I have something to admit

[anomander]

I will happily admit that I was dead wrong on my expectations for this years team. The way I looked at it we were basically trading Lydon, and Malachai for an All-ACC Center in Rakeem. I felt Lydon was going to be pretty good, and again I will happily admit I was wrong on my expectations for Malachai, who I thought would have a Freshman year similar to that or Roberson's.

I also think this year is a perfect example as to my Jim Boeheim is a HOF HC. I know everyone, including myself, can get on him with his quick hooks, short benches, and his yelling at players. But the adjustments he made from last year to this year show just how brilliantly he sees the game. He saw what we were last year, and the pieces coming back. Our ineffectiveness from outside was a major problem, and I hate to pile on, but I think JB realized that Kaleb just wasn't capable of being a PG on one of the top teams in the country. He basically bailed on what most people assumed would be our PG of the future, and gave the ball to Mike G, who hasn't exactly been great at PG here. A very good shooting guard, but to give him all the ball handling responsibilities is a whole different thing. I also think people questioned why we didn't recruit another Center (and to be fair Bryant probably would be here if not for the NCAA), but we are now totally reliant on the 3ball (which is scary to think about if this was said same time last year). It's fun to watch having 3 or 4 three point shooters on the floor at all times. Having 2 fifth year Seniors in the backcourt at a school like Syracuse is unheard of. I think the combination of young, and veteran guys, mixed with their styles of play is a perfect combination. I am ashamed to admit that I thought this years team would have a similar record to last years team, which wouldn't have made the NCAA tournament. Now I think the sky's the limit for this team. I think this is easily a top 12 team in the country, and has of good as a chance of anyone to win 6 straight when it really matters.

It's good to have national title hopes again, and I fully expect this to be a team with a top 3 seed come March.

Let's go Orange!

 

[bevosu]

I'm with you. My preseason expectations were pretty low. I'm surprised that we've looked as good as we have.

I like G at PG. I think he has a good BB IQ and he seems to keep everyone's head into the game. Cool, calm, and collected, without a lot of spazzy PG play.

 

[Jake]

I thought they'd be fun to watch. Never saw this tourney win coming.

Still view it as a building block year, but unless Kaleb / Howsrd step up...,next year will be run by a frosh PG.

Might have to make a run this year.

 

[CorduroyG]

I thought they'd be fun to watch. Never saw this tourney win coming.

Still view it as a building block year, but unless Kaleb / Howsrd step up...,next year will be run by a frosh PG.

Might have to make a run this year.

Yup. Thats why i dont get some posters talking about how special next year's team will be. Losing cooney and G will be enormous shoes to fill. And theres no guarantee MR and lydon are both back.

Now if you tell me MR and lydon are both back and battle will step in at pg and have a frosh year like ennis then yes next year could be special. But thats 3 big ifs.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I will happily admit that I was dead wrong on my expectations for this years team. The way I looked at it we were basically trading Lydon, and Malachai for an All-ACC Center in Rakeem. I felt Lydon was going to be pretty good, and again I will happily admit I was wrong on my expectations for Malachai, who I thought would have a Freshman year similar to that or Roberson's.

I also think this year is a perfect example as to my Jim Boeheim is a HOF HC. I know everyone, including myself, can get on him with his quick hooks, short benches, and his yelling at players. But the adjustments he made from last year to this year show just how brilliantly he sees the game. He saw what we were last year, and the pieces coming back. Our ineffectiveness from outside was a major problem, and I hate to pile on, but I think JB realized that Kaleb just wasn't capable of being a PG on one of the top teams in the country. He basically bailed on what most people assumed would be our PG of the future, and gave the ball to Mike G, who hasn't exactly been great at PG here. A very good shooting guard, but to give him all the ball handling responsibilities is a whole different thing. I also think people questioned why we didn't recruit another Center (and to be fair Bryant probably would be here if not for the NCAA), but we are now totally reliant on the 3ball (which is scary to think about if this was said same time last year). It's fun to watch having 3 or 4 three point shooters on the floor at all times. Having 2 fifth year Seniors in the backcourt at a school like Syracuse is unheard of. I think the combination of young, and veteran guys, mixed with their styles of play is a perfect combination. I am ashamed to admit that I thought this years team would have a similar record to last years team, which wouldn't have made the NCAA tournament. Now I think the sky's the limit for this team. I think this is easily a top 12 team in the country, and has of good as a chance of anyone to win 6 straight when it really matters.

