ESPN projects our ACC finish as... | Syracusefan.com
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ESPN projects our ACC finish as...

4th is a safe pick. I don't really take issue with that.

It's an incredibly lazy article. Something I would expect for a broad overview of what to expect for the fan with a casual interest in the happenings of the ACC.

Not insider content worthy. Hell, it isnt even an article worthy of a sport-centric website.

Ah well, what can you do? CJ will properly introduce Syracuse as a legit contender right after his third 3rd slam over the much-ballyhooed Jabari Parker.
 
4th?

Behind who ? NC State? .

Who the hell will be able to match up with our size, speed, toughness and EXPERIENCE.

Poor ESPN doesn't account for experience.

Our star player has been to the elite 8 twice and final four. We have 6 contributing returners who were in the final 4 as well.

Some Duke players have tasted the elite 8, but were swatted.

UNC? Hasn't touched the final 4 since there last 'ship in '08?

Forget the past. I think we have superior talent than all teams except maybe Duke, and that's arguable

Edit: VIRGINIA'S AHEAD OF US? Not even NC State?

You dun goof'd ESPN.
 
4th?

Behind who ? NC State? .

Who the hell will be able to match up with our size, speed, toughness and EXPERIENCE.

Poor ESPN doesn't account for experience.

Our star player has been to the elite 8 twice and final four. We have 6 contributing returners who were in the final 4 as well.

Some Duke players have tasted the elite 8, but were swatted.

UNC? Hasn't touched the final 4 since there last 'ship in '08?

Forget the past. I think we have superior talent than all teams except maybe Duke, and that's arguable

Edit: VIRGINIA'S AHEAD OF US? Not even NC State?

You dun goof'd ESPN.
UVA is going to be a hell of a lot better than NC State.
 
if I am not supposed to post this here go ahead and delete it:

Syracuse Orange


2012-13: 30-10 (11-7 Big East)
In-conference offense: 1.04 points per possession (5th, Big East)
In-conference defense: 0.97 points allowed per possession (5th, Big East)



Syracuse was a mediocre regular-season team in 2012-13, one that went 4-5 on the road in Big East play and lost two games to Georgetown by a combined total of 33 points. None of which mattered, of course, when April rolled around and the Orange were playing the Michigan Wolverines tight into the 40th minute of a national semifinal in Atlanta.





Projected starting lineup
Pos. Name Year
Rakeem Christmas Jr.
DaJuan Coleman Soph.
C.J. Fair Sr.
Michael Gbinije Soph.
G Tyler Ennis Fr.


Jim Boeheim's team made the Final Four because what had previously been a pretty good defense achieved an entirely new and incredible level during the NCAA tournament. Part of that transformation was simple luck. The 2-3 zone tends to push opponents into launching more 3s than they otherwise would, and, as it happens, Montana, California, Indiana and Marquette shot a combined 14-of-91 from beyond the arc.

The length and athleticism of the Orange on defense no doubt helped those figures along, but keep in mind, over the past five seasons a series of long and athletic Syracuse defenses have allowed the Big East to shoot 31 percent from beyond the arc. Roughly to the extent that 15 percent 3-point shooting is even worse than 31 percent shooting, the Orange might fairly be said to have caught a break.



Of course, deserving teams can catch some good breaks, and that's precisely what happened with the Syracuse defense. Boeheim's team held its first four tournament opponents to 39 percent 2-point shooting, and the most impressive thing about that figure is that it was recorded in a bracket that had held to form. The Orange recorded these incredible numbers against a No. 1 seed (the Hoosiers) and the Big East's No. 1-ranked offense during the regular season (the Golden Eagles). Boeheim's defense peaked at the perfect time.



The Orange were able to dominate on defense despite another season of relatively meager results on the boards. It is, of course, widely believed that zone defenses aren't very good at rebounding, and Syracuse has certainly done its bit in helping this belief along. Look no further than 2011-12, when an otherwise outstanding 17-1 Big East team rebounded a truly pathetic 59.8 percent of its conference opponents' missed shots. Last season was somewhat better on that front (63.4) but still nothing to write home about.



Fortunately, Syracuse has been playing zone since the Carter administration, enabling us to study how much of this is really the scheme and how much is the personnel. Turns out some of it is the personnel -- just ask C.J. Fair about his freshman season. That 2010-11 Syracuse team rode the rebounding of Rick Jackson to a very normal performance on the defensive glass (sixth-best in Big East play).



