We interrupt the recent b*tchfest

[Henny & Coke]

How about when he scored the last 12 points or something and basically won the Louisville game on his own?

Yep, I'd certainly consider that a good place to start:

http://syracusefan.com/threads/39-5-seconds-left-68-67-louisville.42467/

 

[anomander]

I just don't remember that game going down like that, where he single handedly just took over the game. I recall us being down 4 or 5 points late in the game and Louisville just made blunder after blunder down the stretch with bad turnovers leading to fast break type points. JB himself mentioned how we were fortunate to get that W. I also recall the game day guys, including Bilas (who typically gives a lot of love to JB & the Orange) saying basically the same thing, L'ville gave the game away (similar as we did against 'Nova). Bilas and company certainly were not putting the emphasis on MCW and how he single handedly 'changed' the game's otherwise probable outcome.

All I know is we could be a whole lot worse and people are under appreciating him . Same thing with scoop . Now people all a sudden want him back and he doesn't do nearly as much as mcw.

 

[orangecuse]

All I know is we could be a whole lot worse and people are under appreciating him . Same thing with scoop . Now people all a sudden want him back and he doesn't do nearly as much as mcw.

I was a big Scoop fan, I think primarly due to how much he grew up, matured and became such a great leader and young man during his duration at SU. That being said, I am also a fan of MCW's game as well. I was just commenting that due to the small sample size to date relative to MCW, I couldn't conclude that I would prefer MCW over Scoop everyday. And, at least in my opinion, that there has yet to be a game where MCW single handedly just took the game over and changed the outcome.

Even if we agree to disagree relative to that L'ville game, is one game enough to make a statement that he has the ability to just take games over and change it completely? For me, there would have to be more actual games to draw from where it was done to make that overall assessment. :noidea: This is only MCW's first season of really seeing the floor as he basically sat the pine most of last year.

 

[anomander]

I was a big Scoop fan, I think primarly due to how much he grew up, matured and became such a great leader and young man during his duration at SU. That being said, I also am a fan of MCW's game as well. I was just commenting that due to the small sample size to date relative to MCW, I couldn't conclude that I would prefer MCW over Scoop everyday. And, at least in my opinion, that there has yet to be a game where MCW single handedly just took the game over and changed the outcome.

Even if we agree to disagree relative to that L'ville game, is one game enough to make a statement that he has the ability to just take games over and change it completely? For me, there would have to be more actual games to draw from where it was done to make that overall assessment. :noidea: This is only MCW's first season of really seeing the floor as he basically sat the pine most of last year.

I agree . I guess the non conference games don't count because he did dominate them. I do agree that based off that he was going to have an all American year and has taken a small step back since conf play started. But still that's a step back from playing at an all American level . With what he has to work with I'm perfectly fine with him running my team .

 

[SUskibum]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the fact that our top shooter was also out the majority of big east play. This not only affected direct assist totals where dirty would can a jumper but also indirectly the space that dirty provides for others to have space so they are in better position to score off a pass

 

[CaptainJ]

I really like MCW(and I mean that most sincerely). But the other time I was online when this thread popped up(about records possibly being broken), I mentioned The General and friends played against a much tougher level of competition. We have the NBA expansion and a change in culture to thank for talent leaving the college ranks so quickly these days. Will MCW end up being better and/or a bigger legend than The General, The Pearl, etc? Possibly. Sadly, it's less likely to happen while he's still at SU than it would have been in days past.

 

[senorpalmer]

Just exactly how is he selfish? Look at the offense they run . It's primarily pick and roll so literally almost every time it's going to be either him or triche making the decision . In non conference before defenses adjusted he was averaging close to 10 assist a game. Now defenses have adjusted, but we're still running the same offense, and they are taking the pass away forcing him to shoot more . According to the stats posted before its only 2 shots more a game. It's not like he has a ton of options I don't know what you expect , but if your nit picking him then obviously your expecting perfection and nothing else

They don't keep stats on bad shots that I know of, but he's taken a lot. I don't expect perfection, but his FG% is piss poor, and he shouldn't be shooting as much as he does.