It's good to have national title hopes again, and I fully expect this to be a team with a top 3 seed come March.

Let's go Orange!

Nice mea culpa but I'll take the other side of this.

You NEVER know what you are going to get with freshmen. Paul Harris was superman. Flynn was here just because of Harris. Ennis came out of nowhere.

And I don't yet see a 3 seed. We shot 45% from 3 against UConn and A&M. Is that sustainable? Can we grind out games where we don't shoot well?

I think we need to find some more depth and an inside game before we start thinking about that rarified air in March.

Much to like about this team but still a ways to go.

 

[rocklloyd]

I'll admit it, I wasn't sure G could pull off point guard but he appears to have a sold grasp on position.

 

[anomander]

Nice mea culpa but I'll take the other side of this.

You NEVER know what you are going to get with freshmen. Paul Harris was superman. Flynn was here just because of Harris. Ennis came out of nowhere.

And I don't yet see a 3 seed. We shot 45% from 3 against UConn and A&M. Is that sustainable? Can we grind out games where we don't shoot well?

I think we need to find some more depth and an inside game before we start thinking about that rarified air in March.

Much to like about this team but still a ways to go.

You're right we shot 50% vs Charlotte, and 45% vs UConn, and A&M. I do think we are a good shooting team, but we aren't going to shoot +40% every game. I do think 35-38% is very attainable though, and that will win you a whole bunch of ball games. One of the reasons I am so high is because I see a lot of room for improvement on the defensive side. Come March it will be all about match ups, but there are usually teams you can write off, and I don't think we are one.

I guess i'm just pleasantly surprised because I wasn't expecting this at all.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Nice mea culpa but I'll take the other side of this.

You NEVER know what you are going to get with freshmen. Paul Harris was superman. Flynn was here just because of Harris. Ennis came out of nowhere.

And I don't yet see a 3 seed. We shot 45% from 3 against UConn and A&M. Is that sustainable? Can we grind out games where we don't shoot well?

I think we need to find some more depth and an inside game before we start thinking about that rarified air in March.

Much to like about this team but still a ways to go.

Remember, Pitino teams over the years have relied heavily on threes, and that strategy has been pretty good to him. Same with K. The key is having more than one pure shooter, which Ricky and K have always had. The years they haven't, they have struggled. We have 4 bonafide shooters that are threats to get hot at any minute. Very rarely will all four be 'off' in one game. If they are, then bad news. But the odds are in our favor that 2 or more will have good nights most of the time. And each can make plays going to the basket. We need Coleman to become a scoring threat inside, and a rebounding machine that can stay out of foul trouble. If Roberson can increase his range and consistency, we would be nearly unguardable in offensive sets. A&M was begging Robe to shoot all game long, but he didn't bite. But imagine if he was a dead-eye like Lydon? Holy crap, he'd have had 20 and 10 each game with ease.

I wouldn't be so concerned about the reliance on the three because we have the shooting consistency and the off-the-dribble playmakers to make that kind of offense effective. The concern is getting that inside presence and keeping up on the boards.

 

[721Comstock]

Yup. Thats why i dont get some posters talking about how special next year's team will be. Losing cooney and G will be enormous shoes to fill. And theres no guarantee MR and lydon are both back.

Now if you tell me MR and lydon are both back and battle will step in at pg and have a frosh year like ennis then yes next year could be special. But thats 3 big ifs.

Hate to say it, but it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Battle steps in at PG and has a Frosh year like Ennis.
First off, Ennis was ridiculously polished and poised as a Frosh.
Secondly, and more importantly - Battle isn't a pure PG. He's a combo guard.
So, while it's likely there is a lot of stuff Battle can/will do that Ennis could never dream of - running the team like Ennis did, probably won't be one of them, at least not right away.

