My Take

[sutomcat]

Watched this one on TV. Not a lot can be determined playing against such a small, not so talented opponent but here goes...

Thought St Rose was well coached, did a pretty good job attacking the zone and running their offense. They mostly played man and did a credible job considering size, strength and athletic differences.

Thought Syracuse settled for 3s too often (they ended up trying 26 of them). But St Rose chose to give open 3s to try and protect the paint as best they could. Our bigs (PC, BS and MD) only got 7 shots. OB was the one big guy to take a lot of shots but 7 of his 16 were 3s and the rest were driven by his excellent ability to penetrate. One key for this team is how efficient Oshae ends up. Last night he was 7 of 16 from the field. Not great. He and PC were dominant on the boards though and give credit to Oshae for getting 4 assists. Excellent passer, which will be helpful to the team as more teams end up double teaming him.

Thought Battle looked uncomfortable running the point and didn't really run the offense much. He tends to struggle most when covered by a small, quick player and it happened again last night. Had some nice passes. I think he was trying to focus on helping others score and feel comfortable.

Was disappointed with how little MD played, and how little he participated in the offense when he was in. Would like to see him try and post his man up more, and demand the ball more, but he was content to hang out on the perimeter. Hope he hits the boards harder in the future. Love his defense and passing ability.

Hughes got almost all his points on 3s or on break aways. He likes to leak out early and get easy baskets, which is not a bad thing except if he is playing forward and needs to help rebound. His outside shooting form is really good, he is quick and athletic (though not quick as much as TB) and seems to do everything pretty well, including handling the ball. Made a lot of good decisions. Didn't see any forced shots or foolish turnovers. He looked okay on the baseline in the zone, but I bet he will be a lot more effective on defense playing up top, where he looked like he could be as effectively as FH or TB down the road.

Thought PC looked good on defense, and thought he moved well and rebounded really well. He looks stronger and tougher. Let's see if it holds up against players close to his own size. He didn't work as hard as I would like to use his body to get open and establish good low post position.

Thought BS looked good. Got pushed once from the back and went down like his knee just gave out on him, which was the most alarming moment of the scrimmage for me, but he got up and acted okay. That was the only sign his knee might not be 100%. Moved well, jumped pretty well. Got in some foul trouble, needs to work on that. Rebounded okay. His defense looked good. He also needs to be more assertive getting the ball in scoring position down low.

Thought Braswell mostly stood around on the perimeter and deferred to his elders. Typical stuff for a freshman. He doesn't know how to move without the ball right now, and I don't see him trying to beat anyone off the dribble anytime soon. Definitely needs to get stronger and build his confidence. But with his shooting form and athletic ability, he has a high ceiling.

In contract, Buddy was really assertive and confident. Took a lot of shots, looked to probe the defense for weaknesses every time he touched the ball. If he was given room to drive, he did and when he did, he made good decisions. Sometimes he just took a step or two closer and settled for a mid range jumper. Sometimes he went further and settled for a pull up in the paint. He was really good at making decisions with the ball. As aggressive as he is, he is going to make some turnovers, and he did last night but I think anyone with any doubts over whether Buddy belongs at Syracuse should be satisfied now. Like Hughes, I think he will be a lot better defensively up top,especially early in the his career when he isn't really strong. In short, he played like a coaches' son and looked a lot more like a junior than a freshman playing in his first game.

My biggest concern with him is whether he is quick enough and athletic enough to play up top in the 2-3. I think that is TBD, we won't know that until he plays against better competition. But it looks possible he could be okay here.

Good start. Let's hope the PGs get well soon.

 

[Waltdods]

Was disappointed with how little MD played, and how little he participated in the offense when he was in. Would like to see him try and post his man up more, and demand the ball more, but he was content to hang out on the perimeter. Hope he hits the boards harder in the future. Love his defense and passing ability.

As someone who did not see the game, this was the most surprising part of the box score to me. Was there any indication of why Dolezaj played so few minutes? It was surprising to me that he didn't get the start, let alone end up playing only 17 minutes.

 

[IthacaMatt]

As someone who did not see the game, this was the most surprising part of the box score to me. Was there any indication of why Dolezaj played so few minutes? It was surprising to me that he didn't get the start, let alone end up playing only 17 minutes.

I think Coach knows what he has in Marek, and wanted to see some of the other guys more.

 

[Waltdods]

I think Coach knows what he has in Marek, and wanted to see some of the other guys more.

But Battle and Brissett - both much more proven than Marek - both played twice as many minutes as him.

