Cuse Will Disappoint This Year?

[TexanMark]

For the life of me...I can't see this team winning more than 20-22 games. I see us as a borderline NCAA team. I don't see any go to guys on this team.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Always better to temper expectations. I really have no idea what to expect. Too many unprovens. I definitely am probably the most intrigued ever going into a season because of the unknowns and potential high ceiling.

 

[TexanMark]

Also, remember the OOC schedule is tougher than normal...this board could be unreadable come early February.

 

[jordoo]

We will rarely be out coached and rarely face a team with more raw talent than we have. That doesn't guarantee we will win because we have some important parts of our team that are pretty inexperienced but as they play they will gain that all important experience. Basketball is an interesting game with lots of different things going on but in the end its all about putting the ball in the basket more than the other team does. With the talent we have I expect JB and company to have this team accomplish that a vast majority of the time. How soon can Joseph be a good college PG, that is the biggest question to me, the sooner he is the better our chances become of being a really good team this year.

 

[jordoo]

Also, remember the OOC schedule is tougher than normal...this board could be unreadable come early February.

I certainly do not expect to be undefeated this season in out OOC schedule. That doesn't mean we will struggle to win 20 games though.

 

[SoBristol]

Some fans have this all doped out (who starts, how many minutes, points and rebounds; likely won/loss record), and are optimistic (or not) -- based on very little recent observations of the key players. It is mostly guesswork, with more unknowns than I can remember in many years.

How much have Roberson, BJ and Gbinije improved year over year? How ready is Kaleb Joseph to be a PG against ACC competition? Can Chris McCullough play defense? He can run, can he score in the half court? Can Rak stay away from foul trouble? Can Cooney add dimensions to his game or is he essentially what he was last season?

We aren't going to know until exhibitions begin.

 

[SoBeCuse]

We will rarely be out coached and rarely face a team with more raw talent than we have. That doesn't guarantee we will win because we have some important parts of our team that are pretty inexperienced but as they play they will gain that all important experience. Basketball is an interesting game with lots of different things going on but in the end its all about putting the ball in the basket more than the other team does. With the talent we have I expect JB and company to have this team accomplish that a vast majority of the time. How soon can Joseph be a good college PG, that is the biggest question to me, the sooner he is the better our chances become of being a really good team this year.

Agreed. One thing that needs to get better is fundamentals, though. Whether or not they are being taught could be an issue. Or maybe it is just a group of guys with those flaws who just can't be taught and/or are limited in skills like in the case of last year's squad. Making the extra pass, a shot fake (not a Bobby Knight fan here), work the opposite side of the floor reversing the ball, less ISO, etc. I definitely think there has been a shift towards better 'basketball' players currently which bodes well. Lets face it, the good defensive teams pretty much have been shutting Syracuse down the past few years. The offense needs to get better.

 

[jordoo]

Agreed. One thing that needs to get better is fundamentals, though. Whether or not they are being taught could be an issue. Or maybe it is just a group of guys with those flaws who just can't be taught and/or are limited in skills like in the case of last year's squad. Making the extra pass, a shot fake (not a Bobby Knight fan here), work the opposite side of the floor reversing the ball, less ISO, etc. I definitely think there has been a shift towards better 'basketball' players currently which bodes well. Lets face it, the good defensive teams pretty much have been shutting Syracuse down the past few years. The offense needs to get better.

I agree that recruiting has certainly seemed to lean toward getting more complete basketball players with already developed skills recently. Some times you do have guys that simply cannot learn certain aspects of the game and for 4 years you think why the heck don't they teach so and so to do this. Eventually you realize that if you see it they must have tried it. LOL. I watched the 09/10 squad last night in the game against Gtown at the dome. The thing about that team was that the skill sets of the different players where not all that well rounded but they complemented each other very well and the one skill all 7 guys seemed to share was being good and willing passers. When the defense screwed up against that squad we almost always found the open guy for a dunk/layup or a wide open jumper. Of course it also helped that they had two legitimate post players and two guys who could really stroke the 3 ball even when defended.

 

[moqui]

For the life of me...I can't see this team winning more than 20-22 games. I see us as a borderline NCAA team. I don't see any go to guys on this team.

I think you are probably doing an anti-Igor here, Mark, but I'll play along and voice my optimism for the season.

Worst case scenario, this is a repeat of 2007-08. That team had just 3 upperclassmen returning (juniors Eric Devendorf & Andy Rautins and senior Josh Wright) and was dominated by a bunch of young, unproven freshman and sophomores (and juco transfer Kristof Ongenaet). Andy got hurt before the season began, Devo went down in December, and Wright flaked, leaving the team with no experience. Key injuries can trump talent on any team.

