My Take

[tombacuse]

sutomcat, longtime reader...twas my daughter on the NA, 13 yr old lax/soccer player from West Genny. Thanks very much for the compliment...

Small crowd. Maybe 5K. Quiet. I understand. Pace was...like you might think a school named Pace would be like. 5'5 point guards named Salvatore. 6'6 190 pound centers. Best player named after Denzel Washington. Denzel Primero Demon. Something like that. Wore #1. Solid.

Great NA by an 8th grader from West Genny. Impressive.

Scorecard config for basketball was awful for the Knick exhibition. Still awful. Forget about improving the limited information they made available with the old twilighted light bulb technology. Things are even worse now. You have the score, the time, the team fouls and time outs remaining. No other individual or team stats despite great improvements in resolution and vastly expanded space on the many scoreboards in the Dome. I hope this improves. Football was awful at first and has gotten better as the season has progressed. So there is reason to keep hope alive.

Pace was really awful. No way to make any meaningful judgments from this one. That being said...

Baye Moussa Keita had a lot of points. Mostly garbage 2 footers. He is still really skinny, don't think he has put on any muscle. Essentially the same player as last year.

Coleman was not a focus on offense but still got some points, converted when he got the ball down low. Looks like unless he is within 5 feet of the rim, he is not a threat to score, will need some time to develop moves. Great at outletting the ball. Not a shotblocker, not a dunker, gonna block a lot of shots. One of the biggest questions of the preseason was, where is JB gonna put DC2 in the zone? He played on the wing when Christmas was in, presumably because Rakim is a far better shot blocker. Will be interesting to see how well he can get to the shooter playing here. If Rick could do it, I would think DC2 can too.

Christmas is the most noticeably bigger player. Remains pretty limited on offense, looks like he is going to rebound more this season. Was really patient, did not force anything on offense, converted when he got the ball in good position. Solid start for him.

James did not start but didn't mope, played hard, was really efficient while on the court and looked confident. Played some minutes at the top of the 2-3 which was really interesting to see.

CJ hit a 3, was effective kniving to the hole, rebounded pretty well, looked like a solid veteran. Has gotten a little stronger, his arms are definitely bigger and his torso thicker.

MCW was not as dominant as I thought he might be. Got off to a great start but was bothered by strong in your face defense a bit. Finished in the paint really well, didn't pass the ball nearly as much as I expected he would. Did hit a 3 very nicely. He may dominate this season but definitely has some growing pains to get through beforehand.

BT played good defense, ran the point effectively, passed it well and scored when he had position, mostly inside the paint against the Pace vertically challenged guards.

Jeremy Grant had a quiet but solid debut. Plays like a vet, doesn't force anything, savvy, really long, not as fast as I was expecting, looks to me like he is going to develop into a power forward over time. Does everything well. Will be hard to get minutes for him with 3 vets returning at forward but it will also be hard to keep him off the court.

Fun game to watch. There was some stretches of sustained excellence on offense and defense and some other stretches of very uninspired play. Overall, I think this team might be a little less consistent on defense as recent years, this applies to offense as well. Should be a little better rebounding team than last year.

There is work to do with a bunch of the new players, figuring out their roles, working together better as a team, etc. I expect several losses early, we might struggle to score points at times. But the pieces are all here to have a top 10 team and I think they will eventually figure it all out. Be patient, don't freak out when this team struggles some early. In the end, I think things are going to turn out just fine.

 

[AZOrange]

sutomcat, longtime reader...twas my daughter on the NA, 13 yr old lax/soccer player from West Genny. Thanks very much for the compliment...

Nice tombs! In the words of Simon cowell "dahling you can be a stah"

 

[mantonio]

I think you are underestimating the talent level of this team. They may lose 1 early game, but I seriously doubt they will have any losses of significance early on. Who will be any real challenge to them in the early season, besides San Diego State?

 

[sutomcat]

sutomcat, longtime reader...twas my daughter on the NA, 13 yr old lax/soccer player from West Genny. Thanks very much for the compliment...

You are welcome. Gotta think she will be welcome to do it again in the future, if she has the time and is willing. It is rare for someone to sing the national anthem so well that the crowd actually notices and gives them a big ovation. Might happen once every year or two. It happened last night.

Bravo!

 

[OttoMets]

I think you are underestimating the talent level of this team. They may lose 1 early game, but I seriously doubt they will have any losses of significance early on. Who will be any real challenge to them in the early season, besides San Diego State?

I'd add Arkansas, but our group will also be more susceptible to an early-season WTFer to an out-of-conference opponent. Not sure who on this year's schedule might fit the Cleveland State/Drexel/Eastern Michigan role, but that possibility is out there. Syracuse's development is not nearly as far along as our previous three teams were at this stage.

There'll be some early struggles. They'll probably also have a couple early games where they hang 105 on someone while shooting 60% from the field.

 

[shandeezy7]

Not to focus on the negative side of things, but it was almost like these guys have never seen a pump-fake before. Now maybe it was just because it was Pace, and they knew they were going to win, so they were going for every highlight possible, but the guards and wings were flying out at shooters every time they squared up. Pace was so over-matched athletically that we were able to recover much of the time, but that won't happen against quality D1 teams.

 

[SUMBA]

I always enjoy your take Tomcat. I agree with you on most points. I see how you are concerned that we may go on long scoring droughts with the team we put on the floor. However, I am unwilling to make that determination without having seen Cooney play yet. If he can shoot as advertised, he can be a huge difference maker. Hopefully, he can either knock 'em down consistently or open up a lot of space by forcing the defense to guard him closely out there.

 

[igor]

its tavern league

 

[mantonio]

I was at both games, & have seen enough to know this team will be fantastic this season. They have so many play makers that can take up the slack, they will be fine.

Last season, Melo was not very good at the half court post game, & it limited their ability. This season, we have Coleman who will develop quite nicely as a big guy on the blocks. I like what I am seeing from Grant too. He has quick movement & freakishly long arms for scoring around the basket. Their transition game is a work in progress, but they have the speed & length to make it spectacular once again. They shouldn't have to rely upon fast breaks like the past season, but sharpening it up a bit will make this squad nearly unbeatable.

I love how Southy has been shooting, & I hope he will show that same consistency throughout the season.

Triche improved dramatically in the second game, working hard in the paint for rebounds & clean up points. I like seeing that, because we will need better rebounding this season.

BMK has been very nice so far, getting in the right spots to score.

The only trouble spot where I can find fault, is the defense. They suffered quite a few lapses in this last game, allowing too much space for outside shooting, & giving up too much on the inside also. The wings gotta get out on the shooters much more quickly, but I think much of this weakness is attributable to their chemistry as a unit, & the younger players' grasp of Boeheim's zone system.

This will be one of those teams who will lose a bit early in the Big East schedule, but by Tourney time, their superior talent coupled with improved chemistry, will make them a Final Four favorite.