BC Postgame Thoughts

[blust2i3d4]

BC hadn't beaten us since 2018? Man they stink

They have a new coach. Finally BC turned around. Kind of like Pitt. We can no longer dominate them.

 

[bballbeadle]

I guess it’s good I saw “Hairspray” tonight.

 

[sugrad68]

You give up 60% from the field , 50% from 3, and shoot 50% from the line but “in a way deserved to win?” Define deserved .

lol. I meant "no way we deserved to win".

 

[gmoney44]

I think once Justin Taylor hits his stride we're all good

He just needs to play through the slump. It will pay dividends by the 2026 ACC tournament first round exit.

 

[gmoney44]

subbing patterns make little sense

cant run the guys down in the 2nd half and expect the last 8 minutes to go well

these guys consistently run out of gas in the end of hardfought games

they run out of steam

i realize that the team needs more guys...but still...

this pattern wont work.

Perhaps if we had one more useless center on the roster it would ease the burden.

 

[kcsu]

We really don't have a center.
Both Brown and Carey are more 4s than centers.

Hima, and McCloud are our only true centers and they are hurt.

 

[Chip]

Somewhat irrelevant.
We missed 7.
BC missed 7.
They made 3 more.
We lost by 5.
They hit 2 more 3s.
We have no offense really.
Time to go w 5.5 players.

It’s relevant. If we hit just 2 more, I win my bet.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We really don't have a center.
Both Brown and Carey are more 4s than centers.

Hima, and McCloud are our only true centers and they are hurt.

And they aren’t good when they are healthy.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

This team loses focus. Sometimes for 10 critical minutes (last night), sometimes for an entire game (Virginia).

 

[Cuse12]

Sat 5 feet away from the action… Peter Carey was gassed after only playing like 3 minutes lol. But also devastating to watch BC go on a 20-0 run, all missed FTs, all the bad turnovers from so close.

There was one point where Harris was playing defense with one shoe on and no one would pass the ball to the guy he was defending.

I have to say as a former d3 player (yup I am practically an expert no big deal) when a player is gassed immediately - everyone says whoaaa poor conditioning! When often that’s not the case. When you are young and nervous you don’t breathe efficiently. I think he’s just young and nervous tbh.

 

[swish7]

I have to say as a former d3 player (yup I am practically an expert no big deal) when a player is gassed immediately - everyone says whoaaa poor conditioning! When often that’s not the case. When you are young and nervous you don’t breathe efficiently. I think he’s just young and nervous tbh.

I like Carey. Huge mistake to play the fsu transfer over him. He's improving each game.

Appreciate your insight. Playing D3 is a huge accomplishment.

 

[Goin' Deep]

two-thirds thru the season...
You play a very average BC team..in a very average setting...
Shoot 50% from the FT line...
Get out rebounded by 10...
Allow their 3 pt shooter open looks...
Cuse gets 4 pts and 3 rebs from the starting forwards...
At this point, this is NOT a "young team".
It is an immature team.

 

[Eric15]

I know that GMac worked with Starling on fixing his jump shot form, to great success it seems. If he's not doing so already, he needs to do the same thing with Taylor. I'm sure Justin's shot form worked fine in high school when he was probably a few inches taller than everybody guarding him, but it's just not working at this level. He needs way too much time and space to get a shot off. It has to be significantly quicker.

 

[elimunelson]

We are an NIT team this year. Which is fine and beyond where I thought they would be at this juncture.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’ve never seen a team that has so many players as inconsistent as this team. Who on this team can you count on from game to game? Brown is probably the most consistent because he plays within himself. No one on this team can you count on game to game. If Mintz doesn’t get calls he‘s basically a wrecking ball on offense. You never know what you’re getting from Bell or JJ. No one on this team can go and get and make a jumper. There’s a couple of players who just aren’t good enough to play at this level. It’s unfortunate, but true. Freeman and Moore are not enough to get us back to the NCAA Tournament next year. We need a do it all type of forward who can shoot, play defense and put it on the floor. We don’t have anyone currently on this roster.

 

[Fly Rodder]

This off-season is going to come down to a few big gambles on Red's part to try to elevate this team into top-5 ACC and the NCAA tournament, which I feel should be an attainable goal.

1) Is Westry A) healthy enough to be relied on, and B) talented enough to provide a big lift. I don't know. I know what people have said about him, but he won't have played in two seasons. That's a big risk if he's penciled in as one of The Guys.​

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2) Can Bell make the a leap to a reliable scorer and sufficient defender? Southerland comes to mind as someone who Bell could be, but that was as a Senior and Southerland still wasn't really a starter and didn't play starter minutes until his senior year because better players were ahead of him. Bell has flashes of being great, but so did Mookie Jones. Is replacing Bell with a transfer wing feasible and capable of being more than a marginal improvement?​

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3) Which JJ do we get next season? The kid shooting 40% from 3 and better defense or not.​

I've posted a few times that my gut is that Red doesn't change much and most of the roster is set ... but I'm not real excited about that and getting less so as the season goes on.

 

[jsshap]

Sat 5 feet away from the action… Peter Carey was gassed after only playing like 3 minutes lol. But also devastating to watch BC go on a 20-0 run, all missed FTs, all the bad turnovers from so close.

There was one point where Harris was playing defense with one shoe on and no one would pass the ball to the guy he was defending.

I was second row center court myself with my 17 year old son. Great fun.

