I think this year will be ok if

[two3zone]

To my knowledge it was an individual who stepped in to cover Eddie’s “cost”. Whether that impacted our “budget”, I have no clue. But bridging the gap didn’t come from what was our budget at the time.

What a stupidly wild time. Im surprised any of us like college sports still.

Your last sentence is where I think interest is swinging in the wrong direction and fast. It's getting tough for me and I'm sure you and others, I hope they figure out a way to fix this.

 

[billsin01]

Where's the talent? Not one of them is talented on defense and their other flaws are wildly apparent, what exactly are we talented at?

Yeah, red is certainly a bit concerning from a coaching standpoint, but the talent just doesn’t seem to be here either

 

[Bulldog04]

We have the talent

Our team looks last, uninspired and quite frankly unprepared.

Red seems to really be struggling with X’s and O’s

I think he’s trying to figure out right lineups and everything and that’s been the biggest struggle. Hard to run the x and o when you don’t know where they fit just yet. The defensive effort is quite concerning however and he knows it

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think he’s trying to figure out right lineups and everything and that’s been the biggest struggle. Hard to run the x and o when you don’t know where they fit just yet. The defensive effort is quite concerning however and he knows it

The hockey subs need to stop. Cuffe can’t play. Taylor should be a defensive specialist. Carlos might have to see the bench. He has to find a way to play Davis, Moore and Freeman at the same time. Zone may be the way to go with this team.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

To my knowledge it was an individual who stepped in to cover Eddie’s “cost”. Whether that impacted our “budget”, I have no clue. But bridging the gap didn’t come from what was our budget at the time.

What a stupidly wild time. Im surprised any of us like college sports still.

There was alway $$. Now it’s in the daylight.

 

[kingtidge]

This is very obvious so far, to me.

I don’t have pitchforks out, but it’s not good so far.

Defensive issues aside (and they are BIG issues), Straughn was supposed to be the guy to craft the offense X/O schemes and identity.

Based on last year's headcases and Judah being Judah (i.e. I'ma just gonna ISO everything and showcase myself), I gave the coaches a pass last year on that. They clearly didn't have key inherited players bought-in and those players needed to go.

My expectations this year is that we'd have players bought-in and running the offense the coaches want.

Early days, but I have no discernable idea what the offense is or what they are trying to do.

It certainly needs to get a lot better.

 

[DoctahLexus]

In many ways the most discouraging thing was the complete standing around on offense in crunch time in the second half. Yes certain players are probably not doing what they are supposed to, yes Carlos is not able to beat his man off the dribble like Mintz, but to not even see guys setting any kind of organized picks or offball cuts when we needed points is so demoralizing. We let the l shot clock get down to 10 seconds before a desperate 1v1 look on several strait possessions. Really a horrible look for Red

 

[albanycuse]

I think he’s trying to figure out right lineups and everything and that’s been the biggest struggle. Hard to run the x and o when you don’t know where they fit just yet. The defensive effort is quite concerning however and he knows it

That’s what he said in the presser about he sure was fired up and on edge like he was about to explode. Love the passion, hope he figures it out asap!

 

[djcon57]

We have the talent

Do we though?

 

[Bulldog04]

That’s what he said in the presser about he sure was fired up and on edge like he was about to explode. Love the passion, hope he figures it out asap!

I know he let the team have it last night hence him being “fired up” at the presser

 

[cusefan88]

I know he let the team have it last night hence him being “fired up” at the presser

He probably light them up at HT considering how well they started the 2nd half. Hopefully with more data on lineups and +/- they can find the right combos soon.

 

[billsin01]

The hockey subs need to stop. Cuffe can’t play. Taylor should be a defensive specialist. Carlos might have to see the bench. He has to find a way to play Davis, Moore and Freeman at the same time. Zone may be the way to go with this team.

I'd go a step further -- I'd not only say they have to play zone ... at least some zone, but I'd also say they should have known they needed to play zone the day they learned their lineup was going to include Bell, Lampkin, Starling, and a true frosh.

