So, Cooney was all Green Light tonight

[swish7]

Was that just an organic thing, Cooney taking advantage of opportunities? Or, did JB know that Fair, Grant, and Ennis were shot, and told Cooney to go for it everytime? Amazing to behold.

Hopefully, this is the last "rest" Ennis, Grant, and Fair need. March won't be so forgiving. Play like this @ Cameron, and we'll lose by 10. Grants #s were low, but he had a lot more positive contributions tonight than Fair. Hopefully Fair won't have anymore games like this. The casual nature of his turnovers is troubling. A SR like him, I expect to have a 0 TO game every now and then.

ND was supposed to be one of the easier remaining games on our schedule. Oy. Time to rest. Here are the remaining dates, and the # of games that separate those teams from 1st.

Feb
9 (3.5),
12 (@ 3),
15 (5),
19 (6.5),
22 (@ 3),
24 (@ 4),
March
1 (@ 1),
4 (6),
9 (5)

I guess there is a gauntlet in there somewhere, but who cares? Eye on the prize. #1 overall seed, & solid momentum going into the tourney. JBs creating an 8 person rotation of sorts. Its getting better every week. Hopefully each of these 8 players can figure out what their perfect game and role is, and turn it on when needed.

 

[iommi]

Great post and getting an 8 man rotation is huge for sure.

 

[Orangezoo]

This team never seems to deliver an early death punch but always has an answer be it in an epic battle like saturday or against the underdog irish. Also lets be honest in that we did this with ennis being off his game twice in a row relying heavily on other guys to make plays. We are moving in the right direction.

 

[iommi]

Getting Ennis back to 100% is big...and dare I mention...no off-the-court distractions or issues. Pretty please.

 

[Orangezoo]

Check out donnas article just posted on syr.com. some great comments in there related to fatigue. I dont sense anything off the court. Just fatigue and the normal grind that comes with conf play.

 

[iommi]

Speaking of Donna, what happened to the CJ and Whomever Show? Wasnt it supposed to be CJ and Mike?

 

[Delmar]

ND was one of the easier games of our remaining schedule, but they have played good teams close. Good thing the Irish don't seem to be able to cover Irish shooting guards.

 

[Orangezoo]

Not sure im guessing they just dumped it...

 

[HoustonCuse]

I don't think it was any special greenlight beyond what he normally has. He never forces any shots and he didn't force any tonight. One of Cooneys great skills as a shooter is his shot selection, it's really outstanding.

 

[kuethstheman]

I'm pretty sure he always has a green light. Difference is the guy guarding him last night was green.

 

[jdubs30]

I'm pretty sure he always has a green light. Difference is the guy guarding him last night was green.

This. Vasturia looks like he'll end up being a nice player for Brey, but he had no chance on Cooney last night. I think Cooney felt it early and when CJ started missing everything I think Trevor put it on his shoulders. This is massive for his confidence going forward. He now knows he can basically win us a game if he has to.

 

[texascpa]

And while we may have been off on offense, our defense was still pretty tight last night. Our D can win us games as we've seen time and time again this season.

 

[Tobias Funke]

I love the athleticism that Grant and CJ bring. Dig dunks, smooth takes to the basket. But for me there is nothing more fun then watching a pure shooter get in a zone. Cooney was pulling up anytime he had space regardless of how deep he was. It got to the point that I found myself yelling at the TV when he didn't pull up. I would have liked a better game all around by the team, but I certainly enjoyed watching TC do his thing.

 

[zhanjuzi]

I love the athleticism that Grant and CJ bring. Dig dunks, smooth takes to the basket. But for me there is nothing more fun then watching a pure shooter get in a zone. Cooney was pulling up anytime he had space regardless of how deep he was. It got to the point that I found myself yelling at the TV when he didn't pull up. I would have liked a better game all around by the team, but I certainly enjoyed watching TC do his thing.

Same here .. every time Trevor hit another long three I would scream out "I like them Shakey Potaters!! .. Unhuh" .. probably heard me down the street.

 

[swish7]

And while we may have been off on offense, our defense was still pretty tight last night. Our D can win us games as we've seen time and time again this season.

Our defense, alone, absolutely cannot overcome a 6 point game from Fair and a 9 (or whatever it was) game from Grant, against any tournament team, except maybe a 1st round schlubb. And Cooney will not hit 32 every night. In fact, he'll probably return to earth in the very next game, IMO.

So, yeah, there is always something to work on. That said, I was impressed with our 1st half D. Not so much the 37 points we gave up in 2nd.

 

[moqui]

And Cooney will not hit 32 every night. In fact, he'll probably return to earth in the very next game, IMO.

you are probably right, because right now Syracuse has most opposing coaches in reactive mode. Brey watched the Duke game and thought "wow, we have to make sure their inside game doesn't tear us up." Now, Brad Brownell is going watch this tape and think "wow, whatever we do, we have to stop Cooney." And after a week off, Ennis might be the guy in that game.

Just when they think they have all the answers, the Orange change the questions.

 

[statsgrad]

Notre Dame really, really packed the lane, that was a reason for a lot of the struggles inside. They generally had at least 3 defenders deep in the paint, and were often playing triangle and 2 and box and 1 hybrids to force SU to score from the perimeter. It wasn't that Vasturia played any worse on Cooney than anyone else from other teams, it was that there was absolutely no help defense on the perimeter once Cooney got free. Brey essentially dared Syracuse to beat ND with outside shooting.

 

[two3zone]

I think he always has a green light. Jab doesn't pull him when he's 1-12, that's enough evidence for me.

 

[rrlbees]

Notre Dame really, really packed the lane, that was a reason for a lot of the struggles inside. They generally had at least 3 defenders deep in the paint, and were often playing triangle and 2 and box and 1 hybrids to force SU to score from the perimeter. It wasn't that Vasturia played any worse on Cooney than anyone else from other teams, it was that there was absolutely no help defense on the perimeter once Cooney got free. Brey essentially dared Syracuse to beat ND with outside shooting.

From Cooney's 12th point on, he faced M2M coverage.

 

[jekelish]

Calling Lawrinson14 ! This just made me realize...Ennis is Iceman, Cooney is Green Arrow (I know, I know, mixing Marvel with DC)...

We're almost set with our league of extraordinary basketball players! I smell an all-time epic PhotoShop brewing!

 

[statsgrad]

From Cooney's 12th point on, he faced M2M coverage.

Did you watch the game? More often than not Notre Dame had 3-4 guys deep in the paint and one following Cooney. Notre Dame played junk defenses the entire 2nd half, they played almost no pure M2M.

 

[tee1222]

Speaking of Donna, what happened to the CJ and Whomever Show? Wasnt it supposed to be CJ and Mike?

CJ and Jerami show is back featuring SilentG. There were two new ones back to back, go to show all videos on the site and they're somewhere in there.

 

[tee1222]

Ah, I can do better than that
http://videos.syracuse.com/post-standard/index.html?category=orange basketball
On page 2 of the videos right now.

 

[rrlbees]

Did you watch the game? More often than not Notre Dame had 3-4 guys deep in the paint and one following Cooney. Notre Dame played junk defenses the entire 2nd half, they played almost no pure M2M.

Um, yes I was there. They played a matchup type zone until it got to 18-12 and Cooney had 12 I believe. They then came out of the timeout in m2m. They then switched to a box and one at some point. He had a man on him in either defense. At no point did they go to a zone. Regardless of the defense, Cooney was basically played m2m the rest of the way after 18-12.