Color Me Concerned

[iommi]

I know I'll be criticized for this post but such is life...

I am very concerned with this team right now.

*Cooney is starting to look very one dimensional and when that dimension is shut down, then what does he give us? His defense is overrated. He has slow feet and he and Ennis allow way too much dribble penetration. He made one huge shot tonight but even that felt like a prayer.

*Way too much isolation offense. CJ forces a lot and if he's off, we are cooked. Tonight he was more on than off.

*Grant is hurt. Back problems linger and this is a guy that hits the deck a half dozen times a game.

*Christmas is still inconsistent. He is what he is but it's frustrating. Total goose egg from him tonight.

*Baye's able to play on the knee but he still has the same hands. I love his heart but his offense is not there and never will be.

*G is not the spark we need off the bench. He's made a few shots but his handle is terrible. He commits bad turnovers.

*Every game is a heart attack. We never put people away. This could be our final downfall in the tourney.

*Our FT shooting is still an issue.

I hope we turn it around but these are legit issues.

Please talk me off the ledge with real insights. Just typing 26-2 isn't going to cut it. I'm starting to lower my expectations and that sucks. My one solace is that all teams have issues.

LGO. Make me believe again.

 

[Marsh01]

Grant not playing, rak invisible and cooney ice cold and we still won

Survive and advance on the road. Big win

 

[NKR1978]

Grant not playing, rak invisible and cooney ice cold and we still won

Survive and advance on the road. Big win

On the road with an insane free throw discrepancy. They should have shot more than us, but come on. They hacked the crap out of us all game. Oh, AND WE WON,

 

[HoustonCuse]

I agree with both of you. I would say the odds are exactly the same of us getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA tourney as they are of getting an Elite 8. Mainly due to the injuries it is awfully hard to see this team playing past the bugaboo Sweet 16.

 

[NKR1978]

I agree with both of you. I would say the odds are exactly the same of us getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA tourney as they are of getting an Elite 8. Mainly due to the injuries it is awfully hard to see this team playing past the bugaboo Sweet 16.

The odds are the exact same of losing to a 14-16 seed as getting to an elite 8?

 

[cuseguy]

I've come to the realization that this team will play every opponent close the rest of the way, So expect a nail-biter with Virginia and then again with Georgia Tech. Just the way this team goes. Nothing is going to come easy. Grant's back, though, is a concern.

 

[anomander]

I don't know what to think. At times we look very good, and other times we look shook. I really think it comes down to being a little fatigued. I don't know how else to explain it? We have had double figure leads against both BC, and now Maryland, only to totally tank. I know Boeheim doesn't believe in fatigue (I disagree), but it has to be something. Hopefully our guys can catch a 2nd wind

 

[CorduroyG]

no need to get into all that right now. we just lost 2 in a row, enjoy a conference road win.

 

[rrlbees]

26-2 and the two losses went to the wire. We can play with anyone.

 

[iommi]

no need to get into all that right now. we just lost 2 in a row, enjoy a conference road win.

No need to get into what: real issues of concern? My post was measured. I liked that we won; I didn't like all those things I keep seeing.

 

[iommi]

26-2 and the two losses went to the wire. We can play with anyone.

Just what I said..."26-2." What about the myriad of concerns?

 

[pearl31]

I would say the odds are exactly the same of us getting bounced in the first round of the NCAA tourney as they are of getting an Elite 8.

:rolling:

 

[690West]

I know I'll be criticized for this post but such is life...

I am very concerned with this team right now.

*Cooney is starting to look very one dimensional and when that dimension is shut down, then what does he give us? His defense is overrated. He has slow feet and he and Ennis allow way too much dribble penetration. He made one huge shot tonight but even that felt like a prayer.

*Way too much isolation offense. CJ forces a lot and if he's off, we are cooked. Tonight he was more on than off.

*Grant is hurt. Back problems linger and this is a guy that hits the deck a half dozen times a game.

*Christmas is still inconsistent. He is what he is but it's frustrating. Total goose egg from him tonight.

*Baye's ale to play on the knee but he still has the same hands. I love his heart but his offense is not there and never will be.

*G is not the spark we need off the bench. He's made a few shots but his handle is terrible. He commits bad turnover.

*Every game is a heart attack. We never put people away. This could be our final downfall in the tourney.

*Our FT shooting is still an issue.

I hope we turn it around but these are legit issues.

Please talk me off the ledge with real insights. Just typing 26-2 isn't going to cut it. I'm starting to lower my expectations and that sucks. My one solace is that all teams have issues.

LGO. Make me believe again.

Good post, but you can sleep better tonight knowing this: teams don't score squat against us. We are going to Dallas because you have to score more points to beat us and only 1.5 teams have done that this year.

Maryland had a week.

 

[tbonezone]

this game did very little to build my confidence that we are indeed elite.

 

[cusetown1]

Just what I said..."26-2." What about the myriad of concerns?

