Flacusian
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Certainly there have been some challenging issues which the program has been faced with in the past several seasons and the fact that we have recently been to two final fours has been something that many have pointed to as being emblematic of the state of the program...
but I don't think anyone saw this coming. The players which have taken to the floor this season unarguably are talented and the fact that many had not played together made it reasonable to expect that there would be some growing pains early on.
We've seen two disparate teams so far this season. There have been games, albeit against lesser competition, where they looked like they were going to run people off the floor. And then we have seen another team which looks hopelessly lost on both offense and defense and most alarmingly seem to play with no intensity, cohesion, pride, and desire.
Conspicuously missing has been any esprit d' corp. The sullen faces of many of the players, I'm looking at you Frank Howard, Tyus Battle, Tyler Roberson...tells a story of a team which is grappling with some issue which is causing dissension. Only time will tell and perhaps we will never have the opportunity to be privy to what is really going on within the team. But there can be no mistake that there is something which is having a profound impact on both the players individually and the team as a whole.
It's incumbent upon the head coach and his staff to foster an atmosphere of unity and cohesiveness which nurtures the team as a whole and promotes the growth of each individual player. Tyler Roberson may serve as a clue and representative of what is going on. The book on Roberson has been that his career has been laced with inconsistency and you never knew which Tyler would show up. Anyone who has followed the program has seen the type of impact he can have when he is motivated and at the top of his game. After 4 years it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect personal growth from a player and have them find a way to be that "on" player. Outwardly, Roberson appears to be broken, and like Kaleb Joseph, a promising player who's confidence, completely shattered, simply cannot play at the level they are capable of. Frank Howard seems to suffering from the same malady.
Of all the kids I feel the most for Roberson. I recall the first interview of him which posted shortly after he had committed. I was struck by how soft spoken and unsure of himself that he appeared, almost like he was overwrought with social anxiety. I'm no psychologist but I don't think it's a stretch to say that a kid like that needs to be handled in a way different from say Rakeem Christmas or CJ Fair. It seems to me that the public way that JB humiliated him with the things he said during a presser last year IS NOT THE WAY to bring out the best in a player like Tyler Roberson. My take is that JB has lost Roberson and that's what we are seeing in him this season.
There's also much to be said about going out an recruiting mercenaries to help the program but giving preferential treatment to guys who are just passing through in a attempt to promote themselves on a big stage can wreak havoc with those kids who committed to come here and have dedicated their entire college career to the Syracuse program.
And lastly, Over the past 40 years I've seen the callous way that JB can be and there have been many times where I've cringed as he has attacked people during pressers and been totally disrespectful to people just because they asked a question. No need for that. I am keenly aware that he has done an incredible amount of charitable work and has a side that frankly, many do not see or know about. But JB, like all of us has come character defects and certainly has room for improvement as far as filtering some of the things that he says. Sometimes when you say things under the guise of just "telling it like it is" it can be hurtful and antithetical to those ends which you purport to achieve.
Certainly he has achieved much and is legendary in terms of the development of the zone defense, the longevity of his career, his body of charitable work on both the local and National level. But he has also because of his own actions put the program under sanctions from the NCAA twice and drawn criticism to himself and the program. His tenacity and what some would call stubbornness have been the things he has used to his advantage throughout his coaching career but there is an associated cost. Perhaps we are seeing that cost with this team. The college game has changed in all aspects of the game. Recruiting, schemes on both offense and defense. JB for the most part has not changed. He is who he is and what you see is what you get with JB. The fact that he refuses to play any M2M at all is illustrative of how dug in he is to sticking to his guns with what has been successful for him historically.
The fact that our storied program is having trouble attracting top 50 players to come here to play is a serious harbinger of a program heading into decline. Part of the reason that Cal has been able to recruit top talent where ever he has been is the fact that he has charisma and personality which inspires kids to what to come play for him. JB's curmudgeon persona is not the type of thing that kids in 2017 can relate to.
I'm incredibly grateful for all that JB has done in building our program form a regional power to an elite National Power renowned for 4 decades as possessing the most perplexing defense in the land. But I am deeply concerned that there is something currently keeping this team form coalescing into a unified team and that we are headed towards what will be a disastrous season which will be an embarrassment to all who have bled Orange for their entire lives.
JB stating " This is on me"... is encouraging if there is going to be any chance at all to salvage this season. The team that we saw yesterday will get decimated by ACC competition and it will be ugly and embarrassing. He has surrounded himself with a staff that are all homegrown Syracuse former players who do not have any outside cultivation and likely never question JB's judgement. It's almost like a herd with a stale gene pool which becomes susceptible to decline. JB has always said that he would turn turn the reins over when the day came that he felt that he didn't have the fire to coach anymore. The coach we saw yesterday at that press conference looks very much like the guy he described.
but I don't think anyone saw this coming. The players which have taken to the floor this season unarguably are talented and the fact that many had not played together made it reasonable to expect that there would be some growing pains early on.
