Cuse Will Disappoint This Year?

[jordoo]

I'm already disappointed . . . . . . . . . . . all we have is one 2min video of the first practice at this point. I need more.

 

[Trueblue25]

I will stake whatever mediocre to non existent reputation I have on this board on this statement.


Silent G cometh

Silent G will save us.

 

[Garbs]

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...

I agree with moqui that RaXmas will be solid at center. Also I think Cooney is a solid two, everyone likes to joke about how shakey he is but if we run more I think it will take a lot of pressure off Cooney on offense and in the half court.

Sadly though, those two positions are 4 and 5 as far as importance in this system.

 

[Flacusian]

We are SYRACUSE!!! By seasons end this will be one of the most feared teams in the Nation. Strap yourself in because this will be the most exciting season since 2003. We will witness this collection of virtual unknowns go through a metamorphosis filled with emotional highs and lows during the virtual rollercoaster of a ride as they find their identity as a cohesive team while the season moves forward.

There is simply too much talent, too much good coaching, a superior strength and conditioning program and coaching, a rabid psycho 35k+ home crowd fanbase, and too many hungry to play, score, defend, win young players for this team not to succeed wildly.

 

[Oakland]

He was also great against Baylor's talented 5* frontline.

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.

 

[SoBeCuse]

He was also great against Baylor's talented 5* frontline.

He played decent. Cory Jefferson was starting to dominate in that 2H.

 

[reedny]

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.

Exactly what I've been posting in another thread. http://syracusefan.com/threads/dukie-vs-preseason-top-40.81049/#post-1156009

We might be less productive offensively than last year's team, which had (according to waters) the lowest point production for an SU team in 50 years. http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...acuse_orange_basketball_team_this_season.html

Not to mention that we have a converted SF running point (while JB force feeds KJ), a SF that can't shoot from the outside (nothing new there), a center who's a foul magnet (with potentially a freshman backup) .. etc, etc.

It's unfair to CM and KJ to expect them to come in and fill holes manned by experienced, although offensively-challenged, players last year, let alone expecting them to roll into the house and average 10 or 15 points a piece.

 

[tee1222]

We are SYRACUSE!!! By seasons end this will be one of the most feared teams in the Nation. Strap yourself in because this will be the most exciting season since 2003. We will witness this collection of virtual unknowns go through a metamorphosis filled with emotional highs and lows during the virtual rollercoaster of a ride as they find their identity as a cohesive team while the season moves forward.

There is simply too much talent, too much good coaching, a superior strength and conditioning program and coaching, a rabid psycho 35k+ home crowd fanbase, and too many hungry to play, score, defend, win young players for this team not to succeed wildly.

Darn, Flacusian you stole my thunder. I was just about to start my post with "We are Syracuse". No kidding. And. Looks like everything else is in check. And I'll be on my way. Let's go!

 

[realorange]

I agree with moqui that RaXmas will be solid at center. Also I think Cooney is a solid two, everyone likes to joke about how shakey he is but if we run more I think it will take a lot of pressure off Cooney on offense and in the half court.

Sadly though, those two positions are 4 and 5 as far as importance in this system.

I guess it depends on how you define importance. Without Roc or Trevor playing well we are dead in the water. Roc will be a Rock on defense. Trevor will be our leading scorer this year. PG and Fs are important to fit in as a team, but not anymore important this year than the first two.

 

[SUbear]

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

In Boeheim I trust!

 

[kirbivore]

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

As long as there aren't too many losses the stronger schedule will give SU high enough computer numbers to break any ties on selection Sunday.

 

[orangefan13]

ONe thing that could stand out on this team in terms of depth is the want to score.

I haven't pegged Gbinije and Rak as that yet, and I feel BJ and Ron probably had it more then Roberson oddly enough. I think both fresh will show the want to over time as well.

CUrious on Obokoh he could become a really solid suprise.

 

[Eric15]

I want Boeheim to focus more on developing a bench in November than winning games.

It's like, if JB was a CEO, I want him to be less of a short-term dividend guy (which he's been for the past 40 years), and more of a long-term Research and Development guy.

