Should Rak being getting Baye's minutes?

[Deano]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I agree with this.

 

[PauliePeppas]

Yup, i cant think of one thing that baye does better but hey its working

 

[suhoops4life]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

I would agree unconditionally, if Rak were more aggressive. He often seems to be playing slow motion. While he has better hands, I don't think he uses them nearly enough. I realize he's young & raw, but all he should be concerned with is playing D, putting a body on a player & cleaning up. I would expect the staff has gone through film with him, to promote a 6th sense regarding where to be on a missed shot? Maybe more playing time might speed up his ah ha moment? Then again it might be too late in the season for JB to feel comfortable leaving him in when he's not making plays.

 

[44PRIDE]

Its a bit late in the season to start giving our lightly used freshmen significant playing time...don't you think?

Now is not the time to with team chemistry.

 

[Francis03]

Agree 100%. That wide open miss at the hoop instead of dunking the ball like a big man should had me going bonkers. Unfortunately Rak will probably continue to see his usual courtesy start and quick hooks to the bench, unless somebody gets hurt.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

Except for that one game where he got 7 rebounds, Rak doesn't really know how to stop the opposing big man in the paint. He lets the other guy push him too deep, and get him right under the basket. Seriously, he's got a long ways to go on defense.

 

[orangepassion]

Baye hustles a ton, but is soft, as demonstrated by his airballing a 3-footer last night. I think Rak has much more potential and would be more productive w/ more consistent time backing up Melo. Won't happen, though.

 

[DNABB5]

Rak got two or three minutes at the 5 vs. USF

 

[Wallo]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

" Hands of Stone" !!

 

[007]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

I wonder if the staff has thought of this? Seriously, as fans, we only see the players perform on game day. The staff sees them play everyday. It's "fun" to speculate, but a it's also a little short sighted, IMO.

There are reasons that Baye plays over Rak.

 

[BostonOrange]

I know Baye hustles his butt up and down the court, but his hands are terrible. I would like to see Rak continue to get his minutes and hopefully see him play like he did against Cincy when Fab was out. Rak is going to be very important to us next year so why not start letting him get the minutes now. He's got better hands and also a decent rebounder/shot blocker.

It's too late. I don't really disagree with the notion that Rak is as good or better than Baye right now, and he certainly has more potential. I've been pretty disappointed in Baye this year - I thought we'd get a lot more from him. But...now isn't the time to be messing with stuff. Maybe, in retrospect, JB should have gone with Rak earlier, but I don't think you change now.

 

[Millhouse]

How long has keita been playing basketball? He's one of those guys that is so bad at something so simple (catching a ball) I have to wonder if he just never did it growing up, all of a sudden he's 7 feet tall and has to start playing basketball. The hand eye coordination is just way too far behind. I know nothing about what is normal in senegal, maybe it's all soccer all the time

 

[BleedsOrange44]

Baye is a better defender. It may not show in shot blocking stats, but he's an experienced defender who can spell Fab for 5-10 minute and not give up a ton. Boeheim doesn't trust Rak as much as he does Baye. That said, Rak will be better down the road, but this is about right now.

 

[SU2NASA]

" Hands of Stone" !!

Hands like feet.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

his hands are terrible.

You are being too kind. There is no word for how putrid his catching skills are. Never seen anything like it. Looks psychological.

 

[mikekan14]

Hard to gauge what Christmas can do based on his 2 minutes a game but I was [pleasantly] surprised to see him establish deep post position and call for the ball in the early moments against UConn. I think he actually got the ball once but got stuffed. I think this team would be better with a post presence (e.g. Rick Jackson, Onuaku) - even if just a token one to keep teams honest

 

[TheRoyalIveyFund]

Agree 100%. That wide open miss at the hoop instead of dunking the ball like a big man should had me going bonkers. Unfortunately Rak will probably continue to see his usual courtesy start and quick hooks to the bench, unless somebody gets hurt.

Did you see JB's reaction after that? That was a key possession and Baye was given a gift, soft pass and easy to catch. Big Man 101 says then just go up and dunk, or make an easy layup. He botched it terribly and JB went bananas.

