IthacaMatt
Old Timer / Unofficial Contributor for 25+ years
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 24,177
- Like
- 35,649
I haven't seen a box score, and am just spitballing it a bit here, in terms of actual number of points, rebounds, etc. That said, here are my player grades against Pace.
Michael Carter-Williams - B
MCW put up a good stat line, but he was far more effective early in the game than during the last 25-30 minutes. Too many turnovers, too many careless passes. He was playing against smaller guys but his handle has to be tighter. He looked really good, don't get me wrong. But he didn't look like the best PG in our conference, let alone a lottery pick. He's got work to do, and I'm sure he's going to put it in. The kid has a great attitude, and did finish with 16 pts, 7 assists, around 4 or 5 rebounds, but 5 turnovers.
Brandon Triche - B
He seems just like he did last year. He's a very good player, but he's not a different player. Had several careless turnovers. We just won't be able to play a 2nd half like this against San Diego State and expect to win. We'd lost by 10. Those guys are talented.
James Southerland - A-
This is the kind of game I was hoping for from James. I think he wound up our leading scorer, and hit around 4 or 5 threes. Was assertive offensively at good times. Didn't force it. As a fill-in 2G, he completely forgot about helping the remaining guard bring the ball up court. At the top of the zone he was scary. But on offense, he forgot about having responsibility for rotating back on defense, and parked in the corner looking for a free shot too often for a guard. I think this experiment is not a great idea, and is borne of desperation, or I guess preparing for the worst, if somebody gets hurt.
C.J. Fair - B
Had a solid game. Forced it on offense a couple times in the 2nd half, like he felt the need to put some points on the board, too, when all the other guys were scoring at will. Had a solid game, not a great one. It was great to see him hit those 2 open three-pointers, though. He took his time and knocked them down. I like that he got one early in the 1st half but then didn't fall in love with it, and get away from his game. I thought he was less effective than Southerland in the guard experiment. Was very solid at the line and wound up with about 16 points, too, without even having that great a game. Lots of upside. He will break 20 points a number of times this year.
Dajuan Coleman - B-
He got yanked quite a bit by Boeheim, but he's going to be very solid this year. He's got great footwork underneath the basket. He plays a lot like Sullinger. He was going against smaller kids, so they got around him a few times. He blocked some shots, showed nice touch at the line and good form on the jumper, although he missed that one from the elbow pretty badly. I was kind of wondering what the heck JB was doing putting him out there on the wing to start the game, and was relieved to see him play inside for the rest of the game. He's going to give us more low post offense this season than since we had Arinze.
Jerami Grant - B
Got some quality minutes. Had a very athletic dunk. Played pretty big and got inside and worked hard on the boards. Long arms make him another nightmare underneath when trapping guards who dare to dribble inside. He's fluid, moves well, puts himself in good spots on the floor. He didn't shoot that well, but that was first game jitters, as he short armed a couple. Very promising player will perhaps play more in conference play than I originally thought, depending on his development. But his defense was pretty good inside. He slides weren't always there, but he mixed it up. Nice job.
Baye Keita - A
He was great tonight. Really vocal in the zone. Just cleaning up on the offense boards. Yes, he was bigger than everybody out there, but isn't that true against most everybody we play at this time of year? He did everything he was supposed to do out there, and just finished around the rim exceptionally well on the offensive boards. He caught and flushed a couple. Yes, he bobbled a couple, too, but he looks like he could be a Hilton Armstrong kind of player for us this year. He was our best all around center tonight, and that's saying something.
Rakeem Christmas -B
Offensively, he is more comfortable passing it than trying to score. Terrence Roberts used to shovel them off to Darryl Watkins for a lot of nice jams. Having good interior passing is very important, and he was outstanding in that respect. He blocked shot well, especially when he got himself charged up in the 2nd half with a series of outstanding plays. Early on, though, he got into bad position when he was in the center of the zone early, and he wasn't doing that great of a job on the boards. He got going better in the 2nd half, and wound up with a real stat stuff night, with something like 8 or 10 points, around 8 boards, 4 or 5 blocks, and about 5 assists, too. He was kind of like Kenyon Martin without a jump shot out there as the game went on.
All in all, a great start to the season. Our defense is going to be tough to shoot over. Our defensive rebounding is going to take time, and may be a problem against San Diego State. We've got to protect the ball better. We don't have enough dribble penetration this year. Yes, these were quick little guys he was going against, but MCW didn't do as well as I hoped on the drive. Our press was not very good with Christmas at the back. I think I like Keita there better, although Rak did have a lot of blocks, he fouls a lot too. Lots of work to do if we want to win on the Carrier.
