Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Chris Paul's shocking comments via twitter


Chris Paul who hit a dramatic buzzer beater for the LA Clippers just one day ago, posted a rather strange tweet shortly after the New York Knicks game 2 win against Boston:

“K-MART I THOUGHT YOU GOT BOUGHT OUT BY WAL-MART ILL BE IN NEW YORK NEXT YEAR BRAH GIVE ME BACK MY NUMBER AND QUIT RIDIN MELO’S D TRYNA LOOK LIKE HIM AND ISH GOT THE HEADBAND, SHOOTING SLEVE, WHATS NEXT THE WB TAT? #JAGGEDFACEA$$.”

 Syracuse Basketball Nation doesn’t want to speculate, but let’s try and decode what Paul tweeted:

Kenyon Martin you’re past your prime but still doing a fantastic job out there in New York.  I’ll be signing with the Knicks in 2014.  I’m kindly inquiring if I can wear the number 3 next year.  You look so similar to Carmelo on the court its really comical keep it up!  See you next year kind gent.  Cheers!

Miami Heat fans have already started a public outcry to the official owner of the entire NBA David Stern.  Their concern?  They don’t believe you should be able to sign this many free agents.  Laker fans are rumored to start bitching any second now.  They too are pretty pissed off.  Both teams feel as if they should be the only ones that can sign free agents until the cows come home.  Kenyon Martin hasn’t had a chance to respond to the comments.  All we know is I’m sure it will be civil, and if all else fails, file a claim with Cliff Paul.

Here’s a list of former, present, and future Knicks that have/had/will have number 3:

Al Butler 1962, 1963, 1964
Rick Carlisle 1988
Bob Cluggish 1947
Dave Deutsch 1967
Ken Green 1986
Bob Knight 1955 (not that Bobby Knight)
Stephon Marbury 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Starbury Marbury)
Kenyon Martin 2013
Brendan McCann 1958, 1959, 1960
Tracy McGrady 2010
Alfred McGuire 1952
Phil Rollins 1961                                         
Irv Rothenberg 1949 (who could forget)
Dennis Scott 1999
John Starks 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Shawne Williams 2011
Chris Paul 2014 (Yeah Buddy)

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I Will Shock The World With My Mock #1 Pick And No Its Not Andrew Wiggins

May 21st is the the NBA Draft Lottery.  Here's a breakdown of the Lottery teams and their odds on drawing the number 1 pick:

Charlotte Bobcats           - 25%
Washington Wizards       - 19.9%
Cleveland Cavaliers        - 13.8%
New Orleans Hornets     - 13.7%
Sacramento Kings           - 7.6%
Brooklyn Nets                - 7.5%
Golden State Warriors    - 3.6%
Toronto Raptors             - 3.5%
Detroit Pistons                - 1.7%
Minnesota Timberwoves - 1.1%
Portland Trail-Blazers     - 0.8%
Milwaukee Bucks           - 0.7%
Pheonix Suns                  - 0.6%
Houston Rockets            - 0.5%

First off these are not negative % for those already blowing me up those are hyphens or dashes.  Im a zombie and I understand this come on people. 

My number 1 pick.  Not Ben Mclemore, Otto Porter, Nerleans Noel, Victor Olidipo, Trey Burke, ok i'll just tell you.





MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS

Why one might ask.  Here's why.  he's the only nearly 6'7 point guard in the draft, or history for that matter.  Thats just 1.  2 and almost the most important factor, he can guard 3 positions.  A lot of MCW haters claim he has no jumpshot.  I'll call your no jump shot and raise you a Rajon Rondo.  Doesn't sound so crazy now does it?  Rajon Rondo shot 28% from 3 in college, probably worse now in the League.  Jason Kidd shot a bismal 33% in college.  MCW shot 31%.  Point being if your a special talent you can lack in other places.  Clearly MCW is the most versitile player in this draft. 

We all know Kidd and Rondo play great D and have amazing court vision.  Able to find teammates at will.  What do you know.  Carter-Willaims led the NCAA in assists and was right at the top in steals.  He's got it.  Am I bias because i'm a diehard Cuse fan?  Of course.  But i can be rational too.  Im a huge Yankee fan, Hate Arod.  Huge Boeheim fan, wish he'd do things differently sometimes.  I can discern. 

