BC Postgame Thoughts

[two3zone]

Has Pitt?

They may have better margin of victories against the Colgates and Niagara’s of the world. Our record may look nice but we haven’t been good and we’re not even on the bubble.

 

[CLMintz]

Maliq Brown is a NBA player. Such an understated but highly effective two-way player. Will never be a star but will be a rotation player in the league for a long time bc he's just a smart, fundamentally sound basketball player.

And props to Red and his staff for slowly molding a gifted but raw Copeland into another solid player. His passing skills are elite and he's getting better at playing under control and eliminating turnovers - so much so that he now appears to be the closing ball handler and did a damn good job of it tonight!

Team played better without Judah. He needs to look to get his teammates involved more. Bell played a hell of a game in 1st half and had huge shots in the 2nd half to let the air out of the building.

Copeland and Maliq are constants. My type of players that I would take on ANY team

What a dumb comment that the team played better without Judah. He didn’t have his usual scoring night but still made significant contributions. Made big free throws down the stretch, got three steals and played good defense, and made the assist to Bell on his timely 3 ball late in the game. I’m so tired of all you Judah haters out there and will be glad when he leaves, even if he doesn’t get drafted, which he probably will. But if he doesn’t I’d want to see him go to the portal to a tournament contention team like Joe did. Judah is still the best player in the team but is undervalued and under appreciated by all you haters out there. Happy to see Maliq come on. He’s got so much potential and is a great kid. Same goes for Q. But the numbers don’t lie. Judah leads team in scoring, steals, assists, free throws attempted/made and free throw %. Plus he’s a leader on this team and well thought of by coaching staff and teammates. Do really think they are better without him? If so, That’s freaking nuts!

 

[mayselc]

Hard to believe Cope did not have any TOs because he dribbled into 3 or 4 defenders a bunch.

Q has big hands and long arms. It makes it tough for defenders to get close to his dribble. Reminds me a little of Rajon Rondo.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think it’s apparent that every player on the roster has limited upside. The hope is that we get enough glimpses of positive play from certain players at the right moments to eek out enough wins. Incredibly slim margin of error.

Yes, and with teams like this, that's why you have to play a lot of them, to give them opportunities to get comfortable on the floor, to know they can play through a couple mistakes.Then you'll get good games out of them from time to time, and hopefully with increasing frequency, as you show more faith in the player. If the player knows he's getting a run in each half, it's a lot easier to relax and just play.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[AlaskaSU]

Fits perfectly at the 1 with Moore at the 2. Maliq/Freeman in the front court. Get a stud 3 from the transfer portal. JJ 6th man.

Who plays center? I'm concerned that Maliq might go elsewhere to play PF. We desperately need to get a portal center.

 

[BillSU]

Who plays center? I'm concerned that Maliq might go elsewhere to play PF. We desperately need to get a portal center.

Easier said and found than done. And, why is Maliq going anywhere- if he has decent year why go anywhere?

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Can somone tell me how this net ranking makes any sense? and we beat Pitt head on

net rank
quad wins/losses 1 2 3 4

66	65	Pittsburgh	ACC	10-6	2-1	1-1	7-4	0-4	0-1	5-1	5-0
67	67	Iowa	Big Ten	9-6	0-4	2-1	7-1	0-5	1-0	1-1	7-0
68	69	North Texas	AAC	7-5	1-1	1-4	5-0	0-3	1-1	3-0	3-1
69	72	Northwestern	Big Ten	12-3	2-1	2-1	8-1	3-2	1-0	2-0	6-1
70	71	George Mason	Atlantic 10	12-3	3-1	1-1	8-1	0-1	2-0	4-2	6-0
71	66	NC State	ACC	11-4	2-1	1-2	8-1	0-4	2-0	1-0	8-0
72	59	Saint Joseph's	Atlantic 10	10-5	1-4	2-0	7-1	2-1	0-1	0-2	8-1
73	76	Syracuse	ACC	10-4	1-2	1-2	8-0	1-4	1-0	6-0	2-0

Not Even Trying

 

[AlaskaSU]

Unfortunately against top 25 teams its a major part of the game. It's why against every top 25 squad the score has ended lopsided, offensively we simply can't keep up. Team has to try and develop a secondary shooter or get Westry on the court.

