a tale of two seasons

[moqui]

remember during the pre-conference portion of the schedule,when Syracuse was one of the five worst three point shooting teams in the nation?

well, as of this morning, the Orange are now the top three point shooting team in the ACC, our 42.6% edging out UVA at 42.5%

 

[Cusefan0307]

remember during the pre-conference portion of the schedule,when Syracuse was one of the five worst three point shooting teams in the nation?

well, as of this morning, the Orange are now the top three point shooting team in the ACC, our 42.6% edging out UVA at 42.5%

We are shooting better from three than we are two. We are 37% from 2 in ACC play.

 

[jgeorge322]

thats crazy stat.

heres another one for you. rak is averaging 18.2 ppg his sr year. in their sr seasons, etan thomas averaged 13.6, arinze 10.2, derrick coleman 17.9, ronny seikaly 16.3, and otis hill 15.7.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

thats crazy stat.

heres another one for you. rak is averaging 18.2 ppg his sr year. in their sr seasons, etan thomas averaged 13.6, arinze 10.2, derrick coleman 17.9, ronny seikaly 16.3, and otis hill 15.7.

Wow.

The flip side to that is the quality of talent surrounding Rak versus the others. I'd love to take some time and look at that, but deadlines are approaching...

 

[moqui]

We are shooting better from three than we are two. We are 37% from 2 in ACC play.

that is my biggest concern right now . . . despite Roc's fine play, we are living on unbelievable 3 pt shooting. I think Cooney can maintain something close to his conference play average of .429, but there is no way G is going to keep making nearly 70% of his threes for the whole season. Law of averages say that he is going to crash - hard - at some point

 

[pearl31]

that is my biggest concern right now . . . despite Roc's fine play, we are living on unbelievable 3 pt shooting. I think Cooney can maintain something close to his conference play average of .429, but there is no way G is going to keep making nearly 70% of his threes for the whole season. Law of averages say that he is going to crash - hard - at some point

TR to start hitting 2-3 jumpers a game along with a handful of putbacks off his incredible offensive rebounding!
Kaleb to rediscover his confidence on his pullup 15-footer!

 

[jordoo]

The bottom line is that other than Rak we suck at finishing around the basket in league play. At some point teams will start forcing us to drive and finish. Its weird because Trevor, Mike, Buss and even Kaleb all seem to be able to get into the lane but none are consistent at finishing nor do they always look to shoot. Tyler needs to get a few easy put backs off of all those offensive boards he gets that would go a long way.

 

[Brooky03]

The bottom line is that other than Rak we suck at finishing around the basket in league play. At some point teams will start forcing us to drive and finish. Its weird because Trevor, Mike, Buss and even Kaleb all seem to be able to get into the lane but none are consistent at finishing nor do they always look to shoot. Tyler needs to get a few easy put backs off of all those offensive boards he gets that would go a long way.

I'll take the percentages driving to the rim vs. shooting jumpers. I think it would be a big mistake for teams to try and apply a lot of pressure up top. That would open up room for Rak to catch the ball in the paint, Roberson to drive without the fear of a help defender stripping him, and G to pump fake and torch an over-aggressive defender. I still think teams will pack it in against us, have somebody in Cooney's jock all day, and dare anybody else to shoot.

 

[kuethstheman]

thats crazy stat.

heres another one for you. rak is averaging 18.2 ppg his sr year. in their sr seasons, etan thomas averaged 13.6, arinze 10.2, derrick coleman 17.9, ronny seikaly 16.3, and otis hill 15.7.

When it comes to the entry pass, this team may be tops in the JB era for being committed to getting it inside. Most of the teams with the stars you listed didn't try nearly as hard to get it to the big man.

 

[Knicks411]

I remember when we supposed to build an offense around never shooting 3 pointers

 

[jgeorge322]

When it comes to the entry pass, this team may be tops in the JB era for being committed to getting it inside. Most of the teams with the stars you listed didn't try nearly as hard to get it to the big man.

you can spin the stats anyway you want brother. ill also say the other teams had more help on offense so the focus wasn't so much on the center, making it easier to score. do you really want to double DC when you have rony seikaly down there as well?

 

[Knicks411]

When it comes to the entry pass, this team may be tops in the JB era for being committed to getting it inside. Most of the teams with the stars you listed didn't try nearly as hard to get it to the big man.

Very strong point; I think it probably came out of necessity, but it's really true.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

TR to start hitting 2-3 jumpers a game along with a handful of putbacks off his incredible offensive rebounding!
Kaleb to rediscover his confidence on his pullup 15-footer!

I also think in addition Cooney could/should add in a couple of attempts each game from the foul line area. He seems to take 3s or go all the way to the basket. I think if he stopped and popped from the foul line he would hit an excellent percentage (he is a good FT shooter). Also if he dragged the opponents big out we would then have Rak and TRob with the advantage for the rebound.

 

[pfister1]

thats crazy stat.

heres another one for you. rak is averaging 18.2 ppg his sr year. in their sr seasons, etan thomas averaged 13.6, arinze 10.2, derrick coleman 17.9, ronny seikaly 16.3, and otis hill 15.7.

Here is another one for you; if you take Rak's PPG average for all 3 prior seasons and add them together he is 33% higher this season than the prior 3 season aggregate.
2011-12... 2.8 ppg
2012-13... 5.1 ppg
2013-14... 5.8 ppg

Total 13.7 ppg

 

[CusefanATL]

I'll take the percentages driving to the rim vs. shooting jumpers. I think it would be a big mistake for teams to try and apply a lot of pressure up top. That would open up room for Rak to catch the ball in the paint, Roberson to drive without the fear of a help defender stripping him, and G to pump fake and torch an over-aggressive defender. I still think teams will pack it in against us, have somebody in Cooney's jock all day, and dare anybody else to shoot.

