Okay, so the Canadian tour is over. What have we learned?

[RF2044]

Obligatory qualifier: three of our games were against subpar competition. Carleton, however, was not--they seem to be the equivalent of a strong mid-major, and were a great measuring stick for our young squad.

So what have we learned?

Here are some quick observations I've had, in no particular order:

• Tyler Ennis is for real. I knew given his HS pedigree that he'd played a high level of competition, and was going to be [obviously] handed the reins as a true frosh. I wondered how long it would take him to adjust, and whether or not he'd be an impact player his freshman year. The answer is a resounding: yes! Ennis is very advanced for a frosh, and is more than capable of stepping into MCW's shoes and quarterbacking a top 10 caliber team. No doubt in my mind anymore. Does he have some things to iron out? Sure--but he's a special talent.

• Grant has made the sophomore leap. Despite the bout with mono, the kid has improved his physique. Could still stand to add 10 more pounds, but he's going to be a very good player for us this year. We'll get some low post scoring out of him that we lacked last season. Kid looks like a young John Wallace, physique wise.

• Keita is our best center. Limited upside, but he's the best defensive player of the bunch [Rak's ability to block shots notwithstanding], and will probably finish a lot of games, as he has JB's confidence.

• Cooney can play. The first three quarters of the McGill game were gruesome, but he settled down after that and did a nice job offensively afterwards. I'd like to see him dribble a little more purposefully; seems like he wastes some time out there pounding the ball without accomplishing much. But I expect him to get better as he continues to get game time under his belt.

• Our team is gritty. The Carleton game proved this. With a team of young players mostly down big on the road in front of a hostile crowd, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see them fold up the tent and lose. But they fought hard to get back in the game and pulled it out. It revealed a lot about our team, and suggests that the top 10 preseason rankings aren't that far off.

• Not sure what Gbinije is capable of. After four games, I still don't have a feel for his offensive capabilities. He's going to play a lot this year--either as a starter or the top backcourt reserve--but I still don't have a good sense of his offensive capabilities.

• Rak won't ever be a good offensive player. Three years into his career, I think he's about maxed out offensively. But he can still be a good player for us if he concentrates on defense, rebounding, and shot blocking. And those are all things he can deliver on.

• Coleman hasn't improved...or has he? Prior to the Ottawa game, I was pretty sure about the former, but his performance tonight suggests that maybe he'll settle down and provide us with some inside scoring. He still has a way to go defensively and isn't as good a rebounder as his physical tools would suggest, but today's game was a much needed confidence builder heading into the remainder of the off-season. Something to build on.

• BJ and Buss have some game. Their time won't be this season, but the future is bright. Both hustle and seem to have some offensive potential.

• CJ is capable of leading this team to lofty accomplishments. He didn't get the opportunity to play much in this tournament, but he sported some added muscle and showed off the shooting capability that will make him a nightmare matchup in the ACC. I agree with Park / Leo tonight, who suggested that our offensive team concept overall will improve when he's able to play. CJ and Grant will be two very tough matchup problems all year long for our opponents.

• The 2 is the biggest question mark this year. Yes, I know that the pivot has some question marks, too. But I think we're going to get enough from that trio, and dependable play from Keita when the game is on the line. I THINK that Cooney / Gbinije can get the job done--but they've still got a lot of proving to do to make a believer out of me.

• The rebounding stinks. Again. Same old, same old. I know that playing zone 100% of the time makes us susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds, but the team is going to have to work harder to shore up this collective deficiency if we're going to maximize our potential this year.

• This is going to be a fun year! We lost a ton this offseason, but this team is capable of being top 10 from wire to wire. Can't wait to see what we're going to do in our first year in the ACC!

Let's Go Orange!!!

 

[jekelish]

Good stuff as usual.

Regarding CJ/Grant, I really hope that's our starting duo at forward. Can you imagine the headaches that will cause when people try to guard us?

 

[GonzoInMD]

On the basketball front, we need to find someone to back up Tyler on a consistent basis. We are really screwed if TE gets injured.

