Some mid-seasonish thoughts | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Some mid-seasonish thoughts

While I certainly criticize JB for a lot these past couple years of struggling, I do get taking this approach with Benny. He is getting a lot from the Virginia boys but also needs Benny to step up given that potential.

Benny has had some nice quick bursts on offense that have been important and clearly had impact on those games. That's an X factor no matter who is producing more consistently.
Yeah, agreed. I tend not to criticize JB as much because of two reasons: 1) this is often how it ends with coaches who have exceedingly long tenures and 2) because i think the sands of college sports have shifted so much so quickly. Not sure JB has handled it perfectly, but i think he's always valued experience for his teams and it's just really difficult to plan two years out, let alone three or four at this point.

But relative to Benny, I think the only way you can play it is to try and continue to get him reps and hope it clicks. Maybe now mid-season, seeing Brown continuing to play well, you dial Benny's minutes back, but it's hard to sit that kind of athleticism on the bench next to you.
 
One other nugget to add onto your breakdown- as a team we are shooting 36.6 pct from 3 good for 63rd in the country. Creeping up to last years 37.7 pct.

We are taking obviously far fewer but that's still a good clip.

Couple other nuggets relative to our schedule- Colgate is second nationally at 41 pct, Lehigh is 16th.
As long as we are full time zone I vote for never playing Colgate again.
 
its not really perplexing. he wants to be in the NBA and thats how NBA players play. they dont just stand next to the rim and do easy stuff all day. if he makes NBA it will be more like jayson tatum's game...thats how he wants to make it. its not really that hard to figure out.
I think you've got a point -- I'm sure Benny, like a lot of kids, sees dudes hitting threes and scoring with spacing and figures that's his ticket. But, I'm not sure it's entirely that simple. I think Benny is engaged and wants to have success and see the team benefit from his success. I'm just not sure he understands how much those little things lead to him putting up more points and even hitting more jumpers. Hammer home a couple offensive rebounds, get your ands a couple more loose balls, fly in to block a shot from the weak side ... those things lead to points and also keep you from getting too deep in your head over a couple turnovers or missed shots.
 
I think you've got a point -- I'm sure Benny, like a lot of kids, sees dudes hitting threes and scoring with spacing and figures that's his ticket. But, I'm not sure it's entirely that simple. I think Benny is engaged and wants to have success and see the team benefit from his success. I'm just not sure he understands how much those little things lead to him putting up more points and even hitting more jumpers. Hammer home a couple offensive rebounds, get your ands a couple more loose balls, fly in to block a shot from the weak side ... those things lead to points and also keep you from getting too deep in your head over a couple turnovers or missed shots.
it's not that simple. you're 100% right.

in Benny's best games, he's been super active and doing all the small things...and those things lead to more stats and better performance, period. he can be that player. fwiw, JB is rarely ever wrong about this kind of stuff...i.e. what kind of role a player should have etc

he probably just feels that if he isn't playing like Kobe or Tatum then it's like his dream starts to fade or something and it's hard for him to deal with it in the moment. where else can the pressure be coming from?id love a reporter to ask that.

i suspect he might be the type of player that plays better the bigger his role on his team is (and worse the smaller). but the current reality is he has to earn that role by being an amazing role player and thats not really his game (yet?)
 
its not really perplexing. he wants to be in the NBA and thats how NBA players play. they dont just stand next to the rim and do easy stuff all day. if he makes NBA it will be more like jayson tatum's game...thats how he wants to make it. its not really that hard to figure out.
Disagree. If he’s going to make the NBA, he needs to be a Jae Crowder. Tatum was infinitely more skilled at the same age. He needs to be able to hit the open 3, as does basically everybody that’s not a center, but he doesn’t need to take difficult step backs like Tatum, or dribble the ball much.

His role will be defense, energy, hustle, and hit the open 3….if he ever makes it.

IMO. He’s not going to be a playmaker or a difficult shot maker.
 
Good write up. Regarding Benny... according to Jim, Benny is our best forward. Okay, I trust the coach on that. However, I do wonder what he sees in practice though. Clearly Jim wants Benny to play a different style, which is closer to the basket (more similar to Brown). That being the case, is Benny actually doing that in practice and then in games, not? I seriously doubt that is the case. Therefore, how can Jim claim that Benny is the best forward if he won't play how the team most needs from him? Perhaps Jim should have said Benny has the most potential and highest ceiling of any forward on the team - that would make more sense.

