Syracuse's big question/ what nobody wants to talk about

[Flacusian]

One thing that seems to be generally acknowleged by most posters here is the fact that the team has not played well recently. Of course there are those who say that as the season wore on we played better teams and thus the margin of victory shrank accordingly. The general concensus is also that the level of play dropping off coincided with Fab's hiatus from the team. Whatever the case may be it begs the question, "What is the reason behind the team seemingly not playing as well later in the season than earlier".

It seemed that early on when the minutes were spread out between 9/10 players there were times that the team clearly looked unbeatable. Although we struggled with rebounding the other areas in which we excelled more than compensated. Then the slump bug seemed to hit pretty much everyone on the team. Dion was only a shadow of what early on looked like a 1st team big east / all american type of break out season. Dirty pretty much lost his ability to hit a 3 and many of his shots didn't even make it to the rim. Scoop was no longer the "facillitator" and we watched him continue his downward trajectory from the charity stripe. Fab, although back and playing fairly consistently was seen stepping back and taking 12 to 15' rather than being a force down low. KJ had a couple games in which he pretty much disappeared and contributed next to nothing on the boards. CJ even struggled at times. Brandon saw long stretches when he sat on the bench when clearly he could have been contributing.

It would seem reasonable to expect a team to experience a trajectory of improvement over the course of a season. Although the team continued to win, was the winning in fact masking the fact that some disturbing trends were developing with the team. It's easy to point to the fact that they continued to win games and say that is all that matters but at the same time most would say the thing that matters most is to have the team playing their best as they head into the tourney.

Was it the shortening of the bench which began to have an effect on the morale of the team both individually and as a team? JB always claims that "The guys who are playing best are the ones who are going to play". Did that cause any hard feelings which simmered with some of the players such as MCW. Was the flare up of tempers when Fab launched the early in the clock 3 late in the game a sign that there is some dissention on the team? Was the grind of the stress from the Fine situation / Fabs absence/ and finally the drug scandal something that although we've been assured it hasn't affected the team, actually had an averse impact on the team as a whole?

And finally, in the loss to Cinci, there were times when clearly there was a lack of hustle from those who are the supposed leadership of the team. The team came out without the sense of urgency and intensity that we had become accustomed to seeing earlier in the season. Sure, Cinci was shooting lights out but in addtion to them hitting those shots one has to ask the question of why they got so many open uncontested looks and were allowed to pretty much ice the game in the opening minutes.

I certainly don't have the answers to this but I have to be honest in saying that these are some of the things that I'm thinking about as we head into the tourney. The gaudy record of 31-2 makes it easy to think that all is well with Syracuse but to me it is important that they are poised to play well and make a deep run in the dance. JB assures us all is well. I certainly hope so. I just don't want the heartbreak of a team which has held so much promise to not play well as we head toward the finish line of the season. I'm believing that the team has saved their best play for last and we are going to see the team that had so much fire in it's belly back in January.

LGO!!!

 

[RF2044]

Here's something that I rarely see mentioned about how we played down the stretch: all season long, everyone pointed to the final portion of the schedule as being our gauntlet.

Statistically, we didn't play as well those last 8 games [or wherever you draw the line]. Maybe that's because it was the toughest portion of the schedule, and not due to the fact that the bottom is falling out.

Honestly, I think we just had a backloaded schedule...and still went 10-1 over our last 11 games.

I'm not that worried. I bet losing to Cinci--who had the once in a lifetime shooting performance against us--lit a fire under our collective asses. Just a hunch--but I see us making a run.

 

[bpo57]

This is not going to be easy. Not to dismiss UNCA (they're a decent 16 seed) but from the second game on it is going to be a grind. It is quite possible that we are not going to blow teams out from the second game on. But the good news is that this team is accustomed to playing these types of grinding games that end 65-61. I think we have to tighten up the D a bit and start consistently knocking down FTs.

 

[dasher]

No Flacusian. The teams we played were better. We did an amzaing job being 31-2. It is that simple.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm not that worried. I bet losing to Cinci--who had the once in a lifetime shooting performance against us--lit a fire under our collective asses. Just a hunch--but I see us making a run.

You know what's funny about that, is they started 8-10, which was absurd and obviously changed the flow of the game from the beginning, but they ended 10-22, which is good but nothing amazing. (I think after the 8th one I turned to someone at the pourhouse and said over/under on made 3's for the rest of the game is 3.5).

But like I said, those bombs early in the game really set the tone. I don't think our seniors can play any worse than they did last weekend. The one thing that will continue to worry me is the defensive glass; which is why I would much rather play So Miss in round 2 than K-state.

