C. James SouthFairland

[moqui]

That's the actual 2nd forward on this team. The only reason SU leads the team in bench points is because Xmas still gets the token 2 minutes to start each game. He isn't a genuine rotation player, and a starter in "name" only. CJ usually starts the 2nd half; James got the nod today. To get a true picture, you should drop CJ's stats from the bench production minutes and replace them with Rak's.

SU plays 10 guys, but only goes 9 deep (at this point)

 

[pfister1]

SU got a total of 5 points out of three starters last night. Fab 4 ; Brandon 1 and Rak 0. I don't think you can minimize the bench production after last night's game. Fair is only averaging 7.7 ppg. if you flip flop him and Rak you still get 28(?) ppg from the bench.

That said, I agree with what you are saying about Rak and him really being a starter in name alone, but I don't think he is as relegated to the two minute role as Fab became last year. I don't think last night was a particularly good matchup for him because of the offensive nature of the game. We could not afford to have both a PF and C that weren't really a threat offensively on the floor at the same time.

Rak played 20 mins. against GW; 11 mins. vs. Marshall; 2 vs. Florida; 23 vs. E. Michigan; 4 vs. Stanford and 3 vs. Va Tech.

In that same string of games James got the following run:

13 vs. GW; 18 vs. Marshall; 11 vs. FL; 19 vs. E Mich.; 7 vs. Stanford; 6 vs. Va Tech

JB's rotation has always shrunk considerably against better teams and in tighter matchups. I think this happens even more when we get to the BE season. I am not saying that it will definitely happen this year, just that I am not convinced that we have yet seen the player rotation we will see beginning in 2012. One thing that seems like it will change this year is his use of the hot hand. With Dion, Fair and South coming off of the bench, I think JB has three guys that have the potential to give us more on any given night than any group of three non-starters we've had in a long, long time. If our starters don't come out of the gate on fire, I don't see how these 3 guys don't all get a shot to give us something in every game. Game to game who gets the bulk of the run will depend on who seems to have the hot hand. I love that we have this flexibility.

 

[SkanSU]

Goodas place as any to put this post: I was getting very confused ... so many CJs last night ... CJ Fair, CJ Williams,CJ Leslie ...

 

[General20]

That's the actual 2nd forward on this team. The only reason SU leads the team in bench points is because Xmas still gets the token 2 minutes to start each game. He isn't a genuine rotation player, and a starter in "name" only. CJ usually starts the 2nd half; James got the nod today. To get a true picture, you should drop CJ's stats from the bench production minutes and replace them with Rak's.

SU plays 10 guys, but only goes 9 deep (at this point)

Very true, you can argue that they only go 8 deep, since MCW does not play any meaningful minutes in the second half of close games. I've always thought the bench points stat was a meaningless one anyway. What matters is how many points your team scores total. Who cares what percentage of them comes from the bench? Did anybody worry that the Bulls bench was not scoring enough when Jordan was dropping 40 a game?

I've said it before, if Carter-Williams was starting for us I'd be fine with it. He would be a good player right now if we dealt with his freshmen mistakes and gave him minutes. The thing is, we are so good we dont need to deal with his freshman mistakes. We have veterans who are playing at a high level right now, and quite frankly its better to play 3 guards than 4. The guard position is a skill one, and a leadership one. Unlike bigs, guards need to be in the game for long stretches to get the flow of it, and to get their shot working. Its best to have 3 guards who are interchangeable and who all play between 20-30 minutes. That way they all get into the flow of the game but none of them gets too tired. We have that right now, and it is working very well. As good as Carter-Williams is (and I happen to think he's very good) there just isnt much room for him right now.

Christmas is a different story. Some people think that Boeheim is playing Christmas 2 or 3 minutes by design and then pulling him. That is not the case. Christmas is making one big mistake on D in that time every game, and that is why he gets pulled. Right now he is not good enough to play for us.

I've wondered, if Boeheim does not mind Fair coming off the bench, if starting Southerland might not be the way to go. Often times shooters benefit from starting. It allows them to get into a rythm because they know exactly when they will be coming into the game. Rautins, for example, was about 15% better from 3 over the course of his career in games where he started compared to games where he came off the bench. I've always said, that everything else being equal, you should start your skill, and bring your energy and athleticism off the bench. To me, that means starting Southerland and bringing Fair off the bench, even if Fair is the guy getting starters minutes.

We are a different, and much better, team this year when Southerland earns a good amount of playing time and is hitting shots.

 

[OttoMets]

Christmas is a different story. Some people think that Boeheim is playing Christmas 2 or 3 minutes by design and then pulling him. That is not the case. Christmas is making one big mistake on D in that time every game, and that is why he gets pulled. Right now he is not good enough to play for us.

