Rothstein on Rak...

[reedny]

People complained about Gmac more

They did, but in GMAC's later career (esp his last year), he was the focus of the opponent's defense every night. Big difference ... most teams were daring Scoop to shoot.

 

[orangefan13]

Scoop shot 39%, 35.7%, and 38% from three his last three years as a Point guard. We should be pretty happy.

 

[Gabjon]

They did, but in GMAC's later career (esp his last year), he was the focus of the opponent's defense every night. Big difference ... most teams were daring Scoop to shoot.

Gmac got a NC and BYU game pass and deservedly so but from the Vermont game on he was killed!

 

[CaliCuse]

R

If this is true, I think it's the biggest development of the offseason for us...

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein
Word out of Syracuse is that Rakeem Christmas will make a "Fab Melo" type jump from freshman to sophomore year. Big things ahead.

emarkably coincidental in that i was just about ready to post a ? about him. Actually it included the position he might be preparing for a quality 4 or an emergency 5 . Either way he needs work and it appears to be happening. Should be interesting I hope he isn't the only one jacking his body and game. CJ and Moose as well as Williams could stand work for this level.SUball

 

[edowd26]

R
emarkably coincidental in that i was just about ready to post a ? about him. Actually it included the position he might be preparing for a quality 4 or an emergency 5 . Either way he needs work and it appears to be happening. Should be interesting I hope he isn't the only one jacking his body and game. CJ and Moose as well as Williams could stand work for this level.SUball

Williams? As in Sean Williams? The dude who's been gone since pterodactyl's (you see what I did there? His nickname... Boom) have been extinct

 

[moqui]

Williams? As in Sean Williams? The dude who's been gone since pterodactyl's (you see what I did there? His nickname... Boom) have been extinct

MCW

 

[edowd26]

MCW

I should be shot directly in the face.

 

[reedny]

Gmac got a NC and BYU game pass and deservedly so but from the Vermont game on he was killed!

No doubt. Teams aren't stupid -- they knew he made a half dozen 3's in the title game. So the secret was effectively out on him -- and in some of his later years we lacked inside balance so teams cheated out on the perimter. By contrast, I doubt that Scoop was ever a special defensive target as an outside shooting threat.

 

[OttoMets]

No doubt. Teams aren't stupid -- they knew he made a half dozen 3's in the title game. So the secret was effectively out on him -- and we had no one else who could really draw pressure on the perimter. By contrast, Scoop was not a defensive target as an outside shooting threat.

Then isn't it odd that his shooting percentage jumped by 3% in his sophomore year (after the strong first half in the national championship game)? Seems that McNamara's shooting percentage would, by that logic, have been highest during the season when he was paired with Anthony and Duany on the perimeter (and before the secret was out on his shooting ability).

 

[MCC]

I think Coleman will have a better face-up game than Rak this year and I'm not sure Warrick counts as a big if he does he's the smallest big in the last 20yrs.

You could argue size is relatively irrelevant if we're referring to a post-up game (i.e. footwork and fakes, etc.). Hak was ~6'8" but his vert and time to get up were ridiculous, thus he may as well have been 6'11". Remember Adrian Dantley? 6'5" but scored inside against the NBAs best and drew a boatload of and-ones.

I'll refer to Bilas: "It's not how tall, it's how long..."

That said, I agree DC2 will be light years ahead of RC WRT: post-up game. All indicators suggest DC2 has the footwork and body control to be our "I get buckets!" guy (cue Gus Johnson).

 

[orangefan13]

Gerry averaged 8.3 three pointers per game over 4 years.
Scoop averaged 2.3 three pointers per game over 4 years.

By comparison if you took the formula
Gerrys 8.3 minus Scoops 2.3 you still would have a bigger number then Devendorfs 5.8 as a 4th year junior.

DC2 also puts the ball on the floor well. Keita and Rak were nowhere near him last I saw.