Here are the percentages of whatever team that drafter MCW and their success with him:  100%.  I can't say that about any other players in this draft.  I think Dieng from Lousiville will be a fine player, Otto Porter as well.  who knows about a lot of the other guys.

Twitter @ZombieBoeheim

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

KNICKS BLOCKBUSTER FOR THE 2ND STRAIT DAY

Just one day after aquiring the most highly sought after free agent Quentin Richardson, the Knickerbockers stunned the world and signed.....yes you heard it, The Earl Barron.  The Knicks are now going into the playoffs as the clear favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference.  Some criticize the Knicks for assembling too many stars as Magic Johnson and Charles " I clearly know nothing about College Basketball" Barkley would say "we'd never do that". 

Miami fans seem to be the most pissed and the consensus is that they discovered the "sign the world" method before them.  James Dolan was asked to comment and refused.  When i told him I was The Zombie Boeheim from The Syracuse Basketball Nation, he quickly let me break the story.  His response: "We are trying to do something special here in NY, and it starts with signing our own big 3, Carmelo, Quintin Richardson, and now Earl Barron". 

Rasheed Wallace, who announced his retirement earlier today, was shocked at the signing.  SBN caught up with Sheed for an interview but every question we asked him he just replied "Ball Don't Lie" over and over.  He was rushing to his limo while I snuck in a rather touchy question about the mysterious gray spot on the back of his head.  Sheed stopped and looked as if he was gonna kill me.  I proceded to give him a technical foul, and his response "Ball don't lie".

Who knows where Amare Stoudamire will land in the rotation, if at all.  With a dominate Big Man like Barron its hard to find the minutes.  Its rumored Amare has fired his agent and hired Jay Z.  Talks between Dolan and Jay Z could spell trouble for Knicks coach Mike Woodson, as Jay Z is trying to persuade Dolan into trading Woodson to LA for the rights to Mike Dantoni.  Doing so would clearly make Amare the most important player on the Knicks. 

The only thing holding up the deal is Kupcheck.  He would love Woodson, but Dantoni said he won't go anywhere without Steve Nash, and with Nash's no trade clause I doubt he will want to share minutes with Jason Kidd.  However, you might get more shots up playing on the Knicks bench than a starter on the Lakers not named Kobe.  In the works is a device that will allow Bryant to play thru his achilles injury.  Kobe doesn't want to ruin his 40 shot a night streak. 

Its the only thing that beats out Cal Ripkins consecutive game streak and Favre's consecutive starts streak.  None the less, tally this years champions to the Knicks.  James Dolan, you're the man.  #KnicksNation let me here you!!!!!!


Earl Barron's Career NBA stats (7 years):
4.9 PPG
3.6 RPG

On Twitter @ZombieBoeheim

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

KNICKS BLOCKBUSTER AQUISITION

In the midst of The Spurs signing long time hasbeen Tracy McGrady, the New York Basketball Knicks had tricks up their own sleeve. We all knew it was just a matter of time before the Knicks took a huge risk in the Free Agent market. With Past blockbuster deals including Isiah Thomas's Clarence Weatherspoon's 20 million dollar deal despite being injured the last 7 years of his Career, Alan Houston being awarded the 2nd highest player only to Shaq, Stephon Marbury making Baltic Ave look like park place. Now the Knicks have really went out and added to the Fame. Ready for this folks..................


QUENTIN RICHARDSON !!!!!!!!!!

I know he's 90 folks, but them again jack Lalane did ok at 90. I know Quentin was really slow when he last played with the Knicks in 09', but I heard he's been putting in Tebow like hours in the gym with Phenom Usain Bolt!!!! All is well in New York. This will counter the Heat aquisitions of Ray Allen, the recently posterized Birdman (thanks to our Boy "NEON" DION WAITERS), and the reemergence of Udonis Haslem. The Heat, Spurs, and Thunder back to the drawing board there's a new sheriff in town and it starts with a 23% 3 point percentage. Brian Scalabrine you're next. 2013 is our year. Knicks fans 72-73 is a distant memory. Say a prayer.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

How Early Is Too Early To Declare For The NBA Draft?

