kenpom

[Knicks411]

I don't think we magically become an elite offensive team. The offense was brutal for most of last season. However, we will be at least a little better. If brissett can make even a couple more shots in the paint per game, that alone is 4-6 points. And that isn't an insane projection because the window he has to improve finishing is absolutely enormous. He shot as poorly as anyone I have ever seen during a mid season stretch and it wasn't like he was shooting jumpers. Flat out had trouble finishing. There is zero doubt that will be better. Marek will be more consistent. Again, I'm not predicting he's going to make 3 threes a game. Simply just be more aggressive and shoot in the lane when he's there. He's already proven he's capable. Frank and Tyus will do what they do. Chukwu will do what he does. I don't think it will be pretty at times like last year, but if we have Sidibe healthy I absolutely expect a few more points from the center spot. His lateral agility should be much better and I expect him to be very serviceable downlow once he can get readjusted to speed of game. Carey, Hughes, Buddy, and Braswell are wild cards. The first two will play, probably 10-25 minutes depending on the opponent and game situation. Will they be capable offensive players? We will see. What I do know is, I would prefer to have them as bench options as opposed to not on the roster with nobody to possibly produce like last season.

As for defense. 5 starters returning. The defense won't get worse, and it was very good last year. This is a huge advantage that has been mentioned a lot here already but I still think needs to be emphasized. 5 starters back on the defense.

Probably a nitpick, but we were 5th in defensive efficiency last year; the highest we've ever ranked. We could be top 5 again, but if they end up like 10-20, that wouldn't be a huge shock. Between 2010-2016, we finished between 10-20 every year except for 2013, when we were 6th.

But we were 135th in offensive efficiency last year, I have a hunch that's going to improve significantly.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Probably a nitpick, but we were 5th in defensive efficiency last year; the highest we've ever ranked. We could be top 5 again, but if they end up like 10-20, that wouldn't be a huge shock. Between 2010-2016, we finished between 10-20 every year except for 2013, when we were 6th.

But we were 135th in offensive efficiency last year, I have a hunch that's going to improve significantly.

I also think if it drops a bit- ratings wise I mean- it could be a result of better offense. Might sound strange, but I can find the logic.

 

[jordoo]

I was pretty high on this team even with battle departing. I figured they would be in the 15-20 range. My thinking was we had Hughes to step in and replace Battle, 5 returning guys who should all improve to some extent and 3 new guys to provide the depth that was missing last year. Center health and forward depth where my concerns.

Battle being back means the defense will key on him again. Everyone else's improvements will be even more apparent with less pressure and defensive focus on them. It also means that Hughes will be used mainly as a forward which alleviates one of my concerns.

Health at the center position is still a concern but if you consider that Buddy has been around the program his whole life then we have eight guys who know this defense and 7 of them returning players. (Yes I'm considering Hughes a returning player) the staff will not have to work that hard to bring Carrey Braswell and Buddy up to speed on defense. The rest of the players will be a great help in that regard as well. We will have the depth to play defense harder, push the ball and run when the opportunities present themselves. The coaches will have more options to work with offensively and some reliable guys who we can just give the ball and let go to work.

How this team played towards the end of the year is a better representation of where they are at coming into this season then early and middle of last season were. First its college basketball and everybody improves because the players are young and second this was one of the least experienced/youngest teams Syracuse has ever fielded. We were a couple of bad fouls on Marek away from beating Duke and making the E8. As it was we imposed our will on MSU (a title contender in many pundants view) made them play our game and beat them to get to the S16.

Yeah we need to limit turnovers, foul less and improve our shooting and offense overall but I think we are going to be a top10 team start to finish this year. Forget the polls we are a contender.

 

[GooseMutt]

I don't think we magically become an elite offensive team. The offense was brutal for most of last season. However, we will be at least a little better. If brissett can make even a couple more shots in the paint per game, that alone is 4-6 points. And that isn't an insane projection because the window he has to improve finishing is absolutely enormous. He shot as poorly as anyone I have ever seen during a mid season stretch and it wasn't like he was shooting jumpers. Flat out had trouble finishing. There is zero doubt that will be better. Marek will be more consistent. Again, I'm not predicting he's going to make 3 threes a game. Simply just be more aggressive and shoot in the lane when he's there. He's already proven he's capable. Frank and Tyus will do what they do. Chukwu will do what he does. I don't think it will be pretty at times like last year, but if we have Sidibe healthy I absolutely expect a few more points from the center spot. His lateral agility should be much better and I expect him to be very serviceable downlow once he can get readjusted to speed of game. Carey, Hughes, Buddy, and Braswell are wild cards. The first two will play, probably 10-25 minutes depending on the opponent and game situation. Will they be capable offensive players? We will see. What I do know is, I would prefer to have them as bench options as opposed to not on the roster with nobody to possibly produce like last season.

