JJ is the least competitive Syracuse player I have ever seen suit up.

[Trueblue25]

Red is flushing his career over JJ. It's crazy.

This is hilarious.

What career?

You mean to tell me that if Red had some shooting guard, that the basketball wizards on this board would deem as serviceable, that we’d be any more competitive?

Its bizarre how far the board goes out of its way to bash certain players when its clear that our staffs the issue.

 

[Yeti]

Doesn't seem to care out there. Just floats along.

4pts today and careless turnovers. So strange from a senior, 1,000 point scorer. A true enigma.

I know this isn't really fair but while watching yesterday my mind went to "I really miss Dion Waiters, i miss having a guard that had the will and ability to take over any game". And then "I miss how Tyler Ennis just never turned the ball over and was always in control".

I want a good team again . Get me a coach that can get the best out of his players. Pleeeeease.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

This is hilarious.

What career?

You mean to tell me that if Red had some shooting guard, that the basketball wizards on this board would deem as serviceable, that we’d be any more competitive?

Its bizarre how far the board goes out of its way to bash certain players when its clear that our staffs the issue.

Can it be both true that the coaching is an issue, and in J.J.'s case he's the wrong player to pin your future on?

 

[Trueblue25]

Can it be both true that the coaching is an issue, and in J.J.'s case he's the wrong player to pin your future on?

Speculate however you’d like.

Fact is Red is in over his head and that’s the clear primary issue.

Do you think we’d be tournament bound if JJ’s minutes were halved and distributed elsewhere?

I don’t. I see how the subbing is made each game.

 

[Scooch]

This is hilarious.

What career?

You mean to tell me that if Red had some shooting guard, that the basketball wizards on this board would deem as serviceable, that we’d be any more competitive?

Its bizarre how far the board goes out of its way to bash certain players when its clear that our staffs the issue.

He does have a SG. He’s playing the 3 and we do almost nothing to set him up for deep shots.

 

[Trueblue25]

He does have a SG. He’s playing the 3 and we do almost nothing to set him up for deep shots.

Im sure that’s JJ’s fault too?

I know thats not what you’re saying but I think its important to emphasize how inept this staff is vs piling it on a local player who’s obviously underperformed expectations but is not the reason this team as a whole is underperforming.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Speculate however you’d like.

Fact is Red is in over his head and that’s the clear primary issue.

Do you think we’d be tournament bound if JJ’s minutes were halved and distributed elsewhere?

I don’t. I see how the subbing is made each game.

Yes, I think we'd be more likely to make the tourney if some of J.J.'s minutes and shots went to Kiyan/Betsey/Kingz.

But I have lost some confidence in Red. I've believed that if Jesse Edwards didn't bolt that his first team would have made the tournament. Jesse getting center minutes that end up reducing Taylor's minutes and that would have put Maliq back at power forward is a combo that could have put us over the top. I'm not so sure about that anymore.

 

[Scooch]

Im sure that’s JJ’s fault too?

I know thats not what you’re saying but I think its important to emphasize how inept this staff is vs piling it on a local player who’s obviously underperformed expectations but is not the reason this team as a whole is underperforming.

Oh I get it. We’re gonna get a stream of player bashing in January. The same players people said were tourney caliber 3 months ago. It’s just a wild coincidence that they’re all underperforming.

Also the weight room is bad so we can’t be expected to beat BC.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Oh I get it. We’re gonna get a stream of player bashing in January. The same players people said were tourney caliber 3 months ago. It’s just a wild coincidence that they’re all underperforming.

Also the weight room is bad so we can’t be expected to beat BC.

I'm off the J.J. bandwagon. Other than Souare I think everyone else is pretty good.

 

[Trueblue25]

Yes, I think we'd be more likely to make the tourney if some of J.J.'s minutes and shots went to Kiyan/Betsey/Kingz.

But I have lost some confidence in Red. I've believed that if Jesse Edwards didn't bolt that his first team would have made the tournament. Jesse getting center minutes that end up reducing Taylor's minutes and that would have put Maliq back at power forward is a combo that could have put us over the top. I'm not so sure about that anymore.

We have zero offensive approach. JJ is one of two or three players that can create their own shot.

Red’s inability to teach and practice any semblance of offensive cohesion has resulted in iso players taking a lot of bad shots and other players who do very little aside from sit on the arc to appear to get a lack of looks.

if the minutes went to Kiyan, he’d look similar to JJ now because he’d feel the need to force shots and create.