The Following is the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Rookie Pay Chart by NBA draft pick according to Forbes.  In other words, If you're picked in the first round you're guarenteed the following amount of money for these two years:

Draft Pick
2013-142014-15
1$4,479,800.00         $4,672,700.00
2$4,008,200.00 $4,180,800.00
3$3,599,400.00 $3,754,400.00
4$3,245,200.00 $3,385,000.00
5$2,938,700.00 $3,065,300.00
6$2,669,100.00 $2,784,100.00
7$2,436,600.00 $2,541,600.00
8$2,232,200.00 $2,328,300.00
9$2,052,000.00 $2,140,300.00
10$1,949,200.00 $2,033,200.00
11$1,851,800.00 $1,931,600.00
12$1,759,300.00 $1,835,000.00
13$1,671,300.00 $1,743,200.00
14$1,587,800.00 $1,656,100.00
15$1,508,200.00 $1,573,200.00
16$1,432,900.00 $1,494,600.00
17$1,361,200.00 $1,419,800.00
18$1,293,200.00 $1,348,900.00
19$1,235,000.00 $1,288,200.00
20$1,185,600.00 $1,236,600.00
21$1,138,100.00 $1,187,100.00
22$1,092,700.00 $1,139,700.00
23$1,049,000.00 $1,094,100.00
24$1,007,000.00 $1,050,300.00
25$966,700.00 $1,008,400.00
26$934,600.00 $974,900.00
27$907,700.00 $946,800.00
28$902,100.00 $941,000.00
29$895,600.00 $934,100.00
30$889,100.00 $927,400.00


So best case scenario if you're the 1st pick in the draft you got over $9 mill guarenteed, and if you're the 30th pick you got a little over $1.8 mill guarenteed for you're first 2 years. 

Let's assume that a person's career (non pro athlete) spans 40 years. And let's say they average $50,000 a year (less in the early years, more in the later years). That means they will have earned $2,000,000 in their lifetime. Someone with an average of a six-figure income ($100,000) will earn $4,000,000.

PEOPLE THE 30TH DRAFT PICK WILL MAKE 1.8 MILLION GUARENTEED IN 2 YEARS.  ITS A NO BRAINER IF YOU'RE A COLLEGE KID THAT WILL GO IN THE 1ST ROUND EVEN IF THEY AREN'T READY FOR THE NBA, GO, AND LET THEM GO. 

Sorry for the Caps.  Hopefully this puts into perspective when you visualize the numbers on paper.  Yes i said paper.  So print this out and hang it on your wall and the next time you want to call Johnathan Coachman or Scott Van Pelt and talk shit, let this remind you, you're a fucking moron. 

Let me digress.  I understand people want college ball to be great like it was in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, but were in a new era.  I would love to see Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant play 4 years in college like most of you.  But its a bad business decision honestly. 

Lets say you think a player like Nerlens Noel isn't ready for the NBA, he needs to hone his skills a little if you will.  Lets dive into the details here.  Medical Doctors, were talking Pediatricians, General Surgeons, Radiologists, Plastic Surgeons,  and Cardiologists make on the conservative side $100,000 - $400,000 annualy.  THESE GUYS AINT DOCTORS.  They're getting degrees in underwater basketweaving so they can pass enough classes to be eligible to play ball.  Thats not a knock on them.  Hell if i were going to college why would i want to work my ass off if i knew i was gonna be a 1st round pick, high school all american etc? 

I mean even many early 2nd round draft picks are highly regarded by most NBA teams and given guarenteed contracts, and folks these numbers are the bare minimum many of these players will be given multi year deals right out of the gate. 

So lets say you're taken 30th and you don't pan out, they send you to the D League.  Well the D League pays like shit, it really does.  i mean entry level journalists make more than D League players, its bad.  But if you make 1.8 mill for 2 years then make $12,000 - $30,000 a year in the D league to do something you love, why not?  But you'll notice a lot of people will play overseas because it pays a lot more than the D League, and Millions too, including endorsements.  A lot of times overseas you can get $65,000 even if you aren't that good.  Also, endorsements are huge overseas.  Basketball is global. 

So what if you're a bust?  you make 2-10 mill who cares.  Now do most of these guys make horrible financial decisions?  Yes.  But whether their making $20,000 a year or $20,000,000 its not going to change their finiancial responsibility either way. 

But WTF do i know im just a Zombie. 

