This season was incredibly disappointing

[cliftonparksufan]

No one has brought up Battle. The kid has a lot of talent. If we don't have a long postseason run then he can't pull a Mali. I hate to even suggest it that way but he is going to be a very important piece next season. Will he be our starting PG as some have suggested.

 

[Orangello]

Go read the Iggy awards post above and say you are surprised.

Ex post facto your post tries to make this year appear to be a success. It had been a mediocre underachieving season.
This season has sucked JB called this team special preseason. He constructed the roster. He has built the program up but the school has stayed loyal to him as well.

He is 72 we aren't looking good next year. I want Hop to get his chance.

My point is that this season could have been a lot worse than it has been, not that it has been a success in hindsight. Disappointing by the standards historically set for the program for sure, but a lot of people would say 18 wins as a member of the ACC is not the end of the world. Next year could be worse for sure, who knows. One thing for certain is that Hop will surely get his chance.

 

[Zepharus]

I really can't remember ever being more disappointed in a team, they really laid a giant egg this year.

01-02 was close... but this one is my #1 most frustrating team to watch. Painful as a Cuse fan. Sad part is that I feel the downward slide of the program

 

[Lucid]

We certainly have the talent and the fire power. Where we lack is basketball iq and grit. So many dumb plays through the year in bad situations. I believe this is a tournament team as well.

Aren't basketball IQ and grit supposed to come from coaches? It just seems to me that a common problem at the 'Cuse seems to be kids just not coming ready to play, and I don't see that anywhere near as often from other premier coaches. Coach K, Roy Williams, Pitino. Look at Jamie Dixon. What he did at Pitt, and now is starting to do at TCU. It's a rare game that his teams don't come ready to play, with basketball IQ and grit.

Don't get me wrong, I've respected and loved having JB as our coach for a long time. I'm just starting to think maybe he's not as in-tune with the day-to-day aspects of coaching as he once was.

 

[Lucid]

The season did contain what I feel was the lowest low of the Boeheim era. St. Johns. The only game in SU history when a team literally gave up on the court.

For the lowest low, I'm still going with a game that involved the Richmond Spiders.

 

[Cuse House]

Aren't basketball IQ and grit supposed to come from coaches? It just seems to me that a common problem at the 'Cuse seems to be kids just not coming ready to play, and I don't see that anywhere near as often from other premier coaches. Coach K, Roy Williams, Pitino. Look at Jamie Dixon. What he did at Pitt, and now is starting to do at TCU. It's a rare game that his teams don't come ready to play, with basketball IQ and grit.

Don't get me wrong, I've respected and loved having JB as our coach for a long time. I'm just starting to think maybe he's not as in-tune with the day-to-day aspects of coaching as he once was.

I think there is something to that. Teams tend to take on the personality of their coach, and JB is extremely laid back for the most part during games. Some of it has to fall on the players though, they play for Syracuse and should take pride in that.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

other than the obvious piss poor early play and tough losses, the 2 biggest disappointments to me this season were Robe and Chukwu. I expected big thing from both of them. Oh well...

Looking all the way back to the end of last year, I'd add Howard to that list. His debacle of a season really disappointed me.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We are losing to too many programs less talented than us. I can take losing to UNC and Louisville if we can beat Notre Dame, UConn, St. John's, Georgetown, Pitt, Georgia Tech etc...the last few years we have had way too many What losses.

 

[Alsacs]

We are losing to too many programs less talented than us. I can take losing to UNC and Louisville if we can beat Notre Dame, UConn, St. John's, Georgetown, Pitt, Georgia Tech etc...the last few years we have had way too many What losses.

When we let the opponent dictate tempo and we have a small margin for error we will play a ton of close games. It is impossible to win all close games.

JB isn't going to change but compared to the other HOFers his style sucks to watch every game.

 

[orangecuse]

This team hasn't lost 14 games to date because of its offense.

Well, it has certainly been a contributing factor. The defense has been poor, especially on the road, however, we played well enough on D to win Wednesday. Miami had 62 points, the last few coming from the foul line as we had to foul down the stretch, including their last two with 0.4 seconds left.

The other significant factor has been our offense, notably our poor and inconsistent guard play. Gillon has been spectacular at moments as we have witnessed, along with also being, let's just say not so good. He was the later on Wednesday. What was worse than his mere 8 points and 2 assists, were his critical turnovers that lead to several fast break points for Miami, especially in that first half.

