Jim Boeheim and Staff deserve a lot of credit.

[orangefan13]

Yeah, I suppose Rick was. ALthough I kind of feel rak is as much a pf on the offense end as center, he goes both directions our best dribbling big in the halfcourt since maybe wallace and he has extended his range. He hits the boards tough, sliding in from outside the lane as well. He is a treat to watch.

 

[Cusefan0307]

A quibble: this team is already playing better defense than the 2009 team. There are weak spots, but they'll only improve from here.

You are probably right. Kenpom has us 31st overall on D this year. It's the highest ranking we have had since 08-09 when we were 44th. We were just very good on offense in 08-09 with Flynn, Devo, Rautins, Onuaku and co. the 08-09 team was the last team that finished ranked above 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency for us and according to Kenpom it's the best offensive team we have had in this recent run. The 07-08 team was 81st on D and that was the team I was thinking of.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The staff is doing a nice job, but the players are also doing a nice job growing in to their roles. There was a lot of basketball left when people were giving up. There's still a lot of basketball left.

One thing - I get McCullough's slumping and Coach B disagrees on the assessments he's seen of his chances to get drafted, but I don't see us doing a whole lot to help him. We were running a lot more action for him early in the year. Now, seems like the only passes coming his way happen on lobs. We've seen the benefits of making an effort to get Rak the ball. I'd like to see us involve McCullough a little more on offense early and help him settle in.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The staff is doing a nice job, but the players are also doing a nice job growing in to their roles. There was a lot of basketball left when people were giving up. There's still a lot of basketball left.

One thing - I get McCullough's slumping and Coach B disagrees on the assessments he's seen of his chances to get drafted, but I don't see us doing a whole lot to help him. We were running a lot more action for him early in the year. Now, seems like the only passes coming his way happen on lobs. We've seen the benefits of making an effort to get Rak the ball. I'd like to see us involve McCullough a little more on offense early and help him settle in.

We run some of the same action that we used to run for CJ last year for CMAC. That action is used to get him the ball at the top of the key where he is very good at knocking down the open 15-19 footer. Other than that I agree we aren't trying to get him involved as much. I'm not sure if that has to do with Cooney/Gbinije or other issues. I did like the pick and roll action with Cooney and CMAC yesterday. They doubled Cooney off the screen and he found CMAC for the open shot and he knocked it down. I think we could run a lot more screen and roll action with Cooney, especially if teams are going to double him. Either the screener or someone else is going to be open in this instance.

 

[orangefan13]

I love all these little insights, shows the players have alot of growing to do and this team has alot of growing room.

cmac often lays it up before the contact, instead of after, would love to see him just get bodied and keep his arms straight above his head as he goes up once in awhile, even if he gets blocked.

 

[jordoo]

What I like about Chris is that he can do a little bit of everything offensively and doesn't seem to pigeon hole himself or have the need to shoot a lot. Its also part of what I dislike because it means he doesn't really have that alpha dog mentality that you would love to see in a skilled 6-10 guy. That said I've seen him make great passes and reads offensively as well as highly skilled nifty finishes with either hand in traffic. He can hit the offensive glass and make open jumpers while also having a nice one dribble drive game. Everything points to him being a dangerous guy in the pick n roll which screams NBA but at this point for SU he is looking like a complimentary offensive player who just isn't ready to carry the load or really assert himself especially physically going to the basket. He goes at the rim like a 6-2 guard who is worried about getting blocked rather than a 6-10 guy who is looking to punish the defense.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

We run some of the same action that we used to run for CJ last year for CMAC. That action is used to get him the ball at the top of the key where he is very good at knocking down the open 15-19 footer. Other than that I agree we aren't trying to get him involved as much. I'm not sure if that has to do with Cooney/Gbinije or other issues. I did like the pick and roll action with Cooney and CMAC yesterday. They doubled Cooney off the screen and he found CMAC for the open shot and he knocked it down. I think we could run a lot more screen and roll action with Cooney, especially if teams are going to double him. Either the screener or someone else is going to be open in this instance.

Even a simple post up on the block now and again. He's skilled enough to make a good move. People rightly mention his lack of strength, but he does draw a lot of fouls. That's a net positive for an offense.

 

[br801]

I'm not sure any one player on this squad can carry us by themselves. Its the emergence of MikeG as the 3rd guy to help Cooney and Christmas carry the load that will make it easier on everyone else. Its exponentially harder in bball to defend 3 legit scorers than 2. Especially when at least two can shoot and one is a post player that demands help defense.

I believe McCullough will rejoin those three as a consistent scoring option before long, particularly if JB decides to feature him more. And while he likely won't be relied upon often for his scoring this season, we have seen flashes of offense from Joseph in the open court and off the dribble in the half court such that I feel he will be a difference maker in some important games down the road this year.

 

[OttoMets]

Wasn't that the shut it down season where we just killed teams early in games with turnovers and runnouts?

I will say this that 09/10 team turned it over much more than the teams we have had since until this current squad.

I was thinking of the previous year - good offense and not much defense.

 

[jordoo]

I was thinking of the previous year - good offense and not much defense.

Got ya

 

[OttoMets]

You are probably right. Kenpom has us 31st overall on D this year. It's the highest ranking we have had since 08-09 when we were 44th. We were just very good on offense in 08-09 with Flynn, Devo, Rautins, Onuaku and co. the 08-09 team was the last team that finished ranked above 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency for us and according to Kenpom it's the best offensive team we have had in this recent run. The 07-08 team was 81st on D and that was the team I was thinking of.

Wow, that highlights how well we've defended - 31st is our worst ranking in six years.

I'll be interested to see how we improve during the course of this season. The big difference between this year and 2009: no power on Earth could have gotten some of those players to care about defense, but effort isn't the problem this year. When Joseph gets comfortable, he'll be good. The back line will round into form, too, especially if Gbinije has finally settled into a full-time position.