Duke Gameday...

[cuselaxss26]

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one of my high school coaches gave me this book. hardcover. i don't think i ever read it thru. i was more of a julius erving fan in 1975. but i got the message.

Never read this book and prob won’t. Tho did kinda read some comments on what book is bout. Most said bout making winning super serious n treating other team as enemies or something like that. Not saying have to make winning everything or treating other team bad. More killer instinct that i ment is going all out playing as hard as you possibly can. Even on simple gb with no one round you sprinting thru it n going. When cut or moving off ball going full speed. Just non stop effort full effort all day everyday. Not saying have to go take heads off or play dirty. But play to best of your abilities n potential. Going full speed on every play. Getting guys hype on even little things. Winning isn’t everything but it is important. It’s competitive sports n play for chip so play like a champion every single second n every play. Make a mistake don’t put head down move on n go make a play. I’m sure guys know guys on other teams maby even friends. But when you touch the field don’t see them as friend see them as opponents n goal is to beat that opponent. After game can go back to being buddies.

Just doesn’t make sense how some teams don’t have the talent we clearly have yet seem to play at higher level then us or least look like it. Syracuse isn’t selfish with ball but don’t think they play for each other if that makes sense? Mean not going all out for urself but for ur teammates. Sometimes just feel some our guys know there’s more lax for them after college so kinda just another game for them. Where some players after cuse may not ever play again or ever play at higher level. This is their chance to leave a lasting impression behind. Something can say “hey i was on that team n we won chip or did this”. Prob not explaining myself correctly but just my personal opinion feel they don’t play with there no toma every game. As leave it all on the field. Don’t go home thinking “if only put little bit more effort here or if only i hustle there”.

If guys are truely giving it everything they possibly can n still isn’t good enough i’m ok with that. But i don’t think that has happen. Plus always wanna improve and get better. That ring true for everything in life. Always learn n thrive to get better. Yet we seem to be getting worst at times. Everyone has off games no doubt. But we have had few off games. Don’t recall being able to say for single game that everyone was on point at same time. Meaning faceoffs goalie offense and defense all did their part together. Usually half are doing their part but some arnt. Gonna take whole team to be on point n be on together to get where i’m sure they wanna go and where all their fans want them to go.

Forgive it’s easter and just lost to duke so i’m still little upset prob rumbling nonsense. Either way Happy easter everyone!

 

[DMVCuseLax]

We have had issues with injuries on the offensive end this year. Makes it tough to have consistency when guys are sitting out. Birt - Hiltz - Leo - Thomson - Rhoa have all been hurt.

I know Hiltz sat out this past week and wasn’t supposed to play. Not sure why he played but he was clearly hurt along with Leo. Should have let some other get a run instead of going with hurt guys.

 

[Powellfan]

He will absolutely be back next year even if they lost out. However, if the team failed to at least get to the final four next year I think he would be in trouble. The expectations for this year were coming from everywhere even the top. Failure to at minimum Match last years qtr finals appearance this year is not gonna go over well at all.

It's lacrosse, so coaches are only fired if things have completely gone south (Hopkins with Petro, Maryland with Cottle, UNC with John Haus ... or controversy (Duke with Pressler). There aren't a lot of "pro-active" firings. A team with high expectations with a coach who hasn't proven himself quite yet. If this were college football or basketball, then Gait might need to be worried, but it just doesn't happen in this sport.

Such a strange point in the season ... if they beat UNC and "win" the ACC, it feels like our understanding of the team really changes. I think they would get a seed in the tournament. If they lose and finish with a three game losing streak to end the regular season, then all bets are off the sky will feel like it's falling. We shall see what happens ...

 

[Powellfan]

We have had issues with injuries on the offensive end this year. Makes it tough to have consistency when guys are sitting out. Birt - Hiltz - Leo - Thomson - Rhoa have all been hurt.

I know Hiltz sat out this past week and wasn’t supposed to play. Not sure why he played but he was clearly hurt along with Leo. Should have let some other get a run instead of going with hurt guys.

hindsight 20/20 but if you're going to lose, and risk the health of your best player at the same time ... yikes. Just take the L and regroup for UNC with a fully rested and ready to go team in the Dome. Have to hope everyone is healthy next week or this Duke loss will feel like two instead of one. Easy to say from my couch, but man it's frustrating if this loss impacts next week in terms of player's health.

 

[JeremyCuse]

It's lacrosse, so coaches are only fired if things have completely gone south (Hopkins with Petro, Maryland with Cottle, UNC with John Haus ... or controversy (Duke with Pressler). There aren't a lot of "pro-active" firings. A team with high expectations with a coach who hasn't proven himself quite yet. If this were college football or basketball, then Gait might need to be worried, but it just doesn't happen in this sport.

