How Confident are you with this team (after whatever that was against USF - ignore other thread)

[cpatrocks]

well?

 

[dutchhart]

They're young. To me it's less about having these hiccups in December/January. It will be weather they learn from them come the stretch. There's a solid veteran presence in Triche and James that can hold the line if need be, and a bunch of talent around them that can take them where they need to go.

 

[4evaOrange]

Need more time, need to see how we play against more big east teams. But over all there is a lot of room for improvement.

 

[bballbeadle]

Even when we fell behind, I was not worried. I felt that we would find a way to win, and B made the adjustments. I am not worried about our performance against the "inferior" teams. But I am concerned about how we will match up against Lville and Notre Dame, etc. Ironically, just as Triche seems to be overcoming his "demons" and becoming solid, MCW is struggling with his.

But - I can't hook my happiness levels to a conviction that we will go far in the tournament. Did that last year; look what happened. Being a fan works best for me if I stick more to the present and appreciate the way we win a game, and hope we learn when we lose. I choose every day to have fun being an orange fan, to be grateful to Boeheim and the other coaches, and to TRY to let tomorrow take care of itself. Sometimes a tall order, but definitely achievable!

 

[Orange87]

The USF game doesn't change my perception at all.

-Road conference win = Positive
-They covered the spread (it was SU -9) = Positive.
-MCW had a lousy game but they won anyway =Positive.
-Christmas in foul trouble, Grant steps in and does a nice job = Positive.
-Triche steps it up again = Positive.
-They only score 55 points and win by 11 - Positive

They're a good team that's only going to get better. Don't expect them to go undefeated, they will be beat - at home and on the road by a team or teams they should beat, but come tournament time I think they'll give us a nice little run.

 

[Orangezoo]

the big thing i take from usf and ru is that triche did pick up some things from scoop/dion/kris about composure and making the right play. Also his clutch efforts were great as well. with mcw its going to be about consistancy- kind of like scoop when the reins were handed to him- consistancy was the key. he needs to find that for this team to really start realizing its true potential. when mcw is on his game he raises the confidence of his teammates and helps them develop even more (dc2, rak, cooney)

 

[cusetown1]

Let me get this out of the way, all of the posters going out on a limb and picking sweet 16 are wrong. So you will pleasantly surprised when they make it past the sweet 16. That is all.

 

[Gabjon]

I am very confident more than I have all season. The reasons why are as follows:

• Our defense is playing very well and will only get better. This leads to transition points and easy buckets.
• MCW adds a dimension to our rebounding that we probably have never had. A guard who can replace one of the forwards and rebound as well or better (one of the forwards is usually contesting a shot and therefore is not in there to rebound)
• The offense will get better. I believe Fair and James will be a very dynamic inside (mid-range) outside game. Very few teams will be able to defend both at the same time. Triche is finishing at the rim and MCW hopefully will start soon.
• Lastly and most importantly college ball is really down this year outside on Michigan there are no great teams and I'm not convinced about about Michigan yet.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

I'm afraid that whatever team goes nuts from 3 against us in the sweet 16 this year...we won't have enough to answer back.

 

[ROCorange]

The USF game doesn't change my perception at all.

-Road conference win = Positive
-They covered the spread (it was SU -9) = Positive.
-MCW had a lousy game but they won anyway =Positive.
-Christmas in foul trouble, Grant steps in and does a nice job = Positive.
-Triche steps it up again = Positive.
-They only score 55 points and win by 11 - Positive

They're a good team that's only going to get better. Don't expect them to go undefeated, they will be beat - at home and on the road by a team or teams they should beat, but come tournament time I think they'll give us a nice little run.

^All of these things, plus the fact that we showed tremendous composure when we went down early. The past few years, our response has been to jack a bunch of 3s to try to get back into the game ASAP, but against USF we took a slow, steady approach by taking smart shots and playing solid D to go on a little run. That kind of composure will be big for us later in the season and in the tournament when a team inevitably hits a bunch of 3s and puts us in an early hole. If christmas and coleman can show some steady improvement and MCW quits auditioning for the NBA, (and of course there aren't any major injuries or eligibility issues a la 2010 and 2012) we should be final four contenders.

 

[armory]

I will continue to vote NIT because I think this question is dumb

 

[cusetown1]

"This team has final 4 written all over them"-Bob Wenzel
So there.

 

[MGP]

"This team has final 4 written all over them"-Bob Wenzel
So there.

Such a USF homer

 

[orangefan13]

I have a bad habbit of not being confident of cuse teams in march.

Center defense and hanging on to the ball while rebounding in traffic scare me. Can't afford that if you want to win against a team playing its heart out successfully. I worry about getting exposed by a tough big in the paint

James, CJ and Triche had good scoring games against south florida nobody else had over 5 points. That draws red flags.

