ive been all about the mets, just a quick question

[CorduroyG]

are we making the tournament this year???

 

[jordoo]

Yes, if Coleman is healthy all season.

 

[sherrillcuse]

are we making the tournament this year???

Absofreakinglutely!!!!

 

[Brooky03]

More likely than not

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yes, if Coleman is healthy all season.

Yeah, that's the answer.

 

[skurey]

Nope. But BK and 690 will pay me money when we don't so all is not lost.

 

[LAOrange]

No doubt.

 

[Dave85]

Maybe. It depends if the NCAA finds JB guilty of every crime committed in the city of Syracuse. As a representative of the city and a leader, JB according to their philosophy is ultimately responsible for all the actions committed by Syracuse basketball fans. JB coaches Syracuse basketball. And Syracuse basketball fans WATCH basketball. Obviously there's a connection and if you say otherwise then you are supporting crime.

 

[MSOrange]

I think we can but I don't think it's a guarantee unless we have several questions answered positively.

Can Kaleb play at this level? I think he can. It was interesting in the recent syracuse.com article, it seemed like the turnovers in the Michigan game were a turning point for him. We don't need him to be a star, just need him to be suitable for 25 minutes per game. Then if Silent G needs to play the rest, that's fine. I think offensively he can play at this level, but defensively he has to be better than last year. Several have pointed out about him not keeping his arms up in the zone. I don't think he's lazy or wasn't trying. I'm hoping he was just thinking too much about everything going around on him, so hopefully the game slows down for him this year. When you recruit from different schools around the country, not all the kids are going to easily transition to the D 1 level from high school as much as we'd like for a program of our stature. But I'm not giving up on Kaleb yet.

Bottom line, can Trevor shoot more better or more efficiently than he did last year? I'm hoping Silent G can take some of the offensive pressure off him so he doesn't feel like he has to do it all - particularly as an outside threat. Hopefully one of the freshman can be counted as a solid outside threat also to take some heat off Trevor. But he just can't have another season shooting 35% overall and 30% from 3.

Can Silent G be our main man the entire season because I think he's going to need to be? I was high on his potential coming into last year, but he even did better than I expected. But can he take that next step and consistently play how he played during that stretch where he was spectacular at Pitt, at BC and in the Dome vs Duke? He averaged 23 PPG in that stretch, which I don't expect over the full year. But I would like him to get to where Rak was last year with around 18 PPG

Can Tyler Roberson take the next step in his development? He progressed nicely from his freshman to sophomore year with 8 PPG and 7 boards per game. I'd like to see him take the next step and possibly be at 13 PPG and 9 boards. I loved the strength that it looked like he had gained in the off-season because I think it will help him tremendously.

And easily the biggest question, can DaJuan Coleman stay healthy? He's going to need to stay healthy and show that he can play defense how JB wants his big men to play. I think he can play at this level offensively but the big question is defense imho. The one thing to benefit him is I think JB will have to let him play through some mistakes depending on how confident he is in Obokoh's ability to play. Hopefully DaJuan will have increased confidence knowing he might not get pulled for every mistake.

Which leads into the other question if Obokoh can provide 10-15 minutes to spell Coleman? I'm usually optimistic but I have to admit I'm not too excited about the possibility of Chi having to play big minutes so it's vital that Coleman stays healthy. But he did okay against Boston College and Notre Dame when he played double figure minutes last year, so hopefully he can.

Which of the freshmen are ready to contribute? I think Lydon is going to have to be ready to play at either the 3, 4 or possibly even spell the 5 for some time. I think Richardson could see time at both the 2 and 3.

I think all the questions have definite potential to be answered positively with the biggest key being Coleman.

 

[br801]

I think we can but I don't think it's a guarantee unless we have several questions answered positively.

Can Kaleb play at this level? I think he can. It was interesting in the recent syracuse.com article, it seemed like the turnovers in the Michigan game were a turning point for him. We don't need him to be a star, just need him to be suitable for 25 minutes per game. Then if Silent G needs to play the rest, that's fine. I think offensively he can play at this level, but defensively he has to be better than last year. Several have pointed out about him not keeping his arms up in the zone. I don't think he's lazy or wasn't trying. I'm hoping he was just thinking too much about everything going around on him, so hopefully the game slows down for him this year. When you recruit from different schools around the country, not all the kids are going to easily transition to the D 1 level from high school as much as we'd like for a program of our stature. But I'm not giving up on Kaleb yet.

Bottom line, can Trevor shoot more better or more efficiently than he did last year? I'm hoping Silent G can take some of the offensive pressure off him so he doesn't feel like he has to do it all - particularly as an outside threat. Hopefully one of the freshman can be counted as a solid outside threat also to take some heat off Trevor. But he just can't have another season shooting 35% overall and 30% from 3.

Can Silent G be our main man the entire season because I think he's going to need to be? I was high on his potential coming into last year, but he even did better than I expected. But can he take that next step and consistently play how he played during that stretch where he was spectacular at Pitt, at BC and in the Dome vs Duke? He averaged 23 PPG in that stretch, which I don't expect over the full year. But I would like him to get to where Rak was last year with around 18 PPG

Can Tyler Roberson take the next step in his development? He progressed nicely from his freshman to sophomore year with 8 PPG and 7 boards per game. I'd like to see him take the next step and possibly be at 13 PPG and 9 boards. I loved the strength that it looked like he had gained in the off-season because I think it will help him tremendously.