Such a strange point in the season ... if they beat UNC and "win" the ACC, it feels like our understanding of the team really changes. I think they would get a seed in the tournament. If they lose and finish with a three game losing streak to end the regular season, then all bets are off the sky will feel like it's falling. We shall see what happens ...

That holds true for most teams but Syracuse is an outlier. Keep in mind when Desko "Retired" he had just swept the eventual national champs (UVA) and had made the tourney for the umpteenth time in a row. SU lax has major expectations from not only the fanbase but the ADs office. If this team hasn't reached a final four by year 5, he's gonna be in major trouble especially with the talent and preseason expectations this and next year.

 

[Powellfan]

That holds true for most teams but Syracuse is an outlier. Keep in mind when Desko "Retired" he had just swept the eventual national champs (UVA) and had made the tourney for the umpteenth time in a row. SU lax has major expectations from not only the fanbase but the ADs office. If this team hasn't reached a final four by year 5, he's gonna be in major trouble especially with the talent and preseason expectations this and next year.

I wasn’t sure how to categorize Desko to be honest. How much did the Scanlon fiasco have to do with his “retirement”? It seemed halfway between “things have fallen apart” and controversy.

Also last point, and I’m getting way ahead of myself, but if this teams losses a first round playoff game (or misses the tournament completely) how many key players hit the portal? Especially those with one season left and want to make a final four before their career’s end? Already had an issue with Spallina last offseason. Just another something to worry about.

 

[FloridaCuse]

I wasn’t sure how to categorize Desko to be honest. How much did the Scanlon fiasco have to do with his “retirement”? It seemed halfway between “things have fallen apart” and controversy.

Also last point, and I’m getting way ahead of myself, but if this teams losses a first round playoff game (or misses the tournament completely) how many key players hit the portal? Especially those with one season left and want to make a final four before their career’s end? Already had an issue with Spallina last offseason. Just another something to worry about.

Agree with your second paragraph. I've been concerned about that. Also concerned if we lose in the quarterfinals again and don't play well. If we make the NCAAT but don't a home game, our 1st round game could be at Penn St., especially if Army doesn't have a home game either. PSU looked very tough against Rutgers Friday night. Even if we lose next week & in the ACCT tournament semis, we might still "back into" the NCAAT because no other bubble team has a better case, as per Mark Hart's chart you posted last night in the other Thread.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

hindsight 20/20 but if you're going to lose, and risk the health of your best player at the same time ... yikes. Just take the L and regroup for UNC with a fully rested and ready to go team in the Dome. Have to hope everyone is healthy next week or this Duke loss will feel like two instead of one. Easy to say from my couch, but man it's frustrating if this loss impacts next week in terms of player's health.

I was thinking the same. Why not let Hiltz heal for 2 weeks?

 

[CrazyPeople]

What's the alternative - hire Galloway?

The difference in talent with all these teams is pretty minimal unless there's a CJ Kirst out there.

I would throw everything I had at hiring Sean Kirwan. This isnt just Syracuse, but any serious program looking for the best possible coach. If the turning around of Dartmouth wasnt proof enough, the fall of UVA should be all the evidence that anyone needs in Sean Kirwans ability.

 

[GrowTheGame]

I would throw everything I had at hiring Sean Kirwan. This isnt just Syracuse, but any serious program looking for the best possible coach. If the turning around of Dartmouth wasnt proof enough, the fall of UVA should be all the evidence that anyone needs in Sean Kirwans ability.

Hopefully we don’t miss that boat, because he’s not staying at Dartmouth long.. Hopkins, Duke, and UNC will be looking that way soon enough

 

[AD31]

Ee

 

[orange79]

Ee

Totally agree.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Ee

E-I-E-I-O

 

[JeremyCuse]

I wasn’t sure how to categorize Desko to be honest. How much did the Scanlon fiasco have to do with his “retirement”? It seemed halfway between “things have fallen apart” and controversy.

Also last point, and I’m getting way ahead of myself, but if this teams losses a first round playoff game (or misses the tournament completely) how many key players hit the portal? Especially those with one season left and want to make a final four before their career’s end? Already had an issue with Spallina last offseason. Just another something to worry about.

From what I know the Scanlan incident had nothing to do with SU moving on from Desko. All decisions made regarding Scanlan were run by SU and the appropriate personnel. Regarding the portal that is hard to say. As far as I know there isn't a lot of internal strife between players and staff or note that I have heard of anyway. However, I do expect a few guys to enter including at least one potential big name. I think a lot may depend on how the season ends for both players and staff.