It's true that Rakeem's defensive mistakes (two, not one, on the first three defensive possessions last night) rather than some Boeheim scheme are to blame for his limited minutes. But Boeheim does have a quicker trigger with Christmas than with anyone else on the team.

After Christmas gave up two quick buckets, Fair subbed in. He promptly fell asleep on the wing and gave up the baseline for an alley-oop, then let Leslie climb over him for a put-back. Same result as Christmas - two baskets.

With extended minutes, though, Fair put together a solid game (especially offensively) and did a nice job doubling down on State's bigs late in the first half. And Christmas is clearly finding his way right now and is a complete defensive liability.

 

[LennX6]

It's true that Rakeem's defensive mistakes (two, not one, on the first three defensive possessions last night) rather than some Boeheim scheme are to blame for his limited minutes. But Boeheim does have a quicker trigger with Christmas than with anyone else on the team.
With extended minutes, though, Fair put together a solid game (especially offensively) and did a nice job doubling down on State's bigs late in the first half. And Christmas is clearly finding his way right now and is a complete defensive liability.

This is the Achilles heels I see. There is not an adequate power forward in this group. If there was you could mail us the NC now. Melo, though improved , is still becoming good. Rak seems lost, that is concerning. Fab last year I could understand, this one is odd. Southerland, CJ and KJ are all small forwards and the argument could be made to say KJ and Southerland are truly guards. And the strength of this team is in the guards offensively and defensively. The "skill" players have been phenomenal on both sides of the ball. Except the bigs.
This makeup of this team reminds me of the Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry Villanova team of 4-5 yrs back. It works 95% of the time, but sooner or later you will meet a team that will exploit it.

 

[RoysRunts]

Great Job James! Just remember the Centers on the Final 4 Teams---- I'll name 2 Craig Forth and Earnie Siebert

 

[LennX6]

We are a different, and much better, team this year when Southerland earns a good amount of playing time and is hitting shots.

I wish James had as much P/T in his Frosh and Soph years as he does now. He could have served the same role he does now, and be that much better now. He could have shook the "Mid-Major James label" a while back. I'm sure 15 mpg playing time could have been carved out of a potential 0f 120-200.

A hot South off the bench vs Butler ? One more option when the others were not working.

 

[LennX6]

Great Job James! Just remember the Centers on the Final 4 Teams---- I'll name 2 Craig Forth and Earnie Siebert

Good one. If you had asked me who the 74-75 center was, I would have said Bob Dooms! I can remember Tom "The Braintree Butcher" Stundis but forgot old Earnie (with an "A")

 

[OttoMets]

This is the Achilles heels I see. There is not an adequate power forward in this group. If there was you could mail us the NC now. Melo, though improved , is still becoming good. Rak seems lost, that is concerning. Fab last year I could understand, this one is odd.
This makeup of this team reminds me of the Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry Villanova team of 4-5 yrs back. It works 95% of the time, but sooner or later you will meet a team that will exploit it.

I'm not so sure it's odd; not only is the transition to college ball more difficult for bigs, but playing the wing in the zone is absolutely beyond the pale for a lot of these young guys. Christmas goes through the motions pretty well at times (stepping up to the wing, dropping back down to the baseline), but it's clear that his position is still being thought through. He's no natural.

And note that Fair -- who does look like a heady and naturally skilled ballplayer -- looks equally baffled on backdoors several times a game. And Wes Johnson, a great talent and first-team All America, wasn't even an average defender in his first year of game action in the 2-3.

Christmas has never done anything remotely like playing this sort of defense before, so it's understandable that he's shaky (and hopefully people remember this when setting expectations for future young bigs). Trouble is, we need him to be good - we've got a pretty glaring weakness that will be exploited by teams with good power forwards. Fair and our centers adjusted admirably defensively against Leslie last night after the first five minutes, but our offensive rebounding was still poor and State was able to compensate by playing well from the high post.

So that could hurt us. But Christmas can improve hugely, and we can beat a lot of teams before he's ready.

 

[longislandcuse]

A consistant James Southerland and we are the favorites in my mind to win the NC with Kentucky and OSU a notch below. Dont care one bit if that makes me sound like a homer. Without that consistant 3 point shooting we drop down to co-favorites with OSU and Kentucky. Our defense can be so dominant that if we can score in the halfcourt its game over.

 

[SkanSU]

I'm going to be very positive about Rak. 2 things:
1) as has been said the transition to college ball is a big one especially at the wings and especially when Rak played, primarily, the 5 in high school as I recall; and,
2) it really supports my belief that we need a true "bigs" coach to work with our Centers and wings ...more so the 4 & 5 positions.

