My two cents

[kcsu]

Im not going to discuss the game in detail rather share some observations about the body of work up to this point.
First , Dash was correct in pointing out that we needed to either retain Cole or land a game ready forward as the lack of a good scoring forward is this teams Achilles
Second we dont have a point guard on the team. Other than Kadary Jim hasn't had a true point gaurd in years.
In college basketball you cant win consistently without solid point play, and at JB University you cant win without a forward that can score.
Everything else about this team is secondary noise. The fact is that in order for a JB team to do well he needs a good or great pg and a scoring forward. He doesn't have either on this team and unless Mintz, Benny, or Bell miraculously morph into MCW and Cole we wont win too many games.
With that as a foundation here are a few ideas that our hall of famer might consider.
Switch Joe and Mintz.
Joe isnt a point but neither is Mintz. Mintz needs to have some pressure taken off him before he ruins himself. Joe isnt getting any clean looks with Judah at the point and by moving Joe back on ball he will have a smaller defender on him which will help him create for himself. Judah will now have a larger defender which should help him use his quickness better.

Next play Benny at the 4 and Taylor or Bell at the 3 depending on the opponent and pray that one of them has the light come on.
For subs. Cope at the point. With the ball in his hand we will do two things. Put pressure on Ds as cope over time is our best passer, best penetrating guard and he brings great lenght up top on D. The downside is he will make lots of mistakes and turnovers. Still he is our best long term solution at PG and at this point that is where he needs to play.
Taylor swings between the 3 and the 2 which is his natural position. Mintz plays the 2 almost exclusively. Joe at the point and Pray one of the forwards has the light come on.
Thats all Jim can really do in my opinion as to on court moves.

What worries me most is i get the sense that if JB isnt very careful he will loose the team and things could get ugly. He needs to coach these kids up and manage expectations or there will be a mass exodus.

Jim brought this mess on himself with his roster management to accommodate his kids and with his lack of effort on the recruiting front.
He created this mess, he needs to own it, stop blaming others and coach these kids to the best of his abilities. Than he needs to leave.
Its a shame that someone as talented as Jim and as committed to Syracuse has at the end allowed his own self interest so greatly diminish what he has spent his adult life building. Jim had multiple opportunities to leave the right way but didn't and now he has to live with his decisions.

Was and is. Two simple words. Both very appropriate for JBs situation and for so many that have achieved greatness in their lives.
Jim was a great coach, but is Jim a great coach today?
His musical hero The Boss was great but is he today.
Most human capital unlike great wine diminishes with age.

Jim at one point was a great coach. Today he isn't. I hope he can pull it together and salvage the season. Not so much in wins but in maintaining the program and going out with dignity. Jim has his work cut out for him. Im hoping it ends well.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Hoping it ends well…. what is the realistic ceiling for this ending? CBI invite? I’m not as concerned about keeping the core together because the new coach/staff will shop on Facebook marketplace to plug holes in year 1 A.J.

 

[SoBristol]

I miss Buddy, Jimmy and Cole. Not athletic (in some sense of that), slow on defense, but they could score and knew how to play. They did not get a winning season (with Edwards out in the final games) but they had a chance.
Other than Edwards, the current group has a long ways to go to figure things out. Won’t happen this year. Feel bad for Edwards.

 

[kcsu]

Hoping it ends well…. what is the realistic ceiling for this ending? CBI invite? I’m not as concerned about keeping the core together because the new coach/staff will shop on Facebook marketplace to plug holes in year 1 A.J.

No more fights, no bashing of players by JB ect..

 

[Scooch]

I miss Buddy, Jimmy and Cole. Not athletic (in some sense of that), slow on defense, but they could score and knew how to play. They did not get a winning season (with Edwards out in the final games) but they had a chance.
Other than Edwards, the current group has a long ways to go to figure things out. Won’t happen this year. Feel bad for Edwards.

I miss Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. I miss great teams.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’m sure JW is hearing from lots of people today, including me. I pretty much mentioned what’s happening with recruiting and that CUSE nation needs to know what the plan is moving forward. The lack of direction is killing recruiting. I asked if Red and GMAC have the personalities to recruit or bring excitement to the fan base?

 

[oTTo113445]

I was just writing Senior Braswell would most likely be 3rd team maybe 2nd all team acc with only 2 losses if he was here in the other thread, then I saw this one. That's the biggest difference between this and last years team. Defense is possible. Missing the 2nd returning offensive threat next to Edwards though took the place of that bad news. Girard/Bell/Judah/Benny/Justin have to average 60 ppg together, That is asking a lot at this point.

