Serious question has JB done a good job coaching this team this year?

[cliftonparksufan]

I woke up this morning with the exact opposite thought. Name a college basketball coach that has done more with less?

How can you say that the coaching hasn't made many in-game adjustments? Right after the Louisville game, a very good friend of mine -- VaTech grad -- texted me the following.. "How do you guys get teams to play like s to end games. It's crazy watching your games. Boeheim has always been known for his matchup 2-3 zone. You guys aren't a press team! Everytime Boeheim switches from zone to press, teams literally just crumble. Your press may be better than WVU's."

Under Boeheim, the Orange have never really had an offensive identity. Boeheim's offensive philosophy is heavy guard dependent. His offense needs a floor general type PG to create. The beautiful thing is that they've never needed an offensive identity. The defense is as strong now as it was 10-20 years ago. Honestly, given the run to the Final 4 last year and the way this season has played out, I wish Boeheim would change his mind about retiring. The game hasn't even come close to passing him by yet.

Great post. We are very lucky (and spolied) to be fans of Syracuse basketball.

 

[Flacusian]

All I know is that it has been an enormous task to stitch this team together when considering the fact we have 2 5th year transfers, a freshman, 2 sophmores pretty much all of whom had not played together prior to this season.

JB has done an outstanding job and anyone who would question the heart and ability of John Gillon would be sorely mistaken. We knew heading into this season that we would have some stinkers along the way... but this team has risen up and beaten 4 TOP 10 TEAMS !!!!!

Outstanding... simply outstanding. And by the way... they have provided us with some of the most memorable moments that are akin to some of the other wonderful moments that I have seen in the 45 years I've been a fan.

We can all be proud... really proud!

 

[Jack Hall]

The entire starting lineup has changed since game 1 of this season. White and Lydon changed positions from where they originally started. If this team went 11-2 or 12-1 in the non conference people wouldn't be B*tching about how bad we are. 9-7 in this conference with the teams we beat is a pretty good season.

You make a great point, its very interesting- JB said last night that this team doesnt lose when JG plays well. I really think the point JB was trying to make was pre ACC our record was an aberration because he hadnt made JG the man yet. It shows he has a lot of confidence in this present rotation when everyone is healthy.

I think obviously JB struggled quite a bit with his rotation heading into the ACC. But now that he has his optimal rotation set , he clearly has shown the game is no where near passing him by. Ie even in a slightly off season for JB (record wise) he still has 3 top ten wins with a good shot at a 4th on sat! Go Cuse

 

[br801]

I hate to say it...but I am really concerned about the ACC and NCAA Tourneys...Sure this team has beat Top 10 teams multiple times this year, but it has been at home...when they are away from the Dome they are a different team and seem to have a lot less confidence...maybe at neutral sites things will be different?

Well, the ACCT will be in Brooklyn, so the fan support there should help.

 

[HtownOrange]

It's easy to be a great coach when you have all the talent you can want. Real coaching (management) is the ability to take what you have and get more than the sum of the parts to obtain better results. Consider the injuries, lack of a PG, two 5th year guys who had to learn a new system, losses to the pros, etc. and JB really should be up for coach of the year, at least in the ACC.

As for the offensive identity of a JB team, there has been one constant, that tough D will create turnovers and JB believes in capitalizing on every turnover. The transition game is the quickest way to drive an opponent to fear, engage a home crowd, silence an away crowd. Every team that plays Syracuse knows they have to slow the game down. Kids have too much pride to not respond to he transition game, JB plays off of this as most coaches do not teach the kids to run the whole game. Syracuse teams are expected to run at any moment. Every opposing coach knows that Syracuse will get points in transition and feed off the energy.

Considering the injuries this team has endured, the lack of a true center, etc., just being in most of these games is a testament to JB's ability to coach. Winning some of the games shows why he is an elite coach. The Orange are not one dominant player or two outstanding players, they are good to very good players that are not yet developed, hadn't played as a team before this season, not playing their natural positions, etc. This is a team that JB can take a long ways in both the ACC and NCAA tourneys. We have not yet seen what can happen once they all click at the same time and these kids are starting to click, starting to peak - AT THE END OF THE SEASON! I am not saying they will win it all, but this is a team nobody wants in their bracket.

 

[Jack Hall]

I woke up this morning with the exact opposite thought. Name a college basketball coach that has done more with less?