Carlos may just need more time to figure this out. He strikes me as a kid who has nice defensive instincts and decent feel on offense, but he has to figure out how to score against higher level competition and how to play consistently on the other end. Not saying it will ever look perfect, but not sure Moore/Cuffe/Taylor will be upgrades on the whole. Don't love JJ handling the ball a ton either.

 

[FrancoPizza]

This team has me scared we wont even be a .500 team unless someone averages close to 20 a game. And the only one who has the potential and skillset is Freeman.

If we're going to go below .500 we might as well tank and get the first pick in the 2025 Coaching draft.

 

[Tony DeFranco]

I'd go a step further -- I'd not only say they have to play zone ... at least some zone, but I'd also say they should have known they needed to play zone the day they learned their lineup was going to include Bell, Lampkin, Starling, and a true frosh.

Carlos may just need more time to figure this out. He strikes me as a kid who has nice defensive instincts and decent feel on offense, but he has to figure out how to score against higher level competition and how to play consistently on the other end. Not saying it will ever look perfect, but not sure Moore/Cuffe/Taylor will be upgrades on the whole. Don't love JJ handling the ball a ton either.

Sample size is small but Carlos is making Girard look like Bruce Bowen - and more importantly he does less on offense - only positives I see are Moore and Freeman both look like they are gonna be good but Freeman was a lock to be good - the only path forward is if Westry can get on the court and that looks bleak

 

[billsin01]

We have a bunch of pieces that would be 6-7-8 in the rotation on a competent P4 team. Combine that with poor Xs and Os and this is what you get.

Yeah, I have said this a ton and I get that it's probably pointless to keep posting it, but you need basketball players. This is what you get when you spend the entire offseason saying 'we need shooting, a big with size and offense, and a point guard.'

It's not that those sentiments are wrong ... it's that they are incomplete. You need a system that is capable of working on both ends and can be tailored, at least to some extent, to the players you have AND you need guys that bring a variety of skills and traits to the floor.

This is why I was disappointed to lose Copeland. Not a perfect player, but for wahtever his flaws, Copeland was a guy who brought energy, athleticism and creativity as a playmaker to the floor. He was also long enough and athletic enough to create problems defensively. Yes, his play was erratic and, obviously, if he's failing out and/or a big problem off the court, far be it from me to argue for keeping him around. But you still miss those attributes.

We just don't have enough guys who bring enough to the floor to help the entire team be greater than specifically the sum of it's parts.

 

[billsin01]

Sample size is small but Carlos is making Girard look like Bruce Bowen - and more importantly he does less on offense - only positives I see are Moore and Freeman both look like they are gonna be good but Freeman was a lock to be good - the only path forward is if Westry can get on the court and that looks bleak

Fair point. Westry won't solve this, though. This is as much a systemic problem as it is a talent problem. I get how depressing that is and I'm rooting for Red, but we literally do nothing schematically on defense that disrupts what an opponent wants to do. So we don't have individuals doing that (like we did with Brown and Copeland and, when he felt like it, Judah last year) and we don't have a system that helps us do it either. It's a brutal situation.

 

[cuseincincy]

First off, he doesn't have to be that good. I'm sure he will end up helping at some point but until he takes the floor he is not a part of the equation for me.
So to answer the question...

1. JJ and Choppa are able to be the primary backcourt.
2. Donnie Freeman can contribute like the #6 recruit in the country.
3. Red finds a way for this team to play effective defense. The difference in defensive intensity between SU and the UK/Duke game last night is startling.

 

[IthacaMatt]

When kids don’t hustle back on D and the coach doesn’t even get up and yell at them he’s not cut out for the job. Lack of hustle and effort is on him.

Early returns this season look poor.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah, red is certainly a bit concerning from a coaching standpoint, but the talent just doesn’t seem to be here either

I disagree with this, by a mile. Talent is not the problem on this team.

Center: Hima / McLeod (both injured) / Maliq Brown versus Eddie, Petar, Freeman

PF: Brown / Benny Williams / Justin Taylor. vs. Freeman / Petar / Jyare Davis

SF: Last year's Chris Bell vs. this year - he's been better at all the other aspects of his game, aside from 3 pt shooting so far in 4 games, including the exhibitions.