 

[ks orange]

While we all like Anderson's "up-side," the Duke game reminded us why he wasn't in the starting line-up for much of the season. Against Duke, he was a turn-over machine while being unable to turn his bull dodges into scores. That said, the injury situation--Hiltz? Leo? Rhoa? Thomson?--means the staff may need him in the line-up. I hope the coaches find a way to use him in a way that covers up his weaknesses and maximizes his impressive potential.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

While we all like Anderson's "up-side," the Duke game reminded us why he wasn't in the starting line-up for much of the season. Against Duke, he was a turn-over machine while being unable to turn his bull dodges into scores. That said, the injury situation--Hiltz? Leo? Rhoa? Thomson?--means the staff may need him in the line-up. I hope the coaches find a way to use him in a way that covers up his weaknesses and maximizes his impressive potential.

He got man handled along with others. They needed to move the ball and not carry it.

 

[JeremyCuse]

While we all like Anderson's "up-side," the Duke game reminded us why he wasn't in the starting line-up for much of the season. Against Duke, he was a turn-over machine while being unable to turn his bull dodges into scores. That said, the injury situation--Hiltz? Leo? Rhoa? Thomson?--means the staff may need him in the line-up. I hope the coaches find a way to use him in a way that covers up his weaknesses and maximizes his impressive potential.

Anderson struggled mightily on Sat, he got his welcome to D1 moment that most freshmen run into. He will need to adjust his game as D-coordinators are now adjusting to him.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Anderson struggled mightily on Sat, he got his welcome to D1 moment that most freshmen run into. He will need to adjust his game as D-coordinators are now adjusting to him.

Had a shorty on him for most of the game.

Got plenty of looks.

Didn't make them.

 

[DoctahLexus]

This teams depth behind the prominent names is a recurring issue this year. To have Hiltz Thomson Leo and Rhoa playing at varying levels of hurt makes a tough day at the office on offense not surprising. UNCs offense struggled in a similar way with prominent guys playing gimpy. Still though, we have a guy like Deere who is healthy, has experience this year at both attack and middie, and we still only roll him out there on man up?? We really could not afford to have him even on the second middie line where he started the year while we put a guy like Hottle or McCarthy on the first line to give some of our injured guys more of a break?

Hiltz as a decoy of sorts on attack ensures that there will be three longpoles on the attack unit and no double polling of the midfield. But is it worth it to put everything towards preventing a double pole on the midfield when 2 out of 3 starting mids are playing hurt and not looking like themselves? Again, even if he gets a short stick, Deere is a guy with experience at attack who has proven he can have an impact offball and in two man game plays with guys like Spallina. Would it not be better to have a healthy third attack out there?

Hiltz had a goal but he looks like he cant even rotate his body without pain. His other two shots were very weak, and on his goal he just flicked his wrists with no body rotation. He had a couple other bad plays where his injury was clearly holding him back. He did not even look healthy enough to be a reliable offball threat. The pros outweigh the cons by putting a guy like Deere out there. The fact we did not use our one healthy and proven depth piece at either attack or middie for 4 quarters is ridiculous. Puts too much pressure on a freshman Anderson who has shown why his playing time was limited to begin the season. Puts too much pressure on Leo English and Rhoa who we have been running into the ground all year.

The crazy thing is that we still could have easily won this game if we took care of the freaking ball better and limited the transition play from Duke. Been noticing since the Colgate game that we are struggling to prevent transition looks when teams push it. In the run where they stretched the lead they had freaking 4 goals in transition. We are lucky they didn't score more there. Totally unacceptable, but a part of that is the fatigue that comes from us not trusting our depth. English made some bonehead plays/turnovers throughout the game, but it is hard to blame the guy given how insane his usage is.

Just a total nightmare with our depth being a weakness to have all these injuries at the most crucial time of the season. Losing Levine is a nightmare. The guy has been quietly having a killer season at ssdm. Just have to dig deep for the UNC game and please use every guy who can play and is not walking wounded. If we can pull that out and get healthy enough come tourney time we can still keep this train rolling. I worry depth will prevent us from achieving down the stretch in the tourney. But part of that is on the coaches for insisting on running some of these guys into the ground and not trusting our healthy fresh legs in spot minutes. Fatigue and dumb plays is completely inevitable if you run guys into the ground.

 

[C Bomb]

Had a shorty on him for most of the game.

Got plenty of looks.

Didn't make them.

Missing that early dive attempt by a wide margin was foreshadowing that made my stomach queasy

 

[cuselaxss26]

Also where is our transition ? besides mullen off face off feel like we haven’t had a end to end transition goal or even shot in some time. We always seem to push then attackman slows it way down. If numbers arnt there get it but even if numbers are even n it’s 4 on 4 least push it see what defense does instead just waiting for them to set up n ur guys get on. Which brings me to subbing has to be better. Our guys can’t all just run off specially when other team is clearing. Closet guy get off asap get lsm on n then next guy. If O guy of ours had to get back on d then do so find any man that is open n stay with him.