With as well as Silent G is playing this year, he is going to be VERY hard to replace next year.
Never thought I'd be saying that about him as our PG, but there you are.

Let's hope Frank and Kaleb can keep improving, and one of them takes over the reins next year, with Battle at the 2, and backing up the 1.

 

[realorange]

Hate to say it, but it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Battle steps in at PG and has a Frosh year like Ennis.
First off, Ennis was ridiculously polished and poised as a Frosh.
Secondly, and more importantly - Battle isn't a pure PG. He's a combo guard.
So, while it's likely there is a lot of stuff Battle can/will do that Ennis could never dream of - running the team like Ennis did, probably won't be one of them, at least not right away.

With as well as Silent G is playing this year, he is going to be VERY hard to replace next year.
Never thought I'd be saying that about him as our PG, but there you are.

Let's hope Frank and Kaleb can keep improving, and one of them takes over the reins next year, with Battle at the 2, and backing up the 1.

I think you have found the key that others are forgetting. Frank has done more good than bad in his opportunities. The potential is definitely there for him and Battle to form another great tandem.

 

[longtimefan]

Still view it as a building block year, but unless Kaleb / Howsrd step up...,next year will be run by a frosh PG.

Or maybe one of those 5th-year graduate guys?

 

[CusefanATL]

I will happily admit that I was dead wrong on my expectations for this years team. The way I looked at it we were basically trading Lydon, and Malachai for an All-ACC Center in Rakeem. I felt Lydon was going to be pretty good, and again I will happily admit I was wrong on my expectations for Malachai, who I thought would have a Freshman year similar to that or Roberson's.

I also think this year is a perfect example as to my Jim Boeheim is a HOF HC. I know everyone, including myself, can get on him with his quick hooks, short benches, and his yelling at players. But the adjustments he made from last year to this year show just how brilliantly he sees the game. He saw what we were last year, and the pieces coming back. Our ineffectiveness from outside was a major problem, and I hate to pile on, but I think JB realized that Kaleb just wasn't capable of being a PG on one of the top teams in the country. He basically bailed on what most people assumed would be our PG of the future, and gave the ball to Mike G, who hasn't exactly been great at PG here. A very good shooting guard, but to give him all the ball handling responsibilities is a whole different thing. I also think people questioned why we didn't recruit another Center (and to be fair Bryant probably would be here if not for the NCAA), but we are now totally reliant on the 3ball (which is scary to think about if this was said same time last year). It's fun to watch having 3 or 4 three point shooters on the floor at all times. Having 2 fifth year Seniors in the backcourt at a school like Syracuse is unheard of. I think the combination of young, and veteran guys, mixed with their styles of play is a perfect combination. I am ashamed to admit that I thought this years team would have a similar record to last years team, which wouldn't have made the NCAA tournament. Now I think the sky's the limit for this team. I think this is easily a top 12 team in the country, and has of good as a chance of anyone to win 6 straight when it really matters.

It's good to have national title hopes again, and I fully expect this to be a team with a top 3 seed come March.

Let's go Orange!

Sometimes you can only go on facts. And the facts were we seriously struggled with Lehigh, St Bonny, Elon and to an extent Charlotte. Lehigh is pretty good for a mid major but not great. The other 3 are not good.

That being said there is a lot to take from beating Uconn and Tex AM. Great 3 days for us.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Sometimes you can only go on facts. And the facts were we seriously struggled with Lehigh, St Bonny, Elon and to an extent Charlotte. Lehigh is pretty good for a mid major but not great. The other 3 are not good.

That being said there is a lot to take from beating Uconn and Tex AM. Great 3 days for us.

The Bonnie's are pretty good. That probably will end up being a top 100 win.

 

[Antiprodigy]

With the 2-3 taking at least a year for kids to learn, I don't see SU going the 5th grad student route much. Historically speaking, It doesn't bode well for many players to step in and play like you are hoping a 5th yr might.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Whoa.
Kinda on board with the 'happily surprised' thing. But calling JB "brilliant" because of some adjustments that were essentially forced upon him is a bit reachy.

