RF2044
Living Legend
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Some unfortunate circumstances landed me back to the 'Cuse last week, and the timing enabled me to catch both the Colgate hoops and the NC State football game last weekend. Huge missed opportunity with the disappointing outcome to the football game, but I wanted to pass along some [extremely late] observations from the hoops game.
Let's focus first on the "good," before discussing the "bad" and the "ugly," as well as some too-soon predictions for how the season might unfold.
THE GOOD
Let's Go Orange!!!
Let's focus first on the "good," before discussing the "bad" and the "ugly," as well as some too-soon predictions for how the season might unfold.
THE GOOD
- Season got off to a great start -- Obviously, we are much bigger, better, and more athletic than Colgate. But after winning the tap, the season got underway in impressive fashion when Frank Howard fed Tyler Roberson for a dunk 15 seconds into the game. Here's hoping this impressive start was a harbinger of good things to come for the most talented team we've fielded since 2012.
- Spectacular Lead Guard Play -- John Gillon had 13 points and 6 assists [against zero turnovers] in barely 20 minutes of play. Given the way he's played these first couple of outings, you'd think that he'd be running away with the lead guard position in the race for PT. The fact that he isn't is a testimony to how well Howard is also playing. Together our point guards combined for 24 points [on an incredibly low number of shots], 15 assists and only 3 turnovers. Frank had assists on something like 4 of our first 6 or 7 possessions. He also hit a three during that strong stretch. When he came out of the game, Gillon did the same thing, assisting on his first possession, en route to racking up 3 in the first 5 or 6 possessions he was on the floor. Point guard play is SO IMPORTANT / IMPACTFUL at the collegiate level, that having an elite-caliber lead guard is a huge advantage. It's early, but it is starting to look like we might not just have one, but two. And generally speaking, when we have superior lead guard play, the team often makes deep runs.
- Frank's shooting -- Last year, Frank couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He only connected on 2 three point attempts all season long, while fielding atrocious FG% and 3FG% for the season. On Friday, he went 3-3 from trifecta, surpassing his season total last year in one game. It is important to note that this was just one game. Once upon a time, Stevie Thompson went 3-3 from three the first game of a season, suggesting that he'd finally be able to shoot--and we all know how that turned out. But for one game, Frank's shooting was a welcome sign that an offseason of hard work had paid off, and that Howard's outside shooting would be another offensive weapon in the team's arsenal.
- Roberson dialed in -- Tyler Roberson can be a frustrating player for SU fans. A former highly touted recruit who chose SU over the likes of Kansas, Roberson's career has offered tantalizing glimpses of him being a dominant player in certain games, while being practically invisible in others. At this point, what we see is what we'll get with Roberson, but if Friday's performance was any indication, we're going to see more of the "dialed in" Roberson this year than the "tuned out" version. He's moving purposefully without the ball and appears to be more aggressive looking to score. And while I don't expect him to lead the team in scoring or anything, I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see him improve upon last year's 9.5 / 8.5. We have several examples in recent history of senior big men taking their game up a notch--Roberson being able to do so would go a long way toward making this team a top 5 caliber squad.
- Depth galore -- Despite only having 9 players [freshman Matthew Moyer has decided to redshirt], the other 9 players can all see significant minutes this year. In conjunction with position versatility from several key players, JB team is LOADED, with quality depth at every single position. I can't envision that we'll be locked into a player having a bad outing -- if someone isn't performing, JB has alternatives who CAN get the job done any given night. We go three deep at EVERY position. Foul trouble should not be an issue.
- Coleman hit a J-- Senior center DeJuan Coleman didn't have a great outing, but on one play in the first half, he executed a nice pick and pop, connecting on a 14 foot jumper from the right foul line extended. Looks like he's going to get the green light from the coaching staff to take that shot, and it appears he can confortably make them.
- White looks good as advertised-- AWIII looks like everything he was cracked up to be as a scorer. Landing him was a MAJOR pickup for Coach Boeheim and the staff. Although I still maintain that he doesn't have much of a handle, he converted a GORGEOUS left handed drive in the first half [take that, RF!], hit jump shots, and ran the floor for transition baskets. Before anybody gets too excited, that's what White's game is--running the floor for easy scoring opportunities, hitting pull up shots, and being a catch and shoot guy. If he's not showing a ton of ability to convert off of the bounce against IUP, Le Moyne, and Colgate, he isn't going to be able to do it against ACC-caliber opposition. Mark this kid down for 15ppg every game, maybe more.
