Interesting comment on Syracuse.com | Syracusefan.com

Interesting comment on Syracuse.com

acuse816

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I'm aware that the Syracuse.com comments section is a bit of a black hole (which can also make it amusing to scroll through), but I found this comment interesting. Thoughts?

"SU's trait is its zone and zone players. SU is unique in that it plays exclusive 2-3 zone so the matchups are more important than a schools rank. SU does not match up well with teams that can really shoot 3s or have dominant (muscle) in the paint. It does well against teams that drive to the paint to score. Conversely, SUs long skinny tall players (like 6'6" guards) can be stifled on offense by quicker shorter guards. And lose the rebound battle underneath to more muscular players. The bottom line is SU can have big wins and bad losses because of matchups, not rank. SU is good enough to make the NCAAs."
 
Pretty decent take. Not much to argue about. Our best teams had a solid balance of strength, length, athleticism, ball handling and shooting, meaning we could match-up against virtually any team or style. Think 2003, 2010 and 2012. Our zone needs stops and turnovers to trigger our easy baskets. And rebounding. We aren’t strong in any of those areas this season. And we can’t finish at the rim. Those deficiencies hurt and don’t make it easy against a team like Tech who didn’t miss.
 
I agree completely with this take. This loss didn't change my Outlook on the season at all.

Two minutes in with the score tied at 0-0 I could see we were staring a blowout right in the face. The right defense can absolutely shut down this team. Georgia tech was similar in that their defensive style just completely stymied our offense.

I have as much faith as before that this team will win our next two, and our odds of beating Duke again haven't changed based on this loss.

Hopefully come tournament time we don't see VPI or GT in the ACC tourney or some team like them in the NCAAs.
 
I'm aware that the Syracuse.com comments section is a bit of a black hole (which can also make it amusing to scroll through), but I found this comment interesting. Thoughts?

"SU's trait is its zone and zone players. SU is unique in that it plays exclusive 2-3 zone so the matchups are more important than a schools rank. SU does not match up well with teams that can really shoot 3s or have dominant (muscle) in the paint. It does well against teams that drive to the paint to score. Conversely, SUs long skinny tall players (like 6'6" guards) can be stifled on offense by quicker shorter guards. And lose the rebound battle underneath to more muscular players. The bottom line is SU can have big wins and bad losses because of matchups, not rank. SU is good enough to make the NCAAs."
When our zone matchup is compromised by 3 point shooters or muscle inside as described above, and we know we’re vulnerable, wouldn’t it be logical to go full court press with our deep roster
 
Decent take except the 3 point shooting part. SU has stifled teams that live by the three more often than not over the years.

In regards to "stifled" are you referring to teams in the Dance that live by it? Teams that are not familiar with our zone/length of players, etc.? You often here in regards to teams that don't play us often, especially without much turnaround/time to prepare, etc., that "it's hard to simulate Syracuse's zone in practice" due to our length, etc.

I agree we can stifle one dimensional 3 point shooting type teams, specifically ones that are unfamiliar with us, along with having no inside type big men/presence worth a damn. In those cases, we just extend the zone and watch them pass it around the perimeter with no apparent purpose/inside out threat that can expose some of the inherent zone weaknesses.

So, indeed, the take is quite accurate IMO.
 
i think the scrappy guard defense issue has mainly been present when frank's been the pg, and that's because his handle is not his strength
Frank has 29 turnovers in 16 games in 441 minutes. So every 15 min his supposed bad handle turns up and he turns the ball over. His apg/tpg is 2:1, 3.6apg/1.8 tpg. It would be good if ppl would just stop with the handle thing.
 
Purdue has zero tolerance turnover policy at practice. If they turn ball over twice during practice it’s windsprint pain thereafter. Nova and mich were in top 14 of least turnovers last year and played for championship. Onus of turning it over is on us
 
Frank has 29 turnovers in 16 games in 441 minutes. So every 15 min his supposed bad handle turns up and he turns the ball over. His apg/tpg is 2:1, 3.6apg/1.8 tpg. It would be good if ppl would just stop with the handle thing.