Moving forward, I'd like to see a HEAVY dose of Jesse, Brown, Justin, Mintz, and Joe.
Interesting point on how Benny positions in practice vs his floating to the outside in the games! One would think if JB coaches to positioning near the basket in practice, then when Benny strays to the outside in the game, he should expect a quick exit. Sure sounds simple on paper.
 
Lol.

We certainly need Brown, and Edwards coming back would be enormous.

I’m still very high on Copeland, long term.
As long as they start rebounding, I agree
 
The Benny Issue - I think many on this board are mesmerized by the fact that he was a 5 star.

First - let me say that the handful of times that we have seen Benny play at his best, those games have been better than any game we have seen from any of our other forwards.

Second - So, what are the problems - why dont we see best Benny more often ???

I think it comes down to a couple of issues with his game:

1. He has funky form on his shot, and as the expression goes, function follows form. Unless he can fix his form, his shot will always be inconsistent and will always be off more than it is on. I do not recall any particularly great benny games when his play has been 100% within the arc. Correct me if I am wrong on this take. If he makes a trey or two it seems to be a confidence jumpstart for him.

2. He is not great off the dribble. He can rarely penetrate and finish. His best dribble moves are two bounces and a pullup J, and then we are back to the shooting form issues.

3. He needs to get a lot stronger, that is why we dont see too many at the rim finishes. That plus his handle is average.....at best.

4. He flat out just lacks real instincts for the game, and he rarely seems to be able to adjust to the situation if his strengths arent working.

Now, I do not mean this criticism to be a trashing of Benny. He is probably our best pure athlete. he has great quickness and leaping ability. Not sure why he is inconsistent about getting in there and getting his nose dirty as others have pointed out.

Benny can still be a solid above average player who will have some great games from time to time, but IMHO, he will never be the player that you hope you are getting when you recruit a 5 star.
 
11-6...CUSE has won 8 of its last 10 I think.
It is a YOUNG team...Girard and Jesse have seen it all.
Benny, with Jimmy and Swider, didn't get a lot of run last year.
He's like a soph-man. Taylor Brown Bell Mintz are getting a lot of minutes.
Old man Torrence isn't...see how young this team is?

What I see is a bunch of players now adapting to their roles and learning to play with each other.
There is talent.
But I'm gonna step on some toes with the next statement.
When playing very good, physical teams, we are being held back by Girard.
In those games when Girard is struggling, JB has to face reality and park Joe from time to time.
If CUSE can adjust to this, and figure out on what nights to use Bell, Taylor, Torrence- taking some of Girard's minutes, the Orange could be a more than interesting team in March.
 
Just a few things from a bigger picture standpoint that seem relevant.

Think JB has done a nice job with the rotation thus far
So let's just all agree that JB can never win in this discussion. This year proves it. He's literally given everyone a shot to earn PT and stuck with guys through mistakes, losses, issues, etc. Obviously some of that is because the roster he put together is a bit lacking, but, whatever, he's played a ton of guys. That's a logical approach for a roster that only has three guys you can lean on. Hima is getting minutes when Jesse is in foul trouble. That makes sense. JBA has played some big minutes at times but JB hasn't force-fed him into games either. All four young wing players -- Brown/Bell/Benny/Taylor have gotten pretty solid minutes. I'm with everyone else -- at this point I'm leaning pretty heavy on the Taylor/Brown (more on this below) combo -- but I think it made sense to give Benny as much opportunity as you reasonably could. And Bell, I think, is a bit better shooter than Taylor at this point so I get why JB is trying to make that work. Something tells me we'll still see Benny/Bell, but Brown has averaged 19 mpg in his last seven games and I'm guessing we continue to see that number go up. The one guy (other than Carey who is now injured) who hasn't seen as much action is Copeland, but even Copeland has logged double-figures in minutes five times and played legit minutes vs. St. John's and Pitt.

All things considered, however, I think he's kept everyone engaged and everyone has gotten at least some opportunity. Will be interesting to see how many stick around -- which i guess will be the question annually.

Mintz has matured quickly ... and will he be here next year?
Mintz has clearly emerged as the most interesting Syracuse player if you consider that it's unlikely we do much in the way of postseason this year. That means Edwards and Girard are gone and Judah is the key to next season ... so hopefully he's here. NBA obviously a possibility but I also sorta wonder if some deep-pocketed NIL programs try to lure him away if he's not on the NBA radar.