Howard, well, I'll just remain diplomatic as far as he's concerned.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Specifically this season: Three seasons ago, no one could hit a three and this season no one could drive resulting in another one-dimensional offense; not getting much out of & then losing Chukwu was disappointing; Coleman injuries were disappointing; Howard was disappointing.

I do wonder if having the lineup set a little earlier in the season would have resulted in at least a couple more wins (e.g., UConn and G'Town, maybe BC), but also even with the final lineup, they still looked like a completely different team on the road. But ultimately, that's on the staff - they see these guys everyday and they need to sniff out a problem or see that someone just doesn't have the skillset to play a spot.

If Wednesday was the last game, then I look forward to the offseason to see what shakes out and remain optimistic for next season. I think Battle and Thompson have the potential to special players. Moyer should bring the fire. The best thing about recruits is that they have endless potential to dream on. I hope that the staff has learned some lessons this season and don't repeat mistakes that can be corrected.

 

[br801]

I just feel bad for Gillon and White. They came here from lesser programs fully expecting to play in the NCAA Tournament and make a run to showcase their talents on the biggest stage. Instead, they found themselves surrounded by the same bums they played with at those lesser programs. Sad.

This team still may find itself in the NCAAT, and given recent history, it is curious to see so many here already referring to this season in the past tense. I plan to let this thing play out before throwing myself off a cliff.

 

[dasher]

Compared to what we had for expectations, what a disappointing year. The highs were high, the lows were low. The five game win streak, and then the Duke win, were some of the best moments I've ever had cheering on syracuse.

That said... The big picture here is that this season fell flat, in a big way. It's great we ended up where we did given where we started, but as a whole, disappointing is definitely the best word for it.

That Miami game would really be the perfect fitting for ending this season. A game we started the first half slowly, fought back in the second, encountered missed opportunities (4 point swing off missed dunk, these plays happened often this year), and then still had a chance at the buzzer. Unfortunately not this time.

I'm sick of letting teams dictate tempo. Our offensive philosophy needs an overhaul.

I likie to wait until the season is over to make judgments on the season. Take last year for example.

 

[dasher]

This team still may find itself in the NCAAT, and given recent history, it is curious to see so many here already referring to this season in the past tense. I plan to let this thing play out before throwing myself off a cliff.

I just said the same thing. These posts look a lot like the posts after the Pitt ACC tournament game last year.

 

[longislandcuse]

Very frustrating season made even more frustrating by their lackluster, let the opponent dictate everything, loss to Miami when all these other programs seem to be able to step up in their conference tourneys while needing a win.

Seasons not over but after some of these results yesterday, I'm now at the point where I'll be surprised if we're in.

 

[orangecuse]

Aren't basketball IQ and grit supposed to come from coaches? It just seems to me that a common problem at the 'Cuse seems to be kids just not coming ready to play, and I don't see that anywhere near as often from other premier coaches. Coach K, Roy Williams, Pitino. Look at Jamie Dixon. What he did at Pitt, and now is starting to do at TCU. It's a rare game that his teams don't come ready to play, with basketball IQ and grit.

Don't get me wrong, I've respected and loved having JB as our coach for a long time. I'm just starting to think maybe he's not as in-tune with the day-to-day aspects of coaching as he once was.

In my opinion, grit and IQ, for the most part, is innate. No different than the coaches imploring Lydon to shoot more, he doesn't appear to have that inner involuntary DNA trait that allows for that automatic trigger. You think JB had anything to do with DC's tenacity and fire? I don't think so, it was innate. Being completely engaged and competing at all costs comes from within.

 

[Alsacs]

I just said the same thing. These posts look a lot like the posts after the Pitt ACC tournament game last year.

Even if we make the NCAA tournament it doesn't change the fact our brand of basketball sucks.
It just so pathetic to let the opponent dictate tempo every single game.
I hope we make it but the problem is because we are a ZONE.ZONE ZONE team its frustrating.
I want to actually enjoy watching my team play.

 

[br801]

I just said the same thing. These posts look a lot like the posts after the Pitt ACC tournament game last year.

But that Final Four run doesn't really count, or so I've heard.

 

[dasher]

Even if we make the NCAA tournament it doesn't change the fact our brand of basketball sucks.
It just so pathetic to let the opponent dictate tempo every single game.
I hope we make it but the problem is because we are a ZONE.ZONE ZONE team its frustrating.
I want to actually enjoy watching my team play.

