Leo Redgate is tired of hearing that Paschal Chukwu isn’t an explosive offensive player.

Redgate, who coached the recent 7-foot-2 Providence transfer and Syracuse commit for two years at Fairfield Prep in Connecticut, raved about the untapped potential in his former player and how SU’s system will play much more to Chukwu’s advantage than Providence’s did.

During his freshman season with the Friars, Chukwu played every game but averaged less than 10 minutes and averaged only 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.

“I’m not trying to put down Providence, but not once was he given the ball,” Redgate said. “I think that’s important, if you’re just going to sit him down at the block and hope he gets rebounds, then you’re wasting his time because he’s so much more than a 7-foot-2 player.”

At Fairfield Prep, Redgate said Chukwu wasn’t the type of player who’d feed a guard with an outlet pass and go park himself on the low block on the other end of the court.

Rather he’d dart down the middle of the court looking for the ball back to create offense in transition, which is an aspect of his game his former coach thinks will mesh well in SU’s system.

“I’m very confident that after he sits out the year at Syracuse, we’ll see a dramatically different stat line than what Paschal saw at Providence,” Redgate said. “One of the reasons why is the way Syracuse plays, their big men run the floor and Paschal is one of the more athletic big men you will see.”

Redgate pegged Chukwu’s help-side defense as his best attribute, something that is integral of the middle man in the 2-3 zone as that piece needs to slide across the paint depending on where the drive is coming from.

Granted, 7 feet 2 inches in the middle of a zone is daunting enough, but a big man’s footwork will always be in question, an attribute of Chukwu’s that Redgate has seen vast improvement in over the past four years.

“If they have plans on putting him in the middle of the 2-3 zone, look out,” Redgate said.

In recent years aside from Rakeem Christmas’ senior season, Syracuse hasn’t been known for getting much offensive production out of its big men. Baye Moussa Keita wasn’t an offensive threat, Christmas wasn’t for his first three years and DaJuan Coleman has been hampered by injury.

But Chukwu, if simply given the ball, could show a dynamic that has yet to be exposed. Redgate noted that at Fairfield Prep, Chukwu would constantly get the ball in the short corner, pump fake and throw down a “monstrous dunk.”

“Well, you never saw that at Providence because he never got the ball there,” Redgate said.

An elbow jumper, foul-line jumper and efficient pump fake are all mid-range aspects that Chukwu can bring, Redgate added, and his soft touch is something that’s underrated because of his length.

With the Friars, Chukwu wasn’t able to get into a rhythm since he played in spurts, something Redgate said stunted his level of production. He repeatedly praised Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant coach Mike Hopkins, pointing out that Hopkins kept in constant contact with Redgate and always felt having Chukwu at SU would be mutually beneficial.

Now, it’s just about tapping into the potential that hasn’t yet been unveiled.

“I think you’re going to see a completely different player because it’s in him,” Redgate said. “The guy’s an NBA player, he’s not a college basketball player, he’s an NBA player.”

Published on June 28, 2015 at 6:12 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman