Does anyone have the courage to come up with an argument on how next year is better?

[SP_Gilbs]

Who said that? Did I say that? Nope. I didn't. There has been a lot of work, a lot of hard work, that has been done behind the scenes. Just because no one has bothered to tell you about any of it, doesn't mean that work has not been done.

Encouraging to hear but is this mainly due to the Melo factor or engaging other boosters? Hoping for the latter as it points to sustainability even after Kiyan leaves.

 

[dasher]

You don't want me Dash, but it's a lifelong dream! However, you have to admit we have zero identity/system. I acknowledge that Red and the assistants will sell transfers on a role. I don't know what roles we have on our team.

I think Red wants to play a man to man fast paced game. Again, I don't know if he can do it. But I do know that there is a ton of work being done that no one on this board has any idea about that give us a chance to do it. We were a stagnant program for a number of years. We were behind in NIl and way behind in the use of the portal. We only recruited guys that we recruited the first time around. They are changing that. We will find out if they will be successful.

 

[dasher]

Encouraging to hear but is this mainly due to the Melo factor or engaging other boosters? Hoping for the latter as it points to sustainability even after Kiyan leaves.

Engaging other boosters. But there may be a negative rub to that which I am not going to share. But, if it is successful, we will be real good in the short term.

 

[CuseFan]

I think Red wants to play a man to man fast paced game. Again, I don't know if he can do it. But I do know that there is a ton of work being done that no one on this board has any idea about that give us a chance to do it. We were a stagnant program for a number of years. We were behind in NIl and way behind in the use of the portal. We only recruited guys that we recruited the first time around. They are changing that. We will find out if they will be successful.

Great to hear that there is recognition that things need the change, and that the status quo is not good enough as the world has changed.
Red does seem to want to play man to man, but we don't seem to have the right mix of players to do so - yet anyway.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

so we just, solved the funding problem in a week?

It's been blown out of proportion as an excuse for the staff's incompetence. Many other programs are out there doing much more with far, far less.

 

[Blanko97]

I don't know if Red has the chops to be a successful Head coach. I do know that the work has been done to get us competitive in the NIL world.

gotcha, that makes sense. I only said one week because i feel like monday people were saying we dont have enough money

 

[Blanko97]

It's been blown out of proportion as an excuse for the staff's incompetence. Many other programs are out there doing much more with far, far less.

That i 100% agree with

 

[Scooch]

Who said that? Did I say that? Nope. I didn't. There has been a lot of work, a lot of hard work, that has been done behind the scenes. Just because no one has bothered to tell you about any of it, doesn't mean that work has not been done.

I’d love to hear about the work. It’d fill many of us with hope and optimism, I’m sure. What can be shared?

 

[Scooch]

I think Red wants to play a man to man fast paced game. Again, I don't know if he can do it. But I do know that there is a ton of work being done that no one on this board has any idea about that give us a chance to do it. We were a stagnant program for a number of years. We were behind in NIl and way behind in the use of the portal. We only recruited guys that we recruited the first time around. They are changing that. We will find out if they will be successful.

FWIW, the “that no one on this board has any idea about” drives me freaking insane. If people don’t want to be transparent that’s their choice. But then folks shouldn’t talk down their noses at people for not knowing all the super secret stuff that’s going to make us great again.

 

[tptcuse]

You don't want me Dash, but it's a lifelong dream! However, you have to admit we have zero identity/system. I acknowledge that Red and the assistants will sell transfers on a role. I don't know what roles we have on our team.

This is what I would love to hear more about from Red. Literally the only answer I have ever heard is that he wants to run. If that is true, recruiting the players we currently have makes no sense at all towards that goal. And what is our defensive identity supposed to be? To some extent, the lack of identity bothers me more than the poor results.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Donnie might be a “great shooter” in your eyes from 10-14’ out, but certainly not from three point range which you need in todays game out of your 3 position to stretch the floor. I know the “stats” show he is a 33% shooter from 3 on a small sample size, but that includes going 6-8 against UAlbany and Bucknell. Against everyone else he is 6-28 (21%). That’s not a great shooter unfortunately.

well so what are you saying he must play the 4? because he literally cannot cover anyone in the post. ...i think he can defend the 3 better than the 4...

i think he is a great shooter...but he has to prove it...(maybe i should have said great shooter for his height...hes shooting 80% free throws...which to me is always a sign of who can shoot and who cant

plus hes been playing injured and trying to figure things out...in an offense without schemes/plays...but i think by the end of his career he will be considered a good/great shooter...personally i think white and freeman as starting forwards next year would be pretty good and good enough shootingwise..id be really hpapy with that.

great shooter or not where would you play him? strictly at the 4? what about defense?