But, for the time being, I've been really impressed with how Mintz has played. He's obviously electric getting to the basket and 16 pts/4 assists (17.5/5.3 in the last 8 games) with limited turnovers is a really nice line for a freshman PG, who's never really been a PG. But what's been more impressive to me is all the different ways he's found to impact the game. He's improving as a creator for others, he's getting to the line 6 times a game, he draws a ton of fouls out around midcourt and in the backcourt, he has a bunch of steals (averaging almost 3/game in his last 8), he is outstanding at getting skinny and going over the top of screens to disrupt other teams' sets, he rarely gets called for charges. Even his glaring weakness -- 3-point shooting -- is interesting because he's shown great restraint in taking those shots. And, really, his shot doesn't look bad to me. If we see him for another year I'd bet he's a Flynn-type shooter from out there. Dangerous enough to keep you honest.

Anyway, he's had a really nice season. Praying we see him for another.

Edwards' offensive game is frustrating at times
Love me some Jesse Edwards. Kid has really improved and gotten stronger in his time here and I'm happy we have him. We're all happy Hima has been a solid backup this year ... get ready for next year when he has to play more minutes and people are losing their minds about how bad they think he is. It's the way it works on here. So when I'm nitpicking Jesse here, I want to be clear that he's the best basketball player on this team, he's in the conversation with the best bigs we've had since the mid-80s when I was first following this team. He's an excellent player.

Buuuuut ... I'd be lying if I didn't sometimes feel a bit disappointed that he's not just a wee bit better offensively. I'm not expert but it seems like the footwork down there on low-post moves gets really clunky. He's an excellent catch-and-finish big and he's so athletic that he can hurt you in a variety of ways. But his low-post moves lead to awkward, leaning shots way too often for a guy with his size, athleticism and strength. I also would love to see him square up from time to time. Why not?

Anyway -- kid's having a great year, but just wish he could force more teams to double down there. It's interesting but more often than not teams just play him straight up.

Girard's been really solid offensively since the Illinois game
Want to take a minute to say that Girard is having a really nice offensive season (defense still comes and goes a bit ...). The slump he suffered hurt -- really hurt us in painful losses to Bryant/St. John's and took away any chance of competing with Illinois (though that one can hardly be blamed on Girard). But his last nine have been a really nice stretch, all things considered. He's at 19/3/3 in that stretch shooting over .400 from three. That's really solid basketball. But he's also found a way to score a bit inside the arc. Maybe some of that has to do with the competition but he's at 47% on 2-point FGs in that stretch. That's better than his season numbers (around 40%) and coming into the year he had never been above .385 from inside the arc.

He's a bit limited as we all know and he'll have some not great games going forward, but it's worth giving the kid some credit for putting together a solid run that along with Edwards and Mintz has helped us avoid a season where we might be hoping we go on a run to get to .500.

Brown and Taylor have played well defensively
Brown and Taylor have both seen big minutes the past two games. Taylor, of course, has actually gotten solid minutes most of the season. In Brown's case his numbers are up since the Oakland game with the only significant departure from that being the 4-minute game vs. BC, which coincided with Benny's best game in Orange. But generally these guys have been seeing the floor quite a bit. What's interesting is that I have to believe that we've been seeing Benny and Bell b/c JB feels we need the offense. But, while Brown is a bit limited offensively and Taylor is still feeling his way around offensively (the Bryant game as an outlier), their per 40 numbers offensively aren't terribly dissimilar from the Benny/Bell combo.

But what's really been impressive is how good both have been defensively. Our zone rotations aren't perfect, but they are much better with the two frosh. Brown has excellent hands and Taylor has quickness and reads the floor well. Both can rebound (Brown is a really solid rebounder already, Taylor can hold his own). Plus, there is the question of how much you lose offensively -- Benny has seen his shot fall a bit more lately, which is a nice development, and Bell has hung in there despite the feeling that sometimes his minutes are empty calories at times if he's not scoring. But Brown moves around well in the paint, finds soft spots, and grabs offensive boards (thought his 11 vs. VA Tech could easily have been 14 or 15 with the dunk taken away, the foul on the tip-in attempt that they didn't give him shots for in the first half and a little bunny that hit off the back iron) and Taylor can knock down a shot and if he's open.

Bottom line: I think we'll see more of these guys. Not sure JB will (and not totally sure he should) completely abandon Benny and/or Bell, but I'd imagine we'll continue to see Taylor and continue to see far more of Brown (though a healthy Benny will cut into those minutes).

