Postgame Thoughts… GT

[SUbear]

Really? Wow.

He does not rebound well and attacking the other team on the exchange is a better use of his talents, so yes really. Will it be effective 100 per cent? no However it will result in higher scoring and easier offense for him and Mintz. The strange thing is Boeheim use to use this in his run and gun offenses earlier in his career. Against the very best teams who get back quickly it will not be as effective, it will put pressure on every team, and increase the pace of the games.

 

[two3zone]

A lot of Benny's problems are caused by him being forced into a role he is not suited for. Benny is a full court run and gun player being forced to play a half court game. He is confused by this and not use to playing that way.
Benny should not be forced to try and rebound but should leak out down court when the opponent shoots or turns the ball, Jesse and Brown should be your primary rebounders, Mintz should push the ball downcourt and attack the basket with Benny, against most teams this will be an effective offensive strategy for both Benny and Mintz.

He’s suited for running and gunning? Nothing I’ve seen him do shows me he can pass well, finish well on a drive, or dribble, how is he better suited for that?

He’s actually suited perfect for the zone, if JB designed a wing for the zone it would literally be Benny Williams.

On the offensive even, if Benny was good at anything you don’t think they’d run through him? Unfortunately there are 3 better options than him on the court every single time.

 

[SUbear]

Leaking out? So Less defense? Does leaking out matter if the opponent scores every possession?

You apparently do not know what leaking out means, it does not effect your defense when done correctly.

He’s suited for running and gunning? Nothing I’ve seen him do shows me he can pass well, finish well on a drive, or dribble, how is he better suited for that?

He’s actually suited perfect for the zone, if JB designed a wing for the zone it would literally be Benny Williams.

On the offensive even, if Benny was good at anything you don’t think they’d run through him? Unfortunately there are 3 better options than him on the court every single time.

You have seen him in half court and I agree he does not do well in that setting. Full court is different the defenses are not set and spacing is different. A pure athlete can do well in full court, but only an astute basketball player does well in the half court setting.
Benny is far from a astute basketball player, at least right now, but he is an above average athlete. I am not saying he would suddenly become MJ, but we would probably get more production from the abilities he has.
It really does not matter because Boeheim no longer teaches or uses that kind of offense and most likely will not.

 

[NorSyr66]

I really wish we would just play man instead of zone. No reason our best defense should be a full court press.

That train left the stations decades ago!!!

 

[Jake]

Maliq’s PER, not counting today, is TEN points higher than Benny. That’s basically a different world of efficiency. After this game, I think Maliq might actually have a higher PER than Benny and Bell combined.

He gets a higher percentage of board and assists. Turns the ball over less in % measurement as well.

His BPM is in a different stratosphere.

His scoring efficiency is insanely higher.

This isn’t measuring two guys that are close and playing the hot hand. One guy is leaps and bounds better at helping our team win.

And most importantly, you don’t need stats to see that Maliq is a more productive player.

The team just looks like it should with him on the floor.

 

[goofnoff]

Most of college basketball is crap. Due in large part because of the portal and NIL. Schools can’t build programs, experience playing together and team chemistry. With players constantly moving it’s just pick up.

You must have seen what TCU did to Kansas today.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[CuseFaninVT]

If Brown starts, would Williams ever play?

I’m half-joking.

I’m with you, but I want a team that has rotations, as well as situational substitutions. Joe was awesome yesterday, but grabbing 1-2 minutes per half wouldn’t have hurt the team (too badly.)

 

[wiCuse]

And it’s really just scoring. I’m not getting overly excited over five boards in 30 minutes.

If you're not excited with five boards in 30min, I doubt you liked Brown's two boards in 13min? He wasn't active vs Miami. It's okay to admit he didn't play well against Miami. Probably his only poor game to date. People need to realize Benny isn't going to be Rodman on the glass. Benny was the better option that game. JB gave Brown several chances during the Miami game and it didn't happen.

 

[OrangeDW]

This might be unpopular take but screw it...its reality and I’ve been tip toeing around it for weeks

Everyone scared that Bell or Benny will leave?

you better believe better programs are going to be poking around and trying to steal Brown...they will be using him not starting as a sign of disrespect.

this is how it works in college basketball in 2023

Right. Take care of your foundation.

Bell is window dressing if he pans out.

Benny is a hope and a prayer longshot.

Brown is a centerpiece building block.

 

[Arangeman]

Brown has tremendous feel for the game. Positioning, angles, how to finish.

Benny does not. Looks like a great athlete who started playing basketball in 10th grade.

 

[OCESIP]

If anyone really understands the formula behind the NET rankings I'd like to see it.
Right now, SU is 0-3, 1-2, 4-2, 8-0 when looking at the "quad" wins. The 6th best team in the county (according to NET) is 1-2, 5-0, 6-2, 5-0. Certainly better, but 6th best?? The 20th ranked team is 0-2, 8-2, 2-0, 4-1. The 49th best is 0-4, 1-0, 1-0, 11-0. I can go on, but the bottom line is SU has dug itself a hole according to the NET, but the NET as the primary tool for evaluating relative strength of programs has a LOT to be desired.

 

[Dcuse]

Most of college basketball is crap. Due in large part because of the portal and NIL. Schools can’t build programs, experience playing together and team chemistry. With players constantly moving it’s just pick up.

A trillion likes. It makes me sad.

 

[Day2]

If you're not excited with five boards in 30min, I doubt you liked Brown's two boards in 13min? He wasn't active vs Miami. It's okay to admit he didn't play well against Miami. Probably his only poor game to date. People need to realize Benny isn't going to be Rodman on the glass. Benny was the better option that game. JB gave Brown several chances during the Miami game and it didn't happen.

