Credit to Mike Waters…

[Col. Bleep]

Somehow, JAB managed to recruit the only 7 1/2 players in the country who can’t play M2M and could only be successful playing his antiquated 2-3 zone.

Ha...that's the way he makes it sound...
But apparently not only can't they play man...they're often not very good at zone, either.

It's not really about having zone or man.
It's not either or.
It's about having an effective defense.
It's being able to do what may work and what you need to do at particular times...whether it's zone, man or press.

 

[MikeSU02]

He asked the exact m2m question that needed to be asked and framed it with the premise that JB said and played m2m early.

The answer was what you’d expect.

I give him no credit. I expect this question from a student reporter.

I expect the full story about our downturn with in depth reporting from him.

While I’m glad he asked it, this is an example of how coddled JB has been lately.

 

[two3zone]

The recruiting does play into it. Chris Bell can't defend at all yet this board loves him. When SU was clicking and recruiting for the zone, he doesn't get a look.

Who loves Chris Bell?

 

[Giants1973]

Who loves Chris Bell?

He can shoot.

 

[Giants1973]

2-3 will leave in transfer portal

 

[kcsu]

Have you attended any practice sessions?

I give you credit. You're a great fan but you are to intelligent to try and defend this.

 

[Scott11]

I give him no credit. I expect this question from a student reporter.

I expect the full story about our downturn with in depth reporting from him.

While I’m glad he asked it, this is an example of how coddled JB has been lately.

Exactly. It is amazing how rude he is to Donna and Mike given the fact that both of them are afraid to ask a critical question.
Nobody has bothered to ask how a team that he promised would make the NCAA tournament didn’t even come close to doing so.
Nobody has bothered to ask him as a follow up why this team can’t play man-to-man. And better yet if they are incapable of man-to-man does that mean that he mistakenly recruited unathletic players? If they are unathletic how can they press but not play man-to-man? Does he hold himself responsible for anything? He talked about how every other team is good because of the portal. Why didn’t he do anything with the portal other than get a marginal back up center?

 

[M2MPrinciples]

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

we’re currently 266 in rebounding margin

Jims point was “actually it’s not that bad because we get turnovers”

lets pretend that’s the case... but we all know it‘s not when 265 teams have better rebounding margins.

our turnover margin?

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

99th. not like top 10 to counter the 265, 99th

you want to have more shots and possessions. Not the same. The idea Jim would suggest that as smugly as he did was absurd

Rebounding margin as a stat needs to die, because teams in any given game rarely attempt the same number of shots, let alone miss them. Defensive rebounding percentage (for and against) is a much more precise metric because it strips out shot volume. Our national rankings in defensive rebounding percentage over the last 8 seasons:

2023: 352nd
2022: 328th
2021: 339th
2020: 331st
2019: 335th
2018: 246th
2017: 335th
2016: 337th

You can live with poor defensive rebounding if your offense is elite or if your defense is good enough in other areas as it was in 2010-2014.

 

[two3zone]

He can shoot.

He’s shooting 34 percent, he is a negative at everything else he does, 34% isn’t enough for how awful he is at everything else.

 

[djcon57]

Nobody has bothered to ask how a team that he promised would make the NCAA tournament didn’t even come close to doing so.

Someone did on his radio show and he said never predicted that...so there ya go.

 

[bpo57]

Lmao that excuse means that we have a roster full of kids who can only play bottom half of the SWAC or NEC basketball. Which just isn’t true and if it was true it would be on the coach for bringing those kids in.

Whatever

C'mon now. This was JB's best recruiting class ever. I nearly threw up in my mouth when I read that.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I don’t...at all.

I fully believe he trotted out that Jimmy, Buddy, Joe team expecting to win.

Given the way he recruits and his choices wrt his staff I have no doubt he thinks he has the “secret sauce” to make basketball good. If he had doubts, he’d change it up.

 

[bpo57]

Dino said we tried to install a run game, but the players couldn’t play it.

Is this also an acceptable answer?

I’ve been a defender of the zone for a very long time. Still think it’s 75% players that make the defense, not the choice of defense.

But his answers have become contradictory to himself.

