What Syracuse is Getting in Judah Mintz
Syracuse basketball picked up a big commitment Thursday in guard Judah Mintz, ranked as the 33rd best player in the class by SI All-American. We spoke with Oak Hill Academy Player Development Coach Mike Lee to find out what the Orange is getting in Mintz and how fits at Syracuse.
SCOUTING REPORT
Lee: "He's got a lot of strengths. He's really good off the dribble. He's a really good shooter even though he doesn't shoot a lot of three pointers, but his percentages are really high. I joked with him one time at practice, 'what's it like to be such a great three point shooter for no reason?' He's a really good three point shooter and you'll see it. He's a good, instinctive defender. He's good at getting easy buckets, knowing when to leak out to get easy buckets. His weakness is sometimes he can overcomplicate the game. He can dribble too much or make things more difficult than they need to be. But when he plays a simple game, he's really, really good. Like tonight, we lost but he had like 21 (points) and seven (assists). He played really well. It was so simple. When he keeps it simple he's a five star, no question."
ZONE DEFENDER
Lee: "One thing is he likes the zone. A lot of players, especially young players, don't understand how important a zone defense is. They think, 'let's go mano a mano' and play man, but sometimes the zone is the better defense. He understands that and he's good in the zone. Especially at the top of the zone getting into passing lanes, making passes go high instead of quick chest passes, so everybody can rotate. I think he will fit in great in the (Syracuse) zone. He's really good at leaking out and getting easy buckets. So at the top of the zone, he lets other guys get the rebounds and then he gets out and scores for us. I think he's going to be a great fit."
HOW HE TRANSLATES TO THE ACC LEVEL RIGHT AWAY
Lee: "He's a leader. He's vocal. He tells guys what to do, he's not shy, he can definitely lead. Another thing that he's really good at, that he didn't get to showcase as much because he wasn't running the point here, is that he's a really, really good passer. He's a great passer. As long as he just simplifies it and makes the right plays, he'll be ready to play right away. It's going to be a really difficult transition for him to his complicated moves that he likes to do, but it'll be a very easy transition when he just goes and makes the right play, the right pass, the score. I think he's ready to do those things right now."
WHAT IS HE LIKE OFF THE COURT?
Lee: "He's a great guy. He went on a few visits and he'll bring back a t-shirt for my son and he'll autograph it for him. I love the guy. He's like family to me."
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