Henny & Coke
2nd String
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- Aug 26, 2011
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Strange game tonight. I tend to have a more optimistic take on things, but can def see how another person could take a more pessimistic view of today's game. I try to document a few of the various points of view I can see people having below.
Pessimist: Wow, ugly, ugly game. Talk about no intensity out there. How can that be?
Optimist: I guess you can't blame the team for looking so sluggish out there, considering their recent schedule:
Tuesday 3/12 - Travel to NY City
Wednesday 3/13 - Game vs Seton Hall
Thursday 3/14 - Tough game vs Pitt
Friday 3/15 - Tough game vs G-Town that went to OT
Saturday 3/16 - Tough game vs Louisville
Sunday 3/17 - Travel back to Syracuse
Monday 3/18 - Travel cross country to San Jose
Tuesday & Wednesday - Practice / participate in NCAA Tourney events
Thursday 3/21 - Game vs Montana
Saturday 3/23 - Game vs Cal
Take into account the above schedule & add in fact that this was essentially a home game for Cal, and you don't see how our guys could look tired out there today?
Optimist: CJ Fair played well, finishing with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.
Pessimist: CJ Fair, what was that inbounds pass that sailed over Triche's head all about? Seriously? You gonna make Cal work for their turnovers at all? And that sequence where you shot a three, missed, then got another 3 point shot chance next time down and airballed it? Or going 0-2 at the line when fouled with a little under 2 mins left in game? Yikes.
Pessimist: And then there's Brandon Triche, the senior guard who has started every game in his career at SU. 1-8 shooting from the field & 8 total points? Come on...
Optimist: Brandon Triche, although he had a tough night shooting, at least played aggressively, taking the ball to the hoop numerous times throughout, and was a major factor in SU getting into the Bonus/Double Bonus so quickly. Love to see that out of Brandon.
Pessimist: Michael Carter-Williams certainly had one of his poorer statistical games in quite some time...5 turnovers, 4-9 at the free throw line, and most shocking, only 3 assists!
Optimist: Can there be a more misleading stat than Michael Carter-Williams only having 3 assists tonight? I mean, I can think of numerous plays where he drove the lane, drew a few defenders to him, and dished beautifully to someone...only to see them miss the bunny! In fact, this exact scenario happened with Keita on the receiving end of the passes at the end of the game twice(!), with MCW delivering the ball to Keita in perfect, perfect position to score. Except that Keita somehow missed. Twice. (Thankfully he was fouled, and Keita was very solid from the line today. So that was good.) Seriously, what else does MCW have to do to get a freakin assist in that situation? Maybe next time he can tell Keita to simply stand there, while MCW banks it into the hoop off of Keita's head to get the assist?
Plus, MCW driving to the hoop lately is a thing of beauty. Seems like such an easy way to score points, or at least that's how he makes it look. Gotta love MCW being able to get to the rim seemingly at will today, and the past few games. Hopefully that continues. Also, chalk up some of those Cal fouls to MCW being aggressive as well. For all of their faults, I loved seeing our guards play so aggressively.
Pessimist: Well, it def wasn't a pretty performance tonight...
Optimist: But we are going to the Sweet Sixteen. And, we get some much needed rest, before traveling a much shorter distance this time to DC next weekend. Our boys should be more prepared to play next weekend. And with the way they have been playing defense recently, we should at least be in every game we play, no matter how poor our offense can look sometimes.
Pessimist: Wow, ugly, ugly game. Talk about no intensity out there. How can that be?
Optimist: I guess you can't blame the team for looking so sluggish out there, considering their recent schedule:
Tuesday 3/12 - Travel to NY City
Wednesday 3/13 - Game vs Seton Hall
Thursday 3/14 - Tough game vs Pitt
Friday 3/15 - Tough game vs G-Town that went to OT
Saturday 3/16 - Tough game vs Louisville
Sunday 3/17 - Travel back to Syracuse
Monday 3/18 - Travel cross country to San Jose
Tuesday & Wednesday - Practice / participate in NCAA Tourney events
Thursday 3/21 - Game vs Montana
Saturday 3/23 - Game vs Cal
Take into account the above schedule & add in fact that this was essentially a home game for Cal, and you don't see how our guys could look tired out there today?
Optimist: CJ Fair played well, finishing with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.
Pessimist: CJ Fair, what was that inbounds pass that sailed over Triche's head all about? Seriously? You gonna make Cal work for their turnovers at all? And that sequence where you shot a three, missed, then got another 3 point shot chance next time down and airballed it? Or going 0-2 at the line when fouled with a little under 2 mins left in game? Yikes.
Pessimist: And then there's Brandon Triche, the senior guard who has started every game in his career at SU. 1-8 shooting from the field & 8 total points? Come on...
Optimist: Brandon Triche, although he had a tough night shooting, at least played aggressively, taking the ball to the hoop numerous times throughout, and was a major factor in SU getting into the Bonus/Double Bonus so quickly. Love to see that out of Brandon.
Pessimist: Michael Carter-Williams certainly had one of his poorer statistical games in quite some time...5 turnovers, 4-9 at the free throw line, and most shocking, only 3 assists!
Optimist: Can there be a more misleading stat than Michael Carter-Williams only having 3 assists tonight? I mean, I can think of numerous plays where he drove the lane, drew a few defenders to him, and dished beautifully to someone...only to see them miss the bunny! In fact, this exact scenario happened with Keita on the receiving end of the passes at the end of the game twice(!), with MCW delivering the ball to Keita in perfect, perfect position to score. Except that Keita somehow missed. Twice. (Thankfully he was fouled, and Keita was very solid from the line today. So that was good.) Seriously, what else does MCW have to do to get a freakin assist in that situation? Maybe next time he can tell Keita to simply stand there, while MCW banks it into the hoop off of Keita's head to get the assist?
Plus, MCW driving to the hoop lately is a thing of beauty. Seems like such an easy way to score points, or at least that's how he makes it look. Gotta love MCW being able to get to the rim seemingly at will today, and the past few games. Hopefully that continues. Also, chalk up some of those Cal fouls to MCW being aggressive as well. For all of their faults, I loved seeing our guards play so aggressively.
Pessimist: Well, it def wasn't a pretty performance tonight...
Optimist: But we are going to the Sweet Sixteen. And, we get some much needed rest, before traveling a much shorter distance this time to DC next weekend. Our boys should be more prepared to play next weekend. And with the way they have been playing defense recently, we should at least be in every game we play, no matter how poor our offense can look sometimes.
