My Take

[sutomcat]

Great turnout by the students, who showed up in numbers only seen for key conference matchups. The rest of the fans...not so much. But a far better crowd than for the 2 exhibitions. I am guessing around 16-18K.

Another sterling job with the NA. This time it was done by an SU student who is currently also in a play being staged by Syracuse Stage. Someone is doing a good job identifying good singers for Dome events.

Fordham had a handful of fans in the Dome for the game, including 4 rooting for a player I suspect was a walk on from Brockport. He thankfully got into the game late.

I think it was the 42nd time we have played Fordham, more than we have played a number of BE teams. There must have been some great games in the past. But that was not the case today.

SU played zone almost all game...the man to man played in the exhibition games was no where to be found, and the press was also shelved. I thought the zone was really effective. Fordham didn't get many quality looks, turned it over a lot and from my seat, got outrebounded pretty badly too. SU was active and alert on defense, good quickness and recovery ability. I think we have an active top notch shot blocker in Fab this season, which is really discouraging inside shots. And Keita is playing much more aggressively on defense as well. Christmas and the rest of the team all also do a good job blocking shots...I suspect we are going to block a lot of shots this season.

We have been hampered with a weak link or two in the zone the last few years...guys like Devo, frosh Dion, RJ on the wing, a young KJ, etc. Might not have a weak link this season, not with the first 7 or 8 players anyway. Kris and Dion look much improved playing the 2-3 this season, Christmas looks pretty solid early, looks like he will rebound well and be very good supplying quick and able weak side shot blocking help and for this game anyway, Triche has stepped up his fine defense to another level. Couple solid overall defense with top notch shot blocking, and this could be a really good defensive team.

MCW had some good moments but made a lot of rookie mistakes. He has to be careful not to get caught too far from the top of the key when on offense...there were way too many easy fast break baskets when he was in playing point (he always plays the point) because he was out of position.

Other not good stuff: Triche is starting off 2011-12 slowly, leaning forward in a weird way on his 3 point shots and generally shooting too much, not seeing much in the way of passing from Dion either right now (though he is hitting most everything he is throwing up so far), Mr Excitement is still doing Dr Seuss rhymes (this is still not hip or trendy) and I am sick of the dance team dancing to My Saronna.

KJ is handling the ball far better than last year and he looked a lot less hampered by a bad knee today than he did in the exhibition games. CJ continues to hit 3s when he tries them. Doesn't have a quick trigger and probably won't take many this year but just having the threat he can hit them will help open up driving opportunities.

Fab drew another charge.
Southerland looked better than he has been playing recently. Had to be nice for him playing against so many fellow NYCers.
Christmas made a nice move playing center and I am thinking now he will probably score more playing there than at the 4.
Fordham tried to zone us, we tore it up. They tried to man us, we tore it up. The team showed good awareness and was not confused by the defense changes. This looks like a mature group.
Would like to see just a little more passing.

So far JB is still playing everyone but Mookie and Trevor and it looks like that might not change until conference play. Trevor looks like he is going to redshirt, which I think is a good thing. Would not be surprised if we end up seeing a lot of zone defenses and if the gang can't hit enough 3s to discourage this, maybe Trev will end up playing. I can see this team going really hot and really cold at times...that is they way most of them seem to roll.

Fun team to watch so far. They are playing hard and are motivated. The battle for PT might be driving a lot of this. Looking forward to Monday already.

 

[OttoMets]

Other not good stuff: ... Mr Excitement is still doing Dr Seuss rhymes (this is still not hip or trendy) and I am sick of the dance team dancing to My Saronna.

Good recap as always, Tom. Agree with the zone - everyone looked very comfortable in his role today; thought they were (most of the game, at least) pretty active.

One more thing for Mr. Excitement (who takes SU's horrendous game presentation to another level): why, why, at a school where we bemoan the lack of any cool traditions, songs, chants, etc., does our public address announcer start jabbering about individual statistics during the entirety of the playing of the alma mater? It's not even annoying - it's flat-out disrespectful. What a pathetic scene at the end of the basketball games: 40 or 50 Otto's Army kids singing along to the alma mater in an empty Dome, no players to be seen, and Veley drowning out the whole thing with more yakking. Unbelieveable.

