“They’re the best defensive team we’ve played,’’ said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes

[Surfan06001]

The victory dances people are doing are weird

 

[721Comstock]

The victory dances people are doing are weird

You'd prefer defeat dances?

Let folks enjoy this W.
It was hard fought, and well earned.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Offense I think is what most people have been complaining about

 

[Surfan06001]

You'd prefer defeat dances?

Let folks enjoy this W.
It was hard fought, and well earned.

No I’m happy as hell we won. But to act like people were dumb for having legit grievances is weird.

 

[upperdeck]

We just need the outside guys to anticipate the rebounds and not react to the rebounds and we would probably cut the 13 down to under 10.

 

[007]

wasn't referring just to syracuse ladies and gents, clearly referring to the "tournements" etc., meaning not just Cuse but overall. Nice compliment

To belabor the point, Barnes was stumbling with the wording but he said "they're the best defensive team since we've been playing the last couple of years...we've kind of run into them a couple of times in tournaments." This statement was in reference to the defense that Syracuse has played the last 2 times Tennessee played them in the SEC vs ACC Challenge.

Even so, the more important point from a fan watching the games perspective is the night and day difference in the defense as compared to anything we've seen to date under Red.

 

[GHLF]

Offense I think is what most people have been complaining about

If it wasn't one it would be the other, I am just so glad that the players play so hard for him. It has to be guard dominated especially in crunch time. No matter what, alot of people are going to dislike this coach for whatever reason. Definitely still learning however under a huge microscope. Very tough situation he took over for, Sort of crazy how Rick Barnes slightly alluded to that. It is certainly known in circles that have any idea. Huge portions of the disdainful, nitpicking, Negative sector of the fan base have no idea the position he was put into coupled with the current climate, coupled with being a first time head coach, taking over a program that was in essentially disarray from an inside perspective with minimal forethought at the last minute...... Listen to Rick Barnes postgame conference. Some inside perspective people who complain largely, once again largely have no clue and it is indicative of their own life, a reflection of and certainly things that are much bigger than Syracuse basketball. Now go ahead and take a look at your own reflection, Yuck

 

[sweetpea]

I've always liked Barnes as well. Enjoyed the fact many years ago when he called out Dean Smith for crying about Clemson's physical play which he brought from the BIg East at Providence.

 

[supp]

Yeah. It’s at the 1:54 mark. Still a nice compliment but he was saying it’s the best Syracuse defense in years.

That makes more sense. The players have a lot more to work on in terms of fighting through screens and making switches. Lots of easy buckets given up on relatively simple screen plays. Best defensive team this year is a difficult argument to make.

 

[shu 49]

Rick Barnes said this was the best defensive SYRACUSE team over the last few years. Anyway, defense was previously awful under Autry, and this year it’s much better. Kudus to Autry. Anyone who makes observations about poor play here is just reporting what their eyes show them, and wish and hope it would be better and Autry would be better. All here rooting for the same program and team.

I truly think we didn’t athletic ability we have now but also the kids that like defense. White, Kings and Kyle. They wanna shut u down. We have length.

 

[shu 49]

It's funny how better, longer athletes with some "want to" are better at defense.

I wouldn’t have posted if I seen this. U said it quicker lol

 

[Surfan06001]

If it wasn't one it would be the other, I am just so glad that the players play so hard for him. It has to be guard dominated especially in crunch time. No matter what, alot of people are going to dislike this coach for whatever reason. Definitely still learning however under a huge microscope. Very tough situation he took over for, Sort of crazy how Rick Barnes slightly alluded to that. It is certainly known in circles that have any idea. Huge portions of the disdainful, nitpicking, Negative sector of the fan base have no idea the position he was put into coupled with the current climate, coupled with being a first time head coach, taking over a program that was in essentially disarray from an inside perspective with minimal forethought at the last minute... Listen to Rick Barnes postgame conference. Some inside perspective people who complain largely, once again largely have no clue and it is indicative of their own life, a reflection of and certainly things that are much bigger than Syracuse basketball. Now go ahead and take a look at your own reflection, Yuck

1. He’s getting paid a lot of money to do this job.

2. You can turn over a roster in a year.

3. He had our worst season since the Lyndon Johnson administration.

4. I’m surrounded by lingerie models as I type this.

 

[Irishsecra1]

I was all for firing him last year.
The defense was horrible, his rotations were terrible and we all know what the offense was.
And his dealings with the press were beyond awful.

I will be woman enough to admit that I was wrong.
He has done a wonderful job with this defense and it is obvious these kids love playing for him.
The effort and skill they showed against Houston was extremely good and I was so proud of them.
The offense will improve once Freeman is back and I have faith that George's offense will improve.


However, someone has to work with Kyle on his foul shooting. It is obvious no one at any point of his playing career has ever worked with him on his foul shooting stroke.
It is bizarre to say the least.
But it is obvious from the TV closeups that he is using full concentration and trying so hard to get those shots to fall. Someone has to teach him a better foul shot stroke as this kid could literally live off the foul line in the ACC part of the schedule.
There has to be some alum around who was a good free throw shooter who would be willing to mentor this kid. If he could become a 70 to 75% foul shooter, it would immensely improve our chances of winning.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I know some people that have dealt with him. A real class guy.

It was a loss for the ACC when he left. I remember him when we were in the Big East and he coached Providence, He then went to Clemson in the ACC, had a good run with them too but had issues with the North Carolina ACC powers, particularly Dean Smith and left for Texas. He’s been successful where ever he’s been but like many excellent coaches, he’s lacking that coveted National Championship.

