My Take

[sutomcat]

This is not going to be detailed given the nature of the opponent.

Also please note that I'm experimenting with the speech recognition feature of the iPhone for the first time in a 'My Take'. If things look a bit off, I blame it on the speech recognition software.

The national anthem was sung by a student in the school of music. She did a fine job sounded a little like a young Julie Andrews. Ended her rendition with a note so high it caused both wonder and concern among the audience.

Really small crowd; not a surprise given the Friday night and the opponent. I think maybe 4000 fannies actually in the seats.

There were 32 cheerleaders tonight and 17 members of the dance team. I do not recall seeing the Sour Sitrus Society attending

This was a good chance to play the freshman and give them opportunities to play in the Dome.

Ennis was terrific. He appears to have no major weaknesses. Most mature freshman we have had in a long time. WWe are going to enjoy watching him play in a Syracuse uniform.

Fair also was extremely impressive. He rebounded well, shot well from the outside, showed improved ballhandling skills and hit a couple shots off the dribble. He has clearly been working on his game.

Grant attacked the rim well. Looked better handling the ball. He is definitely stronger than last year.

Keita was not a force on offense but rebounded and defended well.

Roberson was pretty quiet. He is not aggressive on offense. Appears to be an outstanding rebounder. Was caught napping on defense at least twice.

Patterson is a fun player to watch. He makes things happen, sometimes good things, sometimes bad things. I love his hustle. His shot selection not so much. I think he's the type of guy who will get a lot of steal,s a lot of turnovers, cause a lot of groans and a lot of cheers; he is just that type of player. But he had a couple of threes and looked quite impressive overall.

Coleman looked much like he did last year. Yes he has lost some weight and appears to be moving better. But he continues to hold the ball too low. He continues to get his shot blocked with disturbing regularity. He continues to miss free throws. He continues to get beat down the court occasionally. But he also rebounds like a demon. And he draws fouls with uncommon frequency.

Trevor did not play extended minutes but I thought he did well in the minutes he did play. He had a couple of threes early and looked very confident. Also played solid defense. I really like the way Tyler Ennis looks for Trevor and tries to set them up for threes.

Silent G struggled as the backup point guard. He turned the ball over a few times. Did not run the half-court offense well. To be fair to him, he is not a pure point guard and is playing out of position. But I am very concerned what will happen when we play good teams and he plays The point. He may struggle against the press.

He had a number of open threes and I do not believe he hit any of them so that's a concern as well.

I don't believe BJ hit any threes. But he showed a surprisingly solid overall game. Made some very nice passes. Rebounded well. Played good defense. If Silent G continues to struggle, he may well end up playing some minutes at the 2. He probably played 10 minutes at guard tonight.

I thought the team played very well tonight. They played good defense, especially in the first half. I really like the way they moved the ball. They are showing a lot of chemistry early in the season. This was a very encouraging start to the season.

 

[tptcuse]

So, no tubas?

 

[Toga]

Every single time Coleman brings the ball down low - he needs to sit - immediately and without exception. Not kidding here. His future bank account can thank us later.

 

[NineOneSeven]

The brief time I was in the chat room many were saying CJ was off tonight.

I'm guessing he silenced them in the second half?

 

[OrangeCrush22]

Every single time Coleman brings the ball down low - he needs to sit - immediately and without exception. Not kidding here. His future bank account can thank us later.

At least I didn't see the "power dribble".

 

[iommi]

The brief time I was in the chat room many were saying CJ was off tonight.

I'm guessing he silenced them in the second half?

CJ was out of sync in the first half and also deferred a lot. He played very well in the 2nd half.

 

[orange2win]

Silent G struggled .

He sure did. Played the second most minutes (24), had 2 pts, 1-6 shooting, 0-4 from three, had 5 TOs (most of anyone) and also committed the most fouls. That's bad, for a guy with a year at Duke, with a year at SU to learn the system and against exhibition level talent. Hope it was just starting jitters.

 

[Orangezoo]

Sounds as though both buss and bj are on silent g's heels for pt. Does it seem mental or just he is playing out of position?

How is buss's handle looking? Can he work his way to playing some backup pg in a pinch or alongside cooney as a two combo guard system in short stints?

 

[iommi]

Sounds as though both buss and bj are on silent g's heels for pt. Does it seem mental or just he is playing out of position?

How is buss's handle looking? Can he work his way to playing some backup pg in a pinch or alongside cooney as a two combo guard system in short stints?

I don't mean to be too blunt, but G didn't seem to have "it." He just wasn't impressive and looked like a true freshman. He looks rusty too, which is understandable, I guess, except for the fact that he should know our system at this point.

Buss looked good overall, both his handle and his stroke. No clue if he'll get real pt.