All things being equal tho I think Rak will become a monster at the 4 with experience and good coaching.

 

[SWC75]

JB has shown a tendency in the last few years to start certain players and then pull them quickly for someone off the bench. I think it has to do with who he considers to have the best upside and who will give him more coming off the bench.

I'm looking forward to when Melo, Keita and Christmas are experinced big men with complete games and we have Carter-Williams and Cooney in the backcourt. The big guys are just scratching the surface.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

I think what we're seeing here, but not recognizing, is a JB coaching innovation. Let's face it, there are only three ways to use bench players:
1) Sort out the starters from the backups in practice and play your best 7; that's that JB has done for years and for which he has been roundly criticized .
2) Start the starters and sprinkle in the reserves as game score and strategy dictate; that's the "traditional" way just about every coach uses.
3) Start one or two of the younger players and then bring in more experiences (and perhaps better) players off the bench to spark the team; that's what JB did with Triche early on, with Fab last year, and this year with Rak. He's been criticized for this from both ends -- for babying egos (Triche) and for bashing egos (Fab).

But here are the added benefits:
1) As JB says, he gets to see how Rak is doing and what he's going to bring to the game tonight -- all this early on when any mistakes can be erased.
2) He also gets to see how the refs are going to call the game and, if they're calling it tight, it's Rak who picks up the early fouls.
3) He's not "embarassing" Rak by giving him the quick hook, he's just waiting for a teaching moment to occur.
4) He has "starting" firepower coming off the bench to pick up the energy just about time the other team is bringing in their reserves.
5) If the team buys into this scheme -- and the beauty of this year's team is that they have -- then the Cuse gives their opponents the impression that (a) you can't foul us out, (b) you can't wear us down, and (c) we have bench players better than your starters. Not a bad psychological weapon; at least it's worked for UNC, Duke, UK and KU over the years.

Rather creative coaching by JB, I think.--VBOF

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think what we're seeing here, but not recognizing, is a JB coaching innovation. Let's face it, there are only three ways to use bench players:
1) Sort out the starters from the backups in practice and play your best 7; that's that JB has done for years and for which he has been roundly criticized .
2) Start the starters and sprinkle in the reserves as game score and strategy dictate; that's the "traditional" way just about every coach uses.
3) Start one or two of the younger players and then bring in more experiences (and perhaps better) players off the bench to spark the team; that's what JB did with Triche early on, with Fab last year, and this year with Rak. He's been criticized for this from both ends -- for babying egos (Triche) and for bashing egos (Fab).

But here are the added benefits:
1) As JB says, he gets to see how Rak is doing and what he's going to bring to the game tonight -- all this early on when any mistakes can be erased.
2) He also gets to see how the refs are going to call the game and, if they're calling it tight, it's Rak who picks up the early fouls.
3) He's not "embarassing" Rak by giving him the quick hook, he's just waiting for a teaching moment to occur.
4) He has "starting" firepower coming off the bench to pick up the energy just about time the other team is bringing in their reserves.
5) If the team buys into this scheme -- and the beauty of this year's team is that they have -- then the Cuse gives their opponents the impression that (a) you can't foul us out, (b) you can't wear us down, and (c) we have bench players better than your starters. Not a bad psychological weapon; at least it's worked for UNC, Duke, UK and KU over the years.

Rather creative coaching by JB, I think.--VBOF

Solid take.

 

[LennX6]

I'm going to be very positive about Rak. 2 things:
1) as has been said the transition to college ball is a big one especially at the wings and especially when Rak played, primarily, the 5 in high school as I recall; and,
2) it really supports my belief that we need a true "bigs" coach to work with our Centers and wings ...more so the 4 & 5 positions.

All things being equal tho I think Rak will become a monster at the 4 with experience and good coaching.

This reminds me of back in the early 80's when Villanova, Connecticut and SU were all courting Harold Pressley. Well, before a home game, there was a high school game featuring Pressley's Uncaville team (Rollie Massimino was even there at courtside and SU wasn't even playing Villanova). It took like he was playing against the 5th grade team. Saying man amongst boys didn't even describe the mismatch. Fast forward, Villanova got him but, he was pretty much ineffective his first 2 years, his 3rd year he started turning the corner and then he exploded in 1985. SU has had its own history (Schayes, Etan Thomas) but for a McDonalds AA to come here and struggle this mightily is more uncommon.

 

[LennX6]

Solid take.

Bingo, I am used to be on the other end of the depth issue. The KU's , UK's, NC's Dukes all seems to have that 8th guy on the depth chart that could light you up for 20.