 

[sutomcat]

But Battle and Brissett - both much more proven than Marek - both played twice as many minutes as him.

Playing time is going to be an issue this season. It already is and there are 3 more scholarship players that will soon be added to the mix. This year will be JB's biggest challenge in terms of divvying up the minutes. Even Juli will be questioning him at times now.

 

[jr4750]

Playing time is going to be an issue this season. It already is and there are 3 more scholarship players that will soon be added to the mix. This year will be JB's biggest challenge in terms of divvying up the minutes. Even Juli will be questioning him at times now.

I agree Tom. It is very tough to develop continuity and efficiency if we are subbing a ton. JB doesn't like to do this anyway, he likes to play 7/8 at most. I would guess Marek is the guy who will lose out on minutes, because I don't see Brissett or Hughes coming out a ton. Perhaps, Marek steals minutes at the 5? Tyus is a given to play 35 min, Frank's mins will depend on his heath. Carey will play probably 15-20 min. Buddy will play too, especially after last nights display. Who knows how much. HW should redshirt, but, I guess we will see. Braswell is a few years away imo.

 

[Waltdods]

Playing time is going to be an issue this season. It already is and there are 3 more scholarship players that will soon be added to the mix. This year will be JB's biggest challenge in terms of divvying up the minutes. Even Juli will be questioning him at times now.

Yea, that seems likely. Battle and Brissett are locks to get 34-35 minutes a game, so that leaves 130 minutes to split between seven guys. (I assume Braswell is not getting real minutes this year.) If Buddy is really going to play this year - and I'm still skeptical - someone who expected big minutes is going to get squeezed. That Hughes started and played big minutes makes me think it won't be him. The two centers will get their time. Carey is going to get chances, though given the level of playing-time competition, it's certainly possible he ends up being the guy squeezed, and gets Dion Waiters 2010/MCW 2011 minutes.

On Buddy, the fact that he was in the starting lineup is a tell that he is going to play. The performance in the exhibition is kind of irrelevant - James Southerland put on a show in his first exhibition game and then didn't play for two years, I think BJ Johnson did the same, etc. I am hesitant to read too much into the start in light of the string of guard injuries.

 

[bballbeadle]

When Sidibe fell down, he came up in pain. He limped noticeably and several times he leaned down and put his hands below his knee. I am the fretful mother type, so I am glad you didn’t think he was too bothered. I realize HOW MUCH I want him to be okay and not vulnerable.

 

[Newhouser]

Marek is going to find minutes. I think Hughes played well last night but come ACC time he will have his good nights and bad and Marek will get those minutes and at the 5 in spots. We will need facilitators and Marek is the best one we have on the team.

 

[Subob1]

But Battle and Brissett - both much more proven than Marek - both played twice as many minutes as him.

TB by necessity but I felt that JB was trying to give Hughes as much time with OB and TB as possible to build chemistry and give EH more time to shake off the rust. Pleasantly surprised with PC and certainly BB, satisfied with the rest except TB ain't no point guard and rebounding wasn't as strong as it should have been. Didn't think with the exception of OB we were as aggressive and physical as we need to be. One other comment, Looked to me OB was not set on his early 3s. When he took a little more time and squared up in the second half, nothing but net.

 

[PhatOrange]

Boy minutes are sure going to be a good problem to have.

Buddy is the HUGE wrinkle in the minutes distribution here. Nobody expected him to play this year. Not only is he going to play but he's next in line to start with Carey. Definitely belongs on the court imo. Marek's the one who's going to lose all the minutes and that's probably ok. He'll be the kid least likely to be a locker room problem because of it.

If you're starters are:
Brissett
Chukwu
Hughes
Howard
Battle

Your bench is Carey, Boehiem, Sidibe, Marek. Maybe in that order. Can't see anybody else playing. Marek will be happy if he gets 17 minutes.

Brissett / Marek
Chukwu / Sidibe / Marek
Hughes / Buddy / Marek
Howard / Carey
Battle / Buddy / Howard

 

[Waltdods]

Boy minutes are sure going to be a good problem to have.

Buddy is the HUGE wrinkle in the minutes distribution here. Nobody expected him to play this year. Not only is he going to play but he's next in line to start. Definitely belongs on the court imo. Marek's the one who's going to lose all the minutes and that's probably ok. He'll be the kid least likely to be a locker room problem because of it.

If you're starters are:
Brissett
Chukwu
Hughes
Howard
Battle

Your bench is Carey, Boehiem, Sidibe, Marek. Maybe in that order. Can't see anybody else playing. Marek will be happy if he gets 17 minutes.

