Exhibition Thoughts | Syracusefan.com
.

Exhibition Thoughts

General20

Basketball Maven
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
1,817
Like
12,342
Ryerson had really good size and some half decent athletes but offered absolutely nothing offensively despite the fact that Syracuse played terrible defense most of the time. Syracuse gave quite a lackadaisical effort, and I'm wondering if its because they only have two days off before the season starts. Can anybody remember if they usually play exhibition games this close to the start of the season?

The game was never close or in doubt, but Syracuse never really looked like a well oiled machine until their starters came out in the second half (likely with a kick in the butt by Boeheim) and played some good basketball before making way for sloppy reserve play.

Not much else to report, from an overall game perspective so I will do a quick rundown of how each player performed and what I expect from them this season.

Ennis - In the first 5 exhibition games he played virtually mistake free basketball. This was his first bad game. He made about five offensive mistakes, and about ten defensive mistakes. More worryingly, Ryerson (whose starting line up goes 6'0, 6'4, 6'7,6'7,6'9) set some D1 size screens at the top of the zone, and Ennis seemed to have a hard time fighting through them (this is probably my biggest worry with Ennis right now). The good news is most of the mistakes were cleaned up during halftime, and Boeheim even mentioned after the game that all you have to do is tell Ennis something once and he goes out and does it. We are going to be fine with him at the point this year.

Cooney - The worst thing you can say about his game is, you wished he made an extra shot or two. But when you shoot 33% from deep in your "bad" games, you are doing pretty well. I like Cooney as an athlete, as a defender, and yes, even as a shooter. His shot is coming around, and he seems to be working on a two or three step blow by then pull up for when defenses rush at him. My guess is he's another year away from perfecting that shot, but once he does, I think he's going to be a guy who leads Syracuse in scoring at some point.

Fair - Not much to see from the box score, the guy who lead a final 4 team in points and rebounding was the best player on the floor. What is important is HOW he is scoring. Instead of garbage points down low and WIDE open threes (the ways he mostly scored last year). Fair is attacking off the dribble, usually one or two dribbles then a floater. This is the kind of offensive game a go-to scorer needs to have, because he's simply not going to be wide open this year, and we need him to score more than garbage points. Fair is improving in all the right ways.

Christmas - He was fantastic in this game. Scoring from the post, rebounding, blocking shots. The problem is, in the last game he was a completely invisible non-factor. How Christmas's season goes is still very much up in the air, but his inconsistency worries me. My hope is that he's going through good stretches when we need it most.

Coleman - Scored efficiently down low. Made great use of the pump fake (which I think is his key to becoming an efficient scorer), earned a lot of free throws, and generally made those free throws. He also rebounded great, as he did in the first exhibition game, but this time it was against a 6'9 transfer from Missouri. Just as with Christmas there was lots to like about this performance. Does that mean he can keep it up when it counts? Your guess is as good as mine.

Gbinije - Stupid mistakes, and not much offense. We have now seen Gbinije play poorly in 6 straight exhibition games against 6 teams with inferior talent. He is a concern. As of right now he is the leader to back up both guard positions, but he has the position by default and has done nothing to win it. The problem is, his main competition is Patterson who played poorly in 5 of the 6 exhibition games and is a true freshman. In my opinion Patterson has the higher upside. This battle will be worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses.

Patterson - He was 1 for 3 from deep, but I like his shot, and I think its going to be a strength of his going forward. I like his defense too, but he's a little all over the place (on both offense and defense). Basically he's playing like a freshman. I'd normally be very excited about a kid like this stepping up next year, but I think there is a chance for him to be a real difference maker this year (especially towards the end of the year) if he works really hard and learns how Boeheim wants him to play. As of right now Gbinije is our guy.

Johnson - Only played 7 minutes in this game, and all of them were at forward where he has no chance of cracking the rotation. He was also always the last person subbed in. I really like Johnson's skill set and I think he's going to be a great player for us down the line, but if you are expecting him to play meaningful minutes this year prepare to be disappointed. Everything about the way Johnson was used says Boeheim knows he's not ready to contribute yet.

Roberson - His physical talents and basketball skills jump out when you watch him, but right now he has no idea how to play in Boeheim's system. He looks horrible out there, not because he can't compete at this level, but because he is not mentally ready. Roberson is not going to play meaningful minutes early in the season, but that could change depending on how quick a learner he is. He is a guy I could see coming out of nowhere late in the year and contributing big time (remember when Pace did that our championship year), or he might not play very much at all. Either way I expect him to be an absolute beast next year.

Grant - Missed all the free throws he made in the first exhibition game, so his numbers were not a gaudy as they could have been. Grant is showing a tendency to take smaller defenders off the dribble, and simply out height/jump/long arm them to the basket. I personally love this. Not many teams have two 6'8 forwards, and the teams that only have one are going to put that one on the ACC player of the year. This means Grant is going to have a lot of mismatches this year, and he seems to know how to exploit them.

