SWC75
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Again, this is an exhibition game so I won’t do an Upside/Downside, just some game observations.
THE GAME: Similar to the Cal State-La game we got out to a good first half lead and then lost intensity and let the other team back in the game. St. Rose is a good Division II team, (better than Lemoyne) and they played with intensity and intelligence throughout the game. I think they6 prove to be the best team we play prior to going to New York for the NIT finals. Syracuse played in spurts. St. Rose scored the first four points, SU 19 of the next 21. Then we started rushing shots, trying for highlight film plays and stopped keeping contact with the shooters. St. Rose tried to go to the basket early, then retreated back out to toss up three pointers. That opened things up inside for Dominykas Milka, who schooled the SU big men with deft moves around the basket, waiting patiently for them to lunge on defense and then putting in lay-ups. He scored 14 points on 7 for 11 shooting. St. Rose whittled away at the lead until they had the ball down 27-30 and their star guard Andre Pope was dribbling 25 feet from the basket. The SU defense waited for him to make is move. He didn’t make any move. He just calmly stroked the shot and drained it through the ropes to tie it at the buzzer. Nobody even went out to challenge him, assuming he wouldn’t shoot from there. It wasn’t the man for man or the zone. It was the ‘assumption’ defense.
St. Rose actually took the lead in the second half, Their other good guard, Rob Gutierrez, hit a three to make it 38-40 at 15:28. CJ Fair immediately answered and SU went on a 24-6 run to take control of the game. The key was that Jim Boeheim did something he rarely and reluctantly does: he went to a press. The SU press has been traditionally ineffective, (it was terrible against Cal State-LA) but her it worked beautifully, forcing turnovers over after turnover, (27 for the game, including 15 steals). Without that this could easily have been another Lemoyne game.
Mikla at 6-8 was their only player over 6-7. We had 12 blocks to their 3. But St. Rose won the battle of the boards. It’s nice to have athletic big men but they have to use their athleticism to get the damn ball. We finally found the range for our three pointers, making 8 for 10 in the second half. Before that in the first three halves of the season we were 5 for 21 from outside. And two of those were from Trevor Cooney, who people have suggested ought to be red shirted.
CENTERS
Fab Melo made a couple of jumps shot and had a nice follow-up dunk on a fast break at a key point when we were trying to stay ahead. He had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in 21 minutes. Keita again showed a back to the basket post-up move. He also had 7 rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes. They are more of a two-headed center rather than a reserve and a back-up. Rakeem Christmas also played some center. He was 3 for 4 from the field against the shorter St. Rose players but had only 1 rebound in 14 minutes and 3 turnovers. But he looks better than Fab did last year at this time. It’s amore normal first year for a freshman big man.
FORWARDS
Kris Joseph looked smooth and pain-free scoring 12 points on 5 for 9 shooting in 24 minutes. CJ Fair hit that big three pointer but I still would like to see a pull-up jumper. James Southerland played hard and scored 7 points and had 3 rebounds.
GUARDS
Scoop Jardine played solidly until a “That’s what the article was about” attempt at a 30 foot alley-oop that went awry. He went to the bench for much of the remainder of the game but still had five steals in 19 minutes. Brandon Triche only played 16 minutes but had a three pointer near the end. Dion Waiters continues to impress. He’s much more explosive than last year, hustled well and also shows signs of wanting to run the offense. Michael Carter-Williams got over his first game jitters and looked great in this game, making creative but effective passes. The play of the game was a behind-the-back pass from Waiters to MCW who redirected it Chris Mullen style to Christmas under the basket. Rakeem missed the shot but followed his own shot. Good stuff. Cooney hit another trey and also showed he could penetrate to the basket and hustled on defense. It’s said he wants to be the next Andy Rautins but Andy couldn’t break down the defense with the dribble. I’d compare him to Eric Devendorf but this guy plays defense. Cooney could be a mixture of the best parts of Andy and Devo, although I have yet to see a Rautins-type pass. MCW had one of those, hitting a guy for a lay-up from 25 feet out.
