No Pressure Fab & Dion, But It’s Time to Save Syracuse’s NBA Rep
D.A. | Jul 13, 2012 | Comments 8
Oregon Live
We need Dion Waiters to be the real deal.
No pressure, D-Dub. You simply represent the newest hope in Syracuse basketball succeeding at the next level. All of us in Orange Nation are kinda tired of trying to defend the critics that point to the wreckage of former players on the side of the NBA road.
With the news Jonny Flynn is not only a lightly regarded free agent just three years after being drafted 6th overall, but that his summer’s big news is a workout with one of the worst teams in the league, the Orange pro stock continues to take a hit.
Jonny Ice will run through drills for the Cavaliers in Vegas this weekend, ironically the team that drafted Waiters in the top 5. Flynn has also gotten a look from the Hawks and Bulls. Jonny was one of the most charismatic and beloved players ever to don the Orange, even if it was only for two seasons. But like most SU players, his NBA stock has crashed.
Wes Johnson was drafted even higher a year later by the same Wolves team, 4th overall in ’10. But his game actually took a step back in his sophomore NBA season, dropping from 9 points per game to 6.1 last year. Maybe the Wolves are just a place lottery picks go to die.
Waiters needs to be dynamic at the next level for two reasons. First, it would be nice to have an NBA player outside of Carmelo to point to and be proud of. A player that doesn’t carry the Syracuse stigma of NBA bust.
Second, you never want league scouts to be scared of drafting Orange players high. Why? Because it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Recruits see SU players drafted in the lottery, and say to themselves, “I want to be like him. I’m heading to the Hill.” The more talent you turn out, the more talent you bring in. Witness Kentucky.
But even Carmelo is criticized as a me-first diva who refuses to play defense and can’t share the ball.
Hakim Warrick: Drafted 19th in ’05. Four teams in 7 seasons. Averaging 9 points, 4 boards for his career. Flynn: Will be on his fourth team in just 4 seasons. Production precipitously dropped off after his rookie campaign in Minny. Andy Rautins didn’t play in the league last year. Paul Harris is playing for the Text n’ Talk Tropang Texters of the Philippines League. I couldn’t make that up if I tried.
The laundry list of undiscovered potential of former SU players in the Jim Boeheim era is long and winding. Pearl. DC. Billy Owens. Lawrence Moten. John Wallace.
Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, Jason Hart and Etan Thomas found decade-long NBA careers through hard work and high basketball IQ. But none of those guys were drafted in the last dozen years, and too often the narrative goes the other way. Syracuse star drafted high, then goes bust in the league.
Is there something about Boeheim’s program that doesn’t lend itself to producing great pros? Or is this just the normal attrition rate for college stars jumping to the next level?
Fab Melo may turn into a servicable starting center. There are plenty of reasons to believe he can succeed with the Celtics. But his breakout potential isn’t nearly as high as Waiters.
Dion has the personality, game and drive to become a star. No pressure, bro. But don’t let us all down.
Posted: D.A.
That is such bull “SU player gets drafted high and then is a bust” you need a history leason, the only players who fit that description in the past decade are flynn and johnson, and in flynns case there were other circumsances that caused him to fall. he was killin it as a rookie. Johnson may have been a little disapointing but has the skills to turn it around. Carmelo being critisized as a me first diva? OK OK read what his critics say and report it as the facts… guess what? people say the same about james, kobe, etc, when your one of the best players on the planet your gonna have some critics who dont like you… just sad to hear an SU site blasting one of the people who helped make SU the powerhouse it is today.
and say donte greene, wasnt a top 5 pick and was only drafted on potential, and the same thing can go for any player like that at any school. Also Warrick has had a solid NBA career, siting stats and boxscores are pretty much the most useless way to sum up a player unless that player is a pure scorer or assist guy. There are more ways to impact the game then stats.
kevin loosing it haha i don’t think this is worth an article but flynn is a bust, yes and melo looks like another joseph on the other hand has been playing great in summer ball
What more summer hoop’s??see ya later..!
1st let take a look at all those “uk stars” #’s in the nba:
patterson: 7.7ppg, 4.5rpg
Bledsoe: 3.3ppg, 1.7apg
Orton: 2.8ppg, 2.4rpg
Meeks: 8.4ppg, 2.4rpg
Liggins: 1.9ppg, .9rpg
Harrellson: 4.4ppg 3.9rpg
Wall: 16.3ppg, 8.0apg, 4.0topg
Cousins: 18.1ppg 11.0rpg
Not really “killing it”. Wall had an awful season an cousins #’s are pretty soild but hes already ran 1 coach out the door. That leaves rondo an rondo isnt a superstar hes a star. Melo is a superstar thats y hes on team usa and rondo is not. ‘cuse is doin just fine at the next level. So tired of thw UK jock ridein….i could puke.
Damn, Kev gets all sensitive. I didn’t report “as fact” that Melo is a diva – I said that’s what his critic say. SU has a rep of not getting it done at the next level, like it or not. I ran down the list. Gotta simply be real. I ain’t hating. I’m just telling you like it is. And as I wrote, I’m hoping Fab and Dion SUCCEED so that the rap on Orange players is quieted. But Im glad you guys brought up Donte Green. I forgot about him, liked him coming out – but only a 6 ppg player. And no stats aren’t the only way to value a player, but you don’t draft guys in the lottery to be role players or intangible guys, ya know? You draft them for impact. I think Dion will be a stud though. Thanks for the feedback boys. And Carlton, you’re right on UK. They haven’t been all-world.
DA don’t sweat it. I am a practical SU fan like you, and I see it like it is. Many Orange fans are big babies and act like someone is bullying their child at school when you say something bad about SU. The facts speak for themselves. Melo doesn’t play defense and he is SU’s biggest claim to fame in the NBA.
Look at what Charles Barkley said- “Kobe, LeBron, and Durant would be the only players from this team to make the original 1991 Dream Team!:” He knowingly omitted Carmelo. Now Barkley is not exactly the guru of all basketball knowledge, but he knows what he is talking about when it comes to these matters.
For anyone to deny the overwhelmingly sad state of recent SU graduates in the NBA would be pure ignorance. Nobody in the last 10 years has been a solid NBA’er outside of Carmelo. Flynn, Wes, Greene, were all expected to be much better than this. And Rautins…. wow. What happened to him? Look at some of the bench warmers in the NBA who wouldn’t have even started ahead of Rautins at Cuse, and Rautins couldn’t even earn a place on an NBA bench?!
It is very scary to see this trend continue, and if not even one of the most recent three Cuse draftees cannot make a name for himself in the NBA, I wholeheartedly agree with DA, it hurts Syracuse’s ability to poach recruits with promises of NBA glory in their futures. Face the facts Syracuse fans, and stop being babies when these guys say something negative about our teams. Time to grow up. Our fan base is notoriously known for being a bunch of babies, and this thread of responses certainly shows that.
Correction to the sentence in my fourth paragraph. Should have gone like this….
“and if not even one of the most recent three Cuse draftees can make a name for himself in the NBA…”