As much as I love Syracuse University and the basketball team, it's kind of frustrating to attend games. It's like a Triple-A baseball game, without the baseball and pleasant summertime weather.

 

[AlaskaSU]

no mention of how long the singer held the same note towards the end of the NA?

 

[Upstate]

They don't look as explosive offensively as they did last year, but I imagine that is just a matter of time. They did look great on D. Kept on getting a hand in the face of the shooter. Rebounded well. All in all a very positive first game.

 

[BlueCurtain]

They don't look as explosive offensively as they did last year, but I imagine that is just a matter of time. They did look great on D. Kept on getting a hand in the face of the shooter. Rebounded well. All in all a very positive first game.

Obviously you don't remember the non-conference woes we had last year. William & Mary ring a bell?

 

[billsin01]

A couple things stood out to me, though obviously one game is not much of a sample size:

-- Really think Southerland is an interesting player. He's not real popular on this board but I remain convinced that his athleticism plus undeniable skill shooting the ball make him a unique player. He had a couple steals and no TOs as well. I just think he could end up playing a much bigger role than people think. We'll see.

-- Xmas looked aggressive and confident to me offensively. I don't think he'll give us much there this year, but he has some ability going forward.

-- Triche gets caught in between and in the air often. Just out of sync and he's a hard player to really get excited about for me for some reason.

-- Waiters was smiling and scoring a lot. Those are both important IMO since he appears to be a nice option when we have to have a bucket and obviously could be something of a powder keg if he's not happy.

 

[AZOrange]

Great turnout by the students, who showed up in numbers only seen for key conference matchups. The rest of the fans...not so much. But a far better crowd than for the 2 exhibitions. I am guessing around 16-18K.

Another sterling job with the NA. This time it was done by an SU student who is currently also in a play being staged by Syracuse Stage. Someone is doing a good job identifying good singers for Dome events.

Fordham had a handful of fans in the Dome for the game, including 4 rooting for a player I suspect was a walk on from Brockport. He thankfully got into the game late.

I think it was the 42nd time we have played Fordham, more than we have played a number of BE teams. There must have been some great games in the past. But that was not the case today.

SU played zone almost all game...the man to man played in the exhibition games was no where to be found, and the press was also shelved. I thought the zone was really effective. Fordham didn't get many quality looks, turned it over a lot and from my seat, got outrebounded pretty badly too. SU was active and alert on defense, good quickness and recovery ability. I think we have an active top notch shot blocker in Fab this season, which is really discouraging inside shots. And Keita is playing much more aggressively on defense as well. Christmas and the rest of the team all also do a good job blocking shots...I suspect we are going to block a lot of shots this season.

We have been hampered with a weak link or two in the zone the last few years...guys like Devo, frosh Dion, RJ on the wing, a young KJ, etc. Might not have a weak link this season, not with the first 7 or 8 players anyway. Kris and Dion look much improved playing the 2-3 this season, Christmas looks pretty solid early, looks like he will rebound well and be very good supplying quick and able weak side shot blocking help and for this game anyway, Triche has stepped up his fine defense to another level. Couple solid overall defense with top notch shot blocking, and this could be a really good defensive team.

MCW had some good moments but made a lot of rookie mistakes. He has to be careful not to get caught too far from the top of the key when on offense...there were way too many easy fast break baskets when he was in playing point (he always plays the point) because he was out of position.

Other not good stuff: Triche is starting off 2011-12 slowly, leaning forward in a weird way on his 3 point shots and generally shooting too much, not seeing much in the way of passing from Dion either right now (though he is hitting most everything he is throwing up so far), Mr Excitement is still doing Dr Seuss rhymes (this is still not hip or trendy) and I am sick of the dance team dancing to My Saronna.