Similarly, this year's squad has just three upperclassmen in Roc, Silent G & Shakey P. So long as those three guys remain healthy, their experience plus the infusion of all the young talent can make this a memorable year. Like, 2010 memorable. There are a lot of similarities to 2010:

Freshman point guards: Triche, Kaleb Joseph
Shooter at the 2 who came in to the year with a lot of doubters: Rautins, Cooney
Big, experienced senior center: Onuaku, Christmas
Returning sophomore forward who underperformed as a frosh: Kris Joseph, Roberson
New forward oozing talent but whom no one has seen in game situations: Johnson, McCullough

of course there is no obvious parallel to Rick Jackson or Scoop Jardine on this year's squad, but there is Silent G who can be a supersub at 3 positions and maybe repeat Scoop's 6th man of the year output, and a host of other young players who could step up and surprise.

I am expecting another great year - top 3 conference finish, protected NCAA seed, a run at another 30 win season and if the cards fall right, a deep March run.

 

[MCC]

We'll be solid defensively and better offensively. I suspect we'll be a better rebounding team. We'll push the pace more and utilize our athletes; thus more easy buckets. All this said, we will see more mistakes and turnovers - we won't be as precise, and will lose more regular season games because of it. I actually think we're better suited than last year's team to make a decent run in the tourney.

I see the team's ceiling as elite 8; my money would be on a sweet 16 finish.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I'm hopeful that the apparent lack of a go-to scorer will encourage JB to push the tempo again. He's been way too eager to slow the pace recently.

 

[pfister1]

I fully expect this team to be more fun to watch than last year's team. I think we'll win our fair share of games and those wins won't feel like a trip under the drill at the Dentist's Office, well at least all of them won't.

 

[jordoo]

What I really want to see more than anything is a more up tempo, attacking fun style of basketball. Not just for SU but for the ACC as a whole which somehow became a grinder of a conference. Pitt, VA and SU were the main culprits last season all playing very plodding precise styles of offense to go with their hard to attack defenses. It seemed to spread to all the lower level teams as well though since many of them struggled to score. I would love to see the top of the ACC over the next few seasons being all up-tempo teams as I feel it would really help recruiting conference wide against the BiG10 and SEC which is now the main competition for recruiting. I want to see Duke, UNC, SU and Lville headline the most exciting college bball conference by playing exciting games against each other which feature HOF coaches and very talented players attacking at the first opportunity in riveting games where they score in the 80's.

 

[Cusefan0307]

We'll be solid defensively and better offensively. I suspect we'll be a better rebounding team. We'll push the pace more and utilize our athletes; thus more easy buckets. All this said, we will see more mistakes and turnovers - we won't be as precise, and will lose more regular season games because of it. I actually think we're better suited than last year's team to make a decent run in the tourney.

I see the team's ceiling as elite 8; my money would be on a sweet 16 finish.

You took the safe bet. Thats where the plurality of Syracuses seasons have ended under Boeheim!

I can't see us being bad. Too much talent, if inexpierienced. The last bad team we had was in 07-08, and that team had less expierience than this one. If Andy and Devo didnt get hurt so early we would of made that tournament

 

[CusefanATL]

Also, remember the OOC schedule is tougher than normal...this board could be unreadable come early February.

Ill gladly take unreadable in early February and cheerful in early April for this young team.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I agree that recruiting has certainly seemed to lean toward getting more complete basketball players with already developed skills recently. Some times you do have guys that simply cannot learn certain aspects of the game and for 4 years you think why the heck don't they teach so and so to do this. Eventually you realize that if you see it they must have tried it. LOL. I watched the 09/10 squad last night in the game against Gtown at the dome. The thing about that team was that the skill sets of the different players where not all that well rounded but they complemented each other very well and the one skill all 7 guys seemed to share was being good and willing passers. When the defense screwed up against that squad we almost always found the open guy for a dunk/layup or a wide open jumper. Of course it also helped that they had two legitimate post players and two guys who could really stroke the 3 ball even when defended.

Well said about the passing on that team. Ah, the days of having good post players, lol.

 

[rstone7727]

We do not have a single position (or player) that we know will be rock solid this year. We have had that each year going back quite a few years.. So many questions to be answered and more times than not, that many mystery players portend a down year. We have about seven or eight question marks on the team, if we get better than expected results from half of them, I think we'll win 20 games. But history has not been kind to teams in tough conferences that have as many unknowns as we have. Agree with TexanMark...

