Buddy’s letter to the fans

[Consigliere]

Syracuse people are, by nature, negative. The county even commissioned an economic study, which found the attitude of our citizens was one of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery for the area. It's the lack of sunshine, IMO.

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong.
Cool. I think I found the sarcasm font!

 

[GooseMutt]

I think Buddy’s minutes are questionable and yes he needs defensive improvement.

his problem is he lacks that first quick step that is all about obtaining position immediately.
Having said that I totally enjoy having him here!

all players have flaws

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Sweeping generalizations are always wrong.
Cool. I think I found the sarcasm font!

Dude, it's a paid for economic study. If the area was teeming with positivity, that would have been noted as a strength.

 

[cuseinseattle]

This was everyone's reaction to Buddy the first half of last year...then he had a good game and kept seeing more and more run and built off a good performance!

Buddy got hurt that one game, Goodine provided some very good minutes in extended relief...and the next game we got, uhhhh, Howard Washington. So, there is that.

He kept getting run because he is the best shooter on the team by a significant margin. When he is missing he is still be face guarded or has a defender within a foot of him which allows spacing for others to drive. When HoWash and Goodine are out there they are dared to shoot. It's a completely different situation in my opinion.

 

[AlpharettaCuse]

Yes the other ACC coaches will nominate Buddy as a favor to their friend JB Same reason Few offered Buddy a "schollie" that he knew he was never going to accept.

You’re one of the supposed fans he’s talking about. How sad.

 

[DaCuse]

I play like Buddy when I’m at the park or gym. Yeah, everyone hates me for having no game except jacking 3s

 

[UpstateSM]

I find it hilarious that people just about ignore the fact that he had a Gonzaga offer. Mark Few is on the shortlist of best coaches in the country at finding hidden gems. He’s had all of this success without a single five star recruit (his first is this year in Suggs). He’s an elite talent evaluator and knows how to get guys that make his offense the juggernaut that it consistently is.

I can’t imagine the meltdown this board would have had if Buddy was averaging double digits on a Zags team in the final four. Would have been epic

 

[Ghost]

He kept getting run because he is the best shooter on the team by a significant margin. When he is missing he is still be face guarded or has a defender within a foot of him which allows spacing for others to drive. When HoWash and Goodine are out there they are dared to shoot. It's a completely different situation in my opinion.

First, what constitutes a significant margin?

Second, I can't say I'm in love with the "spacing" argument. I think ball movement tends to take care of such things just as well.

Also, this for me is more of a "someone said it" and it now it's some kind of skill. Let's just call it intangibles or something. Everyone loves those.

Anyway, I went to the trouble once of highlighting when Goodine was in, and at no point was unguarded, so I just don't see it as some monumental advantage.
It certainly exists to some extent as an advantage. When he's on fire, as he's been quite often, it creates a lot of a havoc for a defense, but overall through the course of entire season - I would say it's rather slight IMO.

Intangibles!

Third, I would argue all day that on some level, an Eli Hughes shooting 35% from three, is vastly more impressive than Buddy shooting 38%.

You can tell me Dāvis Bertāns is just as good a three point shooter as Steph Curry, but that's rather irrelevant to me. Curry has a much higher level of difficulty on his shots, and creates those shots for himself quite often as well. So, perhaps Bertāns shoots better one season, maybe two, maybe forever, who knows...still won't matter to me. He's not as valuable a shooter, because, well, the defense can turn that faucet off.

 

[Ghost]

I find it hilarious that people just about ignore the fact that he had a Gonzaga offer. Mark Few is on the shortlist of best coaches in the country at finding hidden gems. He’s had all of this success without a single five star recruit (his first is this year in Suggs). He’s an elite talent evaluator and knows how to get guys that make his offense the juggernaut that it consistently is.

I can’t imagine the meltdown this board would have had if Buddy was averaging double digits on a Zags team in the final four. Would have been epic

Who else is on this short list?

I think everyone has ventured far past the "does he belong" argument. Of course he does.

