My Take

[sutomcat]

This game was not what I expected at all. Cal was said to be a top notch defensive team but not especially good on offense. The strength of this Syracuse team, at least thus far through the season, has been more on defense than on offense.

But the game ends up being a racehorse score fest, where there was almost no defense played, except for a few minutes early in the second half, when Syracuse broke the game open with perhaps its best sustained 5 minute or so block of basketball of the season.

Cal's defense was surely affected by the loss of one of their good big men. They really didn't have a shot blocker on the court, which allowed SU access to the rim most of the game, something that was taken advantage of regularly, especially by TE.

I again question the strategy of the opposing coach, this time Cal HC Montgomery, whose team played a very effective zone against Arkansas in the first game of this tournament. He opted to play man defense all game long.

Going to assume this decision was prompted by the pyrotechnics of TC, well known Delaware fireworks manufacturer, which were displayed to great effect in the Minnesota game. Anyway, Cal's man to man was extremely ineffective against the one on one skills of the more talented Syracuse players, they predictably got into foul trouble, and guess what, it didn't help to stop TC, who again glowed white hot in the 2nd half, when the Bears were left in a cloud of volcanic dust kicked up by the Syracuse offense.

The Cal man to man was effective in stopping CJ Fair, who struggled with a quick guard playing in his face. He needs to show he can post up smaller, weaker players or he is going to see a lot of this in future games. They are overplaying his left hand all the time now and he does not look like he is already close to being as effective or comfortable moving to the basket from his right. Still, he took more good shots than he has been and was just off a little. One wonders if the vision in the eye above the big cut he suffered in the Minnesota game played a role in this. Maybe.

We played our usual 3 center rotation. RC also played 9 minutes at PF. Even counting those minutes, our big guys had a total of 3 rebounds in 49 minutes. Against a really small team. BMK played 19 minutes and didn't get a rebound. Period. Didn't do much better on offense either; 8 points total between them. Not good. Hope they can do better down the road.

We all knew there was gonna be a problem with Ennis out of games but if anything, it has been even worse than expected. The last 2 games, when JB took TE out and replaced him with Silent G, bad times started happening almost immediately. Big runs for the opposition, our offense fell apart, turnover city. Hopefully Silent G can get better at this. He is really susceptible to a good pressure defense, just not strong with the ball, so it was not a surprise he melted down against the Gopher pressure, but he wasn't much better against the Bears last night. Much better player playing at the 2, but I don't see him ever being much of a scorer.

JG is a human highlight film. One of the best athletes in college basketball, he has 3 or 4 amazing plays every game. Hope the NBA scouts were not watching this game. Thank God he remains a little reluctant and uncomfortable taking mid and long range jumpers. If he starts to hit those consistently, it will be great for his bank account, not so great for Syracuse fans.

The Cal guards were very fast and athletic. They exposed a problem; we have to do a better job getting back on defense. The Bears made way too many easy baskets this way. If I know JB, he will be stressing this reviewing film with the team today and we will be better at it tonight.

This team is fun to watch. Some really good talent. Sometimes, I am not that pleased with the way the ball is moved around on offense; this is not a great passing team at times. We struggle to score too often in half court situations, even against average defensive teams.

The defense is capable of being very good but is prone to long periods of mediocre play. We are letting way too many players get into the paint for unchallenged shots. But when the team has to make plays, it does. They keep finding a way to get the job done, and that is very encouraging.

10 PM start tonight. I am glad I don't have to go to work tomorrow.

 

[pfister1]

I would have liked to hear Montgomery's rationale for playing all man and no zone last night. I think I would have zoned us especially with their inside difficulties, just for sh!ts and giggles, if nothing else. If Cooney gets hot, then adjust.

Our inability to get back on defense really was disappointing. I think we have been fairly good at that in recent years, not so last night.

I thought there was something amiss last night in terms of the team's desire. We got torched on the boards by a smaller team. Seemed like Cal (maybe it was just Cobbs) beat us to every 50/50 ball. They also took a number of rebounds from us where they just seemed to out leap or rip the ball away from our guy. Christmas and Keita have to pick up the energy a bit especially on defense and on the boards.

Ennis and Cooney had really good nights offensively. I hope that last night gets Ennis on track offensively. We don't need him to score 20, just not continue to have those 10% shooting nights. We need to take the offensive pressure off of CJ, I am just not convinced that he can be a reliable scorer if he is a focus of a good defender. The more guys the defense has to account for, the easier time CJ will have....obviously(?)

 

[Jack Hall]

I would have liked to hear Montgomery's rationale for playing all man and no zone last night. I think I would have zoned us especially with their inside difficulties, just for sh!ts and giggles, if nothing else. If Cooney gets hot, then adjust.

Our inability to get back on defense really was disappointing. I think we have been fairly good at that in recent years, not so last night.

I thought there was something amiss last night in terms of the team's desire. We got torched on the boards by a smaller team. Seemed like Cal (maybe it was just Cobbs) beat us to every 50/50 ball. They also took a number of rebounds from us where they just seemed to out leap or rip the ball away from our guy. Christmas and Keita have to pick up the energy a bit especially on defense and on the boards.

Ennis and Cooney had really good nights offensively. I hope that last night gets Ennis on track offensively. We don't need him to score 20, just not continue to have those 10% shooting nights. We need to take the offensive pressure off of CJ, I am just not convinced that he can be a reliable scorer if he is a focus of a good defender. The more guys the defense has to account for, the easier time CJ will have....obviously(?)

We handled minnys zone pretty well I thought...

 

[SUMBA]

So BMK got the same number of rebounds that a dead guy would have gotten...