I enjoy watching Syracuse play. If I didn't, I wouldn't watch it. Look forward to every game. I know that so many here know more about basketball than our coach. How he has managed to win 1000 games is close to a miracle. Teams have 30 seconds to shoot every time down the floor. No more. No less. There isn't a lot of tempo being dictated. Some teams play slower than others.

 

[br801]

Even if we make the NCAA tournament it doesn't change the fact our brand of basketball sucks.
It just so pathetic to let the opponent dictate tempo every single game.
I hope we make it but the problem is because we are a ZONE.ZONE ZONE team its frustrating.
I want to actually enjoy watching my team play.

You want your team to win lots of games, in dominant fashion, in a style that pleases you, with players that all stick around just the right amount of time. Seems pretty reasonable.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

This team still may find itself in the NCAAT, and given recent history, it is curious to see so many here already referring to this season in the past tense. I plan to let this thing play out before throwing myself off a cliff.

I'm not throwing myself off the cliff, I'm throwing this team off the cliff...

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Specifically this season: Three seasons ago, no one could hit a three and this season no one could drive resulting in another one-dimensional offense; not getting much out of & then losing Chukwu was disappointing; Coleman injuries were disappointing; Howard was disappointing.

I do wonder if having the lineup set a little earlier in the season would have resulted in at least a couple more wins (e.g., UConn and G'Town, maybe BC), but also even with the final lineup, they still looked like a completely different team on the road. But ultimately, that's on the staff - they see these guys everyday and they need to sniff out a problem or see that someone just doesn't have the skillset to play a spot.

If Wednesday was the last game, then I look forward to the offseason to see what shakes out and remain optimistic for next season. I think Battle and Thompson have the potential to special players. Moyer should bring the fire. The best thing about recruits is that they have endless potential to dream on. I hope that the staff has learned some lessons this season and don't repeat mistakes that can be corrected.

Next year, I guarantee I'm going to be posting in a thread like this that Moyer didn't seem to live up to all the hype. The expectations on this kid continue to grow and grow. I hope he's up to the task.

 

[Alsacs]

But that Final Four run doesn't really count, or so I've heard.

Nobody disputes the Final Four run. However I can look at it and say we were the first 10 seed to make the Final Four.
Our program the last 3 years has gone 59-41. That is pathetic for a top 10 program. Thank goodness for the Final Four run.
What changes or adjustments has JB made to the system?

None. We play 100% zone defense. We have a pathetic simple offense.
We press when we are down Big.
We let the opponent dictate the tempo of the game.

 

[orangecuse]

Nobody disputes the Final Four run. However I can look at it and say we were the first 10 seed to make the Final Four.
Our program the last 3 years has gone 59-41. That is pathetic for a top 10 program. Thank goodness for the Final Four run.
What changes or adjustments has JB made to the system?

None. We play 100% zone defense. We have a pathetic simple offense.
We press when we are down Big.
We let the opponent dictate the tempo of the game.

You sir, are not a true fan.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Specifically this season: Three seasons ago, no one could hit a three and this season no one could drive resulting in another one-dimensional offense; not getting much out of & then losing Chukwu was disappointing; Coleman injuries were disappointing; Howard was disappointing.

I do wonder if having the lineup set a little earlier in the season would have resulted in at least a couple more wins (e.g., UConn and G'Town, maybe BC), but also even with the final lineup, they still looked like a completely different team on the road. But ultimately, that's on the staff - they see these guys everyday and they need to sniff out a problem or see that someone just doesn't have the skillset to play a spot.

If Wednesday was the last game, then I look forward to the offseason to see what shakes out and remain optimistic for next season. I think Battle and Thompson have the potential to special players. Moyer should bring the fire. The best thing about recruits is that they have endless potential to dream on. I hope that the staff has learned some lessons this season and don't repeat mistakes that can be corrected.

Ehhh. I think the skill of "putting the ball on the floor" is the most overrated skill in basketball tbh. Syracuse fan's love it for some reason(I think because we think of Dion). I think our offense isn't great to watch because outside of Lydon and sometimes Gillon we have a bunch of below average passers. If you can pass the ball you don't need to go one on one. We haven't had a good passing team in a couple years now.

I was watching the 2011 BET that we lost against UConn yesterday and the difference in the passing then compared to now was mindblowing. Triche and Scoop were feeding Rick Jackson in the post pretty much every other possession down the court. We never see that now.