I have very little doubt that ANY 6'6" 35+% three point shooter could score double digits as a SG on a high D1 team with 40 minutes of PT and a green light. Assuming they had semi-decent talent around them.

Zero doubt.

We've needed more shooters for a bit - it's a welcome facet to the offense.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

What do you think Buddy would think about fulfilling his hydration needs with these when he plays 40 minutes in a game?

 

[orange79]

Buddy ACC player of the week. Voted by 15 member media. Jim must have a lot of friends in the media also.

Well, he treats the media well, so not a surprise.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Hey guys. Buddy Boeheim eh?

All right. Welp, see ya!

It's unreadable.

 

[malpearl31]

his minutes make no sense on any justifiable level.

I understand when people are critical of Buddy's defense - although I'd probably argue that Buddy's defensive shortcomings are difficult to isolate from Joe's, from Bourama's, from Marek's, from Quincy's... everybody could have been better, and hopefully will be better next year.

But when people say that "his minutes make no sense on any justifiable level", are we ignoring the body of evidence that I was part of shining a light on earlier this year? When the comment was made earlier this year that 'most kids that outshoot Buddy don't start' back in early February - it turned out that virtually every kid that shot at a similar rate to Buddy got major minutes for their respective squads (regardless of whether they were good defensive players or not - I suspect most of them, like Buddy, are not great defensive players).

To me, the reality is that (like it or not) guys that are elite shooters from 3-pt range will very likely play heavy minutes for whatever school they play for... the implication that an elite shooter like Buddy should be seeing only around 20 minutes per game because of his defensive shortcomings is not one that many (any?) other D-1 Coaches subscribe to...

I loved that article and am rooting hard for Buddy to improve on both ends - and I think he can do it, too.

 

[Ghost]

I understand when people are critical of Buddy's defense - although I'd probably argue that Buddy's defensive shortcomings are difficult to isolate from Joe's, from Bourama's, from Marek's, from Quincy's... everybody could have been better, and hopefully will be better next year.

But when people say that "his minutes make no sense on any justifiable level", are we ignoring the body of evidence that I was part of shining a light on earlier this year? When the comment was made earlier this year that 'most kids that outshoot Buddy don't start' back in early February - it turned out that virtually every kid that shot at a similar rate to Buddy got major minutes for their respective squads (regardless of whether they were good defensive players or not - I suspect most of them, like Buddy, are not great defensive players).

To me, the reality is that (like it or not) guys that are elite shooters from 3-pt range will very likely play heavy minutes for whatever school they play for... the implication that an elite shooter like Buddy should be seeing only around 20 minutes per game because of his defensive shortcomings is not one that many (any?) other D-1 Coaches subscribe to...

I loved that article and am rooting hard for Buddy to improve on both ends - and I think he can do it, too.

Everyone keeps saying "elite shooter" what percentage does one need to shoot to qualify for that distinction?

 

[UpstateSM]

Everyone keeps saying "elite shooter" what percentage does one need to shoot to qualify for that distinction?

How many shooters in the ACC would you take over him (the answer is none)

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

What do you think Buddy would think about fulfilling his hydration needs with these when he plays 40 minutes in a game?

Ordered these for my mother following the link in your post. At least something positive will come from this thread.

 

[Ghost]

I understand when people are critical of Buddy's defense - although I'd probably argue that Buddy's defensive shortcomings are difficult to isolate from Joe's, from Bourama's, from Marek's, from Quincy's... everybody could have been better, and hopefully will be better next year.

But when people say that "his minutes make no sense on any justifiable level", are we ignoring the body of evidence that I was part of shining a light on earlier this year? When the comment was made earlier this year that 'most kids that outshoot Buddy don't start' back in early February - it turned out that virtually every kid that shot at a similar rate to Buddy got major minutes for their respective squads (regardless of whether they were good defensive players or not - I suspect most of them, like Buddy, are not great defensive players).

To me, the reality is that (like it or not) guys that are elite shooters from 3-pt range will very likely play heavy minutes for whatever school they play for... the implication that an elite shooter like Buddy should be seeing only around 20 minutes per game because of his defensive shortcomings is not one that many (any?) other D-1 Coaches subscribe to...

