Our Best Lineup

[TBCuse11]

G at the 1, Buss at the 2, BJ at the 3, Chris at the 4, Rak at the 5. If Jim ever stuck with this, over time it would be our best. Not even worth arguing Bout Cooney anymore. It's clear he is what he is. How can he never, ever get open? Even Ron was open a ton. And don't even try to say defensive focus on him. That ridiculous premise is long gone...

We aren't going anywhere this year anyways, we have to give Buss and BJ run

 

[Mel03]

That lineup gives us no one that can competently handle the ball against any pressure. That is why Joseph's development is of critical importance.

G played well and can drive to the hole, but he cannot start the offense, he struggles to give entry passes, and dribbles high. I think G is our best guard overall, but not as the initiator of our offense.

 

[jekelish]

Disagree, mainly because BJ just isn't ready. He's not strong enough to compete, and he's lost defensively.

 

[Fly Rodder]

There isn't anyone on this team that can competently handle the ball.

That combined with putrid shooting makes it very difficult to score.

 

[newmexicuse]

KJ @ the 1
G @ the 2
Not sure about BJ or TR @ the 3.
McC @ the 4
Rak @ the 5

Regardless of who starts - everybody has to have a role coming off the bench including CO, who should spell Rak for 5 MPG.

Trevor should get first shot at 6th man. Give him his 5 to 10 & if he does nothing back to the bench for him.

TR should get 5 MPG spelling McC plus any SF time that he earns.

BJ & TR at the three - go with whoever is playing better. If both are playing well, BJ could also get some run @ 2G.

KJ to start & if he is not playing well than G to the point.

Buss - he hasn't played well enough to start. He should be an energy guy off the bench & get his run unless both KJ & TC are hot. He should not get DNPs unless G, TC, and KJ are all hot (LOL !!).

An interesting "long" lineup could be G, BJ, TR, McC, and Rak. That could especially be interesting defensively with their length.

 

[longislandcuse]

Even more annoying than Cooney getting a free pass to all the minutes he wants this year is that he will probably get that same free pass again next year with Richardson on campus.

Bottom Line, we probably have the worst guards in the ACC. One of the best frontlines, but worst guards and it looks like there's nothing we can do about it.

Out of the box suggestion is Patterson-BJJ up top in the zone with G-Rak-CMac anchoring it and just try to beat team's 45-40 with a freakish defense.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I don't see the love fest BJ. He single handedly caused us to lose the lead before the end of the first half. He should never see the floor. He can't make a shot, so there is no reason for him to even see the floor. He brings nothing to this team if he can't make shots. He has proved after 8 games he can't shoot. Since we aren't going to outscore anyone, our best defensive team is G, Cooney, Buss, CM and Rak. They did really well yesterday until CM decided to fall asleep when Green was on his side of the floor. He continually turned his back on him and had no idea where the best shooter on the floor was.

This team is not going to be any better than a five hundred team. People have to realize that we start almost every game with the other team starting at least 3 better players than us. We have ZERO perimeter players.

 

[jekelish]

I don't see the love fest BJ. He single handedly caused us to lose the lead before the end of the first half. He should never see the floor. He can't make a shot, so there is no reason for him to even see the floor. He brings nothing to this team if he can't make shots. He has proved after 8 games he can't shoot. Since we aren't going to outscore anyone, our best defensive team is G, Cooney, Buss, CM and Rak. They did really well yesterday until CM decided to fall asleep when Green was on his side of the floor. He continually turned his back on him and had no idea where the best shooter on the floor was.

This team is not going to be any better than a five hundred team. People have to realize that we start almost every game with the other team starting at least 3 better players than us. We have ZERO perimeter players.

I think you know exactly why there's a love fest for BJ.

I want BJ to become a great player at Syracuse. He's just not ready yet. People are willing to overlook that because 1) he came in with a reputation as a shooter (which he hasn't lived up to), and 2) his dad is a great, friendly, fun poster here. That's why the love fest.

I want to reiterate, because yes I'm concerned BJ's dad might read this as a slight - I desperately want to see BJ succeed. He's just not ready to compete at this level yet. God, I wish he had redshirted last season.

