GT Postgame

[kcsu]

Good win. I remain baffled by Red's substitutions

 

[SmilinBob]

They ran so many sets, so much motion, so many staggered picks, back cuts, cross lane cuts. It was beautiful. They continued to play pretty good offense for the first 5 minutes or so of the 2nd half, increased the 14 point halftime lead to 20, and then they started getting sloppy with the ball, and thinking the game was already won.

Then GT's big guy Ndongo came back in and was unstoppable inside. For those who are asking, why didn't we try to foul him out, well did you watch the game? It got super physical for the last 12-15 minutes of the game, and GT got away with a lot of physical contact.

They had 4 big guys with 4 fouls with 9:15 to play, and somehow none of them fouled out.

Agree and they stopped playing defense with 10 minutes to go, the intensity dropped big time.

Also, everybody just stood around on offense at the end, incredibly frustrating to watch. When this happens JJ tends to be the only guy that is aggressive and we saw what happens. It's a horrible way to play offense. There were times Kingz never moved. It's like they all just panicked and froze. Thus, George dribbled too much and as I mentioned earlier, JJ ran to the ball and did his thing.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I agree with that, but Kiyan has to get better. We are clearly a better team if he plays better, and I hope he does. I agree that Kingz could play some 2, as well. We are a big, switchable team.

Kind of like that Illinois team that knocked us out of the Elite 8 in 1989. A bunch of great athletes between 6-4 and 6-9 who could switch all over the floor. That's what we aspire to. I see his vision now.
Those Louisville teams under Denny Crum were like that, too, with a PG mixed in.

Kiyan is a freshman while JJ is a senior. One is going to get a lot better, and the other is JJ.

 

[MikeSU02]

Kiyan is a walking turnover. JJ can handle the ball under pressure.
Kiyan is a shot maker. JJ isn't.

If this team is going to win with defense, Kiyan is worse than JJ, and JJ plays.
That's Red's decision, win with defense.

Kiyan is valuable as offense off the bench. He's not good enough with the ball and not good enough defensively to play much more than he is. He's got work to do.

JJ has a TS of 47%. Kiyan is 51.8%.

JJ has a PER of 10.8. Kiyan is 14.3.

JJ has a TO% of 12.1%. Kiyan’s is 12.5%.

JJ’s WS/40 is .091. Kiyan’s is .107.

JJ has started 95 career games. Kiyan has started 2.

By all metrics, JJ isn’t even an average player.

Put JJ on the bench.

 

[newmexicuse]

Kingz was our next best player tonight to Donnie. He does so many things beside stand at the 3 point line. He gets to the rim, he defends well on the perimeter and he even blocks shots. I'm not surprised he played so many minutes tonight. Betsey was only 1-4 from the floor when he was out there. Not his night.

Yes, agreed he does multiple things, but he was brought here primarily as a three point shooter and he did not do that well yesterday. Betsey started cold, but if I am remembering right he made his last trey attempt and then vanished. He is a hot and cold player, you dont take him out when he appears to be getting his rhythm. Kiyan was good all game long.

Nobody should be getting 37 minutes in a game where we have a comfortable lead for most of the time. Keep everybody fresh in case the foe rallies, as they did yesterday,

 

[su4life25]

I think over the next month playing twice a week this team is going to get really really good as long as DF stays healthy.. Those 10 day gaps were brutal.. Call me crazy but this a top 25 team in the country.

 

[cusefan88]

There's just no reason for Kyle to have the ball at the top of the key all the time it's so useless. He's a great player at the hoop, he shouldn't be far away. Use Freeman, Betsey, hell even Kingz for that.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Yes, agreed he does multiple things, but he was brought here primarily as a three point shooter and he did not do that well yesterday. Betsey started cold, but if I am remembering right he made his last trey attempt and then vanished. He is a hot and cold player, you dont take him out when he appears to be getting his rhythm. Kiyan was good all game long.

Nobody should be getting 37 minutes in a game where we have a comfortable lead for most of the time. Keep everybody fresh in case the foe rallies, as they did yesterday,

Not sure he needed 37 minutes, but Kingz is our best perimeter defender by far. He’s also been elite at the rim so it’s not like he’s useless when the 3’s aren’t falling.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

There's just no reason for Kyle to have the ball at the top of the key all the time it's so useless. He's a great player at the hoop, he shouldn't be far away. Use Freeman, Betsey, hell even Kingz for that.

That’s Boeheim’s offense. How many times did we all complain about Baye getting the ball, occasionally getting called for an offensive foul, and the guards rarely using the screen properly. I like the idea of Freeman setting that screen. Lots of options.

 

[xc84]

Nait had 17 points on only five shot attempts. 10-10 from the line. That part was great. The 6 turnovers needs to improve.

