My Take | Syracusefan.com

My Take

sutomcat

No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Buried at work but a few quick thoughts...

With Bourama out, Quincy is our only inside player. With him out most of the game, we were really vulnerable on the defensive boards.

Pitt didn't understand this in the first half but clearly made it a point of emphasis in the second.

We really need Bourama back and need Quincy to stay out of foul trouble to be successful in conference play.

I think JGIII can be a solid PG in the ACC but he needs to focus on running the offense and getting the ball to more talented players to be successful. The only way he can get shots off against good teams is to jack a really long 3, usually at the start of the shot clock. He isn't a very good outside shooter from that range and when he takes those shots so early, there is no one underneath, so in effect, almost every time he shoots, he creates a turnover.

I don't blame Marek for the turnover at the end of the game. That is on his teammates, who couldn't be bothered to try and get open. And on the elderly ref who somehow missed a blatant hold on Griffin by #1 of Pitt on the inbounds play. I understand refs like to swallow their whistle on some calls late in the game but you can't let a player get mugged in front of you and just ignore it.

Marek was exhausted late in the game and got beat down court repeatedly, giving Pitt crucial easy baskets down the stretch. That needs to be picked up on.

Quincy should have been subbed in sooner. Didn't happen until around the 5 minute mark. That was insane given how badly we were getting beaten on the boards.

Braswell did really well when his teammates were willing to get him the ball. Some great passes to get him open looks. Griff had one of them. But down the stretch, it was a lot of selfish play by players who appeared to want to get their points, regardless of whether they were open or get a good shot. Very disappointing. It was not good defense by Pitt that stopped us. It was a bunch of players using awful judgement with shot selection.

The team really needs a leader who will run the offense and make sure the players that can score get the ball in places they can score. Even Kadary played a little too selfish yesterday.

Sometimes an awful loss is the best thing that can happen to a team trying to find themselves. As they look at the film and see how much they helped give the game to Pitt (credit to the Panthers for playing really hard in the second half), I hope they learn from their mistakes and play as a team from this point forward.

We aren't going anywhere playing like we did yesterday.
 
The worst coached game I have seen in 50 years of fandom.

38 threes.

5 free throws.

AG and JG need to be sit every time they jack up the ridiculous shots they take.

Love Marek but he is not a center and needs to get a blow. He also needs to touch the ball on offensive to stop the hero ball by others.

When SU was still ahead and needed a basket I was trying to think who should take the shot. I am still do not have and answer Q, Marek, Buddy?

Lots of film to go over because that was bad
 
The worst coached game I have seen in 50 years of fandom.

38 threes.

5 free throws.

AG and JG need to be sit every time they jack up the ridiculous shots they take.

Love Marek but he is not a center and needs to get a blow. He also needs to touch the ball on offensive to stop the hero ball by others.

When SU was still ahead and needed a basket I was trying to think who should take the shot. I am still do not have and answer Q, Marek, Buddy?

Lots of film to go over because that was bad
Quincy should be the focus. Teams have little chance of stopping him, except for flopping.
 
Quincy should be the focus. Teams have little chance of stopping him, except for flopping.
Therein lies the problem. I've been saying it for years..Refs have fallin in love with the charge call. It is thee number one thing in college basketball that needs a meeting on NOW. Charge is called 90% of the time on flops and incorrectly I might add. I've had it.
 
Pitt is built with players like Quincy. So it is one Quincy vs multiple Quincys. If our Quincy cannot control himself and limit the fouls, we will continue having troubles playing teams like Pitt, such like Miami and Louisville.
 
Offense needs to run through Marek, especially when the opposition is in a zone or playing man with a traditional 5 on him. Biggest mismatch on the court and I cannot understand why we don't take more advantage of it.