You are always concerned. Enjoy the ride.

 

[cusetown1]

this game did very little to build my confidence that we are indeed elite.

Huge confidence builder for me! Loved it, gutted out a win! Btw who are you comparing them to, Florida who almost lost playing patty cake twice last week?

 

[MSOrange]

I know I'll be criticized for this post but such is life...

I am very concerned with this team right now.

*Cooney is starting to look very one dimensional and when that dimension is shut down, then what does he give us? His defense is overrated. He has slow feet and he and Ennis allow way too much dribble penetration. He made one huge shot tonight but even that felt like a prayer.

*Way too much isolation offense. CJ forces a lot and if he's off, we are cooked. Tonight he was more on than off.

*Grant is hurt. Back problems linger and this is a guy that hits the deck a half dozen times a game.

*Christmas is still inconsistent. He is what he is but it's frustrating. Total goose egg from him tonight.

*Baye's ale to play on the knee but he still has the same hands. I love his heart but his offense is not there and never will be.

*G is not the spark we need off the bench. He's made a few shots but his handle is terrible. He commits bad turnover.

*Every game is a heart attack. We never put people away. This could be our final downfall in the tourney.

*Our FT shooting is still an issue.

I hope we turn it around but these are legit issues.

Please talk me off the ledge with real insights. Just typing 26-2 isn't going to cut it. I'm starting to lower my expectations and that sucks. My one solace is that all teams have issues.

LGO. Make me believe again.

I don't always agree with you but I think this assessment is very fair and I agree with almost all of it.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Definitely a big win certainly in the timing of it to break this skid.

- Cooney will get it back. He had some good looks. He won't if he's fatigued which is a possibility.
- I am definitely in the camp wondering if the team is drained. We'll see how they play Saturday. It's been a taxing week for sure.
- I posted in another thread about post scoring. This is THE number one concern for me. More than potential fatigue. Rak's performance tonight was absolutely unacceptable. A shame we couldn't establish him in the post and get some production there. If we can't get something in the paint then it really is playing with fire. More grinders in the 50s against inferior teams especially when we are struggling shooting. Can't have bad Rak moving forward.

 

[Cuse Action]

On the road with an insane free throw discrepancy. They should have shot more than us, but come on. They hacked the crap out of us all game. Oh, AND WE WON,

Total BS

 

[CorduroyG]

and despite all your concerns, this team still should have been at the line with 10 seconds left with a chance to beat duke at cameron, a team that has been playing as well as anyone in the country recently in 1 of the toughest places to play.

theyve looked sluggish the last month, theyve also been banged up. cooney will get hot again, hes too good a shooter not to. grant's back is a legit concern. rak was invisible tonite, it happens. hes been solid most of the year. we got to the f4 last year with rak and bmk, not too worried about them. ill take my chances in march with fair and ennis, especially in crunch time.

 

[orangecuse]

26-2 and the two losses went to the wire. We can play with anyone.

And anyone can play with us... :noidea:

 

[Oakland]

Way too presimistic. I'll only say that that about 4 games ago, I was joking about the over/under on how many times Grant would hit the floor. I think I had it at about 5.

I know I'll be criticized for this post but such is life...

I am very concerned with this team right now.

*Cooney is starting to look very one dimensional and when that dimension is shut down, then what does he give us? His defense is overrated. He has slow feet and he and Ennis allow way too much dribble penetration. He made one huge shot tonight but even that felt like a prayer.

*Way too much isolation offense. CJ forces a lot and if he's off, we are cooked. Tonight he was more on than off.

*Grant is hurt. Back problems linger and this is a guy that hits the deck a half dozen times a game.

*Christmas is still inconsistent. He is what he is but it's frustrating. Total goose egg from him tonight.

*Baye's ale to play on the knee but he still has the same hands. I love his heart but his offense is not there and never will be.

*G is not the spark we need off the bench. He's made a few shots but his handle is terrible. He commits bad turnover.

*Every game is a heart attack. We never put people away. This could be our final downfall in the tourney.

*Our FT shooting is still an issue.

I hope we turn it around but these are legit issues.

Please talk me off the ledge with real insights. Just typing 26-2 isn't going to cut it. I'm starting to lower my expectations and that sucks. My one solace is that all teams have issues.

LGO. Make me believe again.

 

[cusetown1]

Grant was rested for the whole second half for this coming Saturday . It was great we came out with a win. Btw Maryland has a giant win at home virtually every year.

 

[OrangeTarheel]

We won without Grant, I feel pretty good about that. The season isn't over and humans develop. We need to get right by tourney time, not this weekend.

Our TWO losses have been close. You're complaining about close wins? When we have a bullseye in our back every night?

The wins make us elite, not the score differential. As a bonus, we are very very seasoned in close games.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

WAER Sports ‏@WAERSports 51s
Boeheim: We're going to spend a lot of time in whirlpools the next couple of days.