So here’s where I’m at..

[Red2003]

Just wondering what the board thinks a true turnaround looks like over the next few games.

Obviously a big win against Cornell at least 20ish points. Even perfect play by Carlos is not what I want to see cuz that gives him more rope to keep mins at the point. Bell going for 9-10 from deep also I dont need to see wasted on Cornell when we’ll need that in a bigger game later. Eddie needs a rest and I’m not trying to see JJ have to have 30 to put Cornell away. Will we play down on our home court again.

Tennessee should be #5 in a week. Can we compete on the boards, contain them defensively and not get crushed on turnover margin. How will our talent match up with a top 5 teams talent.

I’m struggling myself to come up with what I really want to see through December.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Just wondering what the board thinks a true turnaround looks like over the next few games. ...

I’m struggling myself to come up with what I really want to see through December.

For me, I want to see roles for Naheem and Cuffe, because they both could help. I want to see some zone, because we saw it work pretty well against Texas. Why go away from it in the next game?

I think the starting guards should be JJ and Choppa.

I want to pull Chris Bell at the 16 minute mark if he doesn't start a game well, and get Davis in there before we fall too far behind.

I want to see Donnie start inside-out with his offensive game. His defensive rebounding is getting better. But if he makes mistakes, you have to take him out and talk to him.

Some people might say Petar is flat-footed and a bit slow, but I like him situationally in the mix up front. Use the fouls to play harder on defense.

I would like to see Eddie start his offense more at the elbow instead of the 3 point line, especially at the top of the key. That takes him away from the boards, he's not a threat to hit the outside shot, and he can't drive to the rim from that far away.

 

[Dcuse]

I don't think Freeman is a bruiser. He shies away from contact.

He averages 25 minutes per game, and he is our leading rebounder with almost 9 per game yet he shies away from contact. There really are some brilliant analysts on this board.

 

[CuseBlood44]

My disappointment with Coach Red is that I think he did a phenomenal job last year with a very dysfunctional team that he inherited, and the current team, one that he assembled, will not do as well or better. It seems to me that his coaching has taken a step backwards.

I have been critical of red from the start as I don’t think he was qualified and thought we should’ve grabbed Matt Langel. I really don’t see how last year was a good coaching job by him, the “dysfunctional” team is a result of him being a huge players coach

 

[IthacaMatt]

He averages 25 minutes per game, and he is our leading rebounder with almost 9 per game yet he shies away from contact. There really are some brilliant analysts on this board.

He has been soft at times. In the Texas Tech game, he had a stretch where he had balls ripped out of his hands 3 times within just a few possessions. He also was a ball watcher earlier in the season. He seemed more engaged in Brooklyn, but he's got to be more consistent.

 

[H20TownOrange]

Nice to be optimistic, but Donnie needs to get a lot better, Bell can't continue to not get rebounds and assists, need a real backcourt, and hope Chance can give us something. JJ and the Freshman should start with Carlos off the bench.
If everything goes right we might be one of the last teams in.

Agree, think Choppa should be getting more run, and Taylor in defensive situational minutes, even Cuffe before Carlos. If Bell is not hitting use a Lampkin/Freeman/Davis lineup, my opinion gives us our best chance.

 

[Todd23]

He averages 25 minutes per game, and he is our leading rebounder with almost 9 per game yet he shies away from contact. There really are some brilliant analysts on this board.

If he posts up, he ends up shooting a turnaround going away from the basket. If he drives, he never turns the corner to the basket and throws the ball up over the defender rather than going into them. It's not like he's fending people off for his rebounds, either. Many of them are on free throws or him just using his athleticism to go up and get them, rather than strength or a bruiser mentality.

 

[FireballPhil]

He has been soft at times. In the Texas Tech game, he had a stretch where he had balls ripped out of his hands 3 times within just a few possessions. He also was a ball watcher earlier in the season. He seemed more engaged in Brooklyn, but he's got to be more consistent.

I don't specifically remember those, but was it him being soft, of just not being able to get any lift and someone jumping over him for the rebound? That happened a few times.

 

[Scooch]

Just wondering what the board thinks a true turnaround looks like over the next few games.

Obviously a big win against Cornell at least 20ish points. Even perfect play by Carlos is not what I want to see cuz that gives him more rope to keep mins at the point. Bell going for 9-10 from deep also I dont need to see wasted on Cornell when we’ll need that in a bigger game later. Eddie needs a rest and I’m not trying to see JJ have to have 30 to put Cornell away. Will we play down on our home court again.

Tennessee should be #5 in a week. Can we compete on the boards, contain them defensively and not get crushed on turnover margin. How will our talent match up with a top 5 teams talent.

I’m struggling myself to come up with what I really want to see through December.

You don't want our players to play well?

Come on, that is putting one's own agenda over the success of the team. I think Carlos has been a major bust, but I'd like nothing more than to see him dramatically improve his play and prove this hater dead wrong.

All I want to see in December is wins. They play 8 games between now and the first of the year. I'd like to see them win all 8. If not, then win 7. If not, then win 6.

How they get there isn't a concern. I'm not favoring certain player outcomes, or looking for specific style points. Just win every game.

 

[Newhouser]

i want an easy win over Cornell and a competitive loss to Tenn where we compete, play hard and don't back down and most importantly MOVE THE BALL.

