My two cents

[kcsu]

Ill start by saying that im glad we started the season playing a solid team. These guys are not your average pre season cup cake. Solid well coached team that is going to do very well. Great challenge for an SU team that is for the most part filled with HS kids.
Here are my thoughts.
Joe looks excellent at the 2. He played within himself and played with poise and confidence. He couldn't have had a better start and im happy for him. He is going to have a great year.
Mintz is the real deal. Plays well on and off the ball. He can create for himself and others and showed excellent control. He is as advertised. Taylor is a nice piece. He was tight tonight but will improve as the season progresses. Next year will be his year. Hima and Carey are serviceable. I actually like Hima and feel as if he can provide a solid 10 a game if needed. The frosh looks fluid and like Taylor needs time. Again i expect a big jump from him next year. Bell was off but showed confidence in his shot which will come. Not sure if he can put it on the floor or not. Hopefully yes. I expect him to play a role but he needs time.
Benny, nice game and his upside is evident. The more he plays the better he will get. I liked that JB coached him up in a positive way and let him play through early mistakes. Hes got a chance to be an excellent player and given time will be.
Dutch looked smooth. It took him 10 minutes or so to get in the flow but once he did he looked smooth. Obviously hes the key to this years team as we need him to lead on both ends of the floor. Both he and Benny look physically improved.
Symir looked the same and thats good. Hes going to contribute and i expect to see him play a minimum of 10 a game.
Copeland is a baller and should start. He makes everyone better. Kid has enormous upside and looks good at the 3. Hes long, quick, and strong.

Tonight our best 5.
Mintz
Joe
Cope
Benny
Edwards.

Id say the rest of the minutes are TBD.

JB has lots of tools in the box this year and i expect him to have a solid team by tournament time.
Its going to be a rocky ride for sure. Lots of ups and downs but the pieces, although raw are talented.
The one glaring concern is that i think we are soft. We have Dogs in Joe Mintz and Copeland.
Need Jess and Benny to get an edge, to play tough and we need one of the other frosh or Hima to rise to the challenge.
Should be a fun year. Im betting on JB to get the most out of them.
Opening night gets a solid B grade.
Good start.
Go Orange!

 

[Orangezoo]

Ill start by saying that im glad we started the season playing a solid team. These guys are not your average pre season cup cake. Solid well coached team that is going to do very well. Great challenge for an SU team that is for the most part filled with HS kids.
Here are my thoughts.
Joe looks excellent at the 2. He played within himself and played with poise and confidence. He couldn't have had a better start and im happy for him. He is going to have a great year.
Mintz is the real deal. Plays well on and off the ball. He can create for himself and others and showed excellent control. He is as advertised. Taylor is a nice piece. He was tight tonight but will improve as the season progresses. Next year will be his year. Hima and Carey are serviceable. I actually like Hima and feel as if he can provide a solid 10 a game if needed. The frosh looks fluid and like Taylor needs time. Again i expect a big jump from him next year. Bell was off but showed confidence in his shot which will come. Not sure if he can put it on the floor or not. Hopefully yes. I expect him to play a role but he needs time.
Benny, nice game and his upside is evident. The more he plays the better he will get. I liked that JB coached him up in a positive way and let him play through early mistakes. Hes got a chance to be an excellent player and given time will be.
Dutch looked smooth. It took him 10 minutes or so to get in the flow but once he did he looked smooth. Obviously hes the key to this years team as we need him to lead on both ends of the floor. Both he and Benny look physically improved.
Symir looked the same and thats good. Hes going to contribute and i expect to see him play a minimum of 10 a game.
Copeland is a baller and should start. He makes everyone better. Kid has enormous upside and looks good at the 3. Hes long, quick, and strong.

Tonight our best 5.
Mintz
Joe
Cope
Benny
Edwards.

Id say the rest of the minutes are TBD.

