A couple of game observations

[RF2044]

I qualify all of this by pointing out up front that there are two reasons not to attach too much significance to this afternoon's performance. First, the level of competition was exceedingly low [no disrespect intended toward the McGill team], and the team was tiny. Second, many of our players were coming off only 6 practices. This wasn't as big of a deal for the vets, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that several of the frosh looked a bit out of synch.

That said, here's a couple of things I observed:

• Ennis is for real: Ennis glided all over the court today. Obviously, McGill didn't have players to pressure the ball, but the kid penetrated at will, eluded McGill defenders several times with slick spin moves or behind the back dribbles, and had what I thought was the highlight of the game with a driving left-handed layup in the first half. He also knocked down a deep three and hit his free throws. I don't expect him to be as good as MCW right off the bat, but there is no doubt in my mind that Ennis has the talent to be a difference maker at lead guard, sooner rather than later. Kid can really distribute.

• The bigs struggled a bit: Like many early season contests, this wasn't a game suited for the bigs to strut their stuff. Each of them flashed, but also struggled in various ways. Coleman brought the ball down low a lot, and had several instances where he got stuffed by smaller guys [conjuring up visions of last year] or stripped, and he picked up several early fouls. But he also scored the first four points on a pair of free throws and a put back. DC also ran the floor well and drilled a pretty turn around jump shot from about 10 feet. Rak was active and rebounded reasonably well, but forced some bad shots and didn't look appreciably better than last year. Keita provided lots of energy, and in general was predictably solid, but he forced a couple of long jump hooks that were off the mark. I'm not too worried about those type of looks, because those probably aren't field goal attempts Baye would look to put up in "real" games. So there was a mix of good and bad from this trio, and it will be interesting to see what [if any] improvement they show over the next couple of games.

• CJ Fair looks like a pro: Fair had a great first half. He showed off an improved physique, but the added size sure didn't affect his shot. CJ came out and performed like his usual efficient self, knocking down several long shots, including at least one three, en route to 13 points on 6-8 shooting. He also rebounded well and triggered the transition several times with quick outlet passes. The only downside was that he sustained a minor injury when he turned his ankle late in the second quarter, and didn't play in the second half for precautionary reasons.

• Ditto Grant: Grant took over the game in the second half in CJ's absence. He scored 17 points in every imaginable way--dunks, putbacks, and even drilled a pair of threes. Kid looks very confident offensively, and seems to have the same CJ-esque judgement for taking good shots, so I actually expect him to be a solid complimentary three point shooting threat by choosing his spots. Kid looks like he has the chops to be an above average rebounder, as well. I'm really disappointed about the mono situation that caused him to lose 18 pounds. I read that he's gained about 10 of that back, but he could really use the additional strength--he got knocked down several times, but was aggressive and the best player on the floor for long stretches today.

• Cooney couldn't find the range for 90% of the game: It was exciting to see Cooney in the starting lineup after reports about how well he'd been performing in summer practice, and some of the improvements he'd made in the offseason. He got a nice look early on a fast break feed from Ennis, where he had time to step into the shot [a la Southerland]--clank. That set the tone for much of the game, with Cooney missing his first 9 field goal attempts. TC looked visibly shaken in the second half as the misses continued to mount up. But then something happened: he got a steal at the defensive three point line and had a breakaway fast break that he threw down for a double handed slam--his first basket of the game. A few possessions later he got a driving layup in a transition situation. Next time we got out and ran, he got the ball again out near the three point line--bang! And now that the lid was off of the basket, he drilled his next three, as well. 10 quick points on 4-4 shooting, after the 0-9 start. We'll see tomorrow whether the 0-9 or the more confident kid we saw over the last 10% of the game.

• Gbinije solid but unspectacular: MG got his first taste of game action in Orange, coming off of the bench to primarily spell Ennis. He looked comfortable handling the ball [again, albeit without much ball pressure]. He also had a nice three, but misfired on a couple of other long jumpers. Solid performance. Will be interesting to see what he can do with more consistent run, and maybe playing alongside Ennis instead of replacing him.

