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

[Orangezoo]

i mean hes a BIG BODY...he plays much bigger than his height as a result. i know I talked a lot about height but a big body player like that is basically the same as a taller player.

he is a post presence you can dump the ball to and get a bucket like arinze or otis hill etc

something the current roster doesnt have...and would be better for if it did

does this roster have anyone you can post up? they NEVER use the post. and it hurts the offense.

its not only about Kyle

its about the entire SU frontline being pretty weak...suaore was a traffic cone for carey.

and i 100% disagree that waht carey was doing was offensive fouls. thats so lame to try and cover for the defense with that crap. almost every sngle one of his points was legit and if you guys think refs are gonna call that youre going to be disappointed

i think the refs called it pefectly

He absolutely was committing an offensive foul multiple times. When he lowers the should into the defender that’s a foul. You are conveniently avoiding the fact Carey was useless on defense and that half the points he scored were not against Kyle and two of his buckets were clear offensive fouls not called.

Carey was invisible on defense which you conveniently ignore in your foolish arguments about him dominating Kyle not to mention that he is a forward not a center and was guarded by multiple guys as I pointed out. You clearly haven’t rewatched the game. Your takes on this are just objectively wrong and the evidence is in the tape itself. It’s not like it’s hard to figure out.

Also Souare stopped Carey a few times and hardly was a traffic cone. Again a false statement. Carey was defended by 4 frontcourt players when he was in. He not only should have been in foul trouble but also only had 16 at most if not for the calls. Meanwhile he was useless on defense and often too slow in transition where as Kyle was shutting down multiple front court players, beating everyone down and back on the court and stuffed Careu 3x while altering his shot a few others.

 

[nocohalo]

Yeah, that's a wild thing about White... I remember watching his high school film, and it's very hard to tell his dominant hand.

That play actually gave me a lot of hope. A freshman in that situation will typically drive straight along the baseline wanting the flashy play and instead will most likely commit an offensive foul. He had the poise and maturity to make the extra less flashier move to get the basket. If that's coaching or a young player figuring things out it's a remarkably good sign either way.

 

[Orangezoo]

the defense is good...but teams are gon a pound these guys down low in the future...lets see how it goes

freeman isnt a good post defender, either...very skinny fyi

If the last 4 games didn’t beat up our frontcourt then it’s not happening this year. This is just a bunch of nonsense based on a projection that you are desperately trying to make accurate when it’s not.

 

[Orangezoo]

every time? lol no

he scored a lot of his point with zero contact

Yes he did so 4x. One time was called 3x it wasn’t. It’s easy to spot. He also only had 12 of his 22 against Kyle and 1 of those was the clear as day offensive foul. He then provided nothing on defense inside. Just watch the replay. It’s clear as day which makes your whole argument even more nonsensical.

You are just flat out wrong on Kyle across the board with these takes.

 

[Niastri]

Not sure if youre aware but Zach Edey has been absolutely crushing it in the NBA lately



and a struggling memphis has won 5 of its last 7 now that they have him back healthy...

but anyway... Im just talking about the 2025 NCAABB 1-10...and i was talking about team ratings not individual players anyway

I think it is fair to say Edey is the best post player of his generation. I certainly wasn't being derogatory by comparing him to an all time college great! Mourning was a great post player in a generation of post players. If you are rating us only on a "this season" basis, we can ignore my tongue and cheek reference to a guy who played in college before many posters we born.

By the "this season" post ability standard, I would give us an incomplete. I have seen both Kyle and White make plays from the post. They rarely are posting up and getting fed the ball in a traditional back them down and get the entry pass manner... But they are going back to the basket from time to time on offensive rebounds and drive and dish situations. They are definitely not only scoring from Alley Oops, which is all I expected going into the season. I would say a 6, in this low post scoring era of basketball.

I really thought Freeman would be our only post player, and that we would use him there far more than we have. We will see if that changes if and when he comes back. If White can continue to get in position to use that baby hook with his right hand, I think that adds a lot of versatility to the offense.

If he can do it enough where he is going to force double teams... Watch out!

 

[Niastri]

There was one where they showed a replay of that had me yelling at the TV. He lowered his shoulder and rammed it into our players solar plexis. Big time offensive that they didn't call.

I think Kyle might be too proud to flop... Officials won't call those kind of offensive fouls a lot of the time if you don't dive on the floor like you just got trucked.

