My Take

[sutomcat]

The NA was sung by this dude from Connecticut with a weird, hipster meet soul style that was kind of cheesy but it worked and he got a good ovation.

Let's talk fan contests.

The guy made his shot from the D&B chair and got a $500 gift certificate. I think it was the first time this happened this year.

Another guy did well making his layout, foul shot, shot from the top of the key but missed his half court shot badly (I don't think anyone has reached the rim yet). First, if you get the chance to take the half court shot, be sure you throw it hard because it is a long way. Second, there is a clock used for this contest but Mr Excitement made it clear that you get one shot from half court. Doesn't matter how much time is left on the clock. I call BS.
Don't be a sponsor if you are that cheap you can't allow a sharpshooter to take 2 shots from half court. The shots are from half court. Whatever good will and visibility you get for sponsoring a contest is burned when you cheap out like this. Not sure who the cheap sponsor is. Maybe Used-to-be-a-good-company called Time-Warner-now-crappy-Spectrum-Charter?

I thought the crowd was smaller than the 20K announced. The students came late but eventually a decent number attended. Whoever came did a good job making noise, especially late in the second half, when it looked like Maryland might sneak out of Syracuse with a win.

I thought Ted Valentine was in jail for life for his crimes against humanity with all the bad calls he has made over the years. He was at least banished from the Big East and ACC, languishing in the sweat houses of the Midwest. How did he get out and find his way into the Carrier Dome? Did the FBI drop the ball on this? The grandfather and the other guy were not much better. A push off is a push off on both ends of the court. Just because no one in the Mac/B1G can jump more than 6 inches doesn't mean you can go all Buck Henry on Sidibe when he makes a clean block. Don't call a travel on Marek either when he is pushed 5 feet like a shopping cart.

I wish Maryland wasn't such a bankrupt and shameless institution that it had to sell itself to the B1G to avoid getting Georgetowned. It would be fun to play them every year in hoops and football, get some easy wins and have another relatively easy road trip to enjoy.

Really happy for Frank Howard, who must have had this game circled from the time it was announced. Bragging rights at home are really important. It is great to see him playing at his full potential. Just an amazing turnaround for him. I wonder how much a role his injury played in his poor play last year, versus a lack of confidence when he lost the starting PG job to little Gillon.

Why did Turgeron (he doesn't deserve to have his name spelled right so I hope I misspelled it) keep putting the really fat guy with the bad hair to play defense? They had a couple other bigs that were better.

Thought one of the plays of the game was the alley oop Frank threw to Paschal that he converted for a dunk. I think Frank threw it a couple feet higher than he meant to but Paschal went up and got it and almost had no choice but to dunk it home as he was headed directly for the basket as he started his descent.

You need two things to be a great player. You have to want the ball in crucial situations and you need to be able to make the play once you have the ball. Tyus has both things.

Maryland has some nice pieces and their best players are young. I would think they will finish in the top half of the B1G and make the tournament. On paper, they should have won pretty easily, especially with Tyus playing hurt. Thank God coaching counts for a lot in college basketball.

 

[Trueblue25]

“
I wish Maryland wasn't such a bankrupt and shameless institution that it had to sell itself to the B1G to avoid getting Georgetowned. It would be fun to play them every year in hoops and football, get some easy wins and have another relatively easy road trip to enjoy. ”


You’re the man sutomcat

 

[Consigliere]

Fat guy with the bad hair? When he first checked in my son asked what Leslie Jones was doing out there!

 

[OttoMets]

Glad someone else hated the officiating. And here's a funny observation: when Boeheim spent about two-thirds of a timeout bending Valentine's ear (which must have been a little awkward, because didn't Boeheim get him blackballed from the Big East?), no one picked up the Hopkins role of sitting down and coaching the team. Griffin and Autry stood at the edge of the huddle and talked together and McNamara stood near Boeheim's chair and looked in his direction.

I think what happens in the huddle is a little overrated, but this was kind of weird for a team that micromanages so much of that type of stuff (assigned seats on the bench et al.). Wonder if someone deviated from the script?

 

[bballbeadle]

Loved your write up, as always. I believe that was the third chair guy to win $500. I could be wrong. I agree with you on the other contest being total BS. That guy made his first three shots easily and deserved to keep throwing those balls from half court until time was up. We should start a petition! Ha ha!

