Different circumstance, however when we lost AO...

[gilardino]

to the horrible injury, what was reaction of board. did people think we could win, etc? it seems like people were confident, now not so much. why?

 

[MadNY3]

...we lost to a good Butler team that we otherwise would have beaten.

That's what scares us all, rightfully so.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

People expected AO to magically recover from his torn quad injury "in a couple of days", and SU only needed to eke out a few wins until his return.


If there was no hope of AO's return, the tone around here would have been different.

 

[Marsh01]

He was never coming back as far as I was concerned. I went to the Buffalo games and was watching him standing on the court watching players warm up. A ball bounced in his near vicinity (like 2-3 feet away) and he literally could not move to even go after the ball (he tried).

 

[CorduroyG]

before the tourny started i said sweet 16 was our ceiling. that team was a perfect 7 piece puzzle, you take out 1 piece and its not even close to the same team. however, after the way we spanked gonzaga, i definitely thought we could beat butler and kansas st/xavier.

this team can still make the elite 8, i think we're better than any team in the east not named ohio state.

 

[gilardino]

another thing that helped, we were in buffalo, a huge homecourt advantage, question is, will we have it in Pitt. cuse fans have to make noise on thursday and saturday. a lot of it

 

[cap2nine]

to the horrible injury, what was reaction of board. did people think we could win, etc? it seems like people were confident, now not so much. why?

I think some of the lack of confidence this year may be a result of the 2010 experience. Most SU fans, myself included, thought we could survive without AO. Now we know just how important the anchor of our zone is to the success of the team. And, we got a glimpse of it earlier this year. I believe this team is still capable of competing at a high level in the tournament but based on the past I can realistically see how great the challenge now becomes. We may be a little better prepared this time around, I'm just not sure that we are prepared enough.

 

[Jasoncuse]

That was a better team, and there was some hope that AO could return, so it wasn't as dire, if I recall. At least my opinions of our chances weren't as dire...

 

[STEVEHOLT]

First of all, that team was better than this team in that we had good outside shooting (rautins) a beast of a big man who could score. AO..and a swing guy who was basically a vastly superior joseph in Wes...so to me...losing AO then was bigger than losing Fab now..simply because I thought that team had a much better chance at wining it all than this one did..despite records

 

[mantonio]

First of all, that team was better than this team in that we had good outside shooting (rautins) a beast of a big man who could score. AO..and a swing guy who was basically a vastly superior joseph in Wes...so to me...losing AO then was bigger than losing Fab now..simply because I thought that team had a much better chance at wining it all than this one did..despite records

The 2010 team definitely had certain advantages WITH AO.

This team though, has the edge in other areas. We still have good depth at the guard position, & it's far better than any of the other teams in the East Region, including Ohio State. We could install a 3 guard set in certain circumstances, & we would be ok because this team is faster. We will have to rely on speed with this new Orange incarnation.

CJ Fair becomes VERY important in this equation, because we will need him to take up the rebounding slack left by Melo's absence...

 

[SUFan44]

The 2010 team with Onuaku was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This team, I feel like, has been through a lot of adversity that that team didn't have to deal with. It's apples and oranges. I have no doubt that if Arinze was healthy we make the Final Four and push for a national championship. I feel like this team has enough firepower leftover that it can, but it all depends on who we play and the match ups.

 

[NKR1978]

I think we overrate the 2010 team. That team needed to have a fairly miraculous comeback against a horrible DePaul. Had to come back against a bad Seton Hall. Almost blew a 20+ point lead to Georgetown. Needed some fortunate officiating to beat a bad UConn. Got slapped by a mediocre Pitt. Got absolutely killed by Louisville at Louisville and didn't put up much of a fight at home. They had blown a lead to Georgetown before Arinze went out in the BET. They limped into the NCAA on a two game losing streak.

That season was an insane amount of fun - but we were relying on freshman BT and a less mature Scoop. Wes was great but couldn't really create his own shot. That team made its name in the Garden against incredibly overrated Cal and UNC teams.

Our backcourt this year is much, much better than 2010. I loved Andy, but I would take the 2012 Brandon/Scoop over the 2010 version and I would take Dion over Andy. When Dion is playing well, he's the most dynamic guard SU has had in the last 20 years. Add MCW to that mix and there is no contest.

Our forwards this year - Kris < Wes; CJ/JS/RC/BMK ? RJ/AO. I tend to think RJ and AO worked great together. They were like Akeem and the Big Boss Man out there. Regardless - the forwards we're left with are much much much better than RJ and DR.

We had a great 7-piece puzzle in 2010. They were so much fun to watch. On the other hand, when they took punches, they didn't always get up and they occasionally panicked. Even in the two losses and with all the blown leads, I don't recall this team ever looking truly panicked.

I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised with how this team responds.

 

[cusetown1]

we were so damn close to winning that game, I don't even like thinking about it. We get by Butler, we still have a chance to win it without AO. This team is still the best team in this bracket. If OSU scares anybody I find it funny. They have their own problems.

