Monmouth Postgame

[NineOneSeven]

I could drink 20 beers, do a tab of acid, do wind sprints, and spin around 5x before shooting and not pull off what JJ did on those two free throws. Seriously. Give me a million free throws and I won’t come close to that.

Absolutely insane what those looked like. And as bad as they looked on TV they were worse in person, especially the first one.

We need Kingz and George, and eventually Anthony (he has to be better as time goes on) on the line late from the guard spot.

 

[TommyA13]

Bad games happen, no need to hit the panic button just yet.

The 2003 championship team beat a 5-5 Canisius team by only 8 pts in December that season. That Canisius team finished the year with an 11-17 record.

This team is not even remotely close to the 2003 team

 

[sweetpea]

I watched this on repeat as a kid. Boeheim has a whole section on free throws. Bust out the VCRs and whole team watches it.
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I'm swinging by the Melo Center tomorrow to drop off my signed copy of "Fifteen Feet for Free" by Jim Lee.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I would love to know why Autry decided to go with Zephir at the end. Why he went with the player who had contributed nothing during the game for the important closing possessions is beyond me. Zephir had a foul and then missed two free throws. Those were his only stats tonight.

Because they were making threes against us, and Zephir is a good on-ball defender. It didn't work, but it wasn't an illogical move.

 

[Scooch]

I think all of you would airball at least 1 of every 10 FT attempt you took in the Dome.

Still, JJ’s FTs were unfathomable.

 

[CuseTG2003]

Some positives:

- George, Kingz & Kyle are as good as advertised.
- Kiyan & Sadiq are legit too. Sadiq needs to rein it in a bit to avoid foul trouble, and Kiyan needs to adjust to physical play. Normal freshman stuff.
- Donnie & JJ are talented but flawed.

Who’s gonna step up and lead this team on the court? George?

The pieces are there. It’s all on Red.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Bad games happen, no need to hit the panic button just yet.

The 2003 championship team beat a 5-5 Canisius team by only 8 pts in December that season. That Canisius team finished the year with an 11-17 record.

I never understood the panic button concept. If you hit it what happens? Seems like you hit it when things are going bad and you want them to turn around abruptly. Otherwise what is the point of it? And if it does offer that service, then it should be hit early and often.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I think all of you would airball at least 1 of every 10 FT attempt you took in the Dome.

Still, JJ’s FTs were unfathomable.

That’s the thing though… it is one thing to airball. It’s another to air ball by several feet and to the side. It was like if the rim was 8’ tall, 2 feet closer, and a foot to the right.

 

[albanycuse]

Some positives:

- George, Kingz & Kyle are as good as advertised.
- Kiyan & Sadiq are legit too. Sadiq needs to rein it in a bit to avoid foul trouble, and Kiyan needs to adjust to physical play. Normal freshman stuff.
- Donnie & JJ are talented but flawed.

The pieces are there. It’s all on Red.

That’s the problem.

 

[sdhall01]

One sad point, I watched MSU blow out Kentucky tonight. Neither team would have beaten Monmouth by less than 20 points. Refs be damned.

 

[CuseTG2003]

That’s the problem.

That’s the fear. Hoping he can figure it out.

 

[tee1222]

Bad games happen, no need to hit the panic button just yet.

The 2003 championship team beat a 5-5 Canisius team by only 8 pts in December that season. That Canisius team finished the year with an 11-17 record.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I’ll just say the obvious. The team played materially worse with JJ in the lineup. We can’t afford to have him out there for long spurts if his a defensive liability, average on offense and the worst free throw shooter in SU history. He make Stevie Thompson’s free throw shooting look world class.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Thinking more. We just got shown by a garbage team that our athleticism doesn't matter if you are stupid and can't make free throws. There were 25 whistles at Drexel and 47 tonight on our home court which is pretty unheard of but still no excuse. We weren't ready for such a sloppy game.

The fork in the road now is if we get smarter and do the things that aren't based all on athleticism.

 

[JDubbin]

A couple of quicker hitters...

