Boehiem might not be excited....

[Ghost]

Well...

Rak has demonstrated that he can hit hook shots with either hand. He has a solid mid-range jumper. He hits free throws.

Now, I'll be the first one to acknowledge that Rak's offensive contributions have had ZERO consistency. Some of that has to do with his tendency to drift through long stretches of games, some of it has to do with us not making a concerted effort to feed the post. But he HAS shown some skill. And I think he'll easily hit my prediction of 8 and 8 this year.

I think Rak is one of those players that probably could have done more - if provided an opportunity. I forget what shot he missed at the buzzer last year, but JB made some comment about him having to hit that shot. Seemed absurd to me - kid touches the ball like 3 times a game, you can't expect him to hit much of anything.

For big men the game has to be extremely frustrating at times. You're expected to bust your butt for positioning, but in our offense that rarely if ever leads to you touching the ball. JB/Hopkins have even commented at times about getting it inside more, but it never happens. It stunts the growth of the player. When you do get that one touch, you're so focused on scoring that you tend to go with a quick trigger - and that often leads to disastrous results. Overdribbling and losing the ball, awkward angle shots, etc...and the vicious cycle repeats itself. It's almost akin to when the bench players come in - they get those touches and they're in such a hurry to score that they often end up looking like spit.

I think he could have been a viable option for more touches from his Sophomore year on. Not a focal point by any stretch of the imagination, but we did that kid no favors at all in his development as a basketball player.

I also think he (and even Baye) were pretty good passers from the high post extended out to the three-point line, and were good at spotting the cutter and delivering the ball in stride (Cooney benefited a bit from that early on). We completely abandoned that at some point last year though. If you have a big man that can pass, get him the ball. When he's getting touches he'll figure it out - instead of trying to pound three dribbles as he crosses the lane and fires up an awkward shot, if he knows the ball is going to make it's way into his hands, he'll be more poised.

Oh well. Who really knows.

 

[OttoMets]

SU hasn't focused on a low post offense in forever. Onuaku averaged, for his career,
just over 6 FGA per game, with just over 4 FGM, despite the fact he shot 64% from the
field (http://orangehoops.org/AOnuaku.htm). Even as seniors, neither him nor Rick
Jackson ever averaged 10 shots a game. You probably have to go back to Etan Thomas
as a senior, or even as far back as Seikaly to find a season where SU specifically looked
to the C for offense. And not just, "go get the rebounds and followup" offense, I'm talking
about real plays called for the center on a consistent basis. That has never been a facet
of a JB coached team.
...

Kev

I looked this up, too. Even during his last three years (since he played infrequently as a freshman) Onuaku only averaged 7.5 attempts per game. They once found him 20 shots (with 9 makes in that putrid NIT loss to UMass, which I'd forgotten) and also gave him 17 in a game earlier in 2008. He had a couple 12s and a 15 over his last two years, but also had a maddening number of 3-6 and 2-3 games.

Jackson was the same: 7.4 attempts per game in his final three years, with a couple 16s and 15s as his high. 6 shots in the final game of his career. (To be fair, Onuaku had better offensive skills.)

You'd have to go back to Otis Hill to find some real consistent use of the center. Even then he only averaged 11 attempts per game as a senior (10 attempts over his final two years).

For better or worse, that's not Boeheim's preferred offense.

 

[AccuRater]

"Getting the ball into the post" is not a given. Entry passes are the most difficult type of pass to execute. The likelihood of turnovers is much greater with entry passes than with any other. This is particularly true when we have limited perimeter threats. The defense sags and post passes often need to thread between 2-3 defenders. Also, our bigs have not been renowned for their great hands, and way too often put the ball on the floor as they make their move to the basket, inviting steals. I understand JB's reluctance to feature this play as a major part of our offense.

 

[CaptainJ]

"Getting the ball into the post" is not a given. Entry passes are the most difficult type of pass to execute. The likelihood of turnovers is much greater with entry passes than with any other. This is particularly true when we have limited perimeter threats. The defense sags and post passes often need to thread between 2-3 defenders. Also, our bigs have not been renowned for their great hands, and way too often put the ball on the floor as they make their move to the basket, inviting steals. I understand JB's reluctance to feature this play as a major part of our offense.

Although I agree with your post, I have faith Kaleb and company will do a better job at it this year than Tyler and company did last year. Soon enough we will begin to see if this faith was unfounded or not.

 

[OttoMets]

"Getting the ball into the post" is not a given. Entry passes are the most difficult type of pass to execute. The likelihood of turnovers is much greater with entry passes than with any other. This is particularly true when we have limited perimeter threats. The defense sags and post passes often need to thread between 2-3 defenders. Also, our bigs have not been renowned for their great hands, and way too often put the ball on the floor as they make their move to the basket, inviting steals. I understand JB's reluctance to feature this play as a major part of our offense.

No doubt, this depends on our personnel. Onuaku or Hill surrounded by a team of Josh Paces would have a lot of trouble on the block. (With Ennis, Fair, and Grant getting so many minutes last season, this was certainly a problem.)

 

[orangefan13]

Well...

Rak has demonstrated that he can hit hook shots with either hand. He has a solid mid-range jumper. He hits free throws.

If this is the case RAk should average atleast 9 points a game imo. THere would be no excuse not to.

I felt he was slow on his release last year and didn't seem to have the cordination to finish the short shots with ease. But the first exhibition the ball came out at a much faster speed and went in, granted carlton didn't have a big guy so his arc might have been lower.

. If this is the case though he is in for a heck of a year, no doubt about it, especially with our lack of isolation from joseph and mccullough early on. Rak really has a pretty nice handle as well, especially going right, wonder if he has improved going left over the summer. I was so high on rak last year now I am just waiting to see.

 

[shu 49]

I feel that ark will be a 13 pt 10 reb 3 block guy for us this year. Maybe being offensive minded early didn't help nor did our guards not making it a point to get him the ball last year. I can't tell u how many times he was open or able to beat his man with his jump hook and they wouldn't get him the ball. He will also have a few 20 pt games this year. To athletic to not be good offensively. I knew it would just take time.