Kaleb

[Eric15]

Kaleb's confidence has to be very low right now. Played 4 minutes today, had zeroes across his entire stat line, and was verbally berated by JB for a messed up fast break that was probably more Cooney's fault than his.

This kid is very important to the overall success of this team. Cooney and G can't be expected to play 38-40 minutes every single night. We need him to come off the bench and provide quality guard play. I really hope he can get some of his mojo back over the next couple weeks, and be a guy we can rely on for 6-8 ppg and a few assists.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

He neither went to the basket or flared for a 3 on the break.

 

[jdubs30]

I like Kalb a lot but to be honest we only need 1 of him/Howard to contribute. Both would be nice though.

 

[Toga]

Yeah I didn't see why he caught some face time. Not saying on that particular play, but way more than once, I've felt certain guys will get yelled at when the fault was with a player who never gets yelled at. Am talking prior seasons.

 

[MikeSU02]

I like Kalb a lot but to be honest we only need 1 of him/Howard to contribute. Both would be nice though.

Yep. We aren't going beyond 7. I'm assuming JB will be happy landing at 6.5.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Kaleb's confidence has to be very low right now. Played 4 minutes today, had zeroes across his entire stat line, and was verbally berated by JB for a messed up fast break that was probably more Cooney's fault than his.

This kid is very important to the overall success of this team. Cooney and G can't be expected to play 38-40 minutes every single night. We need him to come off the bench and provide quality guard play. I really hope he can get some of his mojo back over the next couple weeks, and be a guy we can rely on for 6-8 ppg and a few assists.

Two things:
1) I'm not sure KJ is "very" important to the overall success of the team. I'd rather see FH get some run.
2) In order to "get some of his mojo back" he would have needed to have some mojo to begin with. I've yet to see that from KJ

This isn't a slam on KJ. I'm really hoping a lightbulb goes off and he starts playing to the level we all thought he could when he was recruited. However, he only has so much rope to prove he can contribute to the success of this team.

 

[4evaOrange]

Roberson gets it from Jimmy all the time...But Kaleb is second in getting it. Confidence like you said has to be getting lower by the minute. He needs some pt against some lower competition, get some points.

 

[Cuse'91]

Boeheim can't berate his "star" players, so he picks a "whipping boy" every single year. KJ is "it" this year...

 

[AccuRater]

Getting chewed out by coach is a backhanded compliment. It means he thinks you are capable of more. You are in trouble when he ignores you.

 

[Toga]

Boeheim can't berate his "star" players, so he picks a "whipping boy" every single year. KJ is "it" this year...

This is one area of change we'll probably see with Hop. I don't mind players getting yelled at but do mind that there are always the selected whipping boys.

 

[Madbiker]

Kaleb may not play any real minutes until Colgate. The next two, Wisconsin, GTown...look like more 4 minute games. He just isn't earning the minutes with his play. If Howard starts to come in before KJ, we'll he's gonzo.

 

[General20]

Boeheim can't berate his "star" players, so he picks a "whipping boy" every single year. KJ is "it" this year...

This is not just a response to you, but to most on this thread. Boehiem does not just pick a random guy to yell at. Boeheim yells at guys that mess up. If you ever think he's yelling at someone for no reason, then it means you missed what happened.

In this case, Syracuse had a 2 on 1 break and instead of going to the basket for a lay up, like you learn how to do in elementary school basketball, Joseph kind of listlessly floated out to half way between the basket and the three point line on the baseline (the worst percentage shot you can take). Cooney wasn't expecting him to do that because it makes no sense to do what he did, and any JV player would have known better. Boehiem rightly chewed Joseph out.

I've been on the Joseph bandwagon. I thought he would have a strong year this year, but the mental mistakes he makes are almost constant. He has been a huge liability so far, and we could really use another guard to take some minutes from Gbinije and Cooney.

 

[RF2044]

Kaleb's confidence has to be very low right now. Played 4 minutes today, had zeroes across his entire stat line, and was verbally berated by JB for a messed up fast break that was probably more Cooney's fault than his.

This kid is very important to the overall success of this team. Cooney and G can't be expected to play 38-40 minutes every single night. We need him to come off the bench and provide quality guard play. I really hope he can get some of his mojo back over the next couple weeks, and be a guy we can rely on for 6-8 ppg and a few assists.

Wisconsin, Georgetown, and then five winnable games prior to conference play to get either Joseph, Howard--or both--ready to contribute. We cant' go the full year with a 6 player rotation.

Need to use those 5 games to get at least one of them ready to play a bigger role. And possibly to force feed Obokoh some developmental PT as well.

 

[orangefan13]

Joseph also left the guy open right before the fast break for 3. I don't know maybe he was told to be in for the rebound but the guy was real wide open.

Interesting move using both bench guards as a true points. I don't know if its out of necessity or choice. Josephs form was so off against Uconn though I think he was told not to shoot today. He had such a tight shot going the first few games. Hes so far away from that but I wouldn't be suprised if he went back and watched the game tape from the first few games every day for a hour, and started knocking down a few jumpers.