• Buss / BJ first game jitters: Patterson and BJ got quite a bit of PT, and both hustled and were active. Neither had a particularly good offensive display, but that's not surprising considering they only have 6 practices under their belts, and were a little out of synch offensively out there. Nothing to worry about--that's the benefit of this four-game summer tour, to help them get their sea legs.

• Offense was sloppy overall: Again, not surprising that a team with lots of new players will be a bit out of sync after only 6 practices, with the best player not playing the second half. Despite all that, we still scored 80. This team has the raw materials to be a better shooting and more potent offensive team than last year's squad.

• Defense didn't look quite up to par compared to last year: Its not fair to compare the defense from our postseason run to how we looked after a lone week of practice, but there were multiple times throughout the game where guys were out of position on their rotations, or got caught watching the ball instead of moving their feet...and we STILL held them to 40 [and that was after they got a late bucket to break out of the thirties]. There were also several nice traps, and in general we exploited an inferior offensive team, so it wasn't due to lack of effort. I also think that the substitution pattern, with JB running so many guys in and out of the rotation, along with having so many new faces led to some inconsistency. I don't think it will be a problem area once the season starts, but it bears paying attention to--these guys have big shoes to fill from last year's team defense.

• The summer tour will pay dividends: We haven't done one of these summer junkets since 1990. And there couldn't be a better time for us to have the opportunity to do this. At the end of the day, three of the four opponents we face will be thoroughly overmatched, but just being able to give the frosh an early immersion into the system on both sides of the ball, and to get our inexperienced backcourt four scrimmages worth of game experience instead of them having to go through some of the growing pains in November will put this squad that much further along the developmental curve. Kudos to JB and the athletic department for capitalizing on this opportunity to get both some extra practice time and some valuable game experience.

 

[Shenexon]

Nicely done...

 

[jekelish]

Excellent recap for those of us who couldn't watch. Thanks Ryan. Top notch stuff.

 

[DonLightfoot]

DITTO

 

[Orangezoo]

great write up man. on cooney- if he could just bottle those spurts into a complete game offensively.. kid could be lights out. he is so disruptive on d and such a kong type that way ughh cmon trev !!

 

[007]

I qualify all of this by pointing out up front that there are two reasons not to attach too much significance to this afternoon's performance. First, the level of competition was exceedingly low [no disrespect intended toward the McGill team], and the team was tiny. Second, many of our players were coming off only 6 practices. This wasn't as big of a deal for the vets, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that several of the frosh looked a bit out of synch.

Really good post and observations, per usual RF.

Very, very impressed with Ennis, Grant and Fair.

Very disappointed with Coleman. Still, it's a summer exhibition game. Let's see how he does Thursday night against a team with a lot more size.

 

[Orangezoo]

hey ry- how about dc2 on D? he look like he could give us 20 min a game at the 5?

 

[pearl31]

if he could just bottle those spurts

 

[Toga]

My suggestion is that in practice, every time DC brings the ball down low - practice is stopped and electroshock applied.

I qualify all of this by pointing out up front that there are two reasons not to attach too much significance to this afternoon's performance. First, the level of competition was exceedingly low [no disrespect intended toward the McGill team], and the team was tiny. Second, many of our players were coming off only 6 practices. This wasn't as big of a deal for the vets, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that several of the frosh looked a bit out of synch.

That said, here's a couple of things I observed:

• Ennis is for real: Ennis glided all over the court today. Obviously, McGill didn't have players to pressure the ball, but the kid penetrated at will, eluded McGill defenders several times with slick spin moves or behind the back dribbles, and had what I thought was the highlight of the game with a driving left-handed layup in the first half. He also knocked down a deep three and hit his free throws. I don't expect him to be as good as MCW right off the bat, but there is no doubt in my mind that Ennis has the talent to be a difference maker at lead guard, sooner rather than later. Kid can really distribute.