 

[Millhouse]

Im not going to discuss the game in detail rather share some observations about the body of work up to this point.
First , Dash was correct in pointing out that we needed to either retain Cole or land a game ready forward as the lack of a good scoring forward is this teams Achilles
Second we dont have a point guard on the team. Other than Kadary Jim hasn't had a true point gaurd in years.
In college basketball you cant win consistently without solid point play, and at JB University you cant win without a forward that can score.
Everything else about this team is secondary noise. The fact is that in order for a JB team to do well he needs a good or great pg and a scoring forward. He doesn't have either on this team and unless Mintz, Benny, or Bell miraculously morph into MCW and Cole we wont win too many games.
With that as a foundation here are a few ideas that our hall of famer might consider.
Switch Joe and Mintz.
Joe isnt a point but neither is Mintz. Mintz needs to have some pressure taken off him before he ruins himself. Joe isnt getting any clean looks with Judah at the point and by moving Joe back on ball he will have a smaller defender on him which will help him create for himself. Judah will now have a larger defender which should help him use his quickness better.

Next play Benny at the 4 and Taylor or Bell at the 3 depending on the opponent and pray that one of them has the light come on.
For subs. Cope at the point. With the ball in his hand we will do two things. Put pressure on Ds as cope over time is our best passer, best penetrating guard and he brings great lenght up top on D. The downside is he will make lots of mistakes and turnovers. Still he is our best long term solution at PG and at this point that is where he needs to play.
Taylor swings between the 3 and the 2 which is his natural position. Mintz plays the 2 almost exclusively. Joe at the point and Pray one of the forwards has the light come on.
Thats all Jim can really do in my opinion as to on court moves.

What worries me most is i get the sense that if JB isnt very careful he will loose the team and things could get ugly. He needs to coach these kids up and manage expectations or there will be a mass exodus.

Jim brought this mess on himself with his roster management to accommodate his kids and with his lack of effort on the recruiting front.
He created this mess, he needs to own it, stop blaming others and coach these kids to the best of his abilities. Than he needs to leave.
Its a shame that someone as talented as Jim and as committed to Syracuse has at the end allowed his own self interest so greatly diminish what he has spent his adult life building. Jim had multiple opportunities to leave the right way but didn't and now he has to live with his decisions.

Was and is. Two simple words. Both very appropriate for JBs situation and for so many that have achieved greatness in their lives.
Jim was a great coach, but is Jim a great coach today?
His musical hero The Boss was great but is he today.
Most human capital unlike great wine diminishes with age.

Jim at one point was a great coach. Today he isn't. I hope he can pull it together and salvage the season. Not so much in wins but in maintaining the program and going out with dignity. Jim has his work cut out for him. Im hoping it ends well.

Why would the defense have to switch to the smaller defender to guard Joe at point guard

 

[Newhouser]

Im not going to discuss the game in detail rather share some observations about the body of work up to this point.
First , Dash was correct in pointing out that we needed to either retain Cole or land a game ready forward as the lack of a good scoring forward is this teams Achilles
Second we dont have a point guard on the team. Other than Kadary Jim hasn't had a true point gaurd in years.
In college basketball you cant win consistently without solid point play, and at JB University you cant win without a forward that can score.
Everything else about this team is secondary noise. The fact is that in order for a JB team to do well he needs a good or great pg and a scoring forward. He doesn't have either on this team and unless Mintz, Benny, or Bell miraculously morph into MCW and Cole we wont win too many games.
With that as a foundation here are a few ideas that our hall of famer might consider.
Switch Joe and Mintz.
Joe isnt a point but neither is Mintz. Mintz needs to have some pressure taken off him before he ruins himself. Joe isnt getting any clean looks with Judah at the point and by moving Joe back on ball he will have a smaller defender on him which will help him create for himself. Judah will now have a larger defender which should help him use his quickness better.

Next play Benny at the 4 and Taylor or Bell at the 3 depending on the opponent and pray that one of them has the light come on.
For subs. Cope at the point. With the ball in his hand we will do two things. Put pressure on Ds as cope over time is our best passer, best penetrating guard and he brings great lenght up top on D. The downside is he will make lots of mistakes and turnovers. Still he is our best long term solution at PG and at this point that is where he needs to play.
Taylor swings between the 3 and the 2 which is his natural position. Mintz plays the 2 almost exclusively. Joe at the point and Pray one of the forwards has the light come on.
Thats all Jim can really do in my opinion as to on court moves.

What worries me most is i get the sense that if JB isnt very careful he will loose the team and things could get ugly. He needs to coach these kids up and manage expectations or there will be a mass exodus.

