my two cents

[tipphill]

Copeland's "skill set" included a turnover that led to giving up fast break points to cancel out his great play. I don't miss that at all.

could petar be the next dolezaj?

 

[SU94]

Let's break it down...
#Freeman way way way over hyped
#Carlos also over hyped
#Lampkin exactly what was expected
#Davis better than anticipated
#Choppa better than anticipated. Upside!
#Petar is well ... Petar
#Taylor worse than anticipated
#Defense even more atrocious then we thought was possible
#Red way over his head and needs a lifevest

Let’s break down Red:

#Won 20 ballgames with a disjointed and ego-ridden team. Not a miracle perhaps, but the Vatican-appointed Miracle Commission is looking into it.

#He has attracted a good deal of high-end talent that this program has largely lacked the last decade. Ironically, the PG eluded him this year.

#He’s working with a strong hand/mentor in ADJW. And he has not allowed pride to get in the way of hiring a new Asst and a program GM.

#He is doing what almost every fan here wanted (for the last 10-12 years): playing faster and playing M2M on the defensive end. That’s not going to be an instant take.

#He also attacked when it came to roster construction. HS talent and Portal. As was needed and as everyone clamored for in the fanbase. Let’s all be frank, most often, too much portaling often has diminishing returns. It is also prohibitive to culture building, as the players bring baggage/influences from other programs. I acknowledge the need for portaling, but I hope it is just a player or two per season. Player empowerment comes with downside too. It creates mostly unwanted volatility. This is not fantasy football.

#Contrary to popular belief, he has made a number of strong decisions on behalf of the program. Aka he is not the softie/players coach that his critics here would have you believe. He benched Judah early last year. He benched Copeland. He jettisoned Benny midstream. And while I hate this newfound concept in CBB, he showed the door to a number of good-stock, program friendly players in the off-season.

#He beat LeMoyne and Colgate. Those were decidedly poor outings, but he won/avoided disaster. And the squad will invariably grow/improve. He’s a good coach. He’s not over his head. He’s doing what needs to be done reestablish the foundation of this program.

#Some times program progressions are not instantaneous. In fact, the vast majority are not. Just a few examples: Danny Hurley missed the NCAA Tournament his first four seasons at Rhode Island (66-54 record) and his initial two campaigns in Storrs (35-29 record). Kelvin Sampson missed the Tournament each of his first three seasons at Houston (56-40 mark). Tom Izzo went 33-28 in his first two years at MSU and missed the postseason both times. Tony Bennett went 76-53 his first four years at UVa and only made the Tourney once. One more (just to include an SEC team), Rick Barnes missed the NCAAs his first two years at Tennessee, going 31-35 along the way. The he started paying players.

Look, I get it. SU a top 10 program all-time and you’re anxious. You want it now. (So do I !!). I think there just has to be a more pragmatic feel for what expectation should be in these early seasons for Red. Because if you/we are unrealistic in that regard, it sets up bitter disappointment. But, I suppose, that’s what we — as fans — do.

 

[23Zone]

Good post but let's be serious, we should have lost to both Colgate and Lemoyne despite much better talent. That is reflective of a coach who has no idea how to bake a cake

 

[Cappy3]

Taylor is the only guard that plays any D not sure why everyone chose to hate him for no reason before the games were played.

Clunky with the ball and not a star but you might fix some problems with him playing more minutes.

Can’t shoot a lick, poor ball handler. No need to see more than a few minutes, imo.

 

[sufan59]

Good post but let's be serious, we should have lost to both Colgate and Lemoyne despite much better talent. That is reflective of a coach who has no idea how to bake a cake

We should hire the guy on the left then

 

[kcsu]

If the guys dont start to play good man to man and Red want to win here is the lineup to go with and play zone.

Lamp 5
Donnie 4
Davis 3
Bell 2
JJ 1

Subs. McClead 5 Petar 4 Bell 3 Taylor 3 Choppa 2 JJ 2 Taylor 2 Carlos 1 Choppa 1

5 starters 5 potential subs. Play pressure, Not press sometimes to speed the game up. Otherwise drop into a zone. Do not play half court Man.

 

[sufan59]

If the guys dont start to play good man to man and Red want to win here is the lineup to go with and play zone.