It has been said many times before, Westry's 3 pt shooting % from last yr. Is 0.

 

[Orangezoo]

All of our losses are by 20 points, thats a metric killer

Yep. Margin of victory is still overvalued by the net even with the 10 pt cap.

Our offense in the second half of games vs good teams is the issue with our season to date. We are strong defensively and still trending upwards there. I don’t think I agree that we aren’t very good. We just aren’t getting the production on offense from guys we need it from. JJ, Judah , Bell, Taylor and Benny are offensive players. So far all of them have lacked the ability to be consistently good on that end and often it’s a max of 2 who have good games at the same time.

As effective as Copeland and Brown have been, these guys should be taking advantage of the better looks and space they have to operate.

At 11-4 we’ve been bested by 3 good teams and one mediocre ACC team all on the road/neutral sites. We will need some breakthroughs on offense to get a marquee win or two. The Oregon win will serve us very well even with it having an asterisk come year end.

I’m impressed with Red this year. He’s giving these kids a great chance to keep winning but they need to show up and get it done. Time will tell. I’m stoked for the future seeing what we’ve done so far even if it’s not the level some of you were expecting given the struggles vs good teams. We are brutally young and need a few more guys to grow some mid season gray hairs
.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Easier said and found than done. And, why is Maliq going anywhere- if he has decent year why go anywhere?

Really, is it that hard to think that it is no fun to always go against bigs that are taller and bigger than you? If he has a shot at the pros it is going to be as a PF.

 

[Dcuse]

when we’re not getting steals we’re out of position and give up too many easy looks. Defense overall is very much a work in progress.
[/QUOTE]
Very bad timing for this take. Our defense was never better than last night.

 

[billsin01]

Yes, and with teams like this, that's why you have to play a lot of them, to give them opportunities to get comfortable on the floor, to know they can play through a couple mistakes.Then you'll get good games out of them from time to time, and hopefully with increasing frequency, as you show more faith in the player. If the player knows he's getting a run in each half, it's a lot easier to relax and just play.

agree with this but let's not lose sight of an important thing -- we don't have 7 players Red feels really comfortable with. We have, maybe, three? Judah, Brown and Cope appears to be at least nearing that level. Taylor/Bell/Benny are intriguing but incredibly inconsistent. JJ has the pedigree but we're desperate for him to find some sort of consistent offensive presence. McLeod is either injured or just going to really struggle to stay on the floor in this kind of system. Hima has actually looked OK but is a mess health-wise, apparently. Cuffe shows promise but is figuring things out at this level. Carey/patterson won't play. Westry hasn't gotten on the floor.

So I'm not knocking your point at all, but merely pointing out that it's not simply a philosophy of playing more players and letting them play through mistakes. That could well be a part of it, for sure. But if JJ was hitting shots and creating matchup problems, Bell was a factor on both ends and grabbing a few rebounds, Benny was hustling and using his athleticism on both ends and McLeod was healthy and able to hold his own outside defensively and be a big factor around the basket for 20 mpg or so, I really think that crew (just as an example) of JJ/Juda/Cope/Brown/Bell/Mcleod/Benny would be getting a huge percentage of the minutes at this point.

 

[billsin01]

when we’re not getting steals we’re out of position and give up too many easy looks. Defense overall is very much a work in progress.

Very bad timing for this take. Our defense was never better than last night.

Eh, I think we have solid athletes and work hard on that end. We are brutal at defending ball screens. I mean, absolutely terrible. I'm cool with man. I like the pressure. But we have got to be better at defending ball screens. Well-coached offenses are going to get whatever they want against this defense. We've already seen that with gonzaga, uva and Duke. Colgate got whatever they wanted for 25 mins until we pressed. A bunch of other teams got good looks but struggled for one reason or another. Tennessee didn't blow us out but still wound up in the mid-70s -- right at their season average.

We need work here. I'm not panicking but I'm not calling this team appreciably better defensively just yet.

 

[billsin01]

Yep. Margin of victory is still overvalued by the net even with the 10 pt cap.

