My Take

[sutomcat]

What a weird team. The level of inconsistency from game to game is remarkable. That was an incredibly impressive performance against a team that is quite good. The execution of the half court offense, even with Lydon out, was terrific. Where in all the losses to date, it has been horrific.

Not much of a bell curve. Strange.

This team is a lot better playing against a zone than a man defense. Other than an extended period against UConn's zone, and a matchup zone Indiana (Pa) surprised us with, we have been pretty solid against zones.

Against decent man defenses, not so good.

Seems to me the only way our half court offense works is to run the offense through the high post, with TT manning things there. TRob, TL and DC2 just haven't been effective up top. TT is an interesting player for sure. While his passing and mid range jumper are welcome additions, his nasty streak might be even more important for this team of nice guys.

AW3 is getting face guarded a lot and is riving increasingly to try and defeat that strategy. While he is not a high flyer, and not particularly fast, he draws a lot of fouls and appears to be getting more comfortable doing to the hole as the season progresses.

JB is using FH and JG as the guards a lot. JG has done damage jumping passing lanes on the initial pass and has gotten a lot of layups (should be layups anyway). I think FH is better not holding the ball a lot. Not a good ball handler. Seems when he has it for more than 3 or 4 seconds, something bad happens a lot.

TL gets a lot more good scoring looks with TT at the high post and no one (i.e. DC2) on the low post. This gives him room to operate. He can hang out at the wing, shoot it if they do not cover him or flash to the low post if they do.

Regarding the Achilles injury for TL...I don't think it happened last night, or the game before. He has been struggling to balance all season...I have seen him awkwardly, especially when getting a rebound, all season long. Was hoping it was just a bad ankle. I am seeing a full recovery from an achilles strain requires 6-8 weeks of rest. That would mean him missing most of conference play to get 100%. Sigh. Though it would be even worse to keep playing him and have him at 60% all season long.

It is a shame PC has the retina tear, but it will mean DC2 will play meaningful minutes every game. He has limitations to be sure but when he gets the ball within 10 foot of the rim, he probably finishes more reliably than anyone else we have. And he can still rebound, especially on the offensive boards. Glad it looks good for him to play the rest of the year.

TB was supposed to be a great driver with a decent outside shot. But he has been the antithesis of this all year long. I don't think he is going to magically emerge as a dominating force attacking the paint as the season progresses. He is okay at driving. What happened? All I can think is that he worked so hard on his biggest weakness (outside shooting) that he turned it into a strength, perhaps losing some of his ability to drive in the process.

Not sure I can remember a senior ever falling backwards as much as TRob has from his junior season. Looks like his confidence is shot. He at least made a few baskets last night...in recent games, he regularly looked clueless even trying to make a routine layup. Hate to see a senior struggle like he is doing.

Can't believe how poorly this team shoots FTs, especially in close games. They look tight a lot. Desperately need a cocky kid with infinite confidence to help set the tone. TT is probably the closest thing we have. How unfortunate.

The one good thing about the way this season is unfolding is that the woes and troubles the team is experiencing may end up making the team next season much better than expected. Right now it is very hard to imagine TL or TB not returning, and with TT, you have a really strong group of three to build around. If FH can figure out how to play well against good teams, next season could be really memorable.

But I still think this team is capable of putting together an extended period of excellence, returning to the top 25 and making a nice run in the tournament. The keys, IMHO, are the development of FH and the health of TL.

 

[Newhouser]

That observation about Lydon makes sense.He has seemed less explosive to me all year. Maybe it was an injury.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought TL had put together some of the best 3 halves of basketball we have seen from any of our players in a long time.

The put back dunk/dunks against Georgetown were pretty impressive/explosive from Lydon.

41/14/6 in his last 52 minutes/3 halves. I actually thought he turned the corner before he go hurt. Such a shame. Hopefully he can come back and play like that some more.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse sophomore forward Tyler Lydon is getting treatment Tuesday and is scheduled to do a light workout at practice, according to Pete Moore, SU Director of Athletic Communications.

Lydon suffered a strained achilles late in the first half of the Orange's 105-57 win against Eastern Michigan on Monday.

Lydon's playing status for Wednesday's game against St. John's will be a game-time decision, according to Moore.

Tyler Lydon will be game-time decision for Syracuse basketball game vs. St. John's

Clearly, rumors of Rico's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Last night I saw White make 2 defensive rotations that he has not made all year. That's encouraging. For the first time, Battle drove against the zone and dished to Coleman for a layup. It's the first time in the half court set that he has attacked the basket. He does it on the break, but hasn't done much of it in the half court. He was a train wreck leading one fast break last night. I thought we started the game with an offensive purpose to get the ball inside. It's amazing how much better we are on offense when we attack and not settle just for jump shots. Gillon and Howard were better setting up their teammates on the break too. One problem is that Gillon and Battle don't run and get to the corners. They stop at foul line extended and it allows one defensive player to guard Howard and the wing. It limits Howard's options.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Many times these kids play banged up with nagging injuries. They don't talk about it, they don't use it as an excuse, they just get treatment.