Agree that the zone can be effective if you have long athletic players with good instincts and who know what they're doing out there. But it's critical to have the right personnel. The minute we started relying on Buddy, Joe and Jimmy to play zone then we were cooked. This comes back to the notion that JB has always prioritized offense over defense.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

I just want to hear Mike (or anyone, really) ask what Boeheim's plan is to improve the defense heading into next season. I'm sure JB would deflect in some way but I think his answer would be telling.

 

[richard levy]

I just want to hear Mike (or anyone, really) ask what Boeheim's plan is to improve the defense heading into next season. I'm sure JB would deflect in some way but I think his answer would be telling.

That, is the question that an AD would normally ask the HC to determine whether or not that coach should be retained.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

That, is the question that an AD would normally ask the HC to determine whether or not that coach should be retained.

It's also a completely fair question for someone in the media to ask. At least it is in any setting where the media and the coach have a healthy relationship

 

[Orangezoo]

Agree that the zone can be effective if you have long athletic players with good instincts and who know what they're doing out there. But it's critical to have the right personnel. The minute we started relying on Buddy, Joe and Jimmy to play zone then we were cooked. This comes back to the notion that JB has always prioritized offense over defense.

The right personnel given today's game basically means you have 5 guys with the right size and tools to play elite zone defense for 40 minutes... while being below average to bad at most over things. There is no longer anything left to support it as a sole defense or over 75 pct of your defense a game. Pressing into it with a mix of man, or switching into it situationally after playing mostly man etc etc works. There are many articles out there now that have gone deeper. The real fact is fewer than 7 teams play it at 75 pct or more of a game and only 1 plays it exclusively- that's us.

3pt shooting numbers, our def numbers, the reduced def numbers in studies that have been done ... it all makes it clear it's a less effective defense today and puts you at a disadvantage if that's you entire toolkit on D.

 

[phreddie]

2-3 will leave in transfer portal

I think a lot of our fans would be happy to hear the 2-3 is leaving. ;-)

 

[dasher]

Exactly. It is amazing how rude he is to Donna and Mike given the fact that both of them are afraid to ask a critical question.
Nobody has bothered to ask how a team that he promised would make the NCAA tournament didn’t even come close to doing so.
Nobody has bothered to ask him as a follow up why this team can’t play man-to-man. And better yet if they are incapable of man-to-man does that mean that he mistakenly recruited unathletic players? If they are unathletic how can they press but not play man-to-man? Does he hold himself responsible for anything? He talked about how every other team is good because of the portal. Why didn’t he do anything with the portal other than get a marginal back up center?

I know for a fact that they are waiting for us to not be in the ncaa tournament, acc tourney loss, to ask that question. The last thing they want to do right now, is ask that question and look foolish if we were ever to go on a run. By the way, he has a radio call in show, pick up a phone and ask him yourself.

 

[Jake]

OrangePA….to answer your question. Yes, I’ve been to practice. Many - probably 30. Including a handful at the Melo center.

This year? None.

The pace will never be confused with a Tom Izzo practice. But it’s been that way in the good years too.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I know for a fact that they are waiting for us to not be in the ncaa tournament, acc tourney loss, to ask that question. The last thing they want to do right now, is ask that question and look foolish if we were ever to go on a run. By the way, he has a radio call in show, pick up a phone and ask him yourself.

“Hey coach. First time long time. You like vanilla, chocolate or twist chipwiches?”

 

[orangepassion]

“Hey coach. First time long time. You like vanilla, chocolate or twist chipwiches?”

That's the first question you want to ask?

 

[HOFCeluck]

That's the first question you want to ask?

I speak for the silent majority.

 

[orangepassion]

It is reasonable to expect highly paid coaches to be able to teach decent athletes how to play a very ordinary and common defense that players are capable of playing everywhere but here

JB himself said last season/offseason that we would have the personnel this year to play man, specifically mentioning Girard. As I posted elsewhere, the question is why are out guys never capable of playing man year after year since 1996?

 

[Otto21]

Again, if the claim is a group of D1 basketball players with a D1 staff coaching them can't play passable m2m defense, the claim is nothing but more gaslighting

I mean, I know there are subtleties that I’ll never understand even though I was a mediocre player, but man to man… guard your man!!! The zone is harder to learn and I guarantee Benny etc would be better at man. We’ve always heard that first year players need to learn the zone (Andrew white, John gillon, etc) but this year the narrative is that zone is easy and man is too complex?!?! No, JB is a politician and I’m tired of this spinning