I don't think just because we didn't play well tonight that the first 3 games were invalid, I believe we're a good, energetic defensive team with a lot of athleticism. The Monmouth game did help clarify some things... when we get turnovers & get out on the break Syracuse is capable of blowing things wide open. When we get locked in a foul fest 1/2 court slog, we're going to struggle executing on offense.

The poor free throw shooting adds to that. If we can't start grabbing these easy points at about a 20%+ higher clip from the line, it's going to cause us to lose winnable games. We aren't good enough to have the buffer or leeway for that not to have major impact. It scares me, because we're bad bad at it... bad bad. Even "good" shooters on the team are struggling, Kiyan's struggles emphasize that point.

JJ Starling. When we was out the last 3 games, the team played super well in just about every facet of the game. He's in, Syracuse struggles. I don't think it's just a matter of how well he plays individually, the chemistry just feels off. The cloud of trying to fit him in, his history of porous defense, the craziness of the FT situation, all detract from the team focusing their energy on the other things. I'm a believer he needs to come off the bench... but sheesh, it's like it's own circus show when it comes to JJ.

I don't love seeing Donnie hobbling like he was tonight, it looks TOO MUCH like last year's injury. That scares me, a lot.

 

[bballbeadle]

JJ will be in that gym til 2036 in order for that to happen. I legit tried to helped him. Gave him tons of routines that helps to fix the yips. It’s a lost cause. Feel bad for him and he’s definitely losing sleep over it

He was kneeling on the floor, maybe on all fours, praying for at least 20 seconds before the start of the game. He wants so much to do well.

 

[Dcuse]

We have 6 days to right this ship. I think the talent is there for this to be a pretty good team. I have been worried about Red. After tonight, I am even more worried. I have seen nothing to suggest that he can go up against a coach like Sampson Or Self and come out ahead.

Please stop the coaching idiocy. You can’t coach free throws, I don’t care what anybody says. Every player anywhere has to figure out for themselves mentally how to step up and drop those. The officiating was of young girls rec league. Those were the 2 reasons we don’t win by 20. Not coaching.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I thought JJ played fine overall. Had some nice takes and hit the big 3. The FTs though were just beyond impossibly bad.

I’m obviously rooting for him too. And despite what others say, he’s a key part of the rotation.

 

[Col. Bleep]

One sad point, I watched MSU blow out Kentucky tonight. Neither team would have beaten Monmouth by less than 20 points. Refs be damned.

Yup.
It's also a polite way of saying that this Orange team isn't nearly as good as some may think.
And that will show against Houston.
It won't be pretty.
In fact, an 0-3 visit to Las Vegas shouldn't surprise anyone.

People have downplayed Houston because they have 3 key freshmen.
Hmm...seem to recall a certain team that had 3 key freshmen and 3 key sophs and won a national championship.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Just a horrific night for Red.
-With the game on the line of all the players on our team he runs an inbounds play to Bryce Zephir? Is that the spot when you want him taking the first two free throws of his Syracuse career? You just put in Fennell the play before so what changed?
-how can you get the ball to JJ on an inbounds play after he had just airballed a free throw?
-did Red not learn anything from JB about how to take the air out of the ball with a lead? Why were we launching a three pointer with 20 seconds left on the shot clock?
-why were our guys fouling in the front court with the lead?
-Donnie played so soft with the game on the line, including the ill advised off 1 foot airball and letting a guy just take the ball away from him after a defensive rebound.
-Red went too long with Souare. It was as if he thought we were up by 20.
-really a bummer for this game to take air out of our sails before Vegas. At least we got the win.

JJ was not in the game after the air ball. He was subbed out on offense. Red brought in Kiyan and Fennell. Anthony wanted nothing to do with getting the ball on the press. He’s almost as bad as JJ. He’s shooting under 50% from the foul line.

 

[cuseguy]

Well, that was painful. I was giddy when I saw we were 22 point favorites. By halftime I was questioning such a spread.

We never seem to play well in these late starts. Mike Waters mentioned that the crowd and SU bench were lifeless. We seemed to approach this game like an exhibition, a warmup for Vegas, and it played out that way. We let Monmouth dictate the tempo and energy. We should have seized control at some point. We never did.

Kingz and George played well. Really no one else did, including Freeman. Those fadeaways need to go, and he needs to be more of presence inside. He doesn’t seem to know what type of player he needs to be.