I think the 2 will clearly be Cooney's to lose. I'm thinking he may have to play bigger minutes than I thought and the other three will be fighting for the scraps.

 

[Orangezoo]

I don't mean to be too blunt, but G didn't seem to have "it." He just wasn't impressive and looked like a true freshman. He looks rusty too, which is understandable, I guess, except for the fact that he should know our system at this point.

Buss looked good overall, both his handle and his stroke. No clue if he'll get real pt.

I think the 2 will clearly be Cooney's to lose. I'm thinking he may have to play bigger minutes than I thought and the other three will be fighting for the scraps.

it is at least promising that there should be viable options if mike g continues to struggle. Given buss brings it on d adds even more possibilities. It really is impressive how much buss seems to have progressed since canada.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Every single time Coleman brings the ball down low - he needs to sit - immediately and without exception. Not kidding here. His future bank account can thank us later.

Yah.
I still will never be convinced he wouldn't benefit under the tutelage of an actual center. Not a guard. Hop may be divine but I'm not seeing the development at that position.

 

[iommi]

Yah.
I still will never be convinced he wouldn't benefit under the tutelage of an actual center. Not a guard. Hop may be divine but I'm not seeing the development at that position.

Been saying this 'til I'm blue in the face. Please hire a former big who can coach up these bigs.

 

[Toga]

Been saying this 'til I'm blue in the face. Please hire a former big who can coach up these bigs.

Offensively you only need two moves - a drop step and a baby hook. How hard is it?

 

[iommi]

Offensively you only need two moves - a drop step and a baby hook. How hard is it?

And he has neither. He has perfected the drop the front shoulder and charge or be stripped. That's his go-to move. He was great on the boards and scrambled for loose balls. But the light bulb is still dim when it comes to getting how to use his body to his advantage. If he keeps dipping that damn front shoulder, he'll foul out of a lot of games this year. That is, if he sees the court enough.

 

[SoBristol]

Tom's summary was right on.

CJ did not do much in the first half, but he was the best player on the court for stretches of the second half. A little of everything -- hit some jumpers, drove and finished (against weak defense), a handful of rebounds. Grant & Ennis were impressive as well. When Ennis was on the court, things happened -- he was making moves into the lane, finding open men with good passing, finishing some of his own moves. It is obvious that JB wanted to give the other guards work; he is not worried about whether Ennis is ready.

Gbininje was with Grant as the first subs in the first half. When he was playing without Ennis, he struggled against the press at times. In the front court he was OK on the point, but wasn't looking for his shot, and wasn't looking to get into the lane. OK at feeding the bigs. He is a strong defender. Cooney & Ennis work hard at the top of the zone, but aren't gong to provide the size that made MCW & Triche especially effective. Gbininje has that physical presence, but it isn't obvious where he will get his points (other than inside finishes).

Cooney took only good shots. Terrific form, quick release. He is solid and conservative with the ball -- safe passes. We need his shooting ability, but at least on this night, he is not making moves, or providing any offense for others.

Coleman & Rak & Keita -- if you saw them last year, it was pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses tonight.

BJ -- had one very easy, fluid dunk on a break-away. Looked good taking other shots, just didn't make them. As Tom wrote above, he made some surprisingly good passes. Was fine playing the top of the zone (he played both the 2 and 3, depending on the combinations). Looked better than I expected -- but has to hit some of those shots.

Patterson -- well, unlike some others, he was very willing to make things happen. Miss-handled the ball at least 3 times, banked in a 3-point shot that was way off line. Committed some silly fouls away from the basket, trying to harass the opposing guards. Also hit two solid-looking threes. Hard to evaluate him.

Roberson looks the part, but did not look like he will be pushing for minutes against Rak, Fair and Grant. Still finding his place in the offense.

Unlike Tom, I would not say the team played very well, considering the opposition. Ennis, Grant & CJ played well, and Keita was his usual self on defense. There was a lot of sloppy play that needs to be cleaned up. Ball handling was ragged when Ennis wasn't on the court. Defense was good at times, but not so much in the second half.

 

[RF2044]

Tom's summary was right on.

CJ did not do much in the first half, but he was the best player on the court for stretches of the second half. A little of everything -- hit some jumpers, drove and finished (against weak defense), a handful of rebounds. Grant & Ennis were impressive as well. When Ennis was on the court, things happened -- he was making moves into the lane, finding open men with good passing, finishing some of his own moves. It is obvious that JB wanted to give the other guards work; he is not worried about whether Ennis is ready.

Gbininje was with Grant as the first subs in the first half. When he was playing without Ennis, he struggled against the press at times. In the front court he was OK on the point, but wasn't looking for his shot, and wasn't looking to get into the lane. OK at feeding the bigs. He is a strong defender. Cooney & Ennis work hard at the top of the zone, but aren't gong to provide the size that made MCW & Triche especially effective. Gbininje has that physical presence, but it isn't obvious where he will get his points (other than inside finishes).

