Postgame Thoughts... Illinois

[Madbiker]

Or the refs call the game right and recognize a player is frustrated.

The refs were in the wrong, as noticed by everyone

I get the refs don't want to whistle fouls in the last minute or two of a blowout game. But when a guy gets clobbered on a drive to the rim you have to call it. The ref caused the whole scene with Benny.

 

[OrangeDW]

I get the refs don't want to whistle fouls in the last minute or two of a blowout game. But when a guy gets clobbered on a drive to the rim you have to call it. The ref caused the whole scene with Benny.

Eh, kinda ridiculous to get that mad about not getting to pad your stats in the last minute of a blowout.

 

[dollarbill44]

I wouldn't go that far but I would love to have Bennett coach the team next year. I hope JB calls it a career after this year and rides into the sunset with Julie. Illinois lost their whole team this year and is a top 20 team due to hitting the transfer market hard. Most teams are doing that and SU needs to do exactly that.

I don't know if Tony Bennett could, but I bet Shaka Smart (or a coach with a similar system) could. This team is athletic enough to be a decent team by playing full-court pressure defense and running every chance they get. We're not going to score much without quick passes being the centerpiece of the offense to generate easier shots. Iso ball isn't going to work.

 

[dollarbill44]

whats this bs about us playing Illinois for the first time since 89? i just heard that on ESPN. did we not play them in hawaii a few years ago? ryan blackwell was on illinois then?

That is a very important fact. Very important.

 

[OrangeDW]

whats this bs about us playing Illinois for the first time since 89? i just heard that on ESPN. did we not play them in hawaii a few years ago? ryan blackwell was on illinois then?

Yeah, “a few years ago”. Or 27.

 

[Col. Bleep]

No question there will be a million potholes but please let us beat Georgetown.

A thousand amens!

 

[tbonezone]

we're not getting a tony bennett or jay williams or even shaka smart to come coach here. hopefully it's a young energetic coach not currently on staff who will bring the passion and zeal into the program to start a post jb era in syracuse basketball. time to move forward !

 

[Red Holzman]

Best line up by PER: Jesse, Hima, Maliq, Mintz and Taylor. We haven't seen that one together yet. If we're going to run out Hima, JBA, and Sy for a few minutes, we may as well try the former.

Agree -run that lineup out there for entertainment value if nothing else since to me they are interesting players on the roster.
who knows, maybe it works!

 

[NorSyr66]

I wonder if Joes issue is something other than bball .. maybe his girl left him or some other off court problem

It could be something besides basketball but I think it has a lot to do with he no longer has 3 other three point shooters on the floor with him and he is always covered by a taller and quicker defender. At that point Joe's confidence melts to zero.

 

[NorSyr66]

I’d say we looked “competent” against Lehigh and Northeastern. I’ve been saying that we’re a decent mid major team, and our close win over Richmond and losses to SJU, Bryant and Illinois only reinforce that to me.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, I think we can get to 10-5….

but then finish something like 13-18.

I tend to agree with the first part (getting to 10-5) but I am still hopeful to see this team grow into a decent team as the year continues. I admit the Illinois game was a complete wipeout to our freshmen continuing to grow game by game. The true test is can we get back on track and can we continue to have Joe on the bench if he comes out flat in the next game. Do not take 20 minutes to make the decision. If we are going to take another shellacking, take it with freshmen on the floor that can benefit from the game time experience. Someone mentioned earlier, this team magnifies Joe's flaws.

 

[Red Holzman]

Regarding Joe as the senior leader -
Joe doesn't appear to be filling that role, nor the team to see him as their leader.
Just an IMHO observation -something contributing to rudderless ship.

 

[MSOrange]

Just because

 

[Day2]

I wonder if Joes issue is something other than bball .. maybe his girl left him or some other off court problem

I supported and defended Girard for three years. I’m done. There’s no excuse for his play. He doesn’t work hard or play hard, that’s it. In all of this time, his one improvement is that he’s a slightly better ball handler.

 

[OrangeDW]

I supported and defended Girard for three years. I’m done. There’s no excuse for his play. He doesn’t work hard or play hard, that’s it. In all of this time, his one improvement is that he’s a slightly better ball handler.

The play early in the second half when he came off a screen at about 0.2 mph and Bell’s pass to him was stolen kind of says it all.

He looked like he was doing a walk through, the first time you learn a new play in practice.

He either didn’t actually want the ball, or he just doesn’t even realize he’s not playing hard.

 

[CuseIn282xx]

He has dozens, but the others were credited to Chris Bunch.

I just looked up Bell's stats. Through 7 games, he averages 0.9 rebounds pg. So, he has 6 rebounds in 7 games.