Im not sure the minutes could go to Betsy because he can’t handle the ball at the level we’d need a 2 to.

Kingz Im on the fence about. I agree he’s underutilized and should touch the ball each possession. But whenever he gets hot he gets subbed out then tends to disappear.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Yes, I think we'd be more likely to make the tourney if some of J.J.'s minutes and shots went to Kiyan/Betsey/Kingz.

But I have lost some confidence in Red. I've believed that if Jesse Edwards didn't bolt that his first team would have made the tournament. Jesse getting center minutes that end up reducing Taylor's minutes and that would have put Maliq back at power forward is a combo that could have put us over the top. I'm not so sure about that anymore.

I gave Red the benefit of doubt with Taylor because I thought he was rewarding someone who played hard and he was trying to instill that in the program in his first season. Looking back it seems it’s pretty obvious that he has zero idea how to manage lineups.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I don't think this is fair.

JJ is merely the latest victim of an SU hoops coach putting him in a position that's too expansive for his abilities. (see: Girard, Joseph)

He's a sloppy player who shoots poorly from deep and plays mediocre-to-lousy defense. However, at his best he's a very good slasher. If he were, say, the 7th man who got 15-ish minutes per game (20 when he was hot), then he'd be a useful piece on a very good team.

Better coaches would have had him playing better D, and kicking more often on his drives to strong 3 point shooters. But he's never played for a good coach here.

This ^, hes a good player but being asked to play 30+ mins isn't gonna work. This isn't last year there's a multitude of other options at the 2 especially when hes having a off game like yesterday.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

We have zero offensive approach. JJ is one of two or three players that can create their own shot.

Red’s inability to teach and practice any semblance of offensive cohesion has resulted in iso players taking a lot of bad shots and other players who do very little aside from sit on the arc to appear to get a lack of looks.

if the minutes went to Kiyan, he’d look similar to JJ now because he’d feel the need to force shots and create.

Im not sure the minutes could go to Betsy because he can’t handle the ball at the level we’d need a 2 to.

Kingz Im on the fence about. I agree he’s underutilized and should touch the ball each possession. But whenever he gets hot he gets subbed out then tends to disappear.

You're not giving Kiyan enough credit. He's got a much better basketball IQ than J.J. on the offensive end, for sure

I wasn't suggesting Betsey play the 2, simply that if J.J.'s minutes and shots go down that Betsey would be a guy that benefits from that.

Kingz I'm also not sure about because I don't think we help him much to get shots, but he doesn't seem aggressive about looking for his opportunities sometimes either.

 

[Starman]

I just don't think that having George and Starling on the court together works. You can have them start that way to see who's playing well. Whoever it is plays PG, then move Kingz to the 2 and Betsey at the 3. Have a rotation of mostly Betsey, White, and Freeman in the 3-4 position.

I know Starling's not a PG and doesn't play great there, but George isn't playing great there either

 

[Cusefan0307]

We have zero offensive approach. JJ is one of two or three players that can create their own shot.

Red’s inability to teach and practice any semblance of offensive cohesion has resulted in iso players taking a lot of bad shots and other players who do very little aside from sit on the arc to appear to get a lack of looks.

if the minutes went to Kiyan, he’d look similar to JJ now because he’d feel the need to force shots and create.

Im not sure the minutes could go to Betsy because he can’t handle the ball at the level we’d need a 2 to.

Kingz Im on the fence about. I agree he’s underutilized and should touch the ball each possession. But whenever he gets hot he gets subbed out then tends to disappear.

JJ is good for creating turnovers and shooting one on one line drives. There’s really nothing great about his isolation game. Kingz is the better player, but Red doesn’t realize it. If I was Kingz I’d question why I decided to come here.

 

[Trueblue25]

JJ is good for creating turnovers and shooting one on one line drives. There’s really nothing great about his isolation game. Kingz is the better player, but Red doesn’t realize it. If I was Kingz I’d question why I decided to come here.

If I was Kingz, Starling, A three year old watching his first game in the stands or the dad watching his 150th… I’d question why I decided to come here.

Kingz could take all of JJ’s shots and we’d still be heading for another maybe NIT year.