Keita- Hardly played in this game. Exhibition games are meaningless to seniors who have been historically consistent performers since they were freshmen. Both Christmas and Coleman were on a roll and Boeheim went with them, which was absolutely the right move. But Keita anchored one of the hottest defensive teams of all time last year, and absolutely shut down the number 4 pick in the draft (Zeller). I expect him to be one of the best centers in the country this year, and I expect him to play a lot. If you like gaudy numbers you might not be a Keita fan, but if you like winning you should be a huge Keita fan.
 
Pretty dead on from what I saw . . . . . . plus a couple of insightfull bits I didn't notice. I will say that I thought the same thing you did about the way BJ was used, he will not play meaningful minutes this year. Contrast that to the way Roberson was used and you see JB is giving him every opertunity to learn the system because he has a chance to be a real big contributor down the road this year. I was very encouraged by DC2 and Rak but DC2 needs to keep improving on both ends and Rak needs to play that way every game.
 
I always really enjoy your posts - lots of good insight in them.

Regarding, Gbinije, I'm worried along with (almost) everyone else. Considering he was a top 30 recruit out of high school who went to Duke and who, presumably, Coach K spoke well of to JB, it's perplexing. I wonder if the switch to PG has just set him too far back. He doesn't look comfortable there and if he hadn't been trying to learn the position for the last year he could have spent that time on his other skills (like shooting and rebounding). I wonder if, instead of a high-quality 2/3, he's now just okay at three positions.
 
I always really enjoy your posts - lots of good insight in them.

Regarding, Gbinije, I'm worried along with (almost) everyone else. Considering he was a top 30 recruit out of high school who went to Duke and who, presumably, Coach K spoke well of to JB, it's perplexing. I wonder if the switch to PG has just set him too far back. He doesn't look comfortable there and if he hadn't been trying to learn the position for the last year he could have spent that time on his other skills (like shooting and rebounding). I wonder if, instead of a high-quality 2/3, he's now just okay at three positions.

Something I've been thinking about is how Cooney really struggled with his shot last year. Perhaps MikeG will just need a year of action or well into the season to get comfortable out there. Add to that coming back to live action and as you say trying to THINK a different position. To me when I watch him I see a guy thinking about what he is doing more than doing what he is doing. From his HS tapes being a distributor seems to go against his natural instinct of attacking. I think he would do better to look for his own a little bit more.
 
Something I've been thinking about is how Cooney really struggled with his shot last year. Perhaps MikeG will just need a year of action or well into the season to get comfortable out there. Add to that coming back to live action and as you say trying to THINK a different position. To me when I watch him I see a guy thinking about what he is doing more than doing what he is doing. From his HS tapes being a distributor seems to go against his natural instinct of attacking. I think he would do better to look for his own a little bit more.

I've been thinking a lot about this too. How red shirts are not always great for everybody. Rautins and Wes Johnson both seemed to thrive after to their red shirt seasons, but Cooney did not, and the same seems to be true with Gbinije. Generally I've been a fan of redshirting as many players as possible, and I still think I'm in favor of that, but I might have to rethink my feelings on it a bit as it may not be for everybody.
 
I've been thinking a lot about this too. How red shirts are not always great for everybody. Rautins and Wes Johnson both seemed to thrive after to their red shirt seasons, but Cooney did not, and the same seems to be true with Gbinije. Generally I've been a fan of redshirting as many players as possible, and I still think I'm in favor of that, but I might have to rethink my feelings on it a bit as it may not be for everybody.

Andy was finally hitting his stride the end of his sophmore season and then playing for team Cananda. Wes was either all big10 or close to it before transfering. I think they both KNEW they could do it before sitting out. Cooney and MikeG had yet to really prove anything at the D1 level before sitting a season. Although for ome guys it doesn't seem to bother them much at all. I don't think we will see this issue much the way recruiting is going anyways. Maybe a big guy like Obokoh once in a while but even he may not have red-shirted this season if we had one less big, in fact I suspect he wouldn't have.
 
Keita anchored one of the hottest defensive teams of all time last year, and absolutely shut down the number 4 pick in the draft (Zeller). I expect him to be one of the best centers in the country this year, and I expect him to play a lot. If you like gaudy numbers you might not be a Keita fan, but if you like winning you should be a huge Keita fan.
:)
 
Spot on summary. JB definitely giving Roberson every opportunity to get comfortable so he can have the opportunity to make an impact. He needs a shot to fall and his defense to pick up. . Although you can see the talent and potential, BJ needs a shot to fall and a year in the weight room.
 
Spot on summary. JB definitely giving Roberson every opportunity to get comfortable so he can have the opportunity to make an impact. He needs a shot to fall and his defense to pick up. . Although you can see the talent and potential, BJ needs a shot to fall and a year in the weight room.

I forgot to mention that Roberson got a few rebounds that were WAY out of his zone. That is a talent you either have or you don't (very few players have it, and the NBA prizes it). He's got it in spades, and its going to pay off down the road for us.
 