 

[Vorony]

It’s just more overblown nonsense from the Red defenders. Doesn’t matter how many high level players we buy in the offseason when the head coach stinks. We have 2 seasons of undeniable proof of that now.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

I think Red wants to play a man to man fast paced game. Again, I don't know if he can do it. But I do know that there is a ton of work being done that no one on this board has any idea about that give us a chance to do it. We were a stagnant program for a number of years. We were behind in NIl and way behind in the use of the portal. We only recruited guys that we recruited the first time around. They are changing that. We will find out if they will be successful.

Damn you for giving me hope that I know will probaby be-

-wait for it-

Dashed.

 

[Don]

Just a couple of things If Donnie Freeman comes back I think people are being to harsh on his 13 PPG and 8 RPG stats. I understand he wasn't good defensively and I'm not sure what his best position is but Donnie's PPG and RPG is right up there with like a Louie Orr or even Derick Coleman. You can win with him on your team just have to have better players with him


I saw the comment about Red wanting a fast breaking running team which I think he mentioned when he was hired which is why I question the center and back up center they brought in this year. They may be nice players but they are not going to fill lanes on the fast break all the time. They just don't seem to be good fits for that type of team. Old running teams like he mentioned as examples had centers who could not only rebound but get out on the break and trail the play and make thunder dunks to get the crowd in the game Seikely , Bouie, Coleman, Ellis , Thomas and others could run up and down the court

 

[Cstate]

well so what are you saying he must play the 4? because he literally cannot cover anyone in the post. ...i think he can defend the 3 better than the 4...

i think he is a great shooter...but he has to prove it...(maybe i should have said great shooter for his height...hes shooting 80% free throws...which to me is always a sign of who can shoot and who cant

plus hes been playing injured and trying to figure things out...in an offense without schemes/plays...but i think by the end of his career he will be considered a good/great shooter...personally i think white and freeman as starting forwards next year would be pretty good and good enough shootingwise..id be really hpapy with that.

great shooter or not where would you play him? strictly at the 4? what about defense?

I agree I like his stroke/mechanics from the free throw line and his mid-range game. Just not the 3 point line, and if JJ is indeed back and playing the 2 that gives us no known threat from 3, which is severely problematic. Maybe that changes depending who we get in the portal.

As far as defensively I’m not sure what will be his best fit. Hopefully he adds 15-20 pounds before the start of next season (if he is still with us).

 

[5OutFred]

I saw the comment about Red wanting a fast breaking running team which I think he mentioned when he was hired which is why I question the center and back up center they brought in this year. They just don't seem to be good fits for that type of team.

The quiet part out loud here: Red doesn't know what he wants or is incapable of implementing it, which is worse.

We've head: 'hard nosed guards on defense like Baylor and Houston' then went with Starling, Carlos and Bell.

We've heard: Positionless up and down basketball, then went out and brought in McLeod and Lampkin to be the centers, and made no shooting additions. The list goes on.

His actions to not reflect his plans, and until evidence suggests otherwise, the staff no longer deserves the fans benefit of the doubt.

 

[grepal]

I think McLeod is an awful basketball player and I’ve been saying it since last season.

I didn’t watch last night, but I see that he had 2 boards and 1 block in 22 minutes. It’s great that he hit 4 shots but the rest of his stat line is terrible. And apparently he was playing when Duke boat raced us in the second half. So how good was his game really?

The staff misjudged Lampkin and McCleod AND almost every other player on the team. The roster is a cluster and they own.

I know, I know, BUT NIL. I’ll spare the usual suspects the reply.

Well, we for sure need a top portal.point guard unless Luke is MCW redux, and we need a strong rebounding and shot blocking center. If Bell leaves another small forward would be needed. I am ok with starting our two five star forwards together. Maybe young Melo can play some three in a reserve role.

 

[bnoro]

Jaron Pierre Jr. College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Jaron Pierre Jr. - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Pass. Another lanky combo guard with poor defensive metrics who needs 15-20 FGAs per game to overcome a low efg%.

