JB's Presser after Buffalo

[dollarbill44]

We should be getting top recruits we aren't right now.

I think our recruiting is fine (except for center). I think the problem is uncreative coaching, honestly. I don't understand how this team can look so lost game in and game out when they are essentially the exact same team as last year. The zone should be second nature to these guys by now and they should have improved offensively over the offseason. Yet, they have been out of position defensively and the offense is putrid. Not one player looks better on offense and several look rusty. That can't happen 11 games in.
If it was one game you can chalk it up to a bad night. When it's every game, you have to question what/how they are practicing. And when it's been like this for several seasons now, you have to question everything.
But, I digress. The point I wanted to make is that a team with mediocre talent and good coaching can look functional. This team makes scoring look like luck.

 

[timkay99]

I expected a loss and I'm a little more disappointed because a) we wasted a very efficient offensive night (for this team) with dumb turnovers and a late-game panic, b) a group of players who must be discouraged and in need of some positive reinforcement wasted a nice defensive effort, and c) Boeheim continues to have the same problems with putting his guys in a position to succeed. They opened a lead (18-11, I think) with the Carey/Howard/Sidibe/Dolezaj/Brissett lineup; everyone was producing; and he went away from it and never returned. He bailed on Carey after some strong play apparently because he airballed that open corner three where he seemingly got fouled. And he went with Dolezaj, a kid who should never ever play center, over Sidibe during the stretch where the game was lost.

I'm sad for Boeheim. He's a great coach, he's responsible for like 99% of what we all like about Syracuse basketball, but I firmly believe his best days are behind him. I'm concerned that recruits increasingly will want to avoid a program that plays ugly basketball and spends most of the season unranked. This is dangerous ground.

This is where I am. Substitution patterns have just been bizarre and that is typically where JB excels.

Putting Dolezaj in for the stretch run at the 5 against a physical Nick Perkins is doing Buffalo a favor. Marek is a 6-9, lean guy and Perkins is a monster that is used to facing those types of 5's in the MAC. Both Chukwu and Sidibe did a solid job defensively and made him a little uncomfortable. This was Sidibe's best game of the year.

This team is a lot of square pegs for round holes. It's a team of slashers, Hughes is the closest thing to a 3-point shooter that we have and Chukwu is the best screener of them all and he is probably just average at it. Not sure there is an average passer in the bunch, Howard is closest but he makes some unique decisions. It's really hard to get spacing, especially when the team does not feed the post when guys have position. Think we fed it once to Brissett before the under 16 timeout in the first half and that was it. Chukwu has his issues offensively, but I still remember Sidibe making some nice moves early last year before knee trouble and he got position a couple times last night.

Just a frustrating team to watch.

 

[OttoMets]

This is where I am. Substitution patterns have just been bizarre and that is typically where JB excels.

Putting Dolezaj in for the stretch run at the 5 against a physical Nick Perkins is doing Buffalo a favor. Marek is a 6-9, lean guy and Perkins is a monster that is used to facing those types of 5's in the MAC. Both Chukwu and Sidibe did a solid job defensively and made him a little uncomfortable. This was Sidibe's best game of the year.

This team is a lot of square pegs for round holes. It's a team of slashers, Hughes is the closest thing to a 3-point shooter that we have and Chukwu is the best screener of them all and he is probably just average at it. Not sure there is an average passer in the bunch, Howard is closest but he makes some unique decisions. It's really hard to get spacing, especially when the team does not feed the post when guys have position. Think we fed it once to Brissett before the under 16 timeout in the first half and that was it. Chukwu has his issues offensively, but I still remember Sidibe making some nice moves early last year before knee trouble and he got position a couple times last night.

Just a frustrating team to watch.

And SU opened the half forcing the ball to Chukwu in the post. It was obviously a designed play. It worked (dunk).

But then they didn't try it again.

Frustrating.

 

[KevMonstah]

Having a 7'2" center, and the best you can say about him is that he is the best screener on the
team is not saying much.

The press conferences get to be disappointing, because he'll state something in one, "we don't
box out, we play an area", and then address it differently in another, "we can't get rebounds."

JB also kinda complains about things that a coach should be, oh, I don't know, fixing maybe?
The offense isn't good, the rebounding isn't good, you're the coach, why can't you address it
instead of accepting as fact the flaws?

Kev

 

[OrangeXtreme]

And SU opened the half forcing the ball to Chukwu in the post. It was obviously a designed play. It worked (dunk).

But then they didn't try it again.

Frustrating.

I thought we did try it again right after.

Chewie was grabbed by a UB player, and we got called for traveling.

 

[OttoMets]

I thought we did try it again right after.

Chewie was grabbed by a UB player, and we got called for traveling.

I'm not sure the second one was a designed play, looked more like Frank trying to keep his buddy in the flow and forcing a pass to him. Still fine by me, though. Wish they'd try that 20 more times.

