My two big questions...

[RF2044]

The shot was dreadful. You would think coming out of a time out we could come up with something better that you stand here and dribble until the clock gets low then fail to drive past your man and take an off balance 3.

It sure was--plus, KJ was open on the left wing when Dion settled for that shot. Wide open.

 

[Marsh01]

It sure was--plus, KJ was open on the left wing when Dion settled for that shot. Wide open.

Wide open and holding his hands out for the ball.

 

[pfister1]

Christmas and James are the guys that up and give most of the lackluster effort though.

If that is the case our rebounding problems are not an effort issue, because we got absolutely hammered on the boards last night and those two guys only played a collective 8 minutes.

 

[pfister1]

Now I'm really trending to the negative...which I really don't mean to because I believe we have the talent to win it all (awkward caveat I guess). But the standing around is not just limited to rebounding. The zone is less active for longer periods of time than it was earlier in the year. And I won't even mention the offense. Thankfully Fab sets a high pick every set or everyone would stay in one place and watch people dribble.

See: Waiters, Dion final shot of the game.

44cuse

With respect to the defense...I don't think the defense was better early in the year than it is now. I think the lapses were less noticeable early in the year because we were playing weaker teams as well as teams and coaches that haven't seen JB's version of zone as often as coaches in the Big East.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

I would kill to see a Syracuse player look for a body when a shot goes up. Its hard to believe that this is not taught.

 

[44cuse]

The shot was dreadful. You would think coming out of a time out we could come up with something better that you stand here and dribble until the clock gets low then fail to drive past your man and take an off balance 3.

Yeah, exactly. Here's my bit of coaching (armchair of course): "Go to the rack and get fouled."

44cuse

 

[44cuse]

With respect to the defense...I don't think the defense was better early in the year than it is now. I think the lapses were less noticeable early in the year because we were playing weaker teams as well as teams and coaches that haven't seen JB's version of zone as often as coaches in the Big East.

Maybe...maybe not. I haven't looked at the #'s, but what I have seen is we are far less aggressive. It's the aggressive piece that worries me.

44cuse

 

[poetryNmoten]

I don't know what was drawn up during the timeout, but It was pretty clear that JB was not happy with Dion's shot selection at the end of regulation. I could see him on camera asking Dion why he didn't drive the lane.

 

[realorange]

See: Waiters, Dion final shot of the game.

44cuse[/quote]
Yes it was terrible. If you saw the TV broadcast, you saw JB in Dion's face when he came to the bench. I'm almost certain he was asking why he didn't pass it to KJo.

 

[billsin01]

Good post.

I'll add that we never box out / body up against opposing players. For as big / strong / athletic as many of our guys are, they stand around and let rebounds come to them versus fighting for them.

Look at teams like Michigan State and Pitt--they practice every day rebounding technique--it's part of their core identity. Not ours, and the results speak for themselves.

The frustrating thing is: it is a team issue, not just one guy. And we could collectively elevate our rebounding acumen AS A TEAM without doing too much differently if the players would only commit to it.

I don't think the answer is A (attitude) or B (system/zone) but I think it's a combination of both. I think it's possible to rebound decently out of a zone but there's no doubt it is much easier to rebound offensively vs. a zone. I mean, when was the last time we were a dominant team on the glass. Our best rebounding teams are usually good but not great overall. We had a good rebounding team in 03 largely b/c Melo was willing to put for the effort and big enough to clear the weak side glass pretty regularly.

I don't get the impression that any of our forwards love to rebound and I don't get the impression that it's focused on by the staff the way it is at MSU/Pitt, etc.

I just think, at the end of the day, when you recruit a lot of long players for the zone you tend to give up a bit of physical tenacity and but it's really difficult to find players (like Carmelo) who can do both (be long enough to play well on the wing in the zone and big enough to bang down low).

I think this team could use a bit more tenacity inside from an attitude standpoint but I agree they have some limitations based on size and defensive system.

 

[GardenOrange]

He really doesnt. Last night I focused on him solely on a rebound where he literally watched the shot go up, never moved, his defender went right around him and he tried to react but it was too late. All he had to do was find his man, put a body on him and he would have grabbed the rebound easily.

I think blocking out is one of our biggest weaknesses. It is a bit harder to block out out of the 2-3, but not impossible. This along with the the guards crashing the boards has to be a point of emphasis.