Good article from USA Today on the game

[thebigeast44]

Addresses several points mentioned in numerous threads tonight. Not making shots, JB's comments on Ennis's shots and the roll of luck in the game stated by Dayton's coach:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...urnament-third-round-syracuse-dayton/6753533/

 

[swish7]

That Dayton coach is classy. He sounded classy after the game, and he does in that article.

People here often say "the shots didn't fall". So what? A relevant response is "how do we make more shots?" What can we do differently to improve our shooting?

I think we have to get back to basics on O. We take so many tough shots. Fair attempts pretty layups when he should be going for AND1s. Inside, we need to do more at the rim. Like Paul Harris used to do. Like this:

And, when we are shooting from distance, it is this simple:

If you were to do that freeze frame on Cooney, he hucks it up that quickly. Time to get back to basics.

 

[Jasonrob44]

I think a huge part of Boeheims offensive philosophy that's key for it being successful that has been severely lacking the last two years is our ability to get the ball on the block. Christmas just isn't a threat there like AO was, or Rick Jackson, or even Fab. We have no post up game.

 

[OttoMets]

That Dayton coach is classy. He sounded classy after the game, and he does in that article.

People here often say "the shots didn't fall". So what? A relevant response is "how do we make more shots?" What can we do differently to improve our shooting?

I think we have to get back to basics on O. We take so many tough shots. Fair attempts pretty layups when he should be going for AND1s. Inside, we need to do more at the rim. Like Paul Harris used to do. Like this:

And, when we are shooting from distance, it is this simple:

If you were to do that freeze frame on Cooney, he hucks it up that quickly. Time to get back to basics.

Agree. And I know this isn't worth hoping for in the Boeheim era, but I'd love to see our players consistently use glass.

 

[jdubs30]

Did anyone else think Ennis' shot wasn't gonna go in? Once it left his hands I didn't think it was good, but I guess I'm the only one.

 

[OttoMets]

Did anyone else think Ennis' shot wasn't gonna go in? Once it left his hands I didn't think it was good, but I guess I'm the only one.

Me neither. Looked strong. Different angle for the Dayton people, apparently.

 

[doc05]

I think a huge part of Boeheims offensive philosophy that's key for it being successful that has been severely lacking the last two years is our ability to get the ball on the block. Christmas just isn't a threat there like AO was, or Rick Jackson, or even Fab. We have no post up game.

That was supposed to be rectified with Coleman. It's just not working out obviously.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I think a huge part of Boeheims offensive philosophy that's key for it being successful that has been severely lacking the last two years is our ability to get the ball on the block. Christmas just isn't a threat there like AO was, or Rick Jackson, or even Fab. We have no post up game.

How would you know? Rak doesn't get the ball nearly enough to assess whether he could be truly effective or not.

 

[Ghost]

I think a huge part of Boeheims offensive philosophy that's key for it being successful that has been severely lacking the last two years is our ability to get the ball on the block. Christmas just isn't a threat there like AO was, or Rick Jackson, or even Fab. We have no post up game.

Let's not forget, those guys also got a lot of easy shots. We used to have guards that could get into the lane and dish. How many times this year did the bigs get an easy alley oop, or a dish in the lane for an easy finish? Last night we had one or two, but in general they rarely get easy shots. It's not like they NEVER do, but it's something of a rarity as compared to past seasons.

I was never a huge Triche fan, but even as a shooting guard he would get into the lane fairly regularly and create some offense for the bigs. You could probably count on one hand the number of times we got an easy basket like that from the two guard position.

I think Christmas clearly improved his offense a bit this year, but those "easy" baskets were pretty much nonexistent. At least last year he was missing dunks off feeds from a driving PG/SG...that part of our offense was unavailable this year - and he seemed to be making his dunks at a pretty high rate finally.

 

[midloviking]

How would you know? Rak doesn't get the ball nearly enough to assess whether he could be truly effective or not.

Well, he probably would get the ball more if he didn't let so many bounce of his hands.

 

[Jasonrob44]

How would you know? Rak doesn't get the ball nearly enough to assess whether he could be truly effective or not.

How do I know? Because I watch it with my own two eyes. He's great on the defensive end, however on tge offensive end he's not the type of big that can post upand make a move to get to the rim aggressively. He doesn't have that killer instinct. We have severely lacked that.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Well, he probably would get the ball more if he didn't let so many bounce of his hands.

You're thinking of Baye. He lost one last night on a really bad feed from CJ. The fact CJ passed was a surprise all by itself but cj put the ball nearly out of bounds while Rak was trying to hold off his defender.

 

[jekelish]

You're thinking of Baye. He lost one last night on a really bad feed from CJ. The fact CJ passed was a surprise all by itself but cj put the ball nearly out of bounds while Rak was trying to hold off his defender.

Agreed. That was 100% on CJ. He never should have forced that pass. It was off the mark, and even if Rak caught it, he would have been completely under the backboard with no good angle for a shot. CJ meanwhile had a 10 footer and should have just gone up with it.

 

[Orange Barrel]

How would you know? Rak doesn't get the ball nearly enough to assess whether he could be truly effective or not.

First play of the game Ennis to Rak. Bobbles an easy pass to catch in perfect position to score. Turnover. We also saw the hopeless baby hook hit the front of the rim again for the 1000th time. Couple of misses from point blank range. I hope I'm wrong on this, but Rak is Terrence Roberts.

