I Feel Like Everyone is Holding their Breath

[RedtheGOB]

I'm surprised that nobody has said it yet, but it's interesting that we shot well from 3 on the road and poorly in the dome. While there's a lot of other things we want/need fixed, it's possible that our 3s will be much better in vegas or after enough games in the dome to adjust

Free throws too.

 

[baggerbob]

hey I'm a card carrying member of club Wait-and-See, and was ridiculing the overreactions after the Buffalo game. But I honestly don't think it possible to have watched the Pace exhibition and not be at least mildly disturbed by what transpired during the first 30 minutes -- regardleess of lineup combo or significance of the game. Just shockingly inept defense, for one. Sure, many of us are extra on edge after how last season quickly unfolded, and that's just the thing- there has been stuff on display with this new (and improved?) group that mirrors what was on display last year. Different groups, (some of the) same flaws. As I said, I hope like crazy they can produce the needed results starting Monday. I hope the pathetic slop that was exhibited vs Pace ends up being not indicative of anything at all.

My biggest concern is our senior hasn’t shown any indication in 2 games that he is ready to be a leader. You don't have to be the best player , but you have to be the hardest worker on the team. He still appears to be the same player he has been the last 2 years.
That isn't good enough.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Those who are taking anything away from the exhibitions in a negative way is psychotic. They are exhibitions. They care about getting better and playing well but some of these takes about the team and blah blah are literally insane. In the golf world, you play practice rounds before the tournaments begin. Guess how much I cared about how well I played in practice rounds- IT DID NOT MATTER. I waited until the tournament began to actually care. Let’s wait to see how these games play out before everyone loses their mind again

I think what really chapped my ass against Pace was George and JJ just walking around going 50%. Rewatch the beginning of those games, they did not break a sweat and neither of them have earned that right. It set the tone for the rest of the team and Sadiq and Freeman had to bail them out.

I was with the wait and see crowd but the guard play just really frustrated me and got me real negative last week. These 4 cupcakes need to be blowouts before Vegas. If they let teams hang around and I'm going to get real critical of Autry real fast in early November.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Watching the exhibition games I was left with 2 thoughts
- We have the talent
- We can’t coast for 25-30 minutes of a game like Wednesday. You could see the intensity difference in the last 10 minutes , it was palpable. Float for 20 minutes in Vegas and we’re down by 25 .

Absolutely right !!!

 

[IthacaMatt]

My biggest concern is our senior hasn’t shown any indication in 2 games that he is ready to be a leader. You don't have to be the best player , but you have to be the hardest worker on the team. He still appears to be the same player he has been the last 2 years.
That isn't good enough.

JJ doesn't have to be a leader. He just has to be a good teammate. He's not the best player on this team, and we don't want him to play like he thinks he has to prove that to the other guys. That's all destructive. Just fit in. Take what the game gives you. Be more zen.

 

[hoopsupstate]

JJ doesn't have to be a leader. He just has to be a good teammate. He's not the best player on this team, and we don't want him to play like he thinks he has to prove that to the other guys. That's all destructive. Just fit in. Take what the game gives you. Be more zen.

He just needs to be aggressive attacking the rim on offense and finding open teammates. He also needs to work hard keeping his man in front.

 

[tptcuse]

Those who are taking anything away from the exhibitions in a negative way is psychotic. They are exhibitions. They care about getting better and playing well but some of these takes about the team and blah blah are literally insane. In the golf world, you play practice rounds before the tournaments begin. Guess how much I cared about how well I played in practice rounds- IT DID NOT MATTER. I waited until the tournament began to actually care. Let’s wait to see how these games play out before everyone loses their mind again

I’m curious why you say taking anything negative from these games is psychotic. Should we have taken away anything positive (other than Sadiq)?

 

[HyattsCuse]

The last 10 minutes of the Pace game gave me some relief that they showed they can blow out the cupcakes. I’m hoping the team talks, at least a little bit, about the importance of blowing out the quad 4 teams as far as NET goes and that helps keep the energy level high now that the games count.

 

[Bulldog04]

I’m curious why you say taking anything negative from these games is psychotic. Should we have taken away anything positive (other than Sadiq)?

They just don’t matter. Psychologically for a division 1 athlete when you know the game doesn’t matter, it’s hard to be motivated. It’s like asking a pga tour player to treat the Pro Am like the real tourney. It’s just not a thing

 

[tptcuse]

They just don’t matter. Psychologically for a division 1 athlete when you know the game doesn’t matter, it’s hard to be motivated. It’s like asking a pga tour player to treat the Pro Am like the real tourney. It’s just not a thing

I meant, if we won by 40 would you be saying that we should be happy about it? Just curious your perspective.

 

[Bulldog04]

I meant, if we won by 40 would you be saying that we should be happy about it? Just curious your perspective.

I just care more about the potential possibility than the outcome. But I get what you’re saying. Should they have won by 40, yes. But I think people are just anxious about the season lol

 

[CardiacCuse]

Just seems like a number of you want to bury him before he starts the season. Reminds of the those posters who wanted Boeheim to retire the last 4-5 years of his career.



If he fails, then you are right. Why be a critic for an entire season? What good does it do?

i get what youre saying and its why im trying not to go too far with my posts

BUT

a good team blows out pace and buffalo and wins by 40 or 50

PLUS

we're seeing a lot of the exact same issues we have seen plaguing reds first 2 years. a lot of the frustration is the hope that red might have gotten the hint and course-corrected/improved on some of his weaknesses in the offseason...and it doesnt seem like it

exhibtions are exhibtions and they dont really matter. its true.

seems like red is banking on an improved roster but the same methods he has used the 1st 2 seasons - which I think most of us would say simply isnt going to cut it.

people arent criticizing to criticize. they are seeing legit issues and raising them.

but i hear you. i do. i think the noise around the team from fans definitely gets to the team/coach/players and impacts their performances/vibes etc. so in that sense...we really should just only say positive things and send support...it would really be an interesting experiment. i think it would go well. IF we could somehow wrap the entire program in a "positivity bubble" I think it would have significant impacts on the final outcome of the season...i mean these guys are humans and they wanna make people happy.

 

[oldpinepoint]

They just don’t matter. Psychologically for a division 1 athlete when you know the game doesn’t matter, it’s hard to be motivated. It’s like asking a pga tour player to treat the Pro Am like the real tourney. It’s just not a thing

You are playing someone other than your teammate for the first time in months. They should want to rip their heads off. These 4 games before Vegas will tell us all we need to know about the season.

 

[RedtheGOB]

You are playing someone other than your teammate for the first time in months. They should want to rip their heads off. These 4 games before Vegas will tell us all we need to know about the season.

Facts. The funny part is that we literally saw Sadiq almost rip someone’s head off in his first game. Watch the Pace game back when got in, he literally blocked a Pace guy at the rim into the ground with a 2 handed hulk smash. The ref actually pulled him aside after and told him to chill. Wasn’t a foul on him either, it was clean.

Said before we may need the youngins to lead this team from the front court. Mainly Freeman and Sadiq. Even Kiyan if he can get the turnover and his Defense under control will be a huge asset at the dome. That place is going to get nuts every shot he makes.

 

[jncuse]

Part of the reason the ACC has been getting 4 instead of 7 or 8 bids to the NCAAs these past few years is because we are not running up the score in pre-season tomato can games, and the SEC and B1G most certainly do.

That's the difference, and how many bids conferences are going to get will be pretty much determined by Christmas.

I hate that about the NCAA, these past few years. Computer rankings have become too powerful. They distort reality, according to your choices in the algorithm.

Computer rankings really did not distort the reality about the ACC in the past year. Especially in comparison to the SEC. Not saying the NET does not have flaws due to Q4 margin. but it really had little to do with the ACC treatment in 23/24 and 24/25.

The reason the ACC couldn't keep up the score in Q4 games like the SEC was the fact that we were nowhere near as good. As of December 20th last year, when I stopped tracking.
ACC was 4-29 against the SEC
ACC was 9-36 in Q1 games. SEC was 28-18.
ACC won 26% of Q1+Q2 games. SEC won 69%.

In the 23/24 season the ACC had a putrid amount of Q3/Q4 losses which of course hurt its margin.

That is what showed how limited the conference was. Syracuse didn't to great in Q4 games margin wise, because as we found out against more quality teams we were not that good.

Now yes the B12 does seem to have a way of relatively excelling in Q4 games which has helped them a lot NET wise. Their Q4 margins were basically on par with the SEC and B10, but those other two did far better in Q1+Q2 especially the SEC. But they are the only real outlier here.

I agree its important that Syracuse (and the ACC to benefit Syracuse) do well in Q4 games and keep the pedal to the medal. The NET has some holes in it. But it was not the reason at all that the ACC got limited seeds last year.

The ability to dominate is often just a function of how bad (or good) you are as a conference. But you have to maximize that ability whatever it is.

 

[jncuse]

While I agree we need to blow out Q4 teams, that is not the only reason the ACC is not getting more bids. The conference W/L against the BIG and SEC has been rather horrendous as of late. So it’s not exactly some conspiracy plot against us recently.

You are correct. The ACC was just not good all over the place last year. The ACC won 26% of our games in Q1+Q2, or that we went 4-29 against the SEC (as of December 20th last year). Or that we had 10 more bad losses in 2023/2024 than any other power conference.

I'm a numbers guy - and the NET has real issues which I carefully analyze in comparison to other results (and the B12 has benefitted from the NET) - but you have to understand the context of them in relation to other results which Matt is not really doing in my view.

 

[jncuse]

Regarding margins if we are a bubble team
a) we can get away with a few slipups margin wise, because it still comes down to quality of wins / record in your resume. As long as your NET is not 65 or 70+, and you have the good resume, win and loss wise, you can still get in.
b) that being said we need the margin for the ACC as a whole is more important, because that will drive the number of our Q1 and Q2 chances in conference play.

And finally margin is often not a choice. It typically (not always) reflects how good you are as a team. I'm not worried about the NET when we talk about getting nice margins in these early games. I'm more worried about what it may say about the team's ability.

 

[Niastri]

Regarding margins if we are a bubble team
a) we can get away with a few slipups margin wise, because it still comes down to quality of wins / record in your resume. As long as your NET is not 65 or 70+, and you have the good resume, win and loss wise, you can still get in.
b) that being said we need the margin for the ACC as a whole is more important, because that will drive the number of our Q1 and Q2 chances in conference play.

And finally margin is often not a choice. It typically (not always) reflects how good you are as a team. I'm not worried about the NET when we talk about getting nice margins in these early games. I'm more worried about what it may say about the team's ability.

I really appreciate your NET breakdowns. I learned a lot from you last season. I hope you continue them this season.

They just don’t matter. Psychologically for a division 1 athlete when you know the game doesn’t matter, it’s hard to be motivated. It’s like asking a pga tour player to treat the Pro Am like the real tourney. It’s just not a thing

One thing that has a lot of fans on edge is that between now and December, our season could be functionally over. 5 close wins against cupcakes and four blowout losses in Vegas and against Tennessee and our NCAA chances are done.

In spite of this, Red is still coaching the exhibitions like they don't matter.

They do matter. We really needed to get ourselves together before the first real game, and Red playing guys big minutes in the preseason that aren't going to play much the regular season isn't helping us get ready.

We can't have a bunch of close early season games and hurt our NET ranking right out of the gate.

 

[Goin' Deep]

The coaching philosophy should be we play hard, we keep our foot on the gas until we lead by 25.
Autry and co. need to find the (top) 8 players that will get this team there.
Leading by 25 every game is not practical...I know. But if that intended target gets us to 10 pt. victories 75% of the time, we're in business.
There has been major turnover on our roster. Autry and Co. need to demand more of this crop of players. Last year, it was around game 9 of the season in a post game press conference, Autry stated we need to work on some things,,,,Really...after 2+ months of practice, now is the time to work on some things??
Speaking of 25...that ought to be Autry's goal...a top 25 ranking.
The rest will be taken care of...

 

[FrancoPizza]

It is kind of a consensus If Red fails in his coaching, he will be gone after this season. If he coaches well and the team does well, he will be back next season.

For him to get an extension this season needs to be a slam dunk winner. Top 5 seed in the tourney, top 3-4 finish in ACC. That’s a season that should be the bar.

It would be a disaster for the program long term if he squeaks this team into the NCAAs, flames out in round 1, but John uses that as an excuse to extend him. He is close to retirement and may very well leave it up to the next AD to clean up this mess.

 

[MSOrange]

They just don’t matter. Psychologically for a division 1 athlete when you know the game doesn’t matter, it’s hard to be motivated. It’s like asking a pga tour player to treat the Pro Am like the real tourney. It’s just not a thing

By that same token, how do the coaches who are known as tough practice coaches somehow get their players motivated for that? Practices don't matter on the record, but the really good coaches are able to do it somehow.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I really appreciate your NET breakdowns. I learned a lot from you last season. I hope you continue then this season.