I don’t know if it was the excitement of the game, but I am good for nothing today. Luckily, I am retired and don’t have anything to do until this evening. Some of it may have to do with the people sitting behind us last night, who were very drunk and one of them kept pushing their knees into the back of my seat, causing my body to feel crappy today. One guy kept telling his woman that they were definitely not decorating the tree this year! Not decorating! The woman insisted that she was the cousin of JJ Redding. I refused to give her any attention or even look at her, even though I liked JJ. Thankfully, they left for good at half time but not until they spilled beer on my sweatshirt.

Hey, who am I kidding? I loved every minute being at that game!

 

[tbonezone]

fouls were 18 cuse 21 terps.

 

[SU94]

I thought Ted Valentine was in jail for life for his crimes against humanity with all the bad calls he has made over the years. He was at least banished from the Big East and ACC, languishing in the sweat houses of the Midwest. How did he get out and find his way into the Carrier Dome? Did the FBI drop the ball on this? The grandfather and the other guy were not much better. A push off is a push off on both ends of the court. Just because no one in the Mac/B1G can jump more than 6 inches doesn't mean you can go all Buck Henry on Sidibe when he makes a clean block. Don't call a travel on Marek either when he is pushed 5 feet like a shopping cart.

Valentine's worst call of the night was Sidibe's 4th foul with about 7 1/2 minutes left (or so). Perfect block about 5 feet from the rim. To his "credit," on the next possession (which was critical as we were down 3), Brissett barely drew iron on a 15-foot jumper, but Valentine called a (very) late foul -- likely a make-up call -- as the defender landed "under" Brissett (who slightly buckled his right knee). Those points were huge as we go back within one point and the rest is now history.

 

[SoBristol]

...

Really happy for Frank Howard, who must have had this game circled from the time it was announced. Bragging rights at home are really important. It is great to see him playing at his full potential. Just an amazing turnaround for him. I wonder how much a role his injury played in his poor play last year, versus a lack of confidence when he lost the starting PG job to little Gillon.

...On paper, they should have won pretty easily, especially with Tyus playing hurt. Thank God coaching counts for a lot in college basketball.

Can't say about the injury, but it looks like Frank worked hard in the off season on his shooting, moves off his drive, and also got stronger. It is a lot of little things, making him a better player, and stronger when he gets into the lane. Though a junior, he is the same age as Battle & Sidibe -- and what you are seeing with Frank is the improvement young players make.

It also helps that he has an improved Battle as the second guard, and Brissett with all-around perimeter skills. These two give Frank more help in initiating the offense than our PGs (Frank or Gillon) had last season.

 

[Orange Barrel]

My Ted Valentine story:
I do some work for the Big 10 Network. Last year I worked the Northwestern basketball game at Rutgers. Part of the job is to get both the home and away radio feeds and send them to different cameras on the baselines. Doing so requires me to monitor both broadcasts at the same time, one in each ear. I’m always impressed by how closely the two broadcasts mirror each other. This game was much like that and then some. During the breaks when they were off air, both broadcast teams, on three different occasions, complained bitterly about how badly Ted Valentine was jobbing their team. My favorite line was from the RU pbp guy: With Ted Valentine it’s always about Ted Valentine.

 

[CuseCrew08]

Valentine's worst call of the night was Sidibe's 4th foul with about 7 1/2 minutes left (or so). Perfect block about 5 feet from the rim. To his "credit," on the next possession (which was critical as we were down 3), Brissett barely drew iron on a 15-foot jumper, but Valentine called a (very) late foul -- likely a make-up call -- as the defender landed "under" Brissett (who slightly buckled his right knee). Those points were huge as we go back within one point and the rest is now history.

There were a few fouls on Sidibe in the 2nd half where I thought there should be no call, both players went straight up and he got lots of ball. Let them play!

 

[reedny]

fouls were 18 cuse 21 terps.

Should have been 12 and 36. UM's strategy was clearly to body our guys Pittsburgh-style. They had some serious size/muscle inside with the 7' footer and that monster dunker Fernando. But they hacked us continuously and pushed our centers and forwards all over the court. Part of that is just D-1/P5 basketball. But while they muscled us at one end Valentine was whistling our guys for ticky-tacky stuff at the other. It wasn't consistent. They couldn't stop Brissett but Sidibe and Chukwu had 5 rebounds TOTAL and they fouled Sidibe out of the game while Fernando stayed in ... that wasn't right.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Can't say about the injury, but it looks like Frank worked hard in the off season on his shooting, moves off his drive, and also got stronger. It is a lot of little things, making him a better player, and stronger when he gets into the lane. Though a junior, he is the same age as Battle & Sidibe -- and what you are seeing with Frank is the improvement young players make.

It also helps that he has an improved Battle as the second guard, and Brissett with all-around perimeter skills. These two give Frank more help in initiating the offense than our PGs (Frank or Gillon) had last season.