Forget what game it was but i said gait needs to run these guys more specially if make a mistake. As make mistake ok but now ur gonna one and be one of the most conditio team. Or gonna be less mistake prone team one is sure to happen. Also it can help with the sloppy play being tired cause you had ur body trained to playing tired from running good amount at pratice. Muscle memory happens when push ur body pass and the tired point.

 

[DMVCuseLax]

This teams depth behind the prominent names is a recurring issue this year. To have Hiltz Thomson Leo and Rhoa playing at varying levels of hurt makes a tough day at the office on offense not surprising. UNCs offense struggled in a similar way with prominent guys playing gimpy. Still though, we have a guy like Deere who is healthy, has experience this year at both attack and middie, and we still only roll him out there on man up?? We really could not afford to have him even on the second middie line where he started the year while we put a guy like Hottle or McCarthy on the first line to give some of our injured guys more of a break?

Hiltz as a decoy of sorts on attack ensures that there will be three longpoles on the attack unit and no double polling of the midfield. But is it worth it to put everything towards preventing a double pole on the midfield when 2 out of 3 starting mids are playing hurt and not looking like themselves? Again, even if he gets a short stick, Deere is a guy with experience at attack who has proven he can have an impact offball and in two man game plays with guys like Spallina. Would it not be better to have a healthy third attack out there?

Hiltz had a goal but he looks like he cant even rotate his body without pain. His other two shots were very weak, and on his goal he just flicked his wrists with no body rotation. He had a couple other bad plays where his injury was clearly holding him back. He did not even look healthy enough to be a reliable offball threat. The pros outweigh the cons by putting a guy like Deere out there. The fact we did not use our one healthy and proven depth piece at either attack or middie for 4 quarters is ridiculous. Puts too much pressure on a freshman Anderson who has shown why his playing time was limited to begin the season. Puts too much pressure on Leo English and Rhoa who we have been running into the ground all year.

The crazy thing is that we still could have easily won this game if we took care of the freaking ball better and limited the transition play from Duke. Been noticing since the Colgate game that we are struggling to prevent transition looks when teams push it. In the run where they stretched the lead they had freaking 4 goals in transition. We are lucky they didn't score more there. Totally unacceptable, but a part of that is the fatigue that comes from us not trusting our depth. English made some bonehead plays/turnovers throughout the game, but it is hard to blame the guy given how insane his usage is.

Just a total nightmare with our depth being a weakness to have all these injuries at the most crucial time of the season. Losing Levine is a nightmare. The guy has been quietly having a killer season at ssdm. Just have to dig deep for the UNC game and please use every guy who can play and is not walking wounded. If we can pull that out and get healthy enough come tourney time we can still keep this train rolling. I worry depth will prevent us from achieving down the stretch in the tourney. But part of that is on the coaches for insisting on running some of these guys into the ground and not trusting our healthy fresh legs in spot minutes. Fatigue and dumb plays is completely inevitable if you run guys into the ground.

I don’t get the D guys that are standing on the bench not trying to help the team by switching to SS.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

Also where is our transition ? besides mullen off face off feel like we haven’t had a end to end transition goal or even shot in some time. We always seem to push then attackman slows it way down. If numbers arnt there get it but even if numbers are even n it’s 4 on 4 least push it see what defense does instead just waiting for them to set up n ur guys get on. Which brings me to subbing has to be better. Our guys can’t all just run off specially when other team is clearing. Closet guy get off asap get lsm on n then next guy. If O guy of ours had to get back on d then do so find any man that is open n stay with him.

Forget what game it was but i said gait needs to run these guys more specially if make a mistake. As make mistake ok but now ur gonna one and be one of the most conditio team. Or gonna be less mistake prone team one is sure to happen. Also it can help with the sloppy play being tired cause you had ur body trained to playing tired from running good amount at pratice. Muscle memory happens when push ur body pass and the tired point.

I've been wondering this for years now. It's interesting to watch other teams who when their goalie makes a clean save they've got someone running upfield for an outlet pass that in most cases can start a fast break. Not sure if we don't look to do this because we have had goalies recently that don't excel at that part of the game but it is pretty frustrating because we've had plenty of athletic poles over the years.

 

[MD Cuse Fan]

I don’t get the D guys that are standing on the bench not trying to help the team by switching to SS.

I would agree but do you know for certain guys have been offered the chance to do this? Honestly just curious

 

[DMVCuseLax]

I would agree but do you know for certain guys have been offered the chance to do this? Honestly just curious

I know that Kempney made an attempt but in my opinion it is much harder to make the switch for an offensive player than it would be for a defensive player. I think a guy like Gonsiorek should try. He has good size, speed and likes to be physical. Id even try Bolognino. He has already been on the field and has very good speed.