 

[Niastri]

If the last 4 games didn’t beat up our frontcourt then it’s not happening this year. This is just a bunch of nonsense based on a projection that you are desperately trying to make accurate when it’s not.

I think Kyle held his own against Carey, he certainly didn't dominate. I am a little worried that we are expecting the officials to protect Kyle against players like Carey. I think the ACC officials will be inclined to let him get pushed around in the ACC games against substantially heavier players. I hope he'll be able to thrive even in that environment.

Against the other three teams, interior players had good games, but none stood out as us getting dominated by a single role player with only one skill like Carey. Good players are going to play well, and that is what happened in the other three high profile games.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We've just played some outstanding defensive teams to, the offense will look a lot different if they can hit mid 30's on open 3 attempts. Missing too many open looks. Losing a lot of points at the line to.

Yeah, we've got 9 guys who are averaging nearly double figures or better.
And that's shooting 29% from 3, and only 54% from the line as a team.

 

[Todoubled23]

As mentioned yesterday, Carey committed a bunch of offensive fouls that weren't called.

One of the more egregious that went uncalled

 

[RF2044]

One of the more egregious that went uncalled View attachment 257739

No... he was just playing good, solid basketball... yeah, right.


Like I said, he was blasting his way in the paint like Shaq used to be allowed to. It was BS.

Not difficult to score inside when you're allowed to illegally clear out space the whole game.

And yes, he had a good game. But I was having flashbacks to watching the refs let Mike Sweetney bull his way inside against us.

 

[Oakland]

One of the more egregious that went uncalled View attachment 257739

First thing he reminded me of is Jokic of the Nuggets, using his upper body to clear space. Clearly an offensive foul. Shaq used to do it with his butt and seemingly was never called for it. I thought Carey did it 3-4 times early and then stopped doing it.

 

[phsyra]

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

These players play hard but the last few years it was not the case...we let lemoyne slice and dice us last year...ill never forget that

 

[Orangezoo]

These players play hard but the last few years it was not the case...we let lemoyne slice and dice us last year...ill never forget that

Last years team had too little leadership and too much independent personalities and you paid that with zero PG play and major injuries and it fell apart quickly. That’s not even getting to the lack of talent and athleticism.

 

[phsyra]

Last years team had too little leadership and too much independent personalities and you paid that with zero PG play and major injuries and it fell apart quickly. That’s not even getting to the lack of talent and athleticism.

agreed, our team was talentless last year

 

[GHLF]

agreed, our team was talentless last year

Why was it lacking in talent? I can certainly tell you. The most beautiful thing is did he ever throw those kids under the bus? I just admire that so much

 

[Tony DeFranco]

I don't t

If they can smooth out the offense they will be cooking. Unfortunately I think what we saw in Vegas was them giving 100% and losing to Houston and leaving nothing in reserve after.

Looking forward to seeing these guys when ACC play starts.

I just think between the teams we played in Vegas and then Tennessee - it is what it is - we will win some of them and lose some of them - Iowa State looked pretty impressive though - like in Michigans, UCONNS and Gonzaga's wheel house

 

[Dcuse]

One of the more egregious that went uncalled View attachment 257739

No doubt. But if you want the call you have to go down.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

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.

Or Jim

 

[Tony DeFranco]

I don't t


I just think between the teams we played in Vegas and then Tennessee - it is what it is - we will win some of them and lose some of them - Iowa State looked pretty impressive though - like in Michigans, UCONNS and Gonzaga's wheel house

Just thought it was appropriate to bump this comment about Iowa State being in a different class prior to scraping Purdue

 

[jimb]

No doubt. But if you want the call you have to go down.

: If a defender is standing inside this arc and an offensive player drives into them, the defender will be called for a blocking foul instead of the offensive player being called for a charge

 

[Orangezoo]

: If a defender is standing inside this arc and an offensive player drives into them, the defender will be called for a blocking foul instead of the offensive player being called for a charge

That’s in the case of a help defender and if the offensive player lowers his shoulder into the defender it doesn’t matter whether they are in the arc

 

[Bayside44]

That’s in the case of a help defender and if the offensive player lowers his shoulder into the defender it doesn’t matter whether they are in the arc

CJ Fair rule.

 

[Dcuse]

: If a defender is standing inside this arc and an offensive player drives into them, the defender will be called for a blocking foul instead of the offensive player being called for a charge

If an offensive player is posting up his defender down low and drives his shoulder into the defender driving him to the ground to make room for his shot, I don’t care where the defender is standing. That’s an offensive foul.