A few quick thoughts...

[Hoov50]

Joseph made some mistakes here and there, but I love the fact he seems to be much more willing to get quickly into transition than Ennis was last season. The last few years our best offense has been transition and last year we never tried to run.

I hope this is a change in attitude and not just a result of playing Kennesaw State. Even tonight, more so in the first half, our half court offense didn't look great. If we can score 10-15 or more points in transition a game we can be very successful.

I liked that we consciously got Christmas involved. Even when he was missing some easy shots in the first half we kept going back to him. He can be a real asset in the post if we get him the ball on a consistent basis. McCullough looked good, and Roberson and Johnson played well. Roberson just needs to finish around the basket. He missed 4-5 close shots and that kept him from having a 20/10 game. Gbinjie not playing helped Johnson gain some confidence. To me that is what is keeping him from being an excellent spark, confidence.

Cooney didn't force shots. He played well on defense and made a few midrange jumpers. When he gets his confidence back and the threes start falling more consistently, he is going to be a very key part of our success. I have no problem with him playing like he did tonight and occasionally getting hot and hitting 4-5 three pointers.

Overall, I was impressed with our play. We have some things to improve upon, but I think we have the potential to become a very good basketball team.​

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

Cooney didn't force shots. He played well on defense and made a few midrange jumpers. When he gets his confidence back and the threes start falling more consistently, he is going to be a very key part of our success. I have no problem with him playing like he did tonight and occasionally getting hot and hitting 4-5 three pointers.​

A reasonable assessment. There are several potential scorers on this team, and I believe, that with Kaleb that a lot of players will get opportunities to contribute. The goal would be that the hot hand gets fed and I hope Kaleb finds the hot hand(s). Rak is not always going to have games like this, especially against stronger centers, the good thing about this is that Rak is an able passer. Gotta take advantage of the mismatches that this SU team can provide against a lot of teams. Kaleb is the key.

 

[iommi]

Hoov: Good post. One disagreement: IMO it's Roberson who lacks confidence, not BJ.

 

[dundundun]

Hoov: Good post. One disagreement: IMO it's Roberson who lacks confidence, not BJ.

Agreed. Roberson has always looked kind of tentative imo, especially shooting the ball. From the little I've seen, BJ seems like the type to let it fly regardless of whether his shots have been falling (might sound like a criticism but I think this is actually a very important/valuable characteristic, especially for a guy who will probably be getting somewhat inconsistent minutes).

 

[dundundun]

BTW, just a random observation: Kaleb is way bigger than I expected. I thought he was a Jonny Flynn type barely 6' pg. He looks like a legit 6'3'' imo.

 

[CaptainJ]

Joseph made some mistakes here and there, but I love the fact he seems to be much more willing to get quickly into transition than Ennis was last season. The last few years our best offense has been transition and last year we never tried to run.

I hope this is a change in attitude and not just a result of playing Kennesaw State. Even tonight, more so in the first half, our half court offense didn't look great. If we can score 10-15 or more points in transition a game we can be very successful.

I liked that we consciously got Christmas involved. Even when he was missing some easy shots in the first half we kept going back to him. He can be a real asset in the post if we get him the ball on a consistent basis. McCullough looked good, and Roberson and Johnson played well. Roberson just needs to finish around the basket. He missed 4-5 close shots and that kept him from having a 20/10 game. Gbinjie not playing helped Johnson gain some confidence. To me that is what is keeping him from being an excellent spark, confidence.

Cooney didn't force shots. He played well on defense and made a few midrange jumpers. When he gets his confidence back and the threes start falling more consistently, he is going to be a very key part of our success. I have no problem with him playing like he did tonight and occasionally getting hot and hitting 4-5 three pointers.

Overall, I was impressed with our play. We have some things to improve upon, but I think we have the potential to become a very good basketball team.​

I love to run and gun when you have the weapons and ammo. This year, it seems we do again!

 

[jdubs30]

BTW, just a random observation: Kaleb is way bigger than I expected. I thought he was a Jonny Flynn type barely 6' pg. He looks like a legit 6'3'' imo.

He has the perfect "NBA body" for a PG...something Flynn and Ennis didn't have.

 

[orangejunkie]

Hopefully we get to watch him in a Syracuse uniform for at least another year...

 

[Hoov50]

Hoov: Good post. One disagreement: IMO it's Roberson who lacks confidence, not BJ.

I can see what you are saying. I think playing time, even with a short leash, has a lot to do with confidence. My comment was based on the fact that BJ didn't get as much run in the exhibition games as Roberson did. Roberson didn't seem shy about taking shots (some I would qualify as ill-advised) in the exhibition games. Up until his extended action (granted against a low-level opponent) BJ hadn't had many opportunities to gain game confidence.

 

[Cowtown]

I love to run and gun when you have the weapons and ammo. This year, it seems we do again!

Agreed. I didn't see the game, but without going back to look, I think SU out-rebounded Kennesaw by something like 50-20, so it's impossible not have some run-outs with an edge like that. I'm more pleased with holding any opponent to around 30% from the floor which creates opportunities to run. And I like the idea of the kids getting it in their heads they can play this way, if they're effective on D and go get rebounds. Sure, there will be games in which we don't dominate quite like this, but hopefully it's one more tool in the bag we didn't have last year. Winning 80-77 is a LOT more fun than 49-44. Here's hoping!

 

[tbonezone]

i like the fact that kaleb pushes the tempo more so than tyler ennis did . don't like that he had 4 fouls against chainsaw st.
given our lack of depth any smart coach will target this kid early to keep him on the bench. kaleb's gonna have to play smart with those 5 fouls.

 

[Cowtown]

i like the fact that kaleb pushes the tempo more so than tyler ennis did . don't like that he had 4 fouls against chainsaw st.
given our lack of depth any smart coach will target this kid early to keep him on the bench. kaleb's gonna have to play smart with those 5 fouls.

Yep, and hopefully this game will draw his attention to that. Gotta be optimistoc here.

 

[007]

I can see what you are saying. I think playing time, even with a short leash, has a lot to do with confidence. My comment was based on the fact that BJ didn't get as much run in the exhibition games as Roberson did. Roberson didn't seem shy about taking shots (some I would qualify as ill-advised) in the exhibition games. Up until his extended action (granted against a low-level opponent) BJ hadn't had many opportunities to gain game confidence.

Roberson might not be "shy" about taking shots, but he does not seem confident when shooting, at least not yet anyway. On the other hand, even with limited opportunities, BJ appears confident when he shoots and is not reluctant to get his shots up. Whether BJ's confidence and volume is reflected in his productivity and minutes will be one of the more important developments to watch for this year, IMO.