Jim brought this mess on himself with his roster management to accommodate his kids and with his lack of effort on the recruiting front.
He created this mess, he needs to own it, stop blaming others and coach these kids to the best of his abilities. Than he needs to leave.
Its a shame that someone as talented as Jim and as committed to Syracuse has at the end allowed his own self interest so greatly diminish what he has spent his adult life building. Jim had multiple opportunities to leave the right way but didn't and now he has to live with his decisions.

Was and is. Two simple words. Both very appropriate for JBs situation and for so many that have achieved greatness in their lives.
Jim was a great coach, but is Jim a great coach today?
His musical hero The Boss was great but is he today.
Most human capital unlike great wine diminishes with age.

Jim at one point was a great coach. Today he isn't. I hope he can pull it together and salvage the season. Not so much in wins but in maintaining the program and going out with dignity. Jim has his work cut out for him. Im hoping it ends well.

I too think he should move JG back at the point and make changes in pressure situations. I also would have Q replace Symir, and let him develop, living with his mistakes.

Benny and Malik should split time at the 4 with whoever is doing less horribly getting run - JBA should join Symir in a break glass only situation. Same thing for JT and Bell at the 3 or have Q play a point forward.

Center is the best that position has been manned in years. Team rule should be Jessie touches the ball every other trip or the rest of the 4 get benched.

Team rule from today forward - bad shot, you sit. Ignore an open pass, you sit. Lazy close out you sit.

I don't care if we look like a hockey team subbing in and out. We need to create energy, accountability and chemistry. The style may also quite frankly wake our coach up. He is sleep walking thru games.

 

[hoopsupstate]

When your athletic director has to apologize for last night’s performance, that says a lot.

 

[djcon57]

I miss Buddy, Jimmy and Cole. Not athletic (in some sense of that), slow on defense, but they could score and knew how to play. They did not get a winning season (with Edwards out in the final games) but they had a chance.
Other than Edwards, the current group has a long ways to go to figure things out. Won’t happen this year. Feel bad for Edwards.

I don't know if not being able to defend whatsoever is "knowing how to play"

 

[NineOneSeven]

When your athletic director has to apologize for last night’s performance, that says a lot.

Where?

 

[jgeorge322]

Im not going to discuss the game in detail rather share some observations about the body of work up to this point.
First , Dash was correct in pointing out that we needed to either retain Cole or land a game ready forward as the lack of a good scoring forward is this teams Achilles
Second we dont have a point guard on the team. Other than Kadary Jim hasn't had a true point gaurd in years.
In college basketball you cant win consistently without solid point play, and at JB University you cant win without a forward that can score.
Everything else about this team is secondary noise. The fact is that in order for a JB team to do well he needs a good or great pg and a scoring forward. He doesn't have either on this team and unless Mintz, Benny, or Bell miraculously morph into MCW and Cole we wont win too many games.
With that as a foundation here are a few ideas that our hall of famer might consider.
Switch Joe and Mintz.
Joe isnt a point but neither is Mintz. Mintz needs to have some pressure taken off him before he ruins himself. Joe isnt getting any clean looks with Judah at the point and by moving Joe back on ball he will have a smaller defender on him which will help him create for himself. Judah will now have a larger defender which should help him use his quickness better.

Next play Benny at the 4 and Taylor or Bell at the 3 depending on the opponent and pray that one of them has the light come on.
For subs. Cope at the point. With the ball in his hand we will do two things. Put pressure on Ds as cope over time is our best passer, best penetrating guard and he brings great lenght up top on D. The downside is he will make lots of mistakes and turnovers. Still he is our best long term solution at PG and at this point that is where he needs to play.
Taylor swings between the 3 and the 2 which is his natural position. Mintz plays the 2 almost exclusively. Joe at the point and Pray one of the forwards has the light come on.
Thats all Jim can really do in my opinion as to on court moves.

What worries me most is i get the sense that if JB isnt very careful he will loose the team and things could get ugly. He needs to coach these kids up and manage expectations or there will be a mass exodus.

Jim brought this mess on himself with his roster management to accommodate his kids and with his lack of effort on the recruiting front.
He created this mess, he needs to own it, stop blaming others and coach these kids to the best of his abilities. Than he needs to leave.
Its a shame that someone as talented as Jim and as committed to Syracuse has at the end allowed his own self interest so greatly diminish what he has spent his adult life building. Jim had multiple opportunities to leave the right way but didn't and now he has to live with his decisions.

Was and is. Two simple words. Both very appropriate for JBs situation and for so many that have achieved greatness in their lives.
Jim was a great coach, but is Jim a great coach today?
His musical hero The Boss was great but is he today.
Most human capital unlike great wine diminishes with age.