Have been encouraged by our assist percentage so far this year. To me it's a sign of good offensive sets and movement. I expected the numbers to be terrible last night, then saw we assisted on 18 of 22 made FGs. Then realized we were 4 of 42 on shots with no assist. NO ONE on this team can break down a defender off the dribble. NO ONE on this team can consistently make a contested jump shot. NO ONE on this team (save Quincy) can present a scoring option with back to the basket. I'm willing to attribute at least some of this to lack of practice - individual skills practice with a position coach is no substitute for scrimmages or game simulations. JB's players have always lauded him on the freedom he gives them on offense, but on this team, unless we impose some structure in the half court, a team with pretty good individual skills will continue to flounder in the half court.
 
we need a bonafide wide body athletic center. we have not been able to recruit one because we can't coach one, and jb will not use one. he complains we are too thin. why is that??? he is frustrated, bulk up frank and jesse. jb stop your whining. i will to,
 
Buried at work but a few quick thoughts...

With Bourama out, Quincy is our only inside player. With him out most of the game, we were really vulnerable on the defensive boards.

Pitt didn't understand this in the first half but clearly made it a point of emphasis in the second.

We really need Bourama back and need Quincy to stay out of foul trouble to be successful in conference play.

I think JGIII can be a solid PG in the ACC but he needs to focus on running the offense and getting the ball to more talented players to be successful. The only way he can get shots off against good teams is to jack a really long 3, usually at the start of the shot clock. He isn't a very good outside shooter from that range and when he takes those shots so early, there is no one underneath, so in effect, almost every time he shoots, he creates a turnover.

I don't blame Marek for the turnover at the end of the game. That is on his teammates, who couldn't be bothered to try and get open. And on the elderly ref who somehow missed a blatant hold on Griffin by #1 of Pitt on the inbounds play. I understand refs like to swallow their whistle on some calls late in the game but you can't let a player get mugged in front of you and just ignore it.

Marek was exhausted late in the game and got beat down court repeatedly, giving Pitt crucial easy baskets down the stretch. That needs to be picked up on.

Quincy should have been subbed in sooner. Didn't happen until around the 5 minute mark. That was insane given how badly we were getting beaten on the boards.

Braswell did really well when his teammates were willing to get him the ball. Some great passes to get him open looks. Griff had one of them. But down the stretch, it was a lot of selfish play by players who appeared to want to get their points, regardless of whether they were open or get a good shot. Very disappointing. It was not good defense by Pitt that stopped us. It was a bunch of players using awful judgement with shot selection.

The team really needs a leader who will run the offense and make sure the players that can score get the ball in places they can score. Even Kadary played a little too selfish yesterday.

Sometimes an awful loss is the best thing that can happen to a team trying to find themselves. As they look at the film and see how much they helped give the game to Pitt (credit to the Panthers for playing really hard in the second half), I hope they learn from their mistakes and play as a team from this point forward.

We aren't going anywhere playing like we did yesterday.
I have avoided reading anything written by all the future college bb coaches who post here, but I read your report because you know what you are talking about. Thank you. Right on.
 
Therein lies the problem. I've been saying it for years..Refs have fallin in love with the charge call. It is thee number one thing in college basketball that needs a meeting on NOW. Charge is called 90% of the time on flops and incorrectly I might add. I've had it.
One way to not get called for a charge is to not start your drive from outside the arc. Every time I see a player start from way out I cringe knowing here comes the offensive foul.Ill agree the officiating is terrible, but if you know that it’s terrible then you must adjust.
 
Buried at work but a few quick thoughts...

With Bourama out, Quincy is our only inside player. With him out most of the game, we were really vulnerable on the defensive boards.

Pitt didn't understand this in the first half but clearly made it a point of emphasis in the second.

We really need Bourama back and need Quincy to stay out of foul trouble to be successful in conference play.

I think JGIII can be a solid PG in the ACC but he needs to focus on running the offense and getting the ball to more talented players to be successful. The only way he can get shots off against good teams is to jack a really long 3, usually at the start of the shot clock. He isn't a very good outside shooter from that range and when he takes those shots so early, there is no one underneath, so in effect, almost every time he shoots, he creates a turnover.

