My Take

[sutomcat]

Didn't go to this one but I watched it on TV. Amazon Fire Stick. Solid.

As in the Midnight Madness scrimmage, SU opened up in man. As in the Midnight Madness scrimmage, it looked really bad. The PGs didn't pressure the ball, players were lackadaisical and IUP found open shots very easily.

In the infamous LeMoyne scrimmage SU lost years ago, JB stayed in man the whole game. Always thought it was to teach the players, who were clamoring to play man defense, a lesson that coach knows best. Last night, once IUP built up a healthy double figure lead, JB switched to the 2-3. It was an improvement but still not very effective. It wasn't until he went to the press that order was restored and the big IUP lead melted like it was under a couple of cranked up hair dryers.

So it doesn't look good for a big story coming on how much SU is playing man defense and how successful it has been. But it does look likely, at least based on this very small sample size, that the press will be employed a lot more this season.

Some quick thoughts on the players:

TB had a memorable debut as an Orangeman. Hit 4 of 5 from the 3 point circle, handled the ball well, passed it well and was our best defender. The great players come out of the gates playing like a veteran. Tyus played like a senior and was the best player on the court on this day.

TL had a bad day shooting 3s but was otherwise stellar. Dominated the boards on the defensive end, showed quality moves inside, looked much stronger than last year. His defense was solid and and he passed it really well too. As a note, I do not believe he played any minutes at center.

TRob was also really good. Played like the senior he is, shot it well, made some nice moves and hit some mid range jump shots. And played good defense and rebounded well. Looked primed to have an excellent senior season.

Speaking of seniors, AWIII had a strange kind of game. Didn't shoot it well, but that will happen from time to time. His defense in man was not good. Thought he shot it once when he had TRob open down low but he also had a couple of good passes. Didn't rebound the ball much but a big part of that was the fact that he played 14 of his 25 minutes at the 2.

The PG duties were split between FH and JG. FH started the game looking very shaky, had problems with basic dribbling again, and I thought he really failed to run the half court offense effectively. He played much better later in the game though. Hit a couple of mid range jumpers and looked like he might be a threat to score this year. His judgement remains very worrisome though...tried to thread the ball into a very tight spot way too often and was lucky he didn't get a bunch more turnovers on balls that were deflected by the slow, undersized IUP players.

I thought JG ran the offense a lot better, got better spacing, was able to get in the paint more and he looked more unselfish as well. He is definitely really short though and will probably be a bit of a liability in the 2-3 against teams with big guards. Showed good judgement and looked like the senior that he is.

Thought DC3 played well in limited minutes. He is never going to be a great defender, just doesn't have the size or athletic ability/quickness for that. But he made a couple of quality moves, drew some fouls and rebounded well. The big problem for him is that our only effective defense was the press, and he is not well suited to play that defense. I don't see us doing this all season long, so he should play a major role as things unfold.

Thought TT was really impressive. Another guy who played beyond his years...stayed within himself, didn't make stupid fouls, looked pretty solid rebounding and defending and looks advanced finishing plays on offense for a true frosh. Seems like he knows how to play and has a high BB IQ. He is going to be a good one. Played almost exclusively at center, where he and PC shared PT while we were pressing (these were our best lineups).

That brings up PC. Wow, what a mixed bag with him. He is definitely athletic. Runs the floor really well. Looks okay finishing when he gets the ball inside 5 feet on offense. Did not play very physical. Did not body up or box out much. Had a few major gaffes positioning himself on defense and based on this game, I wonder about his basketball IQ. But he hustles, is athletic and is 7'2. I think he is going to get banged around some and have some struggles his season and might excel at a role where he comes in as a defensive specialist when we press.

That leaves MM. He didn't play a lot and when he was in, didn't touch the ball much. Looked very much like a frosh trying to fit in. If you want to play as a frosh, you have to be aggressive and on this night, Matt wasn't. I really like his athletic ability and he knows how to play. Faces a really tough fight for PT with all the veterans blocking his path. His day is coming though, and I think he has a great chance to win the most improved player in the ACC as a sophomore.

Thought it was a good start. There is a lot of work to be done...you can see the players aren't used to playing with each other and are still feeling each other out. The 2-3 zone is a work in progress and will take time to become really effective. Chemistry could be an issue but with all the veterans on the team, I think there is adequate leadership to figure things out and make this team successful. For the first time in a while, all the pieces are there to have a great, top 5 type season.

I look forward to seeing how things turn out.

 

[SoBristol]

Great summary.

One nit -- in the first half, Thompson played with PC, and Thompson was at the front of the zone press, on the in-bounder, then trying to trap. On offense, he made his moves inside, but as a 4. We had Coleman as the starting center, then PC, and for the remaining minutes, it was Lydon at center.