It would be interesting to see what his stats are against teams that emphasize and place a lot of pressure
on the ball, hounding, etc. as it's at those times when his handle is exposed and he struggles IMO. I don't know how many TO's he had against VPI, (I do remember that obvious carry/TO he had way out at the point) but you can see how affected he was by the pressure. It's not only the turnovers, but when he's trying to get the team in an offensive set, or any semblance of one, he appears flustered, dribbles high and loose and then seemingly just throws a pass to a team mate as if, I had enough of this, here you take it. When Frank struggles in these situations, it does bleed into his defense as well, as he left Robinson open for many of them open J's. JB himself in the presser afterwards (did not call anyone specifically out) stated that our struggles on O, bled into what we had to do to be successful on the defensive end.

You are free to have your opinion, but I've seen plenty of Frank (specifically when under duress, etc. as I mentioned) to opine that his handle is not optimal under these type of conditions.
 
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It would be interesting to see what his stats are against teams that emphasize and place a lot of pressure
on the ball, hounding, etc. as it's at those times when his handle is exposed and he struggles IMO. I don't know how many TO's he had against VPI, (I do remember that obvious carry/TO he had way out at the point) but you can see how affected he was by the pressure. It's not only the turnovers, but when he's trying to get the team in an offensive set, or any semblance of one, he appears flustered, dribbles high and loose and then seemingly just throws a pass to a team mate as if, I had enough of this, here you take it. When Frank struggles in these situations, it does bleed into his defense as well, as he left Robinson open for many of them open J's. JB himself in the presser afterwards (did not call anyone specifically out) stated that our struggles on O, bled into what we had to do to be successful on the defensive end.

You are free to have your opinion, but I've seen plenty of Frank (specifically when under duress, etc. as I mentioned) to opine that his handle is not optimal under these type of conditions.

He had 3 against VT. For what it's worth, Battle had 3, Brisset had 2 and Hughes had 4. I don't think his handle is bad, but I do agree that he struggles more with smaller guards (which makes complete sense...his dribble is naturally higher than a 6-footer's).

I'd love for him to use his length to his advantage in those scenarios. Carter-Williams would use a long first stride to put the defender on his hip and clear his way to the lane. It was almost unstoppable. Does Frank have the explosiveness to pull that off? Not sure. I'd like to see him try it a little more.
 
I'm aware that the Syracuse.com comments section is a bit of a black hole (which can also make it amusing to scroll through), but I found this comment interesting. Thoughts?

"SU's trait is its zone and zone players. SU is unique in that it plays exclusive 2-3 zone so the matchups are more important than a schools rank. SU does not match up well with teams that can really shoot 3s or have dominant (muscle) in the paint. It does well against teams that drive to the paint to score. Conversely, SUs long skinny tall players (like 6'6" guards) can be stifled on offense by quicker shorter guards. And lose the rebound battle underneath to more muscular players. The bottom line is SU can have big wins and bad losses because of matchups, not rank. SU is good enough to make the NCAAs."
man lands on moon.
 
He had 3 against VT. For what it's worth, Battle had 3, Brisset had 2 and Hughes had 4. I don't think his handle is bad, but I do agree that he struggles more with smaller guards (which makes complete sense...his dribble is naturally higher than a 6-footer's).

I'd love for him to use his length to his advantage in those scenarios. Carter-Williams would use a long first stride to put the defender on his hip and clear his way to the lane. It was almost unstoppable. Does Frank have the explosiveness to pull that off? Not sure. I'd like to see him try it a little more.

Explosiveness is not any such adjective anyone would ever link to Frank. So, to answer that question, no. And, in regards to MCW, his handle was much better than Frank's. Just because one is taller in stature does not mean their higher dribble is problematic. Now I realize Lebron and Magic are some of the all time greats, but they have/had no issues with their dribble at such stature. Dribbling is an art/skill set.
 