 

[cuseinseattle]

What a weird team. The level of inconsistency from game to game is remarkable. That was an incredibly impressive performance against a team that is quite good. The execution of the half court offense, even with Lydon out, was terrific. Where in all the losses to date, it has been horrific.

Not much of a bell curve. Strange.

This team is a lot better playing against a zone than a man defense. Other than an extended period against UConn's zone, and a matchup zone Indiana (Pa) surprised us with, we have been pretty solid against zones.

Against decent man defenses, not so good.

Seems to me the only way our half court offense works is to run the offense through the high post, with TT manning things there. TRob, TL and DC2 just haven't been effective up top. TT is an interesting player for sure. While his passing and mid range jumper are welcome additions, his nasty streak might be even more important for this team of nice guys.

AW3 is getting face guarded a lot and is riving increasingly to try and defeat that strategy. While he is not a high flyer, and not particularly fast, he draws a lot of fouls and appears to be getting more comfortable doing to the hole as the season progresses.

JB is using FH and JG as the guards a lot. JG has done damage jumping passing lanes on the initial pass and has gotten a lot of layups (should be layups anyway). I think FH is better not holding the ball a lot. Not a good ball handler. Seems when he has it for more than 3 or 4 seconds, something bad happens a lot.

TL gets a lot more good scoring looks with TT at the high post and no one (i.e. DC2) on the low post. This gives him room to operate. He can hang out at the wing, shoot it if they do not cover him or flash to the low post if they do.

Regarding the Achilles injury for TL...I don't think it happened last night, or the game before. He has been struggling to balance all season...I have seen him awkwardly, especially when getting a rebound, all season long. Was hoping it was just a bad ankle. I am seeing a full recovery from an achilles strain requires 6-8 weeks of rest. That would mean him missing most of conference play to get 100%. Sigh. Though it would be even worse to keep playing him and have him at 60% all season long.

It is a shame PC has the retina tear, but it will mean DC2 will play meaningful minutes every game. He has limitations to be sure but when he gets the ball within 10 foot of the rim, he probably finishes more reliably than anyone else we have. And he can still rebound, especially on the offensive boards. Glad it looks good for him to play the rest of the year.

TB was supposed to be a great driver with a decent outside shot. But he has been the antithesis of this all year long. I don't think he is going to magically emerge as a dominating force attacking the paint as the season progresses. He is okay at driving. What happened? All I can think is that he worked so hard on his biggest weakness (outside shooting) that he turned it into a strength, perhaps losing some of his ability to drive in the process.

Not sure I can remember a senior ever falling backwards as much as TRob has from his junior season. Looks like his confidence is shot. He at least made a few baskets last night...in recent games, he regularly looked clueless even trying to make a routine layup. Hate to see a senior struggle like he is doing.

Can't believe how poorly this team shoots FTs, especially in close games. They look tight a lot. Desperately need a cocky kid with infinite confidence to help set the tone. TT is probably the closest thing we have. How unfortunate.

The one good thing about the way this season is unfolding is that the woes and troubles the team is experiencing may end up making the team next season much better than expected. Right now it is very hard to imagine TL or TB not returning, and with TT, you have a really strong group of three to build around. If FH can figure out how to play well against good teams, next season could be really memorable.

But I still think this team is capable of putting together an extended period of excellence, returning to the top 25 and making a nice run in the tournament. The keys, IMHO, are the development of FH and the health of TL.

I completely agree with the last sentence. We need FH to continue to develop and TL healthy. The one thing I will say about the zone vs m2m thing is that I think some of the teams we have drilled we would have done so if they played m2m. I'm not disagreeing that we suck against m2m right now but I think it should improve. If FH and TB can drive to the hoop and do the things I believe they are capable of we could be good. We would have AW3 to space the floor and big guys with great hands to receive (TT and TL). That is the missing piece in my opinion.

 

[stuckinbig11]

Indeed, we need TT at the high post. It has been a while since we had a big man with those passing skills. The shuttle pass to TL last night caused me to let out a whoop.

 

[realorange]

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse sophomore forward Tyler Lydon is getting treatment Tuesday and is scheduled to do a light workout at practice, according to Pete Moore, SU Director of Athletic Communications.

Lydon suffered a strained achilles late in the first half of the Orange's 105-57 win against Eastern Michigan on Monday.

Lydon's playing status for Wednesday's game against St. John's will be a game-time decision, according to Moore.

Tyler Lydon will be game-time decision for Syracuse basketball game vs. St. John's

Clearly, rumors of Rico's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Hopefully we don't need Lydon against the Johnnies. Better that he sits than aggravate the injury.

 

[SUMBA]

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse sophomore forward Tyler Lydon is getting treatment Tuesday and is scheduled to do a light workout at practice, according to Pete Moore, SU Director of Athletic Communications.

Lydon suffered a strained achilles late in the first half of the Orange's 105-57 win against Eastern Michigan on Monday.

Lydon's playing status for Wednesday's game against St. John's will be a game-time decision, according to Moore.

Tyler Lydon will be game-time decision for Syracuse basketball game vs. St. John's

Clearly, rumors of Rico's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

I would be very surprised to see Lydon play Wednesday. An achilles injury is not something to mess with, especially with a young player. However, it was good to hear that he went through a light workout today.