JB has lots of tools in the box this year and i expect him to have a solid team by tournament time.
Its going to be a rocky ride for sure. Lots of ups and downs but the pieces, although raw are talented.
The one glaring concern is that i think we are soft. We have Dogs in Joe Mintz and Copeland.
Need Jess and Benny to get an edge, to play tough and we need one of the other frosh or Hima to rise to the challenge.
Should be a fun year. Im betting on JB to get the most out of them.
Opening night gets a solid B grade.
Good start.
Go Orange!

Benny got tougher after that super soft effort in the first half. The dunk put back was nasty and we need more of it. Brown can play and clearly is pushing him in a good way.

Given how good IUP is as a D2 team ( see last year vs Illinois) and our schedule, it won't always be pretty but we should do much better this non conference.

One big thing is that in our mtm we have to do better with the switch when they use a stretch 4/5 and the pick and pop.

 

[kcsu]

Benny got tougher after that super soft effort in the first half. The dunk put back was nasty and we need more of it. Brown can play and clearly is pushing him in a good way.

Given how good IUP is as a D2 team ( see last year vs Illinois) and our schedule, it won't always be pretty but we should do much better this non conference.

One big thing is that in our mtm we have to do better with the switch when they use a stretch 4/5 and the pick and pop.

Benny looked so much better and hit the boards. Hes gonna be fine.

 

[OrangeDW]

How was Joe good?

Not worried because he’s way better than that, but just the same…didn’t think he was good at all tonight. He stood around on both ends.

 

[goofnoff]

In the immortal words of Peter Clemenza:

Man-to-man!!! You're not going to see man-to-man around here anymore!!

Sonny liked Paulie more than Boheim likes man.

 

[kcsu]

How was Joe good?

Not worried because he’s way better than that, but just the same…didn’t think he was good at all tonight. He stood around on both ends.

I liked Joes game tonight. Thought he played a really solid game. New position, new players. He was in control and let the game come to him. He was solid.

 

[OrangeDW]

I liked Joes game tonight. Thought he played a really solid game. New position, new players. He was in control and let the game come to him. He was solid.

Fair enough.

To me he did little until the last 8-10 minutes or so when he hit a few shots and found Jesse a couple times. Which was a nice run, for sure. We need more IMO.

 

[rrlbees]

Fair enough.

To me he did little until the last 8-10 minutes or so when he hit a few shots and found Jesse a couple times. Which was a nice run, for sure. We need more IMO.

We went from down 1 to up 16. Between points and assists Joe had a hand in 16 of our 23 points.

 

[kcsu]

We do but for me the key with Joe is for him to let the game come to him. The reason i like Copeland as a starter is i believe he will greatly benefit Joe.
Mintz and Copeland have to be guarded. They both can create and Copeland is a match up nightmare for teams. Mintz and Cope put pressure on a D with their handles. Copeland can get to the rack and when they collapse on him Jess and Joe are going to be open.
Benny also showed signs of being able to create. 3 point shooting is great but having guys that can create is everything in bball.
Mintz, Cope have that ability. Joe is a sniper and Benny is only going to get better and better. I mean he was 100% better tonight and is just starting to find himself.
When those 5 were on the floor we flowed. We looked like a team. There was a rhythm to our game. To me it was obvious that at least for tonight those 5 looked like they complimented each other.

 

[kcsu]

We went from down 1 to up 16. Between points and assists Joe had a hand in 16 of our 23 points.

Im not sure what others saw but i was really impressed with Joes game and overall court presence tonight.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I actually like Hima and feel as if he can provide a solid 10 a game if needed.

Uh, not a chance in hell.

 

[kcsu]

Uh, not a chance in hell.

Heaven?

 

[rrlbees]

Im not sure what others saw but i was really impressed with Joes game and overall court presence tonight.

I thought in the first half he took a couple uncalled for off balance shots.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Heaven?

In any planet in any galaxy.

 

[kcsu]

I thought in the first half he took a couple uncalled for off balance shots.

Agreed, but thats kind of his thing. Other than that i was impressed with his game. Lots of change for him to handle and i thought he did a nice job.

 

[kcsu]

In any planet in any galaxy.

Meta?

