There is some truth to this, IMO. That's what you get with a younger, more inexperienced team, when guys are still figuring out their roles & gaining that valuable playing time.
But, the extreme ups and downs illustrated in the 1st and 2nd halves of both this game as well as the Nova game gives me hope that this team has the talent to compete with any team. Our performance in 1st half of Nova game (up by 12 points, on the road, against the 7th ranked team in nation) and our complete dominance in 1st half of this game show me that this team has the talent - that we have a high ceiling.
But, falling apart like we did in the 2nd halves of both those games is something prone to happen with young, inexperienced teams like ours. Especially in the first half/early middle of the season. So, part of the "growing pains" include suffering through these stretches and hopefully gaining valuable experience from them. You could tell by looking at the players faces during the handshake line at end of game that they were pissed...embarrassed even, and that's a great sign.
I hope Coach takes this opportunity to rip into them for their lack of mental toughness - remind them that they play for Syracuse University...a top 10 program nationally. Syracuse basketball teams do not blow 20 point leads to a team like Virginia Tech, I don't care how inexperienced or short on talent we are. All these guys that put on a Syracuse uniform have talent, or they wouldn't be here. They need to play like it, for a full game, not just half a game. Those are the points I'd be hammering home today if I'm Coach.
I'm hoping that the leaders of this team (RAK, Cooney, G) take this opportunity to reiterate to entire team how important it is to not let up with a big lead...not to let a team like Virginia Tech hang around like that when we could have put them away instead. This is an opportunity for this team to really learn from this game, to come together as a team...I'm hoping they were embarrassed by their 2nd half performance & vow to not let something like that happen again. This can be one of those moments within a season that help to forge a team's identity, be a rallying point for the rest of the season. I hope they choose to take the opportunity & run with it.
