently constructed.
benhogan said:
If Ennis and Grant return, pre-season top 10.
If 1 returns, pre-season top 20.
If both go pro, out of the top 30.
That's how I see it shaping up for next year.
Then again I was talking about Trevor Cooney having a NBA future about a month ago. EPIC FAIL on my part.
I agree with these two posts. If Grant and Ennis both leave, I think Syracuse will be middle of the pack in the ACC. McCullough is probably a top 5 talent in his class, but he has motor issues and a pretty immature game. He isn't Melo or Ennis, i.e. the kind of freshman that will step in and dominate. Joseph is a nice recruit, but, again, not the caliber of recruit that will step in, play major minutes, and lead an elite team. I'd love to have him as a 3rd/4th guard next year playing behind, and at time, with Ennis. Joseph can get to the rim and has a well developed midrange game for a high school senior. But he ain't Ennis.
I do expect Roberson to take a big step forward, but he'll be nowhere near ready to be a #1 option on offense. Cooney and Gbinije won't either. BJ Johnson has nice potential and would be sort of an X factor. Patterson was recruited as a defense guy and I don't think there is much expected of him offensively, even fully developed. Offense would be UGLY - potentially the worst Boeheim offensive team ever.
ivanvamp said:
Yeah I initially thought he could play in the League, but I backtracked about a month ago. Holy cow now I see that he would get absolutely abused in the NBA. Right now, anyway. Still time for lots of improvement. I hope he makes a JJ Redick caliber leap next year.
Just...no. Cooney will never sniff the NBA. He simply doesn't have the talent. I want you to know that I will forever resent you for making me do this (defend JJ Redick :barf: ) but don't even think about comparing Cooney to Redick. Redick was an outstanding player for 4 years. He just missed making 100 3's his (true) freshman season (he made 95) and was up over 100 his other 3 years (hitting 139 his senior season). He shot 40% from 3 in each of his 4 seasons. For perspective, Cooney hit 90 3's at a 38% clip (and that's an inflated percentage, as when ACC play started his percentage nosedived. He beat up on inferior competition). I now need to take a shower.
Don't forget that Cooney took a redshirt. He is in his 3rd year in the program. He's physically developed. There comes a point with a player where you are what you are. You can only maximize what God gave you. People look at Cooney, see that he can jump pretty high for a white guy, and conclude he is athletic. He isn't. There is way more to athleticism than how high you jump. Cooney has no fluidity to his game, no flexibility, no smoothness in his changes of direction. It is almost comical watching him try to drive to the hoop. He just spazzes out most of the time. He has definite strengths and is a damn good shooter when he avoids drifting and has his feet set. He's pretty good with the one or two dribble in and pop move. Ideally, I think Cooney would be a great college 3rd guard, someone who can come off the bench and can a few 3's, make the defense think, and change the flow and strategies of a game. But his presence on the court for 35 minutes absolutely killed the Syracuse offense when he wasn't hitting his share of 3's. Teams get right up on him and don't have to fear getting blown by. He runs off picks, but if teams stick with him he has no option but to pass back to Ennis. He just does not create offense for others. I think the Dayton game demonstrated some of what Gbinije at least brings to the table. Much of what little offense Syracuse generated came from him. He had a nice back cut, took the ball to the hoop a few times, created help situations and passed to the open man.
Speaking of Gbinije - HOW IN THE HELL DOES YOUR SHOE COME OFF TWICE???????????????????????????? And why in the world did he go fetch it the second time and hold it in his hand, while the Dayton player knocked a wide open 3 down. I had forgotten about that until now and I'm pissed all over again. Is it that hard to tie your shoes tight enough so you don't step out of your shoes twice in ten minutes?
As you can see, I'm still working through my stages of grief.
