My Take

[sutomcat]

Another poor turnout by everyone. The strange starting time surely didn't help things. The fans unfortunately were as flat and uninspired as the players.

Another nice rendition of the NA today, delivered by a young woman from Binghamton/Cornell who put her own spin on the song. Nice voice, was well received by the crowd.

I thought this was a strange game. We played pretty good defense except against their best player, a tall wing who could shoot from the outside and also drive to the basket. That is weird; we normally take their top player out of the game by tilting the zone at him. The other strange thing is that Hampton hurt us most of the game by pushing the ball and getting easy transition baskets. We are usually pretty good about this, especially against middling mid major mediocracy.

Thought we played poorly overall and if not for an extraordinary game from RC, this could have been a loss.

Props to Hampton for playing really hard, hustling, pressing the ball aggressively and making a lot of tough shots. They worked the ball around our zone very nicely and got a lot of quality shots. On defense, they mixed things up a bit, played mostly man but also some zone, and at times really extended their defense.

CMac got in foul trouble again...he is making an alarming number of bad decisions on defense right now. Some result in foolish fouls, some do not. On the positive side, he also made a couple of dazzling plays on defense, including a spectacular cat quick block near the basket towards the end of the game. The bad news is he was nowhere close to as effective on the boards as in the earlier games. The good news is that he wasn't nearly as bad shooting from close range, where he has missed bunnies at a startling pace early in his career. What is going on with him and dunks? He has had 4 or 5 golden opportunities to throw down a big dunk and passed on them. No question he is a really talented athlete who is capable of doing amazing things. Right now, we are only seeing flashes of what he is capable of.

TRob only played 16 minutes. He again was pulled from the game almost immediately and is in danger of becoming another JB starting player who isn't truly part of the normal player rotation. From what I have seen, he might be the best rebounder on the team. His defense is somewhat shaky but improving. So far on offense, he has not been much of a factor. Stands around the perimeter too much, occasionally takes a shot from there, has looked awkward and unsmooth when he tries to drive. So far, I haven't seen his even try to set up down low. Hope that changes.

Kaleb with a K had an undistinguished game. Had a few careless TOs. Made some nice passes, he gets in the lane and dishes down low with the best of them, and his ability to run the half court offense is surprisingly advanced. Has even done a good job rotating back as the safety on defense when the other team gets the ball, which is unusual for a frosh. Did not look for his shot much again today, has been playing very unselfishly and continues to almost never force a shot.

TC still hasn't found his true groove shooting but looks like he is slowing things down on that front. His defense remains solid, his hustle is always there, he looks to be driving more when he has a chance and his passing is improving.

Chino only played a minute. Some of this is because RC is playing so well but for now, he is not in the JB circle of trust and I doubt he will play a minute in MSG this week. Kind of unfortunate because he has looked okay in his limited minutes to date.

The competition of PT between Buss and BJ might be the most interesting story of the season to date, which has to be tough for these two, as they are the best of friends off the court. Today was a dsy for BJ to shine. He played far more minutes than Buss, rebounded well and looked good shooting from the three point circle. A big part of this was the foul trouble CMac got into, and the semi doghouse status for TRob. That left a lot of minutes at the forward position, far more than Silent G could absorb. Good for BJ for taking advantage. Hope he looks to drive a little more, finds ways to contribute besides his outside shooting. The rebounding today was a good start.

I don't think Buss did anything wrong today. He just has a limited chance to get playing time right now with KJ and TC eating up so many minutes at the guard positions. With Silent G being the backup PG, I can't see Buss is getting more than 4 or 5 minutes a game very often.

RC was great, completely dominated another game on both ends of the court. The only criiticism I can come up with for him is that he isn't shooting the ball very well down low. If he gets his act together there, and I think he will, he is going to really put on a show.

That leaves Silent G, Old Reliable, who had another solid but understated game. He is definitely more aggressive with the ball these days, draws a couple of charges every game. Smart player, pleasure to watch him do his thing.

Not a great game, saw some struggles on offense that were disturbing. The defense wasn't really good either...this game that second half lockdown never really happened. But these things happen with young teams, wins are wins, and let's hope the kids learned some things from a shaky effort.

On to NYC.

 

[bballbeadle]

The singer was a Wells' classmate of my daughter's. Tom, were you at the Friday game? The crowd was much better that night and of course, Wes' nephew sang the NA.

 

[OrangeFoo]

It's crazy that after two games we have a player who never got big minutes before and is clearly learning go into the coaches doghouse. What other coach does this?

I can already see this years drama when G stinks it up on the court and people are asking why Roberson isn't getting more run.

 

[_jonesy_]

Coach said BJ was better matched for the zone look from Hampton tonight, it will change each game.

 

[orangepassion]

A little surprised Cooney played 36 minutes and Patterson only 4

 

[SUFan44]

Second game in three days. Much better opponent than Friday. Didn't play as well, but pulled away and started playing defense when they needed to in the 2nd half. Offense wasn't great but they did enough.

Not meaning to pile on the kid at all because he does hustle and such, but Cooney needs to play like a 4th year junior offensively every single game. It's great that he hustles on defense and is solid in that regard, but he needs to do what he did at the end of the game where he took the ball to the hole more often, especially if his shot isn't falling like it hasn't been since ND last year. He needs to be a primary scoring option instead of a designated shooter. He is capable.

