Gasaway thinks we are underrated | Syracusefan.com

Gasaway thinks we are underrated

Recently, I labeled Syracuse as one of the nation's most consistent teams. I probably should have added, however, that the consistency displayed by the Orange of late is about to receive a severe test: Jim Boeheim said goodbye to three of his four double-digit scorers from last season.

C.J. Fair completed his eligibility, and Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant left school early to pursue their ambitions in the NBA. As a result of these departures, I'm now coming across preseason top-25s that omit Syracuse entirely. When colleague Jay Bilas released his top contenders for 2014-15 a little while back, the Orange were nowhere to be found.

I think that might turn out to be a mistake. I've seen Boeheim lose three starters before, but what I haven't seen in a very long time is Syracuse earning anything worse than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In fact, that hasn't happened since 2007-08.


This program just has a knack for not requiring a rebuild. For example, look at the No. 1-seeded 2009-10 team that went 30-5 and was upset by Butler in the Sweet 16. Going into the following season, Boeheim had lost three starters in the form of Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. Was the 2010-11 team just as good as Boeheim's previous squad? No, but the Orange did go 12-6 in the Big East and earned a No. 3 seed in that year's field of 68. Don't be stunned if something similar occurs in 2014-15.

After all, how surprised will you be if Boeheim's young players enter the 2015 calendar year having emerged from a rather (ahem) Carrier Dome-intensive schedule with, say, a 12-1 record and growing confidence in their defense?

That does seem to be the pattern from this program.

How has Boeheim been able to keep the Orange performing at such a high level season after season? Some might say it's because of the zone defense, and perhaps that gives Syracuse players an edge in system familiarity early in the season, but that explanation seems a little too simple. I would instead call the zone a contributing factor -- one that inflicts a helpful level of discomfort upon opposing offenses, particularly early in the season when offensive play can be less cohesive. But, of course, you don't need to play zone to be this impervious to "down" seasons. Kansas and Wisconsin have been just as consistent statistically over the past five seasons as the Orange, and Bill Self and Bo Ryan have achieved those results without the benefit of a 2-3 zone.

One thing that strikes me about Syracuse in particular, though, is that Boeheim's recruiting tends to be not so much underrated as under-mentioned. (To be sure, the coach has set out to rectify this by mentioning it himself. Boeheim has labeled next year's recruiting class as perhaps the best one in the school's history.) The Orange have not landed a national top-10 recruit in years, a fact that has perhaps obscured how many quality (i.e., top-100) players Boeheim does indeed have on hand at any one time.

When you watch this season's team, keep in mind that guys such as Rakeem Christmas,Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, DaJuan Coleman, Tyler Roberson, Kaleb Joseph and Chris McCullough were all highly sought-after recruits in their day. Just flipping through the offer lists for these players, one sees the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Ohio State, etc. That hardly guarantees success for the Orange in 2014-15, of course, but it does provide useful context for what is likely to be recurring hand-wringing from Boeheim about how Ennis and Grant left him high and dry.



[+] Enlarge
Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesGuard Trevor Cooney will be the team's leading returning scorer.


Naturally, expectations would be higher if Ennis and Grant had stuck around, but there's reason to believe Syracuse can perform considerably well with the personnel on hand. This team's strength last season was its defense, and in Cooney and Christmas the Orange will have both a high-steal-rate perimeter defender and a rim protector in place and ready to go in November. Over the past five seasons with a program that's been playing in conferences that had either 15 or 16 teams, Boeheim has seen his team record the following rankings for defense (points allowed per possession) in league play: second, fifth, first, fifth and first. One possibility, even without Ennis and Grant, is that this run will continue in 2014-15.

As for the offense, I don't suppose this youngish Orange team will rate out as No. 1 in the nation on that side of the ball. Still, is replacing (last season's versions of) Fair and Ennis really going to be so unthinkable?

