My Take

[sutomcat]

Basketball is, IMHO, the ultimate team sport. No other sport so completely intertwines 5 players, on offense and defense. When the chemistry for a team is good and the pieces fit, watching that team play can be a great joy.

But when something happens to that chemistry, it is amazing how quickly a perfectly running machine can break down and become a shuttering heap of garbage.

IMHO, this team has never been a great offensive or defensive team. It won a ton of games but the margin for error, the tolerance for problems has never been great.

When JG went down, it caused a fundamental change in the inner workings of the team. The best defensive player was suddenly gone. No more great weakside shot blocking help. His amazing ability to cover territory in the zone, the best on the team by far, gone. Our best rebounder, also gone. Our best player drawing fouls inside gone.

He filled a lot of key roles. The vacuum left behind almost completely destroyed our depth/ability to rest players. I don't want to single out any of the players for their play last night, other than CJ, who I thought was terrific in the 2nd half and deserved to go out on his senior night with a victory, and TE, who was great down the stretch of the first half. If he returns next season, I can see him slipping over to the 2 quite a bit, to give him a rest from ball handling responsibilities and to give him a chance to score off the ball. His outside shooting and ability to penetrate, when paired with jet quick Kaleb Joseph, should be pretty explosive.

Anyway, I am glad JG did not play. The loss was horrific and really hard to watch in person and one can already see that the game against FSU, in a full house against a team fired up to get a big win to earn a ticket to the NCAA tournament, is going to be very tough. But still, I hope the staff holds the course, keeps JG on the bench healing, with an eye towards the NCAA tournament.

I hope the NCAA follows its own guidelines and takes this injury into consideration when doing its seeding and that SU retains a 1 or a 2 seed even if the season ends with 2 more losses.

Lastly, I wish SU had delayed the tributes to the seniors until a little closer to game time, as many fans were not seated/in position to pay tribute to the managers and players when they were honored before the game. It is unfortunate that the honoring of players, former players, other honored guests, etc., is consistently scheduled at inappropriate times and always seems desperately rushed. One gets the feeling these presentations are considered to be minor things not worth highlighting, not nearly as important as promoting sponsors or bothering the patrons with other irritating drivel.

Our seniors deserved better.

 

[Toga]

SU sucks at tribute stuff in all sports. Some is probably unavoidable but geesh.

 

[bballbeadle]

I agree with you about the seniors, tomcat. There was no fanfare announcing that they were beginning the ceremony. None. It just started happening. I kept thinking, "This isn't it, is it?" And it was!

 

[realorange]

Agree 100% regarding the presentations. I still think back to the time they retired Pearl's jersey. It was done at halftime, with so much noise going on that you wouldn't have known what was happening if you hadn't listened closely or weren't watching the court. One of the cornerstones of our program getting second class treatment. I guess things haven't improved. :noidea:

 

[Marsh01]

It was a pretty weak ceremony.

BTW good to see you last night.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I can't blame SU for the senior honor ceremony. The game started at 7:00pm and the senior ceremony, announced in the Post Standard, their website and even on this site was at 6:45pm. It's the fans fault alone if they missed the ceremony. In fact I think they delayed it as long as they could before the game because of the lack of the fannies in their seats making it feel rushed. Thankfully it wasn't scheduled at half-time nor at the end of the game after that bad loss.

This team has lost its rhythm, timing and just seems totally out of synch. Too much dependance on dribble drive isolation play towards the end of the shot clock relying on a "savior" offense. Too much dribbling, too little passing. All outside - inside: little to no inside - out.

The team now looks slow. Poor recognition when the defense overplays and opportunities to cut towards the basket. Baye has lost his effectiveness - he's having real issues with that brace during games. He looked nimble enough in pregame workouts but when the game started - nada. Christmas with just 2 shot attempts? Is Cooney fading back when taking shots or is it my imagination? He missed way too many good looks. Robeson was so hesitant on offense - clearly not comfortable yet-was hoping he'd be more of a factor on the boards . Thankfully CJ and Ennis scored having 19 out of our 25 baskets(45%).

Our defense is starting to look like a dike with multiple holes in it with players totally out of position. With Ennis being more aggressive offensively especially going to the hoop, teams are getting more runouts when he misses. We pressed and the trap was working but that crucial pass out of the trap wasn't anticipated - uggh. How many times did GT seem to take 9 seconds to get the ball past half-court? LGO!

 

[DoubleDee]

I agree that everyone had the opportunity to view it, as it was announced to be at 645.

That being said, I have said for years, that with the exception of Gmacs senior day, they all seem very rushed. I have to wonder if it's just a byproduct if TV ruling the whole operation?