We've seen two disparate teams so far this season. There have been games, albeit against lesser competition, where they looked like they were going to run people off the floor. And then we have seen another team which looks hopelessly lost on both offense and defense and most alarmingly seem to play with no intensity, cohesion, pride, and desire.
Conspicuously missing has been any esprit d' corp. The sullen faces of many of the players, I'm looking at you Frank Howard, Tyus Battle, Tyler Roberson...tells a story of a team which is grappling with some issue which is causing dissension. Only time will tell and perhaps we will never have the opportunity to be privy to what is really going on within the team. But there can be no mistake that there is something which is having a profound impact on both the players individually and the team as a whole.
It's incumbent upon the head coach and his staff to foster an atmosphere of unity and cohesiveness which nurtures the team as a whole and promotes the growth of each individual player. Tyler Roberson may serve as a clue and representative of what is going on. The book on Roberson has been that his career has been laced with inconsistency and you never knew which Tyler would show up. Anyone who has followed the program has seen the type of impact he can have when he is motivated and at the top of his game. After 4 years it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect personal growth from a player and have them find a way to be that "on" player. Outwardly, Roberson appears to be broken, and like Kaleb Joseph, a promising player who's confidence, completely shattered, simply cannot play at the level they are capable of. Frank Howard seems to suffering from the same malady.
Of all the kids I feel the most for Roberson. I recall the first interview of him which posted shortly after he had committed. I was struck by how soft spoken and unsure of himself that he appeared, almost like he was overwrought with social anxiety. I'm no psychologist but I don't think it's a stretch to say that a kid like that needs to be handled in a way different from say Rakeem Christmas or CJ Fair. It seems to me that the public way that JB humiliated him with the things he said during a presser last year IS NOT THE WAY to bring out the best in a player like Tyler Roberson. My take is that JB has lost Roberson and that's what we are seeing in him this season.
There's also much to be said about going out an recruiting mercenaries to help the program but giving preferential treatment to guys who are just passing through in a attempt to promote themselves on a big stage can wreak havoc with those kids who committed to come here and have dedicated their entire college career to the Syracuse program.
And lastly, Over the past 40 years I've seen the callous way that JB can be and there have been many times where I've cringed as he has attacked people during pressers and been totally disrespectful to people just because they asked a question. No need for that. I am keenly aware that he has done an incredible amount of charitable work and has a side that frankly, many do not see or know about. But JB, like all of us has come character defects and certainly has room for improvement as far as filtering some of the things that he says. Sometimes when you say things under the guise of just "telling it like it is" it can be hurtful and antithetical to those ends which you purport to achieve.
Certainly he has achieved much and is legendary in terms of the development of the zone defense, the longevity of his career, his body of charitable work on both the local and National level. But he has also because of his own actions put the program under sanctions from the NCAA twice and drawn criticism to himself and the program. His tenacity and what some would call stubbornness have been the things he has used to his advantage throughout his coaching career but there is an associated cost. Perhaps we are seeing that cost with this team. The college game has changed in all aspects of the game. Recruiting, schemes on both offense and defense. JB for the most part has not changed. He is who he is and what you see is what you get with JB. The fact that he refuses to play any M2M at all is illustrative of how dug in he is to sticking to his guns with what has been successful for him historically.
The fact that our storied program is having trouble attracting top 50 players to come here to play is a serious harbinger of a program heading into decline. Part of the reason that Cal has been able to recruit top talent where ever he has been is the fact that he has charisma and personality which inspires kids to what to come play for him. JB's curmudgeon persona is not the type of thing that kids in 2017 can relate to.
I'm incredibly grateful for all that JB has done in building our program form a regional power to an elite National Power renowned for 4 decades as possessing the most perplexing defense in the land. But I am deeply concerned that there is something currently keeping this team form coalescing into a unified team and that we are headed towards what will be a disastrous season which will be an embarrassment to all who have bled Orange for their entire lives.
JB stating " This is on me"... is encouraging if there is going to be any chance at all to salvage this season. The team that we saw yesterday will get decimated by ACC competition and it will be ugly and embarrassing. He has surrounded himself with a staff that are all homegrown Syracuse former players who do not have any outside cultivation and likely never question JB's judgement. It's almost like a herd with a stale gene pool which becomes susceptible to decline. JB has always said that he would turn turn the reins over when the day came that he felt that he didn't have the fire to coach anymore. The coach we saw yesterday at that press conference looks very much like the guy he described.
