JB's Presser after BC

[Zelda Zonk]

We had a dude with pink hair banging wide open threes all game. PINK HAIR! If we can't locate a dude with pink hair then I don't know what to say.

That s what I was screaming (to myself): he's permanently HIGHLIGHTED!

 

[iommi]

What is Howard especially thinking?

I don't know but it's no doubt something about himself.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Link to Bing stuff...?

No, sorry. This was last year, I believe. I asked about/mentioned it then but no one commented on it.

Oh, and the speculation about what JB might want/not want in terms of accolades/celebrations was Mine—not from the Bing quote. As far as I remember, The Bing Thing was only a quick statement that he had had a conversation with JB and HE believed JB would retire 'sooner than (we?) expected.'

 

[JoeySimz]

We had a dude with pink hair banging wide open threes all game. PINK HAIR! If we can't locate a dude with pink hair then I don't know what to say.

Lol. This is funny. But also tru. When I play ball I always make a point to guard the guy with the pink hair. I cannot let this playa beat me.

 

[cuseguy]

Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake, and Virginia all lost yesterday.

Don't they all play m2m?

You'd think that m2m teams were undefeated since Naismith invented the game.

If good m2m teams can lose, why does anyone think we'll have success.

Yeah, but we're getting torched and are giving up a huge amount of 3s. We're losing to average and below average teams. We may only win a few games in the ACC. The zone isn't our only issue, but it's a big part.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Did they get destroyed by a team that went 0-18 in conference?

The point is- try something! It can't be worse. And if it is... Well we lost by 33 to St. John's. What the f is there to lose? And we did play some man today.

Your argument is terrible.

If we're standing around flat footed and letting guys shoot over us or drive around us, does it really matter what defense we're in?

Bad D is still bad D.

 

[Antiprodigy]

He emphasized how the players, the guards in particular, aren't grasping the zone.

The zone can't be your only defense in today's game. Too many good shooters. The game has changed.

I didn't realize the game changed so much since last March.



You even gave the real answer earlier in your post. The game hasn't changed, the players have. And these guards aren't doing their job in the zone. They are either not physically, or not mentally capable of covering their assignments.

There is no answer for the rest of the season. We can only hope that it eventually clicks, hopefully in time to salvage next year.

 

[AZOrange]

If our players are incapable of playing M2M then we shouldn't be recruiting them. That's basic basketball.

 

[AZOrange]

I didn't realize the game changed so much since last March.



You even gave the real answer earlier in your post. The game hasn't changed, the players have. And these guards aren't doing their job in the zone. They are either not physically, or not mentally capable of covering their assignments.

There is no answer for the rest of the season. We can only hope that it eventually clicks, hopefully in time to salvage next year.

Our D really wasn't all that great last year either. Or the year before.

 

[NineOneSeven]

If we're standing around flat footed and letting guys shoot over us or drive around us, does it really matter what defense we're in?

Bad D is still bad D.

We could play man primarily and be 0-14.

We practice zone and we are bad
We don't practice man and we are bad

Which is worse? Sure, both are bad. But which is worse?

 

[LGO85]

I wouldn't say a zone is a defense that can't be successful. It works when we have personnel who are capable of playing it. Sadly, this season we don't. And I agree that our inability to play any other kind of D aside from a 2-3 zone is pretty damning. Mostly good D is about focus and intensity. We have neither.

I'm going to have to agree here. This seems like an outlier season with too much "new" blood to just get it. The number of freshmen who know little about our style, playing with seniors that know what someone else taught them, all being coached a new way of things. It's easier to grasp with one or two new guys playing with vets, at least they can see it work while on the bench, but not when the entire team is new to the program.

 

[JoeySimz]

If we're standing around flat footed and letting guys shoot over us or drive around us, does it really matter what defense we're in?

Bad D is still bad D.

exactly. These players have not shown they can play good defense period. Moreover, the zone, m2m, and the press were not effective due to mistakes, poor rotations, and missed assignments. These are the player's individual defensive issues.

 

[realorange]

Defense is the biggest issue. If you score 81 pts., you shouldn't lose too many games.

The problem with the zone is mainly defenders not closing on shooters. As JB said in the presser, BC not only had shots they had wide open shots.

If you don't have players in the zone that can identify and close on shooters, especially if they have pink hair, I'm not sure they can find them in M2M either.

 

[cuseguy]

I didn't realize the game changed so much since last March.



You even gave the real answer earlier in your post. The game hasn't changed, the players have. And these guards aren't doing their job in the zone. They are either not physically, or not mentally capable of covering their assignments.

There is no answer for the rest of the season. We can only hope that it eventually clicks, hopefully in time to salvage next year.

The game has changed because of the increase in the number of good shooters. The zone needs to be almost airtight to prevent good shots.

But our problem isn't just the zone defense. We have point guards who can't run an offense, can't finish and can't score. This year is over. I expect Battle to improve. But Howard is a lost cause. He doesn't have it.

 

[orangecuse]

It's really quite bizarre listening to that presser and JB's comments about always being able to 'limit' their shooters and hold teams to a lower percentage from distance when playing us vs. what their 3 pt shooting percentage is coming into our game, but that this team simply can't do it. Yet, he insists that they will keep working on it in practice in hope that they get better, but at now 14 games in, it's not that likely that much of any dent will be made.
What's that definition of insanity?

His spew about how our high level athletes can not play or are capable of playing any solid man D is just nonsense. If that's truly the case, that really says more about JB's current state/mindset relative to his coaching, or lack thereof, etc. than anything else.