Not attacking the basket on a fast break was a total lack of confidence though. He knows better. Even square up put your body facing the sideline instead of the baseline and lay it up with your right hand. There is no way you are not atleast getting fouled with no defender in between you and the rim.

 

[Eric15]

Getting chewed out by coach is a backhanded compliment. It means he thinks you are capable of more. You are in trouble when he ignores you.

The exception being GMac. I don't think JB would have yelled at him if he purposely scored on the opponents basket as a practical joke.

 

[Ghost]

Joseph is going to be really intriguing to watch moving forward. I wasn't expecting him to look quite this pedestrian after the pre-season games. We got a few games to go though before conference play starts, and hopefully as he gets some more run he can settle in a bit. I think (hope) it's just him feeling out his role at this point. Howard could easily pass him in the rotation if he doesn't start to produce a bit. He's capable - just gotta hope he can pull it together.

 

[SUbear]

The exception being GMac. I don't think JB would have yelled at him if he purposely scored on the opponents basket as a practical joke.

You do know we would not have won the NC without Gmac, so yea maybe Boeheim cut him some slack occasionally.
And by the way Joseph is no Gmac.

 

[Eric15]

You do know we would not have won the NC without Gmac, so yea maybe Boeheim cut him some slack occasionally.
And by the way Joseph is no Gmac.

We wouldnt have won a title without Kueth Duany either, and JB rode him mercilessly.

My point is that GMac could be very reckless shooting and dribbling the ball but he never seemed to get yelled at ever.

 

[MonsterGame]

We wouldnt have won a title without Kueth Duany either, and JB rode him mercilessly.

My point is that GMac could be very reckless shooting and dribbling the ball but he never seemed to get yelled at ever.

Yelling at an Irish person is the very definition of futility.

 

[RF2044]

We wouldnt have won a title without Kueth Duany either, and JB rode him mercilessly.

My point is that GMac could be very reckless shooting and dribbling the ball but he never seemed to get yelled at ever.

It's funny--back when I lived in CNY, I used to attend basketball practices fairly regularly, especially in the early part of preseason. JB always has whipping boys--and the interesting thing about seeing it unfold is that some players can handle it, and use it as motivation, while others cannot.

Guys like Hart, Duany, and a few others had thick skin and could use it as motivation. Guys like Harris, and others chafed against the unrelenting glare of JB's harsh spotlight.

It all comes down to that internal makeup / confidence.

 

[CuseCPT]

Joseph is going to be really intriguing to watch moving forward. I wasn't expecting him to look quite this pedestrian after the pre-season games. We got a few games to go though before conference play starts, and hopefully as he gets some more run he can settle in a bit. I think (hope) it's just him feeling out his role at this point. Howard could easily pass him in the rotation if he doesn't start to produce a bit. He's capable - just gotta hope he can pull it together.

I hate to be this negative but I don't think he will get any run until March when someone fouls out or gets hurt. By then it will be too late.

 

[Eagles20]

It's not going to be easy for joseph moving forward this year in my opinion. He's never going to play enough in games to not played tentative. He's got two 5th year seniors in front of him who are playing very good on both ends. Those guys will see 36 minutes a night. I just don't see how he gets enough time to play with any rythm and gain any confidence. He won't be able to play without the quick hook in the back of his mind. He shot the ball well in the exhibition games, but his shot in limited chances since the games mattered have been flat. It's not easy to sit and then come in with legs. He needs to practice hard, improve and hope he gets a chance next year to show if he's capable. I dont think he will show much this year.

 

[RF2044]

It's not going to be easy for joseph moving forward this year in my opinion. He's never going to play enough in games to not played tentative. He's got two 5th year seniors in front of him who are playing very good on both ends. Those guys will see 36 minutes a night. I just don't see how he gets enough time to play with any rythm and gain any confidence. He won't be able to play without the quick hook in the back of his mind. He shot the ball well in the exhibition games, but his shot in limited chances since the games mattered have been flat. It's not easy to sit and then come in with legs. He needs to practice hard, improve and hope he gets a chance next year to show if he's capable. I dont think he will show much this year.

I don't disagree with any of that--especially the part about who he's playing behind, and the uphill battle to get minutes.

However, this team desperately needs a 7th player to emerge, one who can spell the backcourt positions. We can't maximize / optimize our team potential playing a six player rotation. So we need one of Joseph / Howard to emerge. It might not be big statistical contributions, but we have to get solid minutes from them. 5-10 per game.

Because the alternative is that our perimeter oriented main cogs are going to get really run down the last third of the season.

 

[Ghost]

I hate to be this negative but I don't think he will get any run until March when someone fouls out or gets hurt. By then it will be too late.

Ah, the nightmare scenario we witnessed TC's Freshman year...

 

[Cowtown]

It's funny--back when I lived in CNY, I used to attend basketball practices fairly regularly, especially in the early part of preseason. JB always has whipping boys--and the interesting thing about seeing it unfold is that some players can handle it, and use it as motivation, while others cannot.

Guys like Hart, Duany, and a few others had thick skin and could use it as motivation. Guys like Harris, and others chafed against the unrelenting glare of JB's harsh spotlight.

It all comes down to that internal makeup / confidence.

Agree with that, but at the end of the day it comes down to making smarter decisions and better plays.