Preseason Practice...

[Orangezoo]

I understand everyone is excited about the guard depth and the duo of JJ/Judah. It could be the best backcourt in the ACC.

But honestly, unless Benny AND McLeod both take big steps, I can’t imagine us being “really good”. I think Maliq will take a step forward. But really those 3 are the guys we are counting on for size, physicality, rebounding, etc. Ideally all 3 play well (with a mix of Hima) and carve out their roles. The rest of our roster is basically guards; even if you call Bell a forward he’s an offensive guy - he isn’t going win battles down low with bigs for rebounds.

If Benny and/or McLeod struggle, it’s going to put a lot on Maliq - and there’s nothing else behind him.

I think the guards will be really good . But unless Benny and McLeod have big years, I think the ceiling is limited. Now that doesn’t mean we can’t make a run in March with great guard play - but we really need our bigs to be consistent

Westry , Quadir and Taylor are big guards. Many good teams are playing a guard heavy rotation with bigger guards playing at the 3 and even 4. Miami played small ball with quality guards and wings and a small ball 5 by being aggressive and playing with pace. Benny needs to improve , as do all the returning guys and and Naheem and Hima need to play their role and impact with their size when it's necessary.

We won't be playing through or over relying on any of our forwards or bigs. It's not a style of play we will likely be used to and thus there is this tendency to still presume we have such a reliance on the forward spots.

Benny needs to defend, hit open shots at a good clip and rebound. Naheem needs to finish lobs, block shots and rebound when it's his to get same as Hima. Brown for 20 mins at the 5 shouldn't be over taxing on him. Guys like Copeland and Taylor can play a 4th guard spot given their physicality if you need it. There will be ups and downs no doubt but the excessive skepticism is just as much a hangover and newness than anything.

 

[OmahaCuse]

Westry , Quadir and Taylor are big guards. Many good teams are playing a guard heavy rotation with bigger guards playing at the 3 and even 4. Miami played small ball with quality guards and wings and a small ball 5 by being aggressive and playing with pace. Benny needs to improve , as do all the returning guys and and Naheem and Hima need to play their role and impact with their size when it's necessary.

We won't be playing through or over relying on any of our forwards or bigs. It's not a style of play we will likely be used to and thus there is this tendency to still presume we have such a reliance on the forward spots.

Benny needs to defend, hit open shots at a good clip and rebound. Naheem needs to finish lobs, block shots and rebound when it's his to get same as Hima. Brown for 20 mins at the 5 shouldn't be over taxing on him. Guys like Copeland and Taylor can play a 4th guard spot given their physicality if you need it. There will be ups and downs no doubt but the excessive skepticism is just as much a hangover and newness than anything.

Would argue that Westry, QC and Taylor are small forwards in a M to M offense. Think they could guard a 6’7” forward no problem. If the other team has a 6’9”-6’10” forward we will need Benny or MB to play well. Otherwise think we will be fine on the boards. Biggest worry is the new M to M scheme and learning curve, switching, etc,,,Hope we play a bunch of junk defense w/ presses and mix it up. With the depth we can matchup on small ball, bigs, etc…

 

[RoysRunts]

Play like Pitino's Providence team's..

 

[Cusefan0307]

McLeod will be needed against big teams, but I think center minutes will be based on matchups. Brown is going to play the 5 a lot. No different than Miami playing Omier there last year.

I don’t think Bennys skill set is that much different from a few other guys on the team either. There’s really only two guys on this team that have safe minutes and that’s Mintz and Starling.

 

[Orangezoo]

Would argue that Westry, QC and Taylor are small forwards in a M to M offense. Think they could guard a 6’7” forward no problem. If the other team has a 6’9”-6’10” forward we will need Benny or MB to play well. Otherwise think we will be fine on the boards. Biggest worry is the new M to M scheme and learning curve, switching, etc,,,Hope we play a bunk of junk defense w/ presses and mix it up. With the depth we can matchup on small ball, bigs, etc…

Right. Which brings out the point of how important having so many guys that can get into the paint and make plays.

The defense will be disruptive at times and have its lapses as they keep working on the various elements of switching, communicating etc. The offense then needs to put pressure on the opponent which on paper Red has put together a good team to do that using pace and skills on the ball. It will be a balance that may lean on that individual skill especially early on.

 

[Orangezoo]

McLeod will be needed against big teams, but I think center minutes will be based on matchups. Brown is going to play the 5 a lot. No different than Miami playing Omier there last year.

I don’t think Bennys skill set is that much different from a few other guys on the team either. There’s really only two guys on this team that have safe minutes and that’s Mintz and Starling.

Exactly. 6 to 10 games where we will need that size for longer stretches of the game but most games we likely only need the Trees in there for 15 mins at most.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

In honor of George Costanza, I think it may have moved a bit after reading that article.

 

[bballbeadle]

In honor of George Costanza, I think it may have moved a bit after reading that article.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[orangefog]

I think Benny is going to show off his ability to pass more in the open floor this year. He is a really good passer.

 

[Orangezoo]

I think Benny is going to show off his ability to pass more in the open floor this year. He is a really good passer.

We saw glimpses last year and now in the scrimmage. If he is active and locked in he should be suited well to rebound in the mtm and be able to use the pass to start the the break for sure.