But let’s keep doing the same thing.

Oh man, the 2p% and 3p% in his last 5 games is HORRID lol

Can we find some guys that are efficient and can actually shoot?

 

[Cusefan0307]

I agree I like his stroke/mechanics from the free throw line and his mid-range game. Just not the 3 point line, and if JJ is indeed back and playing the 2 that gives us no known threat from 3, which is severely problematic. Maybe that changes depending who we get in the portal.

As far as defensively I’m not sure what will be his best fit. Hopefully he adds 15-20 pounds before the start of next season (if he is still with us).

We CANNOT play JJ at the 2 and Freeman at the 3. It would be friggin insanity with the lack of shooting ability. Get people in here who move the ball and make shots. I really want Moore to improve defensively to push JJ out. The ISO shtick with below average shooting has to go.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Oh man, the 2p% and 3p% in his last 5 games is HORRID lol

Can we find some guys that are efficient and can actually shoot?

I’ll give Alex the benefit of doubt, but this would be another Jyare Davis signing. JAG for an ACC player. It’s moves like this that give me zero confidence that a guy like this is even a point of discussion.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

We CANNOT play JJ at the 2 and Freeman at the 3. It would be friggin insanity with the lack of shooting ability. Get people in here who move the ball and make shots. I really want Moore to improve defensively to push JJ out. The ISO shtick with below average shooting has to go.

 

[Sherman20]

I think it’s easy to see this team and jump onto the fire the coach bandwagon. This is a historically bad Syracuse team.

The people who ‘want’ Red back next year, maybe they truly do, maybe they don’t want to risk the recruiting class — whichever it is, I believe their hope is that some talent returns and it pairs well with new talent and you don’t completely swing and miss on the portal.

I just don’t think Red is a coach with an identity. I don’t think of him and think “defensive guy”, “offensive guy”, “get out and run” guy. He’s just a coach. So no identity makes it difficult to see a vision of success next year. This isn’t the 2-3 and the wings are small but next year there are condors coming in.

If red is here next year, i want him to succeed because I want Syracuse to succeed. If he doesn’t, and he’s out, you need a guy with an identity. Recruiting, tempo, defense, etc. Whatever it is, fans and players need to buy into your brand of basketball

Agreed. That’s why I want Hodgson. His teams, like Oats his mentor, have a distinct identity.

 

[Sherman20]

The Head coach is spending his time coaching. In order to stay in front of the portal, you need someone whose whole job is to fund raise and stay up to date on players from all over the country. Also, JJ and Bell were not the top NIL guy for us. We just couldn't get rid of everyone.

This is what people are missing. We needed some continuity, you can’t just throw everyone overboard, and JJ and Bell seemed prime to improve. JJ has improved. Bell has regressed. Judah wanted to go pro. If we had the NIL $$, we would have kept Maliq, and I personally think we should have kept Q rather than Red deciding he wasn’t coachable (and if he had been academically eligible).

 

[FloridaCuse]

I can tell you the stock response right now... NIL, GM, analytics, high school recruits.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I don't see "better coaching".

 

[FloridaCuse]

I can do that. Now, I haven't seen anything from Red other than high school recruiting but to be fair, I will give it a go. First, while Red and Griff were on the staff during the slide, JB was the coach. And he wanted guys to play his zone. They had to recruit for it. I saw Bell at the Hall of Fame classic and reported back on this site that this kid couldn't stay in front of me and I'm in my 60's. JB didn't care because he could stick him in his zone and he was long. Converting to a man to man defense was going to take time. And with a team of nitwits, we still won 19 games. Then came the portal. Which the school was not prepared for. Just as it wasn't really prepared for NIL. Last year, the coaches were coaching and they were not ready for the portal. Didn't have the money and didn't know who was going to come available. That is different today. I have been told, and this has nothing to do with my efforts regarding AW, that we are doing very well with NIL. And we now have a GM. Klein spends his time doing a couple of things. One, watching kids that will probably be in the portal. And talking to player reps. We know who is going to be in the portal. And have an idea of what they are going to cost. You never know for sure because someone can come up with a stupid money offer but the point is that we are miles ahead of where we were last year at this time. Better players and players that really fit will give us an idea what kind of coach Red is.

I get it. But does any of it matter if we don't have better coaching?