Kaleb was never intended to be our starting PG. Ennis left earlier than anyone could have predicted, so KJ was the PG by default. And Mike ran the show enough last year that we all had a sense that he could do it if KJ didn't improve enough over the summer. Not sure it's brilliant to recognize our five most effective players do not include KJ or DC. So, what's left? A perimeter-oriented team. By default. Is it 'genius' to see that we don't have a post game?

And, we did recruit a center. He just wasn't allowed to play for us.

I think it's really just a matter of coincidence that Golden State just happened around the same time that we had to field a team with a bunch of good outside shooters and a 'center' who isn't really a center. That's just the general trend/scuttlebutt in basketball this year. Does it take a rocket surgeon to recognize we can't toss it in to the center like we did with Rak? Would a non-HOF coach have just continued to play like we did last year, despite the huge change in personnel?

Top 3 seed would be amazing. Which kinda feels sad to say, actually. I think that's a reach, though. We just played a bit over our heads, and didn't face a great team. It's a measure of sorts, but I don't think we will know what this tourney really meant until the conferences shake out a true top 20. Not seeing us as top 12. I'd be satisfied if we were at 18 or so on Monday, though. But, how do we go up from there with the rest of the schedule... Title hopes? No, sir. But this is still a team that will be as interesting to watch as any we've had. And then we will have to wait to see if we keep Lydon and Mal to build with next year, when we will have more balance and a significantly better interior defense. Post D is what scares the heck out of me now.

 

[osullfam]

The Golden State analogy is a good one, but they only run their small unit in spurts (that said, when they do their +/- is off the charts). Putting aside KJ's 4 minutes, we only played 6 guys last night.
This is a fun team. We'll win some we shouldn't win and lose some we shouldn't lose. Enjoy the ride.

 

[TheCusian]

Whoa. Kinda on board with the 'happily surprised' thing. But calling JB "brilliant" because of some adjustments that were essentially forced upon him is a bit reachy. Kaleb was never intended to be our starting PG. Ennis left earlier than anyone could have predicted, so KJ was the PG by default. And Mike ran the show enough last year that we all had a sense that he could do it if KJ didn't improve enough over the summer. Not sure it's brilliant to recognize our five most effective players do not include KJ or DC. So, what's left? A perimeter-oriented team. By default. Is it 'genius' to see that we don't have a post game? And, we did recruit a center. He just wasn't allowed to play for us. I think it's really just a matter of coincidence that Golden State just happened around the same time that we had to field a team with a bunch of good outside shooters and a 'center' who isn't really a center. That's just the general trend/scuttlebutt in basketball this year. Does it take a rocket surgeon to recognize we can't toss it in to the center like we did with Rak? Would a non-HOF coach have just continued to play like we did last year, despite the huge change in personnel? Top 3 seed would be amazing. Which kinda feels sad to say, actually. I think that's a reach, though. We just played a bit over our heads, and didn't face a great team. It's a measure of sorts, but I don't think we will know what this tourney really meant until the conferences shake out a true top 20. Not seeing us as top 12. I'd be satisfied if we were at 18 or so on Monday, though. But, how do we go up from there with the rest of the schedule... Title hopes? No, sir. But this is still a team that will be as interesting to watch as any we've had. And then we will have to wait to see if we keep Lydon and Mal to build with next year, when we will have more balance and a significantly better interior defense. Post D is what scares the heck out of me now.

You're right. He's brilliant for 30 years of seemingly basic small lineup tweaks that make him a HOF coach. Pinning it all on one year is a stretch. Good thing we have history to stack up next to this year otherwise we might have questions over the mans intelligence.

 

[Alsacs]

We are a solid NCAA tourney team. Which is acceptable and nice after the last year. We are a post player away from being a top 3 seed. I think Coleman needs to be given till January to see if he can develop that this year of if next year is more likely.
Micro-facture surgery takes time for your explosion to come back if it will come back. However, the Coleman these past 3 games has been a real solid player which we need.

I don't think we need depth in the back court. G/Cooney are going to eat the minutes and G can slide to the 3 if we get foul trouble up front.