He likes to dribble

 

[STEVEHOLT]

There's just no reason for Kyle to have the ball at the top of the key all the time it's so useless. He's a great player at the hoop, he shouldn't be far away. Use Freeman, Betsey, hell even Kingz for that.

He’s a viable pick and roll option if the roll is an alley oop dunk attempt.

 

[Scooch]

Call me crazy but this a top 25 team in the country.

I don’t think you’re crazy. This roster has all the talent necessary to be a top 25 team. We saw that on full display last night when we ran up a 20 point lead on the road.

The question is whether we have the strategic chops to maximize performance from the roster.

 

[cusefan88]

He’s a viable pick and roll option if the roll is an alley oop dunk attempt.

I agree but I think defenses have taken that away mostly.

 

[Eric15]

My favorite thing about Donnie is how he can seemingly lay the ball into the basket from like 5-6 feet away with those ridiculously long arms. The last guy with that capability was Warrick.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Kiyan was checked out at the end of the bench at the nervy timeout when tech pulled to 6. Walked down to get water as soon as red started talking. After the game, jj walked off with his arm around him talking. Was clearly something. Saddiq body language not as bad but not good on the bench. Hated that it got to that after being up 20.

Yea I want to see the full game rewatch. The way the camera angle was it was hard to see alot of the bench. I noticed Kiyan frustration but also saw Autry and JJ have an interesting interaction when Autry benched him late. JJ was whining and Autry just ignored him but it was more than that. Gotta find that clip...

Might be too late but what's his face the S&C guy looks like he's trying to be the shoulder to cry on and keep the team motivated. Problem is that the guys may still think of Autry as the good cop.

Either Autry becomes the bad cop every game for 40 mins or he'll be done.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Kiyan was checked out at the end of the bench at the nervy timeout when tech pulled to 6. Walked down to get water as soon as red started talking. After the game, jj walked off with his arm around him talking. Was clearly something. Saddiq body language not as bad but not good on the bench. Hated that it got to that after being up 20.

Well, Red went with the starters for most of the 2nd half as the lead was dwindling. He *wasn't* making automatic substitutions as he does most 1st halves. That's why they were less than happy.

 

[HyattsCuse]

I’m satisfied with the win. Showed our potential on the road in the ACC. I never felt the game was in doubt even as our lead depleted.

Coaching is obviously our biggest issue, but man, our guys make some dumb unforced mistakes/errors that I can’t blame on Red.

 

[HyattsCuse]

Looking at the stats, we only took THREE 3 pointers in the 2nd half? And we even made two of them. Betsey’s 3 with a 11:29 left was the last 3 we attempted.

I get we aren’t a great shooting team, but, at least for this game, it must have helped, right? 7 for 19 up to that 11:29 point helped us get an 18 point lead. I’m not an offense guru, but from what I saw, offense was moving, guys were loose, and we were excelling. I can only assume it helped spread out GT’s defense for better looks inside and we got four of their players to 4 fouls.

Red even said in his pregame appearances that he wanted ball movement and to get better outside looks, in particular, for Kingz/Betsey.

But then we completely stop doing what was working for us for the last 10 minutes of the game?

Why coach?!

 

[DomeHolmes]

Good win. I remain baffled by Red's substitutions

Once again, I thought he overused JJ and underused Kiyan.

That being said, Betsy did not come out hot, and thus does not deserve to play much, so ok there, And white could not play small ball center against the size they had, so Souare had to get minutes for Kyle.

Like most here, I would like to see Ten of JJ‘s minutes go to Kingz at the 2, giving White more minutes at the three, and giving us our best defensive lineup.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Kiyan was checked out at the end of the bench at the nervy timeout when tech pulled to 6. Walked down to get water as soon as red started talking. After the game, jj walked off with his arm around him talking. Was clearly something. Saddiq body language not as bad but not good on the bench. Hated that it got to that after being up 20.

This happens when you have a very deep team. You have to portion out playing time, because all of those players will be needed at one time or another. Suck it up Kiyan and Saddiq.

 

[DomeHolmes]

Fun night in Atlanta with a ‘Cuse win!

Lot of seats were still available in McCamish tonight, but there was as a really strong Orange crowd. We had some strong LGO chants going— hopefully they came through on the broadcast. We in attendance were Level 5. Tech fans were loud in the beginning booing Nait anytime he touched the ball. They got fairly quiet as the game went on until late in the second half when we let Tech back in the game.