Benny intensity is the key, IMO
The frustration of Benny to me is that he seems to quite often be surprised by the intensity of the game. I don't think it's a surprise that he had a great game against BC b/c he was working in that game. He blocked three shots from the weak side, made several hustle plays, a couple times not coming up with the ball but still battling for it, grabbed 5 offensive boards. That's hustle stuff, so when the jumper starts falling, that's almost grave. Same thing really against St. John's -- good hustle and aggressiveness against an aggressive opponent.

Now, he was sick and missed a game and was likely not 100% going into this game. There's some nasty stuff going around so I don't want to jump all over him. But his first few minutes in the first half were brutal. No need to dig into it, other than to say, I think he just needs that mindset that all of these games are going to be physical, intense matchups and he's got to match that intensity. I think he hustles most or all of the time, but he just needs to be aggressive and looking to use that athleticism on the offensive boards, getting out in transition, hunting weak side block/steal opportunities -- get those things going and the shots will come. We'll see if that happens.

Where do we stand overall?
We aren't the same program we were for most of JB's tenure, sadly. Doubt it will change next year but who knows. I don't get that depressed about it b/c I think you'd generally take the 40-ish excellent years in exchange for the 9 or 10 mediocre ones most of the time. But while I don't think this team has much of a shot to reach the tourney, but I do actually think they can make a solid run at a decent record and a pretty decent finish in the ACC. I'll give JB credit -- and yes, he's the one who put the roster together so you reap what you sow -- but he's done a nice job helping this team be competitive when we're both young and not terribly athletic. All in all, if we end up with maybe 18 wins and get some nice improvement from the Browns and Taylors, that would put us in a spot to potentially be more competitive if Mintz comes back next year. Especially if we can add a good recruit and maybe a transfer. That's the hope at least.
I think Judah is one and done. Devo also said it during the postgame show on the radio following VT. He said Judah is perfect for development in G League and an NBA team will put him there. Unless, of course, someone gives Judah an NIL bag attractive enough to keep him here.
 
Good write up. Regarding Benny... according to Jim, Benny is our best forward. Okay, I trust the coach on that. However, I do wonder what he sees in practice though. Clearly Jim wants Benny to play a different style, which is closer to the basket (more similar to Brown). That being the case, is Benny actually doing that in practice and then in games, not? I seriously doubt that is the case. Therefore, how can Jim claim that Benny is the best forward if he won't play how the team most needs from him? Perhaps Jim should have said Benny has the most potential and highest ceiling of any forward on the team - that would make more sense.

Moving forward, I'd like to see a HEAVY dose of Jesse, Brown, Justin, Mintz, and Joe.
This feels a little like Quincy G. Though Q understood right away as a freshman that he needed to rebound and play close to the basket, and he succeeded at that once he started to heal from that early freshman injury. He had a pretty good January and February of his freshman year. As a sophomore JB started letting him shoot open 3s. But I get the sense that he left for Oregon because he wanted more freedom to be a perimeter player.
 
its not really perplexing. he wants to be in the NBA and thats how NBA players play. they dont just stand next to the rim and do easy stuff all day. if he makes NBA it will be more like jayson tatum's game...thats how he wants to make it. its not really that hard to figure out.
Making the league is more about being good and specializing in 1 or 2 things. Benny, right now, is not good at anything. Devo made an interesting point in the postgame following VT. He said Maliq will make the NBA after 3 or 4 years because he can do little things like rebounding close to the basket and picking up garbage points off putbacks. He also can convert the dumpdown pass down low and he can play defense. He's not outstanding in anything but good in several facets. Devo thought Maliq could have a nice NBA career as a guy coming off the bench for 15-20 minutes by doing the little things.
 
I think Judah is one and done. Devo also said it during the postgame show on the radio following VT. He said Judah is perfect for development in G League and an NBA team will put him there. Unless, of course, someone gives Judah an NIL bag attractive enough to keep him here.
Ugh. Adam should focus on getting NIL to Judah. He’s a star. We need him to come back. Also NIL for Jesse. He’s an international student so it’s harder but I believe others have found a way around it.
 
The Benny Issue - I think many on this board are mesmerized by the fact that he was a 5 star.

First - let me say that the handful of times that we have seen Benny play at his best, those games have been better than any game we have seen from any of our other forwards.

Second - So, what are the problems - why dont we see best Benny more often ???

I think it comes down to a couple of issues with his game:

1. He has funky form on his shot, and as the expression goes, function follows form. Unless he can fix his form, his shot will always be inconsistent and will always be off more than it is on. I do not recall any particularly great benny games when his play has been 100% within the arc. Correct me if I am wrong on this take. If he makes a trey or two it seems to be a confidence jumpstart for him.