Our depth
PG- G/Howard
SG- Cooney/Joseph
SF- Richardson/G
PF- Roberson/Lydon
C- Coleman/Lydon

We have 8 guys/ Chuwku and Coleman next year will divide the C minutes and Lydon will play his stretch 4 natural position. Lydon isn't a 1 and done. If Richardson blows up he could but I don't think so right now. The fact Chino has been buried already shows what the staff thinks. Sucks for the team as we need depth but hopefully he can improve to help his Senior year.

Lydon reminds me of Tyler Zeller from UNC. He can shoot a little better than Zeller as well.

 

[CorduroyG]

Sometimes you can only go on facts. And the facts were we seriously struggled with Lehigh, St Bonny, Elon and to an extent Charlotte. Lehigh is pretty good for a mid major but not great. The other 3 are not good.

That being said there is a lot to take from beating Uconn and Tex AM. Great 3 days for us.

We did not struggle against charlotte, come on. That game was over after 10 minutes. And the lehigh game was never in doubt.

 

[Alsacs]

Sometimes you can only go on facts. And the facts were we seriously struggled with Lehigh, St Bonny, Elon and to an extent Charlotte. Lehigh is pretty good for a mid major but not great. The other 3 are not good.

That being said there is a lot to take from beating Uconn and Tex AM. Great 3 days for us.

50-27 at halftime against Charlotte that is really struggling. We were lazy in the 2nd half but that game was over. That is a fact.

We were up 20 at Halftime against Lehigh. That second half was brutal but we won by 10 points.

St.Bonaventure is a A-10 team so they have decent mid-major talent. We rallied and won.

Elon the team was flat and played like garbage. However we won.

I don't expect to blow teams out we don't have much depth. Winning is all that matters and winning B4A was a complete shocker and bonus. If we beat Wisconsin and Georgetown this team has a good chance to go undefeated in the OOC which would be amazing.

 

[CusefanATL]

We did not struggle against charlotte, come on. That game was over after 10 minutes. And the lehigh game was never in doubt.

Did both you and Alsacs miss the "to an extent"

We lost the 2nd half by 10. I dont care about the how or the why, that is struggling "to an extent"

We lost the 2nd half to lehigh by 10. We scored 57 total points. Of course that is struggling.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Boeheim messed with the lineups in a couple of those games. He tried to get okoboh, Joseph, and howard comfortable to be able to produce against good teams. It didn't happen. I think blowouts in basketball are overrated. Many people on the board tried to apply the transitive property to the team and thought we would lose. So what if the transitive property didn't apply and we are better than people thought.

 

[CusefanATL]

Boeheim messed with the lineups in a couple of those games. He tried to get okoboh, Joseph, and howard comfortable to be able to produce against good teams. It didn't happen. I think blowouts in basketball are overrated. Many people on the board tried to apply the transitive property to the team and thought we would lose. So what if the transitive property didn't apply and we are better than people thought.

I kind of agree with you on the lineups but not on the transitive property. The eye test in basketball is a pretty legit way of predicting future success. We ALL saw it in 25-0 year, we just didnt want to admit it until it was hindsight. Maryland is the team that best reminds me of that so far this year. Good team, but not a top 5 team.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I kind of agree with you on the lineups but not on the transitive property. The eye test in basketball is a pretty legit way of predicting future success. We ALL saw it in 25-0 year, we just didnt want to admit it until it was hindsight. Maryland is the team that best reminds me of that so far this year. Good team, but not a top 5 team.

I really don't know what to think this year. A lot of man teams are struggling with the new rules (good thing IMO). Miami had been dominating everyone and lost at home to Northeastern yesterday. Duke was losing to Yale until at home until they played zone the other night. Are those teams worst than we thought or are the mid majors better than they have ever been?

 

[Cusefan0307]

Before this tournament my brother in law who's a high school coach and had multiple kids go D1 (he's 46), said this was Boeheims worst team ever after he saw the Elon game. He remembered coaching against Lydon before he went prep and said the kid was soft and would shy away from big moments. Seeing him in shock every time Lydon would grab a rebound against one of uconn and aTm's bigs was priceless. Even the so called basketball experts had no clue we had this potential.