First game and a half

[FrancoPizza]

the defensive system seems really rudimentary, help is either slow or non-existent,

Better talent will help but if this is the defensive system he’s gonna roll with… this is why I wanted a proven resume.

 

[MikeSU02]

This team is down Westry, has the situation with Benny and Maliq isn’t 100%. On top of our new coach and his system. Going to take a few beats.

I will say when we are engaged and attacking the rim, this team is really exciting. Work inside out: rim, FTs, threes. But right now there is a lot of inconsistency with the ability to be relentlessly attacking. We have to bring wave after wave of pressure on O. We should be shooting a ton of FTs. JT and Bell should be getting catch and shoot looks off of it. But it’s hard to consistently apply that type of pressure. It’s exhausting and if you aren’t getting calls, it can be real frustrating.

Last thing, Judah has to realize his path to the nba isn’t his counting stats. It’s his ability to raise the ceiling of his team and make better second level decisions. But to do that, he has to be focused. All the time. As I noted in the other thread, he should have Kyrie’s finishing-at-the-rim videos on repeat.

It’s game two. Could have been better, but it could have been much worse. Need to bank the next one and then it’s house money in Hawaii.

 

[Sherman20]

We will have to get a lot better. Langel has less pieces this year vs the past two I will say. They won't be able to stop us off the bounce.

That’s the biggest difference this year. We have a bunch of guys that can attack off the bounce and get into the lane. It feels like it’s been years since we’ve had that or as many guys that are capable of getting to the rim—maybe since MCW-Triche or Dion-Scoop-Triche. Tyus was great at it but he really only played with a couple of guys who could also score regularly off the bounce, in Gillon and Hughes. We have a bunch of fast guards this season that can all get to the tin and score.

 

[rrlbees]

The one thing I am sure of is that I will be betting the over. Lol

This isn’t a real good Colgate team. They only beat brown by 2 and brown stinks. Colgate was 6-18 from 3.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Colgate will answer our questions.

 

[Jzsshuttles]

It’s really hard to be patient in the current world we live in..a little perspective is also hard to come by..but we as Syracuse fans need both right now. It’s going to take time. Plain and simple. These kids need game reps together. Red needs time. This is a completely new world for him. Going to be ups and downs for sure. It’s our job to understand this. Understand where we are as a program. Uncharted waters for 85% of the fan base. We need to back these guys up more then ever. This isn’t just another year of Syracuse hoops. We’re a different program now. It’s not going to happen overnight. All I’m saying folks..let’s not take the easy way out and cast negativity this early. Let’s have some pride and loyalty. Let’s do what Syracuse does

 

[Orangezoo]

Colgate will answer our questions.

No it won't. See Bees' post. They are still PL faves but don't have the horses they've had the past few years.

Maui will be where we learn a lot.

 

[Bulldog04]

The way everyone is acting on here is like they are 0-2. Sure I also believe there is room for improvement. JJ has struggled to make shots. Rebounding been a little rough but there’s also stuff that’s “just part of the game”. This team doesn’t need to play perfect to win these games. They need to build momentum and they did that in the 2nd half. They had a stretch there that we haven’t seen in a long long time.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think we will score plenty, but the defense is atrocious. Most of it is effort and stupidity.

I also think we need to play JJ at the one and Judah off the ball. Judah is a bit of a black hole and JJ can’t shoot, but is a willing passer.

 

[Sherman20]

Yep. Who knows we might be more competitive in Maui than we expect too. Getting off campus and out of dodge can do a lot for a team trying to put things together. As we hoped the summer trip would have done if not canceled.

I don’t have high expectations for Maui to be honest because the field is so stacked. I figure it’ll be a learning experience. Maybe the third consolation game could be winnable. I just hope they can win 2 out of the 3 (or even 3 out of the 3) games against other non-top 25 P5 teams LSU, Gtown and Oregon. Oh, and we MUST beat Colgate next week.

 

[dasher]

83 and 89 points in first two games and the complaining is off the charts lol. This team cracked 80 once the first 10 games last year and Lost 4 of the first 6. No one is ever happy lol

No. The complaining is on target. I know that you are a big fan of the coaches but so far, this team has been very unimpressive. Red calls a time out and Bell walks to the bench. Not just to single him out. They have a lot of work to do. So far, not so good. As far as how many pts they have scored, so what? They won by 12 against two terrible teams.