If he wasn’t active, then how did he lead the team in steals? It’s also OK to view things differently. I don’t think he played poorly and I do think he deserved more chances.

 

[wiCuse]

If he wasn’t active, then how did he lead the team in steals? It’s also OK to view things differently. I don’t think he played poorly and I do think he deserved more chances.

Brown had 2 steals and was tied with two other players (not exactly noteworthy or active). Defense was our problem vs Miami and you highlighted one of several areas. I know the casual fan wants to rail on Judah and his meltdown. There's a difference between a view and narrative. You should question Bell who hasn't had more than 5 boards in a game this season.

How many times should JB sub him in to see if he's ready to go vs the #17 team in the nation?

 

[Franz69]

I wasn't on the game thread, so not sure if you guys noticed this. Early in the game, they cut to JB and my amateur lip reading came away with "Don't let them push you around in there!", which I believe was aimed at Benny.

 

[Cusefan0307]

If anyone really understands the formula behind the NET rankings I'd like to see it.
Right now, SU is 0-3, 1-2, 4-2, 8-0 when looking at the "quad" wins. The 6th best team in the county (according to NET) is 1-2, 5-0, 6-2, 5-0. Certainly better, but 6th best?? The 20th ranked team is 0-2, 8-2, 2-0, 4-1. The 49th best is 0-4, 1-0, 1-0, 11-0. I can go on, but the bottom line is SU has dug itself a hole according to the NET, but the NET as the primary tool for evaluating relative strength of programs has a LOT to be desired.

I still prefer it better than the RPI.

 

[Sherman20]

I just looked at the standings, the league is crap this year. Yikes

But the ACC will still get 7-8 teams in. Some of the other conferences are real top heavy and there’s a lot of mediocrity all around college basketball. Lunardi has 7 ACC teams in right now and Wake is on the bubble. You don’t think we can pass Wake if we continue to improve and get some quad 1 and 2 wins?

 

[two3zone]

But the ACC will still get 7-8 teams in. Some of the other conferences are real top heavy and there’s a lot of mediocrity all around college basketball. Lunardi has 7 ACC teams in right now and Wake is on the bubble. You don’t think we can pass Wake if we continue to improve and get some quad 1 and 2 wins?

I’m sure we can, but I think it’s kind of a big if.

 

[djcon57]

But the ACC will still get 7-8 teams in. Some of the other conferences are real top heavy and there’s a lot of mediocrity all around college basketball. Lunardi has 7 ACC teams in right now and Wake is on the bubble. You don’t think we can pass Wake if we continue to improve and get some quad 1 and 2 wins?

Yeah, Palm has 8 (wake in)

2-1 in the next 2 and we will be on the outside still but def bubble in sights

 

[tptcuse]

Yeah, Palm has 8 (wake in)

2-1 in the next 2 and we will be on the outside still but def bubble in sights

3-0. Let's do this!

 

[Sbucketball]

If anyone really understands the formula behind the NET rankings I'd like to see it.
Right now, SU is 0-3, 1-2, 4-2, 8-0 when looking at the "quad" wins. The 6th best team in the county (according to NET) is 1-2, 5-0, 6-2, 5-0. Certainly better, but 6th best?? The 20th ranked team is 0-2, 8-2, 2-0, 4-1. The 49th best is 0-4, 1-0, 1-0, 11-0. I can go on, but the bottom line is SU has dug itself a hole according to the NET, but the NET as the primary tool for evaluating relative strength of programs has a LOT to be desired.

If we do manage to get near the bubble, I hope the committee acknowledges this is a very young team and the bad losses all happened early. This is a different team now compared to November.

 

[Jake]

So I just got a chance to watch the whole game…was vacationing in Austin last week.

Brown is just very active and he presents himself well as an easy target. He finds “that” space that makes it easy for the passer. That’s intuition and feel and simply cannot be taught. He’s still finding his way defensively on the wing, but I’ll take that overall trade off. Great finisher.

I thought Jessie held his ground better when he got pushed. Still needs to get stronger base which will help him finish. Bacot is going to be really physical with him.

Cannot overstate what a luxury Hima is. There is relative little overall loss when he comes in because he really challenges shots the way Jessie can’t afford to.

Joe was just incredible. My favorite plays by him were two back screens that he set for Maliq and Jessie freeing them up for easy baskets. Just a tremendous overall game by him. He answered every run by GT. I never in a million years thought I’d see him have success with a backdown game, but he really has been excellent doing that. Backdown Joe > Logo Joe.

Really happy for Judah. That film session from the Miami game had to be a painful humbling experience. He played like someone who learned from it. Really would like him to shoot 300 Fts s day. He can live at the line, but he needs to shoot better from there for coach to call his number in crunch time.

Thought Q gave us excellent minutes, and his effort is always there. Dives on the floor, does some dirty work and really can shake an opposing SF off the bounce. He was great in the press making good rotations.

Benny and Bell struggled. Benny is now approaching freshman Fab Melo on leash length. There’s no sense arguing the starting role for him….he’s got to play really well to keep Brown on the bench.

Bell got yanked early 2nd and had a mini fit. Glad JB put him right back in. He just wasn’t effective. We know the issues he has rebounding, but what drives me crazy is his inability to trap in the corner. There were two times Saturday where the zone corner trap was “right there”. He didn’t close on either. I think that’s what git JB mad. Maliq, Q and JT all seem better at that aspect of the zone.

Sy was okay…JT just couldn’t get going. He’s going to have games like that. But I bet Taylor has a really good game tomorrow. We’re gonna get open looks.