• The bigs struggled a bit: Like many early season contests, this wasn't a game suited for the bigs to strut their stuff. Each of them flashed, but also struggled in various ways. Coleman brought the ball down low a lot, and had several instances where he got stuffed by smaller guys [conjuring up visions of last year] or stripped, and he picked up several early fouls. But he also scored the first four points on a pair of free throws and a put back. DC also ran the floor well and drilled a pretty turn around jump shot from about 10 feet. Rak was active and rebounded reasonably well, but forced some bad shots and didn't look appreciably better than last year. Keita provided lots of energy, and in general was predictably solid, but he forced a couple of long jump hooks that were off the mark. I'm not too worried about those type of looks, because those probably aren't field goal attempts Baye would look to put up in "real" games. So there was a mix of good and bad from this trio, and it will be interesting to see what [if any] improvement they show over the next couple of games.

• CJ Fair looks like a pro: Fair had a great first half. He showed off an improved physique, but the added size sure didn't affect his shot. CJ came out and performed like his usual efficient self, knocking down several long shots, including at least one three, en route to 13 points on 6-8 shooting. He also rebounded well and triggered the transition several times with quick outlet passes. The only downside was that he sustained a minor injury when he turned his ankle late in the second quarter, and didn't play in the second half for precautionary reasons.

• Ditto Grant: Grant took over the game in the second half in CJ's absence. He scored 17 points in every imaginable way--dunks, putbacks, and even drilled a pair of threes. Kid looks very confident offensively, and seems to have the same CJ-esque judgement for taking good shots, so I actually expect him to be a solid complimentary three point shooting threat by choosing his spots. Kid looks like he has the chops to be an above average rebounder, as well. I'm really disappointed about the mono situation that caused him to lose 18 pounds. I read that he's gained about 10 of that back, but he could really use the additional strength--he got knocked down several times, but was aggressive and the best player on the floor for long stretches today.

• Cooney couldn't find the range for 90% of the game: It was exciting to see Cooney in the starting lineup after reports about how well he'd been performing in summer practice, and some of the improvements he'd made in the offseason. He got a nice look early on a fast break feed from Ennis, where he had time to step into the shot [a la Southerland]--clank. That set the tone for much of the game, with Cooney missing his first 9 field goal attempts. TC looked visibly shaken in the second half as the misses continued to mount up. But then something happened: he got a steal at the defensive three point line and had a breakaway fast break that he threw down for a double handed slam--his first basket of the game. A few possessions later he got a driving layup in a transition situation. Next time we got out and ran, he got the ball again out near the three point line--bang! And now that the lid was off of the basket, he drilled his next three, as well. 10 quick points on 4-4 shooting, after the 0-9 start. We'll see tomorrow whether the 0-9 or the more confident kid we saw over the last 10% of the game.

• Gbinije solid but unspectacular: MG got his first taste of game action in Orange, coming off of the bench to primarily spell Ennis. He looked comfortable handling the ball [again, albeit without much ball pressure]. He also had a nice three, but misfired on a couple of other long jumpers. Solid performance. Will be interesting to see what he can do with more consistent run, and maybe playing alongside Ennis instead of replacing him.

• Buss / BJ first game jitters: Patterson and BJ got quite a bit of PT, and both hustled and were active. Neither had a particularly good offensive display, but that's not surprising considering they only have 6 practices under their belts, and were a little out of synch offensively out there. Nothing to worry about--that's the benefit of this four-game summer tour, to help them get their sea legs.

• Offense was sloppy overall: Again, not surprising that a team with lots of new players will be a bit out of sync after only 6 practices, with the best player not playing the second half. Despite all that, we still scored 80. This team has the raw materials to be a better shooting and more potent offensive team than last year's squad.