How can you say that the coaching hasn't made many in-game adjustments? Right after the Louisville game, a very good friend of mine -- VaTech grad -- texted me the following.. "How do you guys get teams to play like s to end games. It's crazy watching your games. Boeheim has always been known for his matchup 2-3 zone. You guys aren't a press team! Everytime Boeheim switches from zone to press, teams literally just crumble. Your press may be better than WVU's."

Under Boeheim, the Orange have never really had an offensive identity. Boeheim's offensive philosophy is heavy guard dependent. His offense needs a floor general type PG to create. The beautiful thing is that they've never needed an offensive identity. The defense is as strong now as it was 10-20 years ago. Honestly, given the run to the Final 4 last year and the way this season has played out, I wish Boeheim would change his mind about retiring. The game hasn't even come close to passing him by yet.

Two great coaches last night. Cant wait to watch the game again to see some of their outstanding game adjustments. JB was very astute having our guards take over the game and having White as a decoy wasting Jones defense. Kennard and esp Allen had no ability to stop our guards from scoring and JB brilliantly exploited it.

Altho K also made a adjustment that imo almost won him the game. With ~min left and Battle had been going off, in the timeout K switched their best defender Jones off White and onto Battle. I thought it was brilliant. I really think the play was drawn up for Battle . Gillon looked completely confused when Jones had Battle blanketed And JG didnt notice that Kennard got switched to White, imo JG should have got it to White. But JG winded up driving it into no where and throwing up a very tough shot. Duke got ball back up 2. If they score there with less than min to go , SU is in a tough spot. But overall i thought JB might have slightly got the best of K last night, thxs to tremendous play from his guards!

 

[iommi]

I hate to say it...but I am really concerned about the ACC and NCAA Tourneys...Sure this team has beat Top 10 teams multiple times this year, but it has been at home...when they are away from the Dome they are a different team and seem to have a lot less confidence...maybe at neutral sites things will be different?

Yeah, I think it's a leadership void on the court. That's why G and Cooney were so important. At home they are buoyed by the crowd. We have had one neutral site game, the UConn game. That game may have had gone down to the wire but it was an awful game. One game is obviously not a big enough sample to know how we will play in a neutral arena, plus there were a ton of SU fans there.

The Barclays should be somewhat friendly and the arenas during the tourney will not be combative but will the team bring the name energy? That's my concern.

Two things on the confidence factor: if we win our first ACC tourney game, maybe that will spark us. We've never won one but outside of a few guys, most of our players won't be even thinking of that. We will see.

I just question the leadership issue. Maybe Gillon can be that guy, now that this is becoming his team.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I hate to say it...but I am really concerned about the ACC and NCAA Tourneys...Sure this team has beat Top 10 teams multiple times this year, but it has been at home...when they are away from the Dome they are a different team and seem to have a lot less confidence...maybe at neutral sites things will be different?

Heres the thing. Everyone stinks on the road this year. Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, and Louisville are the only ACC teams with a winning road record overall. Not sure what it is in conference play, but I would think I would remove UVA and Notre Dame from that list.

 

[Jack Hall]

It's easy to be a great coach when you have all the talent you can want. Real coaching (management) is the ability to take what you have and get more than the sum of the parts to obtain better results. Consider the injuries, lack of a PG, two 5th year guys who had to learn a new system, losses to the pros, etc. and JB really should be up for coach of the year, at least in the ACC.

As for the offensive identity of a JB team, there has been one constant, that tough D will create turnovers and JB believes in capitalizing on every turnover. The transition game is the quickest way to drive an opponent to fear, engage a home crowd, silence an away crowd. Every team that plays Syracuse knows they have to slow the game down. Kids have too much pride to not respond to he transition game, JB plays off of this as most coaches do not teach the kids to run the whole game. Syracuse teams are expected to run at any moment. Every opposing coach knows that Syracuse will get points in transition and feed off the energy.

Considering the injuries this team has endured, the lack of a true center, etc., just being in most of these games is a testament to JB's ability to coach. Winning some of the games shows why he is an elite coach. The Orange are not one dominant player or two outstanding players, they are good to very good players that are not yet developed, hadn't played as a team before this season, not playing their natural positions, etc. This is a team that JB can take a long ways in both the ACC and NCAA tourneys. We have not yet seen what can happen once they all click at the same time and these kids are starting to click, starting to peak - AT THE END OF THE SEASON! I am not saying they will win it all, but this is a team nobody wants in their bracket.