1. Copeland was the best player for cuse last night. His value is easier to appreciate in person, especially up close when you can hear him conversing with teammates and refs ("I respect that"). But he's just a stud. Quick to stay in front as a defender, too quick to contain with the ball, passes that so few others can make, and a competitive fire. I'm not sure but I think BC run started when he came out. I don't see how he can't start moving forward and I fully expect him to start next year. He's particularly important on the road. I think he really thrives with the fans chatter ("hey quadir you need to shave" "yeah I know"). Even when he missed the dunk he came back with several good plays in a row. Good move by Autry to get him and Benny in quick in second half but he should be starting. I know he may blow next game but his intangibles are off the charts.

2. Bell could not really have played worse. It happens but I wish he could effect game positively when he's not making shots. His defense was poor, dribbling was awful and energy low. Still think he's an important piece but he needs to raise the floor.

3. Benny did some good things. Got into it with post verbally and had good energy, but his defense was poor - both staying in front of opponent on perimeter and not getting overpowered down low. He got some nice boards on both ends but gave up some big buckets.

4. Ive not seen many falls like starlings. Ouch. His shot was off and his overall game was not great but good compete level pretty good d and he seems like good teammate. Very excited to see him next year with freeman, Q and hopefully chance.

5. Malik just lost his confidence at the foul line. It happens to all of us in various sports. Missed 4 in a row at key time and none were even close. But unlike bell his floor is high even on a below average night.

6. Judah did not play well. Post was a problem when he got in lane and some really bad turnovers. Lucky he did not get a T late in first half and a few occasions where he was pouting and out of position. I was on other side but it looked like one time Autry yelled "what the F are you doing??" He almost willed them back and his mid range jumper was impressive at times - just stayed in air longer than expected and knocked it down. Sometimes I watch him and wish his game was tighter like Flynn if that makes sense, but not really a fair comparison I suppose.

7. Taylor is big and strong up close but seems to have lost all confidence with his shot. He passed up a fairly open look late. I did not see that coming last year and thought he would fill the hole from girard fairly well. Also I'm not positive he jells great with others but could easily be dead wrong on that. It's hard to imagine he returns next year.

8. Man we could use another big. Carey was ok (except the airball from 6 feet) but nowhere close to ready nor is hima.

9. A little unlucky BC got so hot from 3. Some of that poor D but some of that just the roll of the dice. Home crowd was really pathetic. Cuse crowd was ready to take over but just could not sustain the comeback. So shitty disappointing loss, but like these players and find them fun to root for.

 

[jsshap]

two-thirds thru the season...
You play a very average BC team..in a very average setting...
Shoot 50% from the FT line...
Get out rebounded by 10...
Allow their 3 pt shooter open looks...
Cuse gets 4 pts and 3 rebs from the starting forwards...
At this point, this is NOT a "young team".
It is an immature team.

Immature bc they missed free throws. Makes great sense.

 

[ssbriefcase]

I know that GMac worked with Starling on fixing his jump shot form, to great success it seems

Eh, I pointed out in the game thread, his hitch was still there on a lot of his shots. I think he's just been adjusting to it, vs fixing his form. It was weird though, that 3 he made in the first half looked smooth, the couple towards the end of the 2nd had that bad hitch.

I've never seen multiple players take worse angles to stop a guy going for a layup. They play to the "side" of the guy with the ball when it's obvious where he's going. They don't anticipate and use their feet to get to the spot to face up and defend. Benny is the worst at this, followed by JJ

 

[Newhouser]

Cuffe played tonight and rightfully so left the game soon after.

Cuffe seems to have a shot taken in the stat sheet within 3 seconds of getting in.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Eh, I pointed out in the game thread, his hitch was still there on a lot of his shots. I think he's just been adjusting to it, vs fixing his form. It was weird though, that 3 he made in the first half looked smooth, the couple towards the end of the 2nd had that bad hitch.

I've never seen multiple players take worse angles to stop a guy going for a layup. They play to the "side" of the guy with the ball when it's obvious where he's going. They don't anticipate and use their feet to get to the spot to face up and defend. Benny is the worst at this, followed by JJ

It take's a lot of reps to change muscle memory. No doubt his shot is better, but still isn't the prettiest.

I know I've been somewhat labeled as a hater regarding JJ, but the stats say he's the worst defender on the team. Bell is better at defense than him. I don't understand how a guy as athletic as him can be this bad at defense. He was getting cooked off the dribble last night and was a big reason we had to go to zone.

 

[Millhouse]

Somewhat irrelevant.
We missed 7.
BC missed 7.
They made 3 more.
We lost by 5.
They hit 2 more 3s.
We have no offense really.
Time to go w 5.5 players.

This haiku is bad
It really really does stink
I agree five point five

 

[Fly Rodder]

Syracuse primary players, their PER ,(and their ACC Rank out of 80 qualified players) ranks (conference stats only):

1) Maliq Brown, 22.7 (9)
2) Quadir Copeland, 17.8 (27)
3) Judah Mintz, 15.6 (39)
4) Benny Williams, 14.2 (46)
5) JJ Starling, 13.6 (54)
6) Chris Bell, 10.6 (71)
7) Justin Taylor, 3.5 (80)

PER isn't the be all end all of comprehensive stats and it weights forwards a bit more (mostly due to easy dunks and defensive counting stats). But these are not good. We only have three guys (barely) in the top half of the ACC. Three other teams have two guys in the last 10: Miami, Louisville, and Notre Dame.

 

[Ozone!]

If you haven’t seen this video, Gerry does a good job of explaining losses like this one​

 

[M2MPrinciples]

The loss stinks, but did nothing to dissuade me from the idea that Quadir is an appealing PG option for next year. Use the roster spot that would've gone to a portal PG on a shooter or a center who can play at least 20 MPG without getting hurt.