Wow! just wow. It's hard to believe

hoopsupstate said:

The problem with Cooney is that our point guard does nothing to find him good shots. The play at the end of the half is evidence of that. Twice last night he had Cooney WIDE open and he took jump shots. His job is to get his teammates involved. He has no clue how to do this. Cooney took two bad threes in the first half last night because he feels the ball will never come back to him. SU took 12 threes last night and the two they made were probably the only two they should have taken. They are taking bad threes when they don't have good looks or too early In the possession. Silent G's two corner threes last night were great examples of lousy shots. They get very few open threes in the flow of the offense. When you're not great shooters to begin with, it only compounds the issue. Joseph has to figure this out because at the moment he has no clue what a point guards role is on a team.

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longislandcuse said:

The problem with Cooney isn't that he's missing contested threes, it's that he's not even close on wide open threes.

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Cusefan0307 said:

What are you watching? Not the game I watched. He had one open three in transition last night and made it. He missed another open one. One was blocked, and two others were forced. His percentage is low because he forces 2 a game that have no shot of going in.

Some of us are just repeating the same old talking points without actually analyzing what happened in the game. Trevor Cooney is a lot better player than he was last year, he's just not shooting from the perimeter as well, most of which is based on shot selection.

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bballbeadle said:

I would have found him and .. and... I don' know, shamed him? I might have made a little scene! WE DON'T BOO OUR PLAYERS! (Or our posters. Although we can disagree with them.)

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A Clockwork Orange said:

What were people expecting? There is all of this faux shock and anger. Sit back and enjoy the team as it grows into something that works. It's not going to all come at once, it will come in fits and starts. There will be a lot of "ugh" moments, and plenty of "ugh" games. That California game will not be the last. This team is offensively challenged. We have a freshman point guard, shooting guards that can't shoot, and limited forwards behind McCullough.

These players have skill, they have talent. It's going to take a lot of game action to realize that skill and talent. It may not even happen this year for all of them. This is a growing year, and if we make the tournament -- awesome.

I just hate coming to this board and listening to people gripe about how awful this team is. Compared to the last six years? Yes, it is awful. Those teams (from 2008-2009) were a combined 177-42. In the history of this school, there has NEVER been a stretch like that. There had to be a down point at some time. People need to stop bitching, and start recalibrating expectations. This team is not Elite 8, Final Four, Sweet 16 good. They may be a tourney team. Anything beyond that will be wonderful.

This team isn't nearly as awful as people's out of whack expectations for them.

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Flacusian said:

I knew we would be a bit shaky potatoes out of the gate... but as the sample size grows with each passing game the vulnerability of this team in nearly every aspect is becoming increasingly apparent.

I also believed that we would be on an upward curve as the parts assimilated into a cohesive team and that we had some talented young guys who hadn't played much last year that would step into the shoes which needed to be filled.

As others have pointed out tonight, some things can be said with increasing certainty.

1. This team is more offensively challenged than any in quite some time.
2. Cooney is moving more toward "not a good shooter" than "streaky shooter"
3. Kaleb Joseph will need quite a bit of time to adapt to the college game and could he please get his arms and hands up on defense?
4. Rak is going to get called for about 125 fouls before the season is over.
5. DC2 is not walking out on the court anytime soon
6. JB has shown some facial expressions that reflect a state of utter disbelief
7. Barring some miracle worked by JB and the staff, it's gonna get ugly once conference play starts.
8. Silent G hasn't completely transformed his game and improved by quantum leaps.
9. CM and Rak are the only 2 prime time players we have on the team.
10. I will continue to root for this bunch... they are going to need all the support they can get. Teams do have off years and I'm grateful for the program being as great as it is. I'll also hold on to hope that they can become a good team before the year is over. Jimmy B has done great things with less talent than this more than once.