I remember how they used to go through stat lines etc, and build up to each players introduction. Coleman's senior day, it seemed that the crowd would never quiet down and let the game start.

It stinks, but I think it's a sign of the times. The biggest shame was that we weren't winning and up enough to give each guy a curtain call.

 

[OttoMets]

Boy, it's a stretch to call Grant our best defensive player. Our best defensive rebounder, I think so. A good weak side shot-blocker, yes. Our best hope to get to the free throw line at the other end, sure. Best defender? I realize the bar isn't high with this team, but it's tough to stick that label on someone who spends so much time struggling with positioning and losing the baseline.

We did miss him, of course.

And he's a much better defender than Syracuse University is a game-day event coordinator. Ugh. Thanks, seniors. Hope you enjoyed the applause from all 37 of us while the Dome played background music.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I agree that everyone had the opportunity to view it, as it was announced to be at 645.

That being said, I have said for years, that with the exception of Gmacs senior day, they all seem very rushed. I have to wonder if it's just a byproduct if TV ruling the whole operation?

I remember how they used to go through stat lines etc, and build up to each players introduction. Coleman's senior day, it seemed that the crowd would never quiet down and let the game start.

It stinks, but I think it's a sign of the times. The biggest shame was that we weren't winning and up enough to give each guy a curtain call.

True - tv obviously isn't interested in televising it so I think SU waited as long as they could because of the embarrassingly empty seats. I always find it funny that the people in the 300's are in their seats while the people in the lower levels are the last to head to their seats.

 

[OttoMets]

I can't blame SU for the senior honor ceremony. The game started at 7:00pm and the senior ceremony, announced in the Post Standard, their website and even on this site was at 6:45pm. It's the fans fault alone if they missed the ceremony. In fact I think they delayed it as long as they could before the game because of the lack of the fannies in their seats making it feel rushed. Thankfully it wasn't scheduled at half-time nor at the end of the game after that bad loss.
...

They did announce it - that's the only reason I was in my seats at 6:46. But it began rather abruptly; the band cut off mid-song and they launched into it.

SU used to honor the seniors immediately before the game, sometimes cutting out the starting lineups in order to do so. That seems more appropriate. It should at least be moved after the anthem.

 

[SBU72]

Basketball is, IMHO, the ultimate team sport. No other sport so completely intertwines 5 players, on offense and defense. When the chemistry for a team is good and the pieces fit, watching that team play can be a great joy.

But when something happens to that chemistry, it is amazing how quickly a perfectly running machine can break down and become a shuttering heap of garbage.

IMHO, this team has never been a great offensive or defensive team. It won a ton of games but the margin for error, the tolerance for problems has never been great.

When JG went down, it caused a fundamental change in the inner workings of the team. The best defensive player was suddenly gone. No more great weakside shot blocking help. His amazing ability to cover territory in the zone, the best on the team by far, gone. Our best rebounder, also gone. Our best player drawing fouls inside gone.

He filled a lot of key roles. The vacuum left behind almost completely destroyed our depth/ability to rest players. I don't want to single out any of the players for their play last night, other than CJ, who I thought was terrific in the 2nd half and deserved to go out on his senior night with a victory, and TE, who was great down the stretch of the first half. If he returns next season, I can see him slipping over to the 2 quite a bit, to give him a rest from ball handling responsibilities and to give him a chance to score off the ball. His outside shooting and ability to penetrate, when paired with jet quick Kaleb Joseph, should be pretty explosive.

Anyway, I am glad JG did not play. The loss was horrific and really hard to watch in person and one can already see that the game against FSU, in a full house against a team fired up to get a big win to earn a ticket to the NCAA tournament, is going to be very tough. But still, I hope the staff holds the course, keeps JG on the bench healing, with an eye towards the NCAA tournament.

I hope the NCAA follows its own guidelines and takes this injury into consideration when doing its seeding and that SU retains a 1 or a 2 seed even if the season ends with 2 more losses.

Lastly, I wish SU had delayed the tributes to the seniors until a little closer to game time, as many fans were not seated/in position to pay tribute to the managers and players when they were honored before the game. It is unfortunate that the honoring of players, former players, other honored guests, etc., is consistently scheduled at inappropriate times and always seems desperately rushed. One gets the feeling these presentations are considered to be minor things not worth highlighting, not nearly as important as promoting sponsors or bothering the patrons with other irritating drivel.

Our seniors deserved better.

If the "chemistry" for this team centers on one guy (and I'm not saying your are wrong), what does it say about the makeup of the team for next year. The sports gurus all remarked early how well SU was able to recover from losing so much from last year, (both guards who played lie 95% of the minutes plus the top bench guy who was best outside shooter on the team.) what happens of the top 3 go again next year? Is there enough talent to recover?