 

[Surfan06001]

had issues with the North Carolina ACC powers,

A tale as old as time

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Defense travels. We're showing that we can compete against anybody.

 

[721Comstock]

Defense travels. We're showing that we can compete against anybody.

And clearly, our defense boarded the plane after halftime vs Iowa State.

Thankfully it did arrive in Syracuse.

 

[Niastri]

It is amazing how good Kyle is, even with his offensive limitations.

When I first saw the game film of him at both SDS and UCLA, I wrote that he reminded me of Hakim Warrick type athleticism, but in a 230 pound body. Runs like a gazelle, even at the end of games, beating more tired big men down the floor.

He's every bit as good as what any of us could have hoped for. WITH the offensive limitations.

The funny thing is that Kyle really helps the offense without ever taking a "shot." He'll never shoot from farther than a few feet from the basket, but isn't an offensive liability. And he seems to be great defensively.

 

[Niastri]

And clearly, our defense boarded the plane after halftime vs Iowa State.

Thankfully it did arrive in Syracuse.

I think this take is pretty unfair. I can't think of a harder situation for a group of players, in as long as I've been paying close attention.

The three games and three days is hard enough, but they also got two very physical difficult teams. Then they're being asked to play 10 AM local time after a 1 o'clock game the day before. They had 18 hours or less of rest from end of one game to the start of the next. And then on top of everything they found out they were playing at 10 AM the next morning at 10 PM. It's no wonder they ran out of steam in the second half. They played really hard and really well in the first half and just lost it after they gave up a big run to start the second half. It could literally happen to any team. I take a lot more away from the previous five halves of Basketball where they really did well against top competition.

they came up short, and they got crushed in that second half. But it's not really fair to characterize them as lacking defense.

 

[djorange1989]

And clearly, our defense boarded the plane after halftime vs Iowa State.

Thankfully it did arrive in Syracuse.

Maybe the earlier flight had better snacks? Pretzels can get boring

 

[llandz]

I was all for firing him last year.
The defense was horrible, his rotations were terrible and we all know what the offense was.
And his dealings with the press were beyond awful.

I will be woman enough to admit that I was wrong.
He has done a wonderful job with this defense and it is obvious these kids love playing for him.
The effort and skill they showed against Houston was extremely good and I was so proud of them.
The offense will improve once Freeman is back and I have faith that George's offense will improve.


However, someone has to work with Kyle on his foul shooting. It is obvious no one at any point of his playing career has ever worked with him on his foul shooting stroke.
It is bizarre to say the least.
But it is obvious from the TV closeups that he is using full concentration and trying so hard to get those shots to fall. Someone has to teach him a better foul shot stroke as this kid could literally live off the foul line in the ACC part of the schedule.
There has to be some alum around who was a good free throw shooter who would be willing to mentor this kid. If he could become a 70 to 75% foul shooter, it would immensely improve our chances of winning.

I worked very hard in Vegas to set the wheels in motion for this. I worked both sides. The person who needs to come in, and the staff. The short answer is they can only work on the mental aspect. The mechanics can't be easily fixed in a short time. But the former player is willing to do what can be done with all of the players, and we shall see if it happens.

 

[Nicknack]

Yeah. It’s at the 1:54 mark. Still a nice compliment but he was saying it’s the best Syracuse defense in years.

Yes, either way it's a nice compliment. However, I think he'd be hard pressed to say any other team they've played this year was any better defensively. We held them to 41% shooting - which was what Kansas did. Those two games were their lowest % of the season.

You could easily make the argument that we gave them more trouble defensively. While both Kansas and Cuse had 8 blocks against them, we had 10 steals while Kansas had 3, we forced 17 turnovers to only 7 by Kansas, and we limited them to 60 points while they had 76 against Kansas. Either way, we're giving teams a LOT of trouble defensively which is fantastic to see!

 

[CardiacCuse]

It is amazing how good Kyle is, even with his offensive limitations.

kyle is good but carey did have his career high against him...and if he had hit that last secodn shot last night, think about how differently everything would feel right now. one shot. and bidunga outplayed him. and iowa states front court ate this team alive.

if the perimeter players for tennessee had a pulse, it wouldve been bad last night. tenn owned the paint (although kyle did have a bunch of nice plays)...gonna be ugly if this team needs suaore to step up and play at this level as the main center. if kyle gets in foul trouble against anyone decent, its curtains.

as i predicted in the offseason, this center corps is too small. not enough depth, either.

 

[RF2044]

kyle is good but carey did have his career high against him...and if he had hit that last secodn shot last night, think about how differently everything would feel right now. one shot. and bidunga outplayed him. and iowa states front court ate this team alive.

if the perimeter players for tennessee had a pulse, it wouldve been bad last night. tenn owned the paint (although kyle did have a bunch of nice plays)...gonna be ugly if this team needs suaore to step up and play at this level as the main center. if kyle gets in foul trouble against anyone decent, its curtains.

as i predicted in the offseason, this center corps is too small. not enough depth, either.

Carey committed about 15 offensive fouls last night, of which 1 was called.

That contributed to the night he had.

Wouldn't have mattered how "tall" the defender was, when he's allowed to blast people out of the post like Shaq.

 

[Orangezoo]

Carey committed about 15 offensive fouls last night, of which 1 was called.

That contributed to the night he had.

Wouldn't have mattered how "tall" the defender was, when he's allowed to blast people out of the post like Shaq.

Yeah it was absurd what they let him do. All in large part because Kyle plays defense the right way instead of flopping. It amazes me how the officials want flopping out of the game but then rely on it to help them call the game….