I loved that article and am rooting hard for Buddy to improve on both ends - and I think he can do it, too.

Good post, btw - and I do recall your research earlier this season. Which was phenomenal, and incredibly interesting!!

I don't know though if any of this holds up though. I don't recall the exact scenario of the earlier debate, so perhaps this is redundant. If so, my apologies!

Let's just look at the ACC - guards only:

• 20 players shot over 37% from three, whilst playing at least 10 minutes per game.
• Buddy would obviously be the very bottom of the 20 in shooting percentage
• Only 5 players out of the 20 played more than 30 minute per game. Out of those 5, obviously Buddy was last in Rebounds and Assists.

 

[cuseinseattle]

First, what constitutes a significant margin?

Second, I can't say I'm in love with the "spacing" argument. I think ball movement tends to take care of such things just as well.

Also, this for me is more of a "someone said it" and it now it's some kind of skill. Let's just call it intangibles or something. Everyone loves those.

Anyway, I went to the trouble once of highlighting when Goodine was in, and at no point was unguarded, so I just don't see it as some monumental advantage.
It certainly exists to some extent as an advantage. When he's on fire, as he's been quite often, it creates a lot of a havoc for a defense, but overall through the course of entire season - I would say it's rather slight IMO.

Intangibles!

Third, I would argue all day that on some level, an Eli Hughes shooting 35% from three, is vastly more impressive than Buddy shooting 38%.

You can tell me Dāvis Bertāns is just as good a three point shooter as Steph Curry, but that's rather irrelevant to me. Curry has a much higher level of difficulty on his shots, and creates those shots for himself quite often as well. So, perhaps Bertāns shoots better one season, maybe two, maybe forever, who knows...still won't matter to me. He's not as valuable a shooter, because, well, the defense can turn that faucet off.

Buddy shot 3% higher and made 20 more 3's. Eli has a more balanced offensive game so people are focused on Buddy shooting 3's and he still made more and shot better. He is 5% better than everyone else. There is no legitimate argument for anyone close to him. Goodine was awful this year and while I wanted him to get 5 min a game for development purposes the idea that he was not an offensive liability I find comical. If Sidibe has played the whole season like he did the last 5 games and Carey had been passable on running the offense we wouldn't be talking about this.

 

[Ghost]

How many shooters in the ACC would you take over him (the answer is none)

I mean, can I choose ones that can also handle the ball against any sort of pressure defense, and play defense themselves?

 

[cuseinseattle]

Everyone keeps saying "elite shooter" what percentage does one need to shoot to qualify for that distinction?

38-40 plus. Maybe 37 if the volume is high

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Ordered these for my mother following the link in your post. At least something positive will come from this thread.

I have no reason to believe you made that up, but I really, really hope this is true.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

38-40 plus. Maybe 37 if the volume is high

No, he was asking about shooting percentage, not minutes per game.

 

[Ghost]

Buddy shot 3% higher and made 20 more 3's. Eli has a more balanced offensive game so people are focused on Buddy shooting 3's and he still made more and shot better. He is 5% better than everyone else. There is no legitimate argument for anyone close to him. Goodine was awful this year and while I wanted him to get 5 min a game for development purposes the idea that he was not an offensive liability I find comical. If Sidibe has played the whole season like he did the last 5 games and Carey had been passable on running the offense we wouldn't be talking about this.

I mean, Goodine shot about the same as Buddy the last third of the season from deep.....he can't be THAT awful from three.

Ignoring stats for a moment, do you think Buddy takes difficult threes in comparison to Eli, or even JGIII? I would say he is much, much, much, much more of a spot-up shooter than either of those two. That certainly allows for one to hit a slightly higher percentage. I would guess - but perhaps not.

 

[Ghost]

38-40 plus. Maybe 37 if the volume is high

I kinda love this answer whether you're joking or not!

 

[cuseinseattle]

I kinda love this answer whether you're joking or not!

I was joking