 

[Henny & Coke]

for some positive observations:

Michael Carter-Williams is certainly aiming for the Syracuse Basketball record book in his first season of major playing time.

Although MCW was recently overtaken for the national lead in assists/game, his current average of 8.2 assists per game (197 total assists so far) is still pretty impressive. Let's see how those numbers currently rank compared to the all-time greats:

Current Top 5 Seasons in SU History (Assists/game):
Sherman Douglas (88-89) 8.6
Sherman Douglas (87-88) 8.2
Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (85-86) 7.8
Sherman Douglas (86-87) 7.6
Lazarus Sims (95-96) 7.4

Current Top 5 Seasons in SU History (Total Assists):
Sherman Douglas (88-89) 326
Sherman Douglas (86-87) 289
Sherman Douglas (87-88) 288
Lazarus Sims (95-96) 281
Jonny Flynn (08-09) 254

Michael Carter-Williams is still in the top 5 nationally in steals per game though, as his current average of 3.1 steals per game (75 total steals so far) ranks him third in the nation. Compared to the all-time SU greats:

Current Top 5 Seasons in SU History (Steals/game):
Jason Hart (98-99) 3.1
James Thues (01-02) 2.8
Jason Hart (96-97) 2.8
Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (85-86) 2.6

Current Top 5 Seasons in SU History (Total Steals):
James Thues (01-02) 101
Jason Hart (98-9) 101
Jason Hart (96-97) 90
Eddie Moss (80-81) 85
Dwayne "Pearl" Washington (85-86) 82

Michael Carter-Williams is also a pretty nice rebounder for a guard (especially a point guard). He currently averages 4.8 rebounds per game (114 total rebounds so far). Being curious as to when the last time a Syracuse guard averaged such a high rebound average, I looked it up...Josh Pace averaged 5.0 rebounds per game in 04-05, the highest total I could find. (And, correct me if I'm wrong, Pace was listed as a guard/forward.) Billy Edelin also posted an impressive 4.2 rebounds per game average in 03-04.

As we continue finishing out the Big East schedule and move on into the Big East & NCAA tournaments, the level of competition will remain very strong. Suffice it to say that there is likely to be some downward pressure on all such averages. But, I for one will be rooting for our (basically) first-year point guard to continue to play well, lead the team to great heights, and in the process, hopefully we get to witness some history (in the form of an all-time Top 5 Season in one or more of these categories, including the national ones.)

Now, back to your regularly scheduled b*tching & moaning...Everyone sucks! Can't wait for (so and so) to leave! I miss every player we used to have! When is (player X) finally going to have a decent game! This team is NIT bound! Playoffs? You talking about Playoffs? Playoffs? (Opps, sorry about that last one, thats football.)

Updated stats as of 3/21/13:

- MCW now has 280 assists for the season, which currently ranks as the 4th most all-time in a season (for SU player).

If he were to get just 10 more assists before the season concludes, he would move into 2nd all-time (passing Lazarus Sims 281 assists in 95-96, Sherman Douglas 288 assists in 87-88, and Sherman Douglas 289 assists in 86-87), behind only Sherman Douglas' 326(!) assists in 88-89.

- His current assist-per-game ratio of 7.8 would tie him for 3rd most in a season all-time, with Dwayne "Pearl" Washington's 7.8 assist/game ratio in 85-86.

- MCW also now has 99 steals for the season, which currently ranks as the 3rd most all-time in a season (for SU player).

If he were to get just 3 more steals before the season concludes, he would move into 1st all-time (passing James Thues 101 steals in 01-02, and Jason Hart 101 steals in 98-99).

- His current steal-per-game ratio of 2.8 would tie him for 2nd most in a season all-time, with James Thues 2.8 steals/game in 01-02 and Jason Hart 2.8 steals/game in 96-97.

 

[kirbivore]

who's bitching?