I don't blame Marek for the turnover at the end of the game. That is on his teammates, who couldn't be bothered to try and get open. And on the elderly ref who somehow missed a blatant hold on Griffin by #1 of Pitt on the inbounds play. I understand refs like to swallow their whistle on some calls late in the game but you can't let a player get mugged in front of you and just ignore it.

Marek was exhausted late in the game and got beat down court repeatedly, giving Pitt crucial easy baskets down the stretch. That needs to be picked up on.

Quincy should have been subbed in sooner. Didn't happen until around the 5 minute mark. That was insane given how badly we were getting beaten on the boards.

Braswell did really well when his teammates were willing to get him the ball. Some great passes to get him open looks. Griff had one of them. But down the stretch, it was a lot of selfish play by players who appeared to want to get their points, regardless of whether they were open or get a good shot. Very disappointing. It was not good defense by Pitt that stopped us. It was a bunch of players using awful judgement with shot selection.

The team really needs a leader who will run the offense and make sure the players that can score get the ball in places they can score. Even Kadary played a little too selfish yesterday.

Sometimes an awful loss is the best thing that can happen to a team trying to find themselves. As they look at the film and see how much they helped give the game to Pitt (credit to the Panthers for playing really hard in the second half), I hope they learn from their mistakes and play as a team from this point forward.

We aren't going anywhere playing like we did yesterday.
We are not going anywhere with coaching like tomorrow.
Edwards needs PT
Girard is not an ACC starting G
Marek should have been an option not inbounding the ball.
Piss poor coaching lost the game. Not the players.
 
We are not going anywhere with coaching like tomorrow.
Edwards needs PT
Girard is not an ACC starting G
Marek should have been an option not inbounding the ball.
Piss poor coaching lost the game. Not the players.
Yeah, but what do you think about the coaching? I doubt there is a person here who is not aware of your opinion.
 
Buried at work but a few quick thoughts...

With Bourama out, Quincy is our only inside player. With him out most of the game, we were really vulnerable on the defensive boards.

Pitt didn't understand this in the first half but clearly made it a point of emphasis in the second.

We really need Bourama back and need Quincy to stay out of foul trouble to be successful in conference play.

I think JGIII can be a solid PG in the ACC but he needs to focus on running the offense and getting the ball to more talented players to be successful. The only way he can get shots off against good teams is to jack a really long 3, usually at the start of the shot clock. He isn't a very good outside shooter from that range and when he takes those shots so early, there is no one underneath, so in effect, almost every time he shoots, he creates a turnover.

I don't blame Marek for the turnover at the end of the game. That is on his teammates, who couldn't be bothered to try and get open. And on the elderly ref who somehow missed a blatant hold on Griffin by #1 of Pitt on the inbounds play. I understand refs like to swallow their whistle on some calls late in the game but you can't let a player get mugged in front of you and just ignore it.

Marek was exhausted late in the game and got beat down court repeatedly, giving Pitt crucial easy baskets down the stretch. That needs to be picked up on.

Quincy should have been subbed in sooner. Didn't happen until around the 5 minute mark. That was insane given how badly we were getting beaten on the boards.

Braswell did really well when his teammates were willing to get him the ball. Some great passes to get him open looks. Griff had one of them. But down the stretch, it was a lot of selfish play by players who appeared to want to get their points, regardless of whether they were open or get a good shot. Very disappointing. It was not good defense by Pitt that stopped us. It was a bunch of players using awful judgement with shot selection.

The team really needs a leader who will run the offense and make sure the players that can score get the ball in places they can score. Even Kadary played a little too selfish yesterday.

Sometimes an awful loss is the best thing that can happen to a team trying to find themselves. As they look at the film and see how much they helped give the game to Pitt (credit to the Panthers for playing really hard in the second half), I hope they learn from their mistakes and play as a team from this point forward.

We aren't going anywhere playing like we did yesterday.

Terrific analysis, tomcat. I, too, am disappointed by what we saw yesterday.
What happened to the coach who used to pull players for boneheaded / selfish shots like we've seen this season, all season long?
 
