Syracuse Basketball: An Inside Look at Santa Hop's Gift List

After the Syracuse Orange win over the Cornell Big Red last weekend, Coach Mike Hopkins shared his gift idea for one of his players with the media:

"I think we're just going to have to, for Christmas, ask for a plug-in, a Tyler Roberson plug-in, and just make sure he's plugged in on every darn day," Hopkins said. "If you guys got any suggestions at Best Buy or any of these places, we'll get him all plugged in."

So, now that the cat's out of the bag, let's take a look at what else Hop's been shopping for this holiday season:

Malachi Richardson - Driving Time at Pole Position Raceway

As Michael point out in his weekly Advanced Stats piece, the freshmen forward has struggled converting in transition. Forcing him to make quick decisions on the tight turns of the raceway might help him improve on that 28.3% shooting percentage in transition.

Michael Gbinije - A Brookstone Massage Chair

As the team leader in points, assists, and steals, Gbinije has done a lot of heavy lifting this year for the Orange. He's been the guy other teams are scheming to stop and the attention is only going to increase when ACC play begins. A great way for G to relax in style, when he does get  a chance to catch a breather.

Trevor Cooney - The Original 24 second shot clock from Armory Square

Last week, Michael pointed out that Trevor's struggled in late-clock situations, shooting just 5 for 16 from 3 in the last 5 seconds of the shot clock. The solution is to give Trevor the 24 second shot clock, so he's getting rid of the ball before the last 5 seconds of the 30 second clock used in college this year.

Dajuan Coleman - Gift Cards for SkyZone

The fact that Dajuan is back starting after the knee injuries he's suffered is a testament to his work ethic. Unfortunately, he's become grounded on the court and a trip to the trampoline park might give him the boost he needs to become the low-post threat Syracuse is searching for.

Tyler Lydon - A trip to Tipperary Hill's Green on Top Traffic Light

Lydon's shooting 51% from 3 this season, but he's only attempted 29 shots from long-range. It's fine to show discretion, but it's clear that Lydon needs to let it rip more often moving forward. Showing him that sometimes green needs to come out on top.

Kaleb Joseph - LaserTag at Fun Junction

Understanding where to be in the 2-3 zone shares some similarities with battling a group of junior high students in laser tag. You have to not only know where you are, but you need to anticipate your opponent's next move, in order to defend your base from attack. If Kaleb thought zone rotations were tough, wait until he faces the crew from Eagle Hill Middle School inside the arena.

Do you have any alternate gift suggestions for these guys, or the rest of the roster. Let me know in the comments.