some game thoughts

[CusefanATL]

- Mareks fast break where he stopped at the top of key, basically took out his clip board and drew a backdoor cut for oshae, then wiggled his head for oshae, then motioned with his hand before oshae finally realized he had a wide open dunk - what a pass that was. gosh darnet that was gorgeous.

- oshae than raised the roof... which i haven't seen since sitting at harrys at 730 and some xavier kid did it vs gtown. but seriously before that i haven't seen it in 10 years. all of a sudden twice within an hour and once live and in person?!

- did the refs not miss 2 double dribbles on clemson? the 1st 1 on the syracuse bench side ultimately led to the 3 point shot foul.

- this is kind of a joke... but clemson had 2 versions of very stereotypical white kids.

-they had the classic dad in a 22 year old body that guarded tyus all night long. he definitely tucks his white tshirts into his sweatpants on saturdays. and has made his bed since he was 5 and continues to do so even in college.
-and then they had the smelly disheveled athlete that was a poor mans version of marek. he doesnt shower and plays a lot of fortnite. and hasnt brushed his hair since family photos in 2006.

-rebounding was surprisingly even. which only surprises me because somehow we were +10ish on the boards at ND and it seemed like they got every offensive rebound around.

-surprised that we didnt see Jalen much or all in 2nd half and even though MD/BS played really well i was still surprised we saw 0 chukwu. also - very happy with the crowd that was there so give MD and BS deserving ovations just about everytime the subbed. i hope they both heard those. I hope Chukwu somehow missed those. I worry even more for his confidence.

- the crowd was the worst crowd i can ever remember for a conference game. they announced over 17k. no chance. also i think clemson brought less than 10 people. their section behind the bench was completely empty until locals noticed and moved in.

 

[realorange]

The surprise to not see Jalen in the 2nd half maybe answered by JB in his presser saying he will play the veterens going forward. (not exact quote)

 

[NateW]

- the crowd was the worst crowd i can ever remember for a conference game. they announced over 17k. no chance. also i think clemson brought less than 10 people. their section behind the bench was completely empty until locals noticed and moved in.

This is what you get with the move to the ACC. There is no history to create some sort of juice with these mid-tier and lower conference teams. Who cares about Clemson? No one. Who cares about Wake Forest? No one. Who cares about NC State? No one.

Many more ppl would care if it was Providence, St Johns, Seton Hall - heck even Cincy or Marquette would be more fun.

Oh well.

 

[Cheriehoop]

This is what you get with the move to the ACC. There is no history to create some sort of juice with these mid-tier and lower conference teams. Who cares about Clemson? No one. Who cares about Wake Forest? No one. Who cares about NC State? No one.

Many more ppl would care if it was Providence, St Johns, Seton Hall - heck even Cincy or Marquette would be more fun.

Oh well.

Actually pretty impressive attendance considering the later start time (8pm) , no students and the weather. Gave many people the chance to go home, see the weather worsen and skip the game out of caution worried about getting home with work and more snow the next day.

 

[CardiacCuse]

- tyus battle will basically always have a height advantage on whomever is guarding him...same for howard (and brissett will usually have a good match up in terms of height). I would like to see some of them posted up. When MD is playing center he can stand at the top of the key - draw the big man away from the basket - and let the smaller players like battle (especially) and maybe brissett and howard post up. Battle had an excellent turnaround post bucket vs Clemson - i think he could be a great postup player in the right scheme.
Maybe the answer to lack of post play is not what the centers can do but what the gaurds can do???

- battle is in his head about efficiency and shooting % - no doubt that was the feedback that he got from the NBA. His recent preference for 2-pointers and reluctance to shoot 3s seems to be related to that. However, the team needs him to shoot open 3s...(and make them). Just speculating bit it seems like his decision to not shoot 3s is having a deleterious impact when he does shoot a 3 - can almost see the wheels turning in his head calculating how a missed 3 will impact his shooting % as chucks every outside shot lately. hopefully he can just put all the stats and everything out of his head and play - if they are indeed on his mind as he plays.

- i feel like refs are possibly secretly evaluated on (or given bonuses for) preventing blowouts and keeping the scoring margin as close as possible. multiple times in the first half vs clemson - as soon as syr looked like they were going to maybe open a huge lead the refs came in a called some bogus calls against SU to keep it close - the end of the first half in particular was crazy. the second half was probably called in favor of SU and they got multiple borderline calls in their favor - regardless i know CBS and NCAA want close games and buzzerbeaters so it would not surprise me if behind-closed-doors the refs are encouraged to "keep things tight" and even rewarded for doing so. in other words, my beef with the refs isn't only for favoritism - its bias towards close games. (which also seems to be happening in the NFL and other sports as well - makes sense given the influence of TV and the spike in ratings for exciting games).