And easily the biggest question, can DaJuan Coleman stay healthy? He's going to need to stay healthy and show that he can play defense how JB wants his big men to play. I think he can play at this level offensively but the big question is defense imho. The one thing to benefit him is I think JB will have to let him play through some mistakes depending on how confident he is in Obokoh's ability to play. Hopefully DaJuan will have increased confidence knowing he might not get pulled for every mistake.

Which leads into the other question if Obokoh can provide 10-15 minutes to spell Coleman? I'm usually optimistic but I have to admit I'm not too excited about the possibility of Chi having to play big minutes so it's vital that Coleman stays healthy. But he did okay against Boston College and Notre Dame when he played double figure minutes last year, so hopefully he can.

Which of the freshmen are ready to contribute? I think Lydon is going to have to be ready to play at either the 3, 4 or possibly even spell the 5 for some time. I think Richardson could see time at both the 2 and 3.

I think all the questions have definite potential to be answered positively with the biggest key being Coleman.

Excellent overview, MSOrange.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Gun to my head, I say no. My heart wants to say yes though.

There's just no depth and such a reliance on Coleman doesn't seem like a great thing. We could possibly get dominated on the glass this year and if Coleman gets in any foul trouble or continues his injury woes, we'll be in real deep doo.

I think we'll be much improved in the backcourt, but we really need Cooney to be more consistent with his shot and for Kaleb to step up his game. I'm worried about the defense at the top of the zone and hope both kids better understand its nuances this year. It should be a big year for G and hopefully having him, Malachi and Lydon around the perimeter will take the pressure off Trevor.

With such a tough schedule this year and so many question marks, I just don't see how this team can be any better than last year's group. If we can win the big OOC games (Gtown, SJU, Wisco and perform well in the Bahamas), or at least a couple of them, we could possible make some noise in the ACC. But right now, I just don't see the talent, depth, defense or interior skill to overcome the issues on the roster. I'll be pretty surprised if this team can make the NCAA's this year.

 

[jordoo]

FUBAR! Mofose. It's on and we are SS or better.

 

[tee1222]

FUBAR! Mofose. It's on and we are SS or better.

You got that right. Fubar.

 

[cpatrocks]

The Mets are IN the tournament!! Lets Go Orange (and Blue)!

 

[Briancuse]

I think we will find a way to get, in, but this season will give us a lot of anxiety.

So pumped that the Mets are in the playoffs, but how do you get no hit twice in a season?

 

[SWC75]

My elderly Dad once asked: "Do you think Syracuse will get invited to the Final Four this season?"

I told him, "Gee...I sure hope so. It would be so much easier that way."

 

[orangefan13]

Easily if our centers can hold up defensively.

This team operates its offense from the perimeter confidently, that translates to gets back on defense. And we will have our best transition offense in quite some time with two seniors and flash Joseph uptop. We have 4 outside gunners not just shooters, including malachi and Lydon although they might not shoot as much as Cooney/Gbinije as 3rd/4th options.

Lydon and Malachi might have some ball movement troubles early on in ACC play, but it will all come together.

 

[BuffOrange]

With respect to the Coleman/Freshmen points, I really don't see how Joseph isn't the biggest key. If he can be a competent ACC starting PG, it'll be hard to not make it, no? If not, good luck to us. JMO.

 

[Trueblue25]

G will average 23 a game and lead us to the promised land.

 

[mark79]

At the risk of being Captain Obvious, I am in the camp that says it depends on whether we have an inside threat or not. If they don't have to respect us inside at all, than our outside shooters won't even get the same looks they got last year when they had to respect and many times double Roc. If Coleman can play the full year effectively and we are getting 8-10 points and 6-8 rebounds and he is not fouling out a lot (meaning he gives us meaningful minutes) then I say yes we have a pretty decent shot. But if not, and we are scrambling every game at center, I would be much less optimistic. Captain Obvious signing off.

 

[orangefan13]

On paper I am shocked that so many have the 08-09 orange, or the 10-11 orange over this team.

We are talking about making the tournament in this thread not what seed we will get.

I think a big part is finding the third go to guy. I also think We will find a steady fourth scorer who we can run set plays for.

Kaleb needs to get his fg percentage up. I think he did fine handing the ball moving it and really hustled last year, he just wasn't ready to score.

Roberson needs to be more then a glue guy who stuffs stats under the basket and in transition with only one drive from the elbow a game. Hes a Junior not a sophmore anymore. He needs to have a set piece or 4-5 cuts a game that are run through him.

imo, the ncaa tournament could use another 2-6 play in games to start the first day with a bang.

 

[Dave85]

The Mets are IN the tournament!! Lets Go Orange (and Blue)!

I really thought they were going to fold at the end of the season.

 

[Dave85]

I have to see them play a few times. Too many unknowns to answer the tournament question.

 

[cpatrocks]

Chase Utley is a huge doooosh.