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What makes a good player a great one?

It’s a question that’s often asked, and, of course, there’s no simple answer.

With our fourth annual Tristate Top 100 preseason player rankings now being unveiled, we thought now would be as good a time as any to get some insights. had to summarize what I look for in deciding a player’s ability, I would say size, speed and skills combined with lacrosse IQ,” he said. “If you have all those things, you have the potential to be a great player. If you have some of them, but not all, you can also be a great player at your position if you play with passion,

If we had to summarize what we look for in deciding a player’s ability, we would say size, speed and skills combined with lacrosse IQ. If you have all those things, you have the potential to be a great player. If you have some of them, but not all, you can also be a great player at your position if you play with passion, intensity and unselfishness.”

Our own Joe Lombardi points out that scoring statistics for offensive players and spectacular checks for defenders – things that often draw fan reaction – are not weighed too heavily in his evaluations.

“For an attackman, being a relentless rider is much more impressive to me than scoring goals on the doorstep,” he said.

Having said that, Joe points out that many great players quickly distinguish themselves on the field.

“When (former Syracuse University star) JoJo Marasco was a junior in Somers (NY), he switched numbers from his sophomore year,” Joe said. “I was coming up to the season-opener, which was up in Putnam Valley, from Long Island so I wound up getting there a few minutes after the opening faceoff. It wasn’t a game I was announcing on TV, so I didn’t come with any rosters.

“A few minutes later, JoJo scooped up a groundball on the dead run and had a nice clear. I didn’t recognize the number and wasn’t sure who it was at first, but knew right away, this was a great player.

“In this case, it took just a few seconds for me to know this. That’s actually not as rare as you might think.”

Before the entire Tristate Top 100 — and a bonus group of players are unveiled — we’ll be revealing standouts by class and position, in this order:

• First 10 attackmen
• First 10 midfielders 
• First 10 defenders/longstick midfielders 
• First 5 faceoff midfielders 
• First 5 goaltenders
• First 25 seniors
• First 25 juniors
• First 25 sophomores 
• Bonus group of players 
• Second group of 50 players 
• First 50 players