Lamp 5
Donnie 4
Davis 3
Bell 2
JJ 1

Subs. McClead 5 Petar 4 Bell 3 Taylor 3 Choppa 2 JJ 2 Taylor 2 Carlos 1 Choppa 1

5 starters 5 potential subs. Play pressure, Not press sometimes to speed the game up. Otherwise drop into a zone. Do not play half court Man.

I think we’re more likely to try half court traps before going to full on JB 2-3 zone.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Choppa is the only “Dog” I see on the team. He has the swagger/passion/effort/skill combo missing from others.

(Maybe Davis too), but missing 2 front ends at crunch time screams that he‘s not really the Alpha we need. Not clutch. Our defense could not be worse with JJ and Moore on the court, than with JJ and Carlos. There would be a let down in playmaking of course.

I think Red figured this out, and that Taylor is an offensive liability too. I would bet on choppa getting 20+ minutes Saturday, and Taylor becomes a defensive situational guy mostly.

i think taylor might be letting his low rank on the totem pole of the team cause him to press when he's out there...perhaps with an expanded role he could focus more and stop forcing it?

I think he has a bit of that dog in him too

i would try him as the PG and bench carlos if it were me

westry is also another wildcard...can he play PG?

pertty sure lampkin is not 100% either...which is effecting his movement (not sure of he will be 100% this year or not...but its clear he's hampered)

 

[baggerbob]

Bell is in no way shape or form capable of playing as a 2G. Not a competent dribbler or ball handler. To me the biggest issue with this team is they have absolutely no interest in playing tenacious defense. No intensity. Other teams take defense much more seriously.

DC was a better ballhandler and passer then Bell would ever be, and I wouldn't put him as the 2. Bell is a limited forward and that's the only position for him.

 

[MikeSU02]

If the guys dont start to play good man to man and Red want to win here is the lineup to go with and play zone.

Lamp 5
Donnie 4
Davis 3
Bell 2
JJ 1

Subs. McClead 5 Petar 4 Bell 3 Taylor 3 Choppa 2 JJ 2 Taylor 2 Carlos 1 Choppa 1

5 starters 5 potential subs. Play pressure, Not press sometimes to speed the game up. Otherwise drop into a zone. Do not play half court Man.

This team can't play zone. Especially if it's split time with man to man as well. I get where you are trying to get to, and I don't wholly disagree with it, but that lineup would be bad at zone. JJ and Bell might be as bad up top as Buddy and JGIII. Also, Lampkin cannot be in a 2-3 zone at center. He just doesn't have the instincts, explosiveness or acceleration.

If you want to adjust on D, my guy-on-the-internet recommendation would be to adjust the man to man to be the pack line D.

It won't make us a good defensive team and there would be games we would be shot out of the gym, but at least it would help protect Eddie's lack of rim protection and our guards since they are basically in cement shoes as guys go by them. I think it would be closer to accomplishing what I *think* you want as an end result and wouldn't inject a fully new way of D into practice time like the zone would.

Just my 0.02. Again, I'm aligned with your end goal, but I don't think zone in the half court is the answer.

To be clear, I don't think this team can play *any* defense well.

 

[Sbucketball]

This team can't play zone. Especially if it's split time with man to man as well. I get where you are trying to get to, and I don't wholly disagree with it, but that lineup would be bad at zone. JJ and Bell might be as bad up top as Buddy and JGIII. Also, Lampkin cannot be in a 2-3 zone at center. He just doesn't have the instincts, explosiveness or acceleration.

If you want to adjust on D, my guy-on-the-internet recommendation would be to adjust the man to man to be the pack line D.

It won't make us a good defensive team and there would be games we would be shot out of the gym, but at least it would help protect Eddie's lack of rim protection and our guards since they are basically in cement shoes as guys go by them. I think it would be closer to accomplishing what I *think* you want as an end result and wouldn't inject a fully new way of D into practice time like the zone would.

Just my 0.02. Again, I'm aligned with your end goal, but I don't think zone in the half court is the answer.

To be clear, I don't think this team can play *any* defense well.

Good idea. I found myself wanting zone in the Colgate game because the m2m made my eyes bleed, but Lampkin doesn't have the length and athleticism to do it, which is why we haven't seen a center like him in a while. Carlos doesn't give us a lot of length up top either. Wouldn't be good with the starters.

Pack line takes a lot of communication and coaching though, so not sure it'd be an easy switch. And as you said, there'd be nights we get shot out of the gym. But if we can't stay in front of any HM athletes and no one helps, we're going to have to try something different.