One thing I learned...the people in Syracuse seem to need a lot of surgery, based on all the commercials during the stream.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Ennis needs to play 38 minutes a game.

 

[Ghost]

I'm still not sure about Coleman, seemed like he just out-muscled some little dudes. Still has the ball way too low way too often - I was happy to see him be more aggressive though and overall a good performance (encouraging). I have no feel for what to expect from any of the bigs. Except maybe Keita - you always get decent activity, and maybe some scoring at times. Didn't think he played all that great tonight though overall - did have some nice boards/blocks.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Gerry McNamara ‏@Coach_McNamara 2m
I love watching kids that work hard progress and experience success. No better feeling in this profession!

 

[Orangezoo]

good stuff - my only thought is I think BJ will offer value this year.
Silent G may be an unkown but i think he has to continue to work towards being the backup pg. we were really limited with mcw being the only real pg last year and i think this year we have more options.

 

[Orangezoo]

I'm still not sure about Coleman, seemed like he just out-muscled some little dudes. Still has the ball way too low way too often - I was happy to see him be more aggressive though and overall a good performance (encouraging). I have no feel for what to expect from any of the bigs. Except maybe Keita - you always get decent activity, and maybe some scoring at times. Didn't think he played all that great tonight though overall - did have some nice boards/blocks.

coleman needs to watch tape of sullinger. Sullinger at times had an awkward looking shot downlow but he was quick and decisive. Coleman has to do this and just go up quickly. This will get him trips to the line as well as reduce the turnovers. also he should be in scoring possession downlow sealing his man or not get the ball at this point.

 

[jccuse]

And Canadian teams kinda suck

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Ennis needs to play 38 minutes a game.

Honestly, that might happen. He may never check out.

 

[M2MPrinciples]

Considering all the circumstances, I think the to-do list is still mostly the same:

1. Get the bigs to produce on the offensive end. Defense don't low shouldn't be an issue, but Coleman/Rak/Keita need to be big enough scoring threats to keep the opposition's bigs from cheating away.
2. Find a backup PG plan that works, whether it's mixing based on matchups or whether one of Gbinije/Cooney/Patterson emerges between now and November (I'm leaning towards Silent G). I know it may only end up being five minutes a game but one of the biggest things I fear is the offense going absolutely kaput whenever Ennis checks out. He just affects so much and I can easily see opponents' eyes lighting up when he hits the pine for a breather.
3. Keep hoping Cooney puts it together. Don't think I need to go into any detail here.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I'm still not sure about Coleman, seemed like he just out-muscled some little dudes. Still has the ball way too low way too often - I was happy to see him be more aggressive though and overall a good performance (encouraging). I have no feel for what to expect from any of the bigs. Except maybe Keita - you always get decent activity, and maybe some scoring at times. Didn't think he played all that great tonight though overall - did have some nice boards/blocks.

Logic would dictate that you are correct, he just out-muscled smaller dudes. But he was unable to do this all of last year when we faced similar smaller dudes. So I am highly encouraged by what I saw tonight.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Honestly, that might happen. He may never check out.

Flynn style. I still thought that Both G and Cooney showed at least passable PG skills. I don't think it will be unthinkable to give TE a few minutes off here and there. With JB, though, you never count on such things until you see them happen.

 

[jekelish]

Silent G is clearly our best option to back up at PG. I was really impressed with how natural he looked handling the ball. Much smoother than Cooney, for instance. He doesn't have an elite handle but based on this sample size he looks to CLEARLY have the second best handle on the team.

Obviously there's more to running the point than being able to dribble, but still. It's a good start.

 

[reedny]

I like MG as the PG backup as well.

But I wanted to say a couple of things about the shooting guard situation.

For starters, TC played good defense during the Canadian tour. I hope he continues to build confidence in his shot. MG also looked good on D; he's long and has a very good handle for his size. Both are capable backups ... and TC has the potential to provide an offensive spark.

For my money, however, and it's very early, BJ has the biggest upside. Think about his experience level compared to the other 2-guards. TC is in his 3d year in the SU system; second year playing. MG has also had a year at Duke and another year to practice with the team. BJ still has one foot in HS -- and his resume' contains 6 college practices and 4 pre-season games.