I’m now questioning Red’s substitution pattern. Too much switching. Too concerned with keeping players happy rather than creating cohesion.

Still think JJ will find his groove. But, wow, those free throws!

Anthony finally had his freshman game. Forced a few drives, missed 3 big free throws at a key moment. And as I suspected, he doesn’t look physically ready to endure the college game yet. That will come.

Some really questionable decisions on who took the inbounds passes late. Can’t have JJ and Zephir in key spots taking big free throws.

As Red says, too many dips tonight. A lot to work on. We’ll learn a lot more next week, and it might not be what we want to know.

 

[sdhall01]

Well, that was painful. I was giddy when I saw we were 22 point favorites. By halftime I was questioning such a spread.

We never seem to play well in these late starts. Mike Waters mentioned that the crowd and SU bench were lifeless. We seemed to approach this game like an exhibition, a warmup for Vegas, and it played out that way. We let Monmouth dictate the tempo and energy. We should have seized control at some point. We never did.

Kingz and George played well. Really no one else did, including Freeman. Those fadeaways need to go, and he needs to be more of presence inside. He doesn’t seem to know what type of player he needs to be.

I’m now questioning Red’s substitution pattern. Too much switching. Too concerned with keeping players happy rather than creating cohesion.

Still think JJ will find his groove. But, wow, those free throws!

Anthony finally had his freshman game. Forced a few drives, missed 3 big free throws at a key moment. And as I suspected, he doesn’t look physically ready to endure the college game yet. That will come.

Some really questionable decisions on who took the inbounds passes late. Can’t have JJ and Zephir in key spots taking big free throws.

As Red says, too many dips tonight. A lot to work on. We’ll learn a lot more next week, and it might not be what we want to know.

I also question Red’s substitutions. More importantly, however, I question his practices. How ON EARTH are we so bad at fundamental basketball with these athletes.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I would love to know why Autry decided to go with Zephir at the end. Why he went with the player who had contributed nothing during the game for the important closing possessions is beyond me. Zephir had a foul and then missed two free throws. Those were his only stats tonight.

Because he’s our best defensive guard. That’s very obvious.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Yup.
It's also a polite way of saying that this Orange team isn't nearly as good as some may think.
And that will show against Houston.
It won't be pretty.
In fact, an 0-3 visit to Las Vegas shouldn't surprise anyone.

People have downplayed Houston because they have 3 key freshmen.
Hmm...seem to recall a certain team that had 3 key freshmen and 3 key sophs and won a national championship.

The tricky thing with guys that play only on their athleticism and momentum is that they can win big games but not consistently. Houston isn't going to happen, that's clear now, but not the end of the world either. Kansas and the next are in the realm of possibility.

I think people will be surprised when we're ok running 10 against Houston cuz it will look bad and we may look bad but it will pay dividends for Kansas and the next game.

We gotta make decisions faster.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

A couple of quicker hitters...

I don't think just because we didn't play well tonight that the first 3 games were invalid, I believe we're a good, energetic defensive team with a lot of athleticism. The Monmouth game did help clarify some things... when we get turnovers & get out on the break Syracuse is capable of blowing things wide open. When we get locked in a foul fest 1/2 court slog, we're going to struggle executing on offense.

The poor free throw shooting adds to that. If we can't start grabbing these easy points at about a 20%+ higher clip from the line, it's going to cause us to lose winnable games. We aren't good enough to have the buffer or leeway for that not to have major impact. It scares me, because we're bad bad at it... bad bad. Even "good" shooters on the team are struggling, Kiyan's struggles emphasize that point.

JJ Starling. When we was out the last 3 games, the team played super well in just about every facet of the game. He's in, Syracuse struggles. I don't think it's just a matter of how well he plays individually, the chemistry just feels off. The cloud of trying to fit him in, his history of porous defense, the craziness of the FT situation, all detract from the team focusing their energy on the other things. I'm a believer he needs to come off the bench... but sheesh, it's like it's own circus show when it comes to JJ.

I don't love seeing Donnie hobbling like he was tonight, it looks TOO MUCH like last year's injury. That scares me, a lot.

Good takes.