It would be interesting to see what his stats are against teams that emphasize and place a lot of pressure
on the ball, hounding, etc. as it's at those times when his handle is exposed and he struggles IMO. ...

You are free to have your opinion, but I've seen plenty of Frank (specifically when under duress, etc. as I mentioned) to opine that his handle is not optimal under these type of conditions.
Also need to consider the type of offense he operates in. This isn't an offense that relies on constant ball movement. It's, generally, pound the rock 34 feet way for 20 seconds, make a couple of passes around the 3pt line trying to gain an advantage for a shot. It's a low-risk offense with regards for TO potential.
 
It would be interesting to see what his stats are against teams that emphasize and place a lot of pressure
on the ball, hounding, etc. as it's at those times when his handle is exposed and he struggles IMO. I don't know how many TO's he had against VPI, (I do remember that obvious carry/TO he had way out at the point) but you can see how affected he was by the pressure. It's not only the turnovers, but when he's trying to get the team in an offensive set, or any semblance of one, he appears flustered, dribbles high and loose and then seemingly just throws a pass to a team mate as if, I had enough of this, here you take it. When Frank struggles in these situations, it does bleed into his defense as well, as he left Robinson open for many of them open J's. JB himself in the presser afterwards (did not call anyone specifically out) stated that our struggles on O, bled into what we had to do to be successful on the defensive end.

You are free to have your opinion, but I've seen plenty of Frank (specifically when under duress, etc. as I mentioned) to opine that his handle is not optimal under these type of conditions.

He’s had the ball stolen from him once all year. And that’s when he was assaulted.
 
In regards to "stifled" are you referring to teams in the Dance that live by it? Teams that are not familiar with our zone/length of players, etc.? You often here in regards to teams that don't play us often, especially without much turnaround/time to prepare, etc., that "it's hard to simulate Syracuse's zone in practice" due to our length, etc.

I agree we can stifle one dimensional 3 point shooting type teams, specifically ones that are unfamiliar with us, along with having no inside type big men/presence worth a damn. In those cases, we just extend the zone and watch them pass it around the perimeter with no apparent purpose/inside out threat that can expose some of the inherent zone weaknesses.

So, indeed, the take is quite accurate IMO.

Kenpom, the God of advanced stats according to some, made a point to note a few years ago that no programs consistently put a top tier 3-point defense on the court from year-to-year, save one... Syracuse. In not as many words, he attributed this to our zone and personnel.

Admittedly, I don't know how our 3-point defense has stacked up in recent years. For a time though, not exactly during our best years either, the SU zone was the best bet to limit an opponent's 3-point percentage.
 
Kenpom, the God of advanced stats according to some, made a point to note a few years ago that no programs consistently put a top tier 3-point defense on the court from year-to-year, save one... Syracuse. In not as many words, he attributed this to our zone and personnel.

Admittedly, I don't know how our 3-point defense has stacked up in recent years. For a time though, not exactly during our best years either, the SU zone was the best bet to limit an opponent's 3-point percentage.

40th in 3 point defense this year.
17th last year.
120th in 2017(bad year defensively)
13th in 2016
 
It would be interesting to see what his stats are against teams that emphasize and place a lot of pressure
on the ball, hounding, etc. as it's at those times when his handle is exposed and he struggles IMO. I don't know how many TO's he had against VPI, (I do remember that obvious carry/TO he had way out at the point) but you can see how affected he was by the pressure. It's not only the turnovers, but when he's trying to get the team in an offensive set, or any semblance of one, he appears flustered, dribbles high and loose and then seemingly just throws a pass to a team mate as if, I had enough of this, here you take it. When Frank struggles in these situations, it does bleed into his defense as well, as he left Robinson open for many of them open J's. JB himself in the presser afterwards (did not call anyone specifically out) stated that our struggles on O, bled into what we had to do to be successful on the defensive end.