 

[SUGIANT]

Ill start by saying that im glad we started the season playing a solid team. These guys are not your average pre season cup cake. Solid well coached team that is going to do very well. Great challenge for an SU team that is for the most part filled with HS kids.
Here are my thoughts.
Joe looks excellent at the 2. He played within himself and played with poise and confidence. He couldn't have had a better start and im happy for him. He is going to have a great year.
Mintz is the real deal. Plays well on and off the ball. He can create for himself and others and showed excellent control. He is as advertised. Taylor is a nice piece. He was tight tonight but will improve as the season progresses. Next year will be his year. Hima and Carey are serviceable. I actually like Hima and feel as if he can provide a solid 10 a game if needed. The frosh looks fluid and like Taylor needs time. Again i expect a big jump from him next year. Bell was off but showed confidence in his shot which will come. Not sure if he can put it on the floor or not. Hopefully yes. I expect him to play a role but he needs time.
Benny, nice game and his upside is evident. The more he plays the better he will get. I liked that JB coached him up in a positive way and let him play through early mistakes. Hes got a chance to be an excellent player and given time will be.
Dutch looked smooth. It took him 10 minutes or so to get in the flow but once he did he looked smooth. Obviously hes the key to this years team as we need him to lead on both ends of the floor. Both he and Benny look physically improved.
Symir looked the same and thats good. Hes going to contribute and i expect to see him play a minimum of 10 a game.
Copeland is a baller and should start. He makes everyone better. Kid has enormous upside and looks good at the 3. Hes long, quick, and strong.

Tonight our best 5.
Mintz
Joe
Cope
Benny
Edwards.

Id say the rest of the minutes are TBD.

JB has lots of tools in the box this year and i expect him to have a solid team by tournament time.
Its going to be a rocky ride for sure. Lots of ups and downs but the pieces, although raw are talented.
The one glaring concern is that i think we are soft. We have Dogs in Joe Mintz and Copeland.
Need Jess and Benny to get an edge, to play tough and we need one of the other frosh or Hima to rise to the challenge.
Should be a fun year. Im betting on JB to get the most out of them.
Opening night gets a solid B grade.
Good start.
Go Orange!

I thought Benny looked like he could play the center?

 

[the villager]

After watching the game I am sure of one thing. No coach or staff are going to have a book on our set plays.

 

[Orangezoo]

I thought in the first half he took a couple uncalled for off balance shots.

He disengaged himself on both ends for a stretch there after a good start and then finished strong.

 

[MSOrange]

I thought in the first half he took a couple uncalled for off balance shots.

Agree. I was not happy to see that from a senior leader. But I was happy with second half Joe.

 

[RF2044]

My primary concern is that we have a lot of nice components, but that they might not fit together in a way that optimizes skill sets / experience / position of best fit.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

After watching the game I am sure of one thing. No coach or staff are going to have a book on our set plays.

When we switched to Zone, I thought IUP did a great job attacking it by positioning someone at the foul line. We didn't move into the 1-3-1 from last year but flexed somewhat with the mtm and got more active getting our hands in there for deflections. Surprised no one talked about our full court press. We tried it like four or maybe five times. The first two times we got burnt as no one was playing for the hail Mary but each time it got a little better. Still, a lot of work in progress. Playing better defense obviously helped it offensively but not so much yet running fastbreaks. Definitely a lot of work in progress, but a very encouraging 2nd half.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I thought Benny looked like he could play the center?

No

 

[Newhouser]

Im not sure what others saw but i was really impressed with Joes game and overall court presence tonight.

He seemed content to let the others flow and then sort of took over when we needed him to. He did show some of his eyes glazed I'm taking this 3 no matter what a few times, but Joe is the least of our problems.

 

[Orangezoo]

My primary concern is that we have a lot of nice components, but that they might not fit together in a way that optimizes skill sets / experience / position of best fit.

That feels a lot like the last 8 years in a nutshell.. with other bullets underneath that of course.

We've always won games the hard way by just having good athletes and some individual talent. The past few years that hasn't been the case. Hoping we can get back to winning even if it seems we are dysfunctional at times.