Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="dcw914, post: 4413808, member: 6001"] I try and not put too much stock in exhibition games nor pre-season claims from JB. But the second half of yesterday's game was interesting because basically JB was basically playing to win, evidenced by his tighter rotation. Trying to keep it brief but my big takeaways: [LIST] [*]Might Quadir be too talented a playmaker to leave off the court? Small sample size and this is the ultimate potential overreaction but he looked way more ready to contribute than I think most of us thought. JT and Bell were presumed to be the freshman who would earn most of the minutes at the wing spot but Quadir's versatility just may make him a viable option there in addition to the top of the zone as well. On a young team with a lot of unknowns like this, the more playmakers the better and Q certainly showed he can make a lot happen on the offensive end. Additionally, he was physical, disruptive, and also rebounded the ball exceptionally well. If he can be that kind of player consistently, I'm hopeful JB will find a good chunk of minutes for him (his postgame comments also made me cautiously optimistic). [*]Benny is 100% the biggest swing factor for this team. He's still an enigma to me. If he plays like he did the first 10 minutes, I don't see us winning many games. If he can play like he did with energy and confidence though, we'll be a lot better positioned. He has the tools, we've seen it, he just has to play with aggression and move without the ball better. [*]Not worried about Jesse or Joe. I actually didn't think Joe was bad as some have said here. He is adjusting to a new role with new players too and will be more reliant on his teammates to get him the ball. Yea he struggled in the first half but who didn't? I saw a more sound and sharp flow to his game which will lead to better shots in the long run. Jesse will be fine, despite a good bit of passivity in this one. I think JBs comments postgame come from a standpoint of acknowledging that they need him to be close to elite for us this year, which i think most would agree he has the potential to be. [*]As for the other guys quickly... [LIST] [*]Judah is special. He just seems more than ready for this stage. I'm sure he'll have games where he struggles to shoot the ball but he's going to make a lot of plays for us. The key for him will be limiting turnovers. [*]JT I think makes an ideal 6th man on this team. Was really surprised he didn't get more minutes in the second half. I think he will wind up being a really really good college player down the road. [*]The question is obvious for Chris Bell... if he isn't shooting well, what can he do to help us? Definitely need to see more of him. I did like that he kept shooting and made a couple other hustle plays. Fwiw, JB really seems to like him based on him starting and comments made pre-season and post-game. [*]Give me Maliq over Mounir as the back up 5. I'll take the strength, toughness, better rebounding, and better skill around the basket over Mounir's length. He'll take time but he's the exact kind of player we haven't had since joining the ACC. [*]I find it hard to believe that Symir won't be part of this team's rotation. JB is very loyal to his upperclassman and Symir is a known commodity. He'll be a stable presence with just about any group on the floor as long as he isn't expected to score. [/LIST] [/LIST] This is a fun time of year to speculate and envision what this team could be, especially with such a young group. I 100% agree with you AZOrange that this team will struggle against better competition. I think we have enough pieces and overall depth to stay competitive in ACC play but not sure we have quite enough to win the games we'll need to in order to get to the tournament. Hopefully this team solidifies their understanding of eachother and figures out how to win games during a pretty weak non-conference slate. Time will tell, but I'm excited to watch this group one way or another. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?