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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 1992977, member: 40"] Had to take a few days off after the uconn loss on Monday [1] because I loathe that fanbase / team most of all, and [2] because the board overreaction gets hard to deal with after losses. I doubt that anybody envisioned that we'd be in this position a mere 7 games into the season--I didn't expect to get three losses until February--but despite the poor start, the team needs to find a way to regroup and build rather than get stuck at this incredibly poor and disjointed level of offensive play. Here are some suggestions for how to fix the anemic offense: [INDENT][B][COLOR=rgb(255, 128, 0)]Change the lineup[/COLOR][/B] [B][COLOR=rgb(255, 128, 0)]--[/COLOR][/B] the first corrective action has already been made by the SU coaching staff. Tyus Battle is in the starting lineup, and a non-productive player has been moved out. Tyus hasn't hit his stride yet this season, and isn't accomplishing a ton out there right now. But his presence in the lineup is important because: [LIST=1] [*]His ability to drive / dish diversifies the offense [*]His versatility partially offsets how one-dimensional our starting lineup's offensive capabilities were [*]He is a much better supplemental ball handler than Andrew White is [*]He offers much higher potential as a perimeter defender than White does [*]Two other players [White and Lydon] that were hurting us with their limitations have now shifted to positions where they are more natural fits [/LIST] Make no mistake, Battle needs to step it up. His offensive capabilities could be the difference between this being an average team with middling NCAA potential versus the team rounding into form as a formidable group that nobody wants to play in March. Also, Battle has proven to be a more adept three point shooter than expected, but it seems that he settles for that shot a lot while eschewing driving, which was the alleged strength of his game. I would love to see more drives and more mid range pull ups, which would be deadly from a player his size at the collegiate level. [B][COLOR=rgb(255, 128, 0)]Find the Shooters --[/COLOR][/B] our last four games have shown what this team is and what it is not. Namely, we're a team that relies heavily upon the jump shooting capabilities of two players, who both cannot create shots for themselves off of the bounce. What we are not is a dribble drive team that can rely upon one-on-one play to initiate offense. With that said, we need to start executing in a way that is going to get the ball into the hands of our two primary scorers / shooters [Lydon and White] where they can be most effective, and stop relying upon them to manufacture something out of nothing. There are numerous ways that we can adjust to make this happen: [LIST=1] [*]More purposeful screening to free up the shooters [*]Having them spot up while the point guards / Battle drive for kick-outs [*]Work inside-out, getting the ball into the post, so that the pivot can pass out to the wing for open shots when the defenses collapses inside [Rak developed into a pretty good post passer; not sure that Coleman is] [*]Finding White / Lydon trailing on the secondary break [/LIST] All of this is going to require more purposeful movement from the team. No more standing around waiting to see if the ball comes your way. If the play isn't there, pass it. If you aren't a guy who drives effectively, don't try. If I were Boeheim, I would pull Lydon every time he fakes a shot, only to allow the defender to close before trying to make a tightly contested drive. That's just not his game. Stick to doing what you do best. [B][COLOR=rgb(255, 128, 0)]Solidify the rotation at Center and use the pivot--[/COLOR][/B] our first few games were a hodge podge of substitutions, especially at center. First, Boeheim wanted to force feed Chukwu minutes to accelerate his developmental curve. then he experimented a bit with Tauren Thompson. All the while, eschewing playing Lydon in the middle. And lo and behold, forgotten man Dejuan Coleman has emerged as a consistent, dependable scorer with a nice mid-range jump shot. I expected Coleman to post Craig Forth-esque numbers again, but now it appears that he might be more of a 7 ppg guy. The team should find a way to utilize him early in halves to maximize his contributions [much like how the team used to use AO], and squeeze whatever blood they can get from that stone. From there, JB needs to figure out what the consistent plan is at the 5. Chukwu seems to be out of the picture. Does Thompson figure in here, or only at 4? Is the play to slide Lydon over to get Roberson back onto the court? Whatever the big picture strategy is, figure it out and let the 5's settle into their roles. [B][COLOR=rgb(255, 128, 0)]Solve the Point Guard quandary --[/COLOR][/B] this is going to be a really unpopular suggestion, and it is one that I don't make likely, because Frank Howard is my favorite player on the team. But the more I watch him play, the less convinced I am that he will get the job done this year as a lead guard. Now what do I mean by that? I'm sure that people are scratching their heads, thinking that he is a solid ball handler and he makes occasionally dazzling passes. True--but he struggles when the game slows down, and the team is forced to run it's half court offense. That's when true lead guards can make things happen when the offense bogs down, and when you'd expect a point guard to make their teammates better. Right now, Howard is doing neither. And it has been readily exposed against the three better teams we've faced recently, all losses where Howard struggled immensely. I'm starting to believe that he's better suited for an off the ball role, or a combo-guard role [a little like Triche] -- where his ability to handle / pass will be complimentary instead of primary. Given his size and improved shooting, maybe he's better suited for the 2 [which is where I saw him next year, had Quade Green opted to wear Orange]. So where does that leave us? The controversial aspect here is that I actually think that we might be better off putting the ball in John Gillon's diminutive hands. Please note--Gillon was AWFUL against South Carolina. He looked tentative and afraid to do anything with the ball. And he didn't set the world ablaze against uconn, either, with those four misses. The difference is, the offense seems to flow better when Gillon is in the game. He's a better ball handler, he's faster, he has the potential to drive more effectively, and he has good vision. Gillon also has massive flaws in how he's playing right now--he leaves his feet, he picks up his dribble, he looks extremely tentative -- that !#$ needs to change, or he won't deserve additional playing time. But if we want to fix the offensive production, I'd start getting Gillon more comfortable and start giving him a heavier dose of minutes so that he overcomes the confidence issues plaguing him early on. Play like a fifth year senior and do his thing. Get his head ut of his butt offensively and start scoring like he was brought in to do. And use his quickness to make things happen instead of driving into traffic and then flailing around with no plan. And despite him being 5-9, he isn't that much worse defensively than Frank, who is frequently out of position despite being 8 inches taller. So I don't view it as the big liability that will have some wringing their hands. One more thing about Frank--please stop with the floaters. JB pulled you last year for taking those shots, and against uconn he took several more that missed badly. Enough with that shot. BOTH of these guys need to stop pounding the rock for 15-20 seconds before initiating the offense. Push the pace in transition to capitalize on this team's athleticism in the open floor. Get the ball out of your hands quickly, be the floor general and MAKE your teammates run the plays / move off of the ball swiftly, and when all else fails at the tail end of the shot clock, make something happen off of the bounce. [/INDENT] I know that last suggestion is going to anger some of my fellow members from Camp Howard. My dream is for BOTH of the point guards to improve to the point where they are both contributing at a much higher level. We need them to be better than what we've shown. Hope to see a lot of the above coming to fruition over the next stretch of games. Would love to hear reactions / other posters thoughts to these observations. [/QUOTE]

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