As for defense. 5 starters returning. The defense won't get worse, and it was very good last year. This is a huge advantage that has been mentioned a lot here already but I still think needs to be emphasized. 5 starters back on the defense.

All excellent points plus there are other nuances that come into play. As stated our very good defense returning stronger and experienced sets up for an even better defense. It’s what got us to the tourney. We only have to score more than them. Last year’s senior class is gone and so is a very elite class of freshman on to the pros. You have a lot of experience and talent leaving the league replaced by freshmen who have never seen our zone. I also assume less strong than those leaving.

 

[longtimefan]

All excellent points plus there are other nuances that come into play. As stated our very good defense returning stronger and experienced sets up for an even better defense. It’s what got us to the tourney. We only have to score more than them. Last year’s senior class is gone and so is a very elite class of freshman on to the pros. You have a lot of experience and talent leaving the league replaced by freshmen who have never seen our zone. I also assume less strong than those leaving.

This.

 

[pfister1]

I was pretty high on this team even with battle departing. I figured they would be in the 15-20. My thinking was we had Hughes to step in and replace Battle, 5 returning guys who should all improve to some extent and 3 new guys to provide the depth that was missing last year. Center health and forward depth where my concerns.

Battle being back means the defense will key on him again. Everyone else's improvements will be even more apparent with less pressure and defensive focus on them. It also means that Hughes will be used mainly as a forward which alleviates one of my concerns.

Health at the center position is still a concern but if you consider that Buddy has been around the program his whole life then we have eight guys who know this defense and 7 of them returning players. (Yes I'm considering Hughes a returning player) the staff will not have to work that hard to bring Carrey Braswell and Buddy up to speed on defense. The rest of the players will be a great help in that regard as well. We will have the depth to play defense harder, push the ball and run when the opportunities present themselves. The coaches will have more options to work with offensively and some reliable guys who we can just give the ball and let go to work.

How this team played towards the end of the year is a better representation of where they are at coming into this season then early and middle of last season were. First its college basketball and everybody improves because the players are young and second this was one of the least experienced/youngest teams Syracuse has ever fielded. We were a couple of bad fouls on Marek away from beating Duke and making the E8. As it was we imposed our will on MSU (a little contender in many pundants view) made them play our game and beat them to get to the S16.

Yeah we need to limit turnovers, foul less and improve our shooting and offense overall but I think we are going to be a top10 team start to finish this year. Forget the polls we are a contender.

You convinced me......I'm adding 2019 NCAA Champions to the 40-0 tatoo I already got.

 

[newmexicuse]

I don't think we magically become an elite offensive team. The offense was brutal for most of last season. However, we will be at least a little better. If brissett can make even a couple more shots in the paint per game, that alone is 4-6 points. And that isn't an insane projection because the window he has to improve finishing is absolutely enormous. He shot as poorly as anyone I have ever seen during a mid season stretch and it wasn't like he was shooting jumpers. Flat out had trouble finishing. There is zero doubt that will be better. Marek will be more consistent. Again, I'm not predicting he's going to make 3 threes a game. Simply just be more aggressive and shoot in the lane when he's there. He's already proven he's capable. Frank and Tyus will do what they do. Chukwu will do what he does. I don't think it will be pretty at times like last year, but if we have Sidibe healthy I absolutely expect a few more points from the center spot. His lateral agility should be much better and I expect him to be very serviceable downlow once he can get readjusted to speed of game. Carey, Hughes, Buddy, and Braswell are wild cards. The first two will play, probably 10-25 minutes depending on the opponent and game situation. Will they be capable offensive players? We will see. What I do know is, I would prefer to have them as bench options as opposed to not on the roster with nobody to possibly produce like last season.

