Locker room

[Jack Hall]

It's not white and it's not gillon. But yes, one guy has made the locker room a nightmare. This is not opinion.

Bench him

 

[Brooky03]

I think the problem with Howard is that his skillset so far hasn't translated against better competition. He just isn't a natural scorer either from outside or driving. Of course, that doesn't excuse the careless TOs and lackadaisical D. Champions step it up when there is competition and not back down from it.

In terms of Robey, at the beginning of the year he started and White played the 2. So, I do not see that he lost minutes per se to White or anybody else in particular. He simply did not play well enough to stay on the floor (though in his case I think a large part of that was the staff messing with his head again). Personally, I think what little hope there is for any kind of a mini-turnaround for this group starts with Robey playing as well as he did last season.

White started at SG until we realized he can't play guard. With that knowledge, he and Lydon are our best offensive threats at SF and PF, which doesn't leave the 30mpg open for Roberson that he had last season. The best scenario to get him on the court with Lydon and White is to slide Lydon to C; something JB has been reluctant to do so far.

I agree that Roberson needs to play well for the team to play well.

 

[CuseAJM]

I follow a lot people on twitter , not too discerning, so i follow any player on any of my teams who is on twitter and there is one guy, starting ~two months ago based on his tweets, big red flags in my mind , but thats just me...

There hasn't been any twitter indication

 

[jordoo]

The two guys that worry me the most both play, imo, the most important position...

What I wouldn't give to have Scoop Jardine on this team.

 

[Jack Hall]

What I wouldn't give to have Scoop Jardine on this team.

You know, i never would have predicted it beforehand, but once Scoop was done, he was one of my alltime favorite SU players. He was on 2 of our best 3 teams ever. If anyone got screwed by what happened to AO and Fab, it was Scoop and Brandon

 

[Jack Hall]

There hasn't been any twitter indication

I think i know what you mean but there were still signs from another player, to me anyway

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Wasn't suggesting he was the big problem, per se.

Was suggesting I can't imagine it's fun playing with him

I still can't see this. I don't see him taking bad shots. We're used to seeing Cooney so challenged by a defender that he feels he needs to fade away, or sprint to catch a pass, and then continue fading to the side as he's hoisting it. Same with Malachi last year—two guys so desperate to get a shot up that they had to do it under too challenging circumstances. I don't see that at all with Andrew White. When he shoots, it's in normal rhythm, straight up and down. And in the BC game, when we were blanked at the opening, he was the guy who hit a three and a mid-range two to get us started.

Before he came in, there was discussion about how few assists he had at Nebraska, and so there was speculation that he'd be a chucker. I think he's shown a very good willingness to pass and to not be the 'final destination.' He even diversified his game a bit, and has been driving.

I have zero qualms with the way he's playing on offense. If we had better guard play, he'd probably be averaging 20.

 

[Jack Hall]

I still can't see this. I don't see him taking bad shots. We're used to seeing Cooney so challenged by a defender that he feels he needs to fade away, or sprint to catch a pass, and then continue fading to the side as he's hoisting it. Same with Malachi last year—two guys so desperate to get a shot up that they had to do it under too challenging circumstances. I don't see that at all with Andrew White. When he shoots, it's in normal rhythm, straight up and down. And in the BC game, when we were blanked at the opening, he was the guy who hit a three and a mid-range two to get us started.

Before he came in, there was discussion about how few assists he had at Nebraska, and so there was speculation that he'd be a chucker. I think he's shown a very good willingness to pass and to not be the 'final destination.' He even diversified his game a bit, and has been driving.

I have zero qualms with the way he's playing on offense. If we had better guard play, he'd probably be averaging 20.

He looks bewildered at time with the teams results, but he is one of our more impactful players

 

[bballbeadle]

It's not white and it's not gillon. But yes, one guy has made the locker room a nightmare. This is not opinion.

So who is it? DC? Lydon? Is it Franklin? Could it be Roberson? Chukwu? MATHEW MOYER? Who who who? Why is this person allowed to stink up the locker room? For the love of god, hasn't anyone seen "Remember the Titans?"

The thing is, no matter who, isn't it up to the coaches to see this and address it? I remember Boeheim saying that it was a challenge to help Edelin integrate into our championship team, and that he had to make sure everyone knew their roles. Maybe the problem is Boeheim himself is uncertain of their roles?

Clearly, it's not just chemistry but it seems to me chemistry is something that can be addressed on an ongoing basis. Yes, they all need to do the ropes team building course. That should solve the problem!

 

[Zelda Zonk]

White started at SG until we realized he can't play guard. With that knowledge, he and Lydon are our best offensive threats at SF and PF, which doesn't leave the 30mpg open for Roberson that he had last season. The best scenario to get him on the court with Lydon and White is to slide Lydon to C; something JB has been reluctant to do so far.

I agree that Roberson needs to play well for the team to play well.

