honestly, was it just a chemistry issue?

[orangefan13]

1.Cooney as a three point kickout guy had a awfull end of the season(showed he isn't ready)
2.Fair as a isolation guy but sometimes he goes 3-15 other times 7-15
3.. Grant couldn't drive against dayton.
4. Teams started to shut down our scoring off motion offense and our halfcourt transition assists in the paint more and more as the season went out. Our transition offense actually got better the last 4-5 games.
5. nobody with a quick release jumper who is calm under pressure.

That is not a offshooting night when it happens over and over 1 out of 3-4 games. One out of 12 games maybe.

 

[Dave85]

I'm still wondering who knocked up who's girlfriend.

I have this theory right after the first Duke game Cooney got a really hot girlfriend. That's why his shooting has been off. After the NCST loss she was beginning to lose interest in him. Then he scored 18 points against WMU. The girlfriend came back with a vengeance. And all Cooney's mojo got drained away the next night. And 0-10 from 3-point range is the result two days later. Sad really. Man is the measure of all things.

Does anyone here honestly think God did not know exactly what was going to happen to the apple in the garden with a naked woman prancing about!

 

[Dave85]

1.Cooney as a three point kickout guy had a awfull end of the season(showed he isn't ready)
2.Fair as a isolation guy but sometimes he goes 3-15 other times 7-15
3.. Grant couldn't drive against dayton.
4. Teams started to shut down our scoring off motion offense and our halfcourt transition assists in the paint more and more as the season went out. Our transition offense actually got better the last 4-5 games.
5. nobody with a quick release jumper who is calm under pressure.

That is not a offshooting night when it happens over and over 1 out of 3-4 games. One out of 12 games maybe.

If Grant can develop a consistent believable outside jump-shot threat then he WOULD be able to drive to the basket.

 

[MartyMcFly]

It's funny that you bring up intensity. I'm sitting here watching the UNC game and I can't help to think back to when cuse played them in January. Syracuse that game was all over the court hustling for every lose ball. They hit the glass hard and got so many offensive rebounds for second opportunities. I also remember the players seemed to be having a ton of fun and team chemistry was so high. At some point the fun stopped and the intensity calmed down.

Exactly! I honestly can't remember the last time this year where we swarmed on D, fought for 50/50 balls, and generally just out-hustled our opponent. shooting definitely was a major reason we lost yesterday, no doubt, but take Arizona tonight... they got 15-20 points directly off of Gonzaga turnovers. They were everywhere on D and played with a sense of urgency that used to be a hallmark with SU. Sure we hold teams to low point totals, but we were so stagnant in our end of season swoon, no energy that an active zone creates. We seemed to be more often than not a reactive zone that an active anticipatory one that creates lots of turnovers, which lead to transition buckets and energy... this was a big factor in our losses and is silly to be overlooked.

 

[Opus]

All I will say about Cooney is if others had not left early, he would have been a #1 option off the bench where I believe he would have excelled. Call me a dreamer but...

As for chemistry. I always hated chemistry. Was more a physics guy. We were the gang who couldn't shoot straight. That is all.

 

[Col. Bleep]

The Duke game was a fluke! This team overachieved and was flawed offensively from the beginning! Love CJ but he's no #1. Yes he's the reason that we were able to be on the situation to beat Pitt but he's a 2. Trevor is a bench player and Tyler and J are to inconsistent offensively. We overachieved this year and it fooled everyone. It was s great ride! No one here thought we would be ranked #1 this year at the beginning of the season! Now if TE and JG come back next year it's a different story!

I don't know if Duke was a fluke...but I agree that we overachieved early.

We got off to such a hot start while other teams may not have fully jelled.
They got better...we didn't.
Our game came down to it's level.
In business terms...we reverted to the mean.
And our mean wasn't mean enough!

 

[Mano22]

I'm still wondering who knocked up who's girlfriend.

I have been thinking the same thing. There could easily have been some disastrous, personal, off the court issue that messed with this team's chemistry. Maybe someone's close friend/family member died or got sick? Specifically CJ? He has been so bad since the first Duke game, just so many REALLY bad shots (airballs etc) that it almost feels like he is shaving points (I don't actually think he was shaving points obv.)

I dunno, something just felt a little off, and it was more than just missing shots. We have 3.5 years of data on CJ being a killer from 16 feet, and all of a sudden his % drops to like 20%? Doesn't really feel random.

 

[TBCuse11]

Cooney and Coleman. Two of the guys i love to get on... but Trev just lost it midseason. He was out only shooter, and when he lost it, we were down to zero. And as for Coleman, a guy i did not want to ever see on the court, we needed him. I was wrong. Coleman's injury killed us. Baye regressed so much that he was basically useless. DC2 would have at least provided some offense and a TON of energy.

 

[DoctorBombay]

I don't know if Duke was a fluke...but I agree that we overachieved early.