 

[Sherman20]

No. The complaining is on target. I know that you are a big fan of the coaches but so far, this team has been very unimpressive. Red calls a time out and Bell walks to the bench. Not just to single him out. They have a lot of work to do. So far, not so good. As far as how many pts they have scored, so what? They won by 12 against two terrible teams.

Are you unimpressed with the coaching? Or is the talent level or roster construction still not where it should be?

 

[hoopsupstate]

Shot selection was much better tonight. Knocked down some jumpers and Judah and JJ were much more selective when attacking. Defense is much better with McCloud on the floor. Defense is still a work in progress.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Just my 2 cents but we can be good if we get back to full strength and roll out a lineup of:

McLeod
Benny
Taylor
Mintz
JJ

Brown
Westry
Cuffe
Copeland

Thats a solid team. The defense and rebounding have to get fixed though. I don’t think Bell belongs in the rotation at all. I could see Copeland falling out of favor for Westry if he’s as good as advertised.

 

[orangezen]

I’m surprised Carey didn’t play .. reason?

 

[Lukeyloo]

Matt Langel will be licking his chops when he watches our half court defense on tape.

Unlike the first two opponents, they’ll drain all those open transition threes that we’ve been giving up.

 

[Jake]

Very weird watching a new system. I didn’t see a bit of either exhibition, but I’ve been to both regular season games.

Guys are gonna get beat of the dribble in college, my issue is with the lack of help defense. Too many guys standing around watching their teammate get beat instead of rotating over to give help defense.

I understand we’re gonna play primarily m2m, but it’s gonna get crazy nursing a lead when our guys are getting blown by 5 seconds into a possession and don’t want to challenge for fear of fouling.

Offensively, we have a lot of guys getting to the rim at will. But you’d be an idiot if you didn’t zone us with a shot blocker protecting the rim.

This offense desperately needs a back to the basket 4 or some type of offensive presence to be a relief valve for the penetrator.

Bell is going to continue to drive us crazy…nothing, nothing, why is he out there?, clutch defended 3….nothing nothing nothing, great put back layup…etc.

Judah was definitely a more in control player second half. He’s gonna drive us just a little less crazy than Bell though. And he’s going to get called for a ton of offensive fouls if he keeps raking his off elbow up high on defenders.

Q is the third player who’s gonna make us crazy. All he needs to do is make the simple play and he would be soo much more efficient. That triple-dipsy-soo up and under no-look passes are terrible.

Kyle Cuffe was measured with his hair. No way he’s 6-2. He going to get picked on by bigger guards. But he’s great giving us spot minutes in the backcourt.

Taylor has to play. He keeps defenses honest and from cheating to help.

Starling is a great athlete, very good defender, creator, rebounder and finisher. But something has gone very wrong with that shot-put of a jumper. It’s like he’s trying to beat the buzzer every time he shoots. That’s not the form he had at BVille.

Naheem can help. Obviously he’s a wall on defense. Gotta stop putting to ball on the floor though on the other end.

Brown just doesn’t have the athleticism to play behind guys in the paint. Once he’s pinned, he’s done. But he’s unbelievable with his hands on the perimeter. He pokes the ball away at a wicked percentage.

Benny. -haven’t seen him yet this year. But we could use the bigger presence underneath.

The Dome was dead. Very odd.

Too early to grade Red. I like the defensive system, it needs to be fine tuned and needs a traditional PF imho. Offensively I wanna see what happens in Hawai’i.

 

[pwong]

We're letting Canisius shut down the pick and roll with a simple hard hedge. This is what teams have done against us for years. Starling and Mintz are too good and dynamic to let this happen

Judah isn’t fighting over the screens and we also have no real forwards to help tag the roller at the moment. Youre expecting JT and Chris Bell to defend one on one with the roller on the help. Hopefully Benny will be better.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