Cooney took only good shots. Terrific form, quick release. He is solid and conservative with the ball -- safe passes. We need his shooting ability, but at least on this night, he is not making moves, or providing any offense for others.

Coleman & Rak & Keita -- if you saw them last year, it was pretty much the same strengths and weaknesses tonight.

BJ -- had one very easy, fluid dunk on a break-away. Looked good taking other shots, just didn't make them. As Tom wrote above, he made some surprisingly good passes. Was fine playing the top of the zone (he played both the 2 and 3, depending on the combinations). Looked better than I expected -- but has to hit some of those shots.

Patterson -- well, unlike some others, he was very willing to make things happen. Miss-handled the ball at least 3 times, banked in a 3-point shot that was way off line. Committed some silly fouls away from the basket, trying to harass the opposing guards. Also hit two solid-looking threes. Hard to evaluate him.

Roberson looks the part, but did not look like he will be pushing for minutes against Rak, Fair and Grant. Still finding his place in the offense.

Unlike Tom, I would not say the team played very well, considering the opposition. Ennis, Grant & CJ played well, and Keita was his usual self on defense. There was a lot of sloppy play that needs to be cleaned up. Ball handling was ragged when Ennis wasn't on the court. Defense was good at times, but not so much in the second half.

Good summary.

Some of the sloppiness was attributable to revolving door substitutions and funky lineups. Also Roberson seeing his first taste of game action [you could tell that the other frosh looked a bit more "experienced" for having played in the Canadian exhibitions].

But I agree with your assessment. There was some impressive play from the stalwarts, but quite a bit of shaky play otherwise. Pretty common for these type of early exhibition games.

 

[alibrat66]

I thought our bigs played well in stretches on defense. I know Holy Family doesn't have the height we do, but it seemed at times that they were trying to shoot through a rain forest canopy of arms.

 

[zhanjuzi]

Yah.
I still will never be convinced he wouldn't benefit under the tutelage of an actual center. Not a guard. Hop may be divine but I'm not seeing the development at that position.

Can't blame Hop, breaking perfected but in-effective movements is extremely hard, almost impossible. That doesn't mean that he can't contribute, its just that he's much more limited than was originally thought.

 

[iommi]

Can't blame Hop, breaking perfected but in-effective movements is extremely hard, almost impossible. That doesn't mean that he can't contribute, its just that he's much more limited than was originally thought.

I get your point but it's hard to watch. He really can't develop a baby hook? I find that hard to believe.

 

[orangefan13]

This team needed a third guy to help run the offense tonight. Whether they do it by scoring, passing or a combined both. Once Ennis or Fair get into foul trouble, and against good teams we will need someone to step up and help run the offense. Grant scored nicely tonight and got to the line nicely but it was more off the ball.

If we continue to see Grant off the ball like Cooney then Patterson could give Gbinije some competition at being that guy. He probably will make more mistakes then gbinije and isn't as tall but his offense looks further along. I see alot of combo guard in his game, and when he looks up sometimes he is thinking pass others put the ball on the floor. He had a point in the first half where he made a sweet give and go no look pass while looking the other direction to the foul line, then he ran to the right sideline and buried the three with a swish. That was moments after stripping a guard uptop in the zone on the defensive end.

Ennis looked real good tonight, he sets up the offense by passing and scoring. Sometimes you can't tell which one hes looking to do which will make him special. He has a midrange pullup and he can do it from all over inside the arc. His passing may be more important then his ball handling this year if Grant, Cooney bring mainly transition offense off the ball, and Dajuan and Rak both end up in the low post .

 

[cuseguy]

I was there. I figured about 10,000. They announced 8,000 plus. Sounds about right.

 

[jdubs30]

Sounds like Ennis will have to play Flynn-like minutes all year. That worries me we will wear him down before March.

 

[pearl31]

Sounds like Ennis will have to play Flynn-like minutes all year. That worries me we will wear him down before March.

A legitimate concern.

 

[AWMKY]

JB made a great point in the press conference, Silent G played a lot of minutes with the freshmen and there wasn't another ball handler on the court with a lot of experience. Let's just hope it's a different case when he's on the floor with Cooney and Fair.

 

[SUFan44]

PG - Ennis - 33 mpg (probably more)
SG - Cooney - 25 mpg (maybe a tad more)
SF - Fair - 35 mpg
PF - Grant - 28 mpg (maybe a tad more)
C - Keita/Coleman - 35 mpg

Bench
PF/C - Christmas - 15 mpg
PG/SG - Gbinije - 15 mpg
SF - Roberson - 7 mpg
SG - Johnson/Patterson - 10 mpg