As for defense. 5 starters returning. The defense won't get worse, and it was very good last year. This is a huge advantage that has been mentioned a lot here already but I still think needs to be emphasized. 5 starters back on the defense.

i liked your post and agreed with most of it. the one point i question is the comment that ty, frank, and chuk will do what they do. that will not be enuf to make us a top ten or ff team. they will need to expand their games. we will have carey to presumably pick up the pace. how well will ty play off of that ? we have marek who seemed to come into his own as a legit scoring threat, will those guys find him when they are doubled ? will chuk be able to improve his hands ? will frank improve his consistency and maybe play better off ball when carey is on the court with him ? plenty of opportunity to expand their games, they need to do more than to do what they do imho.

 

[supgs]

I’m hoping that because our first 7 guys know how to play JB’s defense allows him to concentrate on the offense during early season practices.

Im hoping that with our "depth" JB will use the early season cupcakes to get some game experience for the press & to push the ball. Lets plan to use both occasionally, more than only dire situations. Im not asking for 90 minutes of hell... just some 21st Century offense.

 

[newmexicuse]

Im hoping that with our "depth" JB will use the early season cupcakes to get some game experience for the press & to push the ball. Lets plan to use both occasionally, more than only dire situations. Im not asking for 90 minutes of hell... just some 21st Century offense.

i will settle for 40 minutes of hell.

 

[supgs]

i will settle for 40 minutes of hell.

Thanks NMcuse... My first post and I get the brain fart award... is there an IGGY for that?

 

[sugrad68]

As described above, there are so many positive factors that could come into play to make us much better. Think about how many close games we lost. Even if only 1/3 of the above mentioned possibilities come true, that puts us as contenders. I think you also didn’t account for 5 guys returning knowing the zone and experienced now.

No way I play the Debbie Downer card here

The defense will be equal to or better than last year's team, which was very good. I don't worry about the defense. For most of the year, our offensive strategy was for Battle, Brissett, or Howard to go 1-on-1 and, if stopped, pass it to one of the other 2 who would go 1-on-1. So many times one of the three was forced to throw up a wild shot as the shot clock expired. I'm looking forward to see how SU attacks good defensive teams this coming year. Couldn't be worse than last year. Hopefully.

 

[Waltdods]

i liked your post and agreed with most of it. the one point i question is the comment that ty, frank, and chuk will do what they do. that will not be enuf to make us a top ten or ff team. they will need to expand their games. we will have carey to presumably pick up the pace. how well will ty play off of that ? we have marek who seemed to come into his own as a legit scoring threat, will those guys find him when they are doubled ? will chuk be able to improve his hands ? will frank improve his consistency and maybe play better off ball when carey is on the court with him ? plenty of opportunity to expand their games, they need to do more than to do what they do imho.

I think this slightly misdiagnoses the problems of last years team. Battle, Howard, and (with a caveat) Brissett were more than capable for the roles they were playing. Sophomore battle was a perfectly capable first option in today’s NCAA. Brissett and Howard were good enough #2 and 3 options. (The caveat being that Brissett as a frosh was the worst finisher for a massively talented player I’ve ever seen).

The problem was the rest of the team. For the brief period when sidibe was healthy, he was a viable fourth option. When dolezaj figured things out at the end of the year, the team was suddenly competent offensively.

This year, they aren’t going to be playing 3 on 5 on offense. Dolezaj will probably improve but as long as he is the player he was by the end of the year he’ll be a legit threat. Hughes for Moyer may be a downgrade defensively but can’t help but be an upgrade on offense. I have no expectations for chukwu but a healthy sidibe makes a huge difference.

 

[realorange]

Can't wait to see everyone's numbers in the Iggy's this coming season.

So what do you project the percentage of entries with over 25 regular season wins?

 

[realorange]

Thanks NMcuse... My first post and I get the brain fart award... is there an IGGY for that?

Based on last years entries it's the Franco Pizza award.

 

[jncuse]

SU was a horrible shooting team last year. Unless they can find a magic pill to fix it, I’m not sure how they will magically turn into good shooters. Experience is very helpful, but it doesn’t turn non-shooters into shooters.

When teams can defend 3 on 5 for most of the season, those 3 are forced to take harder shots. Who else was going to shoot Chukwu? Dolezaj**? Moyer?

** Pre last 5 games Dolezaj. Just adding other scoring depth in terms of an improved Dolezaj, a healthier Sidibe, and other guys who can at least shoot or score in the newcomers it will make it much easier for the big 3 coming back.

Not only will we have more depth next year, we should consistently have more scoring depth on the floor at any given time.

