Postgame Thoughts… Villanova

[TheCusian]

Team is looking better game after game and came up short vs a better more polished Villanova.

I’m bullish on the trajectory

 

[Alsacs]

This shthole gets harder to read every game.

I was at the game and came out of last nights game thinking we will win a lot of games the rest of the season.

The defense is a lot better.

Buddy is going to snap out of this. Not sure why our fans would think otherwise.

Sure we lack athleticism and rebounding, but Nova is good and the game was there for us.

Carry on

I mean I agree he is going to be better.
The problem is the HC has created a situation this year unlike previous years where if a player struggled in an individual game they could be subbed out for that particular game. That is what coaches do. They play matchups and not just there way. This season we can’t complain.


Last night though I would have subbed buddy out for a little bit and played Girard at the 2. JB won’t do that.

The frustration is at JB for doing it his way when that hasn’t been working as well in the regular season. In the postseason you tighten your rotation. In the regular season we shouldn’t have to be in the situation it’s become.

That is it. Jim Boeheim wants to tell idiots like me my works no matter if it hasn’t for a while in the regular season.

If we got Corey Kispert out there shooting then go ahead and let them cook.
Buddy isn’t Kispert. He is good and can get insanely hot but he isn’t a guy who when he struggles should be playing 39 mpg.

We have only one guard on the bench and the HC has done an excellent job off shutting down any potential calls for other players to play.

 

[NKR1978]

It should be the primary jersey. It's the best one by far.

It's one of the best jerseys in sports. It's a great jersey.

 

[Newhouser]

I mean I agree he is going to be better.
The problem is the HC has created a situation this year unlike previous years where if a player struggled in an individual game they could be subbed out for that particular game. That is what coaches do. They play matchups and not just there way. This season we can’t complain.


Last night though I would have subbed buddy out for a little bit and played Girard at the 2. JB won’t do that.

The frustration is at JB for doing it his way when that hasn’t been working as well in the regular season. In the postseason you tighten your rotation. In the regular season we shouldn’t have to be in the situation it’s become.

That is it. Jim Boeheim wants to tell idiots like me my works no matter if it hasn’t for a while in the regular season.

If we got Corey Kispert out there shooting then go ahead and let them cook.
Buddy isn’t Kispert. He is good and can get insanely hot but he isn’t a guy who when he struggles should be playing 39 mpg.

We have only one guard on the bench and the HC has done an excellent job off shutting down any potential calls for other players to play.

I was shocked Buddy sat in the second half last night right before I think the 8 minute TV time out. Even more shocked that he stayed seated after that, less shocked that next whistle he was back in. It is what it is at this point and we just have to ride it out.

 

[Dinkyspond]

The first half of games and the second haves have been so vastly different all year.. we turned the tables on FSU but almost every other game we’ve been boat raced in Half 2

Our lack of depth plays a role here.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Fly Rodder]

It's almost as if Nova had a plan going into this game ...

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I mean I agree he is going to be better.
The problem is the HC has created a situation this year unlike previous years where if a player struggled in an individual game they could be subbed out for that particular game. That is what coaches do. They play matchups and not just there way. This season we can’t complain.


Last night though I would have subbed buddy out for a little bit and played Girard at the 2. JB won’t do that.

The frustration is at JB for doing it his way when that hasn’t been working as well in the regular season. In the postseason you tighten your rotation. In the regular season we shouldn’t have to be in the situation it’s become.

That is it. Jim Boeheim wants to tell idiots like me my works no matter if it hasn’t for a while in the regular season.

If we got Corey Kispert out there shooting then go ahead and let them cook.
Buddy isn’t Kispert. He is good and can get insanely hot but he isn’t a guy who when he struggles should be playing 39 mpg.

We have only one guard on the bench and the HC has done an excellent job off shutting down any potential calls for other players to play.

5X40

 

[Red Holzman]

5X40

200
I'm gud at maf

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yep, everyone thinks Buddy is going to shoot like he did in the tournament last year - unfortunately, only Steph Curry is going to do that with any consistency - Nova is not a top 10 team - we are very average with a myriad of flaws - starting with no PG and no elite athletes

Buddy is shooting really, really low right now. He is sure to improve over time, although it is incumbent on the offense to get him - and everyone - more open looks. We take too many early shot clock "heat checks". We need to make defenses move before we shoot, unless it is off a rebound in an unsettled fast break kind of situation.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I mean I agree he is going to be better.
The problem is the HC has created a situation this year unlike previous years where if a player struggled in an individual game they could be subbed out for that particular game. That is what coaches do. They play matchups and not just there way. This season we can’t complain.