• Defense didn't look quite up to par compared to last year: Its not fair to compare the defense from our postseason run to how we looked after a lone week of practice, but there were multiple times throughout the game where guys were out of position on their rotations, or got caught watching the ball instead of moving their feet...and we STILL held them to 40 [and that was after they got a late bucket to break out of the thirties]. There were also several nice traps, and in general we exploited an inferior offensive team, so it wasn't due to lack of effort. I also think that the substitution pattern, with JB running so many guys in and out of the rotation, along with having so many new faces led to some inconsistency. I don't think it will be a problem area once the season starts, but it bears paying attention to--these guys have big shoes to fill from last year's team defense.

• The summer tour will pay dividends: We haven't done one of these summer junkets since 1990. And there couldn't be a better time for us to have the opportunity to do this. At the end of the day, three of the four opponents we face will be thoroughly overmatched, but just being able to give the frosh an early immersion into the system on both sides of the ball, and to get our inexperienced backcourt four scrimmages worth of game experience instead of them having to go through some of the growing pains in November will put this squad that much further along the developmental curve. Kudos to JB and the athletic department for capitalizing on this opportunity to get both some extra practice time and some valuable game experience.

 

[pearl31]

thanks, RF, for the great recap

 

[jordoo]

great write up man. on cooney- if he could just bottle those spurts into a complete game offensively.. kid could be lights out. he is so disruptive on d and such a kong type that way ughh cmon trev !!

Like for the kOng referense! I agree Cooney is just a consistant shot away from being a very good college guard. I think he has the shot as well he just thinks about it and aims it waaaay toooo much instead of simply shooting.

 

[Shenexon]

I'm very optimistic about Bball, and football is still 10 days from starting. We shouldn't underestimate how much the early start to the season will help the freshmen and the team overall. This was a good start to what could be another superb year.

 

[RF2044]

hey ry- how about dc2 on D? he look like he could give us 20 min a game at the 5?

Hard to say. He definitely looks like he's in better shape. He runs the floor hard when he's out there and certainly works hard to get back on D. I assume that the weight reduction will have a positive impact on his lateral mobility / ability to patrol the paint.

But today, he drew a couple of quick early whistles. Obviously, that would impair his ability to play even 20 minutes effectively. He got a bit of run at the 4 [believe it or not] while playing alongside Keita, but I think he's a 5 all the way. Seems to be a pretty good rebounder [albeit today against a much smaller team], but I have zero feel for his shotblocking aptitude.

Apologies--I'm sure that comes across as squarely on the fence.

 

[SpiedieGon]

I was actually taken back by how great Fair looked. He's so smooth and controlled, he could score 30 and make it look like 10.

The zone is going to be absolutely ridiculous come Tournament time.

 

[Orangezoo]

Hard to say. He definitely looks like he's in better shape. He runs the floor hard when he's out there and certainly works hard to get back on D. I assume that the weight reduction will have a positive impact on his lateral mobility / ability to patrol the paint.

But today, he drew a couple of quick early whistles. Obviously, that would impair his ability to play even 20 minutes effectively. He got a bit of run at the 4 [believe it or not] while playing alongside Keita, but I think he's a 5 all the way. Seems to be a pretty good rebounder [albeit today against a much smaller team], but I have zero feel for his shotblocking aptitude.

Apologies--I'm sure that comes across as squarely on the fence.

dc2 as a 4- makes sense - a lot of it minus the fact it complicates the hell out of the rotation with having jg, tr , cj etc. im in the camp that if he could just be good enough on d- he is enough of a threat even with his flaws on offense to really help us. i love the team spirit and effort he and cooney bring and just want to will them to succeed. on the fence is a fair place to be at this point for sure thanks for the add'l insight!!

 

[Rocco]

Well done RF. Thanks.

Cannot wait to watch this team. Come back home!

 

[SmilinBob]

I agree with a lot of what you wrote RF, well done.