 

[weedsportwarriors]

I seem to recall we struggled in the half-court offense last year as well. That is why our defense is always going to be the key. The offense feeds off of our defense, not only in points but also in intensity. The defense has a little ways to go but as I have stated before we always seem to find a way to up the intensity when we need to. I don't know about you all but I have been pleasantly surprised by our team so far; especially 90% from free throw line at Maui. LGO!!!

Good recap as always Tomcat. Thanks!

 

[two3zone]

So BMK got the same number of rebounds that a dead guy would have gotten...

Or an armless man.

 

[Lawrinson14]

Great line about trevor and fireworks.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Great recap as usual, TC.
BMK hasn't been his usual bellowing self in these 2 games- he seems a step slow and a little lethargic.
When DC2 finally figures it out, hopefully this year, he'll be a force.
Rak needs consistency- just give us 8 and 8, play good D, and bring energy.
Its no coincidence that when the lightbulb went on for BMK at the BET last year, the team's fortunes turned.
We need something more, anything more, from our big guys. In fact, at times I was yelling for JB to put Tyler Roberson in, just so we'd have someone who can finish near the rim. :bang:

 

[billsin01]

I would have liked to hear Montgomery's rationale for playing all man and no zone last night. I think I would have zoned us especially with their inside difficulties, just for sh!ts and giggles, if nothing else. If Cooney gets hot, then adjust.

Our inability to get back on defense really was disappointing. I think we have been fairly good at that in recent years, not so last night.

I thought there was something amiss last night in terms of the team's desire. We got torched on the boards by a smaller team. Seemed like Cal (maybe it was just Cobbs) beat us to every 50/50 ball. They also took a number of rebounds from us where they just seemed to out leap or rip the ball away from our guy. Christmas and Keita have to pick up the energy a bit especially on defense and on the boards.

Ennis and Cooney had really good nights offensively. I hope that last night gets Ennis on track offensively. We don't need him to score 20, just not continue to have those 10% shooting nights. We need to take the offensive pressure off of CJ, I am just not convinced that he can be a reliable scorer if he is a focus of a good defender. The more guys the defense has to account for, the easier time CJ will have....obviously(?)

I would zone this team all the time. I think they did a decent job vs. Minny's zone but generally think it's an issue, especially if the opponent can execute it fairly well.

Think Coleman's footspeed remains a problem in the zone. Just has a ton of trouble getting to someone at the FT line and still handling is responsibilities down low. Recovery time is just far too slow for this level.

As many have said transition defense has been atrocious so far.

The other thing I think is going on a bit with this team is a lack of focus at times. They've basically played decently but they just have far too many moments where mental lapses (falling asleep defensively, cooney's unforced turnovers, etc) are keeping lesser teams in games.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

This team is fun to watch. Some really good talent. Sometimes, I am not that pleased with the way the ball is moved around on offense; this is not a great passing team at times. We struggle to score too often in half court situations, even against average defensive teams.

I am glad I don't have to go to work tomorrow.

Tom - Great post. But I wonder if you thought we struggled last night jn the half court? From where I sat TC getting into the lane opened up things for the rest of the team. If he can do that, then I don't think we'll struggle too much...

 

[upperdeck]

fair just needs to body up and get that extra 4-5 rebounds a game that he is missing. he cant just watch the ball

 

[SWC75]

So BMK got the same number of rebounds that a dead guy would have gotten...

And JB should know how many rebounds a dead guy would get.

 

[Consigliere]

The most exciting aspect of the last two games is the significant upside this team is showing. Two wins against two decent teams and lots of room for growth.

Zone has been borderline awful - you know that will get fixed. Rak and DCII have shown flashes of dominance - can they finally add some consistency, 3 talented freshmaen not even seeing the court yet - with a month of practice and Binghamton, High Point and EMU among the games on tap the opportunity will cone for one or more to step forward, but even if none do there is a solid and balanced 8 man rotation. And I still think Gbinijie has much more to offer than he's shown to date.

Could be a fun ride watching this group mature.

 

[sutomcat]

Tom - Great post. But I wonder if you thought we struggled last night jn the half court? From where I sat TC getting into the lane opened up things for the rest of the team. If he can do that, then I don't think we'll struggle too much...

Thought we played well in the half court both games in this tournament. Pleasantly surprised based on struggles we had here in the previous games.

 

[Madbiker]

I would have liked to hear Montgomery's rationale for playing all man and no zone last night. I think I would have zoned us especially with their inside difficulties, just for sh!ts and giggles, if nothing else. If Cooney gets hot, then adjust.

Our inability to get back on defense really was disappointing. I think we have been fairly good at that in recent years, not so last night.

I thought there was something amiss last night in terms of the team's desire. We got torched on the boards by a smaller team. Seemed like Cal (maybe it was just Cobbs) beat us to every 50/50 ball. They also took a number of rebounds from us where they just seemed to out leap or rip the ball away from our guy. Christmas and Keita have to pick up the energy a bit especially on defense and on the boards.

Ennis and Cooney had really good nights offensively. I hope that last night gets Ennis on track offensively. We don't need him to score 20, just not continue to have those 10% shooting nights. We need to take the offensive pressure off of CJ, I am just not convinced that he can be a reliable scorer if he is a focus of a good defender. The more guys the defense has to account for, the easier time CJ will have....obviously(?)

I don't think it's so much a lack of desire on our part but more a lack of foot speed and quickness. Cal's guards were quicker than ours (though both Ennis and Cooney played well on the offensive end). Their one big guy consistently beat our centers down the court, especially DC2 who just couldn't keep up the pace in this game. He also schooled BMK in getting rebounding position the entire time he was in there. We won because we played our best offensive game in a long time and shot unbelievable from the FT line.