Maybe this was posted but BPI... | Syracusefan.com

Maybe this was posted but BPI...

Ptzburghcuse

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Kansas, Gonzaga lead the way in 2018 BPI

The generally well respected BPI has Syracuse as the second highest rated ACC team at #7 just behind UNC! The bar has definitely been raised with the return of Battle. I loved the way the guys played at the end last year and loved our defense. Hopefully these rankings hold water near tournament time next year.

The ACC has four of the top ten with duake and Virginia right there as well.
 
LOVE BPI

Ken Pom has us somewhere in the top ten also. Which makes sense, I believe I made this point before, but we finished 41st in Ken Pom. So we had a decent finish, we return like every single minute from last season, plus we have a pretty good history, it would be a shock if we didn't project well.

The toughest thing I would imagine for the models to project is the quality of the elite freshmen classes, I know they usually have some kind of adjustment for 5 star recruits, but UK and Duke are basically recruiting on a different level so I'm not surprised they rank relatively low.
 
Computer models without data from the current season are useless
Why the immediate knee-jerk cynicism? It’s a prediction, an educated guess. There’s nothing wrong with that. But instead of basing it on one person or group of people’s expertise and opinions, BPI and Ken Pom use actual data from the previous season on returning players,combined with coaching track record and rankings of players coming in. I think it can be a helpful guideline.
 
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So basically it’s on par with a weather forecast.
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The models are not useless but have their limitations. At this point of the year they are probably no more predictable than polls, if not less so. That changes as the season progresses,

What they do tell us is that we have very good depth of returning talent.
 
Almost everyone? Who did we lose? Moyer? C'mon.

We return everyone. And should be a Top 15 team all season.

Huh? Yeah, Moyer was the reason I said "almost everyone." That's technically not "everyone." Who else would I have been talking about?
 
I love the potential of the SU team but they have a lot to prove on the offensive side to become a truly elite team, which being ranked top 10 indicates. Dolezaj had a few good games late in the season but has to prove himself to be a consistent threat. Chukwu was a non-factor on offense last year, so unreliable that it was risky to try to pass him the ball. So SU basically played 3 against 5 most of the season. Not new news. Sidibe also showed potential at times but was very up and down, mostly due to injuries. Hughes and Carey are unknowns. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and the offense improves quite a bit this year.
 
I love the potential of the SU team but they have a lot to prove on the offensive side to become a truly elite team, which being ranked top 10 indicates. Dolezaj had a few good games late in the season but has to prove himself to be a consistent threat. Chukwu was a non-factor on offense last year, so unreliable that it was risky to try to pass him the ball. So SU basically played 3 against 5 most of the season. Not new news. Sidibe also showed potential at times but was very up and down, mostly due to injuries. Hughes and Carey are unknowns. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed and the offense improves quite a bit this year.

Coming in to last season, SU had exactly one player who we could confidently say could contribute on offense, in Tyus Battle. This year, there's at least three (Battle, Brissett, and Howard), arguably a fourth (Dolejaz) and, barring injury, a fifth (Sidibe). And behind them, there's a handful of guys who could potentially contribute, especially Carey and Hughes. This is just a much, much different situation than what the team was facing last year. I think there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic that the offense will take a big jump (and I was very down on the offense both before and during last season).
 
Coming in to last season, SU had exactly one player who we could confidently say could contribute on offense, in Tyus Battle. This year, there's at least three (Battle, Brissett, and Howard), arguably a fourth (Dolejaz) and, barring injury, a fifth (Sidibe). And behind them, there's a handful of guys who could potentially contribute, especially Carey and Hughes. This is just a much, much different situation than what the team was facing last year. I think there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic that the offense will take a big jump (and I was very down on the offense both before and during last season).
My post was based on the team at the end of last season, not the beginning, which I agree with you was Battle plus others of unknown quality. Even at the end, it was defense that won games, not offense. I am optimistic too but the pieces of the puzzle must fit together much better than they did last year. The main component for success on offense -- ball movement and less 1-on-1 play. If the team can do that, then we definitely should be in the rankings all year.
 
easy to forget but su has been ranked in the ap pre-season poll every year since 2011 except in the fall of 2016. yes, even last year.

but it's nice to be back in the top 10 conversation

The other thing that's easy to forget is how much experience we have and how little experience most other programs bring back (just generally in today's game). Chuckwu (5th year), Howard (4th year), Battle (3rd year) and Hughes (3rd year) are basically old men compared to a lot of the kids on the teams we're playing and even Dolezaj (1033 minutes) and Brissett (1411 minutes) played a boatload of basketball last year and have the benefit of an offseason in the program. Dolezaj's also already 21, I believe, and Chuckwu is, I think, 29 (roughly).

That experience alone is a huge edge for this group. Not sure that alone makes them top 15 but it's a huge difference from banking on freshmen and/or grad transfers.
 
I could see this year being like the 2013 MCW team. Elite defense making every game we play winnable but some stretches of absolutely terrible offense.
 
I think PC is trending to be a solid contributor this year, yes even serviceable on offense. He improved dramatically from previous to last year and I think the trend will continue. BS getting back to full capacity will also be a big benefit to both him and PC. Really there is a lot to be excited about for this team.
 

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