We got off to a hot start while other teams may not have fully jelled.
They got better, we didn't.
Our game came down to it's level.
In business terms...we reverted to the mean.
And our mean wasn't mean enough!

That's the typical Boeheim season scenario in a nutshell.
I've railed for years how we never seem to have "THAT" season...like UVA this year, or LVille, or Florida. No, I'm not talking about 25 wins and a top 5 seed- I'm talking regular season champs, Conference Tournament champs, and/or FF slash NC. We usually get one, maybe two of those but can't seem to pull off the trifecta. Too lazy to look it up, but I'd be interested to know when/if we've ever pulled off 2 or 3 of those in one season. Just askin'.
We get the majority of our wins early when teams are still jelling- hence the 25-0, 16-0 starts. But once they start to get better, we usually hit a lull, go on a minor losing binge, and either right ourselves before March, or have a short-to-medium stay at the winner's table.
Meanwhile, teams that have struggled early are getting better, getting used to playing against zones, while we pull out the same tired formula...usually a bit too little, too late.

Note: Cue the "But Boeheim is the best thing to happen to this program", or "Fans like you are never satisfied/love being miserable" crowd.
Criticizing JB and this program's shortcomings is not a mutually exclusive endeavor. You can love the program, want the best for it, but still have valid issues to present. /End rant.

 

[SWC75]

There is a difference between playing well and shooting well. We were 0 for 10 from the arc and 1 for 19 outside the paint and we lost by 2 to a very good team. How did we do that? I think we played the best defense we played all year and it kept us in the game, despite the anvil chorus. Our offense got us the shots we needed to win the game. They didn't go in. You might argue that the shooting technique was ppor and perhaps that could be traced to the coaches but the offense and the defense functioned well in that game and that could not have happened without a good scheme and good efforts to make it work.

The one thing I might question is Jerami Grant getting off 3 shots and going to the line once in 34 minutes. He's too good of a weapon to get so few chances to score and in a game where we couldn't hit jump shots, (actually he hit that one two pointer), going to Jerami should have been a priority

 

[Dave85]

The one thing I might question is Jerami Grant getting off 3 shots and going to the line once in 34 minutes. He's too good of a weapon to get so few chances to score and in a game where we couldn't hit jump shots, (actually he hit that one two pointer), going to Jerami should have been a priority

Dayton really scouted Grant well. Every defender game him distance to take an outside shot. But he would pass it off. When he did drive the defender was able to react because of the distance. Dayton just shut down Grant by playing good defense.

If Grant had a credible outside threat, he WOULD be able to drive to the basket.

 

[Dave85]

I don't know if Duke was a fluke...but I agree that we overachieved early.

Many times teams deal with injuries in early February. This forces teams to play more bench players who then get a chance to improve. All our injuries came late in the season. BMK's knee, Grant's back, and Cooney's ankle all happened late in the season. I think this may have had something to do with the 18 points the first half the lowest offensive output by an Orange team in 30 years.

 

[ebucklewis]

to me the biggest problem we had is age/experience

sure could've used another shooter, or a big with some post moves.

the thing people forget about the 2010 team is the age - the leaders were all 23 years old

our seniors this year were good college players and that's it - nothing wrong with that - but that won't win a national championship..

we have a back court that started this year for the first time - and people expect final four - that is unrealistic
tyler is a very good player but he's not superman. cooney will get there - but people are expecting him to be world class - he's not - but he will be very good by the time he is a senior..

 

[sufandu]

Yup, that Carolina game was unbelievable. We were fighting for every rebound, diving for every loose ball, just playing balls to the wall. We didn't see that team the last month of the season.

The best word I can use to describe the team since the first duke game is sluggish. I thought they'd get their mojo back starting with the ACC tourney but it never happened.

Yeah, sluggish seems to be the best description to me too. It's hard for me to believe these guys didn't have a sense of urgency, especially the way we saw them play starting in Maui and right through the UNC game.

 

[OttoMets]

Seriously--an unlikely hero who played terrific last night. We wouldn't have been within 10 without him. Hope it is a sign of things to come next year. We need him to be more of a scoring threat.

A parallel between this and our last 11-over-3 upset loss, perhaps? The lone bright spot in the putrid Marquette game was Dion opening up his game and single-handedly keeping us in it.

Will Gbinije make a similar leap? Dunno.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

There is a difference between playing well and shooting well. We were 0 for 10 from the arc and 1 for 19 outside the paint and we lost by 2 to a very good team. How did we do that? I think we played the best defense we played all year and it kept us in the game, despite the anvil chorus. Our offense got us the shots we needed to win the game. They didn't go in. You might argue that the shooting technique was ppor and perhaps that could be traced to the coaches but the offense and the defense functioned well in that game and that could not have happened without a good scheme and good efforts to make it work.

