Some Negatives

[swish7]

We won by 20! Rah, rah, sis boom bah. Is that superfanny enough?


Great, now that that is out of the way, in no particular order:

1. The circus shots are fun when they go in, but torture when they don't. Are they really necessary? Do they somehow define SU; the run and gun, treated like an undisciplined NBA team, anything goes, the more tickets it sells the better? In the lat 8 mins, Dion had a nice drive into a crowded lane. He had two men blocked off to his left, one trailing him, but still had what could have been a good shot attempt with his right hand. Instead, he tried some kind of windmill motion, under and up finger roll. His shot went straight towards the underside of the rim, but never even made it to the rim. Scoops 3s are nice when they go in, but one was an off balance fade away, and the other was a scissor kick shot put. We are not that far removed from shooting around 20% from 3. One thing I like about Duke is every shot from their guards is perfect form.
2. Non-chalance. We seriously out-manned UConn skill wise, but they were seriously mas macho on the court. We started this season playing with more grit and intensity than many other Cuse teams. We used to play like we had a chip on our shoulders. Yet now we play like we are mesmerized by our lauded spot in the polls. We have a "ho hum wake me up in the F4 attitude".
3. Fab's fouls. He was really out of sorts in the 2nd half. I'm sure it is a temporary, hangover induced thing, but what a day to return to freshman form.
4. JS: nice three. Yet, I wonder if he understands the offense does not center around him. Especially with Fab, KJo, and Dion on the court. You can argue whether his 3s are good or not...he can shoot over anybody and is always 25 feet from the hoop, so arguably all of his shots are "good". However, he often jacks them up 3 seconds into the possession. Those are bad, momentum killing shots.
5. Non-chalance Kris Joseph...really just that one turnover comes to mind. It was just so pathetically avoidable, yet he turns around and walks down the court like it doesn't make a difference. I wish we would relegate our TOs to ones where the defense does something to us.
6. Higgins. Really terrible calls today.
7. Fair got lost on D a few times.
8. The fact that some pollyanna will trumpet this as a reason for the pay board.

We have survived so much this season. From Fine, to Fab. The hottest fire forges the strongest steal, or whatever the saying is. Yet, there is a certain lack of cohesion about how we're playing. It's as if we are on a remarkable survival streak, and not day, by day, getting better and better. We're clearly not falling apart, but I don't feel that we are gelling. Triche, Keita, and Southerland are getting lost in the shuffle. Dare I say Fair?

Maybe I just need to take a step back and enjoy the ride. This season just feels like it should be a special one. Yet, nothing less than the elite 8, for this squad, should be considered special.

 

[newmexicuse]

I think we need to get an entire new team since our guys are obviously quite a bit less than perfect. I can't believe your post after a game where we whip up on UConn.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Swish, you know our offense has always been the "freelance" show... we just have better pieces for it this season. Sometimes Brandon, Scoop or Dion gets the ball and you just see it in their eyes that they are shooting it..no matter what. Kjo went 4 mins without a touch, as soon as he touched it the next time he put it up. It's great to be a wing player in JB's system...total freedom...unless you are one of the chosen doghouse guys.

 

[AZOrange]

uh what? this post is a classic. loved 2 and 3 the most (also the Fair getting lost in the shuffle comment). Did you see Fab reject Drummond's weaksauce in the second half?

 

[NKR1978]

I can't tell if you're joking.

 

[No Hoyas]

Agree with most of your points.
Looking at the '10 team i felt there was something special about the team.
This year, yeah, ther're talented, but I dont have that feeling......yet.

 

[SouthCampusHero]

Are you suggesting that college basketball players are not perfect?

Was the '96 UK team perfect?

 

[CaptainJ]

Strength of schedule vs past years(or many other teams' any year in terms of non conference). I will start a thread on it sometime, but for now that is really all that needs to be said. No other Big East team is in the top 10 this year. They may finish with none in the top 15. If I wasn't an SU fan and looked at them objectively come tournament time... again, I will save that for another day. Yes they are good, but what powerhouses have we played this year, let alone beat? crickets

Edit: We could win a NC, no doubt, but it isn't as close to "expected" as some on here seem to feel. Can anyone remember a time when their was such a lack of elite teams on our schedule?
Edit #2: I dont see much worth complaining about with today's game. My complaint in relation to today's game is that lately this level of play, especially shooting-wise, has been the exception instead of the rule. If we played like this consistently, I'd feel great about our chances for a NC.

 

[pearl31]

Some of you really are unbelievable.

 

[swish7]

Agree with most of your points.
Looking at the '10 team i felt there was something special about the team.
This year, yeah, ther're talented, but I dont have that feeling......yet.

Thanks. I am not going to entertain posters who are just looking to get on somebody's christmas card list by shouting down observations, or that cannot comprehend that a bad made shot is still a bad shot. The "it crowd" will post the same concepts in a different way, and people will be tripping over themselves to agree with them.

The '10 team gave us that special feeling. The '12 team did as well, til they lost it somewhat. I think they can get it back. There are some things they can do better, because hell, they were doing it better earlier in the season. The biggest difference between earlier and now (besides the schedule) is that BT, JS, and BMK are no longer filling their roles well. I'd like us to get back to firing on all cylinders.

UConn was an 8 loss team. And halfway through the 2nd they were within 2 and we were reeling. Scoop made a couple tough threes and the rest is history. Love the win, love Syracuse.

 

[Bornorange]

Was this written before or after the game today?

 

[pearl31]

The "it crowd" will post the same concepts in a different way, and people will be tripping over themselves to agree with them.