Howard is being allowed to score more. That's better suited to his game than running an offense. He has more confidence on the court because of that and knowing he isn't getting yanked when he makes a mistake. He still doesn't look that good handling the ball out front or initiating the O, while still turning it over more than we'd like, but he's able to catch and shoot or catch and make a move effectively. He's better as a result of playing more of a combo guard role.

 

[rrlbees]

Howard is being allowed to score more. That's better suited to his game than running an offense. He has more confidence on the court because of that and knowing he isn't getting yanked when he makes a mistake. He still doesn't look that good handling the ball out front or initiating the O, while still turning it over more than we'd like, but he's able to catch and shoot or catch and make a move effectively. He's better as a result of playing more of a combo guard role.

He’s running the offense about as well as it can be run. There’s nothing wrong with a PG who can also score some.

 

[RealMcNeil]

Valentine's worst call of the night was Sidibe's 4th foul with about 7 1/2 minutes left (or so). Perfect block about 5 feet from the rim. To his "credit," on the next possession (which was critical as we were down 3), Brissett barely drew iron on a 15-foot jumper, but Valentine called a (very) late foul -- likely a make-up call -- as the defender landed "under" Brissett (who slightly buckled his right knee). Those points were huge as we go back within one point and the rest is now history.

The shooting foul for OB was the right call - need to give the shooter space to land safely. Not often called inside the arc but it was correct.

 

[kuethstheman]

fouls were 18 cuse 21 terps.

I though MD got the worst of it. Their starting center was in foul trouble the whole game though I never saw him commit any.

 

[manleyzoo]

Howard is being allowed to score more. That's better suited to his game than running an offense. He has more confidence on the court because of that and knowing he isn't getting yanked when he makes a mistake. He still doesn't look that good handling the ball out front or initiating the O, while still turning it over more than we'd like, but he's able to catch and shoot or catch and make a move effectively. He's better as a result of playing more of a combo guard role.

Frank is averaging 6 assists and 2.7 turnovers a game and he's not suited to running an offense?

 

[Jasoncuse]

He’s running the offense about as well as it can be run. There’s nothing wrong with a PG who can also score some.

Who said there was something wrong?

Frank's offensive production has been a difference maker thus far. He's better in when the ball is moving than trying to get the offense set. I think he excels on the wing where he can take a jumper or drive than he is out top.

 

[realorange]

My Ted Valentine story:
I do some work for the Big 10 Network. Last year I worked the Northwestern basketball game at Rutgers. Part of the job is to get both the home and away radio feeds and send them to different cameras on the baselines. Doing so requires me to monitor both broadcasts at the same time, one in each ear. I’m always impressed by how closely the two broadcasts mirror each other. This game was much like that and then some. During the breaks when they were off air, both broadcast teams, on three different occasions, complained bitterly about how badly Ted Valentine was jobbing their team. My favorite line was from the RU pbp guy: With Ted Valentine it’s always about Ted Valentine.

Hence the nickname: TV Ted Valentine

 

[SoBristol]

He’s running the offense about as well as it can be run. There’s nothing wrong with a PG who can also score some.

Yes -- he is the main G running the offense, and also looking to score off drives or jumpers. The advantage he has is that Battle is a combo guard, and Brissett also has perimeter skills. Contrast that to other SU teams when the PG had to dominate the ball, with little help from the 2G (example -- Cooney).

 

[rrlbees]

Who said there was something wrong?

Frank's offensive production has been a difference maker thus far. He's better in when the ball is moving than trying to get the offense set. I think he excels on the wing where he can take a jumper or drive than he is out top.

Unless I misunderstood your post, you said he was better at being allowed to score instead of setting up the offense and then said he better off as a combo guard. I paraphrased you instead of looking back.

 

[SWC75]

"Turgeron (he doesn't deserve to have his name spelled right so I hope I misspelled it) " LOL

From my "Net Points, etc." post for this game: We've drawn a foul call, (on the other team) every 2.71 shot attempts inside the arc, (where most fouls occur) and per every 1.86 points we cored in the paint, (ditto). The opposition has drawn fouls every 2.10 two point shot attempts and every 1.11 spots they score in the paint. Those are substantial differences. In the Maryland game, Maryland attempted 28 two point shots and scored 20 points in the paint but draw 18 fouls. We attempted 45 two point shots and scored 42 points in the paint and drew 21 fouls.

For whatever the reason the refs are more likely to call a foul on us than the opposition. It may be because we are a young team. Maybe we commit too many fouls. Or maybe the refs scrutinize young players more closely.