 

[Scotch]

Rak's post game is overrated my many on this board. Should we throw it into to him to move the defense and play inside out more often? Yes. Does he have enough of a post game to do damage in there consistently? Absolutely not.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

First play of the game Ennis to Rak. Bobbles an easy pass to catch in perfect position to score. Turnover. We also saw the hopeless baby hook hit the front of the rim again for the 1000th time. Couple of misses from point blank range. I hope I'm wrong on this, but Rak is Terrence Roberts.

That was a poor feed as well but Rak should have had that one. You seem to forget he had the next 4 points if the game while our "stars" were getting skinned.

 

[Ghost]

First play of the game Ennis to Rak. Bobbles an easy pass to catch in perfect position to score. Turnover. We also saw the hopeless baby hook hit the front of the rim again for the 1000th time. Couple of misses from point blank range. I hope I'm wrong on this, but Rak is Terrence Roberts.

Rak misses from point blank range, and somehow he's the least talented offensive player ever. Even though he gets like 2 attempts a game, if that. Meanwhile, everyone can miss repeatedly and they just need to be more aggressive attacking the rim. Yeah, he and G were the only ones coming close to finishing yesterday most of the night. He made his next hook too - left handed.

That first pass from Ennis was ass. He throws balls into the post with enough arc that half the shot clock is gone by the time it even lands. The ball is probably wet from all the condensation it builds up from being so high in flight. It might as well be a jump ball.

 

[Jasonrob44]

Rak's post game is overrated my many on this board. Should we throw it into to him to move the defense and play inside out more often? Yes. Does he have enough of a post game to do damage in there consistently? Absolutely not.

This is pretty much my point. He can get you to the rak a few times a game, however he's just not consistent with it. And that's not his game either. He's a shot blocker and a rebounder. I think we were all hoping that DC2 could fill the role of the low post scorer that could draw fouls, as someone already mentioned. This team has missed that.

 

[Cowtown]

Well, he probably would get the ball more if he didn't let so many bounce of his hands.

Or if he wasn't sitting on the bench after picking up stupid fouls.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Rak misses from point blank range, and somehow he's the least talented offensive player ever.

Didn't say that, but he's certainly working towards it.

Even though he gets like 2 attempts a game, if that. Meanwhile, everyone can miss repeatedly and they just need to be more aggressive attacking the rim. Yeah, he and G were the only ones coming close to finishing yesterday most of the night. He made his next hook too - left handed.

That's silly. He gets more than that. We heard all last year bout how the guards wouldn't pass to Rak. Now this year we've heard it all again with different guards. He gets looks. He just seldom does anything with them. I've been screaming all year for Rak to attack the rim, so i don't know what you're talking about there. And if you liked the one that went in, good for you. It bounced all over the rim and went in by accident. The baby hook sucks.

That first pass from Ennis was ass. He throws balls into the post with enough arc that half the shot clock is gone by the time it even lands. The ball is probably wet from all the condensation it builds up from being so high in flight. It might as well be a jump ball.

If you say so.

That was a poor feed as well but Rak should have had that one. You seem to forget he had the next 4 points if the game while our "stars" were getting skinned.

Which is it? A poor feed or he should have had it? And no I didn't forget the next four points, but I did notice he actually attacked the rim for those.

I know I come off like a hater to some here regarding Rak, so I'll say it again: I like Rak and want him to succeed. But he is just maddening to watch. I feel with his size and athleticism he should dominate, but he's rarely better than competent. When we threw the ball to AO or RJ, it almost always resulted in points. When we throw it into Rak it almost always results in What? To me, it's a toss up between him and Cooney for the biggest disappointment award.

 

[DSellers12]

DC2 will not end up giving this program much of anything. He has had 2 season where he can help develop him game ruined by injuries. Everyone was so high on him yet he played class B basketball in upstate New York against mid level talent. He is too big and is putting way too much stress on an already messed up knee.

 

[Wallo]

How would you know? Rak doesn't get the ball nearly enough to assess whether he could be truly effective or not.

Gee--- Do we not have the "Freshman of the year " point guard !! The team had a miserable total of Four assists !

 

[Ghost]

Didn't say that, but he's certainly working towards it.

That's silly. He gets more than that. We heard all last year bout how the guards wouldn't pass to Rak. Now this year we've heard it all again with different guards. He gets looks. He just seldom does anything with them. I've been screaming all year for Rak to attack the rim, so i don't know what you're talking about there. And if you liked the one that went in, good for you. It bounced all over the rim and went in by accident. The baby hook sucks.

Working toward it? Ur out of your mind.

He's our third best free throw shooter after the two guards. It's not like he's inept shooting the ball, his mid-range jumper is solid.

In 40'ish games he took 120 shots. That's three a game, considering he's hitting 60+% you really think he's being overwhelmed with scoring chances? The guards rarely feed the post - yesterday was probably the most they attempted to all year. And that was primiarly in the first 3 minutes of each half. Grant is the only one that regularly feeds the post well.

I suppose we won't count the one that bounced around, but if I get to count all the ones that rimmed in and out over the course of the year I come out far better.

Agree to disagree I guess.

 

[Orange Barrel]

Agree to disagree I guess.

I guess so. We've been having this debate for a year now.