Syracuse SOS

[Orangezoo]

And one of VCU/Colgate

Colgate is the throw it away loss that is unlike the others. We moved past it and then Gtown happened. AZ St has show signs of life and so could help too. Again though just couldn't drop that Gtown game no matter how difficult given the gauntlet schedule.

 

[sufandu]

the forwards have literally zero experience in the zone. swider has "never played this role before"...benny looks totally lost. the forwards are what makes the zone tick, imo. yes in terms of age and years of ncaabb it should be enough but i can see why its not.

i mean...im assuming they didnt want kadary and qg to leave...maybe im wrong on that. i guess they also wouldve liked it if braswell stayed too. as far as ag and woody...i think it wouldve been nice if woody stayed but they probably didnt beg him to. if they wanted all of them to leave i guess you are right, kinda.


assuming they didnt want some or all of those transfers to leave, then the incoming players are contingency players...because the schedule was made when qg kadary woody and braswell were still on the team...and expected to still be on the team!!!!

it wasnt early in the process in terms of this year's schedule.

Not wanting guys to leave and not having an expectation they'll leave are different things. In this era it's the new norm. Many teams are dealing with the same circumstance, the challenges are not unique to us.

It's not fair to compare most teams to 2003 but we started two freshman and managed to work in another part way into the season with obvious success. We just don't have the talent close to that. Unless we're going to figure out a way to get guys to play together for 4 years (unlikely), we need to find a way to get more talent that can cover for a lack of experience or find a way to get guys up to speed quicker.

 

[NineOneSeven]

ACC is horrendous. Until proven otherwise, I expect somewhere between 9-11 wins. We will need several more than that. It is possible, given my first sentence.

 

[MDCuse]

Remember the ACC isn't very good. As has been the case for this team since day one, they will have games where they look like world beaters and games where they look like they shouldn't be in D1. If they can get on a hot shooting streak and manage the defense in some credible way, they could have one of their better ACC records this year. So much is unknown though, especially with COVID pause which killed them last year.

Colgate, Georgetown and VCU aren't very good either. This team just isn't very good.

 

[MDCuse]

ACC is horrendous. Until proven otherwise, I expect somewhere between 9-11 wins. We will need several more than that. It is possible, given my first sentence.

Just because the ACC is down, doesn't mean Cuse is any good or can beat those down teams.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Just because the ACC is down, doesn't mean Cuse is any good or can beat those down teams.

Yes

 

[kcsu]

We might get hot and pull off a miracle and make the tournament or JB might have his first losing season. The team has talent but that talent has to play better D.
We are too weak up top on D. Its the primary reason Jim has to play a different zone.
Id like to see Symir get more run and have Joe play off the bench at the 2 position.
Regardless this team isn't playing as well as it can and that does provide some hope.

 

[Cuse181]

Just because the ACC is down, doesn't mean Cuse is any good or can beat those down teams.

It also doesn’t mean they can’t

 

[Nicknack]

It also doesn’t mean they can’t

 

[MDCuse]

It also doesn’t mean they can’t

My point is more that you're judging Cuse potential W/L record based on other teams as opposed to looking at the holes on this team.

 

[realorange]

Just because the ACC is down, doesn't mean Cuse is any good or can beat those down teams.

Gee, how do you really feel about Syracuse's chances?

 

[MDCuse]

Gee, how do you really feel about Syracuse's chances?

I've been pretty open on this board with my thoughts. I don't see much upside with this team. There are just way too many holes to plug heading to conference play. Especially with the lack of depth that's very evident. I've stated I believe we have seen the last JB appearance in the NCAA tourney and that this may end his string of season +.500. It pains me to see as this program and JAB have been a huge part of my life for close to 40 years but realistically there isn't much to look at optimistically. I hope I'm wrong and I hope something clicks, but I just don't see what changes.

 

[rrlbees]

There’s a lot of upside on this team. Start with Buddy and Cole shooting better from 3 which they can. Just a few more 3’s per game will make a huge difference. And all the new guys will get more and more comfortable playing the zone and the necessary rotations. And last, Benny can play far far better.

 

[MDCuse]

There’s a lot of upside on this team. Start with Buddy and Cole shooting better from 3 which they can. Just a few more 3’s per game will make a huge difference. And all the new guys will get more and more comfortable playing the zone and the necessary rotations. And last, Benny can play far far better.

I think this is where we have differing views. Yes, I think Buddy will probably "regress to his norm" as the season goes on. I'm just not sure Cole will. He played limited minutes at Nova but I think he's getting exposed more with a larger sample size. To me, he just isn't a 30 MPG guy. To be honest, both him and Jimmy strike me as role players off the bench. That's what Cole has been for 3 years but because of this roster, they're both being thrust into a major role. On the defensive end, I just don't see this team improving enough to make them very competitive. The lack of athleticism (especially at the top of the zone) is a huge issue that I don't think gets fixed. Would playing Symir help that a bit? Probably. Will Jim do that? Doubtful.

 

[Orangezoo]

There’s a lot of upside on this team. Start with Buddy and Cole shooting better from 3 which they can. Just a few more 3’s per game will make a huge difference. And all the new guys will get more and more comfortable playing the zone and the necessary rotations. And last, Benny can play far far better.

Now it is 100 pct prove it time. We need a run of wins to showcase that upside. Need a 6-7 game win streak to open league play maybe even more.

 

[Nicknack]

I've been pretty open on this board with my thoughts. I don't see much upside with this team. There are just way too many holes to plug heading to conference play. Especially with the lack of depth that's very evident. I've stated I believe we have seen the last JB appearance in the NCAA tourney and that this may end his string of season +.500. It pains me to see as this program and JAB have been a huge part of my life for close to 40 years but realistically there isn't much to look at optimistically. I hope I'm wrong and I hope something clicks, but I just don't see what changes.

I think that's a pretty realistic and level headed viewpoint. I know, it sucks. I'm usually one of the "more optimistic" cats, but where we're headed as a program, should be concerning to all. Just because Jim had his hands firmly gripped on the wheel before doesn't mean he does today. Yesterday was, well, yesterday.

 

[Cuse181]

My point is more that you're judging Cuse potential W/L record based on other teams as opposed to looking at the holes on this team.

And my point was you’re looking at all the holes on this team and ignoring all the holes on each of the other teams.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

There’s a lot of upside on this team. Start with Buddy and Cole shooting better from 3 which they can. Just a few more 3’s per game will make a huge difference. And all the new guys will get more and more comfortable playing the zone and the necessary rotations. And last, Benny can play far far better.

There is almost nothing behind the 5 starters. Its a shame because the team could be very good.

I think we are going to give away some wins in the ACC where we are up 15 at halftime but it all falls apart at the U8.

I think the team will stay in contention and we'll enter the ACCT with a shot as an at large. Of course we aren't really well suited to playing games in consecutive days.