Our offense in the second half of games vs good teams is the issue with our season to date. We are strong defensively and still trending upwards there. I don’t think I agree that we aren’t very good. We just aren’t getting the production on offense from guys we need it from. JJ, Judah , Bell, Taylor and Benny are offensive players. So far all of them have lacked the ability to be consistently good on that end and often it’s a max of 2 who have good games at the same time.

As effective as Copeland and Brown have been, these guys should be taking advantage of the better looks and space they have to operate.

At 11-4 we’ve been bested by 3 good teams and one mediocre ACC team all on the road/neutral sites. We will need some breakthroughs on offense to get a marquee win or two. The Oregon win will serve us very well even with it having an asterisk come year end.

I’m impressed with Red this year. He’s giving these kids a great chance to keep winning but they need to show up and get it done. Time will tell. I’m stoked for the future seeing what we’ve done so far even if it’s not the level some of you were expecting given the struggles vs good teams. We are brutally young and need a few more guys to grow some mid season gray hairs
.

I'm with you on a lot of this but it also feels thin to me in a way. Defensively our numbers are better but it's been ugly against good teams. Jury is still very much out on this team and Red (and believe me, I'm rooting for Red and I'm not criticizing him here -- simply saying it's early and we just don't know).

I will say this is a more entertaining brand of basketball than the past several years.

 

[grepal]

There may have been others but that foul by Post at the end was definitely the right call. Had his arm right on Judah's shooting arm as he began his motion. Liked his choice to go against the mismatch there.

Watching the game I saw two clear violations where he stiff armed Brown to back him down, knocked him down once, early in the game.

 

[JeremyCuse]

It has been said many times before, Westry's 3 pt shooting % from last yr. Is 0.

Correct but he has the rep as a scorer, getting another scorer on the court is critical.

 

[billsin01]

Bell deservingly takes a whooping on here but huge props to him for coming off the bench when we were down 1 and nailing a 3 on his first touch. Times like that you can see why Red thinks he needs to get him going for this team to reach its potential.

Bell did a really nice job defensively in this game. I criticize him a ton but a really nice game on both ends of the floor and the fact that he's confident offensively can be frustrating when he's missing shots, but you get rewarded when those shots are falling.

 

[boog7]

What a dumb comment that the team played better without Judah. He didn’t have his usual scoring night but still made significant contributions. Made big free throws down the stretch, got three steals and played good defense, and made the assist to Bell on his timely 3 ball late in the game. I’m so tired of all you Judah haters out there and will be glad when he leaves, even if he doesn’t get drafted, which he probably will. But if he doesn’t I’d want to see him go to the portal to a tournament contention team like Joe did. Judah is still the best player in the team but is undervalued and under appreciated by all you haters out there. Happy to see Maliq come on. He’s got so much potential and is a great kid. Same goes for Q. But the numbers don’t lie. Judah leads team in scoring, steals, assists, free throws attempted/made and free throw %. Plus he’s a leader on this team and well thought of by coaching staff and teammates. Do really think they are better without him? If so, That’s freaking nuts!

Rant much?

Not sure why you're quoting me because I never mentioned Judah, nor did I say the team played better without him? And I'm NOT a "Judah hater"? I love watching him play. I've been a fan of his immense talent since Day 1.

But that said, despite the impressive stats you mention, Judah's game - just like every other gifted player in college - still needs a lot of work if he's gonna make it to the league and stick. I hope Judah, you and the others in his circle embrace the fact that his ascension to the NBA is not a guarantee - that he's going to have to keep getting better, cleaning up his game, improving his shot and decision making to get there and last. Fortunately, Judah seems like the kind of diligent, motivated kid who will continue to put in the necessary work.

I'm rooting hard for Judah and really hope he continues to get better and ultimately makes his NBA dream come true - while winning lots of games at Syracuse in the process. Good luck & God bless. Go Judah, Go Orange!

 

[IthacaMatt]

Well-coached offenses are going to get whatever they want against this defense. We've already seen that with gonzaga, uva and Duke. Colgate got whatever they wanted for 25 mins until we pressed.

We need work here. I'm not panicking but I'm not calling this team appreciably better defensively just yet.