 

[edowd26]

I just noticed your signature... That is ridiculously hilarious. Cuse basketball players walking on water with Jesus. Epic.

 

[orangefan13]

I just noticed your signature... That is ridiculously hilarious. Cuse basketball players walking on water with Jesus. Epic.

Thanks, spent about 5 hours on that one with regular windows paint.
Dajuan will take you left right cross you over. He likes going left.
He might have a better dribbling offhand then James and CJ even.

 

[reedny]

Then isn't it odd that his shooting percentage jumped by 3% in his sophomore year (after the strong first half in the national championship game)? Seems that McNamara's shooting percentage would, by that logic, have been highest during the season when he was paired with Anthony and Duany on the perimeter (and before the secret was out on his shooting ability).

It's true that his 3pt percentage went up slightly the second year, but after that it was a downward trajectory. The link below is a useful tool to compare his year-by-year performances (you can input variables to compare). Notice, for example, that in his final two years, he was taking over 300 3pt attempts -- that's at least 1 more outside shot every game from soph year to junior year. This stat confirms what I remember: that we needed him to score because others were not. The same factor (lack of offensive balance) also explains the added defensive focus he was getting and might account for his declining percentage.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/syracuse/gerry-mcnamara plusminus=1&per_game=1&tslug=syracuse&tempo_neutral=1&game_type=1&totals=1&pslug=gerry-mcnamara&chart1=threefg_dist_pct&chart2=threefg_attempted&chart3=threefg_made

 

[Gabjon]

It's true that his 3pt percentage went up slightly the second year, but after that it was a downward trajectory. The link below is a useful tool to compare his year-by-year performances (you can input variables to compare). Notice, for example, that in his final two years, he was taking over 300 3pt attempts -- more than 1 more shot per game from soph year to junior year. This suggests to me that we needed him to score because others were not -- this (lack of offensive balance) explains the added defensive focus he was getting and might partly explain his declining percentage.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/syracuse/gerry-mcnamara plusminus=1&per_game=1&tslug=syracuse&tempo_neutral=1&game_type=1&totals=1&pslug=gerry-mcnamara&chart1=threefg_dist_pct&chart2=threefg_attempted&chart3=threefg_made

His shooting percentage dropped because Billy E. left the team and Gmac had to be the full time PG. Billy made the game easier for everyone else that was his greatest trait.

 

[OttoMets]

It's true that his 3pt percentage went up slightly the second year, but after that it was a downward trajectory. The link below is pretty cooly to compare all his stats (you can input variables to compare). Notice, for example, that in his final two years, he was taking over 300 3pt attempts. This suggests to me that we needed him to score because others were not -- this (lack of offensive balance) explains the added defensive focus he was getting and might partly explain his declining percentage.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/syracuse/gerry-mcnamara?plusminus=1&per_game=1&tslug=syracuse&tempo_neutral=1&game_type=1&totals=1&pslug=gerry-mcnamara&chart1=threefg_dist_pct&chart2=threefg_attempted&chart3=threefg_made[/quote]

I agree that the defensive focus increased, the lack of good options (especially once Edelin left) led to McNamara's green light being increased, and it's also pretty likely that his injuries were worse than he let on. Each of those helps the 2004-2006 slide.

I'd argue that his career average is representative of his shooting ability, too (evidenced both by his freshman year percentage in a balanced offense and just watching his shooting for four years), but that's neither here nor there.[/quote]

 

[reedny]

His shooting percentage dropped because Billy E. left the team and Gmac had to be the full time PG. Billy made the game easier for everyone else that was his greatest trait.

Offensive balance .. yes. Others were not scoring so Gmac took more of the load, and as he did that he got more defensive pressure and made a lower percentage of his attempts.

 

[reedny]

I agree that the defensive focus increased, the lack of good options (especially once Edelin left) led to McNamara's green light being increased, and it's also pretty likely that his injuries were worse than he let on. Each of those helps the 2004-2006 slide.

