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Message: [QUOTE="VaBeachOrFan, post: 2007261, member: 1274"] I think JB thought what he saw on paper for this team was a winning formula: two 5th year grad transfers with experience to make up for the losses of Cooney and G; three players who were good shooters (Lydon, White and Gillon); a more experienced Howard who could run the point; exceptional speed in Gillon; two good freshmen who could contribute; a 5th year senior at center; a rising star in Lydon; a 7-2 shot-blocker to anchor the zone; and a tenacious rebounder in Robo who finally came around in last year's tournament. What he now sees, however, is: two 5th year grad transfers whose experience wasn't formed in JB's system; shooters who have proven to be streaky and unreliable; a more experienced Howard who is nevertheless prone to lapses and is not totally ready for the pressure of directing the offense; speed in Gillon that tries to do too much; two good freshmen who contribute sporadically at the moment; a 5th year senior at center who has stone hands and misses bunnies; a rising star who has trouble taking an aggressive role; a 7-2 center on IR; and a fragile senior (Robo) whose performance is unreliable. No cohesiveness, no chemistry, no leadership, no growth through the ranks that it evidently takes to play JB's game; and no Keita or Scoop on the floor to direct traffic and encourage younger players. So if the grad transfer experiment was made as a way for SU to match the UK/Duke/UNC one-and-done recruiting, it doesn't look as if it's going to work. SU needs to continue to home-grow second-tier talent (read: players who know better than to jump to the draft in 1-2 years) if it's going to play the way it has in the past. SU has 8-player depth this year, but only on paper, which is the real punishment of the NCAA's ban -- JB doesn't have the 13 players he needs to extract the 7 best, play them, and either red-shirt some of the rest or leave them on the bench to better mesh with a future team. He just doesn't have that option now, and this "paper team" is crumpling before our eyes. To paraphrase Robin Williams' Alladin: Unlimited aptitude . . . itty-bitty achievement.-VBOF [/QUOTE]

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