 

[SoBristol]

I went to the regional in 2010 thinking we had a good chance, with RJ stepping in full time. AO and RJ had split time in the post -- in a number of games, RJ had matched AO. Kris Joseph could step into the starting forward spot. If RJ could stay out of a foul trouble, that front line of Wes, Kris and RJ could play with anyone.

It didn't turn out that way because Butler's guards were good, it had two good big guys, Butler played tough defense on Andy & Wes, and RJ did not come up big. When RJ got into some foul trouble -- Riley was simply not ready. Even so, we were up 4 with a couple of minutes to go and let it slip away.

The drop off from Fab to his back-ups is bigger than the drop off from AO to Rick. We don't have Wes as the go-to guy. But with two centers, we have 10 fouls to give in that spot, Rak has loads of potential, and we have guys like BT and James who are overdue for a big game. I am still planning on a trip to Boston.

 

[longislandcuse]

Going into the tourney the dropoff from AO to Rick maybe didnt seem as big as the dropoff from Fab to Rak, however I think we have every right to think Rak might play better than Ricks horrendous outing against Butler. Keita for all his problems is wayyyyy better than Riley.

 

[Noexcuse]

The blueprint is to limit our points in the paint and make us score from the perimeter. Losing Fab takes away our x factor imo. Not sure if the first couple of teams we play will be able to stop KJo or our guards from penetrating. Maybe we get on a roll. That's my hope. Bombing away from the outside won't get it done.

 

[SUFan44]

Bombing away from the outside won't get it done.

Unless they finally start hitting their shots on a consistent basis, which they are more than capable of doing.

Call me crazy, but I still think we are a tough out in the tournament this year.

 

[cusetown1]

Does anybody remember hearing about that speech JB gave to the team before the Notre Dame game? It was obviously the first game without Fab, nobody knowing what would happen with his future. I remember hearing he told the team they are still a great team without Fab (something along those lines). Just thought I'd make mention.

 

[SoBristol]

I think we overrate the 2010 team. . . .. . .

That season was an insane amount of fun - but we were relying on freshman BT and a less mature Scoop. Wes was great but couldn't really create his own shot. That team made its name in the Garden against incredibly overrated Cal and UNC teams.

Our backcourt this year is much, much better than 2010. I loved Andy, but I would take the 2012 Brandon/Scoop over the 2010 version and I would take Dion over Andy. When Dion is playing well, he's the most dynamic guard SU has had in the last 20 years. Add MCW to that mix and there is no contest.

Our forwards this year - Kris < Wes; CJ/JS/RC/BMK ? RJ/AO. I tend to think RJ and AO worked great together. They were like Akeem and the Big Boss Man out there. Regardless - the forwards we're left with are much much much better than RJ and DR.

We had a great 7-piece puzzle in 2010. They were so much fun to watch. On the other hand, when they took punches, they didn't always get up and they occasionally panicked. Even in the two losses and with all the blown leads, I don't recall this team ever looking truly panicked.

I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised with how this team responds.

Hoping like heck your conclusion is right, but I am not buying all the arguments.
Wes was a high lottery pick for a reason -- could certainly get his own shot, could score inside in a way that none of our forwards this year can match, and by the end of the season was showing off a step back move to make space for his shot. Andy, Wes & Scoop made up a dynamic trio from the perimeter. That 2010 team lost to two pretty good teams at the end of the season (@Louisville & Georgetown in the BET), but it had a lot more offense than the current group.
The advantages for the 2012 team included Melo's shot blocking (now gone AWOL) and Dion's ability to dribble-drive (maybe offsetting the 3 point range that Andy could bring). We might think experience helps, but are BT & Scoop playing better now than they were at the end of 2010?
If our veteran leaders (Kris & Scoop) bring their A games, and BT and James hit shots, we have a chance. Boston here we come.

 

[mike32768]

We had a great 7-piece puzzle in 2010. They were so much fun to watch. On the other hand, when they took punches, they didn't always get up and they occasionally panicked. Even in the two losses and with all the blown leads, I don't recall this team ever looking truly panicked.

Agreed. I've never seen the team really panic when they are down. Sure, maybe a frustratingly bad shot or pass here and there, but not a deadly flurry of them, as I recall from 2010. This, to me, is a huge advantage. Also, the fact that 8-9 guys have been rotated in regularly (maybe some not regularly enough) means they, as a team, and as individuals, are used to seeing different "scenery" (which will surely be the case w/o Melo).

The lack of emotion has a downside though - the team always seems flat at the start - and historically so (maybe it's a Boeheim thing) - as if of the mindset, "let's not play too hard, let's see how things shake out." I guess it's worked for them, however.

 

[SoBristol]

Does anybody remember hearing about that speech JB gave to the team before the Notre Dame game? It was obviously the first game without Fab, nobody knowing what would happen with his future. I remember hearing he told the team they are still a great team without Fab (something along those lines). Just thought I'd make mention.

Hoping he tries a different speech this time!!

 

[Noexcuse]

Does anybody remember hearing about that speech JB gave to the team before the Notre Dame game? It was obviously the first game without Fab, nobody knowing what would happen with his future. I remember hearing he told the team they are still a great team without Fab (something along those lines). Just thought I'd make mention.

Somebody taped it. Here it is