A few observations from our bench, etc…
- The exercise bike was out for Donnie and Kiyan at times when they were out of the game.
- Sadiq had his back wrapped for most of the second half. He didn’t last long when he was put in. Did they mention any injuries on the broadcast? Sadiq seemed pretty down talking to family and others after the game before getting on the bus.
- Betsy was clearly frustrated playing limited minutes in the second half. One time when he came out, he didn’t go all the way down the line to slap hands— he did get back up and dap the rest he missed. When he sat back down he was short with the managers trying to get him water/towels. Wish he got more run.
- Speaking of more run— Kiyan hardly played in the second half. We could’ve used a spark of offense. We built that 20 point lead and then everything went stagnant.
- Kyle made some nice plays but felt he was limited more tonight because of foul trouble. Souare fouled out pretty quickly. Tech couldn’t shoot to save their lives but were getting quite a bit of second chance opportunities. He had a lot of family/friends at the game. So did Kiyan.
- Donnie was the man! Makes the world of difference with him healthy on the court.
- The only assistant coach who was actively up and engaged during game play was Coach Straughn.

Good post. It’s always so frustrating when you have guys who pout on the bench. Sadiq will be a 30+ minute per guy next year. Just needs to be patient. Betsey has to hit shots.

JJ played poorly, but it appears that he’s been working hard to get rid of that hitch in his free throw shooting. They looked different yesterday.

Kingz needs to get more aggressive.

The key to the season, with Donnie back, continues to be George taking over this team and playing well. Yesterday I thought was a big step despite the turnovers. Twice in a row, in the second half, he tried to take care of his boy Souare on lobs he had no business trying. Other than that clear lack of judgment, that is the game we need from him.

Take away 10 of JJ’s minutes and give them to White, Kiyan and Betsey, and you will solve some of the bench issues.

 

[Orangezoo]

Good post. It’s always so frustrating when you have guys who pout on the bench. Sadiq will be a 30+ minute per guy next year. Just needs to be patient. Betsey has to hit shots.

JJ played poorly, but it appears that he’s been working hard to get rid of that hitch in his free throw shooting. They looked different yesterday.

Kingz needs to get more aggressive.

The key to the season, with Donnie back, continues to be George taking over this team and playing well. Yesterday I thought was a big step despite the turnovers. Twice in a row, in the second half, he tried to take care of his boy Souare on lobs he had no business trying. Other than that clear lack of judgment, that is the game we need from him.

Take away 10 of JJ’s minutes and give them to White, Kiyan and Betsey, and you will solve some of the bench issues.

George isn’t creating much for guys like Sadiq or even Kiyan and Betsey that much. Sucks they are frustrated and speaks to the fact once again we have a team Red and the assistant coaches are not in lock step with and might be losing in the locker room. A lot was said about the problems from kids in year 1 and absolutely we had some trouble makers but if there is weak misguided leadership those issues can re surface from any young player just without the drama and silly antics.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Looking at the stats, we only took THREE 3 pointers in the 2nd half? And we even made two of them. Betsey’s 3 with a 11:29 left was the last 3 we attempted.

I get we aren’t a great shooting team, but, at least for this game, it must have helped, right? 7 for 19 up to that 11:29 point helped us get an 18 point lead. I’m not an offense guru, but from what I saw, offense was moving, guys were loose, and we were excelling. I can only assume it helped spread out GT’s defense for better looks inside and we got four of their players to 4 fouls.

Red even said in his pregame appearances that he wanted ball movement and to get better outside looks, in particular, for Kingz/Betsey.

But then we completely stop doing what was working for us for the last 10 minutes of the game?

Why coach?!

Because unfortunately when they started working the clock, everybody stopped moving on offense and just stood around.

If you think back to Dean Smith North Carolina teams, or Princeton teams under Pete Carrill, you had guys running back cuts while the guards shared the ball out high, trying to catch the defense sleeping.

Without that, you're basically surrendering your lead on a series of rushed 3s at the end of the shot clock.

 

[Nicknack]

Fun night in Atlanta with a ‘Cuse win!

Lot of seats were still available in McCamish tonight, but there was as a really strong Orange crowd. We had some strong LGO chants going— hopefully they came through on the broadcast. We in attendance were Level 5. Tech fans were loud in the beginning booing Nait anytime he touched the ball. They got fairly quiet as the game went on until late in the second half when we let Tech back in the game.

Yes, the LGO chants absolutely came through on the broadcast. The first time I heard the chant, I was surprised as you don't usually hear those on the road. Well done! They also showed you guys a couple of times on camera because the chant was that loud.

I used to live in Atlanta. We have a pretty big base of Cuse fans there. Love it!

 

[DoctahLexus]

The same people in here calling for perma-benching JJ were also in the game thread complimenting his play in the first half. He was attacking in the lane and also creating several looks as a passer. It really shows the psychology of "it is not how you start it's how you finish" since hardly anybody is even mentioning that now. JJ helped us build the first half lead in the first place. That is a factor in Red not giving him a quick hook in the second. And I do not buy the narrative that our offense/ball movement is far better with him off the court than with him on it. Our offense is a disorganized, iso-oriented mess, with no consistent sets or offball movement, and that is true with or without JJ on the court. It's still bigger than JJ y'all.