Honest question

[phil77]

I am curious what game plans, what systems, you believe would turn this bunch into winners against teams of the quality of Louisville? Just waving vague terms like these (or the vague “identity” that some posters use) isn’t convincing to me.

Same with “play hard”. Guys like Carlos and Davis are playing as hard as the players on other teams - they just aren’t as good at basketball or as physically gifted. The sad truth is that this bunch isn’t (as a group) as talented even as recent JB teams.

When you have teams with lesser talents you need a strict system in place think old Bennett Virgina. They need to run a motion offense with constant player and ball movement. Need players to move with a purpose on the floor not just go through the motions. Need cuts to be sharp. Need actual screens to be set. Need passes to be on time. etc. This is how teams with lesser talents beat more talented teams, they run their stuff over an over an over again. The last thing you want to do when you are the lesser talented team is to run ISO basketball because you are ISO against someone better and more athletic than you.

On defense, you have to do things to differently. You have to constantly switch during the game on how you play to confuse the other team. How about trap the ball screen? How about go over ball screens? How about actually coaching help defense. Our players don't have the basic fundamentals on how to play defense. Help and recover, hedge screens and recover, trap and defense rotates. etc.

 

[44Wallace]

Do the continuity thing. Hire cheap. Don't focus on finding the best option out there. Need to prioritize money and not actual coaching talent.

WE ARE THAT GUY. THAT IS Syracuse University Athletics. Until that mindset changes, nothing will change on the hill.

 

[Bulldog04]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

 

[MikeSU02]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

TCU made Eddie lose 70 pounds and he had the most efficient year in his career.

If Red can't convince Eddie to be focused and in shape for his own dang benefit, that is an issue. His drops are all connected to the same thing.

When an OL has one holding penalty, that's on the player. When an OL has 7 penalties in one game, that's on the coach.

This is on Red. It's systemic.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

YES, because he put them out there and leaves them there.

At some point, you have to blame the coaches for the low quality and the fact that the volume of mistakes is INCREASING rather than improving. The more time the players seem to spend with these coaches, the worse they get. Why?

 

[Cusefan0307]

Attention to detail almost always comes down to coaching. With Dino we used to have about 3 false start penalties a game. With Fran that disappeared.

 

[Nicknack]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

Yeah, I think you're right to a certain extent. It is absolutely on the players as well. However, we can't simply drop roster construction because that's a huge part of the problem. Priority #1 was to replace Mintz with a high level PG and we got Carlos. We are lacking in talent as a team, and that's squarely on Red. I think roster construction, coaching, and players not performing at their best is all part of the issue.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

I don't care if JJ just scored 26 against BC. If he steps out of bounds again, Red needs to fire him to send a message. Start Lobdell instead.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

I get it, but Autry identified and recruited all of them. He's watched them for years in some cases. Great coaches get the most out of their talent. Identify talent and players who can execute what he wants to implement. Everyone defended and talked up the talent from the offseason to today. My biggest issue is that it was pretty obvious who they were and couldn't see how they fit into whatever Autry's game plan was.

Against worse or comparable teams, they look like OK, but against any team better than that, they look like they've never played together before.

 

[Vorony]

There’s no point in arguing with certain posters here due to their obvious connection to the coaching staff. Zero objectivity. All smoke.

 

[DoctahLexus]

TCU made Eddie lose 70 pounds and he had the most efficient year in his career.

If Red can't convince Eddie to be focused and in shape for his own dang benefit, that is an issue. His drops are all connected to the same thing.

When an OL has one holding penalty, that's on the player. When an OL has 7 penalties in one game, that's on the coach.

This is on Red. It's systemic.

It is still possible that Lampkin's injury is what lead to him not being in his best shape this year, not his own lack of discipline. Still think it is a very serious accusation to say he slacked off on his conditioning without evidence, especially when we know he has been struggling with his back and wearing a brace. That being said it is ridiculous that Red thought we needed to bring in a guy who even at his very best and most healthy is such a clear defensive minus. And injury was more likely to occur with his body type.

 

[Bulldog04]

TCU made Eddie lose 70 pounds and he had the most efficient year in his career.