I'm kinda thinking that, at this point, since it was decided 'he can't play guard' when we thought we were a good team, maybe switch him back to 2G, and have Battle at PG, Roberson at 4, DC 5, and Lydon 3, and see what happens. We can't be worse than minus 30 to St Johns. Puts the best players on the floor at the same time, lets us sub for rest, and develops Battle for next year.

 

[4evaOrange]

Yikes.

 

[4evaOrange]

Any of the insiders got anything to add to this?
dasher ?

 

[TCuse99]

So who is it? DC? Lydon? Is it Franklin? Could it be Roberson? Chukwu? MATHEW MOYER? Who who who? Why is this person allowed to stink up the locker room? For the love of god, hasn't anyone seen "Remember the Titans?"

The thing is, no matter who, isn't it up to the coaches to see this and address it? I remember Boeheim saying that it was a challenge to help Edelin integrate into our championship team, and that he had to make sure everyone knew their roles. Maybe the problem is Boeheim himself is uncertain of their roles?

Clearly, it's not just chemistry but it seems to me chemistry is something that can be addressed on an ongoing basis. Yes, they all need to do the ropes team building course. That should solve the problem!

I do not post a ton but this is a real problem. I don't want to say anything to single out a college athlete but it's 95% on one guy at this point. And it's not a transfer or a senior.

That help? **wink wink**

 

[Orangello]

I do not post a ton but this is a real problem. I don't want to say anything to single out a college athlete but it's 95% on one guy at this point. And it's not a transfer or a senior.

That help? **wink wink**

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.....

 

[HOFCeluck]

It's Frank Howard. Let's stop pussyfooting here.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It's Frank Howard. Let's stop pussyfooting here.

Love the OT board attitude!

 

[CuseFaninVT]

It's Frank Howard. Let's stop pussyfooting here.

Yeah, I'm growing tired of this as well.

He was one of my favorites and I saw him poised to do great things for us, but my disappointment in him is extreme. I haven't been this disappointed since Billy Edelin, who I still think could have been one of the very best guards ever at SU.

 

[bballbeadle]

Love the OT board attitude!

I do understand why we don't want to point fingers at one person and proclaim he is the problem. Because then what happens? Pitchforks and torches? And what if we're wrong? As interesting a discussion as this is (and remember, I used to be a therapist and still live for this stuff!), we have no power to do anything about this and perhaps great power to do harm.

They say one rotten apple spoils the barrel, but human beings have free will (unlike our apple brethren) and so the group has power to confront. Maybe they need to have these player only meetings every week! Maybe they need to tell him to knock it off. But ultimately, it's up to the coaches to address this issue. Isn't it? Am I wrong?

 

[hoopsupstate]

Putting 2 and 2 together, is it fair to say that Gillon is the main problem in the locker room?

Nope, Wrong guard.

 

[HOFCeluck]

It's an anonymous message board, so there's some confidentiality when you throw stuff out there (for most of us)

There's also an understanding that stuff here should be taken with a grain of salt. At least there should be.

Also, put up or shut up. "I know who the cancer is but I'm not twlling" serves no purpose other than pump yourself on a message board.

 

[Cuse44]

Sure we don't have a decent PG but is Howard being a pain in the locker room really any reason for the team's struggles this season? I have to believe it has had very little impact.

 

[4evaOrange]

It's an anonymous message board, so there's some confidentiality when you throw stuff out there (for most of us)

There's also an understanding that stuff here should be taken with a grain of salt. At least there should be.

Also, put up or shut up. "I know who the cancer is but I'm not twlling" serves no purpose other than pump yourself on a message board.

Well no one is gonna throw a name out there and then get bashed/questioned. They are gonna test the water and see what everyone else is hearing and then go with it.

 

[ottopower44]

As Beadle says, we don't want to point fingers, but let us go along with this for a second. If this is indeed happening (which does make sense on some level) its such a shame for all of us. Despite some Final Fours, etc. we just continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with aspects that involve off the court crud. I would have thought it may have ended with P. Shumpert/D. Williams era. Yet, here we are. NCAA, Melo, Drug Testing, early departures, scholarships lost. Makes me cringe. Yet, tonight...because I can't avoid the car crash aspect of it all, I will be rooting for the Orange like always.

Its never easy being an Orange fan on or off the court. Syracuse fandom is simply not an easy pursuit. Its constantly something that breaks our hearts. Just when we get ahead and some daylight we fall back into some aspect of drama. It must be a sick draw to all of us die-hard fans. There is no other explanation.

 

[Jeremy L.]

It's Frank Howard. Let's stop pussyfooting here.

This is my guess. No true source or anything but from the few players I follow on Instagram/Snapchat, there's always the one guy who people don't really include. The person typically not included is Frank.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Well no one is gonna throw a name out there and then get bashed/questioned. They are gonna test the water and see what everyone else is hearing and then go with it.

I think the bigger issue, that I joked about somewhere, is that I am sure this site is monitored by the Syracuse.com reporters. I for one don't want to justify them writing a hit piece on JB losing control of the team.