A Few Take Aways from this Game...

[newmexicuse]

1. Ty was awesome. Can't expect that kind of perfection against better D's, but wins will be few and far between when he is not on his game.

2. Marek played the way he did at the end of last season. Was this a turn-around for him or an aberration ? He hustled out of his mind.

3. Carey penetrates too deeply on his drives and that is why he has had trouble finishing.

4. Frank played a very strong floor game, seemed like he had way more than four assists, but we will need him find his own shots more.

5. Oshae is still not close to how he played last season. We really need him to step it up.

6. Elijah is probably our most consistent player right now.

7. Buddy may yet find some situational rotation minutes, particularly against teams that play zone d's. Most here feel he isn't ready, and that is mostly true, but he looks like he is getting more comfortable out there.

8. Chuk and Sid, shall we say works in progress and leave it at that.

All in all, we took care of business, but game was a mis-match and it's hard to say exactly how much better the team played compared to most of the pre-conference schedule. ND should be a good measuring game against a team that we are capable of beating.

 

[tbonezone]

tyus didn't shoot from three once. perfect in close. (but missed a ft)

 

[CardiacCuse]

1. 17 steals is monstrous - and it lead to a lot of easy baskets - and 58% shooting (wow!). Bonnies just over-matched athletically.

regardless of if the team is getting lots of steals - running is the name of the game for this squad.

get an open, good shot ASAP and let er rip!

2. Carey is almost too fast sometimes and "outruns his coverage" - either he needs to just pause a little on some of those breaks so he isnt going 1 on 3 or 1 on 4 or his teammates need to hustle harder to keep up with him and give him options on the break - most of carey's 1 on 3's end up in nothing/turnovers but he still needs to keeping pushing the ball hard...just smarter situationally.

Frank is back to #1 PG on current form, imo.

3. tyus didn't shoot any 3s and that's cool against st bonaventure (of this year, especially) but in the future in ACC and beyond he cannot pass up wide open 3s.

the whole team cannot pass up open shots, period. i don't have any #'s to back me up - but i'd bet anything that the offensive efficiency on possessions for this team when they pass up open shots is atrocious.

4. Howard might be the sneakiest best NBA prospect on the squad - he's got the size for NBA PG, he's actually a very good defender and I think he will be able to guard NBA PG's (very good on steals/deflections), he's a way better passer than it seems from his college games so far - (there were some new sets that were very dangerous today when he had 3 or 4 options to pass to after 2 other teammates pick and rolled and he was hitting some nice reads- hope to see more of that!), and he's a good enough shooter (who no doubt will keep improving on that part of the game as he ages). I could def see him being a second round pick or late draft riser that impresses and people look back and say how was he drafted so low?

5. passing and assisting is THE KEY to the offense - first 5 minutes of the game was a thing of beauty.

Dolezaj at the 5 opens up a world of possibilty with his passing - will be dicey against bigger squads but against teams without inside presence, syracuse should win every game.

Not sure why they eased off and stopped using those plays - woulda been nice to see a 100 point game - easily couldve done it today, imo.

I think maybe they eased off not give too much away and not put out too much good tape of this more passing, motion offense - I hope that's the case - cuz if they play the way they did first 5 minutes of the game as the default, everything is back on the table for this team as far as goals/accomplishments, imo.

6. they ran a couple of different sets this game where the PG and the 5 arent the ones setting the pick and roll at the top of the key but instead the pg isnt involved in the pick and roll but waits back and has 3 or 4 passing options - and it was DANGEROUS! hope to see more of that.

7. I still think the press is gonna be a major weapon at some point this year - maybe they are keeping in the pocket for later in the season when they really need it? too athletically superior to most teams not to use it, imo.

 

[newmexicuse]

1. 17 steals is monstrous - and it lead to a lot of easy baskets - and 58% shooting (wow!). Bonnies just over-matched athletically.

regardless of if the team is getting lots of steals - running is the name of the game for this squad.

get an open, good shot ASAP and let er rip!

2. Carey is almost too fast sometimes and "outruns his coverage" - either he needs to just pause a little on some of those breaks so he isnt going 1 on 3 or 1 on 4 or his teammates need to hustle harder to keep up with him and give him options on the break - most of carey's 1 on 3's end up in nothing/turnovers but he still needs to keeping pushing the ball hard...just smarter situationally.

Frank is back to #1 PG on current form, imo.

3. tyus didn't shoot any 3s and that's cool against st bonaventure (of this year, especially) but in the future in ACC and beyond he cannot pass up wide open 3s.

the whole team cannot pass up open shots, period. i don't have any #'s to back me up - but i'd bet anything that the offensive efficiency on possessions for this team when they pass up open shots is atrocious.