Why does JB constantly waste schollies on players who can't contribute and he won't even put into a competitive game? It's really gotten to the point of being ridiculous. The center spot is just an embarrassment. Three centers on the roster who don't play. Why were they recruited?
 
Why does JB constantly waste schollies on players who can't contribute and he won't even put into a competitive game? It's really gotten to the point of being ridiculous. The center spot is just an embarrassment. Three centers on the roster who don't play. Why were they recruited?
This is actually a very good question. We now have THREE(3) centers who just sit. One was a RS, one a rook, and one is a soph, and all of them never see more than a couple of minutes in meaningful games. Why are they being recruited if the end game means they sit and watch 170lb Marek play the 5, because our perennially fragile starter, Sidibe, is out w/ yet another boo-boo?
And if you're not willing to develop them, why are they there? For practice? Why can't we pick up some doofy mid-major big white kid, emphasis on BIG, and let him take up space and throw his weight around? Rhetorical questions of course, but seriously...why?
 
This is actually a very good question. We now have THREE(3) centers who just sit. One was a RS, one a rook, and one is a soph, and all of them never see more than a couple of minutes in meaningful games. Why are they being recruited if the end game means they sit and watch 170lb Marek play the 5, because our perennially fragile starter, Sidibe, is out w/ yet another boo-boo?
And if you're not willing to develop them, why are they there? For practice? Why can't we pick up some doofy mid-major big white kid, emphasis on BIG, and let him take up space and throw his weight around? Rhetorical questions of course, but seriously...why?
Wow. Way to throw out the political correctness.
 
One way to not get called for a charge is to not start your drive from outside the arc. Every time I see a player start from way out I cringe knowing here comes the offensive foul.Ill agree the officiatingr is terrible, but if you know that it’s terrible then you must adjust.
You can’t drive into the lane and pass off without a charge being called. You can no longer hand off to a guy coming around your screen for a shot without getting a foul called on you.
 
This is actually a very good question. We now have THREE(3) centers who just sit. One was a RS, one a rook, and one is a soph, and all of them never see more than a couple of minutes in meaningful games. Why are they being recruited if the end game means they sit and watch 170lb Marek play the 5, because our perennially fragile starter, Sidibe, is out w/ yet another boo-boo?
And if you're not willing to develop them, why are they there? For practice? Why can't we pick up some doofy mid-major big white kid, emphasis on BIG, and let him take up space and throw his weight around? Rhetorical questions of course, but seriously...why?
They will get their time. Be patient. They'll play when they are seniors.
 
Buried at work but a few quick thoughts...

With Bourama out, Quincy is our only inside player. With him out most of the game, we were really vulnerable on the defensive boards.

Pitt didn't understand this in the first half but clearly made it a point of emphasis in the second.

We really need Bourama back and need Quincy to stay out of foul trouble to be successful in conference play.

I think JGIII can be a solid PG in the ACC but he needs to focus on running the offense and getting the ball to more talented players to be successful. The only way he can get shots off against good teams is to jack a really long 3, usually at the start of the shot clock. He isn't a very good outside shooter from that range and when he takes those shots so early, there is no one underneath, so in effect, almost every time he shoots, he creates a turnover.

I don't blame Marek for the turnover at the end of the game. That is on his teammates, who couldn't be bothered to try and get open. And on the elderly ref who somehow missed a blatant hold on Griffin by #1 of Pitt on the inbounds play. I understand refs like to swallow their whistle on some calls late in the game but you can't let a player get mugged in front of you and just ignore it.

Marek was exhausted late in the game and got beat down court repeatedly, giving Pitt crucial easy baskets down the stretch. That needs to be picked up on.

Quincy should have been subbed in sooner. Didn't happen until around the 5 minute mark. That was insane given how badly we were getting beaten on the boards.

Braswell did really well when his teammates were willing to get him the ball. Some great passes to get him open looks. Griff had one of them. But down the stretch, it was a lot of selfish play by players who appeared to want to get their points, regardless of whether they were open or get a good shot. Very disappointing. It was not good defense by Pitt that stopped us. It was a bunch of players using awful judgement with shot selection.