 

[OrangeDW]

I frankly don't care at this point. They've all been bad.

As long as Malachi starts next year from day 1.

He starts getting the get yanked and get blamed for everything treatment, while the same old same old is going on out there for the 3rd year in a row...then I'll have a problem.

 

[hoopsupstate]

I think we have all learned over time that dad's are not the best judge of their kids' ability.

 

[jekelish]

I frankly don't care at this point. They've all been bad.

As long as Malachi starts next year from day 1.

He starts getting the get yanked and get blamed for everything treatment, while the same old same old is going on out there for the 3rd year in a row...then I'll have a problem.

The one thing that has me the most excited about Malachi isn't actually his shooting, believe it or not. It's the fact that every scouting report I've read says that he's got an extremely well rounded game - he can handle, he can drive, he can pass, he can shoot - and yet, he doesn't have a superstar attitude, as in he's not going to act like a primadonna. He's got a rep as being a kid with a high basketball IQ, a well rounded game, a talented scorer, but is a completely "team first" kid? Yes, please.

 

[rrlbees]

How can he never, ever get open? Even Ron was open a ton. And don't even try to say defensive focus on him. That ridiculous premise is long gone..

I'm guessing you didn't see the game yesterday? The defender never ever left Cooney. Not for a second. No help defense on others, nothing. That and they had their other defenders cheat off others and sag on Rak and CMac. Those are the 3 they focused on. They let Buss, BJ and G shoot all they wanted from outside. Turn on your DVR.

 

[weepeel]

The floor spacing was a lot better with KJ out of the game and I am not convinced that kj has a better handle than Patterson. KJ poses minimal three point threat and is very sloppy with the ball in addition to his decision making.

 

[jekelish]

The floor spacing was a lot better with KJ out of the game and I am not convinced that kj has a better handle than Patterson. KJ poses minimal three point threat and is very sloppy with the ball in addition to his decision making.

He poses a minimal three point threat in comparison to whom, exactly? As horrifying as it is, he's got the second best 3PT percentage on the team. He's 3-of-13, Buss is 2-of-18. You can't pull that "oh he's terrible at this, we need to play someone else" when the "someone else" is even worse at that particular aspect of the game, and it's statistically proven that is the case here.

Yes, 3-of-13 is our second best percentage. This is a problem.

 

[OrangeDW]

The floor spacing was a lot better with KJ out of the game and I am not convinced that kj has a better handle than Patterson. KJ poses minimal three point threat and is very sloppy with the ball in addition to his decision making.

Agreed. And even if his handle is better, what does it matter if he has no idea where to go with the ball? Patterson should get some of his minutes, at least. There's no way Joseph should be playing 35+ and Patterson never playing.

 

[CuseHulk]

Best Lineup

Christmas, McCullough, Gbinije, Cooney, and Joseph.

RE: Joseph

Do not want to see him get benched to learn. For better or worse gotta ride it out with him. He is the future, not just this year, but next year and going forward.

 

[OrangeDW]

Best Lineup

Christmas, McCullough, Gbinije, Cooney, and Joseph.

RE: Joseph

Do not want to see him get benched to learn. For better or worse gotta ride it out with him. He is the future, not just this year, but next year and going forward.

I don't want him benched, I just want him on the bench more. He should be playing 25, not 35 at this point based on how he's playing.

 

[baggerbob]

I frankly don't care at this point. They've all been bad.

As long as Malachi starts next year from day 1.

He starts getting the get yanked and get blamed for everything treatment, while the same old same old is going on out there for the 3rd year in a row...then I'll have a problem.

There is no chance that Malachi starts, unless he is the SF on next years team. As long as Trevor comes back he will start, and get his 30 minutes.

 

[SBU72]

IMHO, I think it doesn't matter who starts. For once I think there is a real need for rotating the current starting 5 with Johnson, Peterson and G. Even throw in Obokoh. Now, more than most past years, there is NOT a big drop off at pg, 2g and SF. Yeah KJ handles the ball better that G but his decision making isn't there yet. I understand coach going with his starters for longer (forever) when he has more confidence in them but I don't think that is the case this season. Yesterday was an instance where he lost confidence in KJ and if a guard is going to take a lot of 3's, its better to have one who has a better chance to make them. If BJ has good practices, he'll see time in a game until he shows coach he can't handle it that game.

