Postgame Thoughts... Lehigh

[NineOneSeven]

Big fan of Brown.

Missed most of the game but looks like Joe, Judah, Symir all played well.

JBA with the jumper!

 

[CardiacCuse]

there's talent on the team...there's a chance it all comes together very nicely by the end of the season...

doesnt seem there should really be a problem scoring, either...which a lot of people seemed to predict in the offseason.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Edwards
Brown
Sy
Joe
Judah

Thats my 5.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

I'm very happy with all of the freshmen. Luckily it looks like we do have 3 FR forwards better than Benny.

Guards and center were great.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Other than seeing Benny struggle, that went about as well as I think we could have hoped for.

Each of the freshmen had some moments.

Judah looked more active passing the ball early and that paid off.

Jesse dominated a smaller opponent.

Joe hit shots and carried over last year's chemistry with Jesse.

JB let guys work through their mistakes for the most part, and we actually mixed up defenses.

Of the three games this was definitely our best and this was the one that counts.

 

[rrlbees]

there's talent on the team...there's a chance it all comes together very nicely by the end of the season...

doesnt seem there should really be a problem scoring, either...which a lot of people seemed to predict in the offseason.

With 6 frosh and one other newbie only a soph, it’s going to take time for them to gel, grow and develop both individually and as a team. Tonight they showed some growth individually and collectively. All you can ask for. Hopefully it continues.

 

[bballbeadle]

We look like a reasonable team. I had extremely lowered expectations after those exhibition games. I am pleased.

 

[Orangezoo]

Weakest schedule in a long time this year is gonna help us. ACC not impressing tonight at all. Empire classic looks like St Johns is only decent team we could see as Richmond can't shoot and Temple lost to Wagner. Colgate looks tough.

Glad tonight was about depth and getting these guys ready. Point spread could have been 30 plus but wasn't the point.

JB had a long chat with Benny on the bench late. He needs to rebound and defend better. Right now he just has to play the game. Brown out played him tonight. Still hope he stays as a starter even if it's token.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Far too early to actually tell hot take:
Benny Williams will barely be in the rotation come ACC play

 

[rrlbees]

Weakest schedule in a long time this year is gonna help us. ACC not impressing tonight at all. Empire classic looks like St Johns is only decent team we could see as Richmond can't shoot and Temple lost to Wagner. Colgate looks tough.

Glad tonight was about depth and getting these guys ready. Point spread could have been 30 plus but wasn't the point.

JB had a long chat with Benny on the bench late. He needs to rebound and defend better. Right now he just has to play the game. Brown out played him tonight. Still hope he stays as a starter even if it's token.

I agree about Benny. We can’t lose him.

 

[CardiacCuse]

With 6 frosh and one other newbie only a soph, it’s going to take time for them to gel, grow and develop both individually and as a team. Tonight they showed some growth individually and collectively. All you can ask for. Hopefully it continues.

there's no way this is even close to the finished product...which is promising...

love that they played man...and that it worked pretty well...will make the zone even more dangerous imo...(switching to zone at key moments could be deadly)

although have to remind myself that it was lehigh...so gotta keep expectations from going too crazy

 

[Brooky03]

Promising

That’s the word that comes to mind.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Far too early to actually tell hot take:
Benny Williams will barely be in the rotation come ACC play

he's pressing and had a bad game...but he'll figure it out

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Nice to see an upgrade in athleticism over the past few years. Still raw, but the team hustles.

 

[Orangezoo]

I agree about Benny. We can’t lose him.

JB knows it too. The talk he had was not animated it was instructive. His jump shot is a year away still. His drive is there though. That and cutting is his offense.

 

[Scooch]

The team-wide improvement in athleticism was noticeable and has been missing for too long.

Love seeing us actually play man D. Let’s keep at it and keep mixing things up. It’ll pay off as the season progresses.

Lots of positives, and we had the game firmly in control for the last 30 minutes.

 

[tptcuse]

Lots of potential, but we need some three point shooting other than Joe. I think that will be our biggest issue over time. I hope Bell comes alive in that department. Benny is what he is, but hopefully he can just relax and play at some point.

 

[oTTo113445]

Can't remember the last time we had a Cuse team orientated around the mid or low post. Rak's near-one-man team not counting. This is going to be fun.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I’ll take a young athletic team that gets better over the last few years. They’re going to struggle at times but they’re all going to surprise.

 

[Orangefizz]

JB knows it too. The talk he had was not animated it was instructive. His jump shot is a year away still. His drive is there though. That and cutting is his offense.

Show Benny vintage Dennis Rodman highlights. Defense, rebounding, hustle will earn him time at PF.