SG: Last year: JJ, Copeland. vs. JJ / Choppa. Too early to tell. If we get Westry and he can contribute, this year will look pretty good.

PG: Was the whole team last year Judah Mintz? Because, boy, he seemed like most of the problem to me. Carlos looked great in that one exhibition, but has looked overmatched in every other game. He can't play 30 minutes. 20 should be his max.

But JJ maybe didn't look bad last year defensively only because of Mintz. That's looking more clear. Mea culpa. I still thought Mintz was worse last year, but that doesn't make JJ good. JJ is also struggling with his role right now, when to assert himself and when to share the ball or defer to the hot guy.

Right now, we don't really have any chemistry, either on offense or defense. This is a work in progress. We are going to get smoked in Brooklyn, and then we'll see how these guys react.

I don't feel like Red is playing the right guys or the right rotations right now. I understand wanting to build chemistry, but you have to have a defensive foundation if you want to win games. You can't just expect to outscore the other guys all the time.

 

[SUalldway]

Red used the same "work in progress" summary in his post-game.

 

[hoopsupstate]

We’ve heard all about the negatives from last night. Here‘s a couple of positives. It’s the first time in four years that we actually had a double digit lead against Colgate in the second half. We actually have some muscle on the interior with Lampkin and Davis. It’s the first time in a while we actually have some ACC size up front with Lampkin, Freeman, Davis, Petar and McLeod. We’re not walking the ball up and down the court. Our half court defense had some real good moments last night. We had breakdowns, but it was better than LeMoyne. We have to get back and communicate. We’re finally going to the offensive boards, so our three wings have to get back.

 

[billsin01]

I disagree with this, by a mile. Talent is not the problem on this team.

Center: Hima / McLeod (both injured) / Maliq Brown versus Eddie, Petar, Freeman

PF: Brown / Benny Williams / Justin Taylor. vs. Freeman / Petar / Jyare Davis

SF: Last year's Chris Bell vs. this year - he's been better at all the other aspects of his game, aside from 3 pt shooting so far in 4 games, including the exhibitions.

SG: Last year: JJ, Copeland. vs. JJ / Choppa. Too early to tell. If we get Westry and he can contribute, this year will look pretty good.

PG: Was the whole team last year Judah Mintz? Because, boy, he seemed like most of the problem to me. Carlos looked great in that one exhibition, but has looked overmatched in every other game. He can't play 30 minutes. 20 should be his max.

But JJ maybe didn't look bad last year defensively only because of Mintz. That's looking more clear. Mea culpa. I still thought Mintz was worse last year, but that doesn't make JJ good. JJ is also struggling with his role right now, when to assert himself and when to share the ball or defer to the hot guy.

Right now, we don't really have any chemistry, either on offense or defense. This is a work in progress. We are going to get smoked in Brooklyn, and then we'll see how these guys react.

I don't feel like Red is playing the right guys or the right rotations right now. I understand wanting to build chemistry, but you have to have a defensive foundation if you want to win games. You can't just expect to outscore the other guys all the time.

I think this same talent could look better in a system more suited to their games. But, to this point, I'm not seeing the talent boost. LeMoyne and a lesser Colgate team took us to the wire and in this past game, we gave up a ton of points in the paint, could not stay in front of their guards, had two steals and two fast break points. If you are genuinely that talented, those numbers should look better on sheer talent alone.

 

[cusefan88]

I thought Choppa Moore played fairly well in extended mins. He kind of runs around like a crazy person but he clearly has a lot of heart, effort, and determination. He's someone that I think will become a key cog pretty soon.

 

[albanycuse]

I thought Choppa Moore played fairly well in extended mins. He kind of runs around like a crazy person but he clearly has a lot of heart, effort, and determination. He's someone that I think will become a key cog pretty soon.

He did well i was pleased. If he can contribute off the bench it would be huge for this team which has no identity or leader yet.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Choppa could be instant offense off the bench.