Last night though I would have subbed buddy out for a little bit and played Girard at the 2. JB won’t do that.

The frustration is at JB for doing it his way when that hasn’t been working as well in the regular season. In the postseason you tighten your rotation. In the regular season we shouldn’t have to be in the situation it’s become.

That is it. Jim Boeheim wants to tell idiots like me my works no matter if it hasn’t for a while in the regular season.

If we got Corey Kispert out there shooting then go ahead and let them cook.
Buddy isn’t Kispert. He is good and can get insanely hot but he isn’t a guy who when he struggles should be playing 39 mpg.

We have only one guard on the bench and the HC has done an excellent job off shutting down any potential calls for other players to play.

I believe he's going to announce his retirement this summer.

 

[phreddie]

Last night though I would have subbed buddy out for a little bit and played Girard at the 2. JB won’t do that.

.

He did do that; right after Buddy missed that wide open 3. Unfortunately, Symir committed his 3rd foul shortly after that and Buddy was right back in.

 

[dlegend44]

As poorly as we did on the boards, we're not beating anyone if this team only has 4 assists in a game.

To be a great shooting team, we need to pass the ball better. I was really excited after the first 2 games because we were top 10 in assists. I was hoping it would be a different offense this year because of all the shooters. Get the ball up court quickly, find the open shooters in transition before the defense is set and let it fly. We seem to once again be getting bogged down in a stagnant half-court offense.

By contrast, Nova had 15 assists and passed the ball extremely well in the second half. They consistently made the extra pass to find guys wide open. Villanova had a lot of open shots that eventually went down. Jay Wright is an excellent coach and made effective in game adjustments. No shame in losing to this team, I thought we competed hard and hopefully there were some lessons learned.

 

[djcon57]

He did do that; right after Buddy missed that wide open 3. Unfortunately, Symir committed his 3rd foul shortly after that and Buddy was right back in.

why are we worried about Symir fouling out at that point? He should have played another 3-4 mins. buddy came in and the D was dreadful the next 3 possessions. wide open 3s.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

why are we worried about Symir fouling out at that point? He should have played another 3-4 mins. buddy came in and the D was dreadful the next 3 possessions. wide open 3s.

Some defense, even if it results in a foul, is better than no defense. I'm with you. Let Buddy get more than 30 seconds of rest. No need to bring him back right there. Symir is amped coming in and picks up a quick one. Let him settle in for a couple and see what we've got.

 

[Scott11]

A few thoughts
-while hard to admit for those of us who viewed Villanova as a win back in the day, this was a scheduled loss against a better team. We were in the game and could have won it. I don't feel like I did after the VCU and Colgate games. We lost to a better team and are now one game worse than we should be this year as far as expectations.
-we can't win when Buddy shoots like that. He got great looks and just can't buy a three right now. It happens. He will be fine. I do wish he would go after loose balls more aggressively.
-JG3 was at his best in the first half, I'd argue that was the best half of his career all around. Took care of the ball and took good, open shots. Not fading or off balance. Closed out with conviction on defense. When he plays like that he is a huge weapon. Sadly the turnovers returned in the second half but overall he was good.
-The other reason we lost the game besides Buddy's offense was obviously our defensive rebounding. However I am confident it can improve. There were 5-10 times either Jesse or Cole had their hands on the ball and were in position and somehow didn't come up with the ball. The refs let everything go and were not willing to call over the back on either team. However Jimmy cannot play the minutes he did and only get 2 boards. Jimmy plays so hard that you would think he would have gotten 5-6 just by his admirable hustle.
-I've been patient with Benny and remain confident he will improve but he played 3 of the worst minutes you will ever see. He was out of position on the zone basically roaming to the top of the key, simply watched a rebound without going for it, jogged back once on defense and short armed a two footer where it almost didn't get over the rim. I wish the coaches would leak something to a reporter saying he plays well in practice just to give fans reason to stay positive. Mike Waters usually tweets or writes an article about how the incoming freshmen look during he summer and fall runs, but he told me that covid denied access for him to get that info. I wonder if Benny is just lost confidence wise or maybe we have to readjust our expectations.
-Overall not an awful night but we must take care of business against that horrid Georgetown team/program.