Brissett / Marek
Chukwu / Sidibe / Marek
Hughes / Buddy / Marek
Howard / Carey
Battle / Buddy / Howard

Man, I don't know. That's finding time for two freshman guards (BB and Carey) when you've already got two upperclass guards ensconced at their positions. It also, as a practical matter, turns a pretty big team into a kind of small one - Hughes and, especially, Buddy are at least somewhat undersized to play the back of the zone. Looking at this lineup kind of convinces me that one of Carey or Boeheim are going to end up the ninth guy. (Who still gets minutes, unlike in many years, just not a ton of them.)

 

[Consigliere]

TB by necessity but I felt that JB was trying to give Hughes as much time with OB and TB as possible to build chemistry and give EH more time to shake off the rust. Pleasantly surprised with PC and certainly BB, satisfied with the rest except TB ain't no point guard and rebounding wasn't as strong as it should have been. Didn't think with the exception of OB we were as aggressive and physical as we need to be. One other comment, Looked to me OB was not set on his early 3s. When he took a little more time and squared up in the second half, nothing but net.

More specifically I suspect the coaching staff wanted to get a feel for how Hughes would perform on the back line of the 2 - 3 as that will be his position this year with everyone healthy. I believe he practiced mostly at guard last year with the thought that he would start at the 2 this year. Could have started him at guard last night but chose to start him at 3 and give him a lot of minutes.

That said I was very disappointed that Dolezaj came up as almost invisible last night especially as St. Rose zoned most of the game. The turning point last year was when Marek started to hit that 15 footer in the middle of the D and his ability to do that consistently is a big X factor with this year's team. Frankly he looked almost disinterested at times last night. Could be symptomatic of not having a PG on the floor to run the offense but certainly worth watching the next couple of weeks.

 

[EastCoast2]

I really hope the starting lineup is:

PG) Howard
SG Battle
SF) Brissett
PF) Dolezaj
C) Chukwu

Start with the best zone defense. Establish the tempo. Rattle the opponent early with the tallest starting lineup ever in college basketball. Then let Hughes bring some Dion Waiters-esque offense off the bench. Let Carey give Howard and/or Battle a breather for 3-6 minutes at a time. Let Sidibe give Chukwu a breather, and between the two centers, you play the hot hand for the game. Let Buddy take some shots to try to stretch a lead, if he can hold his own in the zone and not be a liability. That's it, 8, maybe 9 guy rotation, depending on Buddy.

 

[jgeorge322]

Buddy seemed calm. Like no doubt in his mind he belongs here. Was very pleased with his game.

 

[Consigliere]

Boy minutes are sure going to be a good problem to have.

Buddy is the HUGE wrinkle in the minutes distribution here. Nobody expected him to play this year. Not only is he going to play but he's next in line to start with Carey. Definitely belongs on the court imo. Marek's the one who's going to lose all the minutes and that's probably ok. He'll be the kid least likely to be a locker room problem because of it.

If you're starters are:
Brissett
Chukwu
Hughes
Howard
Battle

Your bench is Carey, Boehiem, Sidibe, Marek. Maybe in that order. Can't see anybody else playing. Marek will be happy if he gets 17 minutes.

Brissett / Marek
Chukwu / Sidibe / Marek
Hughes / Buddy / Marek
Howard / Carey
Battle / Buddy / Howard

Ideal is 3 Fs with one who can give you some minutes at C, 3 Gs and 2 Cs in an 8 man rotation.

Can't see Buddy playing at the 3 yet. Need rebounding out of the position and I just don't see anywhere near the strength needed to mix it up in the ACC. And the wings have to cover a tremendous amount of ground defending from baseline all the way out beyond foul line extended 3 line. Also need to rotate in to the post when ball reverses and they are on the weak side. Maybe eventually but not this year.

That leaves a comfortable 3 man rotation at F with Hughes, Oshae and Marek, Marek is the emergency third 5 and Braswell redshirts. Surplus is at guard. It's apparent Buddy will get minutes. It seems like Tyus coming back, while a wonderful surprise that lifts the ceiling of this team greatly, is what caused the logjam. As mentioned, a GREAT problem to have but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[PhatOrange]

Man, I don't know. That's finding time for two freshman guards (BB and Carey) when you've already got two upperclass guards ensconced at their positions. It also, as a practical matter, turns a pretty big team into a kind of small one - Hughes and, especially, Buddy are at least somewhat undersized to play the back of the zone. Looking at this lineup kind of convinces me that one of Carey or Boeheim are going to end up the ninth guy. (Who still gets minutes, unlike in many years, just not a ton of them.)

