Boeheim should have played Rakeem or DC2 more.

[Czar]

Agree or disagree

 

[cto]

Baye was our best big man today. The other big guys could not get back down the court quickly enough and allowed too many easy baskets by Temple. Also Baye was the only one who could make free throws... and he had the best shooting percentage. Watch him on D... he is very active. Constantly repositioning himself. Seriously, he has made tremendous strides from the geeky kid we saw two years ago.

 

[pearl31]

Baye played very well today, as he has pretty much every game so far. By far our best defensive big and he's (usually) finishing well when he gets the ball around the basket.

 

[Madbiker]

I was at the game. Sat 6 rows off the court near mid court. Crowd was 90% Syracuse. Though the Temple fans mostly at one end under the basket seemed to be louder most of the time. Kudos to them. Christmas had an awful game. Got beat down the court by his man time after time. After the last couple JB just exploded on him. I was surprised he put him back in the game late second half. He is more aggressive this year on the offensive glass but on defense he is constantly out of position, fails to rotate and is almost always late to where he is supposed to be. He has no offensive moves other than being able to dunk a lob pass. For those here who seem to think he's going in the NBA draft in June, please get a grip on reality. DC2 never got a chance today. He was out after the first 2:45 of the game though other than bricking his 2 free throws I didn't see him make any glaring error. I just think JB wanted JS for more offense. He was taken out just 1 minute into the 2nd half never to return. We could have really used his rebounding because we still have all kinds of trouble clearing the defensive boards. My guess is JB figured he was too slow to get back if Xmas couldn't. Keita plays much better position D, but his lack of bulk and strength is exploited. Our centers are so offensively limited that most of the time we are playing 4 on 5 the offensive end. If you witnessed today's game, you know why JB is making recruiting trips to Montverde Florida. The ref crew just sucked. They called the game too tight blowing the whistle on just about every possession. They allowed no contact of any kind so the game never developed any flow which hurt us and helped Temple. Of course the putrid FT shooting by SU (a real vintage stinker) was awful (that means you MCW 7-15 and BT 2-4). MCW is a huge talent but he's a baby. He has a high, high ceiling but he isn't there yet and needs to develop aspects of his game. He tends to let his emotions get out of control and affect his decion making. He tried to take over the game but that leads to some wild shots. Unfortunately his development probably won't get to happen at SU because of the way the NBA moron GM's draft based on potential rather than actual ability. Southerland has progressed so much. He has become a good defensive player and is a factor on the boards. But he needs a lot of space to get his shot off. Temple had a defender just stick to his shorts and he just couldn't get open shots with a lot of space so he didn't attempt many shots...just 2 three's and just 6 total. Just a frustrating day. But the season is young and there is a lot to look forward to.

 

[Marsh01]

Baye was our best big man today. The other big guys could not get back down the court quickly enough and allowed too many easy baskets on Temple fast breaks. Also Baye was the only one who could make free throws... and he had the best shooting percentage. Watch him on D... he is very active. Constantly repositioning himself. Seriously, he has made tremendous strides from the geeky kid we saw two years ago.

Baye is our best big man...period end of story.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[cto]

I was at the game. Sat 6 rows off the court near mid court. Crowd was 90% Syracuse. Though the Temple fans mostly at one end under the basket seemed to be louder most of the time. Kudos to them. Christmas had an awful game. Got beat down the court by his man time after time. After the last couple JB just exploded on him. I was surprised he put him back in the game late second half. He is more aggressive this year on the offensive glass but on defense he is constantly out of position, fails to rotate and is almost always late to where he is supposed to be. He has no offensive moves other than being able to dunk a lob pass. For those here who seem to think he's going in the NBA draft in June, please get a grip on reality. DC2 never got a chance today. He was out after the first 2:45 of the game though other than bricking his 2 free throws I didn't see him make any glaring error. I just think JB wanted JS for more offense. He was taken out just 1 minute into the 2nd half never to return. We could have really used his rebounding because we still have all kinds of trouble clearing the defensive boards. My guess is JB figured he was too slow to get back if Xmas couldn't. Keita plays much better position D, but his lack of bulk and strength is exploited. Our centers are so offensively limited that most of the time we are playing 4 on 5 the offensive end. If you witnessed today's game, you know why JB is making recruiting trips to Montverde Florida. The ref crew just sucked. They called the game too tight blowing the whistle on just about every possession. They allowed no contact of any kind so the game never developed any flow which hurt us and helped Temple. Of course the putrid FT shooting by SU (a real vintage stinker) was awful (that means you MCW 7-15 and BT 2-4). MCW is a huge talent but he's a baby. He has a high, high ceiling but he isn't there yet and needs to develop aspects of his game. He tends to let his emotions get out of control and affect his decion making. He tried to take over the game but that leads to some wild shots. Unfortunately his development probably won't get to happen at SU because of the way the NBA moron GM's draft based on potential rather than actual ability. Southerland has progressed so much. He has become a good defensive player and is a factor on the boards. But he needs a lot of space to get his shot off. Temple had a defender just stick to his shorts and he just couldn't get open shots with a lot of space so he didn't attempt many shots...just 2 three's and just 6 total. Just a frustrating day. But the season is young and there is a lot to look forward to.

