2014-15 Season Predictions: Most Improved

The male dance team member.

He can't get any better! 

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on October 11, 2014, 02:14:22 AM

The male dance team member.

He can't get any better! 

Think he graduated.

No surprise I think it is Rysheed Jordan. You saw flashes last year of his potential and think he just plays more comfortable this year.

Guys like Branch, Pointer, Greene, etc. They are what they are at this point. One can hope you'd see a slight bump in some of their efficiency but in 3 years they've been fairly consistent.

Jordan maybe the second most overrated player in school history. He has talent but he has shown nothing to an nba team to get drafted. Would any of you draft a player who missed a playoff game because of a toothache?

I don't think he deserves to be drafted--PG is the hardest position to get drafted--but he has shown me plenty.  His hands are incredible on defense and his potential on that side of the ball is scary if he adopts and maintains the stopper mindset. He's got a nose for the ball, too.  He is also clearly a scorer although he needs to improve his floor general duties much more.  He did not make others around him better last season no matter how pretty a few of his (too) few assists may have been.

At the end of the day, he is not refined enough to warrant a first round pick and needs two years of college and some hard work and maturity to get into the first round. 

My vote is Rysheed.  Having him as our floor general from day one will be such a huge advantage over how we started last season.  It will allow others to focus on other aspects of their respective games (looking at you Greene and Pointer).

The kid could really explode.  Soph year is the time many guards make a huge jump...junior year is the year many bigs make it.  That's why CO is my second choice.  He was the only big in sync with our guards last season--especially Harrison and Branch.  Feed the big man the ball and I think he'll have about 18-20 double-digit scoring outputs.

I could see both of these kids becoming absolute animals.

With Phil finally at full health, I'm predicting 14 ppg and a second consecutive year shooting 40% from 3.

Phil's improvement is going to take the squad to new heights this year.

With Phil finally at full health, I'm predicting 14 ppg and a second consecutive year shooting 40% from 3.

Phil's improvement is going to take the squad to new heights this year.

If Phil is just a better version of himself in terms of scoring when no one else is, and knocking threes, he will be exactly what we need him to be.
That said, every team need a leader on the court, and I think if Jordan can be consistent this team can go places. He is the x-factor.

Agree with Poison. We need Phil to give us a consistent knock down shooter.  Anything else he can provide is gravy.

Quote from: TONYD3 on October 08, 2014, 06:50:04 PM

Jordan maybe the second most overrated player in school history. He has talent but he has shown nothing to an nba team to get drafted. Would any of you draft a player who missed a playoff game because of a toothache?

 He did not make others around him better last season no matter how pretty a few of his (too) few assists may have been.

Marillac I love you man but that is just crazy.

Quote from: Marillac on October 12, 2014, 12:15:04 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on October 08, 2014, 06:50:04 PM

Jordan maybe the second most overrated player in school history. He has talent but he has shown nothing to an nba team to get drafted. Would any of you draft a player who missed a playoff game because of a toothache?

 He did not make others around him better last season no matter how pretty a few of his (too) few assists may have been.

Marillac I love you man but that is just crazy.

I know we differ on this, but he created for Rysheed.  He wasn't dishing to Kentucky level guys, but he missed plenty of opportunities to set guys up.  2.9 assists in 26 minutes is just not enough.  That was with Greene shooting 40% and Harrison shooting 38% from deep.  Semaj Christon averaged 4.6 as a frosh and scored 15 ppg.

With Phil finally at full health, I'm predicting 14 ppg and a second consecutive year shooting 40% from 3.

Phil's improvement is going to take the squad to new heights this year.

This would be a huge boost and I don't think it's out of the question if he can pull it all together.  It would be nice if he came back ten pounds heavier, but it doesn't look like he did at first glance.  He lost a lot of points last season by not being strong enough to finish.

He has an NBA step-back (no, I don't think has a prayer at the NBA) and he can separate from defenders at will...that is rare.  His outside shot was great last season and he has a very good floater to counter guys that close out aggressively.  His defense needs to really improve, but his jumper may determine how far we go as a team.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on October 12, 2014, 11:30:30 AM

Quote from: Marillac on October 12, 2014, 12:15:04 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on October 08, 2014, 06:50:04 PM

Jordan maybe the second most overrated player in school history. He has talent but he has shown nothing to an nba team to get drafted. Would any of you draft a player who missed a playoff game because of a toothache?

 He did not make others around him better last season no matter how pretty a few of his (too) few assists may have been.

Marillac I love you man but that is just crazy.

I know we differ on this, but he created for Rysheed.  He wasn't dishing to Kentucky level guys, but he missed plenty of opportunities to set guys up.  2.9 assists in 26 minutes is just not enough.  That was with Greene shooting 40% and Harrison shooting 38% from deep.  Semaj Christon averaged 4.6 as a frosh and scored 15 ppg.

Chirston had a center who was always 5 feet around the rim to dump it off to, a good one too.. Rysheed had bigs who stood by the free throw line. Thats huge. Thomas and Jones will help a lot in that area. There is no coincidence that Obekpa played his best ball during Rysheeds best stretch.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on October 12, 2014, 11:30:30 AM

Quote from: Marillac on October 12, 2014, 12:15:04 AM

Quote from: TONYD3 on October 08, 2014, 06:50:04 PM

Jordan maybe the second most overrated player in school history. He has talent but he has shown nothing to an nba team to get drafted. Would any of you draft a player who missed a playoff game because of a toothache?

 He did not make others around him better last season no matter how pretty a few of his (too) few assists may have been.

Marillac I love you man but that is just crazy.

I know we differ on this, but he created for Rysheed.  He wasn't dishing to Kentucky level guys, but he missed plenty of opportunities to set guys up.  2.9 assists in 26 minutes is just not enough.  That was with Greene shooting 40% and Harrison shooting 38% from deep.  Semaj Christon averaged 4.6 as a frosh and scored 15 ppg.

Christon's freshman year - which was in the A-10, not the Big East --  he played in a traditional offensive scheme and didn't get jerked around by his drama queen coach for half a season besides. And anyway:

Jordan averaged 3 assists in 26.2 minutes. That's 3.9 assists in 34.3 minutes, which is how many minutes Christon averaged. Christon averaged 4.5 assists in 34.3 minutes. That's 3.5 assists in 26 minutes, which is how many minutes Jordan averaged. Which is pretty much identical.

Christon took 365 shots in 34 minutes. Jordan took 240 shots in 26 minutes. Which is pretty much identical. Christon's 365 shots comprised 23 percent of XU's FGA. (By way of contrast, Marcus Hatten - another pass first point guard - took 28 percent of his team's shots.) Jordan took 12 percent of SJU's shots

Christon turned the ball over 109 times, to Jordan's 65. (Good thing Dom Pointer didn't turn the ball over 100 times, that'd be disgusting.) ATO pretty much identical: Jordan's 1.3 to SC's 1.2.

So to recap: identical, except Christon played in the A10 as a freshman after prepping a year - he's older than Jakarr Sampson for god's sake - and RS was a true freshman.

Most improved will be Branch. 

I'd go with Sir Dom, however it would be very difficult for him to improve from his high level of play.