Dude, our defense is much improved in the last month. We are 1st in the ACC in blocked shots, and in defensive deflections. Our defensive rebounding is getting better, too, even without a legit Center most of the time.

 

[atlanticuse]

To be fair, any guy makes a shot or does something they don’t usually do it’s paraded on here with “He’s back!!!!!” Or “(player x) needs to keep doing that it’ll fix a glaring issue we have”. It’s like when Roberson hit one of his 4 mid range shots a year and you’d think he was on his way to the NBA. I’m sure after UNC people will wonder why Bell only scores 5 points and have 1 rebound.

Because Underbite Bacot has our number?
Dude looks like a fish

 

[IthacaMatt]

agree with this but let's not lose sight of an important thing -- we don't have 7 players Red feels really comfortable with. We have, maybe, three? Judah, Brown and Cope appears to be at least nearing that level.

So I'm not knocking your point at all, but merely pointing out that it's not simply a philosophy of playing more players and letting them play through mistakes.

I don't think "comfortable with" is the phrase you meant; I think you wanted to say he only has maybe 3 guys he can depend on.

I would agree with that. But when you have a group of limited players, if you play them more than Boeheim did (which Autry is clearly doing ...), then you have players like Copeland having an occasional 20 point game, and really becoming a more important piece of the team.

He has given Taylor and Bell every opportunity. Neither one is enough of a threat from three, but at least Taylor knows he has to defend, rebound, and stick his nose in there - and he does, and that is useful for us. He's very solid on the defensive end.

Bell is pretty one dimensional, but against BC, it all clicked, and he had a great game. That doesn't happen, if he doesn't know whether or not he's getting off the bench in any particular game.

You have to encourage kids to get out of them what they can give you. Boeheim wasn't so patient, wasn't so good at giving young players a chance. One bad mistake and you could be done for the night. You don't develop a bench that way; you drive players away.

 

[billsin01]

Dude, our defense is much improved in the last month. We are 1st in the ACC in blocked shots, and in defensive deflections. Our defensive rebounding is getting better, too, even without a legit Center most of the time.

Agree but the last month was completely undermanned Oregon, BC (solid but not great), g’town, Niagara and Pitt. Not a bad crew but not a good one. Duke, a genuinely talented and well-coached team, absolutely smoked us. Our defense is disruptive but not consistently good

 

[billsin01]

I don't think "comfortable with" is the phrase you meant; I think you wanted to say he only has maybe 3 guys he can depend on.

I would agree with that. But when you have a group of limited players, if you play them more than Boeheim did (which Autry is clearly doing ...), then you have players like Copeland having an occasional 20 point game, and really becoming a more important piece of the team.

He has given Taylor and Bell every opportunity. Neither one is enough of a threat from three, but at least Taylor knows he has to defend, rebound, and stick his nose in there - and he does, and that is useful for us. He's very solid on the defensive end.

Bell is pretty one dimensional, but against BC, it all clicked, and he had a great game. That doesn't happen, if he doesn't know whether or not he's getting off the bench in any particular game.

You have to encourage kids to get out of them what they can give you. Boeheim wasn't so patient, wasn't so good at giving young players a chance. One bad mistake and you could be done for the night. You don't develop a bench that way; you drive players away.

I swear I’m not really disagreeing with you but JB gave Taylor, bell and Benny a TON of rope last year relative to how they produced. I think Red genuinely wants a deeper rotation but I do think if there were three or four more players he truly trusted, he’d be leaning heavily on 6 or 7. That doesn’t mean he’s JB — it just means he wants to give himself the best chance of winning games

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I wish the staff could get Taylor to bend his knees. He’s very straight up on offense and all his shots look like muscle shots. He’s not ready to shoot. He always standing up when he catches the ball and then uses all upper body to shoot the ball. His balance is usually bad and his shot his stiff and flat. He needs to get shot ready with his knees bent, ready to catch and shoot. I love the kids effort, but fundamentally he has flaws in his shooting mechanics. His off hand is all messed up being on top of the ball. Habits are hard to break, but shot ready skills can easily be fixed.

It’s easier to just use a better player than hammer all the kinks out of the one