Postgame thoughts... Pitt (game 2)

[MikeSU02]

Some folks can blame Covid but it just looks exactly like a continuation of the past few seasons. What's happening that is all that different from last year? Just substitute a worse player at SF and it's the exact same season.

Everyone is dealing with COVID (to your point).

Sanctions, COVID, the vapors, rickets, scurvy, inflation, whatever... it's always something but never looking in the mirror.

 

[Alsacs]

Everyone is dealing with COVID (to your point).

Sanctions, COVID, the vapors, rickets, scurvy, inflation, whatever... it's always something but never looking in the mirror.

Bourama Sidibe is a loss but you would think he is Derrick Coleman with how it’s mentioned.
I mean the kid besides the injuries had foul trouble in a lot of games.

I really respect the poster who is being responded too but their isn’t any way to say Joe Girard is a decent defender.
He can be a weapon offensively if on but he is a terrible defender for the zone. The zone needs length at the top to be most effective. Just to cut down passing lanes.

It’s not the lateral speed.
We don’t have the personnel to effectively play the ideal Syracuse zone so we don’t switch things up a little?
Instead of the round peg in square hole??

 

[orangecuse]

Bourama Sidibe is a loss but you would think he is Derrick Coleman with how it’s mentioned.
I mean the kid besides the injuries had foul trouble in a lot of games.

I really respect the poster who is being responded too but their isn’t any way to say Joe Girard is a decent defender.
He can be a weapon offensively if on but he is a terrible defender for the zone. The zone needs length at the top to be most effective. Just to cut down passing lanes.

It’s not the lateral speed.
We don’t have the personnel to effectively play the ideal Syracuse zone so we don’t switch things up a little?
Instead of the round peg in square hole??

100%. Moreover, apparently UK, UNC & Duke not being ranked in the Top 25 has nothing/or very little to do with their current talent not even being in the same stratosphere as they typically are accustomed to.

COVID & Sidibe is convenient this year...next year it'll be something else. One thing is for sure though, the more things change the more they stay the same relative to SU hoops...7 seasons and counting now.

 

[MikeSU02]

Bourama Sidibe is a loss but you would think he is Derrick Coleman with how it’s mentioned.
I mean the kid besides the injuries had foul trouble in a lot of games.

I really respect the poster who is being responded too but their isn’t any way to say Joe Girard is a decent defender.
He can be a weapon offensively if on but he is a terrible defender for the zone. The zone needs length at the top to be most effective. Just to cut down passing lanes.

It’s not the lateral speed.
We don’t have the personnel to effectively play the ideal Syracuse zone so we don’t switch things up a little?
Instead of the round peg in square hole??

I agree with all your points.

The other things I'd say is:

1) Everyone is going through this pandemic. Everyone. Some teams much worse than us. We aren't special in that way. Also, the zone defense thing doesn't make it worse for us. Teams don't play M2M like they did in the 50s. There is a lot of complexities to the variations (to put it mildly). It is just as complex from a mental standpoint and is more physically demanding.

2) To your point about Sid, the larger picture is that we aren't close to where we need to be for recruiting to be able to compete at the top level of the ACC year in and year out. Benny Williams is a good start and Kadary should make a nice jump, but we have serious lack of guard depth, no center and we just need a total raise in talent level.

We aren't some special team where COVID struck us 10x harder than everyone else.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Everyone is dealing with COVID (to your point).

Sanctions, COVID, the vapors, rickets, scurvy, inflation, whatever... it's always something but never looking in the mirror.

Yeah Sidibe is clearly a loss. But again... these things happen. He would absolutely help us out, but it’s not the only thing missing. Both can be true.

 

[CuseCPT]

For argument's sake, let's say that the COVID situation impacted us harder than most other teams because of lack of practice time to work on the zone...well let's just say that begs a very obvious question.

 

[chugg21]

For argument's sake, let's say that the COVID situation impacted us harder than most other teams because of lack of practice time to work on the zone...well let's just say that begs a very obvious question.

That question may not be asked sir. Also we have 4 guys starting that have played an avg of over 1000 mins of only zone defense in their career so I suppose Griffin is at-fault then for all of the defensive issues.