ACC tourney will be tough and the ncaas will be real tough if we are a 10-12 seed obviously. But our Center play has me excited. We havent had a guy like TT who could score down low since Rak, and not only can TL score down low too but TL and TT combined can be our best hilo post option since Arinze and Rick. You combine that with our ability to hit the 3 and drive it and this can be an outstanding offensive team. Now if the D could just get to the level of how they played in last years first four ncaa tourney games.....Go Cuse

 

[Jack Hall]

Yeah, I think it's a leadership void on the court. That's why G and Cooney were so important. At home they are buoyed by the crowd. We have had one neutral site game, the UConn game. That game may have had gone down to the wire but it was an awful game. One game is obviously not a big enough sample to know how we will play in a neutral arena, plus there were a ton of SU fans there.

The Barclays should be somewhat friendly and the arenas during the tourney will not be combative but will the team bring the name energy? That's my concern.

Two things on the confidence factor: if we win our first ACC tourney game, maybe that will spark us. We've never won one but outside of a few guys, most of our players won't be even thinking of that. We will see.

I just question the leadership issue. Maybe Gillon can be that guy, now that this is becoming his team.

Battle imo stepped up as a leader last night. He wanted it real real bad. Bodes well for next year. I agree with you , we need leadership to step up heading into post season. I was worried about same thing heading into post season in 2013 but MCW and Triche stepped up. Hopefully we see this team gel more heading into ACC tourney...

 

[Orangepace]

Great post. We are very lucky (and spolied) to be fans of Syracuse basketball.

One needn't look far to understand just how fortunate we are as Syracuse basketball fans. Everytime I feel myself starting to take it for granted, I just remember how great Syracuse football once was.

Jim Boeheim has given us basketball fans more than we ever could have bargained for. I hope that when he steps down, it's because he made a choice to move onto the next chapter of his life. Unfortunately, we may never truly know, but the timing of his announced retirement still feels like a horribly rash reaction to the NCAA penalties.

For the first 35 years of my life, the combination of Boeheim and Syracuse University has always assured me that come March, the Syracuse Orange are always relevant.

Ben Franklin said, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." It's unfortunate that he never had the pleasure of being a Syracuse basketball fan.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Heres the thing. Everyone stinks on the road this year. Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, and Louisville are the only ACC teams with a winning road record overall. Not sure what it is in conference play, but I would think I would remove UVA and Notre Dame from that list.

It's the stripes. It's always the stripes.

 

[iommi]

Heres the thing. Everyone stinks on the road this year. Notre Dame, UNC, UVA, and Louisville are the only ACC teams with a winning road record overall. Not sure what it is in conference play, but I would think I would remove UVA and Notre Dame from that list.

True but we have been REALLY bad on the road. It's not just losses, it's the team's demeanor on the road is so drastically different. Playing tighter away from home isn't unusual but we just look so lifeless.

 

[Cusefan0307]

True but we have been REALLY bad on the road. It's not just losses, it's the team's demeanor on the road is so drastically different. Playing tighter away from home isn't unusual but we just look so lifeless.

I mean earlier in the season I could see that, but our last 4 road games have been decided by 1-6 points... I don't think you can compare the team now to the team we saw in December and January. If we were playing as good as we are now then we probably have 20-22 wins and we are talking about seeding. Interesting you bring that up though. I wonder if Florida State's 3 basketball fans felt the same way when they were waxed by Tech and Pitt...or Virginia Tech when they were blown out by Virginia and NC State. I guess my point is, I don't think we are a unique situation. It has to be the hardest conference to win on the road maybe ever?

 

[iommi]

ACC tourney will be tough and the ncaas will be real tough if we are a 10-12 seed obviously. But our Center play has me excited. We havent had a guy like TT who could score down low since Rak, and not only can TL score down low too but TL and TT combined can be our best hilo post option since Arinze and Rick. You combine that with our ability to hit the 3 and drive it and this can be an outstanding offensive team. Now if the D could just get to the level of how they played in last years first four ncaa tourney games...Go Cuse

The center play has been great but our guards have to learn how to feed the post. It's a big issue.

 

[JOC44]

One of the traditional strengths of Syracuse basketball is that we know who we are and do what we do from the start, which usually leads to the team gelling and playing well very early (but improving less than some other teams as the season progresses because we start at a fairly high level). I think the coaching staff underestimated how long it would take 5th-year guys who are new to the program to adjust to what we do. And the coaches took a while to adjust to what the new guys could and couldn't do. JB is right when he describes his team as starting a sophomore and four new guys.