My thoughts on Tiger Woods 2 Stroke Penalty

Tiger Woods was on pace to be Masters Champion once again.  A rare Green that Woods hadn't "Mastered" since 2005.  But once again there was controversy.  Only this time it was on the course.  Friday Tiger Woods took a short wedge up to the 15th green.  Tiger must have been hitting L1 and X a litttle to much, because his ball hit an invisible wall and bounced back into the drink.  A devestating blow to a stellar round, and of course people counted Tiger out.  Its what people do. 

The same people have done the same thing to Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, and more recently Robert Griffin III, and Kobe Bryant.  People love to count out the best players.  But what makes them the best?  Its their willingness to prove you wrong.  So the next time you want someone to fail, cheer them on.  They aren't as fueled that way. 

Tiger woods took a drop, and poised as only Tiger could be, stuck the ball with little spin, within 5 feet and made the put for bogey.  Most likely the best Bogey we'll ever get to witness in our lifetime under these circumstances.  Tiger Woods the scandal, struggling with his game, finally getting things back on track, and willed his way to a bogey, against all odds.  It was the perfect story.  The perfect way to pave the way to his 5th Green Jacket.  Which would second him only to Jack.  But it wasn't to be. 

Woods had said after his round, “I went back to where I played it from, but went two yards further back and I tried to take two yards off the shot of what I felt I hit. And that should land me short of the flag and not have it either hit the flag or skip over the back. I felt that was going to be the right decision to take off four (yards) right there. And I did. It worked out perfectly.”  This coupled with viewers some how having a direct line to Masters Officials, called and complained.  Crying like little bitches if you ask me, but hey you probably aren't asking me.  

Did Tiger break a rule?  Yes.  did he cheat?   No.  Should he have known the rules a little better?  Yes.  If you were a few minutes late for work to your Mcdonalds job, and someone from Burger King across the street saw you straggling in at 8:05 and decided to "annonomously" call in and tell your boss, that makes you a bitch.  Plain and simple. 

Congrats Adam Scott.




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

2013 Syracuse Basketball Recruiting Class and how it stacks up to previous years

The 2012 Draft class featured 5 star center DaJuan Coleman, 4 star Forward Jerami Grant, son of NBA Veteran Harvey Grant, and 4 star red shirt freshman Trevor Cooney.  If stars are any indication, their deceiving at best.  lets break down the 2013 Draft Class and see how it stacks up against previous years.

DaJuan Coleman nationally ranked the 19th best freshman, and 7th Center in 2012.  Jerami Grant 39th ranked freshman, and 9th Power Forward.  Trevor Cooney ranked 73rd best freshman, and 18th best Shooting Guard.   All were good additions to the then unlikely successful 2011 squad.  But DaJuan Coleman never really lived up to his potential as a freshman.  Often pulled from games never to return after giving up a back door alley oops or playing bad defense, coupled with injuries that kept him out of action toward the end of the season, all of the Big East Tournament, and NCAA Tournament.  Expect more out of him moving forward. He's Comparitive to Fab Melo and his progression (hopefully with a brain though).  Jerami Grant showed flashes of greatness.  His work on the glass, his Defense, and his ability to play above the rim certainly etches Grant as a 2013-14 fan favorite.  Trevor Cooney was a bit of a disappointment.  Coach Boeheim Cried out in support of Trevor.  According to Coach JB he shoots 90% in practice, but that never translated over to the game.  In fact Cooney often made MCW look like Steve Novak.  Hopefully moving forward Trevor loses the jitters and Coach GMac Gets into him. 

As you can see "Stars" can be deceiving.  5 stars for Coleman, 4 for Grant, and 4 for Cooney.  Clearly Grant was more effective and deserving of 5 stars and Coleman a 4.  Brandon Triche was a 3 star recruit and Cooney 4.  Just goes to show you that players underachieve and overachieve their potential.  In 2011 Michael Carter-Williams was a 4 star while Rakeem Christmas was a 5.  Clearly MCW is better than Rak.  Just a good overall way to look at things and having a more realistic picture of talent coming in moving forward.