Remember: As a team, Syracuse was terrible at shooting from the field in 2013-14. The Orange ranked No. 14 in 2-point percentage in ACC play and No. 11 from beyond the arc. If this season's team can simply achieve a level of accuracy that is equal to the league average, I predict everyone will be raving about the "terrific job" Boeheim has done with his young roster.

Cooney is Boeheim's leading returning scorer, and he'll be joined in the starting lineup by Christmas (whom I hereby nominate as the best current example of a player who seems like he's been around since at least 2006). Who knows, maybe this is the season that Coleman stays healthy. Gbinije will certainly see minutes, and, as a freshman, Joseph will be given every opportunity to show he can hold down the point guard responsibilities.

That's not the most explosive group Boeheim has taken into a season, perhaps, but it does resemble one or two past Orange teams that have fared well enough.

Don't leave Syracuse off your top 25 just yet.
 
Recently, I labeled Syracuse as one of the nation's most consistent teams. I probably should have added, however, that the consistency displayed by the Orange of late is about to receive a severe test: Jim Boeheim said goodbye to three of his four double-digit scorers from last season.

C.J. Fair completed his eligibility, and Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant left school early to pursue their ambitions in the NBA. As a result of these departures, I'm now coming across preseason top-25s that omit Syracuse entirely. When colleague Jay Bilas released his top contenders for 2014-15 a little while back, the Orange were nowhere to be found.

I think that might turn out to be a mistake. I've seen Boeheim lose three starters before, but what I haven't seen in a very long time is Syracuse earning anything worse than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In fact, that hasn't happened since 2007-08.


This program just has a knack for not requiring a rebuild. For example, look at the No. 1-seeded 2009-10 team that went 30-5 and was upset by Butler in the Sweet 16. Going into the following season, Boeheim had lost three starters in the form of Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. Was the 2010-11 team just as good as Boeheim's previous squad? No, but the Orange did go 12-6 in the Big East and earned a No. 3 seed in that year's field of 68. Don't be stunned if something similar occurs in 2014-15.

After all, how surprised will you be if Boeheim's young players enter the 2015 calendar year having emerged from a rather (ahem) Carrier Dome-intensive schedule with, say, a 12-1 record and growing confidence in their defense?

That does seem to be the pattern from this program.

How has Boeheim been able to keep the Orange performing at such a high level season after season? Some might say it's because of the zone defense, and perhaps that gives Syracuse players an edge in system familiarity early in the season, but that explanation seems a little too simple. I would instead call the zone a contributing factor -- one that inflicts a helpful level of discomfort upon opposing offenses, particularly early in the season when offensive play can be less cohesive. But, of course, you don't need to play zone to be this impervious to "down" seasons. Kansas and Wisconsin have been just as consistent statistically over the past five seasons as the Orange, and Bill Self and Bo Ryan have achieved those results without the benefit of a 2-3 zone.

One thing that strikes me about Syracuse in particular, though, is that Boeheim's recruiting tends to be not so much underrated as under-mentioned. (To be sure, the coach has set out to rectify this by mentioning it himself. Boeheim has labeled next year's recruiting class as perhaps the best one in the school's history.) The Orange have not landed a national top-10 recruit in years, a fact that has perhaps obscured how many quality (i.e., top-100) players Boeheim does indeed have on hand at any one time.

When you watch this season's team, keep in mind that guys such as Rakeem Christmas,Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, DaJuan Coleman, Tyler Roberson, Kaleb Joseph and Chris McCullough were all highly sought-after recruits in their day. Just flipping through the offer lists for these players, one sees the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Ohio State, etc. That hardly guarantees success for the Orange in 2014-15, of course, but it does provide useful context for what is likely to be recurring hand-wringing from Boeheim about how Ennis and Grant left him high and dry.



[+] Enlarge
Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesGuard Trevor Cooney will be the team's leading returning scorer.


