Should top recruit Nerlens Noel choose Syracuse on Wednesday, what would the Orange lineup look like when it took the floor next season? It may seem unlikely considering Kentucky’s¬†recruiting resume now has a freshly minted National Championship. The one and done assembly line to the NBA¬†John Calipari has created appears to give the Wildcats the lead in this race. Georgetown is also gaining steam according to some college hoops reports, so SU is in the middle of a dogfight.
But gaze into the distance and imagine next fall if N2 is sporting the Orange. For starters, SU would likely be the preseason #1 team in the country. The combination of returning talent and the potential “Transformers Frontcourt”¬†would make SU scary good. Noel could be the final piece as a game-changing prospect, much the¬†same way Anthony Davis¬†impacted UK.
The backcourt would feature sophomore Michael Carter-Williams (who showed flashes of brilliance) and senior Brandon Triche as the starters. Off the bench would be redshirt freshman Trevor Cooney, who could be that knockdown shooter the Orange have lacked.
The frontcourt is where SU would be potentially dominant. Jim Boeheim could throw out a front line of C.J. Fair, McDonald’s All-American DaJuan Coleman,¬†and Nerlens Noel. Need more size? How about Rakeem Christmas, who played extremely well in the NCAA Tournament. Need more shooting touch to draw the defense outside? The Per’fesser can put in James Southerland and his perimeter game. That‚Äôs immediately one of the best (if not the best) frontcourt in America. Don’t forget about incoming recruit Jerami Grant, and Baye Keita who played his guts out against Ohio State. That depth would be unmatched in all of college basketball.
DC 2.0 has already shown a knack for rebounding at a high level, and adding Nerlens would make this squad dominant on the glass. Defensively, Syracuse would once again be suffocating. This season was one of Boeheim’s best defenses ever. MCW and Triche should be solid at the top of the zone, and the waves of big bodies coming from underneath would be frightening. Coleman, Noel, Rak, Fair, Southerland, and Keita under the basket would intimidate every team with their length and wealth of shotblockers. Imagine how many turnovers would be created, allowing SU its transition offense.
On the offensive end, the Orange could struggle at times without a go-to scorer. Losing Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters will be large voids to fill. But with this size and talent there’s going to be enough points scored on most nights. Triche will certainly have to step up, while Southerland and Fair will have to be more consistent. Noel has shown the ability not only to finish around the rim explosively, but also hit a mid-range jumper making him an immediate threat.
Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville, Michigan, and Baylor should all be very good teams next season. But a Syracuse squad with Noel would likely be better than all of them. It’s never going to be a waltz into the Final Four, but it‚Äôs hard to imagine this potential SU team losing too many games.
So while the Orange probably have only an outside chance of landing N2, that can’t stop us from dreaming. Adding Noel to this already deep team would make SU the team to beat.
Posted: Alex Plavin
52 responses to “Scary Good: Would SU’s Frontcourt be the Nation’s Best with Nerlens Noel?”
I could have written that above article,in fact ,I have many times re Noel joining the team. The team would be without pear in div1 basketball. The end would very likely be a National Championship unless there was some catastrophic incident that occurred to stop the inevitable direction of the train for Syracuse.
Noel can enter SU with a great mixture of youth and veterans, or he can go to UK with all freshman. I think not only will he have a better chance to win a championship at Cuse, but he will make himself a better player by competing with top notch players during practice and in the Big East.
Our transition offense is perfect for Noel’s game. He can be a force down low on defense, outlet it to MCW and start the fast break.
UK had a very very special year this year with Anthony Davis. Very unlikely to happen again and I would HATE to be compared to Davis every move Noel makes. Hope he creates his own legacy at SU and can make a name for himself, without having to be in the shadows of A Davis.
I agree that Noel would make SU really good, but he has to look at the fact that SU would make him look really good. Coach B has a history of making big men great. Noel would be practing against quality big men every day, not just an occassional game against one. UK had some returning talent this year because of the NBA possible strike; next year they won’t. SU will have possibly the best mix of veterans and new guys in the country – the right mix for a championship. If the kid needs to develop over 2 years, nothing is guaranteed, he’d be playing vs the Big East and at Madison Sq Garden this year and vs No Carolina and Duke the next year. SU has a really lot to offer him.
starters I think should be: bt an mcw at the top. N2 an southerland at the wings an dc in the middle. When dc is worn down fair comes in an u slide n2 to the middle. This way I feel n2 will get his 30+ mins. Reason i’d start southerland over fair is he would spread the floor better for dc an n2 to go to work in the paint.
Carlton, do you not celebrate Christmas? I would imagine that based on his tournament play that Rak will come in and start next year, certainly over Coleman. I see Coleman getting the same kind of pt that Rak got this year. My only worry is who will assume the point if MCW or BT get hurt or end up in foul trouble? Cooney? Do we have even have a fourth guard?
After reading the last three of Ashton Broyld’s tweets, I am all in favor of revoking his Twitter account. Just saying.
N2 would definitely be exciting with the mix of youth and veterans on this team. I think SU will be really good with or without Nerlens next year, but damn this team would be scary with him. What depth.
Jesse- unless rak improves alot on the off. End of the floor dc is head an shoulders ahead of him at this point.
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