The team really needs a leader who will run the offense and make sure the players that can score get the ball in places they can score. Even Kadary played a little too selfish yesterday.

Sometimes an awful loss is the best thing that can happen to a team trying to find themselves. As they look at the film and see how much they helped give the game to Pitt (credit to the Panthers for playing really hard in the second half), I hope they learn from their mistakes and play as a team from this point forward.

We aren't going anywhere playing like we did yesterday.

Its not his fault, he is playing out of position, but Marek at the 5 is quite possibly the worst defensive liability we have ever had in the Boeheim era. I really dont think I am exaggerating. Buffalo and Pitt absolutely abused him.
 
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Therein lies the problem. I've been saying it for years..Refs have fallin in love with the charge call. It is thee number one thing in college basketball that needs a meeting on NOW. Charge is called 90% of the time on flops and incorrectly I might add. I've had it.
Absolutely ruins the college game. I don’t watch much college basketball outside of SU anymore. If NBA went to a 41 game regular season it would be perfect. Sorry off topic a little. I cannot stand the way the college game is officiated.
 
Don't overthink this. The problem is and has been recruiting. Look at the class ranks over the past 4 years:

2017: 38
2018: 43 (but Carey is now gone)
2019: 33
2020: 40

And, look at the recruiting rankings of the players on the roster:

2017: 111, 137, 190, 289
2018: 61 (Carey), 151, 349
2019: 97, 121, 198, 202, 480
2020: 88, 144, 198, + Griffin 185

What do people expect the results to be with these kind of recruiting classes? Over the past 6 years, Syracuse is 56-54 in the ACC and has finished no higher than 6th place. You are not going to fare well in the ACC (or the Big East for that matter) with no top 60 kids on the roster.

What has been most surprising is the Final 4 run in 2016 when Syracuse placed 9th in the ACC and the Sweet 16 in 2018 when Syracuse placed 10th in the ACC. You have to give Boeheim credit for coaching the team to success in those years.
 
Don't overthink this. The problem is and has been recruiting. Look at the class ranks over the past 4 years:

2017: 38
2018: 43 (but Carey is now gone)
2019: 33
2020: 40

And, look at the recruiting rankings of the players on the roster:

2017: 111, 137, 190, 289
2018: 61 (Carey), 151, 349
2019: 97, 121, 198, 202, 480
2020: 88, 144, 198, + Griffin 185

What do people expect the results to be with these kind of recruiting classes? Over the past 6 years, Syracuse is 56-54 in the ACC and has finished no higher than 6th place. You are not going to fare well in the ACC (or the Big East for that matter) with no top 60 kids on the roster.

What has been most surprising is the Final 4 run in 2016 when Syracuse placed 9th in the ACC and the Sweet 16 in 2018 when Syracuse placed 10th in the ACC. You have to give Boeheim credit for coaching the team to success in those years.

Quincy, Griffin, Marek and Buddy are all better than their rankings.
 
Quincy, Griffin, Marek and Buddy are all better than their rankings.
True. Doesn't that also imply that the 12 other players from the years mentioned were at or below their already low rankings?
This could spawn yet another convoluted debate about the meaning of rankings, subjectivity, bias, and so on from people who don't fully understand the law of large numbers or the meaning of correlation. There is NO denying the correlation between having higher ranked recruiting classes and the probability of success. None. Correlation does not equal causation, but it is certainly meaningful and most especially over time. Pointing out exceptions to correlations, in ANY context, does not disprove the correlation.
 
I just don't see how Girard can be on the court in crunch time with his play currently. Hasn't shot well, takes bad shots, and it a revolving door on defense.
 
I would actually rather risk missing out on the ncaa tourney but giving our young centers more play, keeping marek at the , starting Kadary, and giving Woody more minutes. Watching this current brand of basketball that will likely get us on the bubble and then flame out in the first or second round is painful and stale.
 

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