 

[newmexicuse]

I think this slightly misdiagnoses the problems of last years team. Battle, Howard, and (with a caveat) Brissett were more than capable for the roles they were playing. Sophomore battle was a perfectly capable first option in today’s NCAA. Brissett and Howard were good enough #2 and 3 options. (The caveat being that Brissett as a frosh was the worst finisher for a massively talented player I’ve ever seen).

The problem was the rest of the team. For the brief period when sidibe was healthy, he was a viable fourth option. When dolezaj figured things out at the end of the year, the team was suddenly competent offensively.

This year, they aren’t going to be playing 3 on 5 on offense. Dolezaj will probably improve but as long as he is the player he was by the end of the year he’ll be a legit threat. Hughes for Moyer may be a downgrade defensively but can’t help but be an upgrade on offense. I have no expectations for chukwu but a healthy sidibe makes a huge difference.

sugrad in the post above said it very well. last season the o was just a sequence of one on ones. no ball movement, minimal effective interior passing, too many contested treys, battle having to force at the end of the shot clock, etc.

the emergence of marek in the post season added a dimension, but still not enuf for us to be an offensive powerhouse.

we need to build and improve, not just run that same old o slightly more efficiently.

 

[jncuse]

I think this slightly misdiagnoses the problems of last years team. Battle, Howard, and (with a caveat) Brissett were more than capable for the roles they were playing. Sophomore battle was a perfectly capable first option in today’s NCAA. Brissett and Howard were good enough #2 and 3 options. (The caveat being that Brissett as a frosh was the worst finisher for a massively talented player I’ve ever seen).

The problem was the rest of the team. For the brief period when sidibe was healthy, he was a viable fourth option. When dolezaj figured things out at the end of the year, the team was suddenly competent offensively.

This year, they aren’t going to be playing 3 on 5 on offense. Dolezaj will probably improve but as long as he is the player he was by the end of the year he’ll be a legit threat. Hughes for Moyer may be a downgrade defensively but can’t help but be an upgrade on offense. I have no expectations for chukwu but a healthy sidibe makes a huge difference.

I should have just given you a fully agree, because I tried to make the same point below and didn't communicate quite as well as you.

 

[Waltdods]

sugrad in the post above said it very well. last season the o was just a sequence of one on ones. no ball movement, minimal effective interior passing, too many contested treys, battle having to force at the end of the shot clock, etc.

the emergence of marek in the post season added a dimension, but still not enuf for us to be an offensive powerhouse.

we need to build and improve, not just run that same old o slightly more efficiently.

My prediction is that the offense is going to look much much better this year and a bunch of people are going to say that this is because boeheim changed his strategy but really it’s going to be because the team is better.

 

[Waltdods]

I should have just given you a fully agree, because I tried to make the same point below and didn't communicate quite as well as you.

Hah, I read yours and thought you said what I was trying to better.

 

[AlaskaSU]

We are not deep enough at center to run a pressing defense. The press leaves the center in a vulnerable position for collecting fouls. Sibide should be saved pretty much for when it counts. Once you have tendinitis you are probably prone to it. His OOC minutes should be limited.

 

[OrangeDW]

My prediction is that the offense is going to look much much better this year and a bunch of people are going to say that this is because boeheim changed his strategy but really it’s going to be because the team is better.

It will be because there is more MOVEMENT! Gotta MOVE!

 

[jordoo]

It will be because there is more MOVEMENT! Gotta MOVE!

It will be because we will always have 4 legit options for the defense to pay attention to and 5 at times. One of the results of that will be better player and ball movement.

 

[OrangeDW]

It will be because we will always have 4 legit options for the defense to pay attention to and 5 at times. One of the results of that will be better player and ball movement.

I agree. I was being sarcastic because so many on here had all the answers to our offenses woes last year, and “MOVEMENT” was a big favorite.

Reality is, if the defense doesn’t have to bother with guarding 2 or 3 guys on the court, it doesn’t matter how much off ball movement you have.

 

[jordoo]

I agree. I was being sarcastic because so many on here had all the answers to our offenses woes last year, and “MOVEMENT” was a big favorite.

Reality is, if the defense doesn’t have to bother with guarding 2 or 3 guys on the court, it doesn’t matter how much off ball movement you have.

I failed to pick up on your sarcasm.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

40-0.

I already placed the t-shirt order.

Get the tattoo, then I will be convinced that you're a believer.