Naturally, expectations would be higher if Ennis and Grant had stuck around, but there's reason to believe Syracuse can perform considerably well with the personnel on hand. This team's strength last season was its defense, and in Cooney and Christmas the Orange will have both a high-steal-rate perimeter defender and a rim protector in place and ready to go in November. Over the past five seasons with a program that's been playing in conferences that had either 15 or 16 teams, Boeheim has seen his team record the following rankings for defense (points allowed per possession) in league play: second, fifth, first, fifth and first. One possibility, even without Ennis and Grant, is that this run will continue in 2014-15.

As for the offense, I don't suppose this youngish Orange team will rate out as No. 1 in the nation on that side of the ball. Still, is replacing (last season's versions of) Fair and Ennis really going to be so unthinkable?

Remember: As a team, Syracuse was terrible at shooting from the field in 2013-14. The Orange ranked No. 14 in 2-point percentage in ACC play and No. 11 from beyond the arc. If this season's team can simply achieve a level of accuracy that is equal to the league average, I predict everyone will be raving about the "terrific job" Boeheim has done with his young roster.

Cooney is Boeheim's leading returning scorer, and he'll be joined in the starting lineup by Christmas (whom I hereby nominate as the best current example of a player who seems like he's been around since at least 2006). Who knows, maybe this is the season that Coleman stays healthy. Gbinije will certainly see minutes, and, as a freshman, Joseph will be given every opportunity to show he can hold down the point guard responsibilities.

That's not the most explosive group Boeheim has taken into a season, perhaps, but it does resemble one or two past Orange teams that have fared well enough.

Don't leave Syracuse off your top 25 just yet.
I didn't care for the swipe at the SU non conference schedule. I doubt many other programs have the equivalent of the Nova and Michigan road games.
 
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Gasaway? Don't worry, once we start winning, he will change his tune, will call us overrated. If that makes any sense. :eek:
 
We tend to be underated when we are rated low and overated when we are rated high. All to often we have a tough time finding the chemistry late in the year. Love all our teams, but hope one or two of them can finally bring home the championship. I think 95% of our fanbase wants us to win the big one as a 1 seed instead of a 3 or 4.
 
We tend to be underated when we are rated low and overated when we are rated high. All to often we have a tough time finding the chemistry late in the year. Love all our teams, but hope one or two of them can finally bring home the championship. I think 95% of our fanbase wants us to win the big one as a 1 seed instead of a 3 or 4.

but 100% of the fan base just wants to win the big 1
 
1 thing JB is known for is exceeding expectations when no one is thinking about them

That's very true. It seems like some of our better teams have come during seasons when nobody expects anything from us. Not suggesting that's universally true, but it has happened more than once.
 
Leaving the BE has done some pretty good things for our schedule, I will say that.

His main point is kinda the one I've been thinking, which is basically, we're always at least pretty good. I'm not 100% sure how we're gonna get there, but there are plenty of talented players around, you figure some of them will step up.
 
I think one of the reasons JB does so well with teams that lost a lot and have lower expectations is tied directly to the on going argument about playing the younger guys who may not be ready more to get them ready. Whether you agree with JB's philosophy and style with playing younger guys or not its hard to miss the fact that the staff does an excellent job of getting guys ready through practice and offseason because we have had lots of guys over the years who played sparingly the previous year become key players the following year. Most were Soph's some Junior's and every once in a while a senior.
 
I think one of the reasons JB does so well with teams that lost a lot and have lower expectations is tied directly to the on going argument about playing the younger guys who may not be ready more to get them ready. Whether you agree with JB's philosophy and style with playing younger guys or not its hard to miss the fact that the staff does an excellent job of getting guys ready through practice and offseason because we have had lots of guys over the years who played sparingly the previous year become key players the following year. Most were Soph's some Junior's and every once in a while a senior.

We have talented sophomores on the bench who can play, they just did not see the floor last year, who will play well this year and I will not be surprised.
 
We have talented sophomores on the bench who can play, they just did not see the floor last year, who will play well this year and I will not be surprised.

I agree and we will have the advantage of them having a year in the system which means they won't be lost defensively.
 