I was close to the court also, and I agree with everything you say. Just a really frustrating game. However, we can say everything we want about refs, etc ... but in the end it came down to free-throw shooting. They made 10 more free throws than we did... and we hit practically none down the stretch. My 7th grade girls team shot free throws better than SU did today. Oy.

 

[anomander]

They both need to play more. If we have to count on Baye playing 30+ minutes a game we are in serious serious trouble. Don't get me wrong he is playing his ass off and having a great year, but his ceiling is just so much lower then the other 2. Rak is far and away our best big man, and needs to play minutes accordingly. His offense game has improved a great deal from last year, he just doesn't get the touches. He is much more aggressive on the glass this year, and has the ability to grab boards, and make plays that Baye just can't make. It isn't a coincidence that we give up 19 offensive boards today with those 2 on the bench. DC is no way ready offensively, but he is a space eater, and still rebounds at a high level. Games like today where Southerland clearly isn't on I would like to see Rak, or DC at the 4, with Baye at 5. Southerland's side got killed on the offensive glass, and if he isn't scoring, he doesn't do much else. Plain and simple we need this 2 to be successful this year. JB has to take the leash off, and let them out of the dog house, especially Rak.

And as far as Rak declaring he is gone. Drafts are based on potential, not production (see Noel). Plus there are many other countries you can get paid to play other then the NBA. Sure he isn't ready, but that doesn't mean he isn't already gone.

 

[zhanjuzi]

If you don't get back on D you don't play .. simple .. we will be seeing lots of Baye. No problem, the kid plays his butt off and has improved tremendously. Looks like Grant will only be getting the token minutes .. too bad he has great in a few games.

If we fix the FT issue we should be fine.

 

[baggerbob]

Rak and DC2 need to play better on the defensive end to get minutes, the whole team doesn't play well on that end. That's where you miss Scoop, Andy players who played defense the whole game even if the offense wasn't good.

 

[Oakland]

He has no offensive moves other than being able to dunk a lob pass.

This is not true. He has the hook, the baby hook, the short bank shot, and a mid range jumper. Rak actually has far more offensive moves than BMk and DC2 put together. Don't understand why he doesn't go to them more often.

 

[Rossco123]

Except for missing an easy 3 Cooney played his ass off tonight . He is picking up assignments that he missed early -- quick study.

 

[OttoMets]

He has no offensive moves other than being able to dunk a lob pass.

This is not true. He has the hook, the baby hook, the short bank shot, and a mid range jumper. Rak actually has far more offensive moves than BMk and DC2 put together. Don't understand why he doesn't go to them more often.

Yes, that was a ludicrous claim. Christmas has showed off more post moves in eleven games than we've seen from a Syracuse big in years.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Christmas is getting pine time because he is playing so soft. Always has the badass look, but seldom backs it up. His hands were terrible yesterday. Seemed like he played volleyball with every rebound that came his way. No way he should be pushed around by anyone on Temple's roster. Coleman's D is getting him benched early. Teams are getting to the rim with alarming frequency against us.

 

[realorange]

Roc needs to look at some film of the original DC even as a freshman. The young DC didn't begin to have the body size that Roc has but he had an attitude that everything coming off the backboard or rim was his. He didn't have to look tough, he was tough.

