The red flags abounded from day one.
I started being concerned by the poor execution his first year [the Judah / Copeland season] on both sides of the ball. On defense, the switch from 100% zone to primarily man2man was bound to have speedbumps, but they converted to an NBA-esque switching system, with players who were incredibly ill-suited to execute this style of play, and the results were predictably poor. Looking back, it was almost like the staff watched some videos on this modern style of defense and tried to implement it, without having any idea how to teach / coach it, beyond basic concepts.
On offense, I expressed concern early about the lack of any semblance of cohesive offensive system. The offense seemed to be, let Judah pound the rock and create, and hope he gets a bucket or draws a foul. That was it. Even the inbound plays we used for both the sideline and the endline were pilfered from Boeheim -- it was like seeing a no trick pony get exposed. There was no plan B, because there wasn't even a plan A.
That first year, we had opposing players calling out what we were going to do. Some of the Clemson players did the same thing last game, in year 3. Why? Because we are predictable and easy to defend; opposing teams probably see what we do in film, and since we never make any adjustments they have an advantage trying to defend us. I was hoping that as a former point guard, Red would have an innate feel for coaching offense, but he doesn't.
Red is a really nice guy. He's an all-time program great player. But he doesn't have one-tenth of JB's coaching apptitude. He was a really poor hire at a time when the program was teetering on the precipice, and one that we couldn't afford.
And now, we've been set back even further.
I'll close this already too long post with the following: I think a significant portion of our fanbase is desensitized to the poor product on the court, because they only primarily watch Syracuse basketball. I watch a TON of college hoops -- maybe not entire games, but I pretty much watch college basketball 7 days a week, flipping through various games.
And it doesn't matter what level -- mid-major, small conference, sometimes 1AA or lower divsions occasionally [I also attend some D2 stuff locally, because I know one of the players on a local program] -- and no matter what the level, you'll see well-coached teams who get after it defensively and are able to run a functional offense.
Screens, movement without the ball, working the ball around to get a specific player a good shot, proper spacing, etc. None of which we see at Syracuse. It isnt rocket science -- it just needs to be taught. And none of our current staff excels at teaching the game, clearly. We don't do those things during games because the players aren't coached to do any of those things.
People used to accuse JB of just rolling the ball out and letting the players play. Well, in effect that is what we're seeing happen now, with ZERO hyperbole.
There is no gameplan.
There is no structure.
There is no foundational offensive concept, beyond high PNR and iso.
There are no plays.
And please note, I don't want some JV coach who needs to hold his fingers up calling micromanaged plays every single possession -- not what I'm asking for. But we need someone who knows what they are doing.
Again, turn on ESPN and watch games from other conferences, smaller conferences, and in the majority of games you'll see teams -- no matter what level of athletes their roster is comprised of -- who run a functional offense, who do the little things that help get good shots, play hard, and execute purposeful sets.
Other coaches run circles around our coaching staff. Did you see how easily Iowa State got baskets against us? It wasn't magic, it was movement without the ball, purposeful execution, and exploiting defensive lapses with smart passes. Even Clemson's coach Brownell ran circles around our staff -- and he has for years. He's not John Wooden, he's just competent.
Therein lies the difference.