I think the success of the program is for a variety of reasons several that were not mentioned in the article. The fan base treats the players like Gods. The Dome is a really cool and inspiring place to play. The Melo training facility is top-notch and really cool place to be. The city is built around a culture of Orange basketball that is very sustaining. There's a great history. A ton of great players have come through the system. And the players develop a strong sense of camaraderie that comes from playing the 2-3 zone year after year. The coaching and training staff are very good.

I just love Orange basketball. When I watch other CBB games and the defense isn't playing the 2-3 zone swaying back and forth to the ball passing around it just doesn't look right to me. It feels like something is wrong with the game. The 2-3 zone is exciting to watch because you don't know when a steal and fast break is coming. And every time the shot clock is counting down it's nail biting hoping the defense will cause a shot clock violation.

But I have to admit about 4 years ago I finally stopped yelling at the TV telling JB to play man. I've just accepted that JB is going to play 2-3 zone from the first minute of the season until the last minute of the season. JB once said in an interview when someone is playing man defense and the other team scores people don't yell out "play zone." Since JB started only practicing the 2-3 defense in practice I think the team has been much more fun to watch! And at this point after hearing the same dumb comments by the TV commentators year after year about the 2-3 zone it's kind of comical.

I think this year's team will do pretty well. I'm hoping at least sweet 16 and 3 or 4 seed. But you never know. I did not predict Dion Waiters would be such a force his sophomore year. Anything can happen.
 
But I have to admit about 4 years ago I finally stopped yelling at the TV telling JB to play man. I've just accepted that JB is going to play 2-3 zone from the first minute of the season until the last minute of the season. .

I found my sleep was better once I accepted the zone.
 
We have talented sophomores on the bench who can play, they just did not see the floor last year, who will play well this year and I will not be surprised.
Exactly... MCW doesnt just go from someone who is not capable of seeing the floor at all, to leading a team to the Final Four... Absolutely, they do a FANTASTIC job at developing players at Syracuse IMO, but lets be real, MCW definitely could of picked up more minutes his first year and been able to hold his own, and more than likely, be able to contribute. But hey that's JB, the players who sat this last year, will have their opportunity and chance. If they take advantage of it, this could be a pretty dang good team!
 
Exactly... MCW doesnt just go from someone who is not capable of seeing the floor at all, to leading a team to the Final Four... Absolutely, they do a FANTASTIC job at developing players at Syracuse IMO, but lets be real, MCW definitely could of picked up more minutes his first year and been able to hold his own, and more than likely, be able to contribute. But hey that's JB, the players who sat this last year, will have their opportunity and chance. If they take advantage of it, this could be a pretty dang good team!

And MCW situation was a bit out of the ordinary when we are talking about why so and so didn't play more. Usually there isn't a 5th year PG, 3rd year starting 2G and an NBA lottery pick in front of you on the depth chart. Scoop had a tremendous season that year after he started out a little rough. There was a patch late in the BE season where he was great. JB always loved Brandon because he could rely on him doing what he was supposed to 95% of the time and Dion dynamic. Still your point that MCW could have contributed as a Freshmen if he had more PT is one I agree with. That is not always the situation with some of our guys who barely play as freshman but become starters or rotational players as sophmores.
 
There would be less faux-outrage if people put more stock in what Gasaway said than what writers like Goodman and O'Neil said, and I don't mean just this piece. The guy knows his stuff and excels at exposing lazy/misguided narratives.
 
We have talented sophomores on the bench who can play, they just did not see the floor last year, who will play well this year and I will not be surprised.

Yeah, I feel pretty good going into this year for some reason. A little more confident than last year, which makes no sense, but I do.
 
Yeah, I feel pretty good going into this year for some reason. A little more confident than last year, which makes no sense, but I do.

I think the defense plays better after a steal-fast-break-dunk. TE was great an all but just not a fast break player. Once we return back to our traditional fast break points it will improve our defense. So I tend to agree with you that I will a little more positive about this coming season even though it doesn't look right on paper. I just hope we have enough depth at center and we have more than 7 players who can play more than 3 minutes.
 

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