I mean for better or worse these kids want to get out and play and run like they do in EYBL. Development and structure is still key and a must to have discipline and execution on the court but as more than a few others besides JB have pointed out- things have changed and you have to organize and coach teams accordingly.

 

[pwong]

I think Benny is going to show off his ability to pass more in the open floor this year. He is a really good passer.

In HS, he was suppose to be this scoring forward who thrived in transition and could really pass. I expect him to thrive under Red’s offensive philosophy.

 

[orangefog]

We saw glimpses last year and now in the scrimmage. If he is active and locked in he should be suited well to rebound in the mtm and be able to use the pass to start the the break for sure.

I want to see him battle on the boards and sprint back on both offense and defense. I want to see everyone do that. Getting substituted for is not a punishment, it’s a reward for 100% effort. Sit down, catch your breath, get focused and get back out there to battle for another 10 minutes.

 

[Orangezoo]

I want to see him battle on the boards and sprint back on both offense and defense. I want to see everyone do that. Getting substituted for is not a punishment, it’s a reward for 100% effort. Sit down, catch your breath, get focused and get back out there to battle for another 10 minutes.

Absolutely.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We got some big dudes on this team!

 

[IthacaMatt]

We saw glimpses last year and now in the scrimmage. If he is active and locked in he should be suited well to rebound in the mtm and be able to use the pass to start the the break for sure.

I mean for better or worse these kids want to get out and play and run like they do in EYBL. Development and structure is still key and a must to have discipline and execution on the court but as more than a few others besides JB have pointed out- things have changed and you have to organize and coach teams accordingly.

I agree with this, but once you get to the NCAA tournament, you have to be able to execute in the half court once somebody slows down the game and makes it physical and ugly.

We ran into that many times in the early days of the Boeheim Reign - great athletes on the break; slow us down and we might have some trouble scoring (remember the year of Stevie Thompson at PG).

 

[Orangezoo]

I agree with this, but once you get to the NCAA tournament, you have to be able to execute in the half court once somebody slows down the game and makes it physical and ugly.

We ran into that many times in the early days of the Boeheim Reign - great athletes on the break; slow us down and we might have some trouble scoring (remember the year of Stevie Thompson at PG).

I mean this is somewhat true but we've seen even the tourney games where pace and getting up and down is key. Playmakers are still key in half court especially those that can create their own shot and for others. Dumping it into a big or a forward for iso is great if you have that guy... but as we have seen with other programs a trio of good guards can get it done in the halfcourt as well so long as there is a pure shooter and a big for the lob or pnr on the floor.

 

[Niastri]

I agree with this, but once you get to the NCAA tournament, you have to be able to execute in the half court once somebody slows down the game and makes it physical and ugly.

We ran into that many times in the early days of the Boeheim Reign - great athletes on the break; slow us down and we might have some trouble scoring (remember the year of Stevie Thompson at PG).

Having Mintz and Starling will make it very hard to get stops against us in the half court. Very few teams are going to have two defenders capable of staying in front of both of them.

Wherever the matchup is better, the pick and roll or even straight isolation is going to have to be double teamed, and it's going to be so hard to keep us from getting wide open threes for the forwards, or dump down passes to whomever is playing center.

This team is going to be very hard to defend, starting at point.

One of my niggling little fears about this team is the idea that coach Autry might feel the need to demonstrate how good of a coach he is and overcoach the team during games. There are going to be a ton of games this season where isolation or simple screen and drive plays with Mintz or Starling is going to be the right call. All game long.

 

[bballbeadle]

We got some big dudes on this team!

I know!

 

[kcsu]

Play like Pitino's Providence team's..

Play like Roys Runts

 

[sufandu]

I agree with this, but once you get to the NCAA tournament, you have to be able to execute in the half court once somebody slows down the game and makes it physical and ugly.

We ran into that many times in the early days of the Boeheim Reign - great athletes on the break; slow us down and we might have some trouble scoring (remember the year of Stevie Thompson at PG).

That's something to worry about after we're again consistently getting into the tourney without sweating out selection sunday.

 

[clayman32]

Holy smokes somebody get Naheem looser fitting pants

Now I understand why he’s smirking in most of the photos I’ve seen

 

[OrangeXtreme]

9. SYRACUSE: The Orange are the third ACC school in as many years to elevate an assistant and former program star to succeed a Hall of Fame coach. Unlike UNC’s Hubert Davis in 2021 and Duke’s Scheyer last year, Adrian Autry did not inherit a championship-caliber roster.

 

[Orangezoo]

9. SYRACUSE: The Orange are the third ACC school in as many years to elevate an assistant and former program star to succeed a Hall of Fame coach. Unlike UNC’s Hubert Davis in 2021 and Duke’s Scheyer last year, Adrian Autry did not inherit a championship-caliber roster.

Yawn. No he didn't he just took the time to build a much improved roster on paper.
Most all of these guys are lazy with their pre season rankings. Take the big names and recycle with maybe a dark horse or two you throw in. Honestly the only decent analysis both from using last year, this year and looking below the surface was the field of 68 guys. Otherwise it's people spending 10 minutes or less on 90 pct of the cbb programs and putting paragraph together.

I mean for one Clemson... nothing against Joe but they are close to the least athletic team in the conference not far from what we were the year before last.

 

[littlereg]

I’d *almost* rather listen to gottlieb talk about ACC hoops than any of these oldhead acc journalist