JB said that this team

[Fjoinkay]

had the potential to be really good even before this season began, and I said to myself, who am I to doubt him? I've been really busy so I haven't seen many of the games so far, and most definitely I have not seen them play and look the way they did yesterday against UVa.

SU shot 54% from the field against a really good defense, and I think it is very clear that a few of these Orange can flat-out get buckets. They also matched UVa in rebounds and had 11 steals. It is crucial, of course, that the improvement on the defensive end of the floor continue. What probably made the strongest impression on my mind was simply the way the team played because even in the first half they always looked composed to me and confident that they would find a way to win. After the game Battle talked about process, and I think he truly values it. Fail fast and build knowledge for growth and keep doing it, which, by the way, is something the NCAA with it's culture of inefficiency and creating confusion sorely lacks in understanding and execution. Sadly, at the NCAA they fail slowly and never admit their mistakes.

I may be overly enthused because I haven't watched many of the games thus far and the remainder of the season is still full of challenges. But even if I am too high on this team right now, clearly JB absolutely knew what he was talking about before the season when he shared his vision of this team's potential. Is that really a surprise to anyone at this point? JB has continued to improve as a coach across his long, successful career, and right now he may be the best coach that he has ever been. And he has been a legit HOFer for a long time already.

As for this team, hopefully right now they can tune out the rising enthusiasm on the Hill (and elsewhere) the same way they tuned out the negativity. Avoid allowing the successes and the enthusiasm to get in the way of the process. Easier said than done, but this group may stay on the beam. Go Cuse!!

 

[tbonezone]

when asked about these pre season comments i've often heard JB raise the Chukwu defense.
it goes something like "he had blah blah blocks in blah blah games." truth is imo (and anybody else who watched the early games) was that paschal chukwu was bench bound regardless.

 

[Fjoinkay]

when asked about these pre season comments i've often heard JB raise the Chukwa defense.
it goes something like "he had blah blah blocks in blah blah games." truth is imo (and anybody else who watched the early games) was that paschal chukwa was bench bound regardless.

I definitely missed too many games to feel you on this one.

 

[dasher]

when asked about these pre season comments i've often heard JB raise the Chukwa defense.
it goes something like "he had blah blah blocks in blah blah games." truth is imo (and anybody else who watched the early games) was that paschal chukwa was bench bound regardless.

sounds like some were saying about Gillon not that long ago. While I agree with you, as we have just seen, guys improve. And being that he is 7'2, I think we might have been able to find some small role for him.

 

[NineOneSeven]

sounds like some were saying about Gillon not that long ago. While I agree with you, as we have just seen, guys improve. And being that he is 7'2, I think we might have been able to find some small role for him.

Gillon had done it before, yes against lesser teams but still. Chukwu was always a big unknown despite what some (hell, even me) were projecting. Could he have improved? Sure. Would he have played the 5 over Lydon or TT? Doubtful.

 

[SoBristol]

What JB said pre-season was based on having 9 guys, with depth, a rim protector, White playing some 2, Lydon playing some 3, and Howard & Coleman starting.

And the reality is that his team played better only after the line-up compressed to 4 core guys, with Thompson/Roberson splitting time at the remaining slot.

 

[sugrad68]

sounds like some were saying about Gillon not that long ago. While I agree with you, as we have just seen, guys improve. And being that he is 7'2, I think we might have been able to find some small role for him.

I was hoping Chukwu would be similar to Keita -- very good defensively but limited offensively. In a very short test run this year, he was mediocre defensively and had even worse hands than Keita. I was surprised how bad he was considering he had a whole year to practice and improve. Hopefully he will improve.

 

[Ghost]

when asked about these pre season comments i've often heard JB raise the Chukwu defense.
it goes something like "he had blah blah blocks in blah blah games." truth is imo (and anybody else who watched the early games) was that paschal chukwu was bench bound regardless.

That's the one thing that will baffle me forever. JB said that on his radio show last week - was he actually looking serviceable in practice at some point?

 

[SoBeCuse]

What JB said pre-season was based on having 9 guys, with depth, a rim protector, White playing some 2, Lydon playing some 3, and Howard & Coleman starting.

And the reality is that his team played better only after the line-up compressed to 4 core guys, with Thompson/Roberson splitting time at the remaining slot.

Yes, by default almost. I don't think they expected Howard to regress so much a la Joseph and be a total non-factor. Something happened with Coleman's knees again since the beginning of the season so there is that. Chukwu was a disaster even before the eye issue. I must say that, much like last year, I marvel at the conditioning of these players.