The one thing I might question is Jerami Grant getting off 3 shots and going to the line once in 34 minutes. He's too good of a weapon to get so few chances to score and in a game where we couldn't hit jump shots, (actually he hit that one two pointer), going to Jerami should have been a priority

Agree. Jerami seemed so reluctant to take any outside shot even when he was open. On the shot he did take, he was open, hesitated, and then took it because the defender still didn't close on him. That should have been a clue to him and to the team that he could have that shot anytime. Dayton did a great job of taking away Jerami's spin move; good coaching, but Grant should have made them pay. Think it was Jerami's choice or did JB put a lid on his jumper?-VBOF

 

[RF2044]

Agree. Jerami seemed so reluctant to take any outside shot even when he was open. On the shot he did take, he was open, hesitated, and then took it because the defender still didn't close on him. That should have been a clue to him and to the team that he could have that shot anytime. Dayton did a great job of taking away Jerami's spin move; good coaching, but Grant should have made them pay. Think it was Jerami's choice or did JB put a lid on his jumper?-VBOF

Jerami's best performance of the year as the UNC game. It might not have been his top statistical performance in terms of what he scored / rebounded, but it was his BEST performance. Early on, UNC came our running, and James Michael MacAdoo burned us for several early baskets. I thought to myself, "uh oh--they're going to eat us alive inside." Then, the defense tightened up. And also Jerami went to work.

He faced up and hit several jumpers when JMM gave him room. And then when he came up to defend the shot more closely, Jerami blew past him for driving scores. I remember talking to my dad during the game, saying that if Jerami could do those things every game, we were going to be very difficult to guard.

Unfortunately, the jumper dried up [or at least his confidence taking that shot went away], and he became a little too one dimensional on offense with his drives. At times, it still worked spectacularly. Kid is a highlight reel. But he really needs to come back with a back to the basket move next year, and regain his outside shooting touch. Not sure if he took a three all season long this year, either [he took some last year].

 

[MSOrange]

And as for Coleman, a guy i did not want to ever see on the court, we needed him. I was wrong. Coleman's injury killed us. Baye regressed so much that he was basically useless. DC2 would have at least provided some offense and a TON of energy.

I also underestimated the impact of losing Coleman. I thought we would be fine with just Christmas and Keita but it sure made an impact.

 

[OttoMets]

Jerami's best performance of the year as the UNC game. It might not have been his top statistical performance in terms of what he scored / rebounded, but it was his BEST performance. Early on, UNC came our running, and James Michael MacAdoo burned us for several early baskets. I thought to myself, "uh oh--they're going to eat us alive inside." Then, the defense tightened up. And also Jerami went to work.

He faced up and hit several jumpers when JMM gave him room. And then when he came up to defend the shot more closely, Jerami blew past him for driving scores. I remember talking to my dad during the game, saying that if Jerami could do those things every game, we were going to be very difficult to guard.

Unfortunately, the jumper dried up [or at least his confidence taking that shot went away], and he became a little too one dimensional on offense with his drives. At times, it still worked spectacularly. Kid is a highlight reel. But he really needs to come back with a back to the basket move next year, and regain his outside shooting touch. Not sure if he took a three all season long this year, either [he took some last year].

I thought the Carolina game was the closest he's come to matching his ability level, the most focus and effort he'd given to that point in his career. He defended like a demon and was getting to rebounds like Rick Jackson.

Don't know that Grant matched that over the course of a game for the rest of the season. He seems to have a difficult time maintaining a high level of focus. The back thing and the poor shooting (who knows which came first) couldn't have helped his confidence.

If he plays to his ability level, he and Roberson will be our best forward tandem since Anthony and Warrick.

 

[ClamOtto]

I don't know if Duke was a fluke...but I agree that we overachieved early.

We got off to such a hot start while other teams may not have fully jelled.
They got better...we didn't.
Our game came down to it's level.
In business terms...we reverted to the mean.
And our mean wasn't mean enough!

Agree with this. I also wonder if starting the season early in Canada made us even better early on and even worse later.

A couple of other points on this. I think the timing made it look worse than it really was. By my count we had eight games this season that were OT or "last possession" games (I'm counting @Duke), so they are basically toss-ups. We went 4-4, but we won the first three, then lost four of the last five. If we had alternated wins and losses in these, the record would be the same but the perception of collapse would be different. Also, it's looking like our schedule wasn't as tough as we thought. Only one team we beat is still playing (Baylor). Nova, Duke and Pitt victories aren't looking as impressive as they seemed a month ago.

 

[mike32768]

It was a lack of Chemistry alright...

 

[Orangetradition44]

Did Dashaun sleep with someone's girl again? It just seemed like we were a completely different team the last 10 games.

G

 

[RF2044]

Did Dashaun sleep with someone's girl again? It just seemed like we were a completely different team the last 10 games.

G

Ouch...