Jim at one point was a great coach. Today he isn't. I hope he can pull it together and salvage the season. Not so much in wins but in maintaining the program and going out with dignity. Jim has his work cut out for him. Im hoping it ends well.

Why do you think having Joe playing the point will necesarily impact who guards him? Those are very generalized statements.

 

[jgeorge322]

When your athletic director has to apologize for last night’s performance, that says a lot.

What did John say?

 

[kcsu]

Why would the defense have to switch to the smaller defender to guard Joe at point guard

They wouldnt but Joe with the ball in his hand should like last year be able to create for himself. At the 2 spot he is limited by space( sideline) to create and picks are also limited, especially the pick and roll with Jesse which works much better off a middle position screen.

 

[SoBristol]

I don't know if not being able to defend whatsoever is "knowing how to play"

Difference between knowing how to play (both offense and defense) and being slow and lacking lift. Cole was typically in position and developed as a rebounder. With Jimmy and Buddy — yeah, they had their faults. But would you take Buddy and Jimmy on the current team? Because last night was the worst offense - almost ever.

 

[Day2]

I don’t see how the answer is to move Girard back to PG. Girard shouldn’t be playing more than 10-15 MPG and I’m being generous.

 

[Millhouse]

They wouldnt but Joe with the ball in his hand should like last year be able to create for himself. At the 2 spot he is limited by space( sideline) to create and picks are also limited, especially the pick and roll with Jesse which works much better off a middle position screen.

I don't think he can do it. It's a sad situation.

 

[djcon57]

Difference between knowing how to play (both offense and defense) and being slow and lacking lift. Cole was typically in position and developed as a rebounder. With Jimmy and Buddy — yeah, they had their faults. But would you take Buddy and Jimmy on the current team? Because last night was the worst offense - almost ever.

that’s fair.

Buddy and Jimmy shouldn’t be put in same sentence.

Buddy was a high level d1 player and all ACC.
Jimmy was a very good Ivy league player and had no business starting 30+ mins in the ACC.

I don’t think putting Jimmy on this team would change anything fwiw.

Buddy, as long as Joe wasn’t PG, absolutely

 

[MikeSU02]

I don’t see how the answer is to move Girard back to PG. Girard shouldn’t be playing more than 10-15 MPG and I’m being generous.

It's not. It's insane to move him back. Joe should be a bench guy at best with minutes based on how his three point shot is falling.

 

[SoBristol]

Jimmy as a senior was way better on the offensive end than any forward on the current team. I think Bell will be very good, possibly as soon as next year. He is one dimensional now. I did not see the Bryant game, but Taylor has not impressed in the games I have seen.

 

[Day2]

It's not. It's insane to move him back. Joe should be a bench guy at best with minutes based on how his three point shot is falling.

There are two options IMO:

1. Start Mintz and Taylor and let them go through all the growing pains. Together.
2. Start Torrence and Mintz. I know Torrence hasn’t been good thus far. We all know he’s capable of playing better.

 

[djcon57]

There are two options IMO:

1. Start Mintz and Taylor and let them go through all the growing pains. Together.
2. Start Torrence and Mintz. I know Torrence hasn’t been good thus far. We all know he’s capable of playing better.

I vote 1 if we are serious about the future.
Sy has played 4 years of college basketball. We know what he is.

 

[miamicuse]

No more fights, no bashing of players by JB ect..

I don't know if JB was bashing or trying to motivate in his own way.


In the Bryant presser at the 5:20 mark he was asked about Bell's rebounding and he said "...well I've talked to him about this...you know...[very long pause]...Ummm...[another pause as JB trying hard to not say something]...I mean he has played about 90 minutes and has one rebound. Nobody like that has ever played here...and...nobody like that should play here".

By the way, JB was asked about someone's status, I didn't get the name either. At the 5:00 mark, JB asked who and I couldn't make out the name, but his reply was "...no idea, he says it hurts, when he says he can play." Was that about Brown? If it's Brown then that explains why he wasn't playing.

In the Illinois presser:

Jim Boeheim Postgame at Illinois

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim's press conference following the Orange's loss at No. 16 Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

youtu.be

He was asked about Joe at the 0:39 mark. JB said Joe is not stepping up to do anything else besides shooting and that's a problem. A follow on question about if JB is worried about Joe's confidence, JB said "You know he's a senior, he has no confidence now then he shouldn't be playing".

Not trying to bash, just interesting tidbits from the pressers. At least JB doesn't have blinders on about Joe not doing anything beside shooting and may be some changes will happen at the guard spots soon?

 

[BillSU]

I miss Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. I miss great teams.

I do too. So does everyone. But there not here anymore.