 

[SUFan44]

We can’t push tempo and we can’t play pressure D unless it’s an emergency. Yet we recruit “athletes”. It makes no sense.

It's like we play in a Dome and we run the option. Or something.

 

[Sherman20]

I expected a loss and I'm a little more disappointed because a) we wasted a very efficient offensive night (for this team) with dumb turnovers and a late-game panic, b) a group of players who must be discouraged and in need of some positive reinforcement wasted a nice defensive effort, and c) Boeheim continues to have the same problems with putting his guys in a position to succeed. They opened a lead (18-11, I think) with the Carey/Howard/Sidibe/Dolezaj/Brissett lineup; everyone was producing; and he went away from it and never returned. He bailed on Carey after some strong play apparently because he airballed that open corner three where he seemingly got fouled. And he went with Dolezaj, a kid who should never ever play center, over Sidibe during the stretch where the game was lost.

I'm sad for Boeheim. He's a great coach, he's responsible for like 99% of what we all like about Syracuse basketball, but I firmly believe his best days are behind him. I'm concerned that recruits increasingly will want to avoid a program that plays ugly basketball and spends most of the season unranked. This is dangerous ground.

Agreed. He’s too quick to pull Carey, and Dollie is really struggling again (needs to get his head in the game). I don’t know why he pulled Sidibe. He or Paschal should’ve been in there at the end. His substitutions are baffling at times. Hughes is probably our best pure shooter,so I understand why he doesn’t want to take him out. He’s also better at the back line of the zone than Battle is. But I think he needs to play Carey (even with Howard) more. Battle and Oshae need to stop settling for 3s. Can someone please set some screens to free them up? Why don’t we screen more off the ball to get these guys open? We used to do it all the time with Andy Rautins. Can we please take a page out of John Beilein’s offensive approach?

 

[Sherman20]

It’s not a demotion. It’s a rebalance. Get MD at 3 and slide OB down low.

Marek is really struggling coming off the bench right now. I agree that maybe starting him over Hughes could work. It’ll allow Hughes to be an offensive spark plug coming off the bench. And Marek provides a lot of intangibles, good passing, and high Bball IQ. With Frank still shaking off the rust, he probably needs Hughes out there to have another scoring option. If/when Frank gets back to last year’s offensive form, maybe Hughes can come off the bench then? Obviously Hughes should still be playing a lot of minutes every game.

 

[Kowbelkat]

Don't the assistant coaches have any responsibilities? Hop used to run the practices.

Doesn’t he have the ultimate responsibility

 

[OrangeDW]

It's like we play in a Dome and we run the option. Or something.

Yes. I said in another thread that SU basketball
now is basically Georgia Tech football under Johnson.

A mediocre, stale niche program that is limited and predictable, but whose system can be difficult to play against for certain teams.

 

[CousCuse]

Doesn’t he have the ultimate responsibility

Of course. He is taking the heat, but really it's what he hires assistants for. He's the COO and bench coach and deals with the PR for the program. That's a lot on his schedule.

 

[Alsacs]

Of course. He is taking the heat, but really it's what he hires assistants for. He's the COO and bench coach and deals with the PR for the program. That's a lot on his schedule.

Lol. You think this is the NBA.
College basketball coaches do everything as it pertains to their programs.

 

[CousCuse]

Lol. You think this is the NBA.
College basketball coaches do everything as it pertains to their programs.

Then there are an awful lot of guys sitting on the bench with nice suits on who make some serious jack and have little responsibility.

 

[Alsacs]

Then there are an awful lot of guys sitting on the bench with nice suits on who make some serious jack and have little responsibility.

On the bench we have JB, 3 assistant coaches, a medical trainer, team managers, and grad assistants.
My god where do you come up with these takes.
Our assistants handle recruiting, scouting, film preparation, individual player workouts.
They all have serious responsibilities.

 

[Newhouser]

While we are on the bench - what are all those people in street clothes doing? Are they all paid? Rule should be players and coaches need to fit in the seats in one row - second row for players means too many walk ons and hanger ons.

 

[CousCuse]

On the bench we have JB, 3 assistant coaches, a medical trainer, team managers, and grad assistants.
My god where do you come up with these takes.
Our assistants handle recruiting, scouting, film preparation, individual player workouts.
They all have serious responsibilities.

Hop used to run the practices, yes? Well if you were an assistant when he left would't you have said, "I've got this Jim"? My original point was that he was mostly directing that comment at his staff, not the players. Unless you believe the players organize the practices.

 

[tbonezone]

and hiring former program players as assistants exclusively also helps keep out new ideas.

 

[Madbiker]

Criticizing the players is foolish. Who recruited these players?
Note: If you're so dissatisfied with the play of the centers (and we all are) maybe the coaching staff should recruit some who have some semblance of offensive skill and who aren't toothpick thin. You recruited them.

 

[tbonezone]

thought we'd turned a corner when we had Fab, Raxmas, Moose and DC2 all in the stable.