If Red can't convince Eddie to be focused and in shape for his own dang benefit, that is an issue. His drops are all connected to the same thing.

When an OL has one holding penalty, that's on the player. When an OL has 7 penalties in one game, that's on the coach.

This is on Red. It's systemic.

So bc Eddie can’t hold on to the ball, that is reds fault bc of his weight ? Lol what on earth are we doing here

 

[Bulldog04]

There’s no point in arguing with certain posters here due to their obvious connection to the coaching staff. Zero objectivity. All smoke.

No the takes are so ridiculous. And no one has been more critical than me here the last 12 games. But the level of insane take has reached a new level.

These kids got recruited all across the country to play high level Div 1 (minus Carlos) and yet now they are all terrible bc Red puts them in the game ? Got 2 McDonalds all Americans on the team and yet the roster is awful? I agree that they have played horribly for most of the year and some things are to blame for coaching. But not everything like you guys make it

 

[Nicknack]

So bc Eddie can’t hold on to the ball, that is reds fault bc of his weight ? Lol what on earth are we doing here

To be fair, bulldog, him being very out of shape certainly appears to be impacting his play. This is clearly on Eddie, but I also hold the coaching staff responsible as well. I just posted a couple pics in the Eddie Lampkin thread with one from April 2024 and one from last night. He looks vastly different.

 

[Orangello]

This team is lazy and soft. It looks like 5 guys playing a pick up game every night. No system, no plan the same idiotic mistakes over and over again. That's on the coach. Next.

Go get a young and hungry hard ass and you will see immediate improvement. This group has checked out.

 

[RF2044]

Does anyone think that there is any coach on earth that can be successful with this particular group of players? I have never in my lifetime witnessed weaker post defenders. It is so easy to get the ball into the paint and then have less resistance putting in the hoop.Sorry, that’s not coaching. That’s lack of talent and competitiveness. If we don’t get 3 to 4 quality post players this offseaso, we are in a world of crap again and I don’t care who is coaching the team.

100%.

I'm not suggesting that this is the best roster we've ever fielded, but quality coaching could coax better productivity out of this group. Better coaching in the form of coherent offensive sets, defensive concepts, substitution patterns, etc. would all make an enormous different.

And the level of effort we're seeing is subpar. Coaching could positively impact that, as well.

 

[Newhouser]

Thanks for that unenlightening response. Typical - no explanation of what you think these players should be doing. What system do you want?

Sure Red recruited (or better, landed after trying for others) these players. That does not respond to the issue about how this actual bunch might win more games by some magic system or playing harder.

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

They don't play hard. That is on Red and the rest of the staff.

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

No the takes are so ridiculous. And no one has been more critical than me here the last 12 games. But the level of insane take has reached a new level.

These kids got recruited all across the country to play high level Div 1 (minus Carlos) and yet now they are all terrible bc Red puts them in the game ? Got 2 McDonalds all Americans on the team and yet the roster is awful? I agree that they have played horribly for most of the year and some things are to blame for coaching. But not everything like you guys make it

I get what you're saying, and some of the takes are definitely overboard. That said, effort is related to coaching. The volume of errors and lack of improvement is related to coaching. The players themselves on the court are directly related to coaching. Development is related to coaching.

The coaching issues are systemic, and that's what is so unfortunate and frustrating.

If you're a golfer and your coaches are not helping you improve, or even making you worse, it's true that what you do as a player is not directly controlled by them. However, I doubt you'd stick with them when there are alternatives that can help you develop your game.

 

[Bulldog04]

To be fair, bulldog, him being very out of shape certainly appears to be impacting his play. This is clearly on Eddie, but I also hold the coaching staff responsible as well. I just posted a couple pics in the Eddie Lampkin thread with one from April 2024 and one from last night. He looks vastly different.

No question and eddie getting injured certainly has had an impact. I wish I could upload videos from practice before the season started so everyone could see how Eddie was running up and down the court. You guys would genuinely be shocked. I know it doesn’t matter now bc he’s out of shape. But It would soften the blow mentally so you guys could see what the hype was about early with him

 

[Fly Rodder]

No the takes are so ridiculous. And no one has been more critical than me here the last 12 games. But the level of insane take has reached a new level.