KJ is handling the ball far better than last year and he looked a lot less hampered by a bad knee today than he did in the exhibition games. CJ continues to hit 3s when he tries them. Doesn't have a quick trigger and probably won't take many this year but just having the threat he can hit them will help open up driving opportunities.

Fab drew another charge.
Southerland looked better than he has been playing recently. Had to be nice for him playing against so many fellow NYCers.
Christmas made a nice move playing center and I am thinking now he will probably score more playing there than at the 4.
Fordham tried to zone us, we tore it up. They tried to man us, we tore it up. The team showed good awareness and was not confused by the defense changes. This looks like a mature group.
Would like to see just a little more passing.

So far JB is still playing everyone but Mookie and Trevor and it looks like that might not change until conference play. Trevor looks like he is going to redshirt, which I think is a good thing. Would not be surprised if we end up seeing a lot of zone defenses and if the gang can't hit enough 3s to discourage this, maybe Trev will end up playing. I can see this team going really hot and really cold at times...that is they way most of them seem to roll.

Fun team to watch so far. They are playing hard and are motivated. The battle for PT might be driving a lot of this. Looking forward to Monday already.

I like this team. A LOT.

I think we have more offensive firepower than the last couple of years (maybe not 2010) but more than last year.

I really like our defense. And the fact that our guards rebound.

i really like the chemistry. Hopefully it lasts.

 

[Orangeyes]

Great turnout by the students, who showed up in numbers only seen for key conference matchups. The rest of the fans...not so much. But a far better crowd than for the 2 exhibitions. I am guessing around 16-18K.

Another sterling job with the NA. This time it was done by an SU student who is currently also in a play being staged by Syracuse Stage. Someone is doing a good job identifying good singers for Dome events.

Fordham had a handful of fans in the Dome for the game, including 4 rooting for a player I suspect was a walk on from Brockport. He thankfully got into the game late.

I think it was the 42nd time we have played Fordham, more than we have played a number of BE teams. There must have been some great games in the past. But that was not the case today.

SU played zone almost all game...the man to man played in the exhibition games was no where to be found, and the press was also shelved. I thought the zone was really effective. Fordham didn't get many quality looks, turned it over a lot and from my seat, got outrebounded pretty badly too. SU was active and alert on defense, good quickness and recovery ability. I think we have an active top notch shot blocker in Fab this season, which is really discouraging inside shots. And Keita is playing much more aggressively on defense as well. Christmas and the rest of the team all also do a good job blocking shots...I suspect we are going to block a lot of shots this season.

We have been hampered with a weak link or two in the zone the last few years...guys like Devo, frosh Dion, RJ on the wing, a young KJ, etc. Might not have a weak link this season, not with the first 7 or 8 players anyway. Kris and Dion look much improved playing the 2-3 this season, Christmas looks pretty solid early, looks like he will rebound well and be very good supplying quick and able weak side shot blocking help and for this game anyway, Triche has stepped up his fine defense to another level. Couple solid overall defense with top notch shot blocking, and this could be a really good defensive team.

MCW had some good moments but made a lot of rookie mistakes. He has to be careful not to get caught too far from the top of the key when on offense...there were way too many easy fast break baskets when he was in playing point (he always plays the point) because he was out of position.

Other not good stuff: Triche is starting off 2011-12 slowly, leaning forward in a weird way on his 3 point shots and generally shooting too much, not seeing much in the way of passing from Dion either right now (though he is hitting most everything he is throwing up so far), Mr Excitement is still doing Dr Seuss rhymes (this is still not hip or trendy) and I am sick of the dance team dancing to My Saronna.

KJ is handling the ball far better than last year and he looked a lot less hampered by a bad knee today than he did in the exhibition games. CJ continues to hit 3s when he tries them. Doesn't have a quick trigger and probably won't take many this year but just having the threat he can hit them will help open up driving opportunities.

Fab drew another charge.
Southerland looked better than he has been playing recently. Had to be nice for him playing against so many fellow NYCers.
Christmas made a nice move playing center and I am thinking now he will probably score more playing there than at the 4.
Fordham tried to zone us, we tore it up. They tried to man us, we tore it up. The team showed good awareness and was not confused by the defense changes. This looks like a mature group.
Would like to see just a little more passing.

