Depth, or Complete Lack There Of...

[AirForceOrange]

I don't think JB has as much of an issue with a player taking shots as much as he does when they make mistakes on defense or don't give it their all on defense. Saw it mentioned that BJJ made immediate mistakes in the zone during his three minutes. I understand his playing time has been limited, but he is a sophomore and has been at least practicing in this type of defense for 1 1/2 years now. Really that should not be happening. JB is going to give time to the players who show they know how to play zone defense and when a mistake is made, correct it and not make it again. When they have multiple mistakes, they get yanked. Yes, he may prefer the less experienced players pass it off to another more experienced player in situations, but if a player is open and has the shot, I don't think JB will no where be near as upset about a miss like than that than if someone is failing on defense.

 

[TBCuse11]

can't help but chuckle at how you use "Jim" as if you're a friend or relative of his or something. sure gives your posts extra legitimacy, though

love you too man...

 

[pearl31]

love you too man...

hey! that's awesome, you learned how to post an image! no stopping you now!

 

[SoBeCuse]

I was shocked that BJ took not only a quick shot with his first touch but a bad one. Then he went down and missed the hottest shooter in the country on D. That was all she wrote. I want him to shoot wide open shots but you've been in for 3 or 4 seconds, the offense isn't set, you aren't set and its just bam shoot! A head scratcher for sure and I know he is smarter and better than that. I think he can give us minutes, help on the glass and seize the opportunities when they come on offense.

Joseph has taken on the personality of a pocket protector. Yes they keep ink off of your shirt but that's about it. He can do so much more. His defense has been trending upward and his handle has improved but on offense he spends a majority of his time being a placeholder rather than a playmaker. He needs to look for his shot more and drive more aggressively. Let the inner bookworm assassin out young man!

Buss plays very active defense and seems to have a nice eye for how plays will develop. His shot is crazy, looks nice when he makes it but like a shotput when he misses which happens most of the time. He does at least try to make something happen when the defense leaves him alone which is a plus. That's Buss he makes things happen although they aren't all good things.

I was not shocked at all re: BJ. That's been his calling card when he checks into a game. Enough of a sample size now. Boeheim said it in the presser about Kaleb. He's going sideways and in circles all the time now and not forward. It's a problem. Agreed re: Buss. He will play and we desperately need more guard bodies especially since Kaleb is ineffective.

I think we will see one or two more chances in games for BJ to do something positive. If not then he will be shut down and we will ride the guys whom Boeheim trusts as far as they can physically go. I suspect many second halves of games soon it will start to become obvious how gassed they are. Unfortunate since the options truly aren't there. I think that the recruiting is to blame a bit for some of these sophs who obviously are just not that good and/or possible very late bloomers but ,also, the staff deserves LOTS of credit for staying competitive currently and keeping them playing hard. Rak and Cooney are freaking warriors out there.

 

[two3zone]

And I would bet the reason he is so timid is largely because of the fear of being yanked for making a mistake.

I don't buy it. If you're biggest fear is being yanked you don't chuck up a bad shot 1 second after you get the ball early in the shot clock. I'm sure coach didn't draw that play up and to be honest it looks more selfish than dumb on BJs part. It's simply bad basketball not fear.

 

[jordoo]

I was not shocked at all re: BJ. QUOTE]

I suppose I shouldn't be either but when you have obviously been awaiting your next chance its mind boggling. That shot came immediately.

 

[TBCuse11]

I was not shocked at all re: BJ. That's been his calling card when he checks into a game. Enough of a sample size now. Boeheim said it in the presser about Kaleb. He's going sideways and in circles all the time now and not forward. It's a problem. Agreed re: Buss. He will play and we desperately need more guard bodies especially since Kaleb is ineffective.

I think we will see one or two more chances in games for BJ to do something positive. If not then he will be shut down and we will ride the guys whom Boeheim trusts as far as they can physically go. I suspect many second halves of games soon it will start to become obvious how gassed they are. Unfortunate since the options truly aren't there. I think that the recruiting is to blame a bit for some of these sophs who obviously are just not that good and/or possible very late bloomers but ,also, the staff deserves LOTS of credit for staying competitive currently and keeping them playing hard. Rak and Cooney are freaking warriors out there.

G is a warrior as well. He is vastly undersized but has been rebounding very well. He also is asked to play PG a bunch of the time. Dude oozes potential and talent.

 

[Townie72]

Glad to see someone confess to recognizing the "JB needs to play more players" fallacy. JB plays everyone who can help the team win whatever game they are in. When a player isn't playing, its because in JB's vision they are more likely to hurt than help. Practices are for player development. Games --- once the few early season laughers are over --- are not.

But the argument to the contrary is a fixture on this board. Especially now the "JB needs to play some M2M" nonsense has been put to rest.

Also, how many three point shooters have we seen on opposing teams this year that we would trade TC for?

 

[Jasoncuse]

The non-Cooney Guard spot is mostly killing us in the 2nd half of games. Patterson brings energy off the bench and isn't a bad driver/passer, but he just can't shoot. His stroke looks fine, but he's consistently way off. Joseph doesn't even look for his offense and that's getting pretty easy to defend him and the other guys, and is why Patterson is seeing so many minutes in 2nd halves of games. I'm not sure what the solution is, but one of them needs to step up. I would like to see Joseph in more late in games, because he's a better FT shooter...

 

[MSOrange]

At end of game situations like last night, what do you all think about having Kaleb and BJ in for Gbinije and Patterson at that point? I have more confidence in Kaleb and BJ at the line. They surely are capable of catching the ball and getting fouled without giving us too much heart burn - right?

