Reality Check

[Flacusian]

Although I can say I'm not entirely surprised by what we've seen tonight it 's still somewhat alarming. It's only one game but we really got hammered in every aspect of the game. It's evident that they have an enormous amount of work to do before they can be called a good team.

Perhaps most alarming is the complete ineffectiveness of the defense. That has always been the stalwart backbone of the team. Great defense can allow you to win with less than stellar offensive output. But this team tonight played defense as poorly as I've ever seen a Syracuse team play. That is cause for concern.

Sometimes a thorough shellacking can be a great motivator for a team to use as a catalyst to initiate improvement. I think JB will have everyone's attention moving forward. We'll see how they respond tomorrow night. There certainly is a lot of talent. It's just inexperienced and is going to take time to develop into the kind of team we are accustomed to seeing. I'm confident that they will build off of this loss and will be a very good team before years end.

 

[wallacecuse]

Although I can say I'm not entirely surprised by what we've seen tonight it 's still somewhat alarming. It's only one game but we really got hammered in every aspect of the game. It's evident that they have an enormous amount of work to do before they can be called a good team.

Perhaps most alarming is the complete ineffectiveness of the defense. That has always been the stalwart backbone of the team. Great defense can allow you to win with less than stellar offensive output. But this team tonight played defense as poorly as I've ever seen a Syracuse team play. That is cause for concern.

Sometimes a thorough shellacking can be a great motivator for a team to use as a catalyst to initiate improvement. I think JB will have everyone's attention moving forward. We'll see how they respond tomorrow night.

The D crumbled once Cal made 3 s...they lost confidence and the fundamentals broke down.

 

[AZOrange]

The D crumbled once Cal made 3 s...they lost confidence and the fundamentals broke down.

Roberson is totally lost out there. It's bad.

 

[Shark58]

For D, our 's are young/inexperienced. When they get with the program our D will tighten up. Thats why Cal got so many open wing looks tonight.

This game wasn't the end of the world and we aren't a 25-0, top ranked juggernaut either.

Hopefully the team will use this and grow. Otherwise it will get real ugly when we are playing teams better than the preseason #7 in the Pac#

 

[AZOrange]

For D, our 's are young/inexperienced. When they get with the program our D will tighten up. Thats why Cal got so many open wing looks tonight.

This game wasn't the end of the world and we aren't a 25-0, top ranked juggernaut either.

Hopefully the team will use this and grow. Otherwise it will get real ugly when we are playing teams better than the preseason #7 in the Pac#

Cal will finish much higher than that...

 

[orangejunkie]

Will be interesting to see how they respond in their next game.

 

[zyron]

This game wasn't the end of the world and we aren't a 25-0

So, you're saying, I don't get to buy a T-shirt?

 

[Shark58]

Cal will finish much higher than that...

Don't know how the Pac stacks, but Cal looks like far from a weak sister. If they are a 6+ Pac team, we are really bad.

 

[orangefan13]

Not a offensive team not a defensive team, almost impossible to build momentum in that case.
Cal shot really well on top of it = 15-20 point win.

We have level headed kids, I would expect them to come out confident towmorrow and try to play our game.

 

[Shark58]

So, you're saying, I don't get to buy a T-shirt?

there can always be a T-Shirt

always

 

[AZOrange]

Don't know how the Pac stacks, but Cal looks like far from a weak sister. If they are a 6+ Pac team, we are really bad.

They could win the PAC 12. Arizona is the pride, but cal is right there.

 

[Shark58]

They could win the PAC 12. Arizona is the pride, but cal is right there.

so you're saying that they could get right back in this thing?

 

[JJReddawg]

there can always be a T-Shirt

always

I can see the "Don't Let Duke Blow Us Out" shirts now...

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

Personally I'm not surprised how well Cal was able to score; they have shown good offensive aptitude in their games so far. On the other side, our offense has been struggling for some time. This is not really a surprise to me as JB likes to run a few plays that highlight certain players, and the problem is that we don't have a consistent scorer. As consistent as CJ was last year, he struggled down the stretch and it hurt us. Like many of you, I was hopeful that Cooney, TR and BJ would provide some consistent shooting but they have struggled.

This team will only go as far as the young players develop throughout the course of the season. And Chris and Joseph will improve. I hope that TR and BJ also improve but there but I'm not sure how much they will. The one player that I really hoped would be consistent is Cooney but he's really struggling with his shot.

I was pretty pleased with Mike G though, glad to see him play more aggressively and with more confidence. I hope this provides the leadership that this team really needs.

Part of some of the disappointment on this board is that we've been spoiled by the past few teams where we just reloaded and incoming players were better than expected. This year will probably follow a different script, but it could be a good one if the players see where they need to improve and get there. I think the D will get there, the players just need experience to play this zone together.

I'm still pretty excited to watch MG, CM and KJ continue to develop. If TR, BJ, TC, and others improve then I'll just be happier with the season.

 

[Nicknack]

I say -that.

Threads like this and the other thread about how this is going to be a looooong year blow (in my humble opinion as an SU fan). What the hell did you truly expect?

Yeah, I was thinking we would win the game (being a homer that I am) but realistically, come on now - this is a team that is trying to find its way with brand new parts.

The big problem I have with reactions like these now is that so many posts have been made in the past whcih have commended other teams for going through their early struggles to find their team and flow and we never seem to do so. We seem to always get a jump start and then take a nose dive. Well... here we are in a situation we aren't use to experiencing. However, we have massive talent and I still firmly believe that this team could find itself and do some very good things once it finds itself.

Sheeeesh... give the guys, coaches and team a break. This is the third -in game of the season with ridiculously new players but ones that are VERY good.