For our team to be successful the following must happen

[DirtDog44]

#1: The offense must run through Tyler Lydon. Up until last game Lydon had done one thing...set picks for the guards to free them up for shots. This lead to AW3 taking 20 shots a game...if he continues to take this many shots we will continue to lose. Lydon must take 12-15 shots per game for this team to be successful.

#2: Defense, defense, defense. The new guys must learn how this zone operates. I was at the Cornell game and for the first time this year noticed a change on the defensive side...guys being in the right spots, attacking shooters, etc. Btw, our zone is much better when Roberson is in because his defensive positioning is probably the best on the team.

#3: Taurean Thompson: This guy is dynamite inside. Great footwork and passing skills that are off the charts. If we can get he and Lydon on the same page consistently it will lead to an extremely efficient inside game and open up things for the shooters on the outside.

All this being said, I still don't know what to make of this team. They are so talented and so lost at the same time..which is very rare to say about a JB team. Practice can only help this team so hopefully four days of instruction will continue to get them on the same page.

Sadly this year's squad could finish with a record of 12-18 or they could go on a historic run and win the NCAA title. I've been a Syracuse fan since 1982 and have never seen a team like this.

Thoughts?

 

[donniesyracuse]

#1: The offense must run through Tyler Lydon. Up until last game Lydon had done one thing...set picks for the guards to free them up for shots. This lead to AW3 taking 20 shots a game...if he continues to take this many shots we will continue to lose. Lydon must take 12-15 shots per game for this team to be successful.

#2: Defense, defense, defense. The new guys must learn how this zone operates. I was at the Cornell game and for the first time this year noticed a change on the defensive side...guys being in the right spots, attacking shooters, etc. Btw, our zone is much better when Roberson is in because his defensive positioning is probably the best on the team.

#3: Taurean Thompson: This guy is dynamite inside. Great footwork and passing skills that are off the charts. If we can get he and Lydon on the same page consistently it will lead to an extremely efficient inside game and open up things for the shooters on the outside.

All this being said, I still don't know what to make of this team. They are so talented and so lost at the same time..which is very rare to say about a JB team. Practice can only help this team so hopefully four days of instruction will continue to get them on the same page.

Sadly this year's squad could finish with a record of 12-18 or they could go on a historic run and win the NCAA title. I've been a Syracuse fan since 1982 and have never seen a team like this.

Thoughts?

I think I agree with all of that. Unfortunately, for the time being, it appears that #2 and #3 are at odds. I really hope Thompson shows dramatic improvement defensively.

 

[Newhouser]

I think Lydon's number is 12 balls thru the basket. Either thru baskets, FT's and assists If he can do that or better we can compete in games.

 

[Eric15]

#1: The offense must run through Tyler Lydon. Up until last game Lydon had done one thing...set picks for the guards to free them up for shots. This lead to AW3 taking 20 shots a game...if he continues to take this many shots we will continue to lose. Lydon must take 12-15 shots per game for this team to be successful.

#2: Defense, defense, defense. The new guys must learn how this zone operates. I was at the Cornell game and for the first time this year noticed a change on the defensive side...guys being in the right spots, attacking shooters, etc. Btw, our zone is much better when Roberson is in because his defensive positioning is probably the best on the team.

#3: Taurean Thompson: This guy is dynamite inside. Great footwork and passing skills that are off the charts. If we can get he and Lydon on the same page consistently it will lead to an extremely efficient inside game and open up things for the shooters on the outside.

All this being said, I still don't know what to make of this team. They are so talented and so lost at the same time..which is very rare to say about a JB team. Practice can only help this team so hopefully four days of instruction will continue to get them on the same page.

Sadly this year's squad could finish with a record of 12-18 or they could go on a historic run and win the NCAA title. I've been a Syracuse fan since 1982 and have never seen a team like this.

Thoughts?

Good list. The play of Frank has to be somewhere on here. The guy just isn't a scorer, which he doesn't have to be. He just needs to be able consistently use his long strides to break down defenses and distribute the ball to our wings. The play at the very end of the first half of the UConn game was great -- DO MORE OF THAT, FRANK.

 

[jordoo]

While all that it pretty accurate we can't do any of it consistently without improved guard play. The more I watch college bball this year the more obvious it becomes that our guard play in general is hideous especially against bigger more athletic teams.

Battle is going to be good defensively and Gillon has started to learn the rotations although he can be passed and shot over. Howard Oh Lord should be our best defensive guard but is quite often lost. All of them allow straight line drives too often.
Offensively to avoid turnovers we have to play too slowly. And the three guards as a group probably shoot about 30% on drives .

With Thompson, Lydon, White, Roberson and Coleman we have enough shooting, scoring and rebounding. They need to get better defensively but they can only be so good without better guard play on both ends.

 

[RF2044]

Good list. The play of Frank has to be somewhere on here. The guy just isn't a scorer, which he doesn't have to be. He just needs to be able consistently use his long strides to break down defenses and distribute the ball to our wings. The play at the very end of the first half of the UConn game was great -- DO MORE OF THAT, FRANK.

Honestly, it is starting to appear that Frank is a lost cause. Just not good enough.

 

[kcsu]

#1: The offense must run through Tyler Lydon. Up until last game Lydon had done one thing...set picks for the guards to free them up for shots. This lead to AW3 taking 20 shots a game...if he continues to take this many shots we will continue to lose. Lydon must take 12-15 shots per game for this team to be successful.

#2: Defense, defense, defense. The new guys must learn how this zone operates. I was at the Cornell game and for the first time this year noticed a change on the defensive side...guys being in the right spots, attacking shooters, etc. Btw, our zone is much better when Roberson is in because his defensive positioning is probably the best on the team.

#3: Taurean Thompson: This guy is dynamite inside. Great footwork and passing skills that are off the charts. If we can get he and Lydon on the same page consistently it will lead to an extremely efficient inside game and open up things for the shooters on the outside.

All this being said, I still don't know what to make of this team. They are so talented and so lost at the same time..which is very rare to say about a JB team. Practice can only help this team so hopefully four days of instruction will continue to get them on the same page.

Sadly this year's squad could finish with a record of 12-18 or they could go on a historic run and win the NCAA title. I've been a Syracuse fan since 1982 and have never seen a team like this.

Thoughts?

An enigma for sure. I say we become a tough out in the acc tournament

 

[Jasoncuse]

I've loved Thompson's ability to score thus far, but wonder if he'll be able to do that against better opponents consistently. In the 5 losses, he's 9-26, which includes the 4-6 vs St John's, averaging 6 ppg . He's dominated the BU's, Cornells and SC States we've faced, but hasn't fared as well against the bigger boys. We'd need him to perform a little better against the ACC competition we'll be facing.

Roberson has been terrible on defense this year. Absolutely atrocious and constantly out of position. I don't remember if that was the case last year, but it's been super apparent when he's been on the court this year.

In reality, the only way this team has any chance to make a run at the tourney is to have Lydon, Thompson and White all perform very, very well in nearly all the games, and we need to somehow find even average point guard play. The D also needs to improve...