Still, in conference play the Orange's defensive rebounding has ranked in the top half of the league just twice over the past seven seasons, strongly suggesting that there is indeed a schematic component underlying some of this ugliness. The zone doesn't preordain awful rebounding, but it does place a higher priority on other facets of defense. It's unlikely we'll see this program rank in the ACC's top four in defensive rebounding anytime soon.



Syracuse arrives in its new league with Brandon Triche and James Southerland having graduated. Additionally, Michael Carter-Williams now plies his trade on behalf of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Losing MCW is a blow not only on offense, but also on defense, where the point guard posted an outstanding steal rate. As for the players who remain in upstate New York, get used to seeing them in Syracuse uniforms. With a few exceptions such as Fair and senior Baye Moussa Keita Boeheim will introduce his program to the ACC with a rotation that's almost Calipari-heavy on underclassmen.



Fair's game might not appear especially dazzling to the naked eye, but looks can be deceiving. Boeheim's senior has always been trustworthy with the ball, and that lack of turnovers translates into points on the board. Fair also developed perimeter range last season, hitting 47 percent of his rare (64) 3-point attempts. He will likely be this team's leading scorer.



Joining Fair on the back line of the 2-3 will be DaJuan Coleman and Rakeem Christmas. Coleman was a starter as a freshman until his season was effectively ended by surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus. (Boeheim did subsequently seize the chance to give Coleman 15 minutes of garbage time against Montana in the round of 64.) His performance on the defensive glass was especially encouraging, but Coleman's offense is still very much a work in progress, starting with 46 percent shooting at the line. When he made two consecutive free throws in summer league action, a Syracuse beat writer uploaded the video. Newsworthy, indeed.



An outstanding shot-blocker and good offensive rebounder, Christmas' value to his team is correlated more or less directly to his minutes. This season his goal should be to drive his dwindling foul rate down even further. When Christmas or Coleman does get into foul trouble or just needs a break, look for Keita and sophomore Jerami Grant. Keita's a shot-blocker who last season also made his presence felt on the offensive glass. Grant was a top-40 prospect out of high school, and he inherited Coleman's starting slot after the latter player underwent surgery. Nominally a power forward, Grant never shot the ball as a freshman and was a nonfactor on the defensive glass. Like Coleman, he was also a liability at the line (56 percent).



The top of the zone will be held down by Michael Gbinije and Tyler Ennis. At Duke in 2011-12, Gbinije couldn't crack the rotation as a 6-foot-7 small forward, but his size as either a 2 or a 3 could make him an excellent fit at Syracuse, particularly if he can hit his 3s. (Syracuse officially lists Gbinije as a forward. Meanwhile Boeheim has speculated about giving him minutes at point guard. It might be time to abolish position listings altogether.)



Ennis is a scoring point guard who averaged 21 points a game on 50 percent 2-point shooting for Canada at the U-19 World Championships over the summer. Boeheim says Syracuse might run fewer pick-and-rolls with Ennis and Gbinije than what we saw from the Orange last season. Further backcourt depth will be provided by sophomore Trevor Cooney. A spot-up shooter whose 3s didn't fall last season (27 percent), Cooney will have another go at the same gig as a sophomore. He did make two big 3s in the 58-55 overtime win against Georgetown in the Big East tournament semifinals.



The Syracuse zone will continue to work its magic, and the Orange D might even benefit from facing conference opponents that haven't yet logged many (or any) possessions against Boeheim. Nevertheless, the Orange project to be one step down from the ACC's top teams in 2013-14. In particular, Fair will need help on offense from teammates who without exception will be entirely new to the role of Division I featured scorer.
 
I bet we will finish first or second but I could see four also if we have some struggles. I don't have a huge problem with it. It still means a decent tourney seed. The only way I see finishing fourth is if we have the same stagnant offensive woes with the horrible shooting. The 50 and low 60 point games will hopefully be mostly in the past. I'm optimistic that the shooting will be better as well as some coaching tweaks to help generate better offense this season. I think the ball movement and offense will be better this season. Can't wait!
 
I don't mind it. We lost a lottery pick and a four-year starter. Our PG is a freshman and our two primary SG/backup PC's came off unspectacular freshmen seasons.

I can see us struggling a little early but getting it together to make noise in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA.