- Tauren Thompson is for real-- Tauren Thompson had one of the most interesting [and simultaneously frustrating] recruitments in recent memory. But it isn't difficult to see why he was so highly coveted--the kid can play. Not that this should come as a surprise--between him playing for legendary head coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's and then his nationally ranked prep school, this fundamentally sound big was already used to playing against top caliber talent and players his own size, which minimizes the learning curve most bigs have as they adjust to the collegiate level. Thompson has a good frame for an incoming frosh, and has a good set of offensive skills. He can also step out, face up, and hit jumpers. The lone "downside" from the Colgate game was that he took too many jumpers--one of which was very early in the shot clock--but hopefully that is attributable to this being the first game, and that better judgment about such things will come as he gets more playing time under his belt. It is important to note that while JB got mad at him a few times, he didn't pull him--suggesting that he already has the coach's confidence. I would expect that Thompson is going to steal quite a few of the minutes that many of us had penciled in for Colmean / Chukwu this season.
- Green was in the house! -- Syracuse fans were excited about big man Bourama Sidibe visiting campus this weekend, but more excited to learn that blue chip guard, Quade Green also unexpectedly made the trek, as well. With his announcement scheduled for November 19th, this was a great sign about which school he's going to select.
- The starting lineup is flawed-- Even worse, the issues are noticeable on BOTH sides of the ball. On offense, the lack of ball handling / complimentary offensive skill sets makes it difficult for the team to run an effective offense. I cringe thinking of this unit being down 9-3 at the start of every ACC conference game. Defensively, this might be our worst combination of players to have out there. Colgate stayed in the game early by knocking down several uncontested shots from three, and Andrew White was the primary culprit, with 3 of the first 4 being his defensive responsibility. The fourth might have been, too, but I think it was him being late on a rotation after Howard was out of position. The more I see of this lineup, the less I like it -- especially given some of the bench talent we're sitting on. Too many guys playing positions out of their comfort zone, and not enough offensive synergy from this group.
- The centers need to play better to justify playing time -- Coleman and Chukwu, on paper, both bring attributes to the table that could help this team win. Coleman as a volume rebounder / inside scorer, and Chukwu as a shot blocker. And while it was only one game, it is clear than in this nine-player rotation, these two are the 8th and 9th most talented players on the roster. If these guys don't each step it up, they are going to lose PT to Thompson / Lydon. These three games we've had suggest that both of the team's natural centers might be the odd men out when it comes to playing minutes during crunch time. Wouldn't be surprised to see both of these guys get ~10 mpg, with Chukwu potentially playing even less than that.
- White's defense up top -- Already covered above, but White really struggles to defend up top. He isn't a great defender, period, but he is an enormous liability at the top of the zone. He has the length, but not the lateral mobility [or the inclination] to cut off penetration or contest shots at the line. He is a much better fit on the back line, where he can cover space and react to what's happening, and where the team is better served by his rebounding prowess.
- Battle's debut -- During the two exhibition games, Tyus Battle put on an impressive display, showing off a confident shooting stroke, the athleticism to put on a show in transition, and a quiet maturity that suggests that he's ready to be a high level contributor from the jump. Against Colgate, he looked like a regular frosh--nervous, forcing when he didn't make shots, and launching ill-fated jumper after jumper, etc. Hopefully, it was a case of first-game jitters for the highly touted frosh, and we'll start to see the real Battle tonight.
- About that close...-- With 10 minutes left to play, Syracuse had coasted to a comfortable 69-36 lead, and had essentially doubled up the overmatched Red Raiders. From there on out, things got ugly. Fortunately, the game was already well in hand, but we basically stopped scoring. Some of this is attributable to JB running out hockey style substitutions that we probably wouldn't do in a normal game, but the team needs to do a better job of staying focused as we close teams out.
- Free throw shooting -- Not sure what the final numbers were, but at one point late in Friday's game the team was shooting a collective 8-19 from the charity stripe. This total included a horrific 0-6 from Chukwu. But even factoring that out, the rest of the team was a mere 8-13, which is "good" for a less than impressive 61%. That ain't going to cut it. What those numbers DON'T tell you is that even the ostensibly automatic John Gillon botched the front end of a one-and-one. We need to capitalize when teams send us to the line, and simply have to do better.
- Lydon's shooting -- Lydon is a proven commodity, so no panic here, but it bears pointing out that he is 0-fer from three point range through our first three games. Not good, given what a prolific weapon he was from deep last season.
- Tyus Battle bounces back in a major way tonight
- As the season unfolds, Lydon gets increasingly more of his PT at the 5
- Gillon / Howard play together more than people think
Let's Go Orange!!!
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