 

[SoBeCuse]

That's the one thing that will baffle me forever. JB said that on his radio show last week - was he actually looking serviceable in practice at some point?

Me too. Maybe he was but then again we have no true centers to test him. I could see Gillon and Howard getting rejected galore because they were driving into defenses too deep earlier in the season. OR, it's just deflecting away the notion that he could be/or is a bust. I mean he was asked in a presser early in the season after one of the OOC losses about Chukwu contributing and progressing and he said something like, "hopefully in my lifetime."

 

[20Plus]

had the potential to be really good even before this season began, and I said to myself, who am I to doubt him? I've been really busy so I haven't seen many of the games so far, and most definitely I have not seen them play and look the way they did yesterday against UVa.

SU shot 54% from the field against a really good defense, and I think it is very clear that a few of these Orange can flat-out get buckets. They also matched UVa in rebounds and had 11 steals. It is crucial, of course, that the improvement on the defensive end of the floor continue. What probably made the strongest impression on my mind was simply the way the team played because even in the first half they always looked composed to me and confident that they would find a way to win. After the game Battle talked about process, and I think he truly values it. Fail fast and build knowledge for growth and keep doing it, which, by the way, is something the NCAA with it's culture of inefficiency and creating confusion sorely lacks in understanding and execution. Sadly, at the NCAA they fail slowly and never admit their mistakes.

I may be overly enthused because I haven't watched many of the games thus far and the remainder of the season is still full of challenges. But even if I am too high on this team right now, clearly JB absolutely knew what he was talking about before the season when he shared his vision of this team's potential. Is that really a surprise to anyone at this point? JB has continued to improve as a coach across his long, successful career, and right now he may be the best coach that he has ever been. And he has been a legit HOFer for a long time already.

As for this team, hopefully right now they can tune out the rising enthusiasm on the Hill (and elsewhere) the same way they tuned out the negativity. Avoid allowing the successes and the enthusiasm to get in the way of the process. Easier said than done, but this group may stay on the beam. Go Cuse!!

Truth is that the evidence we saw yes bench material

but truth is they would've given him more time with a lot of time off and big men are slow to develop

He would've eventually played better and then very relevant and probably block four shots a game

 

[tbonezone]

but dajuan actually played well in his last limited minutes .

 

[721Comstock]

Truth is that the evidence we saw yes bench material

but truth is they would've given him more time with a lot of time off and big men are slow to develop

He would've eventually played better and then very relevant and probably block four shots a game

In Etan Thomas' best 2 seasons, he averaged < 4 blocks/game.
Etan is probably the best shot blocker in SU history.

In Fab's BE-DPOY season, he averaged <3/game.
Rony's best season was a shade over 3/game.
Jeremy McNeil's best was < 3 /game.

But yeah - Chewie was probably gonna do that, eventually.

 

[HoustonCuse]

JB thought PC, FH, and Roberson would be better and that DC would be able to play more. It's ok for him to be wrong about those things. I still thin PC will be a big time defender before he's done at SU.

 

[20Plus]

He block over two shots in under 15 minutes a game. If you he proved to play better Enough to earn the minutes say 28-32 he could've three or four blocks easily per JB

 

[Ghost]

He block over two shots in under 15 minutes a game. If you he proved to play better Enough to earn the minutes say 28-32 he could've three or four blocks easily per JB

He had 1 block in 25 minutes against the two decent teams he played against. Those numbers would likely drop as started to play against team that had tall people on their roster. JB is cheating with those stats!! lol

 

[Fly Rodder]

I maintain that chukwu was playing with blurry vision after the holy cross game and they couldn't figure out why until mid-Dec when they found out it was a detached retina. Tough to look great with one eye.

I'll withhold from burying him as a zero until seeing him play healthier.

 

[jdubs30]

but dajuan actually played well in his last limited minutes .

Yeah I think JB planned on getting more from DC but his knees just aren't there. You can tell that DC can barely move when he's in there - but he's looked decent. I'm fairly certain that if JB thought DC's knees were fine, he would be playing more than Roberson.

 

[OrangeTarheel]

Even with greater depth at the center position I am not sure where that would get us. A little better defense at one position?

All along the best promise this team held was with its ability to score. Unlike prior years we have multiple outside threats, multiple drive threats and appear able to hit free throws. Most years we go without superlatives for multiple players at two of those three.

Big time disappointments in some players this year but that will happen. Not all recruits pan out. Props to JB and staff for finding the issues and addressing them so far.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I liked DC's offense this year. He was being aggressive around the hoop and showed good footwork along with a new mid-range J. The problem is that he does not have the legs to rebound or play D. So sad. His knees are needy.