 

[phsyra]

Good teams don't start players like Starling...similar to Chris Bell

 

[Eric15]

I don't think this is fair.

JJ is merely the latest victim of an SU hoops coach putting him in a position that's too expansive for his abilities. (see: Girard, Joseph)

He's a sloppy player who shoots poorly from deep and plays mediocre-to-lousy defense. However, at his best he's a very good slasher. If he were, say, the 7th man who got 15-ish minutes per game (20 when he was hot), then he'd be a useful piece on a very good team.

Better coaches would have had him playing better D, and kicking more often on his drives to strong 3 point shooters. But he's never played for a good coach here.

Agree with all this. I see absolutely no indication that he “doesn’t care.”

 

[23Zone]

I just don't think that having George and Starling on the court together works. You can have them start that way to see who's playing well. Whoever it is plays PG, then move Kingz to the 2 and Betsey at the 3. Have a rotation of mostly Betsey, White, and Freeman in the 3-4 position.

I know Starling's not a PG and doesn't play great there, but George isn't playing great there either

Completely agree with this and have been saying the same. Seems obvious. Except to Red who has no idea what in the world he is doing.

 

[Eric15]

Starling is a ridiculous athlete and just an OK basketball player. I’m guessing in high school he just overwhelmed local CNY kids with his end to end speed. Like others have said, his ideal situation would be coming off the bench. There are games where he produces and other games where he’s awful. That should guide how many minutes he gets in the moment. Overall his advanced stats (PER, VORP, etc.) this season are very poor. He almost feels to me like a defensive back from the football team who is playing basketball as a second sport.

 

[2B20Again]

I know this isn't really fair but while watching yesterday my mind went to "I really miss Dion Waiters, i miss having a guard that had the will and ability to take over any game". And then "I miss how Tyler Ennis just never turned the ball over and was always in control".

I want a good team again . Get me a coach that can get the best out of his players. Pleeeeease.

We have zero offensive approach. JJ is one of two or three players that can create their own shot.

Red’s inability to teach and practice any semblance of offensive cohesion has resulted in iso players taking a lot of bad shots and other players who do very little aside from sit on the arc to appear to get a lack of looks.

if the minutes went to Kiyan, he’d look similar to JJ now because he’d feel the need to force shots and create.

Im not sure the minutes could go to Betsy because he can’t handle the ball at the level we’d need a 2 to.

Kingz Im on the fence about. I agree he’s underutilized and should touch the ball each possession. But whenever he gets hot he gets subbed out then tends to disappear.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Put a shock collar on Nate and JJ in practice. If a shot hasn’t went up in 10 seconds they get shocked.

When they think and slow down they both suck. When they are decisive they are better.

 

[Wrinkle]

I'm not sure Starling has ever used a ball-screen with purpose. He plays scared. He has never seemed to understand that he has a physical advantage (namely his speed) over every defender who would check him. Combined with good size and a solid enough handle (for scoring purposes), he should be a bonafide bucket getter.

Starling should be a player who relentlessly drives the lane and lives at the line. We see his speed consistently in transition -- he is a blur with the ball in the open court. Unfortunate that he never scores in transition. Unfortunate that he doesn't turn the corner on ball-screens -- ever!

He is definitely competing hard on the defensive end, and I would think all can agree with that. He has regressed majorly on offense this season, there is no question. He has always been responsible for horrible turnovers, but if he is not scoring at volume and with reasonable efficiency, he just really is not good at all.

 

[2B20Again]

Line up needs to be as follows. George Kingz, Betsy, Donnie and Kyle first guard in (2) kyian, pG JJ, in spot duty. White to rest Donnie. Out

 

[baggerbob]

I

We have zero offensive approach. JJ is one of two or three players that can create their own shot.

Red’s inability to teach and practice any semblance of offensive cohesion has resulted in iso players taking a lot of bad shots and other players who do very little aside from sit on the arc to appear to get a lack of looks.

if the minutes went to Kiyan, he’d look similar to JJ now because he’d feel the need to force shots and create.

Im not sure the minutes could go to Betsy because he can’t handle the ball at the level we’d need a 2 to.

Kingz Im on the fence about. I agree he’s underutilized and should touch the ball each possession. But whenever he gets hot he gets subbed out then tends to disappear.

When I think of players who can create their own shot, Flynn, Devo, Billy could all get in the lane and score.