Now it begins to matter.
THE GAME: Similar to the Cal State-La game we got out to a good first half lead and then lost intensity and let the other team back in the game. St. Rose is a good Division II team, (better than Lemoyne) and they played with intensity and intelligence throughout the game. I think they6 prove to be the best team we play prior to going to New York for the NIT finals. Syracuse played in spurts. St. Rose scored the first four points, SU 19 of the next 21. Then we started rushing shots, trying for highlight film plays and stopped keeping contact with the shooters. St. Rose tried to go to the basket early, then retreated back out to toss up three pointers. That opened things up inside for Dominykas Milka, who schooled the SU big men with deft moves around the basket, waiting patiently for them to lunge on defense and then putting in lay-ups. He scored 14 points on 7 for 11 shooting. St. Rose whittled away at the lead until they had the ball down 27-30 and their star guard Andre Pope was dribbling 25 feet from the basket. The SU defense waited for him to make is move. He didn’t make any move. He just calmly stroked the shot and drained it through the ropes to tie it at the buzzer. Nobody even went out to challenge him, assuming he wouldn’t shoot from there. It wasn’t the man for man or the zone. It was the ‘assumption’ defense.
St. Rose actually took the lead in the second half, Their other good guard, Rob Gutierrez, hit a three to make it 38-40 at 15:28. CJ Fair immediately answered and SU went on a 24-6 run to take control of the game. The key was that Jim Boeheim did something he rarely and reluctantly does: he went to a press. The SU press has been traditionally ineffective, (it was terrible against Cal State-LA) but her it worked beautifully, forcing turnovers over after turnover, (27 for the game, including 15 steals). Without that this could easily have been another Lemoyne game.
Mikla at 6-8 was their only player over 6-7. We had 12 blocks to their 3. But St. Rose won the battle of the boards. It’s nice to have athletic big men but they have to use their athleticism to get the damn ball. We finally found the range for our three pointers, making 8 for 10 in the second half. Before that in the first three halves of the season we were 5 for 21 from outside. And two of those were from Trevor Cooney, who people have suggested ought to be red shirted.
CENTERS
Fab Melo made a couple of jumps shot and had a nice follow-up dunk on a fast break at a key point when we were trying to stay ahead. He had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in 21 minutes. Keita again showed a back to the basket post-up move. He also had 7 rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes. They are more of a two-headed center rather than a reserve and a back-up. Rakeem Christmas also played some center. He was 3 for 4 from the field against the shorter St. Rose players but had only 1 rebound in 14 minutes and 3 turnovers. But he looks better than Fab did last year at this time. It’s amore normal first year for a freshman big man.
FORWARDS
Kris Joseph looked smooth and pain-free scoring 12 points on 5 for 9 shooting in 24 minutes. CJ Fair hit that big three pointer but I still would like to see a pull-up jumper. James Southerland played hard and scored 7 points and had 3 rebounds.
GUARDS
Scoop Jardine played solidly until a “That’s what the article was about” attempt at a 30 foot alley-oop that went awry. He went to the bench for much of the remainder of the game but still had five steals in 19 minutes. Brandon Triche only played 16 minutes but had a three pointer near the end. Dion Waiters continues to impress. He’s much more explosive than last year, hustled well and also shows signs of wanting to run the offense. Michael Carter-Williams got over his first game jitters and looked great in this game, making creative but effective passes. The play of the game was a behind-the-back pass from Waiters to MCW who redirected it Chris Mullen style to Christmas under the basket. Rakeem missed the shot but followed his own shot. Good stuff. Cooney hit another trey and also showed he could penetrate to the basket and hustled on defense. It’s said he wants to be the next Andy Rautins but Andy couldn’t break down the defense with the dribble. I’d compare him to Eric Devendorf but this guy plays defense. Cooney could be a mixture of the best parts of Andy and Devo, although I have yet to see a Rautins-type pass. MCW had one of those, hitting a guy for a lay-up from 25 feet out.
Now it begins to matter.