 

[bballbeadle]

Tomcat, you didn't write anything about Gillon, whom I thought was one of the two most impressive players out there (with Battlecat). He had the feel of a confident leader, and had 9 assists to prove it. So, question, since I don't understand the positions very well: could Gillon play the 1 and Howard the 2?

 

[sutomcat]

Tomcat, you didn't write anything about Gillon, whom I thought was one of the two most impressive players out there (with Battlecat). He had the feel of a confident leader, and had 9 assists to prove it. So, question, since I don't understand the positions very well: could Gillon play the 1 and Howard the 2?

Sorry, I typed JB when I meant JG. Fixed that.

I don't think we will see Gillon and Howard playing at the same time except in the event of injuries or foul outs. This is more because Battle and White are really good players at the 2 than anything else.

In the event the two do play together, I think JG would probably play more of the 2 position, as he appears to be a much better outside shooter right now compared to FH.

 

[bballbeadle]

Sorry, I typed JB when I meant JG. Fixed that.

I don't think we will see Gillon and Howard playing at the same time except in the event of injuries or foul outs. This is more because Battle and White are really good players at the 2 than anything else.

In the event the two do play together, I think JG would probably play more of the 2 position, as he appears to be a much better outside shooter right now compared to FH.

I wondered who JB was, and felt kinda stupid, and then decided it was early morning and let it go. Ha ha!

 

[AZOrange]

Good summary. Battle was great (as expected). Was pleasantly surprised by Thompson. Chukwu...eh...Thought overall it looked like a bunch of guys playing pickup and trying to learn each other's names.

 

[billsin01]

Good summary. Battle was great (as expected). Was pleasantly surprised by Thompson. Chukwu...eh...Thought overall it looked like a bunch of guys playing pickup and trying to learn each other's names.

As someone else posted somewhere, we'll know a lot more about chukwu in January as he's got to knock off a bunch of rust and is obviously raw to begin with. We'll need some patience there is guess

 

[cuseincincy]

Some really great parts to play with for JB. Two things I thought after after watching this game are:

1. Thompson is going to play. Don't know how much. But when you're 6'10" and can guard the inbound on the press the coach will find minutes for you. Defense almost always gets players on the court sooner. He's still behind Coleman, Chukwu, Roberson and Lydon but he will be a situational and defensive change of pace substitution.
2. Moyer is not going to redshirt. He's not going to get much PT as he is definitely the #10 man but I was surprised at his mobility last night. Didn't look like a player coming off a major injury. He looked more like a typical freshman which was nice to see. Besides, almost all of our walk ons are little guys, someone will have to be on the court with them during the blowouts.

Speaking of blowouts. We're going to see a bunch this year. On reasons is we really don't a have a "bench" other than Moyer and Thompson. The other 8 guys in my opinion will split time fairly evenly with Lydon probably leading the team in minutes. That means in blowouts before its walk on time we'll have to have at least 3 of those guys on the court even when we get big leads.

 

[realorange]

From what I could see on the lousy stream, I'd agree with what you said about Howard. It seemed like he was pressing to do too much. Maybe he felt like he had to show more than he did. Does he feel the pressure of JG playing the position??
Time will tell, but I think he'll feel more comfortable once he quits putting that extra pressure on himself to perform.

 

[SWC75]

Good summary. Battle was great (as expected). Was pleasantly surprised by Thompson. Chukwu...eh...Thought overall it looked like a bunch of guys playing pickup and trying to learn each other's names.

We have a bunch of good players. Now JB has to mold them into a good team- by January.

 

[SUbear]

Didn't go to this one but I watched it on TV. Amazon Fire Stick. Solid.

As in the Midnight Madness scrimmage, SU opened up in man. As in the Midnight Madness scrimmage, it looked really bad. The PGs didn't pressure the ball, players were lackadaisical and IUP found open shots very easily.

In the infamous LeMoyne scrimmage SU lost years ago, JB stayed in man the whole game. Always thought it was to teach the players, who were clamoring to play man defense, a lesson that coach knows best. Last night, once IUP built up a healthy double figure lead, JB switched to the 2-3. It was an improvement but still not very effective. It wasn't until he went to the press that order was restored and the big IUP lead melted like it was under a couple of cranked up hair dryers.

So it doesn't look good for a big story coming on how much SU is playing man defense and how successful it has been. But it does look likely, at least based on this very small sample size, that the press will be employed a lot more this season.