Pretty dead on from what I saw . . . . . . plus a couple of insightfull bits I didn't notice. I will say that I thought the same thing you did about the way BJ was used, he will not play meaningful minutes this year. Contrast that to the way Roberson was used and you see JB is giving him every opertunity to learn the system because he has a chance to be a real big contributor down the road this year. I was very encouraged by DC2 and Rak but DC2 needs to keep improving on both ends and Rak needs to play that way every game.


BJ could see action at the 2G against a zone, if Silent G or Patterson cannot prove to be adequate outside shooters this year. I think Silent G ought to be concerned that his position as backup PG could be under threat if he can't start playing a LOT better.
 
Coleman - Scored efficiently down low. Made great use of the pump fake (which I think is his key to becoming an efficient scorer), earned a lot of free throws, and generally made those free throws. He also rebounded great, as he did in the first exhibition game, but this time it was against a 6'9 transfer from Missouri. Just as with Christmas there was lots to like about this performance. Does that mean he can keep it up when it counts? Your guess is as good as mine.


Personally, I don't want to see Coleman pump fake more than once per attempt this year and he has to mix in going up strong. He spent too many times last year with multiple pump fakes. If they don't bite on the first one, get the ball out to a guard and reset yourself. For a guy his size, he has to take it up stronger, not play with all this finesse to try to get a shot off.
 
I forgot to mention that Roberson got a few rebounds that were WAY out of his zone. That is a talent you either have or you don't (very few players have it, and the NBA prizes it). He's got it in spades, and its going to pay off down the road for us.

His range on defense and recovery speed were also impressive although we only got to see it so often because he was so often out of position. He will be an excelent defender when he knows the system and understands when and where to be agressive. He shares a common flaw that many of our good wing defenders had as freshmen. He over plays toward the ball no matter where it is and takes a bit too long to to leave when handing someone off to the guard. Once he understands the angles and ways teams attack the zone he will be able to use his talents to really disrupt things IMO.
 
BJ could see action at the 2G against a zone, if Silent G or Patterson cannot prove to be adequate outside shooters this year. I think Silent G ought to be concerned that his position as backup PG could be under threat if he can't start playing a LOT better.


Agree, I see 8 deep as of right now in ACC play no .5's unless we are up by 15plus ...
Ennis, Cooney, Gbinije
Rak, Baye, Dajuan, CJ and Grant

Against zones possibly Ron or BJ could crack it experimently as a .5 because we could use the shooting. Depends on how deadly our scoring runs can be in a short period. Both could be ahead of Grant, Ennis and Gbinije as shooters, and Buss also has a good defensive motor and a knack for helping move the ball in the halfcourt. BJ is shoot at will type right now and I love it, I just think he was off yesterday I think he is going to have a great outside shooting percentage for the cuse someday. He just has that follow the ball with his mind look to him.

With Roberson and Bj not being ready yet, we could hear the argument of Rak getting more minutes at the 4, instead of less which we heard preseason. I hope that is the case.
 
Agree, I see 8 deep as of right now in ACC play no .5's unless we are up by 15plus ...
Ennis, Cooney, Gbinije
Rak, Baye, Dajuan, CJ and Grant

Against zones possibly Ron or BJ could crack it experimently as a .5 because we could use the shooting. Depends on how deadly our scoring runs can be in a short period. Both could be ahead of Grant, Ennis and Gbinije as shooters, and Buss also has a good defensive motor and a knack for helping move the ball in the halfcourt. BJ is shoot at will type right now and I love it, I just think he was off yesterday I think he is going to have a great outside shooting percentage for the cuse someday. He just has that follow the ball with his mind look to him.

With Roberson and Bj not being ready yet, we could hear the argument of Rak getting more minutes at the 4, instead of less which we heard preseason. I hope that is the case.


It's going to be awfully hard to play only 3 guards if one of them can neither dribble to beat a press nor make a 3 point shot.
 
BJ could see action at the 2G against a zone, if Silent G or Patterson cannot prove to be adequate outside shooters this year. I think Silent G ought to be concerned that his position as backup PG could be under threat if he can't start playing a LOT better.

Its not impossible but there was a distinct difference in the way JB subned BJ in last night compared to the otehr exhibition games.
 
BJ could have a specific fit on the perimeter when we take CJ out for 4 minutes a game. I don't see Grant as a perimeter forward. He might sneak out to take the occasional 3 but won't be sitting on the perimeter for 7-10 seconds.

He won't need to shoot from outside though, CJ is going to open the paint up enough with his shooting. Another positive is Grant and CJ's ability to score from both sides of the court. Cj has been exclusively on the left side of the court this year so far.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
173,967
Messages
5,123,976
Members
6,084
Latest member
Cuse On 3

Online statistics

Members online
199
Guests online
1,840
Total visitors
2,039


...
Top Bottom