 

[Antiprodigy]

Our D really wasn't all that great last year either. Or the year before.

While I will agree that SU's defense has not been as good the past few years, I think we look at 2010 & 2012, which aren't really that long ago, and we see how great the defense became during the regular season, when you had players who understood the defense. When you see a drop from what is likely the all-time peak, it will make it seem worse.

I think we can all agree that the penalties given to the program have finally come home to roost. We have reached the end of the penalties, but as is often true, the end is when the cracks created by the penalties starts to show.

 

[AZOrange]

Defense is the biggest issue. If you score 81 pts., you shouldn't lose too many games.

The problem with the zone is mainly defenders not closing on shooters. As JB said in the presser, BC not only had shots they had wide open shots.

If you don't have players in the zone that can identify and close on shooters, especially if they have pink hair, I'm not sure they can find them in M2M either.

Maybe so but let's switch it up and go down swinging at least!! We're in a duel and not even reaching for our gun.

 

[AZOrange]

While I will agree that SU's defense has not been as good the past few years, I think we look at 2010 & 2012, which aren't really that long ago, and we see how great the defense became during the regular season, when you had players who understood the defense. When you see a drop from what is likely the all-time peak, it will make it seem worse.

I think we can all agree that the penalties given to the program have finally come home to roost. We have reached the end of the penalties, but as is often true, the end is when the cracks created by the penalties starts to show.

The penalty effect cannot be understated. But you still have 9-10 guys that can play and you have to play to win.

 

[Cuse'91]

Do we need a Dino Babers for basketball?
Is this the final days of "meathead" zone basketball? Will we be happy playing uptempo offensive, winning 85-80 or losing 95-88?

 

[LGO85]

Did they get destroyed by a team that went 0-18 in conference?

The point is- try something! It can't be worse. And if it is... Well we lost by 33 to St. John's. What the f is there to lose? And we did play some man today.

Your argument is terrible.

I hear where you are coming from, but on the other hand, you do not stop and change everything up because it's not working out in the beginning. The only way to get better is to keep doing it. Just like shooters are told to keep shooting. You have to push through. These kids have all the right pieces, they just need time to fall into place.

 

[Ish88888]

This is a team that has won it's eight wins by an average of over 29 points per game. And yet none of that success has carried over into any of it's losses. I've never seen any team (not just Cuse) that has looked so good in their wins and looked absolutely pitiful in all of it's losses. As much as I didn't think I would see a worse defensive performance than I saw vs St. Johns, less than two weeks later we give up 96 points vs BC. I don't need to listen to the press conference to feel JAB's woes.

What? Our wins are big wins bc we play the weakest home OOC schedule like we have done for years. Then, we actually go out and play teams with actual d1 level athletes and we get smoked. The concept of the zone has passed. Kids practice 25 footers these days, steph is their idol. Thus, the mid range and interior passing game has gone away in the ncaas. Kids want to dunk or hit a 3. Thats it. These kids are chuckling at our stagnant zone.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

If we're standing around flat footed and letting guys shoot over us or drive around us, does it really matter what defense we're in?

Bad D is still bad D.

Yes, I do think it matters. Or, it COULD matter.
Maybe, if the conclusion is that this team isn't suited/constructed for good zone, maybe it's incidentally better constructed for man. And, if they don't know what they're doing in zone, or if, as the kids themselves said—'we aren't on a string as we need to be'— then they don't have the confidence or commitment to do it properly. And maybe more 'direct responsibility' is a way to get them to be fully invested in stopping ONE PERSON. Maybe Roberson and Lydon can do what they do best on defense—'help' shot-blocking. Maybe they would play better with switching m2m... Maybe m2m gets them out and running on the break. Maybe it forces JB to substitute more for rest than for punishment, and that gets their heads back into the game and out of feeling sorry for themselves or resenting The Hook.

Lots of maybes that play out of psychologies. We have players capable of doing certain things they aren't doing. I don't think they're physical limitations. If changes affect them mentally, some of that is as valuable as anything else.

The other thing m2m forces is a demand to know an individual opponent's skills and tendencies. Haven't we been told that JB doesn't watch much/any scout tape? That we adjust to hot shooters during the games? If you play man, don't you need to actually study the individuals? Maybe our players would benefit from more or a different type of preparation.

Are any of our contributors that familiar with how we prepare, practice, gameplan, and study to answer some of these questions?

 

[AZOrange]

Do we need a Dino Babers for basketball?
Is this the final days of "meathead" zone basketball? Will we be happy playing uptempo offensive, winning 85-80 or losing 95-88?

I just want to be able to switch things up in game...

 

[AZOrange]

We are Einsteins definition of insanity...

 

[Zelda Zonk]

It's really quite bizarre listening to that presser and JB's comments about always being able to 'limit' their shooters and hold teams to a lower percentage from distance when playing us vs. what their 3 pt shooting percentage is coming into our game, but that this team simply can't do it. Yet, he insists that they will keep working on it in practice in hope that they get better, but at now 14 games in, it's not that likely that much of any dent will be made.
What's that definition of insanity?

His spew about how our high level athletes can not play or are capable of playing any solid man D is just nonsense. If that's truly the case, that really says more about JB's current state/mindset relative to his coaching, or lack thereof, etc. than anything else.

We were holding teams to 28% from 3. BC was holding teams to 28% as well. Yet we both have sucked this year. I just don't think that is a meaningful statistic, yet JB embraces it.