4. Howard might be the sneakiest best NBA prospect on the squad - he's got the size for NBA PG, he's actually a very good defender and I think he will be able to guard NBA PG's (very good on steals/deflections), he's a way better passer than it seems from his college games so far - (there were some new sets that were very dangerous today when he had 3 or 4 options to pass to after 2 other teammates pick and rolled and he was hitting some nice reads- hope to see more of that!), and he's a good enough shooter (who no doubt will keep improving on that part of the game as he ages). I could def see him being a second round pick or late draft riser that impresses and people look back and say how was he drafted so low?

5. passing and assisting is THE KEY to the offense - first 5 minutes of the game was a thing of beauty.

Dolezaj at the 5 opens up a world of possibilty with his passing - will be dicey against bigger squads but against teams without inside presence, syracuse should win every game.

Not sure why they eased off and stopped using those plays - woulda been nice to see a 100 point game - easily couldve done it today, imo.

I think maybe they eased off not give too much away and not put out too much good tape of this more passing, motion offense - I hope that's the case - cuz if they play the way they did first 5 minutes of the game as the default, everything is back on the table for this team as far as goals/accomplishments, imo.

6. they ran a couple of different sets this game where the PG and the 5 arent the ones setting the pick and roll at the top of the key but instead the pg isnt involved in the pick and roll but waits back and has 3 or 4 passing options - and it was DANGEROUS! hope to see more of that.

7. I still think the press is gonna be a major weapon at some point this year - maybe they are keeping in the pocket for later in the season when they really need it? too athletically superior to most teams not to use it, imo.

Nice post, many good points.

My only disagreement is about Howard and the NBA. Sorry, but Frank is not even close to being an NBA PG. He lacks NBA speed, athleticism, penetrating, and shooting skills. He won't get a sniff. His D would not hold up at the next level due to the mentioned limitations.

 

[AZOrange]

I think we turned a corner today

 

[CardiacCuse]

Nice post, many good points.

My only disagreement is about Howard and the NBA. Sorry, but Frank is not even close to being an NBA PG. He lacks NBA speed, athleticism, penetrating, and shooting skills. He won't get a sniff. His D would not hold up at the next level due to the mentioned limitations.

I'm not saying he'll definitely be an NBA player at this point - just that he might actually be the most-suited of anyone on the current team...even though he's not really getting any mentions at the moment.

6'5" PG (NBA loves height and position-less players at the moment), good passer (I really think because of SU offense and recent roster woes at the 5 this part of his game is severely underrated) and I think you underestimate him defensively (he's a huge part of the D being so great recently, imo) and his shot is a work-in-progress but it isn't like he can't shoot. Gotta improve that part of his game to have a chance but he has gotten better shooting throughout his career...

Athletically, IDK - maybe you're right - but I think he really struggled from whatever that injury was in pre-season and he is finally getting somewhere close to where he will be in a month or 2 - last year he was getting in the lane at will and making those floaters with regularity - I just think he could be one of those 2nd rounders or free agents that surprises in a few years...despite not getting a lot of attention.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I think we turned a corner today

yeah today felt like there was finally some separation between the starters and the reserves - the starting lineup was solid - a notch above the reserves (who played well too for the most part).

 

[NYCorange]

Nice post, many good points.

My only disagreement is about Howard and the NBA. Sorry, but Frank is not even close to being an NBA PG. He lacks NBA speed, athleticism, penetrating, and shooting skills. He won't get a sniff. His D would not hold up at the next level due to the mentioned limitations.

I will be extremely surprised if Howard even makes it onto a G league squad.

 

[orangecuse]

I'm not saying he'll definitely be an NBA player at this point - just that he might actually be the most-suited of anyone on the current team...even though he's not really getting any mentions at the moment.

6'5" PG (NBA loves height and position-less players at the moment), good passer (I really think because of SU offense and recent roster woes at the 5 this part of his game is severely underrated) and I think you underestimate him defensively (he's a huge part of the D being so great recently, imo) and his shot is a work-in-progress but it isn't like he can't shoot. Gotta improve that part of his game to have a chance but he has gotten better shooting throughout his career...

Athletically, IDK - maybe you're right - but I think he really struggled from whatever that injury was in pre-season and he is finally getting somewhere close to where he will be in a month or 2 - last year he was getting in the lane at will and making those floaters with regularity - I just think he could be one of those 2nd rounders or free agents that surprises in a few years...despite not getting a lot of attention.