Chris Bunch - 2022 Forward


MikeMcAllister

Administrator
Staff member
The first block is of Kansas commit Grady Dick (incredible shooter) and the second is of Kentucky commit Chris Livingston. Although Chris needs to become more involved inside, he does not shy away from going up against the future NBA talent that’s throughout the NIBC. Livingston is a 5-star bruiser who had a breakaway dunk and Chris chased him down from the side and timed his run to meet him at the rim. I like that Chris plays with a little cockiness and an edge.
Syracuse can certainly use an influx of that type of athleticism.
 

OrangeExtremist

Well-known member
Pearl question for you. Since I don’t have the same basketball eye. Growing up we “always recruited to fit our zone”. We have gotten away from that to improve our offense. And you can see that on the court. We used to win games 52-45 now it’s easy to have both teams in the 80s for points. Are we getting back to our zone recruiting roots with this class? Long, athletic.
 

ThePearl

Well-known member
Yes, these recruits are all long and athletic. I wouldn't call Taylor or Copeland especially quick for ACC guards, neither has an explosive first step. But just their length and overall athleticism are made for the zone. Taylor is a good defender in the man in high school right now, knows how to play defense and he moves pretty well laterally. Copeland is often a disinterested defender in high school (very common). He'll quickly learn at SU that won't get him on the court. But he is uncommonly big for a point guard and not just Michael Carter-Williams big, he has very long arms and a lot of bulk to him that MCW didn't have. Once he commits to playing D in the zone, he could be a massive defender at the top of it, denying entry passes and picking balls off with his very good hands. Bunch is perfect for the zone, long, quick and he will defend the rim. He's better suited for the zone than he is playing man, and he has been a better, more active defender in recent games, getting down lower and showing good lateral quickness. Brown is not especially quick but he's not slow and moves pretty well for a guy his size. With his length, shot blocking, hustle, and smarts, he could be very good in the zone. And just from the few clips I've seen, Carey is perfect for a center who has to sometimes cover the corner three. He looks unusually quick and agile for someone close to seven feet.

Also, as a unit, this class is made for running on the fast break. All five are strong in attacking the rim and they all want to dunk. Copeland is an improvisational point guard better suited for the open court than half court sets. Bunch can fly down the court and finish with his head almost at the rim (I think his head clipped the bottom of the backboard in a recent game). Taylor is a very good leaper who can go strong to the basket or be a trailing three point shooter. Brown is an excellent rebounder and outlet passer and he gets down the court pretty well and is a very good finisher with excellent hands. Carey can fly down the court. I would love to see us become a running team again, but that takes the rebounding that we've lacked in recent years.

I don't want to get my hopes up too high. There's no sure big time star and it's a huge leap to college and there's always recruits who never pan out and others who take two or three years to really develop. But this class is full of Syracuse-style players.
 

MikeMcAllister

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, these recruits are all long and athletic. I wouldn't call Taylor or Copeland especially quick for ACC guards, neither has an explosive first step. But just their length and overall athleticism are made for the zone. Taylor is a good defender in the man in high school right now, knows how to play defense and he moves pretty well laterally. Copeland is often a disinterested defender in high school (very common). He'll quickly learn at SU that won't get him on the court. But he is uncommonly big for a point guard and not just Michael Carter-Williams big, he has very long arms and a lot of bulk to him that MCW didn't have. Once he commits to playing D in the zone, he could be a massive defender at the top of it, denying entry passes and picking balls off with his very good hands. Bunch is perfect for the zone, long, quick and he will defend the rim. He's better suited for the zone than he is playing man, and he has been a better, more active defender in recent games, getting down lower and showing good lateral quickness. Brown is not especially quick but he's not slow and moves pretty well for a guy his size. With his length, shot blocking, hustle, and smarts, he could be very good in the zone. And just from the few clips I've seen, Carey is perfect for a center who has to sometimes cover the corner three. He looks unusually quick and agile for someone close to seven feet.

Also, as a unit, this class is made for running on the fast break. All five are strong in attacking the rim and they all want to dunk. Copeland is an improvisational point guard better suited for the open court than half court sets. Bunch can fly down the court and finish with his head almost at the rim (I think his head clipped the bottom of the backboard in a recent game). Taylor is a very good leaper who can go strong to the basket or be a trailing three point shooter. Brown is an excellent rebounder and outlet passer and he gets down the court pretty well and is a very good finisher with excellent hands. Carey can fly down the court. I would love to see us become a running team again, but that takes the rebounding that we've lacked in recent years.

I don't want to get my hopes up too high. There's no sure big time star and it's a huge leap to college and there's always recruits who never pan out and others who take two or three years to really develop. But this class is full of Syracuse-style players.
Great analysis
 

ThePearl

Well-known member
Chris is currently playing against top team Sunrise Christian. After going 0-6 from three yesterday, he went 0-4 in the first half today. He came out firing in the second half, missed his first, then hit the next four in a few minutes. There was an unusual sequence where he chased down a ball with his back to the basket about ten feet out. He had a wide open ten-footer but instead ran straight to his favorite spot, the left corner, turned and drained another three. He does not lack confidence. He has length, bounce, quickness and a sweet shooting touch when he has time to set his feet. And he can score in...bunches. Both his game and his performance are very uneven right now, but the long-term ceiling at SU is high.
 

ThePearl

Well-known member
Wasatch was down 18 early but hung in there, closing it to ten at the half despite Chris not scoring. He was a big part of Wasatch's comeback against the team that was ranked #1 in the country last week, scoring 16 in the second half. (Sunrise has forward Mark Mitchell, who has been regarded as the fourth best Duke recruit. I don't think so, not after seeing parts of several Sunrise Christian games. He might be as good or better than all of them, he is a great great player. A year and a half from now, Duke could have three of the top half dozen or so picks in the NBA draft with Whitehead, Lively, and Mitchell.)

I will say this about Bunch--the competition he goes against in the NIBC is the best you can get. He has usually had his weak games against the hyper talented NIBC, while usually having his big games against the more regional teams they also play. A player like Maliq Brown will have a major adjustment when going up against college players instead of his high school opponents. Not Chris. He's going against the very best kids in his class and he is not intimidated. I never get the feeling he plays hesitant or scared, he thinks he's as good as they are.
 


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