Upcoming 2013 Recruiting Class:

STARS
* * * * *  PG Tyler Ennis           6'2 175 lbs  St Benedicts Prep, Newark NJ
* * * *     PF Tyler Roberson     6'7 190 lbs  Roselle Catholic, Roselle NJ
* * * *     SF B.J. Johnson         6'6 180 lbs  Lower Merion, Ardmore, PA
* * *        SG Ron Patterson      6'3 180 lbs  Brewster Academy, Wolfboro NH
* * *        C Chinonso Obokoh  6'9 205 lbs  Keamey, Rochester NY
* * * *    SF  Michael Gbinije    6'6  180lbs  Bendictine, Richmond VA (Duke Transfer Redshirt Sophmore)

2012

STARS
* * * * *  C  DaJuan Coleman  6'8 280 lbs  Jamesville-Dewitt, Dewitt NY
* * * *     PF Jerami Grant        6'6 185 lbs  Dematha , Hyattsville MD

2011

STARS
* * * * * C   Rakeem Christmas         6'9 230 lbs Academy of the New Church Boys, Bryn Athyn PA
* * * *    SG Michael Carter-Williams 6'5 165 lbs  St Andrews, Barrington RI
* * * *    SG Trevor Cooney               6'3 185 lbs  Sanford, Hockessin DE

2010

STARS
* * * * *  C  Fab Melo       7'0 270 lbs Sagemont Upper, Weston FL
* * * *    SG Dion Waiters  6'2 200 lbs Life Center Academy, Burlington NJ
* * * *     C  Baye Keita     6'10 210 lbs Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson VA
* * * *    SF CJ Fair           6'7 185 lbs Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro NH

2009

STARS
* * * *   C  DaShonte Riley  6'10  220 lbs Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills MI
* * *     SG Brandon Triche  6'3    195 lbs Jamesville-Dewitt, Dewitt NY

2008

STARS
* * * *   SF  Kris Joseph    6'7   190 lbs  Archbishop Carroll, Washington DC
* * * *   SF Mookie Jones 6'6    180 lbs Peekskill, Peekskill NY
* * *      SF James Southerland 6'7 200 lbs Notre Dame Prep, Fitchburg, MA

2007

STARS
* * * * *  PF  Donte Green  6'8 210 lbs  Towson Catholic, Towson MD
* * * * *  PG Johnny Flynn  6'0 160 lbs Niagra Falls, Niagra Falls NY
* * * *     C    Rick Jackson  6'8  220 lbs  St John Neumann, Philidelphia PA
* * * *     SG  Scoop Jardine 6'1 170 lbs  St John Neumann, Philidelphia PA
* * *        C    Sean Williams 6'10 210 lbs  Notre Dame Prep, Fitchburg MA

2006

STARS
* * * * *  SF  Paul Harris  6'4 210 lbs  Notre Dame Prep, Fitchburg MA
* * * *     SF  Mike Jones  6'6  210 lbs  Lower Richland, Hopkins SC
* * *        C   Devin Brennan-Mcbride  6'9 240 lbs St Thomas Aquinas, London ON

2005

STARS
* * * *   SG  Eric Devendorf  6'3  175 lbs  Oak Hill academy, Mouth of Wilson VA
* * * *   PG  Emanuel Mayben 6'3 175 lbs Troy, Troy NY
* * *      C    Arinze Onuaku    6'9 255 lbs  Episcopal, Alexandria VA

2004

STARS
* * * *   PG  Josh Wright  6'1 160 lbs Thomas R Proctor, Utica NY
* * * *  PF   Dayshawn Wright  6'6 235 lbs  Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson VA

2003

STARS
* * * *  C  Darryl Watkins  6'11 230 lbs  Paterson Catholic, Paterson NJ
* * * *  PF Terrence Roberts 6'8 210 lbs  St Anthony, Jersey City NJ
* * * *  SF Demetris Nichols 6'7 185 lbs  St Andrews, Barrington RI
* * * *  SF Louis McCroskey 6'2 180 lbs  St Raymond HS, Bronx NY

2002

STARS
* * * * *  SF  Carmelo Anthony  6'8 190 lbs  Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson VA
* * * *     PG  Gerry McNamara  6/1 175 lbs  Bishop Hannon, Scranton PA
* * *        PF  Matt Gorman  6'8  210 lbs Central Islip, Central Islip NY