Michael Carter-Williams - B
MCW put up a good stat line, but he was far more effective early in the game than during the last 25-30 minutes. Too many turnovers, too many careless passes. He was playing against smaller guys but his handle has to be tighter. He looked really good, don't get me wrong. But he didn't look like the best PG in our conference, let alone a lottery pick. He's got work to do, and I'm sure he's going to put it in. The kid has a great attitude, and did finish with 16 pts, 7 assists, around 4 or 5 rebounds, but 5 turnovers.
Brandon Triche - B
He seems just like he did last year. He's a very good player, but he's not a different player. Had several careless turnovers. We just won't be able to play a 2nd half like this against San Diego State and expect to win. We'd lost by 10. Those guys are talented.
James Southerland - A-
This is the kind of game I was hoping for from James. I think he wound up our leading scorer, and hit around 4 or 5 threes. Was assertive offensively at good times. Didn't force it. As a fill-in 2G, he completely forgot about helping the remaining guard bring the ball up court. At the top of the zone he was scary. But on offense, he forgot about having responsibility for rotating back on defense, and parked in the corner looking for a free shot too often for a guard. I think this experiment is not a great idea, and is borne of desperation, or I guess preparing for the worst, if somebody gets hurt.
C.J. Fair - B
Had a solid game. Forced it on offense a couple times in the 2nd half, like he felt the need to put some points on the board, too, when all the other guys were scoring at will. Had a solid game, not a great one. It was great to see him hit those 2 open three-pointers, though. He took his time and knocked them down. I like that he got one early in the 1st half but then didn't fall in love with it, and get away from his game. I thought he was less effective than Southerland in the guard experiment. Was very solid at the line and wound up with about 16 points, too, without even having that great a game. Lots of upside. He will break 20 points a number of times this year.
Dajuan Coleman - B-
He got yanked quite a bit by Boeheim, but he's going to be very solid this year. He's got great footwork underneath the basket. He plays a lot like Sullinger. He was going against smaller kids, so they got around him a few times. He blocked some shots, showed nice touch at the line and good form on the jumper, although he missed that one from the elbow pretty badly. I was kind of wondering what the heck JB was doing putting him out there on the wing to start the game, and was relieved to see him play inside for the rest of the game. He's going to give us more low post offense this season than since we had Arinze.
Jerami Grant - B
Got some quality minutes. Had a very athletic dunk. Played pretty big and got inside and worked hard on the boards. Long arms make him another nightmare underneath when trapping guards who dare to dribble inside. He's fluid, moves well, puts himself in good spots on the floor. He didn't shoot that well, but that was first game jitters, as he short armed a couple. Very promising player will perhaps play more in conference play than I originally thought, depending on his development. But his defense was pretty good inside. He slides weren't always there, but he mixed it up. Nice job.
Baye Keita - A
He was great tonight. Really vocal in the zone. Just cleaning up on the offense boards. Yes, he was bigger than everybody out there, but isn't that true against most everybody we play at this time of year? He did everything he was supposed to do out there, and just finished around the rim exceptionally well on the offensive boards. He caught and flushed a couple. Yes, he bobbled a couple, too, but he looks like he could be a Hilton Armstrong kind of player for us this year. He was our best all around center tonight, and that's saying something.
Rakeem Christmas -B
Offensively, he is more comfortable passing it than trying to score. Terrence Roberts used to shovel them off to Darryl Watkins for a lot of nice jams. Having good interior passing is very important, and he was outstanding in that respect. He blocked shot well, especially when he got himself charged up in the 2nd half with a series of outstanding plays. Early on, though, he got into bad position when he was in the center of the zone early, and he wasn't doing that great of a job on the boards. He got going better in the 2nd half, and wound up with a real stat stuff night, with something like 8 or 10 points, around 8 boards, 4 or 5 blocks, and about 5 assists, too. He was kind of like Kenyon Martin without a jump shot out there as the game went on.
All in all, a great start to the season. Our defense is going to be tough to shoot over. Our defensive rebounding is going to take time, and may be a problem against San Diego State. We've got to protect the ball better. We don't have enough dribble penetration this year. Yes, these were quick little guys he was going against, but MCW didn't do as well as I hoped on the drive. Our press was not very good with Christmas at the back. I think I like Keita there better, although Rak did have a lot of blocks, he fouls a lot too. Lots of work to do if we want to win on the Carrier.