2. He is not great off the dribble. He can rarely penetrate and finish. His best dribble moves are two bounces and a pullup J, and then we are back to the shooting form issues.

3. He needs to get a lot stronger, that is why we dont see too many at the rim finishes. That plus his handle is average...at best.

4. He flat out just lacks real instincts for the game, and he rarely seems to be able to adjust to the situation if his strengths arent working.

Now, I do not mean this criticism to be a trashing of Benny. He is probably our best pure athlete. he has great quickness and leaping ability. Not sure why he is inconsistent about getting in there and getting his nose dirty as others have pointed out.

Benny can still be a solid above average player who will have some great games from time to time, but IMHO, he will never be the player that you hope you are getting when you recruit a 5 star.
Number 4 is his biggest issue. Kind of reminds of of Terrence Roberts in that regard.
 
11-6...CUSE has won 8 of its last 10 I think.
It is a YOUNG team...Girard and Jesse have seen it all.
Benny, with Jimmy and Swider, didn't get a lot of run last year.
He's like a soph-man. Taylor Brown Bell Mintz are getting a lot of minutes.
Old man Torrence isn't...see how young this team is?

What I see is a bunch of players now adapting to their roles and learning to play with each other.
There is talent.
But I'm gonna step on some toes with the next statement.
When playing very good, physical teams, we are being held back by Girard.
In those games when Girard is struggling, JB has to face reality and park Joe from time to time.
If CUSE can adjust to this, and figure out on what nights to use Bell, Taylor, Torrence- taking some of Girard's minutes, the Orange could be a more than interesting team in March.

Since Joes 3 game skid, he has averaged 20ppg and shot 41% from 3 in the last 10 games. He’s not holding back anyone.
 
It’s frustrating knowing that this team could be in a much better situation. Yes there were growing pains but even just taking care of business against St. John’s and Bryant has us at 13-4 with more wiggle room.

We seem to have finally found our best lineup - Judah/Joe/Taylor/Brown/Jesse. Very interested to see if that leads to a starting lineup change tonight or just a quicker hook for both forwards.

This team has been much more fun to watch than last year. While the tourney is a long shot we have potential to get a decent seed in the ACC tourney and set ourselves up to go on a little run.
 
I can honestly say we’re 10 minutes of basketball away from 14 wins… but we also could have lost 2+ more games.
That means we’re struggling to compete against mid-major programs.
 
11-6...CUSE has won 8 of its last 10 I think.
It is a YOUNG team...Girard and Jesse have seen it all.
Benny, with Jimmy and Swider, didn't get a lot of run last year.
He's like a soph-man. Taylor Brown Bell Mintz are getting a lot of minutes.
Old man Torrence isn't...see how young this team is?

What I see is a bunch of players now adapting to their roles and learning to play with each other.
There is talent.
But I'm gonna step on some toes with the next statement.
When playing very good, physical teams, we are being held back by Girard.
In those games when Girard is struggling, JB has to face reality and park Joe from time to time.
If CUSE can adjust to this, and figure out on what nights to use Bell, Taylor, Torrence- taking some of Girard's minutes, the Orange could be a more than interesting team in March.
agree on everything.

team is coming into its own...figuring it out...just hope they have enough runway to get to liftoff
 
As much talk as there is on this forum about us not being good and disappointed about a myriad of things (which I admit sometimes I can do too), we're really only two games from us being regarded MUCH differently. Think about it. Instead of 11-6, we're 13-4, hmmmm. There are a couple of teams currently ranked in the top 25 with four losses.

I don't think we're really far off from being a ncaa tournament team. We just can't lose games like the one this evening and we need to pick up a couple that we're not necessarily expecting. We do that, which I don't think is expecting all that much, and we might be pretty happy where we're positioned come March.

I don't know, maybe it's just the beers I had during my round this afternoon, but it sounds good to me.
 
Since Joes 3 game skid, he has averaged 20ppg and shot 41% from 3 in the last 10 games. He’s not holding back anyone.
bees...JG wasn't on the court last night when CUSE made up that 12 point deficit. He's a defensive liability to varying degrees game in/game out. When he's not getting 16 points, he's holding this team back.
 
bees...JG wasn't on the court last night when CUSE made up that 12 point deficit. He's a defensive liability to varying degrees game in/game out. When he's not getting 16 points, he's holding this team back.

Wrong
 

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