With so many new players playing a lot more minutes, you need your veterans to step up. Christmas absolutely has through two games. Gbinje looks like he'll be able to do that, too. Cooney is the third guy, and must play at a higher level offensively, especially in the beginning of the year as these new kids (freshmen and sophomores) get acclimated to college basketball.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Wondering the same why McCullough isn't throwing down some hammers.

 

[NineOneSeven]

There will be growing pains this year, and we will lose games against teams we typically think we should beat, but I'm accepting it.

I am looking forward to player development this year. It should be a fun season in that regard, as my expectations are fairly low for this year. Part of it is due to the unknowns, and part of it is due to the fact I'm not in bball mode...yet

 

[Orangeman]

It's crazy that after two games we have a player who never got big minutes before and is clearly learning go into the coaches doghouse. What other coach does this? I can already see this years drama when G stinks it up on the court and people are asking why Roberson isn't getting more run.

Continues to be a major, significant problem.

 

[Antiprodigy]

It's crazy that after two games we have a player who never got big minutes before and is clearly learning go into the coaches doghouse. What other coach does this?

I can already see this years drama when G stinks it up on the court and people are asking why Roberson isn't getting more run.

This question makes me wonder if you have ever played organized sports at any level High school or higher. Because JB is far from the only coach who has a "doghouse" that some players end up in. Usually, it happens when the coach feels that the player has a lot of potential, but are not living up to the potential for reasons that are of the player's making. Another factor tends to play into it as well. There has to be another player who is capable of playing the minutes. The other player is usually not quite as good, or barely better, but is a viable option.

IMO, that is the situation JB sees with Roberson. His ceiling is quite high, but he is not playing at a level that is acceptable to JB. One of 3 things happens in this situation. 1. The player ups his game and is awarded with more minutes. 2. The player collapses under the pressure. So, they see their minutes dwindle away as the season progresses. 3. They fumble along having some bright spots, some bad. Play good enough to keep getting some PT, but not playing well enough that they ever actually win the position.

And then the process begins again next year. Xmas went through this. There were lots of growing pains. But, we are reaping the rewards this year.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Good points antiprodigy, I think the curiosity is that two thirds of the outcomes are negative. Given the short window of time represented by their careers, one can rightly wonder if there is a more expedient approach to a player like Roberson.

For instance: Xmas. He has clearly come into his own based on what we have seen, but we are now limited to getting this version of him for one year, or 25% of his career. Did he get to this level at this point because of JB's approach to his development or might he have been there a year ago if a different method was tried? We of course won't know, but it's a valid discussion.

 

[Antiprodigy]

It is a valid point to discuss, and as you stated, there is no way to get an answer. I offer that it is one way to coach. There are others. In SU's case, this is the way JB operates. Anyone who has been more than a casual fan over the past couple decades can surely name off a few players that fit into this category.

We do not have a window into the methodology that JB uses, so we have no idea whether this method is calculated or comes "from the hip" as it were. As he has been doing this for nearly 40 years, My belief is that he has run the whole gamut of effects over the years, from stellar returns to complete flops. I'd like to think that he has had more successes than failures, and I think that his winning % and win total are reflective of that fact. Others may not agree, and that is their prerogative. Needless to say, I would disagree with your view of a 66% negative outcome.

 

[two3zone]

If Buss didn't hit all of those threes in the exhibition game this topic wouldn't be around. People are upset Cooney's getting all these minutes because he isn't consistent, but Buss isn't the best example of consistency.

 

[Ghost]

If Buss didn't hit all of those threes in the exhibition game this topic wouldn't be around. People are upset Cooney's getting all these minutes because he isn't consistent, but Buss isn't the best example of consistency.

Right, but the other guy is supposed to be the consistent one, and he seems less consistent than they guy who is inconsistent. Or at least just as inconsistent. It's all very confusing.

Things will work out - as the season progress hopefully TC gets it together and settles in. That will be the only thing that will settle down the debate.

 

[realorange]

There really is nothing to settle. Cooney is simply the better all around player. Buss will have his time as a shooter in certain situations but that will be the majority of his minutes.

 

[HoustonCuse]

It is a valid point to discuss, and as you stated, there is no way to get an answer. I offer that it is one way to coach. There are others. In SU's case, this is the way JB operates. Anyone who has been more than a casual fan over the past couple decades can surely name off a few players that fit into this category.

We do not have a window into the methodology that JB uses, so we have no idea whether this method is calculated or comes "from the hip" as it were. As he has been doing this for nearly 40 years, My belief is that he has run the whole gamut of effects over the years, from stellar returns to complete flops. I'd like to think that he has had more successes than failures, and I think that his winning % and win total are reflective of that fact. Others may not agree, and that is their prerogative. Needless to say, I would disagree with your view of a 66% negative outcome.

To be clear, you came up with the 66% negative outcome, not me. You gave three possible outcomes from this development methodology "1. The player ups his game and is awarded with more minutes. 2. The player collapses under the pressure. So, they see their minutes dwindle away as the season progresses. 3. They fumble along having some bright spots, some bad."

One of those would be categorized as positive and 2 are negative.