2013 Additions

Michael Gbinije

Duke Transfer Michael Gbinije should make a major impact for the Orange in 2013-14.  A lot of people think Trevor Cooney will lead the Orange at SG, but fans be warned this is the kind of numbers Michael put up in high school.  He Boasted 25 Points Per Game, 10 Rebounds Per Game, and 5 Assists Per Game.  He only played 5.8 Minutes Per Game for Duke in 2011-12 averaging 1.7 PPG.  Trevor Cooney played 11 Minutes Per Game this year for cuse averaging 3.4 PPG.  I love Cooney's aggressiveness on defense but Gbinije will bring great length at the top of that zone, side by side with Ennis, replacing MCW and Triche at the top of the zone.  Gbinije is no stranger on the Orange though.  Gbinije played with Rakeem Christmas and Michael Carter-Williams in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic.  He also knows Cooney from the 2010 Global Challenge.  Several Years ago Cuse assistant Coach Adrian Autry coached Gbinije with the Triple Threat and Team Takeover AAU teams.  The scouting report says Gbinije is an aggressive scorer, has intangibles, and is a catch and shoot kind of shooter, similar to James Southerland's syle.  His area for improvement include ballhandling and rebounding.  Well coming to Cuse means you have to be bad at rebounding just to get a scholarship so he's fine there.  Ballhandling i'm not worried.  Gbinije won't impress with any particular part of his game.  However, he's solid at everything across the board.  He's a good scorer, can hit the 3, and developing his mid range nicely.  He makes a great prospect because of his size at 6'6 and his ability to put the ball in the basket.  Gbinije was the 7th ranked SG and 28th overall player in the 2011 recruiting class.

Ron Patterson

Indiana would be Shooting Guard.  We all know what happened there with the Academic technicality with would be Indiana G Ron Patterson.  This is a soft spot to Syracuse Fans and rightfully so after watching a national championship slip thru our hands due to Fab Melo and his academic issues, and this year with James Southerland.  I don't for see any issues with Patterson at Cuse.  Patterson is on of the best defensive wings in the class with his combination of length, strength, and athleticism.  He can catch and shoot out to 22 feet  with some big time hops.  Sounds like Paul Harris with a jumper.   Well Patterson is only 180 not quite harris but reminds me of him.    The scouting report boats his strengths being 3 point range, athleticism, and D.  Areas for improvement ability to creat and ball handling.  This ball handling thing seems to be a trend.  Good thing Ennis is coming.  ESPN refers to Patterson as a "physically gifted guard".  His length will certainly be utilized on the perimeter of the Zone.  Cooney seems to be competition for Patterson but the second Patterson shows some fire, hits some jumpers, plays some D, or puts some guys on posters, Cooney might not stand a chance. 

Tyler Roberson

Roberson's size and versatility will be a perfect fit for our Zone.  He needs to improve his offense, but he's known for his Defense specifically his shot blocking ability.  He's a long 6'7 190.  CJ Fair's decision on the NBA may greatly impact Roberson's playing time.  Either way expect Roberson to get significant minutes as a freshman.  Roberson may take the place of Southerland on the wing and mirror that with Jerami Grant.  Expect Roberson to start by mid season.

High School Season Stats
17.5 PPG
11.7 RPG
1.1  APG
3.3 BPG

Chinoso Obokoh

6'10 Center Obokoh will bring great size to the center of the Zone.  But the Orange are loaded down low so its hard to say where he'll land in the rotation.  Coleman, Christmas, and Keita, will be his competition.  Ouch.  Coach JB usually doesn't give freshman significant time, especially when he's deep in that position.  But this could be different.  Coleman and Christmas showed very limited offensive skills, and with the exception to the "Matrix" Keita in the Big East Tourney same with him too.  Red Shirting could be a viable option next year with all the Depth Syracuse has in the big's.  I'm sure he'd prefer to see major minutes.  But his 4.9 Blocks Per Game could land his on Defense when needed.  Obokoh is probably the most interesting off all recruits with the uncertainty and competition.

High School Season Stats
15.0 PPG
9.8   RPG
4.9   BPG

B.J. Johnson

From the Lower Merion Aces.  Yes the same school that produced Kobe Bryant.  More like Kobe produced them, now their producing recruits.   Red shirt may also be an option for Johnson as deep as the Forward position is.  He can play multiple positions so this may work out in his favor.  CJ Fair will have a lot to do with Johnson's PT.  He may have the same type of role Jerami Grant had as a freshman.  Not a ton of minutes but used where he's needed.  Certainly his potential is thru the roof.  Another long 6'6 Forward in that zone.  B.J.  led his school to a State Championship victory with a posterizing dunk with time nearly expiring. 