 

[moqui]

We do not have a single position (or player) that we know will be rock solid this year. We have had that each year going back quite a few years.. So many questions to be answered and more times than not, that many mystery players portend a down year. We have about seven or eight question marks on the team, if we get better than expected results from half of them, I think we'll win 20 games. But history has not been kind to teams in tough conferences that have as many unknowns as we have. Agree with TexanMark...

Christmas will be "Roc" solid . . . he is the best defensive center in the ACC. With the team's defensive scheme, you can build out from there. The defense might not approach "shut it down" good of the 2010 team, but it will be as effective as other recent years. That will be good enough to win a ton of games regardless of how well the offense comes together . . . as last season proved.

 

[Orange4]

This team has a lot of intangibles you can't teach. Our length, our raw talent, and just the potential of this team is through the roof. We have the pieces to make this team special we just need to put them in the right places.

 

[iommi]

Christmas will be "Roc" solid . . . he is the best defensive center in the ACC. With the team's defensive scheme, you can build out from there. The defense might not approach "shut it down" good of the 2010 team, but it will be as effective as other recent years. That will be good enough to win a ton of games regardless of how well the offense comes together . . . as last season proved.

Roc has the raw tools to be a great defensive player but I'm not sure you can even say he's close to great, considering he leaves his feet for just about any pump fake and is so foul prone. Great defenders know how and when to challenge shots. His footwork is above average but he has to learn when to belly up in the post and when to go for the block. He's not a great recovery defender either--that was Baye's forte.

 

[longtimefan]

I think you are probably doing an anti-Igor here, Mark, but I'll play along and voice my optimism for the season.


Worst case scenario, this is a repeat of 2007-08. That team had just 3 upperclassmen returning (juniors Eric Devendorf & Andy Rautins and senior Josh Wright) and was dominated by a bunch of young, unproven freshman and sophomores (and juco transfer Kristof Ongenaet). Andy got hurt before
the season began, Devo went down in December, and Wright flaked, leaving the team with no experience. Key injuries can trump talent on any team.

Similarly, this year's squad has just three upperclassmen in Roc, Silent G & Shakey P. So long as those three guys remain healthy, their experience plus the infusion of all the young talent can make this a memorable year. Like, 2010 memorable. There are a lot of similarities to 2010:

Freshman point guards: Triche, Kaleb Joseph
Shooter at the 2 who came in to the year with a lot of doubters: Rautins, Cooney
Big, experienced senior center: Onuaku, Christmas
Returning sophomore forward who underperformed as a frosh: Kris Joseph, Roberson
New forward oozing talent but whom no one has seen in game situations: Johnson, McCullough

of course there is no obvious parallel to Rick Jackson or Scoop Jardine on this year's squad, but there is Silent G who can be a supersub at 3 positions and maybe repeat Scoop's 6th man of the year output, and a host of other young players who could step up and surprise.

I am expecting another great year - top 3 conference finish, protected NCAA seed, a run at another 30 win season and if the cards fall right, a deep March run.

I like your optimism, Moqui.

 

[realorange]

All I really want to see early on are players working hard to do the right thing. There will be mistakes, but if they are putting positive effort into their individual as well as team game, I'll be pleased. If this leads to a good tourney team late in the season, I'll be thrilled.

 

[moqui]

Roc has the raw tools to be a great defensive player but I'm not sure you can even say he's close to great, considering he leaves his feet for just about any pump fake and is so foul prone. Great defenders know how and when to challenge shots. His footwork is above average but he has to learn when to belly up in the post and when to go for the block. He's not a great recovery defender either--that was Baye's forte.

the question wasn't whether he was perfect, but whether he was solid. He is more than solid defensively. Without looking it up, I'd wager that he has the best block percentage and the best defensive rebounding percentage of any returning ACC center - the two keys for a center in JB's system. Now, if he can just play under a little more control and give us 28 mpg instead of 23, the Orange will be in very good position this year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Roc has the raw tools to be a great defensive player but I'm not sure you can even say he's close to great, considering he leaves his feet for just about any pump fake and is so foul prone. Great defenders know how and when to challenge shots. His footwork is above average but he has to learn when to belly up in the post and when to go for the block. He's not a great recovery defender either--that was Baye's forte.

If he plays like he did against Duke and NC State at home last year he will be ACC defensive player of the year. He was probably the only player, maybe besides G who actually improved over the course of last year. The one thing he can do better is keeping his hands straight up.

 

[Lawrinson14]

See, here is the thing. If this team does win only 20 games, it probably would mean that roughly everyone would be back next year. Now that team could be something.