I'd be surprised if Fair, Grant and Ennis play under 38 minutes in any game that isn't a blow out. The 5's are going to struggle offensively again unless Roberson is something special and Boeheim finds a way to get Grant, Fair and Roberson time together.

The 2's were active defensively and I have no problem going with the hot hand and that includes defensively as well. Smallest guards we've had in a while.

I'd like to see Johnson move his feet better on defense, a bit too much gliding and he'll be sitting on the bench because we all know how Boeheim feels about this.

 

[MSOrange]

I qualify all of this by pointing out up front that there are two reasons not to attach too much significance to this afternoon's performance. First, the level of competition was exceedingly low [no disrespect intended toward the McGill team], and the team was tiny. Second, many of our players were coming off only 6 practices. This wasn't as big of a deal for the vets, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that several of the frosh looked a bit out of synch.

That said, here's a couple of things I observed:

• Ennis is for real: Ennis glided all over the court today. Obviously, McGill didn't have players to pressure the ball, but the kid penetrated at will, eluded McGill defenders several times with slick spin moves or behind the back dribbles, and had what I thought was the highlight of the game with a driving left-handed layup in the first half. He also knocked down a deep three and hit his free throws. I don't expect him to be as good as MCW right off the bat, but there is no doubt in my mind that Ennis has the talent to be a difference maker at lead guard, sooner rather than later. Kid can really distribute.

• The bigs struggled a bit: Like many early season contests, this wasn't a game suited for the bigs to strut their stuff. Each of them flashed, but also struggled in various ways. Coleman brought the ball down low a lot, and had several instances where he got stuffed by smaller guys [conjuring up visions of last year] or stripped, and he picked up several early fouls. But he also scored the first four points on a pair of free throws and a put back. DC also ran the floor well and drilled a pretty turn around jump shot from about 10 feet. Rak was active and rebounded reasonably well, but forced some bad shots and didn't look appreciably better than last year. Keita provided lots of energy, and in general was predictably solid, but he forced a couple of long jump hooks that were off the mark. I'm not too worried about those type of looks, because those probably aren't field goal attempts Baye would look to put up in "real" games. So there was a mix of good and bad from this trio, and it will be interesting to see what [if any] improvement they show over the next couple of games.

• CJ Fair looks like a pro: Fair had a great first half. He showed off an improved physique, but the added size sure didn't affect his shot. CJ came out and performed like his usual efficient self, knocking down several long shots, including at least one three, en route to 13 points on 6-8 shooting. He also rebounded well and triggered the transition several times with quick outlet passes. The only downside was that he sustained a minor injury when he turned his ankle late in the second quarter, and didn't play in the second half for precautionary reasons.

• Ditto Grant: Grant took over the game in the second half in CJ's absence. He scored 17 points in every imaginable way--dunks, putbacks, and even drilled a pair of threes. Kid looks very confident offensively, and seems to have the same CJ-esque judgement for taking good shots, so I actually expect him to be a solid complimentary three point shooting threat by choosing his spots. Kid looks like he has the chops to be an above average rebounder, as well. I'm really disappointed about the mono situation that caused him to lose 18 pounds. I read that he's gained about 10 of that back, but he could really use the additional strength--he got knocked down several times, but was aggressive and the best player on the floor for long stretches today.

• Cooney couldn't find the range for 90% of the game: It was exciting to see Cooney in the starting lineup after reports about how well he'd been performing in summer practice, and some of the improvements he'd made in the offseason. He got a nice look early on a fast break feed from Ennis, where he had time to step into the shot [a la Southerland]--clank. That set the tone for much of the game, with Cooney missing his first 9 field goal attempts. TC looked visibly shaken in the second half as the misses continued to mount up. But then something happened: he got a steal at the defensive three point line and had a breakaway fast break that he threw down for a double handed slam--his first basket of the game. A few possessions later he got a driving layup in a transition situation. Next time we got out and ran, he got the ball again out near the three point line--bang! And now that the lid was off of the basket, he drilled his next three, as well. 10 quick points on 4-4 shooting, after the 0-9 start. We'll see tomorrow whether the 0-9 or the more confident kid we saw over the last 10% of the game.