- my favorite lineup from the clemson game was: MD, BS, battle, howard hughes. Brissett looked a little forlorn on the bench during that stretch. the team played great and the offense was the best it was all game with that lineup. i think brissett is a good player and good 1 on 1 player but would take a huge leap if he improved his team basketball skills/tactics/thinking etc. the play where MD found him for a dunk on the break - MD had to lead him with the pass - OB didn't make the cut on his own. His biggest potential area of improvement is mental - on the team aspect of playing. physically, he's got it all - just needs to figure it out X's and O's wise.

- the offense was great for the first 10 minutes - not sure about the other 30 - maybe it was good adjustments from Clemson. but it seemed in the 2nd half the ball movement stopped and the 1 on 1 play came back. part of me wonders if - since all that really matters is in march - if the team is kinda playing a certain way to not reveal their best strategy too early and not let people figure out how to stop them. for instance, the press is good but only tried for 3 possessions - it could be used much more. but if it is used sparingly it is harder to gameplan for and therefore more of a weapon in a way. i hope that is what is happening with the offense - b/c the 1 on 1 offense in the second half was clearly not as good as the ball movement of the first 10 minutes of the game.

 

[kuethstheman]

- Mareks fast break where he stopped at the top of key, basically took out his clip board and drew a backdoor cut for oshae, then wiggled his head for oshae, then motioned with his hand before oshae finally realized he had a wide open dunk - what a pass that was. gosh darnet that was gorgeous.

In fairness to Oshea, that might have been the first time all season someone threw a pass on a fast break!

 

[kuethstheman]

- tyus battle will basically always have a height advantage on whomever is guarding him...same for howard (and brissett will usually have a good match up in terms of height). I would like to see some of them posted up. When MD is playing center he can stand at the top of the key - draw the big man away from the basket - and let the smaller players like battle (especially) and maybe brissett and howard post up. Battle had an excellent turnaround post bucket vs Clemson - i think he could be a great postup player in the right scheme.
Maybe the answer to lack of post play is not what the centers can do but what the gaurds can do???

Frank did it once, last night. A real shock! Got the ball but forced a bad shot so maybe that's why they didn't try it again.

 

[Newhouser]

I don't see OB's one-on-one wizardry. HIs handle prevents him from blowing by anyone. I am in the minority but I think he has no chance at the NBA. I think Carey is our best NBA prospect.

 

[Oakland]

This was one of the few games that I thought the calls went SU's way.

- tyus battle will basically always have a height advantage on whomever is guarding him...same for howard (and brissett will usually have a good match up in terms of height). I would like to see some of them posted up. When MD is playing center he can stand at the top of the key - draw the big man away from the basket - and let the smaller players like battle (especially) and maybe brissett and howard post up. Battle had an excellent turnaround post bucket vs Clemson - i think he could be a great postup player in the right scheme.
Maybe the answer to lack of post play is not what the centers can do but what the gaurds can do???

- battle is in his head about efficiency and shooting % - no doubt that was the feedback that he got from the NBA. His recent preference for 2-pointers and reluctance to shoot 3s seems to be related to that. However, the team needs him to shoot open 3s...(and make them). Just speculating bit it seems like his decision to not shoot 3s is having a deleterious impact when he does shoot a 3 - can almost see the wheels turning in his head calculating how a missed 3 will impact his shooting % as chucks every outside shot lately. hopefully he can just put all the stats and everything out of his head and play - if they are indeed on his mind as he plays.

- i feel like refs are possibly secretly evaluated on (or given bonuses for) preventing blowouts and keeping the scoring margin as close as possible. multiple times in the first half vs clemson - as soon as syr looked like they were going to maybe open a huge lead the refs came in a called some bogus calls against SU to keep it close - the end of the first half in particular was crazy. the second half was probably called in favor of SU and they got multiple borderline calls in their favor - regardless i know CBS and NCAA want close games and buzzerbeaters so it would not surprise me if behind-closed-doors the refs are encouraged to "keep things tight" and even rewarded for doing so. in other words, my beef with the refs isn't only for favoritism - its bias towards close games. (which also seems to be happening in the NFL and other sports as well - makes sense given the influence of TV and the spike in ratings for exciting games).

- my favorite lineup from the clemson game was: MD, BS, battle, howard hughes. Brissett looked a little forlorn on the bench during that stretch. the team played great and the offense was the best it was all game with that lineup. i think brissett is a good player and good 1 on 1 player but would take a huge leap if he improved his team basketball skills/tactics/thinking etc. the play where MD found him for a dunk on the break - MD had to lead him with the pass - OB didn't make the cut on his own. His biggest potential area of improvement is mental - on the team aspect of playing. physically, he's got it all - just needs to figure it out X's and O's wise.

- the offense was great for the first 10 minutes - not sure about the other 30 - maybe it was good adjustments from Clemson. but it seemed in the 2nd half the ball movement stopped and the 1 on 1 play came back. part of me wonders if - since all that really matters is in march - if the team is kinda playing a certain way to not reveal their best strategy too early and not let people figure out how to stop them. for instance, the press is good but only tried for 3 possessions - it could be used much more. but if it is used sparingly it is harder to gameplan for and therefore more of a weapon in a way. i hope that is what is happening with the offense - b/c the 1 on 1 offense in the second half was clearly not as good as the ball movement of the first 10 minutes of the game.