Carey didn’t come here to sit and I don’t see battle and Howard going 40 every night. 32-35 is my guess. The kid who won’t complain about sitting is Buddy so maybe he sits but his shooting will be needed and he’s far from a stiff.

Marek will alternate in the front court but Briz and Hughes are going to play a lot.

 

[SUOrangeSU]

We're gonna see Marek at the 5 this season to finally have 5 offensive players on the court

 

[PhatOrange]

Buddy seemed calm. Like no doubt in his mind he belongs here. Was very pleased with his game.

That’s what I thought to. He had an upper class demeanor. Calm, not nervous, not afraid. I thought he was beyond his years in that dept and it makes sense since he’s been around this level his whole life.

 

[PhatOrange]

Ideal is 3 Fs with one who can give you some minutes at C, 3 Gs and 2 Cs in an 8 man rotation.

Can't see Buddy playing at the 3 yet. Need rebounding out of the position and I just don't see anywhere near the strength needed to mix it up in the ACC. And the wings have to cover a tremendous amount of ground defending from baseline all the way out beyond foul line extended 3 line. Also need to rotate in to the post when ball reverses and they are on the weak side. Maybe eventually but not this year.

That leaves a comfortable 3 man rotation at F with Hughes, Oshae and Marek, Marek is the emergency third 5 and Braswell redshirts. Surplus is at guard. It's apparent Buddy will get minutes. It seems like Tyus coming back, while a wonderful surprise that lifts the ceiling of this team greatly, is what caused the logjam. As mentioned, a GREAT problem to have but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I probably shouldn't have listed subs with players - because the guards and SF position are very interchangeable when Hughes is out. I penciled Buddy in at the 3 as a shooter if the guards are Howard/Battle. Battle can be the SF or Buddy the guard, really doesn't matter when we're on offense And defensively Battle can play the forward wing spot in the zone.

With Hughes out of the game you can still have any 3 of the 4 players (Howard, Cary, Battle or Buddy) in the game. Or Briz can take the SF spot with Hughes out and Marek in the game at the 4. Marek is the last 3 option in my opinion because of the offense.

What this really shows is how dynamic the lineups can be.

 

[OttoMets]

I really hope the starting lineup is:

PG) Howard
SG Battle
SF) Brissett
PF) Dolezaj
C) Chukwu

Start with the best zone defense. Establish the tempo. Rattle the opponent early with the tallest starting lineup ever in college basketball. Then let Hughes bring some Dion Waiters-esque offense off the bench. Let Carey give Howard and/or Battle a breather for 3-6 minutes at a time. Let Sidibe give Chukwu a breather, and between the two centers, you play the hot hand for the game. Let Buddy take some shots to try to stretch a lead, if he can hold his own in the zone and not be a liability. That's it, 8, maybe 9 guy rotation, depending on Buddy.

Agree, Dolezaj's kind of a tentative guy anyway. Set the tone with the solid lineup and then bring in a couple subs with some pop.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

That’s what I thought to. He had an upper class demeanor. Calm, not nervous, not afraid. I thought he was beyond his years in that dept and it makes sense since he’s been around this level his whole life.

I was pleasantly surprised how comfortable he seemed looking for his own shot.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Playing time is going to be an issue this season. It already is and there are 3 more scholarship players that will soon be added to the mix.

I see what you did there!

 

[007]

Battle Brissett and Hughes are going to play a lot of minutes...

The biggest surprise from last night for me was seeing the 2-2-1 - full and 3/4 court press. I am really big fan of this development. JB also showed the traditional 1-2-1-1. I have never seen JB use the 2-2-1 in over 30 years of following the program. This leads to me to believe that he is going to at least try to go 9-10 deep and press.

Wow

 

[Lucid]

I really hope the starting lineup is:

PG) Howard
SG Battle
SF) Brissett
PF) Dolezaj
C) Chukwu

Start with the best zone defense. Establish the tempo. Rattle the opponent early with the tallest starting lineup ever in college basketball. Then let Hughes bring some Dion Waiters-esque offense off the bench. Let Carey give Howard and/or Battle a breather for 3-6 minutes at a time. Let Sidibe give Chukwu a breather, and between the two centers, you play the hot hand for the game. Let Buddy take some shots to try to stretch a lead, if he can hold his own in the zone and not be a liability. That's it, 8, maybe 9 guy rotation, depending on Buddy.

I think this is good analysis. If I were coach, this is what I would do, although if Sidibe emerges the way we've all been hoping, he and Chukwu might be a bit more interchangeable.