 

[Jake]

Lots of good today. But it’s Lehigh…but nice to see the ball go in the hole for a couple of guys.

Not sure what to do about Benny. He’s got three games to figure it out. He looks soooooooo lost.

Brown is everything that Benny isn’t…in almost every aspect.

I think some threw dirt on a Judah a bit early no? Kid just needed to make a shot or two. We are going to need his scoring. He’s not going to be a 3-1 assist to TO kinda guy, but we will need his ability to beat people off the dribble in league play.
He has such a huge upside. This isn’t Jalen Carey. His handle is SOLID. And he distributed the ball just fine tonight.

Sy looks good. Don’t want him shooting too many 3s, but he doesn’t look bad shooting them. Love his effort on the defensive glass. We really missed that element recently.

So nice to be able to D up in man. It’s been 12 years since we played it as primary for a game right? At least. To be able to switch to zone is s great bonus.

Still think we’re going to struggle to score a bit but we have lot of people to rotate in. Someone will give us a spark.

The potential is there…need to figure out the forward spots. Might be best to get the best defender rebounders at those spots. Have a feeling Brown ends up on the court at crunch time at the 4.

Joe played great. Would take that kind of performance every night.

 

[jdubs30]

Overall I’d say positive, especially our big 3. They all have a different strengths, so they should be able to play off each other, and it showed tonight.

Other than them, we don’t have many other scoring options. We are going to need 30+ from Joe and Jesse every night just to be competitive, especially against good teams. I like Judah a lot but he will have games where he struggles to finish at the rim. But he gives us an threat we haven’t had in a while offensively.

I thought each of the freshman did things well. I think Taylor has the biggest chance to be the biggest impact guy other than Judah. He looks good athletically and is built well for a freshman. The shot is there too. Bell does have a nice stroke. I get why JB starts him, I think he wants the shooting threat in the starting 5.

Quadir will drive JB crazy, I think he’s going to see his minutes shrink as we get into ACC play. I think he will be a really good player and will end up doing so many things very well. But I don’t see JB playing more than 8 and with Joe/Judah/Sy there isn’t many minutes open in the guard spots. I think he’ll play a huge role next year.

By mid December, the Benny/Brown minute split at the 4 will be 20mpg each. Brown is the type of guy that will trust early, imo.


Overall I’d say I’m more optimistic than I was a week ago. We do have 10 guys we can play, which we haven’t had in a long time. We have a big, an elite shooter, and hopefully an elite shot creator (Mintz). I do question where the scoring will come from at times. But I think we’ll rebound and defend better than most people think.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

he's pressing and had a bad game...but he'll figure it out

He can be a role player who plays D and rebounds. He lacks very basic basketball skill on the offensive end. I have no preference as to who plays and who doesn’t. I’m not a “Benny guy”. I’m not NOT A “Benny guy” i just want what’s best for the team.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Can someone give me a player comparison for Maliq Brown? I can’t come up with a good comp. He’s very smooth, but not flashy. Maybe too early to tell. I’d love to see him put on another 20lbs of muscle.

 

[Jake]

Overall I’d say positive, especially our big 3. They all have a different strengths, so they should be able to play off each other, and it showed tonight.

Other than them, we don’t have many other scoring options. We are going to need 30+ from Joe and Jesse every night just to be competitive, especially against good teams. I like Judah a lot but he will have games where he struggles to finish at the rim. But he gives us an threat we haven’t had in a while offensively.

I thought each of the freshman did things well. I think Taylor has the biggest chance to be the biggest impact guy other than Judah. He looks good athletically and is built well for a freshman. The shot is there too. Bell does have a nice stroke. I get why JB starts him, I think he wants the shooting threat in the starting 5.

Quadir will drive JB crazy, I think he’s going to see his minutes shrink as we get into ACC play. I think he will be a really good player and will end up doing so many things very well. But I don’t see JB playing more than 8 and with Joe/Judah/Sy there isn’t many minutes open in the guard spots. I think he’ll play a huge role next year.

By mid December, the Benny/Brown minute split at the 4 will be 20mpg each. Brown is the type of guy that will trust early, imo.


Overall I’d say I’m more optimistic than I was a week ago. We do have 10 guys we can play, which we haven’t had in a long time. We have a big, an elite shooter, and hopefully an elite shot creator (Mintz). I do question where the scoring will come from at times. But I think we’ll rebound and defend better than most people think.

On Bell..JBs theory has always been “start the shooter” when it’s close. His feeling is that it’s soo much harder for shooters to get comfortable and impact a game coming off the bench. He just gives them a quick hook if they aren’t on.