I really believe this team will be an improvement ...
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pfister1
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I don't think this team will sniff the NCAA tournament. The lack of depth on the frontline is going to be a huge problem. The suspension if it isn't overturned is going to create a big distraction. I want to be optimistic, but I think this team has some big problems that will be tough to overcome and the conference is pretty deep this season.
iommi
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I think the team will be more fun to watch but not necessarily better. It is deeply flawed: no interior defensive presence being a huge issue for a zone team. We will be more wide open on offense but if our outside shots are not falling, we won't have a Rak to dump it to inside and bail us out.
I think many of our games' results will be tied very closely to our field goal percentage. The good news is we have more shooting options. TC will hopefully be more selective with the weight of the world not on his shoulders.
One thing to watch is how good G is in isolation. If he becomes effective taking his man off the dribble, that would be huge.
I think we can be a tourney team but pfister makes a compelling argument why that might not happen.
I think many of our games' results will be tied very closely to our field goal percentage. The good news is we have more shooting options. TC will hopefully be more selective with the weight of the world not on his shoulders.
One thing to watch is how good G is in isolation. If he becomes effective taking his man off the dribble, that would be huge.
I think we can be a tourney team but pfister makes a compelling argument why that might not happen.
Are we weak inside? Yes , esp when you think about depth. But whos going to destroy us down low? Unc? I think yes. Duke and Plumlee, not that scared; TRob has already shown he can play w Jefferson. UVa and Tobey? Not a mismatch for DC imo. Notre Dame and Augusta (sp?) again not a big mismatch for DC. UL and Onuaku? Not that scared. I got SU finsishing 6-7 in ACC and making tourney. But yes it could be a close call even if we stay healthy
iommi
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I'm going to the Battle for Atlantis and am really looking for to it but I'm not looking forward to possibly facing Gonzaga's front line.
Totally agree but you really need to break down the whole shedule. Ie is Wisc going to destroy us down low? I dont see it and they are probably at least a borderline ncaa team. Should be more telling than the gonzo game
iommi
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I was just pointing out that Gonzaga has possibly the best front court, since you were mentioning others on the schedule. I hope we play Gonzaga because that would likely mean we are in the championship game at Atlantis. While I'm on that subject, we play either Michigan or UConn in game 2; do those teams have formidable front courts?
Know nothing about Mich but Uconn has Brimah who will block DC2 s shot all night long, but other than that uconn will play 3 guard lineup yet again so frontcourt is not their strength
orangefan13
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This team could be in the tournament with 11-12 losses. I think people are missing that.
Michigan state made it last year or the year before with 11.
It doesn't help to be rated so low in a season like this maybe we should fight for ranking.
I see us starting off really strong OOC as well.
Michigan state made it last year or the year before with 11.
It doesn't help to be rated so low in a season like this maybe we should fight for ranking.
I see us starting off really strong OOC as well.
When Coleman is out of the game it's going to get ugly in the paint against ACC teams. We don't have a legitimate back up option. And the defense with Coleman may not be all that good compared to what Rak provided.
I agree w you on Rak vs DC2 on paper but we were not a good defensive team last year. At least not nearly as good as 2010-2014. And part of the reeason imo was Rak expended so much energy on Offense carrying the scoring load, he had to take a bit of a rest on D last year. His defense Imo was way better during our FF run than it was last year. I dont think we were very distinquished on D last year and we wont be this year against really good teams. But our O should be better this year
And in terms of when DC is out of the game, i will also say, the jurys still out on whos a better defender, DC or Chino...imo
realorange
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As has been said or inferred, this team will win and lose games based on how many 3's drop. High high's and low low's this year. Just hope there are more highs. Look for the highest scoring average in several years.
I would have to agree, we may lack a rim protector and depth at the 5 but a bunch of 3s usually beats a bunch of 2s- its not nec a recipe for a title but it can be good enough to make the Dance. lets hope we have enough games where we can get good looks and they go down...
Our D will be pretty decent against many many teams in acc imo. Against Unc, duke, UVa? Maybe not? But we dont have to play those teams every game
Obvious that the inside play (scoring and defense) is nothing like what we had at the beginning of last season with Rak and McCullough, or with just Rak in league play. We can get carved up inside.
This team is taller at the guard spots, and will have the equivalent of 3 forwards on the court whenever G is at a guard spot. It has rebounding by committee, and better perimeter defense, especially at the top of the zone.
This team can run better, with Richardson quickly turning a defensive board into a run-out. I believe this team will also press better (though lacking a center who can be a last line of defense). There is more versatility in the rotations, and modestly better depth at all positions except center. I was concerned that guard play (ball handling) would be a challenge with G and Cooney, but Richardson is a better ball handler than I was assuming.
All we have is two exhibitions, against weak opponents. But KJ looks much improved as a shooter; and Lydon also shoots well with range. We had no firepower off the bench last season, so this will be a big improvement.
So, yes, if Coleman stays healthy, this is a better, more versatile team that should play in March.
This team is taller at the guard spots, and will have the equivalent of 3 forwards on the court whenever G is at a guard spot. It has rebounding by committee, and better perimeter defense, especially at the top of the zone.