:rolling:

 

[tbonezone]

the it crowd..
Stuart Mackenzie: The Queen, The Vatican, The Gettys, The Rothschilds, *and* Colonel Sanders before he went tits up. Oh, I hated the Colonel with is wee *beady* eyes, and that smug look on his face. "Oh, you're gonna buy my chicken! Ohhhhh!"

 

[dasher]

what is the point? That our guys make mistakes? Yep. And of course we get the Big East is not very good this year chimed in. And who is? Have you watched Duke struggle against St John's? Or UNC? Good God.

 

[br801]

I so love this board. God bless the Internet.

 

[swish7]

Was this written before or after the game today?

Was your reply to my OP written before or after you saw my name?

Yeah, I dared to say there are some things I did not like about how we played. For 30 minutes, at home, before a fired up record crowd, we made an 8 loss team, with an adjunct coach, look like a 2 loss team.

For the last 7 games players have been doing triple lindies while shooting 20 %. Today they do the usual triple lindies, but shoot 40%, and the response is "they shot 40% and wow, did you see that triple lindy?!".

Golly jerwillickers, Beaver needs to be sent to bed without his supper now.

 

[djcon57]

Thanks. I am not going to entertain posters who are just looking to get on somebody's christmas card list by shouting down observations, or that cannot comprehend that a bad made shot is still a bad shot. The "it crowd" will post the same concepts in a different way, and people will be tripping over themselves to agree with them.

The '10 team gave us that special feeling. The '12 team did as well, til they lost it somewhat. I think they can get it back. There are some things they can do better, because hell, they were doing it better earlier in the season. The biggest difference between earlier and now (besides the schedule) is that BT, JS, and BMK are no longer filling their roles well. I'd like us to get back to firing on all cylinders.

UConn was an 8 loss team. And halfway through the 2nd they were within 2 and we were reeling. Scoop made a couple tough threes and the rest is history. Love the win, love Syracuse.

The '10 team lost to 13 loss Louisville...twice.

But obviously your "special feeling" wasn't feeling it back then.

Actually, I'm sure it was.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

For some fans, its hard to celebrate any regular season success. We've seen this story so many times...with March dissapointment shortly on its heels.

I think Swish may be anticipating a round of 32 or Sweet 16 come-uppance...which seems to be what we probably should expect from a JB team.

 

[orangenirvana]

Maybe I just need to take a step back and enjoy the ride. This season just feels like it should be a special one. Yet, nothing less than the elite 8, for this squad, should be considered special.

You should have started your post with this paragraph. And then you should have stopped typing.

 

[swish7]

Hey, if people take this as peeing in their punch bowl, then I am sorry (for you). I promise the punch and pee are just sugar free lemonade. You can choose to call it punch, or pee, whatever you want. Everything I wrote, and everything the hippy go skippies write, all the same. Sugar free lemonade. It does not matter if I spend a year mixing it with sugar, some are just going to call it pee. I do not think I have EVER once publicly shamed or ridiculed an individual here. Think about that. I am not a sycophat either. I do appreciate funny, original, and objective posters, and don't care if they are positive or negative.

I am anticipating an elite 8 or final 4, honestly. We will out athlete (Marathon Oil) the 1st round, UConn the 2nd round, Florida the 3rd round, and ND the 4th round. Which w/ Fab, could go either way.

I am very intrigued by what could happen if the "2nd 5" of Triche, MCW, JS, Rak, and BMK, and the "1st 4" (of Fab, CJ, Dion, Scoop) can all fire on all cylinders in the same game. I see no reason why it cannot happen. I am concerned that Triche is now in the 2nd 5. I am also concerned that JB is yelling at MCW for things he ignores about Scoop, that JS is single threaded, that BMK just reaches and fouls, and Rak is becoming a non-factor. Fab had a poor game today. If that happens in the round of 32, or whenever, all bets are off.

Yes, I did celebrate the win. With my dog. Then, I came here to post my thoughts on things I don't like. I've posted about the triple lindy shots before. Hate 'em.

 

[swish7]

You should have started your post with this paragraph. And then you should have stopped typing.

That would have been a lame thing to do. Those kind of (stating the obvious / think like this) posts make me barf. I may have received 10 likes though.

 

[dasher]

That would have been a lame thing to do. Those kind of (stating the obvious / think like this) posts make me barf. I may have received 10 likes though.

Swish it was blue Curtain and Iggy 5 times each.

 

[swish7]

Swish it was blue Curtain and Iggy 5 times each.

Dasher, it was not. You were mostly spot on in your first reply (we make mistakes), and should have stopped there.

Igor was a great poster, despite your repeated posts to the contrary. Really misunderstood.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

First off, I thought CJ had a great game. Arguably the best game of his career. He hit the boards hard and made his mid-range jumper. He appeared to get the message after the Georgetown game about the value of rebounds.

Second Fab added to his arsenal. That jumper will pose problems for other teams. A scoring presence in the front line is needed and is being developed.

This team still has flaws but moved in the right direction. And a win over UConn is a good thing.

I've got to admit I don't know why BT isn't out there more in the second half. I hope that changes soon.

One potential problem with the winning is the expectations placed on the tourney. People actually thinking like anything less than a final four is a disappointing season. Things happen. It's been a great ride so far and today added to it.

 

[dasher]

Dasher, it was not. You were mostly spot on in your first reply (we make mistakes), and should have stopped there.

Igor was a great poster, despite your repeated posts to the contrary. Really misunderstood.

He actually isn't a great poster swish. The reason, he doesn't post when we win. He reminds me of the old soviet union. He fishes in troubled water.