General20
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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.
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.