This team can run better, with Richardson quickly turning a defensive board into a run-out. I believe this team will also press better (though lacking a center who can be a last line of defense). There is more versatility in the rotations, and modestly better depth at all positions except center. I was concerned that guard play (ball handling) would be a challenge with G and Cooney, but Richardson is a better ball handler than I was assuming.
All we have is two exhibitions, against weak opponents. But KJ looks much improved as a shooter; and Lydon also shoots well with range. We had no firepower off the bench last season, so this will be a big improvement.
So, yes, if Coleman stays healthy, this is a better, more versatile team that should play in March.
Eric15
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I see us losing a couple non-conference games and going around 9-9 or 10-8 in-conference. Making the dance is certainly possible, but I think we will have to scrap and claw and possibly win a game or two in the ACCT.
In a very weird and perverse way, sometimes those types of seasons can be fun every now and then -- it makes you appreciate the wins more.
In a very weird and perverse way, sometimes those types of seasons can be fun every now and then -- it makes you appreciate the wins more.
B
Brooky03
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Even last year's team would have been on the bubble (barely) if eligible for postseason play, and it was arguably the worst team Boeheim has ever coached. I think this year's team is signficantly improved , so even if we don't make the NCAAT, we'll at least be in the conversation. I can't remember the last Syracuse team that wasn't at least on the bubble (within sniffing distance of the NCAAT) heading into the last few games of the season/postseason.
If Coleman gets hurt, yes, we're in big trouble. If Coleman stays healthy, we have enough of a frontcourt to allow us to win games with our backcourt + SF's scoring and defense. Low post play is becoming less and less relevant in college ball. You don't need a dominant post presence for a good offense and most good teams don't really have one, making it less of a necessity on the defensive end. We don't have a rim protector at the 5 like we'd all like, but Roberson is pretty solid when challenging at the rim and Richardson has some damn quick hands.
Coleman's a wide body who can handle his own. He might not perform well against the top tier Centers, but he can handle 75% of the Centers we'll play this season on both sides of the ball. Obokoh is a problem only if teams have the personnel to take advantage of him. If we play a team without a scoring Center, they're not going to pound the ball inside to him just because Obokoh is in there. We wouldn't give the ball to Keita even if a team had a 6'6" Center in the game, after all. He'll struggle against forwards slashing to the rim, but that can be partially made up for with more active defense from the others in the zone.
Lydon is also underrated at the position. Granted, we don't want to be relying on a skinny freshman playing out of position, but he can block shots, chase down boards, and create a helluva mismatch on the offensive end. It also seems that we'll have fresher players on the court than last season which should allow our defense to play much more aggressively.
3-point shooting is huge in college ball and we finally have it. I think we get into the NCAAT easily (barring a DC2 injury).
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pearl31
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respect your opinion but I think you're way off here. We'll see
mark79
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Agree. One way to potentially negate our weak interior defense is to use one of our great strengths which is the size of our guards. If (and it is a big if) we can get the kind of guard play that we had when we trounced Indiana in the tournament a couple of years ago, opposing guards will not even be able to get the ball inside. I'm talking a swarming / trapping kind of D ala the Indiana game. Best D I ever saw us play. We find a way to play that kind of D especially by our guards and forwards and maybe we can survive a few of the bigger teams like UNC.pearl31 said:
QUSE
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Best guard depth since 11-12 with 2 fifth year seniors in the backcourt;
4-5 legit 3 pt threats and ball handlers/creators vs 2 or 3 at most the previous 3 seasons;
Servable bodies in the paint. There's few offensively talented bigs in current cbb landscape. Last time somebody really gave us trouble in the paint was Jared Sullinger;
This isn't Syracuse football, we're have 2 Micky D AA starters, and everyone on the roster sans Chino was a top 80 recruit, we have more talent and better coaching than most schools;
I think we will make the sweet 16 this year
4-5 legit 3 pt threats and ball handlers/creators vs 2 or 3 at most the previous 3 seasons;
Servable bodies in the paint. There's few offensively talented bigs in current cbb landscape. Last time somebody really gave us trouble in the paint was Jared Sullinger;
This isn't Syracuse football, we're have 2 Micky D AA starters, and everyone on the roster sans Chino was a top 80 recruit, we have more talent and better coaching than most schools;
I think we will make the sweet 16 this year
NorSyr66
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Well the exhibition season is over and it is finally time to get back to basketball. Funny how we all talk about the how the defense is going to suffer this year without Rak but this is a new year and a new team. Recall how inept we looked in games (ie Duke) when Rak could not handle the other team's center. Would have been great to have some outside shooting at that point. Lets see how far the big experienced guards and the vastly improved outside shooting can take us. If Coleman can not stay healthy the team will adjust like last year when they lost McCullough.
GO ORANGE
NKR1978
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I haven't seen the team play, but sounds like the 08 team that could lose games even when they scored in the 90's and I think over 100 to UMass...twice.
High flying, not much defense and little inside presence. Have a feeling we'll look like world beaters one day and like the worst team in the country the next. Should be a fun rollercoaster.
I'd rather lose that way than 53-47.
High flying, not much defense and little inside presence. Have a feeling we'll look like world beaters one day and like the worst team in the country the next. Should be a fun rollercoaster.
I'd rather lose that way than 53-47.
iommi
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We will play very good defense overall but will be very vulnerable to scoring in the post. I think we will force a good deal of turnovers.