One thing that has a lot of fans on edge is that between now and December, our season could be functionally over. 5 close wins against cupcakes and four blowout losses in Vegas and against Tennessee and our NCAA chances are done.

In spite of this, Red is still coaching the exhibitions like they don't matter.

They do matter. We really needed to get ourselves together before the first real game, and Red playing guys big minutes in the preseason that aren't going to play much the regular season isn't helping us get ready.

We can't have a bunch of close early season games and hurt our NET ranking right out of the gate.

100% agree it can go south quick if we look suspect in the 10 cupcake games. However I do actually think we are way more likely to still be relevant into January just because of our very reasonable schedule at the dome.

5 ACC games at the dome none against the top of the league. GTech, Pitt, BC on the road in Jan. Again all favorable games. NCState late Jan on the road will be a good ACC test to see if we're even close to the bubble.

We went 5-5 Autry's Freshman year and 3-7 last year to start ACC play and were a mess by Feb. I believe we can go anywhere between 9-1 and 7-3 this Jan. Obviously we need quality wins but early on I just feel like this team needs to just stack wins and stay relevant.

Then February is a gauntlet but we hope that we can steal some wins against the top of the league.

 

[RedtheGOB]

For him to get an extension this season needs to be a slam dunk winner. Top 5 seed in the tourney, top 3-4 finish in ACC. That’s a season that should be the bar.

It would be a disaster for the program long term if he squeaks this team into the NCAAs, flames out in round 1, but John uses that as an excuse to extend him. He is close to retirement and may very well leave it up to the next AD to clean up this mess.

While I agree, I have to say Autry is in no position to demand anything or go anywhere either.

A first round tourney flameout may buy him 1 more year from JW for 10 cents on the dollar what the replacement will cost. Also if Autry keeps the band together there's alot of pieces coming back possibly Sadiq/Kiyan/Freeman/George. I think it's going to be real hard to turnover Autry if these 4 sit down and say we want 1 more year with Autry to make a deeper run next year. These are all whatif's obviously and say the odds of that are real low.

 

[CbusCuse]

I really appreciate your NET breakdowns. I learned a lot from you last season. I hope you continue then this season.



One thing that has a lot of fans on edge is that between now and December, our season could be functionally over. 5 close wins against cupcakes and four blowout losses in Vegas and against Tennessee and our NCAA chances are done.

In spite of this, Red is still coaching the exhibitions like they don't matter.

They do matter. We really needed to get ourselves together before the first real game, and Red playing guys big minutes in the preseason that aren't going to play much the regular season isn't helping us get ready.

We can't have a bunch of close early season games and hurt our NET ranking right out of the gate.

I agree with this and how the exhibitions do matter to get your team to be 100% ready for the start of the season. But he can’t just play what he thinks are his primary starters. It it seems part of playing exhibitions is also finding out which players those certainly are and what the best alternate lineups are. We have just 2 guys returning back this season so a bunch of unknowns. Red has seen them play in practice, but game situations against other teams has to have value too.

With this in mind, It does seem like having an additional closed door exhibition could have been very beneficial in that regard. I know some teams have done this. Just having an additional opportunity to explore these things and gain chemistry before the start.

There is no doubt that the games in the beginning of the season against other conferences are the most important for the ACC.

 

[Bayside44]

I really appreciate your NET breakdowns. I learned a lot from you last season. I hope you continue then this season.



One thing that has a lot of fans on edge is that between now and December, our season could be functionally over. 5 close wins against cupcakes and four blowout losses in Vegas and against Tennessee and our NCAA chances are done.

In spite of this, Red is still coaching the exhibitions like they don't matter.

They do matter. We really needed to get ourselves together before the first real game, and Red playing guys big minutes in the preseason that aren't going to play much the regular season isn't helping us get ready.

We can't have a bunch of close early season games and hurt our NET ranking right out of the gate.

This board is a bundle of contradictions.

We should've had a 3rd string frosh QB up to speed and somehow become a lot more athletic in 6 weeks, but guys 8-10 on the hoops team shouldn't see game experience in a sport where fouls can add up quickly.

JB in the early season games ran guys out there all the time to see what they had before he Boeheim-ed them