I'd argue that his career average is representative of his shooting ability, too (evidenced both by his freshman year percentage in a balanced offense and just watching his shooting for four years), but that's neither here nor there.

[/quote]

You got ahead of my typo edits, but I agree his injuries started nagging -- and as Gab said, after Eidelin left we didn't have enough firepower to spread out the scoring and Gerry had to bring the ball up and play point instead of his bread and butter (catch 'n shoot). Nichols was on the roster but he didn't really start becoming an outside bomber until the year after Gmac graduated. And the TRob - Mookie tandem just wasn't producing enough points inside to take the pressure off Gmac.

As far as his shooting ability declining, I'm not sure about that (except possibly for injuires hampering his shot). More likely, being the 'man' on offense drew pressure and resulted in more contested shots and fewer made baskets. That's part of the game... but it doesn't mean that his ability to make open shots degraded (IMO).

 

[Gabjon]

Offensive balance .. yes. Others were not scoring so Gmac took more of the load, and as he did that he got more defensive pressure and made a lower percentage of his attempts.

It also reduced Gmac's catch and shoot game Billy's lost was huge! Josh Wright would have never made the rotation that would have been an extra 4-5 wins a year right there.

 

[OttoMets]

...

As far as his shooting ability declining, I'm not sure about that (except possibly for injuires hampering his shot). More likely, being the 'man' on offense drew pressure and resulted in more contested shots and fewer made baskets. That's part of the game... but it doesn't mean that his ability to make open shots degraded (IMO).[/quote]

No, I agree (didn't make myself clear). I just think he was a ~35% shooter all along; his clutch makes and significant volume gave rise to a legend that he was a great shooter. But injuries certainly cost him productivity, both inside and beyond the arc. The beating he took at Seton Hall in '03-'04 did him no favors. And the departure of Edelin, the inability of the '07s to step up, and (hope this doesn't reignite the firestorm) his coach's insistence on force-feeding him shots in 2006, to the exclusion of Devendorf and Nichols, all conspired to hurt his percentage and productivity.

 

[OttoMets]

It also reduced Gmac's catch and shoot game Billy's lost was huge! Josh Wright would have never made the rotation that would have been an extra 4-5 wins a year right there.

That's not such a wild claim - a full-time Edelin very possibly would have meant 15 more wins from 2004 to 2006 (I've gone through and counted the possibilities).

I wouldn't say that Wright wouldn't have made the rotation, though - perhaps he just would've developed better on a better team. Funny that he was considered every bit as desirable (by Syracuse, at least), as Price and Lowry.

 

[br801]

Thanks, spent about 5 hours on that one with regular windows paint.

Not that your body of work wasn't already strong, but this tidbit alone makes you a flat out legend, orangefan13.

 

[Gabjon]

That's not such a wild claim - a full-time Edelin very possibly would have meant 15 more wins from 2004 to 2006 (I've gone through and counted the possibilities).

I wouldn't say that Wright wouldn't have made the rotation, though - perhaps he just would've developed better on a better team. Funny that he was considered every bit as desirable (by Syracuse, at least), as Price and Lowry.

He was athletically on there level but his bball IQ is the lowest of any SU player I can recall. Playing should have helped his development like it did for Jonny, J Hart, etc... but never showed a hint of understanding how to run a team.

 

[bevosu]

I'll admit that I thought Wright was going to be a very good college point guard when we recruited him (upstate bias).

His inability to show any consistency on the court baffled me. He seemed mentally confused or uneasy when he had a chance to play. I was surprised that he never seemed to get his game together. I thought he had some physical skills, but...

 

[edowd26]

I'll admit that I thought Wright was going to be a very good college point guard when we recruited him (upstate bias).

His inability to show any consistency on the court baffled me. He seemed mentally confused or uneasy when he had a chance to play. I was surprised that he never seemed to get his game together. I thought he had some physical skills, but...