Watching this team grow and get better is what I'm looking forward to most this season.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2
 
UVA had very good tempo free numbers last year. Gasaway loves tempo free numbers, so you can connect the dots.

I'd pick us to be higher than 4th, but 4th wouldn't shock me. We finished tied for 5th last year in the BE. The tournament run was awesome and it wiped away a lot of bad feelings from earlier in the year. Let's not forget a lot of the stuff that was on this board at the end of Feb/beginning of March.

That being said, my not scientific at all analysis has us second. So there is that.
 
if I am not supposed to post this here go ahead and delete it:

Syracuse Orange


2012-13: 30-10 (11-7 Big East)
In-conference offense: 1.04 points per possession (5th, Big East)
In-conference defense: 0.97 points allowed per possession (5th, Big East)



Syracuse was a mediocre regular-season team in 2012-13, one that went 4-5 on the road in Big East play and lost two games to Georgetown by a combined total of 33 points. None of which mattered, of course, when April rolled around and the Orange were playing the Michigan Wolverines tight into the 40th minute of a national semifinal in Atlanta.





Projected starting lineup
Pos. Name Year
Rakeem Christmas Jr.
DaJuan Coleman Soph.
C.J. Fair Sr.
Michael Gbinije Soph.
G Tyler Ennis Fr.


Jim Boeheim's team made the Final Four because what had previously been a pretty good defense achieved an entirely new and incredible level during the NCAA tournament. Part of that transformation was simple luck. The 2-3 zone tends to push opponents into launching more 3s than they otherwise would, and, as it happens, Montana, California, Indiana and Marquette shot a combined 14-of-91 from beyond the arc.

The length and athleticism of the Orange on defense no doubt helped those figures along, but keep in mind, over the past five seasons a series of long and athletic Syracuse defenses have allowed the Big East to shoot 31 percent from beyond the arc. Roughly to the extent that 15 percent 3-point shooting is even worse than 31 percent shooting, the Orange might fairly be said to have caught a break.



Of course, deserving teams can catch some good breaks, and that's precisely what happened with the Syracuse defense. Boeheim's team held its first four tournament opponents to 39 percent 2-point shooting, and the most impressive thing about that figure is that it was recorded in a bracket that had held to form. The Orange recorded these incredible numbers against a No. 1 seed (the Hoosiers) and the Big East's No. 1-ranked offense during the regular season (the Golden Eagles). Boeheim's defense peaked at the perfect time.



The Orange were able to dominate on defense despite another season of relatively meager results on the boards. It is, of course, widely believed that zone defenses aren't very good at rebounding, and Syracuse has certainly done its bit in helping this belief along. Look no further than 2011-12, when an otherwise outstanding 17-1 Big East team rebounded a truly pathetic 59.8 percent of its conference opponents' missed shots. Last season was somewhat better on that front (63.4) but still nothing to write home about.



Fortunately, Syracuse has been playing zone since the Carter administration, enabling us to study how much of this is really the scheme and how much is the personnel. Turns out some of it is the personnel -- just ask C.J. Fair about his freshman season. That 2010-11 Syracuse team rode the rebounding of Rick Jackson to a very normal performance on the defensive glass (sixth-best in Big East play).



Still, in conference play the Orange's defensive rebounding has ranked in the top half of the league just twice over the past seven seasons, strongly suggesting that there is indeed a schematic component underlying some of this ugliness. The zone doesn't preordain awful rebounding, but it does place a higher priority on other facets of defense. It's unlikely we'll see this program rank in the ACC's top four in defensive rebounding anytime soon.



Syracuse arrives in its new league with Brandon Triche and James Southerland having graduated. Additionally, Michael Carter-Williams now plies his trade on behalf of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Losing MCW is a blow not only on offense, but also on defense, where the point guard posted an outstanding steal rate. As for the players who remain in upstate New York, get used to seeing them in Syracuse uniforms. With a few exceptions such as Fair and senior Baye Moussa Keita Boeheim will introduce his program to the ACC with a rotation that's almost Calipari-heavy on underclassmen.



Fair's game might not appear especially dazzling to the naked eye, but looks can be deceiving. Boeheim's senior has always been trustworthy with the ball, and that lack of turnovers translates into points on the board. Fair also developed perimeter range last season, hitting 47 percent of his rare (64) 3-point attempts. He will likely be this team's leading scorer.