So far JB is still playing everyone but Mookie and Trevor and it looks like that might not change until conference play. Trevor looks like he is going to redshirt, which I think is a good thing. Would not be surprised if we end up seeing a lot of zone defenses and if the gang can't hit enough 3s to discourage this, maybe Trev will end up playing. I can see this team going really hot and really cold at times...that is they way most of them seem to roll.

Fun team to watch so far. They are playing hard and are motivated. The battle for PT might be driving a lot of this. Looking forward to Monday already.

The announced attendance was 22,906. The students were great last night I guess we should start all games at 4 pm? One question though, where were they Friday night for the team that needs them the most? It's nice to follow a winner but it's tougher as a fan to sick with your team when the chips are down. The football season is not over yet, Cincy's QB injured his ankle so you never know.

We blocked seven shots last night the former statue known as Fab Melo accounted for 4 himself, my favorite of the night came from CJ. Fair. What is the team record for blocks in a game? With Fab, Rakeem and Baye I think we have the most shot blockers on the roster than ever before.

Tom I know you have a "Knack" for getting things right but that song the dance team does is "My Shorona" maybe you were thinking of Saronna the wave biter

I thought Dion was the player of the game, Kris, James, CJ and Fab were very good. Baye is Baye, you pretty much know what you are going to get out of him from game to game, which is a good thing. He had 3 quick fouls though which got him a lot of pine time last night. Rakeem is a work in progress and is coming along nicely. Scoop hit that first three then went down hill offensively for a spurt. Brandon got a lot of pine time for his poor offensive play. MCW needs to crouch when he dribbles and get sideways and protect the ball when the smaller defenders come up on him. Fordham double teamed him a number of times and forced him into 3 turnovers. I think he'll learn and improve. Mookie seems to have lost his shot mojo. He got into action with 6:45 left managed 1 free throw. I loved Brandon Reese's drive and make while falling down.

 

[OttoMets]

I thought Dion was the player of the game, Kris, James, CJ and Fab were very good. Baye is Baye, you pretty much know what you are going to get out of him from game to game, which is a good thing. He had 3 quick fouls though which got him a lot of pine time last night.

If that block on the fast-break dunk was a foul, then that block of a Dion dunk attempt by a Pittsburgh player last year (which everyone on this board found wildly impressive) had to have been a foul.

That was a cheap one. He made a very nice play; if anything, Baye got fouled by the Fordham trailer who was trying to block him as he sprinted downcourt.

 

[AlaskaSU]

If we go up against a smaller guard on a junk team, I'd like to see Brandon get some PT, not that it would ever happen. Kid can score and pass.

 

[cto]

If we go up against a smaller guard on a junk team, I'd like to see Brandon get some PT, not that it would ever happen. Kid can score and pass.

All the walk-ons are such great kids... and they all work so hard during practice. I really would like to see them get more time at the end of blow-outs. Russ DeRemer, a really great kid with a 3.9 GPA and a member of the Big East All-Academic team last year, didn't get into the game at all. I think that is kind of inexcusable. I know five walk-ons got in at the end (or four, if Brandon is on scholarship this year), but I wish the others could have had playing time also. These kids put in SO MUCH work. They deserve to see their names in the box score at the end of a game like this one.

 

[Cheriehoop]

I like this team. A LOT.

I think we have more offensive firepower than the last couple of years (maybe not 2010) but more than last year.

I really like our defense. And the fact that our guards rebound.

i really like the chemistry. Hopefully it lasts.

When the guards penetrate or go in for rebounds, one has to stop and remember that he has the responsibility to rotate back preventing the fast break. That was an issue last night.

 

[OttoMets]

When the guards penetrate or go in for rebounds, one has to stop and remember that he has the responsibility to rotate back preventing the fast break. That was an issue last night.

Good post. Yet another thing that critics of Scoop and Triche don't recognize - both starting guards are good at this and both reserve guards, at this point, are not.