 

[SmilinBob]

i want an easy win over Cornell and a competitive loss to Tenn where we compete, play hard and don't back down and most importantly MOVE THE BALL.

Agree but you can't move the ball if the bodies are just standing around.

 

[cusefan88]

They need to beat Maryland and Georgetown.

 

[OptimusOtto]

Just wondering what the board thinks a true turnaround looks like over the next few games.

Obviously a big win against Cornell at least 20ish points. Even perfect play by Carlos is not what I want to see cuz that gives him more rope to keep mins at the point. Bell going for 9-10 from deep also I dont need to see wasted on Cornell when we’ll need that in a bigger game later. Eddie needs a rest and I’m not trying to see JJ have to have 30 to put Cornell away. Will we play down on our home court again.

Tennessee should be #5 in a week. Can we compete on the boards, contain them defensively and not get crushed on turnover margin. How will our talent match up with a top 5 teams talent.

I’m struggling myself to come up with what I really want to see through December.

4-1 over the next 5, with the loss being competitive vs Tennessee. Unfortunately anything less and we're setting ourselves up for an uphill road to the tourney with little to no wiggle room.

 

[Cusefan0307]

FWIW Tennessee beat Louisville and UVA by both 22 points. Their closest game was a 15 point win over #17 Baylor.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

FWIW Tennessee beat Louisville and UVA by both 22 points. Their closest game was a 15 point win over #17 Baylor.

The Tenn game could get very ugly for us. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us lose by 30+.

 

[Dcuse]

The Tenn game could get very ugly for us. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us lose by 30+.

Thanks. Great post.

 

[DCUNITED13]

There are many things that are troubling to me watching the team. However, I'm giving them until Maryland at Barclays to get it together. (I'll be at the game). It may be that I'm so used to watching a Cuse Team that played a specific way for so long. (Just for fun you all should check our Marrimack Warriors ==>They play the SU Zone. and kept Rutgers in check for most of the game despite being a 20 point underdog). However, one thing I am not liking is Chris B Bell's response to teammates who try to speak with him during the game. I saw that 3-4 times in Brooklyn and where Taylor or Carlos wanted to encourage him/point out better positioning etc. He turned and walked away with his hand out. Should have been benched right there. (My opinion)

Bell was our best player for the first 3 games (even with his poor shooting). I think also that now its Lampkin, but I'm strongly encouraged by Freeman. If he stops shooting 3pt early in the clock but drives and shoots a midrange with an opportunity for boards, he stays on the floor 30-32 minutes. With his hight and rebounding he should be closer to the basket and open space for our 3 point shooters. I feel he could average a double double 11 pts 10 reb for us this season. He has the biggest upside and is the only one that has a spark that could take this team over the top.

We really are a "trudge" team. We trudge along and score. We came back in every game even though it looked grim. (we also gave away 13 and 11 point leads quickly).

I wont address the point guard issue as Carlos has been beat up on this board already. He has to settle down and play like we read about. I do think that SU needs someone who settles the team better and drives the bus. Right now Carlos does not have that presence on the court. (I know, I said I would not address it but could not help myself)

GO CUSE

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The Tenn game could get very ugly for us. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us lose by 30+.

Eh, there was a lot of collective freak out that Texas would be like that.

Gotta roll the ball out and just see what happens.

 

[MikeSU02]

Eh, there was a lot of collective freak out that Texas would be like that.

Gotta roll the ball out and just see what happens.

Not disagreeing with you and think we will play them tough at least for a bit, but Tenny is on another level than Texas.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Not disagreeing with you and think we will play them tough at least for a bit, but Tenny is on another level than Texas.

Yeah.

 

[Niastri]

Agree, think Choppa should be getting more run, and Taylor in defensive situational minutes, even Cuffe before Carlos. If Bell is not hitting use a Lampkin/Freeman/Davis lineup, my opinion gives us our best chance.

The "dump and chase" lineup.

Or... It doesn't matter if you shoot 25% if you get all the rebounds.

EDIT: What's funny to me is that Freeman looked like an elite scorer coming out of high school... His quick rise in the recruiting rankings directly coincided with his three point shooting becoming more consistent, catching up to his exciting post game. Then he gets here, and his rebounding turns out to be the first thing that translates directly to the next level. With recruits, you never really know.

 

[Niastri]

If he posts up, he ends up shooting a turnaround going away from the basket. If he drives, he never turns the corner to the basket and throws the ball up over the defender rather than going into them. It's not like he's fending people off for his rebounds, either. Many of them are on free throws or him just using his athleticism to go up and get them, rather than strength or a bruiser mentality.

"Freeman is getting a lot of rebounds, but the ones he is getting don't count."

 

[NineOneSeven]

The Freeman rebounding criticism is really weird. He’s not scoring efficiently and shooting too many jump shots, that I agree with. He’s got 3 games already over 11 boards. That’s fantastic. His per40 rebounding is over 13* (typo in original post).

Chris Bell’s career per40 rebounding is 3.5.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The Freeman rebounding criticism is really weird. He’s not scoring efficiently and shooting too many jump shots, that I agree with. He’s got 3 games already over 11 boards. That’s fantastic. His per40 rebounding is over 13* (typo in original post).

Chris Bell’s career per40 rebounding is 3.5.

People are just freaking out and in a vicious cycle getting overly critical.