Joining Fair on the back line of the 2-3 will be DaJuan Coleman and Rakeem Christmas. Coleman was a starter as a freshman until his season was effectively ended by surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus. (Boeheim did subsequently seize the chance to give Coleman 15 minutes of garbage time against Montana in the round of 64.) His performance on the defensive glass was especially encouraging, but Coleman's offense is still very much a work in progress, starting with 46 percent shooting at the line. When he made two consecutive free throws in summer league action, a Syracuse beat writer uploaded the video. Newsworthy, indeed.



An outstanding shot-blocker and good offensive rebounder, Christmas' value to his team is correlated more or less directly to his minutes. This season his goal should be to drive his dwindling foul rate down even further. When Christmas or Coleman does get into foul trouble or just needs a break, look for Keita and sophomore Jerami Grant. Keita's a shot-blocker who last season also made his presence felt on the offensive glass. Grant was a top-40 prospect out of high school, and he inherited Coleman's starting slot after the latter player underwent surgery. Nominally a power forward, Grant never shot the ball as a freshman and was a nonfactor on the defensive glass. Like Coleman, he was also a liability at the line (56 percent).



The top of the zone will be held down by Michael Gbinije and Tyler Ennis. At Duke in 2011-12, Gbinije couldn't crack the rotation as a 6-foot-7 small forward, but his size as either a 2 or a 3 could make him an excellent fit at Syracuse, particularly if he can hit his 3s. (Syracuse officially lists Gbinije as a forward. Meanwhile Boeheim has speculated about giving him minutes at point guard. It might be time to abolish position listings altogether.)



Ennis is a scoring point guard who averaged 21 points a game on 50 percent 2-point shooting for Canada at the U-19 World Championships over the summer. Boeheim says Syracuse might run fewer pick-and-rolls with Ennis and Gbinije than what we saw from the Orange last season. Further backcourt depth will be provided by sophomore Trevor Cooney. A spot-up shooter whose 3s didn't fall last season (27 percent), Cooney will have another go at the same gig as a sophomore. He did make two big 3s in the 58-55 overtime win against Georgetown in the Big East tournament semifinals.



The Syracuse zone will continue to work its magic, and the Orange D might even benefit from facing conference opponents that haven't yet logged many (or any) possessions against Boeheim. Nevertheless, the Orange project to be one step down from the ACC's top teams in 2013-14. In particular, Fair will need help on offense from teammates who without exception will be entirely new to the role of Division I featured scorer.

Soooooo

Grant's going to make the ACC deuce itself.

Also, what a disrespectful article. Of the few complements that were given, all were backhanded.

I hope we literally tear the ACC apart. I want a double digit margin of victory. Virginia, we'll make them our Providence or Seton Hall.

A step down from the top teams? That's why we've consistently been better than all the ACC teams the past 3 or 4 years.

But that's just luck apparently.
 
Jim Boeheim's team made the Final Four because what had previously been a pretty good defense achieved an entirely new and incredible level during the NCAA tournament. Part of that transformation was simple luck. The 2-3 zone tends to push opponents into launching more 3s than they otherwise would, and, as it happens, Montana, California, Indiana and Marquette shot a combined 14-of-91 from beyond the arc.
So, I guess it was just luck and our D had nothing to do with those teams shooting 14-91 from 3. :rolleyes:
 
Luck -

Hall of Fame coach with over 900 wins.
A veteran team that had returned from an elite 8 run.
A consensus top 3 point guard.
A consistent, offensive and rebounding machine in CJ Fair.
The all time leader in games started at SU, BRandon Triche.
A 6'8 cash money fellow names James Dirty Southerland.
3 Centers.


We may have been lacking Mookie Jones' good looks... but it wasn't luck that got us to the final 4.

Edit: Notice the writer fails to mention how Indiana was the #1 offense in the nation.
 
So, I guess it was just luck and our D had nothing to do with those teams shooting 14-91 from 3. :rolleyes:

Come on, "part of it was luck". Not all of it. The next words are "The length and athleticism of the Orange on defense no doubt helped those figures along "
 
Not to beat a dead horse, but it's meaningless. I don't care if every analyst predicts us to finish dead last.

Agreed. Literally don't care
 
I honestly don't care what our "predicted" ACC finish is even if I sincerely believe we will end up 2nd or 1st. The reality of it is that the top 4 in the ACC will very likely be among the top 10 - 12 in the country.
 

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