You are free to have your opinion, but I've seen plenty of Frank (specifically when under duress, etc. as I mentioned) to opine that his handle is not optimal under these type of conditions.
What I'm saying isn't an opinion, it's looking at the actual turnover numbers. For example, against OSU, Frank had 0 in 24 mins, GTown 2/17, Buff 3/32. In league play he's got 14 turnovers in 216 mins or 1 every 15 mins. ND 2/29, Clem 2/35, GT 3/24, Duke 3/32, Pitt 0/34 (JB said they come at you all game long), Miami 1/27 and VaTech 3/35. You're entitled to your opinion but it's Bees who has seen Frank up close and personal from the front row and he says Frank's another coach on the floor, so in terms of running the team, I'm going with Bees. If Frank were as flustered as you say in sets, wouldn't it reflect in his turnover numbers? As for the offense's probs at VaTech, all I can say is there are 4 other guys out there who didn't do much all game long. And on defense Robinson wasn't one guy's assignment, VaTech moved the ball really well and basically played out of their minds the whole game.
 
What I'm saying isn't an opinion, it's looking at the actual turnover numbers. For example, against OSU, Frank had 0 in 24 mins, GTown 2/17, Buff 3/32. In league play he's got 14 turnovers in 216 mins or 1 every 15 mins. ND 2/29, Clem 2/35, GT 3/24, Duke 3/32, Pitt 0/34 (JB said they come at you all game long), Miami 1/27 and VaTech 3/35. You're entitled to your opinion but it's Bees who has seen Frank up close and personal from the front row and he says Frank's another coach on the floor, so in terms of running the team, I'm going with Bees. If Frank were as flustered as you say in sets, wouldn't it reflect in his turnover numbers? As for the offense's probs at VaTech, all I can say is there are 4 other guys out there who didn't do much all game long. And on defense Robinson wasn't one guy's assignment, VaTech moved the ball really well and basically played out of their minds the whole game.

I'm not implying that he's a turnover machine or that statistically his numbers aren't decent in that regard. And, I never said anything about him not being like another coach on the floor, however, to the coach on the floor thing, isn't that kind of a trait of what your point guard is suppose to be anyways? Isn't that a general standard at that position and hence why PG's are referenced as "the floor general" or QB of the team?

As another poster mentioned, our offense is not one of high risk, and a lot of dribbling in place, passing back in forth between the circles, etc. kind of thing. So, that in and of itself, limits turnovers, etc. I don't think the teams you cited above are intense ball pressuring, hounding type teams, I'm specifically referring to, other than VPI the other night. And, that's what I'm mostly suggesting, that in times of aggressive, hounding ball pressure is when Frank really appears to struggle.

Just because his statistical turnover ratio isn't bad in these high ball pressure type games, doesn't mean that he's not having difficulty with his handle, just look at the difficulty we have in scoring. Frank struggles getting by his defender or creating an advantage because he can't take people off the dribble, and some of it is due to his handle not being optical, as well as not being quick a foot. When this happens, our O seems out of sync and discombobulated. Moreover, because of same, it puts extra pressure on our other guys to attempt to get open on their own, create their own space, etc. If, in those situations, Frank could get by people with his ball skills, etc., he has the size to create an advantage. But, because his handle isn't his strength (IMO) he's unable to do this.

This is what I'm generally referring to when I say it's my opinion, based on the games I've seen him play in against those particular types of teams. I feel Frank's main assets are his ability to see the floor (when not be hounded) due to his size and passing skills, followed by his ability to shoot when he's open and not under duress.
 
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gee, i wonder who could have posted that comment?
 
40th in 3 point defense this year.
17th last year.
120th in 2017(bad year defensively)
13th in 2016
I'm assuming that the stats for the GT game are included in that 40th ranking thus far this year? What was the ranking prior to that game which is arguably an outlier.
 

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