Considering his minuscule experience at this level ... I was shocked at how well he played after his McGill jitters were over. First of all, unlike MG and TC ... BJ's perimeter shots have a habit of going in. His length on D is excellent and (as he adds strength) I think he can contribute 5-10 minutes a game THIS YEAR.

He might not be ready to start ... yet, but I like what I've seen so far.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I watched the first half only, but I was impressed the most by Buss Patterson moreso than anyone else.

Great release on his shot, good elevation, great ability to draw defenders and dish the rock-- he should have had 5 assists in the first half, and great motor, including a nice fastbreak cram-job (that's dunk for you simpletons )

Like you said, there are plenty ahead of him on the depth chart, but I look forward to watching his progression.

 

[OrangeJEM]

We still have two big question marks in Chino and Roberson. We assume Chino is a Redshirt, but what if he can compete for minutes with Baye? Roberson also has the potential to be good player, then do we see more BJ at the 2 spot?

 

[AlaskaSU]

I like MG as the PG backup as well.

But I wanted to say a couple of things about the shooting guard situation.

For starters, TC played good defense during the Canadian tour. I hope he continues to build confidence in his shot. MG also looked good on D; he's long and has a very good handle for his size. Both are capable backups ... and TC has the potential to provide an offensive spark.

For my money, however, and it's very early, BJ has the biggest upside. Think about his experience level compared to the other 2-guards. TC is in his 3d year in the SU system; second year playing. MG has also had a year at Duke and another year to practice with the team. BJ still has one foot in HS -- and his resume' contains 6 college practices and 4 pre-season games.

Considering his minuscule experience at this level ... I was shocked at how well he played after his McGill jitters were over. First of all, unlike MG and TC ... BJ's perimeter shots have a habit of going in. His length on D is excellent and (as he adds strength) I think he can contribute 5-10 minutes a game THIS YEAR.

He might not be ready to start ... yet, but I like what I've seen so far.

AGREE, and he is young for a frosh. I hope he gets enough minutes and I guess he could be high 40's from the floor and in the thirties from the three. That would be an improvement over what I think we will get from TC and MG in terms of offense, although TC is improving.

 

[orangefan13]

Not a good day handling the ball today, our backcourt wasn't getting into the lane, but they fed the lane well.

Ennis Gbinije and Cooney tend to try to blow by. I am interested in seeing if any of our guards can backdown their man without having to blow by. Having that against a tight defense is a plus.

I would like to see BJ, Ennis and Gbinije try to back them down early in the season, body them up while dribbling even if it leads to a turnover or clanks. I hope Grant can continue and learn to knock down 4-5 pullups instead of 1-2 overtime as it could be key.

Gbinije is 6'61/2 but I only saw 1-2 attempts to shoot a floater or pullup in the lane in four games. Adding that to layups is so key MCW learned that the hard way.

 

[anomander]

Here are some quick observations I've had, in no particular order

• The rebounding stinks. Again. Same old, same old. I know that playing zone 100% of the time makes us susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds, but the team is going to have to work harder to shore up this collective deficiency if we're going to maximize our potential this year.

Plus we don't have MCW and Triche to help bail us out this year. MCW was good for 3 solid contested rebounds, same went for Triche. Granted I think Grant is a much better rebounder then Southerland, but this will still be a weak spot.

 

[Cowtown]

And Canadian teams kinda suck

Put some skates on, and we'll check on ya later

 

[AZOrange]

Plus we don't have MCW and Triche to help bail us out this year. MCW was good for 3 solid contested rebounds, same went for Triche. Granted I think Grant is a much better rebounder then Southerland, but this will still be a weak spot.

Was the rebounding that bad? I did see any of the games but box had us with 50 or so on their 50 something misses

 

[RF2044]

Was the rebounding that bad? I did see any of the games but box had us with 50 or so on their 50 something misses

It's more about giving up scads of offensive rebounds to athletically inferior teams.

We were solid on the defensive boards.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Obligatory qualifier: three of our games were against subpar competition. Carleton, however, was not--they seem to be the equivalent of a strong mid-major, and were a great measuring stick for our young squad.

