i'm grateful

[Millhouse]

had totally resigned myself to "oh well this is how it ends, it's been great, what can you do"

and now we're watching a team that wins because every player on the court can (gasp) SCORE

i don't know enough about the whole staff but i feel like they deserve more love too.

part of this is low expectations but I'm just grateful that Syracuse basketball continues to entertain during cold winters.

there is still a tradeoff between the zone and shooting ability on offense IMO and I'm glad we shifted a little toward offense. I have a lot of belief in girard, boeheim, and hughes of course and sidibe and dolezaj are good too

 

[IthacaMatt]

had totally resigned myself to "oh well this is how it ends, it's been great, what can you do"

and now we're watching a team that wins because every player on the court can (gasp) SCORE

i don't know enough about the whole staff but i feel like they deserve more love too.

part of this is low expectations but I'm just grateful that Syracuse basketball continues to entertain during cold winters.

there is still a tradeoff between the zone and shooting ability on offense IMO and I'm glad we shifted a little toward offense. I have a lot of belief in girard, boeheim, and hughes of course and sidibe and dolezaj are good too

Me, too. This is a gritty team. Now that they are playing reasonably good defense, it makes it enjoyable to watch a game again. I haven't really enjoyed SU basketball for a few seasons, now. This is a nice feeling to have again.

 

[upperdeck]

the same for fball when you can score you can over come more mistakes on D.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Me, too. This is a gritty team. Now that they are playing reasonably good defense, it makes it enjoyable to watch a game again. I haven't really enjoyed SU basketball for a few seasons, now. This is a nice feeling to have again.

Agree on this team being much more watchable, but I'm not sure what lense you are viewing this defense as "reasonably good". We're scoring enough to withstand the stretches where the defense is just non-existent. ND cooling off had nothing to do with girard and buddy locking them down.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Agree on this team being much more watchable, but I'm not sure what lense you are viewing this defense as "reasonably good". We're scoring enough to withstand the stretches where the defense is just non-existent. ND cooling off had nothing to do with girard and buddy locking them down.

They also threw in a lot of crap that had no business going in. Like 4 shots worth.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Agree on this team being much more watchable, but I'm not sure what lense you are viewing this defense as "reasonably good". We're scoring enough to withstand the stretches where the defense is just non-existent. ND cooling off had nothing to do with girard and buddy locking them down.

While the obvious thing to point to is the lack of athleticism of Buddy and Joe, Coach Boeheim has had them sag a bit more toward the foul line to cut off the drives that they were giving up on demand at the beginning of the season.

I also see some improvement on the interior, where Sidibe is starting to play better defense. Although he still struggles with foul trouble, he is occasionally able to stay on the floor for 25-30 minutes per game, and is averaging nearly 24 minutes per game on the season.

Guerrier has finally started to settle in, too, and is seeing more minutes, getting more rebounds and blocking more shots since about mid-December. He has been a viable option off the bench to give us a bit more toughness when we need it.

Then add in the fact that Marek Dolezaj is also getting better on the defensive side of the ball. He was always scrappy, but did you realize that he has had double-figure rebounds in 5 of the last 7 games?

That's where all the improvement is coming from on defense. You may not see it, but I do.

 

[FrancoPizza]

While the obvious thing to point to is the lack of athleticism of Buddy and Joe, Coach Boeheim has had them sag a bit more toward the foul line to cut off the drives that they were giving up on demand at the beginning of the season.

I also see some improvement on the interior, where Sidibe is starting to play better defense. Although he still struggles with foul trouble, he is occasionally able to stay on the floor for 25-30 minutes per game, and is averaging nearly 24 minutes per game on the season.

Guerrier has finally started to settle in, too, and is seeing more minutes, getting more rebounds and blocking more shots since about mid-December. He has been a viable option off the bench to give us a bit more toughness when we need it.

Then add in the fact that Marek Dolezaj is also getting better on the defensive side of the ball. He was always scrappy, but did you realize that he has had double-figure rebounds in 5 of the last 7 games?

That's where all the improvement is coming from on defense. You may not see it, but I do.

I'm too old to analyze to that level of detail. I see points on the scoreboard and that's pretty much it. Teams are scoring at a high clip against us and the stats per possession pretty much bear that out.

The most noticeable improvements have been on the offensive side of the ball. Marek and buddy becoming more of a threat to score in different ways has been huge. And quite unexpected I might say.

 

[Gabjon]

While the obvious thing to point to is the lack of athleticism of Buddy and Joe, Coach Boeheim has had them sag a bit more toward the foul line to cut off the drives that they were giving up on demand at the beginning of the season.

I also see some improvement on the interior, where Sidibe is starting to play better defense. Although he still struggles with foul trouble, he is occasionally able to stay on the floor for 25-30 minutes per game, and is averaging nearly 24 minutes per game on the season.

Guerrier has finally started to settle in, too, and is seeing more minutes, getting more rebounds and blocking more shots since about mid-December. He has been a viable option off the bench to give us a bit more toughness when we need it.

Then add in the fact that Marek Dolezaj is also getting better on the defensive side of the ball. He was always scrappy, but did you realize that he has had double-figure rebounds in 5 of the last 7 games?

That's where all the improvement is coming from on defense. You may not see it, but I do.

Coaching!

Preventing penetration by having the guards play off a bit, helps Sidibe and Dolezaj not get into foul trouble, which leads to more minutes and better performances!

Guerrier is simply figuring it out and if Goodine can come a long this team will surprise us all over the next 8 weeks.