 

[Pat Kelly]

I disagree with your take on the presentations, that seems to be the way most schools do them, it didn't concern me too much.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

There are some schools that do Senior Day celebrations AFTER the game is over.

Of course, after a night like last night, the stands would be almost empty.

 

[jr4750]

SU sucks at tribute stuff in all sports. Some is probably unavoidable but geesh.

sucks... always has! Just poor planning on a consistent basis!

 

[jgeorge322]

i cant see ennis playing the 2 much. i think it would be more likely for joseph to fill that role. i did like how ennis seemed to use his speed more last night. we need players who can beat their man 1:1. outside fair and ennis, we don't have anyone.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

IMHO, this team has never been a great offensive or defensive team. It won a ton of games but the margin for error, the tolerance for problems has never been great.

When JG went down, it caused a fundamental change in the inner workings of the team. The best defensive player was suddenly gone. No more great weakside shot blocking help. His amazing ability to cover territory in the zone, the best on the team by far, gone. Our best rebounder, also gone. Our best player drawing fouls inside gone.

He filled a lot of key roles. The vacuum left behind almost completely destroyed our depth/ability to rest players.

You absolutely nailed it.

With him out, we are not nearly as good defensively and, with Cooney really struggling, we are reduced to playing 2 v 5 on offense.

A point JB made in his press conference is that Ennis should not be taking 15-20 shots a game, but he has to because there is nobody else right now.

 

[SWC75]

The nolo-contendre worst ceremony of all time for anything was surely the All-Century Football team in 1989, (our first game had been in 1889). They scheduled it for a half hour before a game against Temple, (Temple!), and all these Hall of Famers ran out of the tunnel into a 90% empty Dome and some polite applause. What a crock! Whatever moron planned that should have been fired immediately- or given the job of manning a mop whenever someone spills beer, (which, by the way, happened just above where my seat is for the third time this season, a new record).

And when we did the Pearl shot thing at halftime of the BC game- how about having Pearl try to re-create his shot and giving the other guy three shots to match it so it wasn't over before anybody knew it was happening?

 

[SWC75]

I can't blame SU for the senior honor ceremony. The game started at 7:00pm and the senior ceremony, announced in the Post Standard, their website and even on this site was at 6:45pm. It's the fans fault alone if they missed the ceremony. In fact I think they delayed it as long as they could before the game because of the lack of the fannies in their seats making it feel rushed. Thankfully it wasn't scheduled at half-time nor at the end of the game after that bad loss.

This team has lost its rhythm, timing and just seems totally out of synch. Too much dependance on dribble drive isolation play towards the end of the shot clock relying on a "savior" offense. Too much dribbling, too little passing. All outside - inside: little to no inside - out.

The team now looks slow. Poor recognition when the defense overplays and opportunities to cut towards the basket. Baye has lost his effectiveness - he's having real issues with that brace during games. He looked nimble enough in pregame workouts but when the game started - nada. Christmas with just 2 shot attempts? Is Cooney fading back when taking shots or is it my imagination? He missed way too many good looks. Robeson was so hesitant on offense - clearly not comfortable yet-was hoping he'd be more of a factor on the boards . Thankfully CJ and Ennis scored having 19 out of our 25 baskets(45%).

Our defense is starting to look like a dike with multiple holes in it with players totally out of position. With Ennis being more aggressive offensively especially going to the hoop, teams are getting more runouts when he misses. We pressed and the trap was working but that crucial pass out of the trap wasn't anticipated - uggh. How many times did GT seem to take 9 seconds to get the ball past half-court? LGO!

The key to the press is always covering the pass out of the double team. Anyone can double team but if you let the guy pass out of it, it accomplishes nothing. That's where your steals come from. Actually I think the best press is to dog the point guard until just before he reaches the halfcourt line, they double team and have a third guy going for the steal. it still leaves you two guys back. Also, in a press your center has to stay home. Christmas and Keita were wandering all over the place. The best we've ever had at the back of the press was Jeremy McNeil. He was a good shot blocker when guys came right at him, (not so much when he had move to cover them), and he just planted himself right about where the "no-charge" semi-circle is now. He was where fast breaks went to die.

 

[KaiserUEO]

There are some schools that do Senior Day celebrations AFTER the game is over.

Of course, after a night like last night, the stands would be almost empty.

cnyers just dont care.

there is nothing in it for them to be there.

no reason.

nothing.

i wish they would just admit that they think of the Orange athlete, as cattle.

it helps to give a better objective view of things when you dont hate the individiual.