Players can't afford a bad game in march. We are notorious for some of our guys not adjusting to that thought.

finally, imo, To early to tell MCW to cut down on his shots. Hes our best isolation driver and gets looks as good as Triche Southerland and Fair. He just needs to learn to swish them. Less finesse more through the rim.

 

[Eric15]

well?

Just my opinion, but I feel like a better way to ask the question is: "what seed do you think we will get in the NCAA tournament?" I think that is a more accurate barometer of how strong a team we are since the NCAA tourney is such a crap shoot. For example, the 2010 team was head and shoulders better than the 1996 team, but NCAA results wouldn't reflect that.

 

[HoustonCuse]

MCWs shots were not crazy or horrible decisions. I feel that he will finish these drives better going forward. I know that the combo of the Temple and USF games make it look like he is not capable of shooting a good percentage but I think he will be fine. Maybe cut down 2 or 3 of the more forced drives and get a roll here and there and he could be 5 for 10 which I expect we will see more often than not. Somebody is going to dare him to score in a game soon and he'll put up 27 points on them.

 

[CorduroyG]

definitely a 2nd weekend tourny team, but if the tourny started now i would not have us in the final 4. but we still got 2+ months to improve.

 

[jordoo]

Were are improving and just won our first road game in conference. At teh ebach in the middle of winter with a rather young team and even all the experienced players (other than Keita) playing new roles. SFU will be a tough out at home all season and has a lot of guys back from last years NCAA torney team.

I agree with those saying MCW will learn to finish. I had no problems with most of his shots, he often got right to the rim and missed. Other than not passing to Triche on the break once and shooting one not needed early shot clock 3 he took good shots . . . . . just didn't make enough of them.

 

[Gabjon]

Were are improving and just won our first road game in conference. At teh ebach in the middle of winter with a rather young team and even all the experienced players (other than Keita) playing new roles. SFU will be a tough out at home all season and has a lot of guys back from last years NCAA torney team.

I agree with those saying MCW will learn to finish. I had no problems with most of his shots, he often got right to the rim and missed. Other than not passing to Triche on the break once and shooting one not needed early shot clock 3 he took good shots . . . . . just didn't make enough of them.

I think the issue MCW is having finishing is that the shot is after thought. He is driving looking to pass too much and when the pass doesn't open up he shoots. He needs to focus on the shot and if a pass opens up than pass. He is too long not to be able to finish better. Also he should try and attack the rim more instead of laying up of the glass. At least he will draw more fouls that way.

 

[jordoo]

I think the issue MCW is having finishing is that the shot is after thought. He is driving looking to pass too much and when the pass doesn't open up he shoots. He needs to focus on the shot and if a pass opens up than pass. He is too long not to be able to finish better. Also he should try and attack the rim more instead of laying up of the glass. At least he will draw more fouls that way.

I wouldn't disagree with that but he has at times driven to score even yesterday, even with the right hand and missed very badley. I wouldn't mind seeing him try to dunk once in a while. I really feel like its just a matterof him getting used to making them, seeing the ball go in and releasing with confidence.

 

[jncuse]

KenPom ranking says we are #6 in the country, and says that we should have beat USF by about ten points yesterday. We did what he had to -- the results met what a #6 team should do. So in no way should you feel any worse about this team after yesterday. I feel about the same.

It's never going to look pretty against USF.

 

[jncuse]

I think the issue MCW is having finishing is that the shot is after thought. He is driving looking to pass too much and when the pass doesn't open up he shoots. He needs to focus on the shot and if a pass opens up than pass. He is too long not to be able to finish better. Also he should try and attack the rim more instead of laying up of the glass. At least he will draw more fouls that way.

Good post. Trying to find a factor why MCW is missing those shots with that size, and that seems to be a very reasonable one.

 

[upperdeck]

we shot under 40% on the road and won by double digits. thats the best sign.. we can win without shooting lights out or making a ton of 3's

 

[jordoo]

we shot under 40% on the road and won by double digits. thats the best sign.. we can win without shooting lights out or making a ton of 3's

Good point. How huge is Bradon's efficient 20 points in a game were we shot under 40% and scored in the 50's?

 

[Sgt Cuse]

KenPom ranking says we are #6 in the country, and says that we should have beat USF by about ten points yesterday. We did what he had to -- the results met what a #6 team should do. So in no way should you feel any worse about this team after yesterday. I feel about the same.

It's never going to look pretty against USF.

I'm with you, looks like we pretty much played to expectations. We had MCW play below expectations but BT played above to average it out. Looks like we will be a guard oriented team again this year. And I think overall the guards can still improve. I could see BT declining a little but MCW improving a lot. I think we have one of the best back courts in the country.

The somewhat disappointing aspect to me is now believing that DC2 may be a bit player this year. He is such a beast and I love his rebounding. But it looks like a short leash and he needs to bring another aspect. His D is not cutting it and the missed bunny seemed enough to do him in. I hope this trend can somehow reverse, but the odds of it happening just got longer.