I agree, but i think this year we are going to have to live and die by the 3. Rak will get his, but we are going to need BJ, Ron, Trev, Mike, and even Kaleb hitting 7-10 3's a game.

And hope that Roberson can find a way to some garbage points every game a la what BJ did vs KSU.

 

[RF2044]

I also think in addition Cooney could/should add in a couple of attempts each game from the foul line area. He seems to take 3s or go all the way to the basket. I think if he stopped and popped from the foul line he would hit an excellent percentage (he is a good FT shooter). Also if he dragged the opponents big out we would then have Rak and TRob with the advantage for the rebound.

Huh? He has been taking jumpers at the foul line extended the last several games [and making them].

 

[CorduroyG]

Here is another one for you; if you take Rak's PPG average for all 3 prior seasons and add them together he is 33% higher this season than the prior 3 season aggregate.
2011-12... 2.8 ppg
2012-13... 5.1 ppg
2013-14... 5.8 ppg

Total 13.7 ppg

last year's 5.8ppg is outrageous. there is absolutely no way it should have been that low, these offensive skills didnt just happen overnight. he should have been a more focal part of the offense last year, its not like we were an offensive juggernaut that didnt need him. thats on jb. too many quick hooks and he was in love with bmk's defense a little too much.

 

[moqui]

Huh? He has been taking jumpers at the foul line extended the last several games [and making them].

if my count is correct, he was 8 for 32 (.250) on 2 pt jumpers in non-conference play, and he has increased that to 5 for 13 (.385) in conference games. At the rim is the only place where his shooting has gotten worse - only 1 for 9 so far in conference play!

 

[CusefanATL]

last year's 5.8ppg is outrageous. there is absolutely no way it should have been that low, these offensive skills didnt just happen overnight. he should have been a more focal part of the offense last year, its not like we were an offensive juggernaut that didnt need him. thats on jb. too many quick hooks and he was in love with bmk's defense a little too much.

This is a matter of confidence. He could always be the go-to guy, but he didnt have to be. This year he has to be a go to guy. When he gets the ball down he is almost unstoppable.

I would give my left ... for him to have had this confidence last year. We wouldnt have stopped at 25-0.

side note... i think i remember a story of kaleb joseph passing the ball into him in the preseason. He just passed it back and KJo got upset and passed right back into him and told him to go up with it. That could possibly be the turnaround to his career.

And could also give credence to the mental part of the game that I was talking about re: Bus and FT shooting.

 

[moqui]

last year's 5.8ppg is outrageous. there is absolutely no way it should have been that low, these offensive skills didnt just happen overnight. he should have been a more focal part of the offense last year, its not like we were an offensive juggernaut that didnt need him. thats on jb. too many quick hooks and he was in love with bmk's defense a little too much.

JB runs a star system, and last year's star was CJ Fair, who sucked up the largest percentage of shots. those shots have now gone to Roc

 

[RF2044]

This is a matter of confidence. He could always be the go-to guy, but he didnt have to be. This year he has to be a go to guy. When he gets the ball down he is almost unstoppable.

I would give my left ... for him to have had this confidence last year. We wouldnt have stopped at 25-0.

side note... i think i remember a story of kaleb joseph passing the ball into him in the preseason. He just passed it back and KJo got upset and passed right back into him and told him to go up with it. That could possibly be the turnaround to his career.

And could also give credence to the mental part of the game that I was talking about re: Bus and FT shooting.

That story took place in the Carleton exhibition. And it MAY have been the turning point--I think Rak might have been scoreless [or close to it] in the first half, but then put up something like 15 in the second half, on a variety of drives / moves.

In the first half, he was the same 'ol Rak. In the second, we caught a glimpse of the player he was going to be this year.

 

[CorduroyG]

This is a matter of confidence. He could always be the go-to guy, but he didnt have to be. This year he has to be a go to guy. When he gets the ball down he is almost unstoppable.

I would give my left ... for him to have had this confidence last year. We wouldnt have stopped at 25-0.

side note... i think i remember a story of kaleb joseph passing the ball into him in the preseason. He just passed it back and KJo got upset and passed right back into him and told him to go up with it. That could possibly be the turnaround to his career.

And could also give credence to the mental part of the game that I was talking about re: Bus and FT shooting.

he didnt have to be a go to guy last year, but i think he was certainly capable of averaging 10-12ppg if he got more touches. and that would have made an enormous difference for that team.

 

[jgeorge322]

That story took place in the Carleton exhibition. And it MAY have been the turning point--I think Rak might have been scoreless [or close to it] in the first half, but then put up something like 15 in the second half, on a variety of drives / moves.

In the first half, he was the same 'ol Rak. In the second, we caught a glimpse of the player he was going to be this year.

Remember when jimmy b said rak wouldnt reach his potential until 3-4 years after he left cuse? At this rate, that would be scary.

 

[br801]

We are shooting better from three than we are two. We are 37% from 2 in ACC play.

And take Roc's 31-63 in conference out of there and that 2-point % is really scary. One would think that would have to improve drastically.

 

[br801]

When it comes to the entry pass, this team may be tops in the JB era for being committed to getting it inside. Most of the teams with the stars you listed didn't try nearly as hard to get it to the big man.

They've been feeding Roc like he's Wilt. And he actually reminded me of Wilt against Wake Forest, except for the free throw shooting.