Cooney, Christmas, Coleman, and other play observations

[orangejunkie]

Maybe out of necessity Boeheim is trying to give Cooney more minutes. Still a big disappointment. Boeheim was frustrated with his decision making at the end of the game. He practiced with the team all last year, I expected more. Sorry Gginije is not eligible. Does anyone really think that Cooney is a better player than Gbinije. As a true freshman at Duke last year he put up decent numbers. Hopefully he will be a go to guy for us last year.

Boeheim is clearly starting to give Christmas a shorter leash again this season and getting comfortable going for longer stretches with his two forwards. That seems to be our best lineup so far this season. That may change in the more rugged Big East. Christmas came in with a lot of hype. Understand his issues last year, but he is still not showing much. As a true freshman you have to cut Coleman some slack. He actually had some decent rebounds in the first half. He didn't seem to do much in the second half. He is clearly a work in progress. Like with Cooney, I keep waiting for a break out kind of game from Coleman. The early play of Christmas and Coleman certainly looks like they will be back next year.

Keita is very limited offensively but he is such a terrific role player. He really plays good defense in the interior and has significantly improved his rebounding. Boeheim is clearly comfortable in giving him extended minutes. Good thing we have 3 options at the center position.

I thought Triche really came to life in the second half and did what seniors are supposed to do. His play during that one stretch in the second half was awesome. MCW played more off the ball in the second half which opened up his scoring. His penetration into the lane is pretty impressive and fun to watch. This was a game we needed his scoring and he delivered.

Of course, what can you say about Southerland. Dykes had a man crush on him the entire game, even touting him for national 6th man of the year. Nice observations on MCW, "a lottery pick if he had a jump shot". Interesting. I liked Dykes commentary, expected him to be a homer but he was very good and fair in his assessments throughout the game.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Either CTO or SWC made a good comment about how raw they are. I'm surprised Rak was a non-factor in this one. I would've liked some plays run through him for some short jump hooks or short turnaround J's. Low post on offense is a weakness right now and we have to improve here. We can't rely on a JS milestone performance or chucking to bail us out.

 

[RF2044]

Either CTO or SWC made a good comment about how raw they are. I'm surprised Rak was a non-factor in this one. I would've liked some plays run through him for some short jump hooks or short turnaround J's. Low post on offense is a weakness right now and we have to improve here. We can't rely on a JS milestone performance or chucking to bail us out.

I figured with his athleticism, that Rak would have a bigger impact in today's game. Didn't work out that way, but he's still played fairly well this year. I wouldn't read too much into one subpar performance [and admittedly, he played poorly on both sides of the ball].

 

[anomander]

Feel very good about everyone's development. Love Triche's new found aggressiveness. MCW needs to cut down on the careless turnovers, but he is easily all conference player. Kieta is doing a great job with his minutes. His hands seemed to have miraculously improved. Looks much stronger, and physical. Fair continues to be Fair, which is solid. Rak will be ok. I feel he is better in the half court. DC will be fine once he adjusts to speed of the game. Cooney hate to say it, but seems like a lost cause. Good thing he can play some defense or he would be a total liability. I think the biggest focus the rest of the non-conference should be getting DC established in the post. I feel he may have found something after getting benched after 2 minutes, only to come back playing with emotion. I would also give Cooney as many minutes as possible the next month and pray you can find something. You can't make it with only 2 guards. Overall this will be a very very good team though.

 

[BlackKnight76]

I'm not worried about Christmas or DC. This game was a track meet for much of it, and Baye is our most effective post defender at getting back in transition. He also did a great job of managing his fouls in a game where they called stuff every other trip down the court. There will be games where Christmas is better suited for major minutes, and times where DC will carry the load. It's nice to have three big men who all have different skill sets, and two forwards as good as CJ and James.

 

[br801]

I'm not worried about Christmas or DC. This game was a track meet for much of it, and Baye is our most effective post defender at getting back in transition. He also did a great job of managing his fouls in a game where they called stuff every other trip down the court. There will be games where Christmas is better suited for major minutes, and times where DC will carry the load. It's nice to have three big men who all have different skill sets, and two forwards as good as CJ and James.

Great post. Too many times, people here get caught up in the most recent game and project forward. There will be situations where Rak and DC2 play big minutes and provide a lot offensively, just as there will be games where Cooney plays a key role.

The relative constants will be MCW's playmaking, Triche's ability to score from different parts of the floor, CJ's all-around game, and Southy's explosiveness off the bench. They are the team's four best players right now and will log the most minutes; if three of them play well, we will be hard for anyone to handle.

 

[longislandcuse]

Cooney needs to step it up. I dont think hes a lost cause, far from it, hes only a freshman even if he did redshirt, but he just doesnt look like he belongs out there. What our other guys do effortlessly, Cooney looks like he frantic, gasping for air, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Hes clearly pressing, missing foul shots, botching a fast break and obviously being the worst 3 point specialist ever at this point. Once he hits a few threes in a game I think you will see him calm down though (hopefully).

DC2 looks like all he needs is some game experience. You can see the talent and ability is there. Its not if but when in his case.

Rak just doesnt seem to have a fit on this team at the 4. I dont think we know how to run an offense with both DC2 and Rak in the game since they both play close to the basket. Rak's NBA future is at the 4 so we/he have to figure it out.

 

[kuethstheman]

Cooney needs to step it up. I dont think hes a lost cause, far from it, hes only a freshman even if he did redshirt, but he just doesnt look like he belongs out there. What our other guys do effortlessly, Cooney looks like he frantic, gasping for air, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Hes clearly pressing, missing foul shots, botching a fast break and obviously being the worst 3 point specialist ever at this point. Once he hits a few threes in a game I think you will see him calm down though (hopefully).

DC2 looks like all he needs is some game experience. You can see the talent and ability is there. Its not if but when in his case.

Rak just doesnt seem to have a fit on this team at the 4. I dont think we know how to run an offense with both DC2 and Rak in the game since they both play close to the basket. Rak's NBA future is at the 4 so we/he have to figure it out.

Watching Cooney makes me think of Nichols' freshman year. Deer in the headlights. Especially the fast break where he lost the ball. Hope he snaps out of it quicker than Nichols did.

 

[orangemass]

Cooney will be ok... There were some moments in Dion's freshman year that he couldn't throw it in the ocean... Biggest leap will be in between his fresh and soph year... And G mac will work with him until he gets there

 

[jekelish]

This is only tangientally related to the original post, but while I'm excited about Silent G, how can you say he put up "decent numbers" at Duke last year? 1.7 points in 5.8 minutes is not exactly decent. I will bet on Cooney topping his numbers this year.

 

[OttoMets]

...

Rak just doesnt seem to have a fit on this team at the 4. I dont think we know how to run an offense with both DC2 and Rak in the game since they both play close to the basket. Rak's NBA future is at the 4 so we/he have to figure it out.

Regarding the last point, yes, absolutely. Rakeem is either an NBA four or not an NBA player, and it's good we've given him so many minutes at that position in the first few games.

On the first, though, it's just one game. After four game, many seemed to agree that Rakeem was a fine fit at the four; people were raving about his face-up game and referring to him as nearly automatic from 12' and in. Arkansas doesn't change that. Though he did play quite poorly last night. (It's also worth noting that he only played 12 minutes and the two guys who took his minutes combined for 49 points.)