sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Props to the SU fans for showing up for a team that has struggled some on a cold January night. Imho, no way this team comes back and wins this without that great support from the crowd.
This was a game of great contrasts. ND has to be the oldest, most experienced team in the conference. I believe SU is the second youngest team in the ACC.
The Irish showed their experience for the first 30 minutes of the game or so, methodically carving up the SU zone to get good open looks from the 3 point circle. And for much of the game, they shot well from there.
What they did not do though, was establish offense in the paint. They rarely got the ball into that entry point to the 2-3 around the ACC logo and instead focused almost exclusively on shooting from outside the circle. So they were not able to get anyone in foul trouble and got almost no easy baskets. And importantly, since the UB rarely in players in the paint on offense, they rarely got offensive rebounds.
Syracuse had a more diverse attack on offense. They took 3s when they were available but also regularly tried to get the ball into the low post to Jesse. Maliq again was also a factor down low and the slashers, mostly Judah but some some Joe and Justin, also contributed. Especially Judah late. Chris did his usually job of making open 3s, some of more extended lengths, but also scored on some mid range jumpers off the dribble. He is showing more as the season progresses.
All the focus in the paint paid off for Syracuse, as the more athletic and bigger Syracuse players were able to get a number of ND players into foul trouble. Thought a key was Brey’s insistence on trying to cover Judah with Cormac Ryan. That didn’t work out. Once Ryan got his 4th, he went to the bench and I think that really hurt ND and it’s ability to run its half court offense effectively.
Maybe the biggest play of the game happened when JGIII dove for a ball and got a knee in his face, which opened up a big cut that required him to leave the game for an extended period in the second half.
At that point, JB did not bring in Symir, who has been the 3rd guard all year, but went to Justin Taylor instead. He would only play 6 minutes at shooting guard but in that time frame, JB had 4 true frosh playing against 4 graduate students. And the kids whipped the graduated students butts.
I think JB realized he needed to put some points on the board so he went to Chris and Justin. Maliq of course played; he has established himself as the best forward for a while now and if anything, is distancing himself further with each minute he plays.
As SU started scoring every time down tue court, Brey tried to zone Syracuse. Didn’t work. He tried to press them. Didn’t work. Tried to man them. Didn’t work.
Seemed like a different frosh took over the game every minute or two. Maliq got a couple big dunks and rebounds and defensive stops. Chris got a couple huge baskets. Justin had a huge 3 and some good defensive plays. And then down the stretch Judah took over. He went hard to the hoop and the hapless ND grad students could not stop him.
Props to Judah for changing the way he has been playing. He looked to set up teammates much of the game and did a really nice job making decisions. Lots of good passes. Handled it well, did not turn the ball over. Great to see
Jesse was good. Great on the boards again. I think we all are starting to take 14 rebound games for granted now but it is special and he has made a huge improvement in his rebounding, especially on the defensive end. And he again did a fine job passing to the open man when he was doubled.
Nice win. It is good to see our young guys getting better. Good to see JB willing to try different player combos and assigning PY based on who has the hot hand.
One fashion note. Mike Brey, please think carefully before you wear a skin tight hoodie again in a ale televised nationally. That was not a good look.
Big test Monday night. Let’s see what the kids have then….
This was a game of great contrasts. ND has to be the oldest, most experienced team in the conference. I believe SU is the second youngest team in the ACC.
The Irish showed their experience for the first 30 minutes of the game or so, methodically carving up the SU zone to get good open looks from the 3 point circle. And for much of the game, they shot well from there.
What they did not do though, was establish offense in the paint. They rarely got the ball into that entry point to the 2-3 around the ACC logo and instead focused almost exclusively on shooting from outside the circle. So they were not able to get anyone in foul trouble and got almost no easy baskets. And importantly, since the UB rarely in players in the paint on offense, they rarely got offensive rebounds.
Syracuse had a more diverse attack on offense. They took 3s when they were available but also regularly tried to get the ball into the low post to Jesse. Maliq again was also a factor down low and the slashers, mostly Judah but some some Joe and Justin, also contributed. Especially Judah late. Chris did his usually job of making open 3s, some of more extended lengths, but also scored on some mid range jumpers off the dribble. He is showing more as the season progresses.
All the focus in the paint paid off for Syracuse, as the more athletic and bigger Syracuse players were able to get a number of ND players into foul trouble. Thought a key was Brey’s insistence on trying to cover Judah with Cormac Ryan. That didn’t work out. Once Ryan got his 4th, he went to the bench and I think that really hurt ND and it’s ability to run its half court offense effectively.
Maybe the biggest play of the game happened when JGIII dove for a ball and got a knee in his face, which opened up a big cut that required him to leave the game for an extended period in the second half.
At that point, JB did not bring in Symir, who has been the 3rd guard all year, but went to Justin Taylor instead. He would only play 6 minutes at shooting guard but in that time frame, JB had 4 true frosh playing against 4 graduate students. And the kids whipped the graduated students butts.
I think JB realized he needed to put some points on the board so he went to Chris and Justin. Maliq of course played; he has established himself as the best forward for a while now and if anything, is distancing himself further with each minute he plays.
As SU started scoring every time down tue court, Brey tried to zone Syracuse. Didn’t work. He tried to press them. Didn’t work. Tried to man them. Didn’t work.
Seemed like a different frosh took over the game every minute or two. Maliq got a couple big dunks and rebounds and defensive stops. Chris got a couple huge baskets. Justin had a huge 3 and some good defensive plays. And then down the stretch Judah took over. He went hard to the hoop and the hapless ND grad students could not stop him.
Props to Judah for changing the way he has been playing. He looked to set up teammates much of the game and did a really nice job making decisions. Lots of good passes. Handled it well, did not turn the ball over. Great to see
Jesse was good. Great on the boards again. I think we all are starting to take 14 rebound games for granted now but it is special and he has made a huge improvement in his rebounding, especially on the defensive end. And he again did a fine job passing to the open man when he was doubled.
Nice win. It is good to see our young guys getting better. Good to see JB willing to try different player combos and assigning PY based on who has the hot hand.
One fashion note. Mike Brey, please think carefully before you wear a skin tight hoodie again in a ale televised nationally. That was not a good look.
Big test Monday night. Let’s see what the kids have then….
