Lets be honest this just isnt a good offensive team, period.

[JeremyCuse]

Our hall of fame coach, some great clutch play late by CJ and Tyler and our teams ability to play great D (for the most part, not today) was why we were undefeated so late and racked up some great wins. All those factors masked the fact that this team is a below average offensive team that at points has just looked awful on offense.

Ennis, Fair and Grant are trying to carry the entire Offensive load and it was only a matter of time before they got worn down. We get nothing from our bigs, Keita was horrific today and Rakt\ outside of the first half against BC must be 0-10 on that little baby hook since then. We have no second shooter to take any sort of pressure off of Cooney and Fair who was making 3's earlier in the year is now air balling them. Cooney himself must be shooting 25% in conference and at this point its almost a cause for celebration when he actually makes a 3. Roberson cant get off the bench (for what reason I dont know) and Silent G shows flashes but then disappears.

Not blaming JB, the staff or even the players but the point totals don't lie this team cant freaking score. Scoring 70 might as well be 140 at this point. Unless we can get this offense back on track to the Maui and Nova games this team is headed to a disappointing finish.

 

[ROCuse]

Our HoF coach said we were a 25-0 team playing like a 20-5 team. Turns out he was probably right.

A healthy Grant is just what we need to take the load off Ennis, Grant, and Fair.

 

[JeremyCuse]

Our HoF coach said we were a 25-0 team playing like a 20-5 team. Turns out he was probably right.

A healthy Grant is just what we need to take the load off Ennis, Grant, and Fair.

I dont think a healthy Grant would fix everything but it would be a huge help for sure. The lack of a second shooter and any inside scoring from the bigs is killing this team.

 

[Fly Rodder]

It was painful to watch Keita run pick and rolls, streak towards the basket wide open with his hand up and Ennis never even glanced at him. No one pays attention to him on offense. SU is playing a 4.5 on 5 game. And if he (or Gbinije) aren't boxing out, it's a 4 on 5 game.

 

[tbonezone]

right now our half court looks like CJ 1 on 3 (god love him) or bust.

 

[retro44]

right now our half court looks like CJ 1 on 3 (god love him) or bust.

well when you put a higher priority on recruits for the zone defense over offensive skills this what you get

 

[44cuse]

Our HoF coach said we were a 25-0 team playing like a 20-5 team. Turns out he was probably right.

No, I think the posters here who said this team was great when JB said there were no great teams were right.

Just another indication of...I won't finish it.

You're right btw.

44cuse

 

[HoustonCuse]

Our HoF coach said we were a 25-0 team playing like a 20-5 team. Turns out he was probably right.

A healthy Grant is just what we need to take the load off Ennis, Grant, and Fair.

Let's not forget that pre-season he said only an idiot would think this team could win 27 games. He may still be right.

 

[thebigeast44]

We're certainly not now. We were an efficient offensive team when we were healthy. But we do lack that other outside threat we had last year with Southerland. With DC2 out, Grant hurt and BMK not fully healthy, it's going to be tough for us to break out of our offensive funk and slump. But if Grant and BMK can get healthy, then we have enough to play with anyone. It will really suck if another promising season comes to an end in a disappointing fashion due to injuries.

 

[mike32768]

It was painful to watch Keita run pick and rolls, streak towards the basket wide open with his hand up and Ennis never even glanced at him. No one pays attention to him on offense.

This has been happening (almost) all season. It may have been Maui when BMK was wide open under the basket practically doing a friggin dance before the ball was passed to him.

But no wonder. His heart is great but his hands are stone.

 

[hoopsupstate]

This team has really regressed offensively since DC2 got hurt. We are not the same team without Grant coming off the bench. Coleman was our best offensive rebounder and Cooney lived of his screens. His physicality is really missed on this team. DC is also a pretty good passer. He could also foul out most teams bigs. He was just coming on with his offensive footwork. Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure what he could have done for this team.

 

[Orangefan1]

I don't usually question Boeheim's judgment, but his stubborness to not play Patterson and Robertson this year has really bothered me. Xmas and Keita should never be playing with each other it basically limits our scoring to about two or three players on the court.

 

[Trueblue25]

Last night is why I would have loved to see Patterson and Roberson get run during the non conference and weaker in conference schedule.

We really are not quite as deep as we need to be. We have no spark plug.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

It was painful to watch Keita run pick and rolls, streak towards the basket wide open with his hand up and Ennis never even glanced at him. No one pays attention to him on offense. SU is playing a 4.5 on 5 game. And if he (or Gbinije) aren't boxing out, it's a 4 on 5 game.

Would you make that pass? I agree with you. BMK hurts us offensively. He's getting pushed around too much going for rebounds, and he sets up way too far under the basket on offensive boards. He gets a couple when we shoot airballs, but then he just gives the ball away anyway. Man he was awful yesterday.

 

[SmilinBob]

Hopefully what this shows Grant is that when you don't have that athletic advantage (like will happen in the NBA) what do you have? A jump shot, a left hand, improved ball handling and hopefully during his time off he will work hard on these.

Curious to see how the assist to basket ratio is and then to look at how were the assists made? I like the assists that have the passer getting the ball to the scorer closer to the basket and not just a pass to an open guy for a jumper. Or, an in and out to the open jumper. This offense is a drive...get stopped and then pass the ball out of necessity or dribble move jumper.