11. I'm a little pissed at Ennis and Grant for bailing out like kids after a birthday party.

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hoopsupstate said:

The problem with Cooney is that our point guard does nothing to find him good shots. The play at the end of the half is evidence of that. Twice last night he had Cooney WIDE open and he took jump shots. His job is to get his teammates involved. He has no clue how to do this. Cooney took two bad threes in the first half last night because he feels the ball will never come back to him. SU took 12 threes last night and the two they made were probably the only two they should have taken. They are taking bad threes when they don't have good looks or too early In the possession. Silent G's two corner threes last night were great examples of lousy shots. They get very few open threes in the flow of the offense. When you're not great shooters to begin with, it only compounds the issue. Joseph has to figure this out because at the moment he has no clue what a point guards role is on a team.

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A Clockwork Orange said:

What were people expecting? There is all of this faux shock and anger. Sit back and enjoy the team as it grows into something that works. It's not going to all come at once, it will come in fits and starts. There will be a lot of "ugh" moments, and plenty of "ugh" games. That California game will not be the last. This team is offensively challenged. We have a freshman point guard, shooting guards that can't shoot, and limited forwards behind McCullough.

These players have skill, they have talent. It's going to take a lot of game action to realize that skill and talent. It may not even happen this year for all of them. This is a growing year, and if we make the tournament -- awesome.

I just hate coming to this board and listening to people gripe about how awful this team is. Compared to the last six years? Yes, it is awful. Those teams (from 2008-2009) were a combined 177-42. In the history of this school, there has NEVER been a stretch like that. There had to be a down point at some time. People need to stop bitching, and start recalibrating expectations. This team is not Elite 8, Final Four, Sweet 16 good. They may be a tourney team. Anything beyond that will be wonderful.

This team isn't nearly as awful as people's out of whack expectations for them.

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jec1521 said:

Did anybody watch Nova and Michigan last night?

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longislandcuse said:

The problem with Cooney isn't that he's missing contested threes, it's that he's not even close on wide open threes.

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jec1521 said:

The team is young. The season is young. My only gripe is that it seems like JB has completely failed to change and adapt his philosophy towards coaching and recruiting. How long do we have to go without a good shooter? Cooney certainly is not one, and even if he is, we need way more than one.

Did anybody watch Nova and Michigan last night? Jump shots actually went in the basket. What a concept!

I think we will be a tournament team by the end of the season. As far as how far in the tourney, who knows anymore... But JB has to change his philosophy a bit. More basketball players, less athletes. Our defense may take a hit, but we would actually be able to score.

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bballbeadle said:

I am going to defend Flacusian. He has a right to post his observations and he didn't do it in a whiny way. He is not whining; he is stating his concerns. This is what the board is for.

We are all "sophisticated" fans here, emphasis on FANS. This year is going to test our mettle as fans. It is sure testing mine. It is hard to watch the struggle. We all know that without struggle our team will not develop. But it is one thing to "know" something, and another to watch it.

Last night there was no energy in the building. The students, band and cheerleaders were gone. Loyola's play was cringe-inducing. They were so bad I began to wonder if it was really worthwhile for our inexperienced guys to play such a team. People began to applaud when Loyola made some points. I didn't want our team to slaughter them, but after a while I realized I shouldn't worry about it.

Early in the game someone above me booed Cooney. I swear to the Cosmos, if that guy had done it one more time, I would have found him and .. and... I don' know, shamed him? I might have made a little scene! WE DON'T BOO OUR PLAYERS! (Or our posters. Although we can disagree with them.)

Okay, I'm done.

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Flacusian said:

Thanks Bball... I'm typically very upbeat and positive about the team. I've been following Syracuse basketball since pre Boeheim days. Just because I sounded off a bit about some of the problems we are currently facing, that's not meant in any way to demean the team or the players. At the end of the post I made a point to state that I will continue to root for this team and that I realize teams have down years. I also said I was grateful for the program and it's accomplishments. I went on to say that the team without doubt, is talented and JB has done fantastic things with less talent than this team currently has.

I thought the kids running out after a birthday party wrap up comment would demonstrate some level of light heartedness with respect to the post. I guess some people didn't find it funny. Thin skinned is also not being able to tolerate any critique offered up about the team or it's players. I guess I'll just take some of my wife's lexapro and keep things to myself.

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