Tyler Ennis

Last but not least.  He's surely the closest thing to a sure thing as you can get.  Our only 5 star recruit.  With the Departure of Michael Carter-Williams Tyler Ennis is just what the doctor ordered.  A good Syracuse Point Guard is always exciting.  Joining the likes of Johnny Flynn, G Mac, Jason Hart, and virtually all our coaches.  This should be good.  Ennis can beat defenders off the dribble, shoot the ball, and makes his teammates better.  His best asset is probably his court vision and passing.  Ennis also has the highest of Basketball IQ's.  Ennis should come in playing with something to prove.  Especially after not being selected as a Mcdonalds All American.  Ennis is certainly the most popular and publicized Orange recruit.  Many of his St Benedicts games have been on regional and National Television.  Notably the High School National Championship against Montverde.   Ennis hit a clutch 3 with seconds left in the game to put St Benedicts up only to lose on a near last second shot by Montverde.  Ennis has a tremendous upside look for him to start point the second he gets to Cuse, and break Brandon Triche record for games played, and starts.  well lets not go that far.

Lets Not forget the Orange have already landed Brewster Academy Junior Power Forward Chris McCullough.  He plays more like a center.  We'll see how things play out as the Orange will be loaded in the backcourt for years to come.

@ZombieBoeheim

Also everyone Follow Future Syracuse Stars

Chinoso Obokoh    - @Obokoh
Michael Gbinije     - @RealGbinije
Tyler Roberson      - @Troberson21
Chris McCullough - @_CM5
BJ Johnson             - @Ace_5
Ron Patterson         - @Buss34
Tyler Ennis             - @tdot_ennis

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Inside the mind of a Zombie Cuse plus/minus +/-

Our Syracuse Orange have had its fair share of ups and downs this year. Lets break down what factors made the Orange successful and what was ultimately their demise. Positives:
VERY LONG. we all know that. Ones of the best 2-3 zone's Boeheim has ever put on the court. MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS. Everyone knew he would make an impact, but no one could have predicted it would lead him to be a potential first round draft pick. (lets cross our fingers he becomes a junior). PERSEVERANCE. This team certainly persevered through some adversity. We'll get to the adversity later. FIGHTING THRU SCREENS. MCW and Senior Brandon Triche did a wonderful job fighting thru screens at the top of the zone. ultimately could be the reason the Orange were so successful in the zone. 3 POINT DEFENSE. Unbelievable defense on the perimeter, and its at the hands of a zone, unreal. Negatives:
FREE THROW SHOOTING. The orange had to be last in the nation in free throw shooting. Brandon Triche was atrocious from the FT line this year, and so was everyone else, except CJ Fair. He led the team in FT shooting, although he still managed to miss when they mattered, along with Triche, and MCW. SHOOTING IN GENERAL. Especially the 3. James Southerland was our best 3 point shooter at 39% but was often inconsistent. The Orange lacked that Andy Rautins type shooter that put them over the top to extend defenses. Triche declined in his shooting, and MCW has a way to go before going pro. Or he could become Donte Green, lord I hope not. CJ Fair of course was arguably our best 3 point shooter all around. But he didn't shoot enough of them. Trevor Cooney was to come in and fill the void and open up our offense. He showed flashes of a good 3 point shooter. According to Coach Boeheim he shot 90% in practice but it didn't translate to the games, and those flashes were quicker than the speed of light. Our shooting was at times the Orange Achilles heal. A RAW SCORER. The loss of Kris Joseph really hurt the Orange. When the tough got going last year it was get it to Kris and get out of his way. MCW played that roll slightly but was often not nearly as consistent as Joseph, and wasn't nearly the finisher. He showed promise but he was so wishy washy one game he was magic, the next game he was chris Dudley. not really. Ultimately....DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING. This has been a known issue due to playing zone. however this year was bad. Ultimately it cost the Orange the game against Michigan. Scoring like 20% of their points off second chances.
Great year we overachieved.

