JB on Scoop in presser

[orangecuse]

As Rod Tidwell would say...Scoop is the "ambassador of Kwan!"

 

[MikeSU02]

- only leader on team
- only pg on team
- one of best - if not best - pg in league when he shoots ball well
- would lead league in assists if he played more mins
- many people in this town can't seem to figure out how good he is and never will

I love Scoop being our leader. I love him being in at the end. But there is no way we are winning the title with Scoop playing 37 minutes.

Ideally he is around 25 minutes, imo. He was gassed by the end of the game last night. That won't fly against better teams when it's win or go home.

 

[JOC44]

Not to be a sourpuss, but Scoop got criticism last year because he was terrible last year. He was really good as a sophomore, and I respected the heck out of his willingness to come off the bench without complaint. As a senior, Scoop has again been really good, and I respect the heck out of his willingness to take fewer shots and play fewer minutes.

I think Col. Bleep and others have put their finger on it, Scoop is better on a team with other scorers. The improvement by Waiters, Melo, and Fair has taken some pressure off of Scoop to force the offense himself (which led to some odd decision-making), and he can do what he does best, disrtribute, shoot an open three here and there, finish the occasional drive with the left hand, use his size to help on the boards, and defend up top.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

I have always thought Scoop to be the guy that bitch slapped Dion into compliance. That makes him a leader and the main reason this team is where it is (20-0).

Excellent point (OK, no pun intended) re Dion. I'm sure Scoop's conversations with Dion had a big influence.

Fans also get stuck on stupid. Players improve. Scoop used to have some bad ballgames, get burned on D, and make bad decisions at critical times in prior seasons. Not nearly so much this year. Some fans are fixated on the Old Scoop because they are too stupid to think things can change, and that is wrong.

Scoop is not the Second Coming, and his shadow won't likely fall on an NBA floor. But, in this his final year, he is a very good college PG.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Of course, this is the fan base that crushed Jason Hart for 4 years, without cause.

Jason Hart was a great defensive player, but he was only an average point guard, and he took too many shots, and spent too much time pounding the ball into the floor on offense. He was Jonny Flynn without the finishing ability.

 

[Garbs]

the two biggest things regarding scoops improved play this year, well they stem from the same thing, but 1) willingness to play less minutes and less role overall, 2) playing less minutes reduces the mistakes and in a lot of games JB can have a short leash when he makes mistakes because he has Dion and Triche

 

[Scooch]

In it's not-so-distant past this program once had James Thues as it's starting PG.

Scoop's always been alright by me.

 

[Cadillac]

Jonny and Scoop, same class, same position.

Jonny was a bigger chucker, sucked at the top of the zone, threw away tons of lob/half court bounce passes trying to make SportsCenter.

Yet Jonny was beloved right off the bat, Scoop was scorned.

Was it the accolades? The hype? The New York State thing?

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying some of our fans are rubes... I'm saying CELEBRATE SU BASKETBALL'S BEST START EVER WITH A COMMEMORATIVE SHIRT! 20-0!

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Jonny and Scoop, same class, same position.

Jonny was a bigger chucker, sucked at the top of the zone, threw away tons of lob/half court bounce passes trying to make SportsCenter.

Yet Jonny was beloved right off the bat, Scoop was scorned.

Was it the accolades? The hype? The New York State thing?

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying some of our fans are rubes... I'm saying CELEBRATE SU BASKETBALL'S BEST START EVER WITH A COMMEMORATIVE SHIRT! 20-0!

Jonny also hated playing zone and said as much to the media. He was a tremendous athlete, but... he was really mostly just bluster. He made himself a few million bucks out of it! Hopefully he has something to fall back on when that second NBA contract doesn't come.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

Scoop has been really good or really bad. So far this year it's been really good, I hope it continues.

 

[Cadillac]

Jonny also hated playing zone and said as much to the media. He was a tremendous athlete, but... he was really mostly just bluster. He made himself a few million bucks out of it! Hopefully he has something to fall back on when that second NBA contract doesn't come.

Agree, and ftr, I'm a big fan of JF going back to those great NFHS teams.

I think people, always trying to simplify, settled on the idea that we brought in a "good" point guard and a "bad" point guard (funny, because Scoop was a Top 100 recruit and played well in the NIT after JF went down).

Truth is, both Jonny and Scoop have good and bad parts to their game... just like every point guard on the planet, save for 5 or 6. Their games, I think, are very similar and it was really obvious when they were on the floor at the same time.

Scoop was a maestro at times last night, couldn't be happier for him.

 

[timkay99]

I think Col. Bleep and others have put their finger on it, Scoop is better on a team with other scorers. The improvement by Waiters, Melo, and Fair has taken some pressure off of Scoop to force the offense himself (which led to some odd decision-making), and he can do what he does best, disrtribute, shoot an open three here and there, finish the occasional drive with the left hand, use his size to help on the boards, and defend up top.

Wait, you mean a PG is better on a team with other scorers? Someone alert the presses!

This is what people who ripped Scoop last year don't get. Who was the 2nd scorer after KJ last year on the bounce? Scoop. So yea, he forced shots because that was the only way for this team to win. Last year, if that shot Scoop put up to bring the UConn game into overtime didn't go in, people would have been complaining that he shouldn't have the been the one to shoot it.

This is why it is so nice Scoop has proven to the naysayers he is a team first player. If he has to score for the team, he will try to (remember, he was the key to the team not dropping a handful of games in the nonconference schedule last year b/c of his scoring), if he needs to distribute, he will do that.

 

[bpo57]

I tried saying some of that last year and people called me names. lol

Scoop deserves a tremendous amount of credit for focusing more on getting his teammates involved and realizing that he is not the primary offensive option on this team. Last year he led SU in shots attempted, which is pretty nuts if you think about it. He averaged 10.6 shots per game. This year he averages 6.5 shots per game. That's more like it. There are a lot of reasons why SU is a better team this year but the light going on in Scoop's head is certainly one of them.

 

[LennX6]

... I was surprised he didn't see more action over Dion (although admittedly it's hard to keep Dion off the court of late).

I have never felt such confidence in a player since '03 as I do with Waiters this year. When the score was tight last night , I was saying "End the game Dion" because he really could. There was noone on Pitt that could guard him without fouling and hacking.
I

 

[All4SU]

Not 10 fuc*king games!

My first thought as well.