Some quick thoughts on the players:

TB had a memorable debut as an Orangeman. Hit 4 of 5 from the 3 point circle, handled the ball well, passed it well and was our best defender. The great players come out of the gates playing like a veteran. Tyus played like a senior and was the best player on the court on this day.

TL had a bad day shooting 3s but was otherwise stellar. Dominated the boards on the defensive end, showed quality moves inside, looked much stronger than last year. His defense was solid and and he passed it really well too. As a note, I do not believe he played any minutes at center.

TRob was also really good. Played like the senior he is, shot it well, made some nice moves and hit some mid range jump shots. And played good defense and rebounded well. Looked primed to have an excellent senior season.

Speaking of seniors, AWIII had a strange kind of game. Didn't shoot it well, but that will happen from time to time. His defense in man was not good. Thought he shot it once when he had TRob open down low but he also had a couple of good passes. Didn't rebound the ball much but a big part of that was the fact that he played 14 of his 25 minutes at the 2.

The PG duties were split between FH and JG. FH started the game looking very shaky, had problems with basic dribbling again, and I thought he really failed to run the half court offense effectively. He played much better later in the game though. Hit a couple of mid range jumpers and looked like he might be a threat to score this year. His judgement remains very worrisome though...tried to thread the ball into a very tight spot way too often and was lucky he didn't get a bunch more turnovers on balls that were deflected by the slow, undersized IUP players.

I thought JG ran the offense a lot better, got better spacing, was able to get in the paint more and he looked more unselfish as well. He is definitely really short though and will probably be a bit of a liability in the 2-3 against teams with big guards. Showed good judgement and looked like the senior that he is.

Thought DC3 played well in limited minutes. He is never going to be a great defender, just doesn't have the size or athletic ability/quickness for that. But he made a couple of quality moves, drew some fouls and rebounded well. The big problem for him is that our only effective defense was the press, and he is not well suited to play that defense. I don't see us doing this all season long, so he should play a major role as things unfold.

Thought TT was really impressive. Another guy who played beyond his years...stayed within himself, didn't make stupid fouls, looked pretty solid rebounding and defending and looks advanced finishing plays on offense for a true frosh. Seems like he knows how to play and has a high BB IQ. He is going to be a good one. Played almost exclusively at center, where he and PC shared PT while we were pressing (these were our best lineups).

That brings up PC. Wow, what a mixed bag with him. He is definitely athletic. Runs the floor really well. Looks okay finishing when he gets the ball inside 5 feet on offense. Did not play very physical. Did not body up or box out much. Had a few major gaffes positioning himself on defense and based on this game, I wonder about his basketball IQ. But he hustles, is athletic and is 7'2. I think he is going to get banged around some and have some struggles his season and might excel at a role where he comes in as a defensive specialist when we press.

That leaves MM. He didn't play a lot and when he was in, didn't touch the ball much. Looked very much like a frosh trying to fit in. If you want to play as a frosh, you have to be aggressive and on this night, Matt wasn't. I really like his athletic ability and he knows how to play. Faces a really tough fight for PT with all the veterans blocking his path. His day is coming though, and I think he has a great chance to win the most improved player in the ACC as a sophomore.

Thought it was a good start. There is a lot of work to be done...you can see the players aren't used to playing with each other and are still feeling each other out. The 2-3 zone is a work in progress and will take time to become really effective. Chemistry could be an issue but with all the veterans on the team, I think there is adequate leadership to figure things out and make this team successful. For the first time in a while, all the pieces are there to have a great, top 5 type season.

I look forward to seeing how things turn out.

Lots to work on, but there are pieces there that can get the job done when coach does his thing.

 

[stuckinbig11]

I think I saw TL at center for a while.

 

[RF2044]

We have a bunch of good players. Now JB has to mold them into a good team- by January.

Yup. And there might be growing pains along the way, but at the end of the year this team has the potential to be as good as any team in college basketball.

 

[Cusester]

I've been waiting to see which Tyler Roberson would show up this year. Extremely disappointed that the old, lackadaisical TR was in the game for the first 6 minutes or so. TT then came in for him and proceeded to look very good. When TR came back in he was ready to play and to me, was the best player on the court. When he plays with fire he does so many little things that can easily go unnoticed, but Thompson will take his playing time if TR doesn't bring it every game.

 

[SWC75]

I've been waiting to see which Tyler Roberson would show up this year. Extremely disappointed that the old, lackadaisical TR was in the game for the first 6 minutes or so. TT then came in for him and proceeded to look very good. When TR came back in he was ready to play and to me, was the best player on the court. When he plays with fire he does so many little things that can easily go unnoticed, but Thompson will take his playing time if TR doesn't bring it every game.

That may be the biggest contribution of the new forwards: "Turned on all the time Robie"