 

[two3zone]

Best lineup IMO is the one Hulk posted.

Rak
Cm
G
Coon
Kaleb


To everybody screaming for minutes for everybody else doesn't make sense to me.

Buss: McCrosky type shooter, except worse. Look at the numbers. I don't know how people can say he needs to play when it's painfully obvious that he is by far a worse shooter then the guys you want him to replace. He defense is solid, but Cooney's is better. I saw him get blown by a couple of times. Stop, Buss had done NOTHING to earn more minutes that he was getting before yesterday and did nothing yesterday to show he should be playing 10+ a game.


BJ: Again, not an upgrade over G. Shooting isn't good at all, but he has looked solid on the boards. Defense is suspect and like everybody else is saying, he's not strong enough. I think he had shown more than Roberson and Buss, but he doesn't deserve many minutes either.


Roberson: He looks like a frightened dog when he has the ball. He's not good. I'm not saying he'll never be but he looks the weakest out of the three, which is saying a lot because Buss has no business being on the floor. Unless Roberson can be a Rodman type player on defense he is borderline useless and shouldn't be taking minutes from anybody especially G.


These guys are just not that good, at least not yet. All the bashing is going on Cooney and Joseph, but you know what, they're still not playing as bad as the sophomores and it's not only the eye test, it's the stats backing it up as well.

 

[OrangeDW]

There is no chance that Malachi starts, unless he is the SF on next years team. As long as Trevor comes back he will start, and get his 30 minutes.

I don't care what position it is. The whole Cooney running around and being blanketed by a face guarding defender, while the other wing is left open to launch bricks thing has gotten very old.

Having someone else on the court who can make 3's should help Cooney.

 

[rrlbees]

I don't care what position it is. The whole Cooney running around and being blanketed by a face guarding defender, while the other wing is left open to launch bricks thing has gotten very old. Having someone else on the court who can make 3's should help Cooney.

Richardson will start at the 3. Roberson goes to the 4 even if he's a bit small. It's his natural position.

 

[longislandcuse]

I don't think too many people are screaming for Patterson over Joseph because of shooting. No one can shoot, it's awesome.

Since no one can shoot, let's look at the other things a pg at Cuse should do:
-Penetrate, neither Joseph or Patterson seem to be able to do that.
-Set up other, both are meh at it.
-Ball skills, both are meh at it.
-Defense. Joseph is awful and Patterson is pretty good.

Defense is the differentiator and the reason id rather see Patterson out there. Joseph looks just as much like a combo guard as G and Patterson do, what exactly are people seeing in Joseph that says point guard? I see zero pg intangibles from him so far. We have 3 combo guards so play the 2 best ones. G and Patterson.

Patterson-Cooney-G-CMac-Rak is our best lineup.

 

[samspann1]

G at the 1, Buss at the 2, BJ at the 3, Chris at the 4, Rak at the 5. If Jim ever stuck with this, over time it would be our best. Not even worth arguing Bout Cooney anymore. It's clear he is what he is. How can he never, ever get open? Even Ron was open a ton. And don't even try to say defensive focus on him. That ridiculous premise is long gone...

We aren't going anywhere this year anyways, we have to give Buss and BJ run

Patterson was open because St. John's wanted him to shoot. And you saw why they wanted him to shoot.

 

[br801]

G at the 1, Buss at the 2, BJ at the 3, Chris at the 4, Rak at the 5. If Jim ever stuck with this, over time it would be our best. Not even worth arguing Bout Cooney anymore. It's clear he is what he is. How can he never, ever get open? Even Ron was open a ton. And don't even try to say defensive focus on him. That ridiculous premise is long gone...

We aren't going anywhere this year anyways, we have to give Buss and BJ run

That must be why Steve Lavin chose to have his defense take Cooney away and it resulted in a road victory...