 

[721Comstock]

Buddy has been a very good shooter for us at times but the rest of his game is not very good

I gave you a like for this, but - it's not ALWAYS true, anymore.

He's had some stat-stuffer games against legit opponents of late.
He had that one game with EIGHT assists. Who was the last Cuse SG to drop that many dimes??

Just not last night - he couldn't buy a bucket, nor do much of anything else.
Absolutely shoulda sat more than 2 minutes.
Sy and Joe coulda been the backcourt for a bit longer, give Jackson a chance to catch a breather, and maybe mentally reset.

 

[Fly Rodder]

He has that one game with EIGHT assists. Who was the last Cuse SG to drop that many dimes??

Depends on the definition of SG, which at SU is kind of fungible. I think of Buddy as the primary scorer and less of a traditional SG, he just doesn't bring the ball up like Tyus did occasionally (he had 9 assists in 2019). Other than that, you have to go back to Triche. We all know Cooney wasn't passing because that wasn't his job.

 

[AZOrange]

I gave you a like for this, but - it's not ALWAYS true, anymore.

He's had some stat-stuffer games against legit opponents of late.
He had that one game with EIGHT assists. Who was the last Cuse SG to drop that many dimes??

Just not last night - he couldn't buy a bucket, nor do much of anything else.
Absolutely shoulda sat more than 2 minutes.
Sy and Joe coulda been the backcourt for a bit longer, give Jackson a chance to catch a breather, and maybe mentally reset.

Yeah I think he’s just just beat

 

[JustPherU]

I think we would of had better chance at winning if we just let them shoot wide open threes and all Syracuse players just stayed under basket in rebounding position.I can’t ever remember a team getting so dominated on boards by a team that wasn’t really that big.It looked as if nobody on the Orange squad had any desire to try and rebound.

 

[bigmike]

Buddy has to work awful hard to get good, open looks. As soon as Jesse’s game develops to where he commands a double down things will open up for BB and the others. Jesse is a willing passer and if he develops a kick out game off the double, then we’ll be in business. The team can then make that killer extra pass that ‘Nova used so well in the 2nd half last night. The question to me is, will Jesse get there this year, or next?

 

[IthacaMatt]

A few thoughts
-while hard to admit for those of us who viewed Villanova as a win back in the day, this was a scheduled loss against a better team. We were in the game and could have won it. I don't feel like I did after the VCU and Colgate games. We lost to a better team and are now one game worse than we should be this year as far as expectations.
-we can't win when Buddy shoots like that. He got great looks and just can't buy a three right now. It happens. He will be fine. I do wish he would go after loose balls more aggressively.
-JG3 was at his best in the first half, I'd argue that was the best half of his career all around. Took care of the ball and took good, open shots. Not fading or off balance. Closed out with conviction on defense. When he plays like that he is a huge weapon. Sadly the turnovers returned in the second half but overall he was good.
-The other reason we lost the game besides Buddy's offense was obviously our defensive rebounding. However I am confident it can improve. There were 5-10 times either Jesse or Cole had their hands on the ball and were in position and somehow didn't come up with the ball. The refs let everything go and were not willing to call over the back on either team. However Jimmy cannot play the minutes he did and only get 2 boards. Jimmy plays so hard that you would think he would have gotten 5-6 just by his admirable hustle.
-I've been patient with Benny and remain confident he will improve but he played 3 of the worst minutes you will ever see. He was out of position on the zone basically roaming to the top of the key, simply watched a rebound without going for it, jogged back once on defense and short armed a two footer where it almost didn't get over the rim. I wish the coaches would leak something to a reporter saying he plays well in practice just to give fans reason to stay positive. Mike Waters usually tweets or writes an article about how the incoming freshmen look during he summer and fall runs, but he told me that covid denied access for him to get that info. I wonder if Benny is just lost confidence wise or maybe we have to readjust our expectations.
-Overall not an awful night but we must take care of business against that horrid Georgetown team/program.

Terrific post! Very balanced assessment.

 

[CardiacCuse]

why are we worried about Symir fouling out at that point? He should have played another 3-4 mins. buddy came in and the D was dreadful the next 3 possessions. wide open 3s.

subbing sy out then made no sense

 

[ottodaorange]

And they don’t play zone D.

OMG, Iggy is back!