So what have we learned?

Here are some quick observations I've had, in no particular order:

• Tyler Ennis is for real. I knew given his HS pedigree that he'd played a high level of competition, and was going to be [obviously] handed the reins as a true frosh. I wondered how long it would take him to adjust, and whether or not he'd be an impact player his freshman year. The answer is a resounding: yes! Ennis is very advanced for a frosh, and is more than capable of stepping into MCW's shoes and quarterbacking a top 10 caliber team. No doubt in my mind anymore. Does he have some things to iron out? Sure--but he's a special talent.

• Grant has made the sophomore leap. Despite the bout with mono, the kid has improved his physique. Could still stand to add 10 more pounds, but he's going to be a very good player for us this year. We'll get some low post scoring out of him that we lacked last season. Kid looks like a young John Wallace, physique wise.

• Keita is our best center. Limited upside, but he's the best defensive player of the bunch [Rak's ability to block shots notwithstanding], and will probably finish a lot of games, as he has JB's confidence.

• Cooney can play. The first three quarters of the McGill game were gruesome, but he settled down after that and did a nice job offensively afterwards. I'd like to see him dribble a little more purposefully; seems like he wastes some time out there pounding the ball without accomplishing much. But I expect him to get better as he continues to get game time under his belt.

• Our team is gritty. The Carleton game proved this. With a team of young players mostly down big on the road in front of a hostile crowd, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see them fold up the tent and lose. But they fought hard to get back in the game and pulled it out. It revealed a lot about our team, and suggests that the top 10 preseason rankings aren't that far off.

• Not sure what Gbinije is capable of. After four games, I still don't have a feel for his offensive capabilities. He's going to play a lot this year--either as a starter or the top backcourt reserve--but I still don't have a good sense of his offensive capabilities.

• Rak won't ever be a good offensive player. Three years into his career, I think he's about maxed out offensively. But he can still be a good player for us if he concentrates on defense, rebounding, and shot blocking. And those are all things he can deliver on.

• Coleman hasn't improved...or has he? Prior to the Ottawa game, I was pretty sure about the former, but his performance tonight suggests that maybe he'll settle down and provide us with some inside scoring. He still has a way to go defensively and isn't as good a rebounder as his physical tools would suggest, but today's game was a much needed confidence builder heading into the remainder of the off-season. Something to build on.

• BJ and Buss have some game. Their time won't be this season, but the future is bright. Both hustle and seem to have some offensive potential.

• CJ is capable of leading this team to lofty accomplishments. He didn't get the opportunity to play much in this tournament, but he sported some added muscle and showed off the shooting capability that will make him a nightmare matchup in the ACC. I agree with Park / Leo tonight, who suggested that our offensive team concept overall will improve when he's able to play. CJ and Grant will be two very tough matchup problems all year long for our opponents.

• The 2 is the biggest question mark this year. Yes, I know that the pivot has some question marks, too. But I think we're going to get enough from that trio, and dependable play from Keita when the game is on the line. I THINK that Cooney / Gbinije can get the job done--but they've still got a lot of proving to do to make a believer out of me.

• The rebounding stinks. Again. Same old, same old. I know that playing zone 100% of the time makes us susceptible to giving up offensive rebounds, but the team is going to have to work harder to shore up this collective deficiency if we're going to maximize our potential this year.

• This is going to be a fun year! We lost a ton this offseason, but this team is capable of being top 10 from wire to wire. Can't wait to see what we're going to do in our first year in the ACC!

Let's Go Orange!!!

I agree with much of this. Good post. I would disagree a bit about the rebounding. We were a good rebounding team last year, and this year we will be even better. Many past years, we have gotten out rebounded by our opponents but still won because of turnovers forced, opponents' shooting percentage against the zone, blocked shots, etc. But last year we outrebounded even the good teams most of the time. That was a key to the improvement in our defense. We will be even better on the boards this year.

 

[alphaorange]

It's more about giving up scads of offensive rebounds to athletically inferior teams.

We were solid on the defensive boards.

Isn't that a contradiction, RF?