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Message: [QUOTE="Ceerqqq, post: 2722684, member: 6702"] I guess I see things differently. Will we see [I]that [/I]kind of improvement in team offense? One person's hunch is as good as another's hunch at this point. Except those, of course, whose hunches are based on watching these guys practice every day, which is where we are getting all of this reported optimism re: [I]that [/I]kind of improvement in this year's team. Those who are cautious by nature---who like to temper their hopes so as to avoid/prevent disappointment in the future---are quite right to hold back on the optimism at this point, simply cuz [I]they ain't seen nothing yet[/I]. But I must confess that I don't find it all that hard to 'expect' [I]that [/I]type of improvement, based on what we've been hearing repeatedly from various sources. When JB says he's seen significant improvement in Tyus Battle's game, it registers as one of the keys to generating [I]that [/I]kind of improvement in the team's offensive performance over last year. The reports we've heard that Frank has been 'lights out' from 3-pt range over the summer suggests yet another source of significant improvement in the team's offensive performance. We have been consistently hearing for many months that Hughes can bury the three as well as anyone on the team...another indicator of significant improvement. And Carey's reputation as an offensive force has been validated by recent reports from practice. After the improvement we witnessed last year in the offensive performances of our freshmen forwards [I]over the course of the season[/I], it's actually hard to [I]not [/I]expect to see more of the same kind of improvement this year. Even the reports on Pascal have been encouraging. And I don't think there's anyone who doesn't think that a healthy Bourama Sidibe would significantly help the team's offensive capabilities. But there's one thing Jake said in particular makes me think there is good reason to expect more scoring from this year's team: the fact that the coaching staff wants to run more. It's not just that we have a new infusion of offensive talent, though that is surely part of it. Boeheim was trying to manage a crisis last year---a depleted bench---and did a pretty good job of it, though it meant deliberately using the entire shot clock on offense to shorten the game. Without that concern this year, I expect this year's team will dedicate itself to forcing turnovers at a higher rate this year, which if successful, will provide many more transition scoring opportunities. Put all those factors together and I think we'll see those extra 10+ points per game, and the reason why the coaching staff is now thinking that this year's team may be able to duplicate the achievements of that wonderful 2010 team back in the day. So I give myself permission to be [I]that[/I] optimistic about this year's team, even though it is based only on grapevine reports. Unknown unknowns---like injuries---could dash those hopes, but unless and until those kinds of disasters happen, I'm firmly in the camp of those who expect to see Syracuse in the Top Ten most of the year, slugging it out with Duke/Virginia/N. Carolina for domination of the ACC... [/QUOTE]

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