Syracuse Orange Season at a glance...

There weren't thousands of Syracuse fans in Atlanta this past weekend, there were thousands of Die Hard Cuse fans. The Orange was in the air. The sky was Orange, the clothes were definitely Orange, and former Cuse players mingled amongst us mere mortals. Perseverance was the definition of the Syracuse Orange season. Particularly after scoring 39 points against Georgetown just weeks before to round out their regular season. Optimistic fans were hoping for a reasonable seed for the Orange in the NCAA Tournament. 4 seemed fair ( I still think we deserved the 3 seed Marquette got, but the committee is in love with Duke, Carolina, Kentucky, and whoever else is popular that year so whatev). Cusenation was ready for another run. Seth Greenberg had Montana of course who we beat by 47 so lets not even talk about that. Cal gave us a tough test, but we took it home. Indiana Got destroyed in the round of 16, and Marquette was handled. Michigan who barely squeaked by Kansas, seemed no match similar to their Big Ten Foe Indiana. The Final Four was ours. Our first in 10 Years. The committee didn't screw us too bad this year, and CUSENATION knew it. We had Michigan where we wanted them. Seniors Brandon Triche and James Southerland decided not to show up, and neither did Michael Carter-Williams. Im not a real journalist so im not going to dig up their number but im gonna guess they didn't score 8 points combined, and that's being generous. Jerami Grant however, showed excellent hustle on the offensive and defensive glass. You'll get your time next year young one. Michigan couldn't really figure out the zone. lets be honest, they were hitting 30 footers in the first half and every one of their players were NBA JAM from downtown. surprised the nets didn't actually burn off. We had them where we wanted. Sure we were down 11. We got excellent looks. James Southerland couldn't make anything. Triche was a shell of himself even by his mediocre standards this year. MCW looked worse as a sophomore in high school, and CJ Fair was CJ Fair. We won't even go there. For people who thought the refs cost us this game, I will entertain it. But hear me out. I am pretty sure Michigan scored a hundred points after out offensive rebounding our defensive rebounding. That was the difference in the game. Period. Not our historic free throw shooting, our historically bad rebounding. Sure those calls were bad on triche and MCW at the end, and lets not blame trevor. hope our recruits can shoot next year. our D was good O was bad, again.

SBN plea to the NCAA

As our beloved Syracuse Orange season comes to an abrupt close, I reflect back on this season, and i'm very proud of what this team was able to accomplish. 

Could we have gone further?  Absolutely.  Could we have won it all?  Absolutely.  I'm not a fan that thinks the NCAA cost us a chance of a title.  As a fan however, they need to fix the block/charge calls. 

 Its worse than its ever been, and judging from Michigan Syracuse game on Saturday, it’s a not so friendly reminder of some spring cleaning the NCAA should do. 

The NFL was semi-succesful in taking dangerous hits out of its game.  Why not the collegiate level taking out questionable calls as well?  The NCAA thought by adopting the NBA's "restricted area", that it would fix the problem.  But its only made things worse.  Instead of referee's concentrating on would be foul/block calls, seems that their only focusing on whether the defender is in or out of that restricted circle. 

This is what I belive:  If you are a defender in the restricted circle, it’s a block.  If you are leaning backwards anticipating a collision, it’s a block.  Certainly if you're sliding under someone, it’s a block.  I could go on-and-on about what is a block.  It's a lot easier to define a charge.  A charge is an offensive player that collides with a defender that is already set in a place with both feet on the ground and knocked over by an offender. 

Sliding side-to-side to beat an offender to good positioning should be a block.  Period.  Good defense is being replaced with "let me try and get ran over to get a charge call". 

 Frankly, its making the college game worse.  Were already in a day and age where "student-atheletes" are high tailing it to the NBA after one year.  Due to this College Basketball's talent is watered down.  Never again will you see a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play 4 years.  In fact, Tim Duncan may be the last of a dying breed. 

If a charge call in uncertain, it’s a block.  Its becoming impossible to score.  Again, by way of NFL limiting defenses, talks of widening the fields, NCAA please fix the charge/block call.  It will only make the game more popular.

  I don't want to see Anthony Davis block a shot, I want to see CJ Fair jump over Otto Porter and make a poster.  Throw me a bone.  Fix it.