Not sure Red has a good feel for head coaching. Hear me out: I believe Judah was beat for a layup a minute or so in. Red somehow got mad at McLeod and was going to take him out until he scored on the other end. It’s not a zone, if he can help, he can help. He’s not just there. Idn if Red gets this… he then pulls Maliq back. McLeod playing well but picks up a foul. He then leaves Mcleod in through the under 12. He then decides to put Maliq in after the under 12 play has started. McLeod foul immediately. No idea why he wasn’t pulled at the under 12. 8 min for a big and has a foul. Then puts him back in at the end of the half with 2 fouls.
Then you have the out of bounds plays. They spoke for themselves.
Put Cuffe in for like 1 minute mid second half and pulled him instantly.
He also kept running guys to the table with a clear tv timeout coming up. As if he doesn’t know.
This I can’t get on him too much about, but why no lineup with McLeod and Brown? Taylor or Cope aren’t covering real team’s fours. May as well try it now, going to eventually need it.

 

[bballbeadle]

Colgate will answer our questions.

I have surgery Nov. 14. If they don’t win, I won’t heal correctly. Then if Maui is no damn good, I may end up in a nursing home. GO SU!

 

[dasher]

Are you unimpressed with the coaching? Or is the talent level or roster construction still not where it should be?

It's two games. I don't want to be harsh and I want to be optimistic. So far, I haven't been impressed with much. I think there is talent on this team. Red will improve as times go on. I just haven't been impressed to this point. I think the big guy is better than I expected. I would like to see him play more.

 

[sdhall01]

Not sure Red has a good feel for head coaching. Hear me out: I believe Judah was beat for a layup a minute or so in. Red somehow got mad at McLeod and was going to take him out until he scored on the other end. It’s not a zone, if he can help, he can help. He’s not just there. Idn if Red gets this… he then pulls Maliq back. McLeod playing well but picks up a foul. He then leaves Mcleod in through the under 12. He then decides to put Maliq in after the under 12 play has started. McLeod foul immediately. No idea why he wasn’t pulled at the under 12. 8 min for a big and has a foul. Then puts him back in at the end of the half with 2 fouls.
Then you have the out of bounds plays. They spoke for themselves.
Put Cuffe in for like 1 minute mid second half and pulled him instantly.
He also kept running guys to the table with a clear tv timeout coming up. As if he doesn’t know.
This I can’t get on him too much about, but why no lineup with McLeod and Brown? Taylor or Cope aren’t covering real team’s fours. May as well try it now, going to eventually need it.

To be fair about some of the substitutions, I think this is what it feels like to play deep. We're not going to play 6 guys, and we'll be better for it.

 

[dasher]

The way everyone is acting on here is like they are 0-2. Sure I also believe there is room for improvement. JJ has struggled to make shots. Rebounding been a little rough but there’s also stuff that’s “just part of the game”. This team doesn’t need to play perfect to win these games. They need to build momentum and they did that in the 2nd half. They had a stretch there that we haven’t seen in a long long time.

I'm sorry, they were never going to be 0-2 against these two teams. And we have had plenty of stretches over the past two years where we looked better than what they showed in the second half. You want to praise Red and attack JB, I get it. But these have not been good efforts by us. I think and hope Benny will help when he starts playing again next week. But so far, 2 12 pt wins against really second rate teams, is once again, not impressive.

 

[dasher]

Not sure Red has a good feel for head coaching. Hear me out: I believe Judah was beat for a layup a minute or so in. Red somehow got mad at McLeod and was going to take him out until he scored on the other end. It’s not a zone, if he can help, he can help. He’s not just there. Idn if Red gets this… he then pulls Maliq back. McLeod playing well but picks up a foul. He then leaves Mcleod in through the under 12. He then decides to put Maliq in after the under 12 play has started. McLeod foul immediately. No idea why he wasn’t pulled at the under 12. 8 min for a big and has a foul. Then puts him back in at the end of the half with 2 fouls.
Then you have the out of bounds plays. They spoke for themselves.
Put Cuffe in for like 1 minute mid second half and pulled him instantly.
He also kept running guys to the table with a clear tv timeout coming up. As if he doesn’t know.
This I can’t get on him too much about, but why no lineup with McLeod and Brown? Taylor or Cope aren’t covering real team’s fours. May as well try it now, going to eventually need it.

McLeod and Brown and we will have a lot of trouble scoring.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

McLeod and Brown and we will have a lot of trouble scoring.

Likely, but gonna have to eventually