Preseason Practice... | Page 15 | Syracusefan.com

Preseason Practice...

No.

Yeah, let's not go back and do magical thinking.

Let's keep things like this:
  • Last year was awful and we can agree to that.
  • Buddy played well in his role and got all acc honors.
  • JB got to coach his kids.
  • JGIII improved his shooting.
  • Jesse really came on as a force.
Let's move forward. Let's build off the good things from last year and see how this new influx of young guys combined with the vets do.

Last year is over. It was bad. There were some highlights, but overall it was bad and that team was extremely limited in talent and strategy, relative to where we've been in the past.

Root for Buddy and Cole to stick playing pro ball and get shots in the NBA, remember the good moments, but that team wasn't making any sort of run. Not with that defense and not with that strategy on O as it pertains to one and done tourneys.
 
Agreed. But I just can't help but wonder what would have happened in last year's ACC tourney if Buddy had not lost his composure and got suspended for the Duke game.

JB's teams generally come on strong late in the season, when teams don't have time to prepare for the zone. Last year was no exception. We blew out a decent FSU team, and almost won the Duke game even without Buddy. If we had won the ACC tourney, and got the NCAA invite, there's no telling what may have happened.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
My hot take is that we would have lost worse if Buddy played. And I'm not a Buddy hater - he was very important and I liked him. He saved us a number of times and he made a lot of tough shots. But against Duke we needed better athleticism, especially on defense. That's what it takes against a team like Duke - see for example Benny in the regular season. Symir provided that athleticism upgrade. And Joe, Jimmy etc. picked up the slack on offense that game - they played ferocious in part for Buddy's sake. I guess we'll never know.
 

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