• Gbinije solid but unspectacular: MG got his first taste of game action in Orange, coming off of the bench to primarily spell Ennis. He looked comfortable handling the ball [again, albeit without much ball pressure]. He also had a nice three, but misfired on a couple of other long jumpers. Solid performance. Will be interesting to see what he can do with more consistent run, and maybe playing alongside Ennis instead of replacing him.

• Buss / BJ first game jitters: Patterson and BJ got quite a bit of PT, and both hustled and were active. Neither had a particularly good offensive display, but that's not surprising considering they only have 6 practices under their belts, and were a little out of synch offensively out there. Nothing to worry about--that's the benefit of this four-game summer tour, to help them get their sea legs.

• Offense was sloppy overall: Again, not surprising that a team with lots of new players will be a bit out of sync after only 6 practices, with the best player not playing the second half. Despite all that, we still scored 80. This team has the raw materials to be a better shooting and more potent offensive team than last year's squad.

• Defense didn't look quite up to par compared to last year: Its not fair to compare the defense from our postseason run to how we looked after a lone week of practice, but there were multiple times throughout the game where guys were out of position on their rotations, or got caught watching the ball instead of moving their feet...and we STILL held them to 40 [and that was after they got a late bucket to break out of the thirties]. There were also several nice traps, and in general we exploited an inferior offensive team, so it wasn't due to lack of effort. I also think that the substitution pattern, with JB running so many guys in and out of the rotation, along with having so many new faces led to some inconsistency. I don't think it will be a problem area once the season starts, but it bears paying attention to--these guys have big shoes to fill from last year's team defense.

• The summer tour will pay dividends: We haven't done one of these summer junkets since 1990. And there couldn't be a better time for us to have the opportunity to do this. At the end of the day, three of the four opponents we face will be thoroughly overmatched, but just being able to give the frosh an early immersion into the system on both sides of the ball, and to get our inexperienced backcourt four scrimmages worth of game experience instead of them having to go through some of the growing pains in November will put this squad that much further along the developmental curve. Kudos to JB and the athletic department for capitalizing on this opportunity to get both some extra practice time and some valuable game experience.

Thanks for the report. I really enjoy these when I have watched the game also just to see if someone with a better basketball eye than myself like you have sees some of the same things that I saw.

 

[cuseincincy]

I agree with a lot of what you wrote RF, well done.

I'd be surprised if Fair, Grant and Ennis play under 38 minutes in any game that isn't a blow out. The 5's are going to struggle offensively again unless Roberson is something special and Boeheim finds a way to get Grant, Fair and Roberson time together.

We both know thats not going to happen if for no other reason than JB's focus is trending more to how to keep 2 of the 3 big guys on the court at the same time. My problem with that is then we don't have our 3 best froncourt players on the court at once. I think Roberson's best shot at PT is to rebound well enough that JB doesn't keep trying to force DC2 or Rak into playing the 4 spot. Neither are really suited to it right now. The bigs better show some offense or they'll be splitting 40 minutes 3 ways this winter.

These are practice games, nothing more. But it should be easier in these types of games for Rak and Dc2 to show some more on offense. Honestly, every missed shot should have been slammed back through the rim by the bigs.

Even with all our options at the 2, what if SU's 4 best players are Ennis, Fair, Grant and Roberson? The more I think about it thery may very well be. Hmmmmm...

 

[Knicks411]

I watched some of the game. I have a freaking mancrush on Grant

 

[General20]

Even with all our options at the 2, what if SU's 4 best players are Ennis, Fair, Grant and Roberson? The more I think about it thery may very well be. Hmmmmm...

