Inside Syracuse basketball practice with Allen Griffin

[Cusefan0307]

He isn’t going to have an option to not have a defensive motor. That message has been relayed loud and clear to him. If he wants to play offense he HAS to play defense. It’s a mutual agreement coaches and Bell get what they both want there

I’m sure it’s been stressed, but I’m skeptical because he had the same issues in high school. I doubt Red will be as patient with him as JB because he has Westry, Taylor and Copeland to go to. And for all the criticism JB got for handling certain players I thought he gave Bell an incredibly long leash last year.

 

[OrangeDW]

I’m sure it’s been stressed, but I’m skeptical because he had the same issues in high school. I doubt Red will be as patient with him as JB because he has Westry, Taylor and Copeland to go to. And for all the criticism JB got for handling certain players I thought he gave Bell an incredibly long leash last year.

Yeah, will be interesting.

I’m of the opinion that effort is a big part of defense, but it’s not ALL there is to it and it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch. The motor part is a habit, not a conscious decision.

Part of it is instincts too.

Hopefully as he gets older he gets stronger and more instinctive on that end…and yeah, also develops the habit of playing hard all the time.

 

[billsin01]

Yeah, will be interesting.

I’m of the opinion that effort is a big part of defense, but it’s not ALL there is to it and it’s not as easy as just flipping a switch. The motor part is a habit, not a conscious decision.

Part of it is instincts too.

Hopefully as he gets older he gets stronger and more instinctive on that end…and yeah, also develops the habit of playing hard all the time.

There’s definitely more to it, but effort would be huge out of Bell. It would represent a step forward.

 

[billsin01]

I’m sure it’s been stressed, but I’m skeptical because he had the same issues in high school. I doubt Red will be as patient with him as JB because he has Westry, Taylor and Copeland to go to. And for all the criticism JB got for handling certain players I thought he gave Bell an incredibly long leash last year.

Thought Benny actually had a pretty long leash as well. I know some will disagree but logging nearly 1000 mins combined the past two years while only occasionally being any sort of positive factor demonstrated some pretty impressive patience imo.

Rooting for Benny, happy he stuck around, think he has potential, but I’d be lying if I said I felt confident he’d emerge as a consistent threat on both ends of the floor and a 12 and 7 type of guy. It would be awesome but I’m interested to see if the hoops IQ, hustle, and aggressiveness can match the length and athleticism he obviously has.

 

[Sherman20]

Yeah Bell is going to start for those interested. Westry is coming off bench. The staff kept Bell here for a reason and it’s not to come off the bench

Yea, it just makes so much sense to have Westry and Maliq Brown be the first two players off the bench because of their versatility. You can plug them in at multiple positions, depending on our needs in a particular game. Plus we’ll want to have Bell’s shooting on the floor to start, so Judah has an ace perimeter threat to kick it out to.

 

[FireballPhil]

The guy I am most interested in seeing is Taylor. Last year he showed flashes of what he could be but regressed pretty badly. If he comes out with confidence and can show he can play D he will be in the running for major minutes. But he has a lot to prove.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The guy I am most interested in seeing is Taylor. Last year he showed flashes of what he could be but regressed pretty badly. If he comes out with confidence and can show he can play D he will be in the running for major minutes. But he has a lot to prove.

I think he has an uphill climb to PT.

 

[DoctorBombay]

My hand grows tired giving likes to you.

You are too kind Beadle

Get a room, you two!

 

[Orangezoo]

I think he has an uphill climb to PT.

I think if there is truly a battle over PT and role on this team it will be Taylor vs Bell. Which can prove to be the most effective as a defender and on the boards alongside being the shooters they a reputed to be and in what we saw some flashes of last year.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think if there is truly a battle over PT and role on this team it will be Taylor vs Bell. Which can prove to be the most effective as a defender and on the boards alongside being the shooters they a reputed to be and in what we saw some flashes of last year.

I think it's such an uphill battle for Taylor that the real PT and role battle is Bell and Q.

 

[Orangezoo]

I think it's such an uphill battle for Taylor that the real PT and role battle is Bell and Q.

Maybe. I think Taylor is the 9th guy with Cuffe, Hima, Carey and Patterson making 10-12. To me that gives even Justin a good chance to have an impact even if minutes are limited. So while it is likely an uphill climb for him to be sitting as a 7th man per se- he should still get his chances.