I think this team could very well have a Louisville/Michigan State type season. What I mean by that is, it seems like those teams always lose a few in Nov/Dec, drop in the rankings, and then around mid-February they are a well-oiled machine.

 

[pfister1]

I want Boeheim to focus more on developing a bench in November than winning games.

It's like, if JB was a CEO, I want him to be less of a short-term dividend guy (which he's been for the past 40 years), and more of a long-term Research and Development guy.

I think this team could very well have a Louisville/Michigan State type season. What I mean by that is, it seems like those teams always lose a few in Nov/Dec, drop in the rankings, and then around mid-February they are a well-oiled machine.

Last year may have been a better year to do that than this year. I think we have a tougher overall schedule this year than last, both in the OOC and in the ACC. If JB takes the usual approach we may drop a few OOC games just based on the inexperience of our roster and the tougher matchups. I think we'll definitely lose some games in conference. As a result this might actually be a season where the margin for error is relatively low and may justify his win every game no matter what, even at the expense of developing depth approach.

The other element is that we only have 10 scholarship players and possibly only 9 if Coleman's injuries make him a non-factor. I don't see any way that JB plays less than 8 guys - 7 (Rak, TC, TR, CM, KJ, MG & BJ) regular minutes and 1 (Chino) as much or as little as Rak's foul situation dictates. That would leave only Patterson as a guy that could benefit from a deeper bench strategy.

 

[moqui]

It's like, if JB was a CEO, I want him to be less of a short-term dividend guy (which he's been for the past 40 years), and more of a long-term Research and Development guy.

it's curious that you categorize the second winningest coach in NCAA history, the winningest at a single school, and the longest tenured coach active in the nation as a "short term dividend guy"

not to mention the R&D he has done in developing his 2-3 zone over the last ~20 years, with tweaks and variations evident season to season, game to game, half to half and sometimes even possession to possession.

the fact is you don't need more than a 7 man rotation in a 40 minute game played no more than 2x a week. the value of depth falls on a curve . . . too little and your best players get worn down, too much and you are stealing time from your best and handing it to lesser players. the vast majority of the time, JB has found the sweet spot on the curve.

 

[Cuse'91]

the fact is you don't need more than a 7 man rotation in a 40 minute game played no more than 2x a week. the value of depth falls on a curve . . . too little and your best players get worn down, too much and you are stealing time from your best and handing it to lesser players. the vast majority of the time, JB has found the sweet spot on the curve.

What if, oh I don't know, you happen to have a late season injury to a starter? Or a late season suspension to a starter? No need to get bench players ready to contribute if needed, stuff like that never happens...

 

[CForth51]

Let me preface this with how much I support Jimmy B and his approach to the game but I thought he dropped the ball a bit last year with player development and usage. Trevor Cooney is where I would make the case for this - I don't think that Trevor just went cold late in the season, but I think he lost his legs as the season progressed. He is a particularly active player on both ends of the floor, constantly running off screens and getting in passing lanes. Had we used an additional guard here and there I think he would have been much more effective later in the season. It is hard for me to believe that BJ Johnson or Ron Patterson couldn't have had some positive impact for 5-8 minutes a game.

 

[jordoo]

This years bench play is interesting because we aren't sure if DC2 can play at all. MikeG could really bloom and basically be the backup for everybody other than the center and play starters minutes or he could just be the backup PG. BJ or Buss could make big enough sophomore leaps to get 20 minutes a game. Its possible all these guys find roles or we might only see Mike off the bench and Chinonso when Rak is in foul trouble because DC2 never plays this season.

That being said:
-My gut tells me DC2 doesn't play meaningful minutes this season as we have yet to hear anything good as far as his knee's go. That means no PF for Rakeem and Chinonso plays 5-10min a game as his backup.
-I feel like BJ is ready to carve out playing time for himself as a spark plug bench scorer which likely keeps Mike's fminutes at the 3 very limited and really puts the squeeze on Buss finding minutes
-Mike's biggest value is as the backup PG because we don't have one. I think he also spells Cooney at the 2G unless Buss like BJ can really provide some offense off the pine.