That is a very interesting thought. Ennis is not a great shooter. I think for that line up to work at all, both Grant and Roberson are going to have to show that they can hit a few shots from the outside. Intriguing though. I agree they could easily be our four best players.

 

[RF2044]

That is a very interesting thought. Ennis is not a great shooter. I think for that line up to work at all, both Grant and Roberson are going to have to show that they can hit a few shots from the outside. Intriguing though. I agree they could easily be our four best players.

I love Roberson's potential, but color me skeptical until we see what he can do.

 

[007]

I love Roberson's potential, but color me skeptical until we see what he can do.

As you know RF, I do not think that JB can afford to have any of the bigs, Rak/Coleman/Kieta, on the floor at the same. It will be too disruptive to the flow of the O. I know there is hope that DC will make a sophomore jump. I really hope he does. But color me very skeptical. Looking forward to what Roberson might bring to the table.

One man's guess at this point: Ennis, gB, Fair, Grant, Kieta/Roberson (fingers crossed) will see the majority of the meaningful minutes when we play the big boys.

 

[RF2044]

As you know RF, I do not think that JB can afford to have any of the bigs, Rak/Coleman/Kieta, on the floor at the same. It will be too disruptive to the flow of the O. I know there is hope that DC will make a sophomore jump. I really hope he does. But color me very skeptical. Looking forward to what Roberson might bring to the table.

One man's guess at this point: Ennis, gB, Fair, Grant, Kieta/Roberson (fingers crossed) will see the majority of the meaningful minutes when we play the big boys.

I am going to channel my first post and say that I don't want to draw definitive conclusions from such a lopsided exhibition game. But none of the bigs looked appreciably better yesterday, at least offensively. Like you, I have hope that Coleman will make the sophomore jump, but some of the post moves exhibited by Rak looked really disappointing. Keita is what he is--hopefully he'll continue to sustain the improved level of play that he demonstrated last postseason. But Coleman looks like he might have at least some of the same issues he showed last year [bringing the ball too low, getting blocked, shying away from contact instead of putting his body on someone and initiating it as he goes up, etc.]

The problem is, center is a very important position for our team defensive concept. Rak played better there yesterday defensively than Coleman [again, very limited data set], but was lost on offense. Coleman played a little better offensively than Rak, but wasn't noticable defensively, in part because he got into early foul trouble.

I'm excited to see what Roberson can do, but I'm pretty well convinced that CJ / Grant will get the majority of PT at the forward positions -- and rightly so. Not sure that Grant / Roberson could handle the defensive responsibilities we require from center to run an effective zone [similar to why we couldn't really play Grant there last year for any appreciable length of time]. At approximately 200 pounds, I can't see Roberson being able to man the pivot this season, playing alongside those other two forwards. I know he's supposed to be a good rebounder, but...

I view it as us really having three centers [Coleman, Rak, Keita], even though Rak might get a token start at the 4.

Also having three forwards [CJ, Grant, Roberson], all of whom are going to play.

Three guards [Ennis, Gbinije, Cooney, with Buss maybe getting some token time], and there's your 9 /10 player rotation.

 

[SmilinBob]

We both know thats not going to happen if for no other reason than JB's focus is trending more to how to keep 2 of the 3 big guys on the court at the same time. My problem with that is then we don't have our 3 best froncourt players on the court at once. I think Roberson's best shot at PT is to rebound well enough that JB doesn't keep trying to force DC2 or Rak into playing the 4 spot. Neither are really suited to it right now. The bigs better show some offense or they'll be splitting 40 minutes 3 ways this winter.

These are practice games, nothing more. But it should be easier in these types of games for Rak and Dc2 to show some more on offense. Honestly, every missed shot should have been slammed back through the rim by the bigs.

Even with all our options at the 2, what if SU's 4 best players are Ennis, Fair, Grant and Roberson? The more I think about it thery may very well be. Hmmmmm...

The first three no doubt and Roberson is the wild card thanks to the NCAA.