It's taken time, but I think JB now has the team figured out and that's a big reason why we are playing better. So sitting here today, I think he's doing a very good job with a very flawed team.

As a great man once said, "You know how Boeheim do sometimes."

 

[JOC44]

The center play has been great but our guards have to learn how to feed the post. It's a big issue.

Word. Lydon needs to be more assertive, but the guards are terrible at finding him when he's open.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Word. Lydon needs to be more assertive, but the guards are terrible at finding him when he's open.

The pass from Gillon to Lydon last night was a perfect example. Gillon had a bad angle, and ended up lobbing the ball up. The pass also caused Lydon to have to give up his post position to go out about 15 feet from the basket to catch the ball. So he ended up making a pass to Battle who was open I think. And then guys on here in the game thread were pointing to that as an example of why Lydon isn't aggressive enough.

 

[NineOneSeven]

The pass from Gillon to Lydon last night was a perfect example. Gillon had a bad angle, and ended up lobbing the ball up. The pass also caused Lydon to have to give up his post position to go out about 15 feet from the basket. So he ended up making a pass to Battle who was open I think. And then guys on here in the game thread were pointing to that as an example of why Lydon isn't aggressive enough.

People who don't understand the game well enough will say that.

 

[iommi]

I mean earlier in the season I could see that, but our last 4 road games have been decided by 1-6 points... I don't think you can compare the team now to the team we saw in December and January. If we were playing as good as we are now then we probably have 20-22 wins and we are talking about seeding. Interesting you bring that up though. I wonder if Florida State's 3 basketball fans felt the same way when they were waxed by Tech and Pitt...or Virginia Tech when they were blown out by Virginia and NC State. I guess my point is, I don't think we are a unique situation. It has to be the hardest conference to win on the road maybe ever?

Good post. That's a fair perspective. But losing close games doesn't give me tremendous confidence and anything short of winning won't give the team any. Winning on the road is tough, sure, but we won two road games in miraculous fashion. Like I said above, hopefully we win one in the ACC Tournament and getting that first one there will help.

 

[MSOrange]

The pass from Gillon to Lydon last night was a perfect example. Gillon had a bad angle, and ended up lobbing the ball up. The pass also caused Lydon to have to give up his post position to go out about 15 feet from the basket to catch the ball. So he ended up making a pass to Battle who was open I think. And then guys on here in the game thread were pointing to that as an example of why Lydon isn't aggressive enough.

Ah the game threads. Syracusefan.com insight at it's finest But you're right. I particularly watched Lydon last night to see how many times we missed getting the ball to him open.

 

[iommi]

Word. Lydon needs to be more assertive, but the guards are terrible at finding him when he's open.

Thompson has been gray offensively but his passing has fallen off a cliff. He made some brilliant passes earlier in the year. Lately, he's been good at throwing the ball to the photographers behind the basket. He has to remember the art of the bounce pass. He made some great ones in the non-conference.

Does anyone on our team know how to throw a simple bounce pass?

 

[iommi]

Ah the game threads. Syracusefan.com insight at it's finest But you're right. I particularly watched Lydon last night to see how many times we missed getting the ball to him open.

And what was the total? I'd set the over/ under at 10 passes.

 

[MSOrange]

And what was the total? I'd set the over/ under at 10 passes.

It wasn't really an official count. But I was just wanted to try to pay particular attention to how obvious the issue was and there were numerous times he was open. I'm not as good of an observer as some of you and can't notice so many things at once in a game. So I just wanted to particularly focus on that issue after so many had commented on it.

 

[RF2044]

I don't think that this is an easy question to answer, Alsacs. We can see the talent that this team has--clearly evidenced by beating three top 10 teams. So why did it take so long to gel? Why did JB go the route of starting the season with guys playing out of position at positions they weren't suited for, while better players were on the bench? Why hasn't the team defensive capabilities improved? Why are we so poor on the road [relatively speaking--obviously, playing on the road is more challenging than playing at home... but we're Jeckyl and Hyde]? How many blowout losses did we suffer against lesser opponents?

On the other hand, a lesser coach would have wilted, and allowed the team to fold like a pup tent. It is rare that you have a team struggle so much, and then play exponentially better in conference play--that almost never happens. And we have to credit JB for changing the lineup so dramatically and going with the players who give the team the best chance to win.

So--has he done a good job coaching this year? I think the answer is split. In some respects, he's done a tremendous job, but in other ways fallen short.