 

[Full_Rebar]

CJ said it best last week when he mentioned how SU needs to get some easy baskets. I'd like to see the press used at times in the 1st half just to get teams out of the rhythm. It doesn't have to be pressure to get turnovers, but SU could certainly force some with the athletes on the court. Roll Patterson out there for 2 minutes here and there to try and force the issue. I understand not wanting to get fouls on Ennis/Cooney, but you could rotate them out against teams that aren't pressing in return.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

CJ said it best last week when he mentioned how SU needs to get some easy baskets. I'd like to see the press used at times in the 1st half just to get teams out of the rhythm. It doesn't have to be pressure to get turnovers, but SU could certainly force some with the athletes on the court. Roll Patterson out there for 2 minutes here and there to try and force the issue. I understand not wanting to get fouls on Ennis/Cooney, but you could rotate them out against teams that aren't pressing in return.

You'd just end up with BMK and Rak getting into foul trouble earlier. Our press is poor. We try to deny, NEVER do, and then the guard with the ball is behind our guards and streaking to the basket. I'd like to see the first pass in allowed and then the trap applied. Has to work better than what we are doing.

 

[Nicknack]

Our HoF coach said we were a 25-0 team playing like a 20-5 team. Turns out he was probably right.

A healthy Grant is just what we need to take the load off Ennis, Grant, and Fair.

How can Grant take the load off of himself???

 

[Coach Orange]

I dont think a healthy Grant would fix everything but it would be a huge help for sure. The lack of a second shooter and any inside scoring from the bigs is killing this team.

Along with the lack of consistent, effective player and ball movement once the initial option on a play is defended.

 

[hoopsupstate]

They don't know how to press. You can press and still keep the ball in front of you. Cooney denied yesterday and the guy caught the ball and was on his way. Keep the ball in front of you and you still have a chance to trap with the guy on the ball. They press wild with no clear purpose in what they're doing. This team could press if they knew what the hell they were doing. Whenever they have trapped in the half court, they have caused disruptions, but they don 't do it enough. It's hard to press playing 6 guys.

 

[tbonezone]

SU press is, what's the word i'm looking for...

 

[Alsacs]

Our problem is that Ennis doesn't push the ball in transition like Scoop and MCW did. I love Ennis for his intelligence and onions in the clutch, but he likes to play slow. Grant being hurt isn't the problem as Christmas can post up as well. Keita kills us on offense as he can't catch or hold onto the ball if he gets it. We need Cooney to work on his mid-range, dibble drive game as teams are clamping on him from the perimeter.

 

[007]

They don't know how to press. You can press and still keep the ball in front of you. Cooney denied yesterday and the guy caught the ball and was on his way. Keep the ball in front of you and you still have a chance to trap with the guy on the ball. They press wild with no clear purpose in what they're doing. This team could press if they knew what the hell they were doing. Whenever they have trapped in the half court, they have caused disruptions, but they don 't do it enough. It's hard to press playing 6 guys.

Good points, hoops. It's also next to impossible to become a pressing team in March. Just like the zone, it is something that needs to be developed all year. Not suggesting that we should press 40 minutes a game or even 20. But with the number of athletes we routinely recruit, it would be great to see more pressing from this program. It just can't be used as a "last resort" tactic, IMO.

As you know from your coaching career, many of the concepts and rotations used in the 2-3, especially with the traps, are similar to what you would see in the 1-2-1-1 or the 2-2-1 (never seen JB run this though). From the outside looking in, it should be a weapon and a means of changing tempo.

 

[Coach Orange]

Good points, hoops. It's also next to impossible to become a pressing team in March. Just like the zone, it is something that needs to be developed all year. Not suggesting that we should press 40 minutes a game or even 20. But with the number of athletes we routinely recruit, it would be great to see more pressing from this program. It just can't be used as a "last resort" tactic, IMO.

As you know from your coaching career, many of the concepts and rotations used in the 2-3, especially with the traps, are similar to what you would see in the 1-2-1-1 or the 2-2-1 (never seen JB run this though). From the outside looking in, it should be a weapon and a means of changing tempo.

You're correct--a team (and its coach) has to be committed to implementing a press to do so effectively. Boeheim only uses it to force turnovers--and in conference play or post-season tournaments, this means out of desperation.

However, effective presses are employed by teams committed to pressing for outcomes other than just a quick turnover.

Containment presses can mentally wear opponents out. Likewise, they can also lead to problems when defenders suddenly trap for turnovers. Furthermore, containment traps can lead to shortening shot clocks which, against our zone, would allow less time to probe for good looks.

Realistically, Boeheim is not changing his stance on pressing at this stage of his career. Ultimately, the team (and program) will live and die based on the 2-3 zone exclusively. When our players execute it well, we will always have a chance to win. When we can put together a few baskets offensively, the chances increase. When we don't do these things, we will press (or trap in the half court)--desperately hoping to get turnovers that spark a victory.

Hey--it worked against NC St.

 

[Cuse315Pat]

I'm not buying the whole not a good offensive team. We were ranked 4th in kenpom offense after that first Duke game, we've just been playing bad since. We are missing our starting center and biggest body on the team (Coleman), our best defensive center is slow since his injury (Keita), Our best athlete can't stay on the floor (Grant).

That's 3 of our 4 big men. The only one not hurt is Rak. Not only is it tough for us to get baskets down low, our offensive and defensive rebounding take a big hit from this. Foul trouble is a real problem as well, and fatigue. We aren't getting EASY buckets anymore, and we don't box out opponents on rebounds, giving them easy buckets.

This is the best FT shooting team I can remember seeing at Cuse. We haven't been getting to the FT line at all in the past month.