 

[Cusefan0307]

If we play 9 I expect Cuffe and the centers outside of Mcleod to be the odd ones out. Everybody else I think plays. As a fan it is going to take time to get acclimated to a 9 man rotation after JB‘s short benches.

 

[Orangezoo]

If we play 9 I expect Cuffe and the centers outside of Mcleod to be the odd ones out. Everybody else I think plays. As a fan it is going to take time to get acclimated to a 9 man rotation after JB‘s short benches.

One of the things to watch too is what combinations play the best together as well. Not just individual performance. It's something JB was very good at and something I think that travels to the modern game that I am sure Red picked up in his time on the bench. When he did play a deeper bench which there were some years he did- the chemistry played a role in pushing games open or reeling in a deficit.

 

[Jzsshuttles]

I think it's such an uphill battle for Taylor that the real PT and role battle is Bell and Q.

Heard he looks really really good. Shooting the ball better than anyone right now besides maybe bell. He’s going to get big minutes off the bench

 

[Niastri]

If we play 9 I expect Cuffe and the centers outside of Mcleod to be the odd ones out. Everybody else I think plays. As a fan it is going to take time to get acclimated to a 9 man rotation after JB‘s short benches.

The question I have is what happens one the 9 man rotation is established.

If somebody gets injured, does the rotation become 8 players, or does the 10th man get worked back in?

Curious to see rotations playing out

 

[Orangezoo]

The question I have is what happens one the 9 man rotation is established.

If somebody gets injured, does the rotation become 8 players, or does the 10th man get worked back in?

Curious to see rotations playing out

I for one prefer not to speculate on an injury scenario

 

[OrangeFoo]

Absolutely. Zone is a great change of pace defense. I used to love watching the old Bob Huggins Cincinnati teams with the full court press 2-2-1 zone. It was aggressive and fun to watch. Mixing in the zone is a great way to slow a team down and make them think. The John Chaney matchup zone was always tough to play against too.

The most dominant college hoops teams in my viewing lifetime were the Larry Johnson, Gregg Anthony, Stacey Augmon UNLV teams. They played the suffocating Amoeba defense which was a 1-3-1 zone. I have no idea how well it would work in todays game where everyone has three dudes who can shoot 30 footers. But the thing with the Amoeba was that UNLV dictated tempo and pace and used it to control the game. My biggest pet peeve with our zone is that it turned into a very passive zone because we didn’t the athletes to play aggressively. When we had the athletes the zone took us to the final 4… but we didn’t have the offense to finish it.

I personally feel that the offense has been a far bigger problem than the defense. In this era of hoops teams are going to get their points… we need to be able to put out 4 dudes who can score consistently.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You are too kind Beadle

Actually, I think she's suggesting that you could use the Little Blue Pill.

Her hand is TIRED, man. You need to be more considerate.

 

[IthacaMatt]

If we play 9 I expect Cuffe and the centers outside of Mcleod to be the odd ones out. Everybody else I think plays. As a fan it is going to take time to get acclimated to a 9 man rotation after JB‘s short benches.

Cuffe is a really good player. I thought people were kind of sleeping on him, but then he broke his hand in pre-season, right?

 

[IthacaMatt]

The question I have is what happens one the 9 man rotation is established.

If somebody gets injured, does the rotation become 8 players, or does the 10th man get worked back in?

Curious to see rotations playing out

I'm hoping that our rotation is 9 guys minimum every night, but I hope the last couple guys vary from game to game, depending on competition, people being banged up, people playing the hot hand. I'd like to see 11 guys make up the 9 man rotation, if you get what I mean.

 

[Wrinkle]

Yea, it just makes so much sense to have Westry and Maliq Brown be the first two players off the bench because of their versatility. You can plug them in at multiple positions, depending on our needs in a particular game. Plus we’ll want to have Bell’s shooting on the floor to start, so Judah has an ace perimeter threat to kick it out to.

It does but I just wonder if they will be too good not to start. Brown especially

 

[Orangezoo]

It does but I just wonder if they will be too good not to start. Brown especially

Getting way too caught up in who starts. With a deeper team that matters far less.

 

[bballbeadle]

Actually, I think she's suggesting that you could use the Little Blue Pill.

Her hand is TIRED, man. You need to be more considerate.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

 

[baggerbob]

Getting way too caught up in who starts. With a deeper team that matters far less.

Hondo made a career out of coming off the bench.