 

[CuseFaninVT]

At end of game situations like last night, what do you all think about having Kaleb and BJ in for Gbinije and Patterson at that point? I have more confidence in Kaleb and BJ at the line. They surely are capable of catching the ball and getting fouled without giving us too much heart burn - right?

Silent G has to be in the game because he's one of two who can handle it in those pressure situations. BJ isn't an option there.

 

[MSOrange]

Silent G has to be in the game because he's one of two who can handle it in those pressure situations. BJ isn't an option there.

True. Very good point. I was trying to solve our free throw problems and probably created a bigger one.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

True. Very good point. I was trying to solve our free throw problems and probably created a bigger one.

From the perspective of purely free throw shots, I think you are probably right. It's just all the rest of the basketball that it would hurt.

 

[Shenexon]

Eventually it seems JB will have to get BJ and/or Chino into games more. There are 14 games left in the regular season and there are times we're going to need them.

 

[two3zone]

Eventually it seems JB will have to get BJ and/or Chino into games more. There are 14 games left in the regular season and there are times we're going to need them.

If it's a close game they're not going in. There is zero margin for error. Do we even win this game if BJ and Chin play 5 more minutes each? Unfortunately I don't think we do.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Im probably the biggest advocate of playing the bench, but honestly... I guess Jimmy B was right on this one.

Rather than issuing Mea Culpas as separate threads on each topic, a single, blanket assertion of "I was wrong about everything and JB was right" would suffice.

That and a screen name change would give you a fresh start.

You can keep the pic.

 

[TBCuse11]

Rather than issuing Mea Culpas as separate threads on each topic, a single, blanket assertion of "I was wrong about everything and JB was right" would suffice.

That and a screen name change would give you a fresh start.

You can keep the pic.

Until the season concludes, we wont know who is right or wrong in regards to any topic discussed.
Pretty naive to not realize this. Great post by the way.


Brought tons to the table...

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Until the season concludes, we wont know who is right or wrong in regards to any topic discussed.
Pretty naive to not realize this. Great post by the way.


Brought tons to the table...

Okey-Dokey...Here's your post from March:

It really is this simple. I will accept my week long bans that I receive whenever I question Cooney, but in reality he is the reason we have fallen apart. The kid cant shoot. And i no longer blame him. he is who he is. Jimmy has his favorites, as do all coaches, but Trevor was a bad choice. His only job is to shoot the rock, and he just cant do it. This is no slump. This is who he is.

I will wait until the end of the season to call you out on this.

Carry on.

 

[Madbiker]

Buss plays much better defense than Kaleb right now. He also penetrates at times and creates shots for teammates while Kaleb has a tendency to just move east-west aimlessly around the perimeter. Unfortunately Buss is shooting a very low percentage and his free throw shooting makes Stevie Thompson look like all world -- good grief he is awful at the line. Kaleb really needs to be in at the end of close games just for the free throw shooting aspect. Too bad we can't combine them into one player.

 

[SoBeCuse]

G is a warrior as well. He is vastly undersized but has been rebounding very well. He also is asked to play PG a bunch of the time. Dude oozes potential and talent.

No question. Forgot to mention him although IMO his defensive awareness when he is at the 3 is not good. Still, like you say, his rebounding and overall game has been really good. His head must be spinning at times having to play three positions. Lucky to have him.

 

[Cuse_1999]

At end of game situations like last night, what do you all think about having Kaleb and BJ in for Gbinije and Patterson at that point? I have more confidence in Kaleb and BJ at the line. They surely are capable of catching the ball and getting fouled without giving us too much heart burn - right?

I'll confess to thinking this exact same thing last night. However I decided to only sub KJ for Patterson when they are in an obvious foul immediately situation. I do think BJ is probably a much better FT shooter than G, but I just think G has the court awareness you need in those situations

 

[Eagles20]

At end of game situations like last night, what do you all think about having Kaleb and BJ in for Gbinije and Patterson at that point? I have more confidence in Kaleb and BJ at the line. They surely are capable of catching the ball and getting fouled without giving us too much heart burn - right?

I'm not a fan of having someone come in after sitting on the bench for over 40 minutes real time. I guess the coach isn't either. At that point you have to be stiff beyond belief.

 

[Consigliere]

Maybe I'm naive or too far removed, but I just don't see the "wearing down" factor as being a big impact. With media timeouts at every four minutes and two games a week I can see getting temporarily gassed, but long term physical exhaustion for athletes in peak condition? Just don't get it. And JB can mitigate somewhat by giving BJ, Chino and Buss some extra run with the 1's in practice resting his big 3 creating a win-win.

You know these guys play more continuously during pick up games or summer leagues than they do during nationally televised ACC tilts. I recall JB answering criticism that he would tire his stars out by playing them too many minutes and responding "I'd rather have 80% of John Wallace than 100% of anyone else on the floor."

 

[SoBeCuse]

Maybe I'm naive or too far removed, but I just don't see the "wearing down" factor as being a big impact. With media timeouts at every four minutes and two games a week I can see getting temporarily gassed, but long term physical exhaustion for athletes in peak condition? Just don't get it. And JB can mitigate somewhat by giving BJ, Chino and Buss some extra run with the 1's in practice resting his big 3 creating a win-win.

You know these guys play more continuously during pick up games or summer leagues than they do during nationally televised ACC tilts. I recall JB answering criticism that he would tire his stars out by playing them too many minutes and responding "I'd rather have 80% of John Wallace than 100% of anyone else on the floor."

What about Cooney/Ennis last year? Boeheim admitted that they played too many minutes.

 

[UelSU]

At this point, I feel better with Ron out there than with Joseph, quite honestly. It's going to be a six man rotation, with Patterson being the 6th man. BJ might get some time, but I doubt it. If Christmas gets in foul trouble, Chino might play some, but I bet Tyler plays center if it's a tight game.