 

[ssbriefcase]

They both are playing soft, and they need to earn their time. Agree with some other comments on here, they look the part but they need to play the part. They're bigger and stronger than most other guys they face, but get the ball taken time and again. They need to 'snap' rebounds off the glass with attitude. I do however find it hilarious how many people use the few games this season as to project that all these kids will still be doing the same things wrong at the end of the season. It's usually never that way. It's a tale of 2 or maybe even 3 seasons in hoops. I totally expect DC and Rak to look completely different in the way they play come March. That goes for MCW as well.

 

[GardenOrange]

Coleman is not going to get any better sitting on the bench the whole game. This is tired subject, but JB yanks him first mistake of every game. Christmas got the same treatment last year. How much better di he get? SU is going to need DC2 to play and play well to have a really good year. He sat too long yesterday.

 

[anomander]

i must be missing something because to me Rak has shown more offensive post moves in the past 5 games then we have had since Arinze left. He has shown the ability (when given the ball) to drop step to the left and right with a soft baby hook. His 15 foot jump shot even looks soft. Not to mention he is a decent finisher at the rim. And i'm not buying this lack of effort. Some people who are as naturally physically gifted like Rak sometimes don't look like they are given effort, but they really are. He is a fluid athlete who is deceptively quick. Just cause he isn't making a weird strained face doesn't mean he is being lazy. Everyone is quick to give Cooney a pass because its only his 10th game. Well Rak didn't play many minutes last year either. They are both in their 2nd year with the team, and both have an equal amount of practices. So if your going to make excuses for 1 guy you better make the same for the other.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Coleman is not going to get any better sitting on the bench the whole game. This is tired subject, but JB yanks him first mistake of every game. Christmas got the same treatment last year. How much better di he get? SU is going to need DC2 to play and play well to have a really good year. He sat too long yesterday.

He did the same with Fab, how good did he get? The same with Rak last year, and he played like a beast in March. I'll trust JB's early lessons, for more success for the player and the team later.

 

[SBU72]

Baye was our best big man today. The other big guys could not get back down the court quickly enough and allowed too many easy baskets by Temple. Also Baye was the only one who could make free throws... and he had the best shooting percentage. Watch him on D... he is very active. Constantly repositioning himself. Seriously, he has made tremendous strides from the geeky kid we saw two years ago.

I>
I'll take 12 pts, 8 rbs (4-6 OR-TR) in 24 mins any day.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Rak has shown some things on offense recently. They're hardly a given. His midrange jumper has been good for all of two points this season. His (thankfully) lone attempt yesterday was pathetic. He has an annoying tendency to miss dunks. His shooting percentage is 17 points less than Keita's and they're dead even in turnovers. His defensive rebounding is weak, and that's being kind. MCW, DC2, Fair and Southerland all have more and he's tied with Keita (BMK actually has more total rebounds). I'm not really hating on Rak. I want him to be good and I think he can be a lot better. But this is what I see right now. He's soft.

 

[KevMonstah]

Keita had a good game, but what he does not give you is a defensive presence at all in the lane. Temple players were not afraid of him at all. He's tall, quick, works hard, grabs the stuff around the glass (he has got to learn to go up stronger though: dunks are better than layups), but he is not an intimidator. However, I don't think any of the three really understand defensive positioning. Not that Fair or Southerland were any good at this either with that stretch of threes Temple hit all because their ball movement sucked the wings in leaving an open shooter, but all of SU's bigs rotate too far or out of position, and then they don't box out. While Coleman may not be the cure all to things, he surely can't fix anything in four minutes of playing time. And both Keita and Rakeem cannot get burned on a long pass against the press.

Kev

 

[pearl31]

Keita had a good game, but what he does not give you is a defensive presence at all in the lane.

Disagree. No, he's not Fab in there but he's more of a presence (on D) than Rak or DC

 

[KevMonstah]

Disagree. No, he's not Fab in there but he's more of a presence (on D) than Rak or DC

I'll give you that, but that isn't saying much at the moment. It makes little sense that you can go 6'10/220, 6'9"/242, and 6'9"/280, and not make an impact defensively. The Temple center, Lee, was very active and you needed to account for him; the same was not true for SU's guys. Hope that improves rapidly.

Kevin