I think RAK gets a longer leash Sat and a lot more time in NYC. That might say more about the NCAAs.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Baye is a better defender. It may not show in shot blocking stats, but he's an experienced defender who can spell Fab for 5-10 minute and not give up a ton. Boeheim doesn't trust Rak as much as he does Baye. That said, Rak will be better down the road, but this is about right now.

I'm not sure what evidence there is to suggest this is true. Baye's primary method of defense is to foul whoever is near him with the ball.

I think the only reasonable answer to the question at the top of this thread is yes.

 

[Ghost]

Baye is a better defender. It may not show in shot blocking stats, but he's an experienced defender who can spell Fab for 5-10 minute and not give up a ton. Boeheim doesn't trust Rak as much as he does Baye. That said, Rak will be better down the road, but this is about right now.

I thought was Baye was pretty solid defensively last year, this year he seems to have regressed. He jumps at every single pump fake, and it doesn't seem to like he's having the same impact making plays/blocks. Could be misremebering I guess...

 

[BleedsOrange44]

I'm not sure what evidence there is to suggest this is true. Baye's primary method of defense is to foul whoever is near him with the ball.

I think the only reasonable answer to the question at the top of this thread is yes.

If you watch them, Baye knows what should be going on and where he should be more than Rak. That knowledge and experience is why he's playing instead of Rak. Rak is out of position more than Baye. I'm not saying Baye is this unbelievable defender, just saying he's more consistent and more solid right now.

And the only reasonable answer is not yes. If it were, Boeheim would be playing him.

 

[SWC75]

The best we can be > "It's working"

 

[BleedsOrange44]

I thought was Baye was pretty solid defensively last year, this year he seems to have regressed. He jumps at every single pump fake, and it doesn't seem to like he's having the same impact making plays/blocks. Could be misremebering I guess...

He's not having impact plays this year you are correct. But people are mostly saying he's regressed because of his offensive game and his hands have somehow gotten worse. Defensively, he's still solid. He's not spectacular, but he's solid. And Boeheim takes Keita being consistently solid defensively over Rak who is very inconsistent and lacks the experience Keita has. At the end of the day, Boeheim trusts Keita more.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

If you watch them, Baye knows what should be going on and where he should be more than Rak. That knowledge and experience is why he's playing instead of Rak. Rak is out of position more than Baye. I'm not saying Baye is this unbelievable defender, just saying he's more consistent and more solid right now.

And the only reasonable answer is not yes. If it were, Boeheim would be playing him.

Rak may be more out of position because he's being played out of position. Like Rick Jackson in year's past, he is far too slow to play the wing, and hasn't had enough time in the middle of the zone to really judge whether or not he has enough knowledge to play there. Like someone else mentioned, Baye goes for every head fake there is. Even if he affects the shooter in the middle of the lane, too often that means an offensive player behind him scoops up an offensive board and a put back. (To be fair - Fab is guilty of this as well.)

The one thing that really perturbs me about Baye is the fact that Fab was able to learn how to hold his position and get an offensive foul, yet Baye still trys to jump and get the block against offensive guys who are out of control. I have only seen him try to get one offensive this year.

 

[BleedsOrange44]

Rak may be more out of position because he's being played out of position. Like Rick Jackson in year's past, he is far too slow to play the wing, and hasn't had enough time in the middle of the zone to really judge whether or not he has enough knowledge to play there. Like someone else mentioned, Baye goes for every head fake there is. Even if he affects the shooter in the middle of the lane, too often that means an offensive player behind him scoops up an offensive board and a put back. (To be fair - Fab is guilty of this as well.)

The one thing that really perturbs me about Baye is the fact that Fab was able to learn how to hold his position and get an offensive foul, yet Baye still trys to jump and get the block against offensive guys who are out of control. I have only seen him try to get one offensive this year.

I'm sorry but Boeheim knows the players better than we do. Just because Rak isn't playing the middle in games doesn't mean he isn't practicing there and getting beat constantly. If Rak was better as the backup center than Baye, he'd be playing more minutes.