 

[moqui]

What if, oh I don't know, you happen to have a late season injury to a starter? Or a late season suspension to a starter? No need to get bench players ready to contribute if needed, stuff like that never happens...

in a 7 man rotation there is already a backup for every slot . . . how many seed positions are you willing to sacrifice on the off chance that someone gets hurt, so that you can have a third option available just in case. you weigh the odds and try to find the right balance . . . do you want to get a high seed & roll the dice, or go into selection sunday at 21-10 and just hoping for an invite

 

[jordoo]

in a 7 man rotation there is already a backup for every slot . . . how many seed positions are you willing to sacrifice on the off chance that someone gets hurt, so that you can have a third option available just in case. you weigh the odds and try to find the right balance . . . do you want to get a high seed & roll the dice, or go into selection sunday at 21-10 and just hoping for an invite

I think JB realized that a couple minutes here and there will not make a difference and he isn't willing to sit through meaningful runs of minutes that are mistake filled by an inexperienced player when he has a better option. The guys that he feels are not quite ready to hold there own for 5-6min stretches against good competition get meaningless minutes in blow outs and have to show it in practice consistently. If they do then he gives them a try but once they start missing defensive asignments or looking lost on offense they get the hook. Its not as if JB hasn't given guys chances, they just don't perform well in those spots and then sit right away. Look at CJ he got minutes as a freshman and performed well so he kept getting them and he was certainly on the edge of the rotation to start his freshman season.

 

[Cuse'91]

in a 7 man rotation there is already a backup for every slot . . . how many seed positions are you willing to sacrifice on the off chance that someone gets hurt, so that you can have a third option available just in case. you weigh the odds and try to find the right balance . . . do you want to get a high seed & roll the dice, or go into selection sunday at 21-10 and just hoping for an invite

If that's your opinion, so be it. My opinion is that even eight is not enough, and I'm not talking about Dick Van Patten... The ninth player off the bench should be able to come into a game without looking like a deer in the headlights.

 

[SoBristol]

Does not matter what we say here, JB is going to play to win the OCC games and he believes his top 7 guys are the means to that end. If he plays deep, it will be because we are behind and he needs to press with Patterson and a line-up geared to that; or because Rak is in foul trouble.

 

[jordoo]

Does not matter what we say here, JB is going to play to win the OCC games and he believes his top 7 guys are the means to that end. If he plays deep, it will be because we are behind and he needs to press with Patterson and a line-up geared to that; or because Rak is in foul trouble.

Undoubtedly he will play his best players as much as possible. My kids play 8 and under soccer with participation rules but the coaches all still play their best players as much as possible and play the worst players as little as possible while also hiding them as midfielders where they have the least negative effect on the team when they make mistake after mistake.

 

[MCC]

This years bench play is interesting because we aren't sure if DC2 can play at all. MikeG could really bloom and basically be the backup for everybody other than the center and play starters minutes or he could just be the backup PG. BJ or Buss could make big enough sophomore leaps to get 20 minutes a game. Its possible all these guys find roles or we might only see Mike off the bench and Chinonso when Rak is in foul trouble because DC2 never plays this season.

That being said:
-My gut tells me DC2 doesn't play meaningful minutes this season as we have yet to hear anything good as far as his knee's go. That means no PF for Rakeem and Chinonso plays 5-10min a game as his backup.
-I feel like BJ is ready to carve out playing time for himself as a spark plug bench scorer which likely keeps Mike's fminutes at the 3 very limited and really puts the squeeze on Buss finding minutes
-Mike's biggest value is as the backup PG because we don't have one. I think he also spells Cooney at the 2G unless Buss like BJ can really provide some offense off the pine.

I think we see BJ at the 2 more than the 3, and we see him at 2 before we see Buss at 2.

I read on this board that the staff was/is grooming him for time at the 2 - he just doesn't "feel" like a 3 in our system.

 

[jordoo]

I think we see BJ at the 2 more than the 3, and we see him at 2 before we see Buss at 2.

I read on this board that the staff was/is grooming him for time at the 2 - he just doesn't "feel" like a 3 in our system.

I know that they want him to be able to play the 2 but who is our backup forward if not BJ? Mike has to be the backup PG so he won't always be free to play the 3. Its certainly very possible that BJ plays 2G for us though.