 

[EastCoast2]

This is what you get with the move to the ACC. There is no history to create some sort of juice with these mid-tier and lower conference teams. Who cares about Clemson? No one. Who cares about Wake Forest? No one. Who cares about NC State? No one.

Many more ppl would care if it was Providence, St Johns, Seton Hall - heck even Cincy or Marquette would be more fun.

Oh well.

I disagree here. We are building these rivalries as we speak. Every Tyus Battle buzzer beater at Clemson, every CJ Fair charge call at Duke, every OT game with FSU, everytime we upset a top-5 UVA team, we are adding excitement for future games with these opponents. I do not miss Providence or Seton Hall one bit. DePaul, Cinicinnati, USF, and Marquette were BE rivals for less than a decade.

 

[Oakland]

OB TOs were shockingly bad last night. His regression, and PC's, are the main reasons this team is not the team that I expected.

What about Hughes NBA potential?

I don't see OB's one-on-one wizardry. HIs handle prevents him from blowing by anyone. I am in the minority but I think he has no chance at the NBA. I think Carey is our best NBA prospect.

 

[NateW]

I disagree here. We are building these rivalries as we speak. Every Tyus Battle buzzer beater at Clemson, every CJ Fair charge call at Duke, every OT game with FSU, everytime we upset a top-5 UVA team, we are adding excitement for future games with these opponents. I do not miss Providence or Seton Hall one bit. DePaul, Cinicinnati, USF, and Marquette were BE rivals for less than a decade.

I’m not talking about Duke, UNC and Virginia types. Everyone can get excited for that.

I’m talking about mid tier and lower ACC teams. Clemson b-ball is a nothing burger. And it will take much more than one buzzer beater for that to change.

 

[CardiacCuse]

This was one of the few games that I thought the calls went SU's way.

which is why i said 2nd half i think was in SU's favor...but i think in general NCAA refs are biased towards the team that is behind on the scoreboard and for a team that struggles to score a lot and likes to run out the clock early that can be quite impactful on the final outcome of games.

I just wish they would call it straight up and not factor in score or home advantage.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I don't see OB's one-on-one wizardry. HIs handle prevents him from blowing by anyone. I am in the minority but I think he has no chance at the NBA. I think Carey is our best NBA prospect.

He has a good chance on his physical attributes alone but MUST improve and work on his weaknesses. He's 5th in the ACC in rebounding, has a good competitive approach - just needs to refine his weak parts. Handle, finishing at the rim, decision-making, outside shooting, passing and combination play (jeez that sounds like a lot of weaknesses when i write them all out).

I don't think he will be a 2 and done though (not if he wants to play in the NBA)

 

[721Comstock]

OB TOs were shockingly bad last night. His regression, and PC's, are the main reasons this team is not the team that I expected.

What about Hughes NBA potential?

Hughes had several really bad TO's also. OSB did not corner the market on that last night.

The main reason this team isn't what anybody expected, is Frank's injury, and painfully slow recovery from same.
Coupled with Carey getting hurt at the same damn time, so he couldn't even take advantage of the extra practice and PT available because Frank was dinged up.

 

[OrangeFoo]

My biggest takeaway is shock that JB is using a planned substitution pattern in the game. He seems to be giving the back ups some planned run and my guess is that 1st half run will determine what happens in the 2nd. I'm not at all surprised Carey got zero second half PT... he didn't do much with the ball in the first half outside of one last second assist which he forced himself into by overdribbling. He seems to have lost confidence in his offense... not nearly as smooth or natural as earlier in the year. Hopefully just the freshman wall.

 

[bballbeadle]

This is what you get with the move to the ACC. There is no history to create some sort of juice with these mid-tier and lower conference teams. Who cares about Clemson? No one. Who cares about Wake Forest? No one. Who cares about NC State? No one.

Many more ppl would care if it was Providence, St Johns, Seton Hall - heck even Cincy or Marquette would be more fun.

Oh well.

Snowstorm? What? What?

 

[Oakland]

We're talking about two different things. You're talking about the team's record so far, I'm talking about the team's potential.

Hughes had several really bad TO's also. OSB did not corner the market on that last night.

The main reason this team isn't what anybody expected, is Frank's injury, and painfully slow recovery from same.
Coupled with Carey getting hurt at the same damn time, so he couldn't even take advantage of the extra practice and PT available because Frank was dinged up.

 

[EastCoast2]

I’m not talking about Duke, UNC and Virginia types. Everyone can get excited for that.

I’m talking about mid tier and lower ACC teams. Clemson b-ball is a nothing burger. And it will take much more than one buzzer beater for that to change.

Beating #18 Clemson 55-52 on senior day last year was pretty exciting, and got us into the tournament. Brownell is a decent coach and could have that program yo-yo around a top-25 ranking.