These kids got recruited all across the country to play high level Div 1 (minus Carlos) and yet now they are all terrible bc Red puts them in the game ? Got 2 McDonalds all Americans on the team and yet the roster is awful? I agree that they have played horribly for most of the year and some things are to blame for coaching. But not everything like you guys make it

Insane takes? C'mon, a lot of people were struggling understanding the composition of the team this spring and summer and were repeatedly told by those in the know that this was going to be deep and talented. So they're not now because they forgot how to play? This is a bad team composed of players who are being asked to do more than they're capable of because the staff is trying to have them play like NBA talent and make things happen.

Being recruited for a role elsewhere isn't equal to be recruited to a different role at SU. Eddie would be fine surrounded by 3-4 NBA talents. Bell is a guy who should be coming off the bench and if he's shooting well, then fine gets more minutes. JJ is a 3rd G on a good-to-great team. Jyare would be fantastic if he was 6'9" as 3rd C/PF as a 6'5" PF he's doing the best he can. Jaquan and Cuffe are mid-major talents. Freeman is a McD AA, sure, but that's only because he shows a lot of potential and talent - which he does. But he's lost defensively and I hope no one expected him to be Cooper Flagg.

 

[Fly Rodder]

No question and eddie getting injured certainly has had an impact. I wish I could upload videos from practice before the season started so everyone could see how Eddie was running up and down the court. You guys would genuinely be shocked. I know it doesn’t matter now bc he’s out of shape. But It would soften the blow mentally so you guys could see what the hype was about early with him

That's still practice. It's not game. Statistically, Eddie is playing as well as he has has previously.

 

[Marsh01]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

you havent missed a 3 footer in 20 years

 

[Red2003]

This is a really good thread. Last night's game frustrated me so much and it was for 1 reason. I saw JJ the closest to an on-court leader and Autry just fold on their homecourt to an unranked 7 seed tourney team.

They are not mercenaries and should carry themselves differently. I know it's inferior competition the last 2 games but I thought that those 2 would at least show some heart even if we don't win.

So now the frustration. I really wanted JJ to succeed and come in next year and really be one of the best guards in the league. Deep down I knew that wouldn't happened but it's hope. Last night was a total implosion on both ends. I could understand if offensively he just didn't score because he was keyed and doubled but last night was an embarrassment. He said himself he got punked. This guy has the talent and almost a hundred ACC starts, that just can't happen.

Now I just look at next year. Autry won't be dismissed but the only glimpse of the tourney next year in my opinion is if the assistants all go and then entire roster including JJ are shown the door.

Personally Petar is the only one I would keep next year as support just in the hopes of 3-4 years from now being a baller. JJ, Cuffe the rest and Freeman I'm not seeing 2 way players that can defend and that's what we need next year.

 

[Scooch]

Let’s just drop the “roster construction” and really think here. Does Red have anything to do with Lampkin dropping the ball 10 times a game? Bell not being able to make a free throw or throw a 2 foot entry pass ? JJ stepping out of bounds twice? You guys are blaming Red for everything and at some points it’s on the players. They care when they are playing well and don’t when they get boat raced Iike last night…

I played golf at every level including division 1. If I missed a 3 footer, should I blame my coach? Blame him for putting me in starting line up? Tell him it’s his fault for not teaching me how to make it? NO! It’s on the player. These kids have been playing basketball their entire life. At some point you have to blame them for THEIR mistakes

I don’t know, man. Either Red assembled a roster of guys who can’t play a lick of defense, or his staff is completely deficient at coaching defense to guys who were good at it previously. That’s been two years running now. Either way blame falls on the coach.

Of course the players share a lot of the blame. They’re getting paid and most are failing in some major way.

Your posts suggests that the staff is doing all they can and the players just suck. That seems unlikely, right?

 

[Scooch]

That's still practice. It's not game. Statistically, Eddie is playing as well as he has has previously.

This site has a 20+ year history of practice watchers overrating our talent in both hoops and football. It’s one of the constants.