 

[RF2044]

You know what's funny about that, is they started 8-10, which was absurd and obviously changed the flow of the game from the beginning, but they ended 10-22, which is good but nothing amazing. (I think after the 8th one I turned to someone at the pourhouse and said over/under on made 3's for the rest of the game is 3.5).

But like I said, those bombs early in the game really set the tone. I don't think our seniors can play any worse than they did last weekend. The one thing that will continue to worry me is the defensive glass; which is why I would much rather play So Miss in round 2 than K-state.

They certainly can't. Plus, CJ has been the glue / consistent contributor all year long, and we got zero from him offensively. We also shot uncharacteristically poorly from the FT line, and turned the ball over at a rate we haven't all year. And despite all that, we still almost won.

Need to play better. If we come out lethargic like Friday, we can lose to anybody. But I think many are overreacting to the loss, given how it circumstantially played out.

 

[SoBristol]

I don't think our shorter rotations had as much to do with our tighter games as (a) failing to rebound well --not many second chances for us; too many for our opponents; (b) lack of real good defensive quickness at the top of the zone; (c) inconsistent shooting performances from BT, Kris and James; and (d) lack of scoring from the blocks.

We have a lot of strengths (balance, shot blocking, Dion, experience, best 6th and 7th men, transition finishing), but these four factors explain why we struggled on several nights, even though we got those 31 wins.

We were good (obviously) right from the beginning of the year, but who among our guys got better over the season? Maybe James? But his improvement was offset by some others that plateaued vs expectations (BT). Our frosh did not come on to make contributions (did not get much chance) -- other teams had frosh in their main rotations.
Schedule was back-end loaded with G-Town, UConn 2x, Louisville 2x, USF -- several good defensive teams, good coaches, and teams with at least one good frosh in the rotation. Here I am thinking about Collins for USF, Bohanan for Louisville, Otto Porter for GT, Boatright & Drummond for UConn.

To make a deep run, we need BT, Kris & Scoop to regroup. And they should and will.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

I read the UK board earlier. They say they've played like crap recently, too.

 

[swish7]

no matter how much the pom pom pollys protest, JB agrees with you.

"Jim Boeheim said Syracuse’s loss in the semifinals of the Big East tournament to Cincinnati will help his team in the long run. “We haven’t played our best basketball over the last 10 games,” Boeheim said. “We didn’t respond until we got slapped in the face by Cincinnati. The players came back, and we’ve had two of our best days of practice.""

Looking forward to a revitalized Cuse.

 

[Melancer46]

I don't think our shorter rotations had as much to do with our tighter games as (a) failing to rebound well --not many second chances for us; too many for our opponents; (b) lack of real good defensive quickness at the top of the zone; (c) inconsistent shooting performances from BT, Kris and James; and (d) lack of scoring from the blocks.

We have a lot of strengths (balance, shot blocking, Dion, experience, best 6th and 7th men, transition finishing), but these four factors explain why we struggled on several nights, even though we got those 31 wins.

We were good (obviously) right from the beginning of the year, but who among our guys got better over the season? Maybe James? But his improvement was offset by some others that plateaued vs expectations (BT). Our frosh did not come on to make contributions (did not get much chance) -- other teams had frosh in their main rotations.
Schedule was back-end loaded with G-Town, UConn 2x, Louisville 2x, USF -- several good defensive teams, good coaches, and teams with at least one good frosh in the rotation. Here I am thinking about Collins for USF, Bohanan for Louisville, Otto Porter for GT, Boatright & Drummond for UConn.

To make a deep run, we need BT, Kris & Scoop to regroup. And they should and will.

Not for nothing, but how Dion isn't mentioned here is beyond me lol. Dion was flat out awful down the stretch this season until the Big East Tournament. Not only did he stop making shots, but he started taking more jumpshots and attacking the rim less. Him and James becoming black holes on this team has been so disturbing to watch.

 

[Melancer46]

I read the UK board earlier. They say they've played like crap recently, too.

All 3 SEC tournament games they played like crap, but they were strong up until that.

 

[RF2044]

no matter how much the pom pom pollys protest, JB agrees with you.

"Jim Boeheim said Syracuse’s loss in the semifinals of the Big East tournament to Cincinnati will help his team in the long run. “We haven’t played our best basketball over the last 10 games,” Boeheim said. “We didn’t respond until we got slapped in the face by Cincinnati. The players came back, and we’ve had two of our best days of practice.""

Looking forward to a revitalized Cuse.

Swish, it isn't pollyannaish to root for the team to succeed, or be confident that they might.

Honestly, some people predict the worst around here just to spare themselves prospective disappointment if something actually goes wrong.

Tiresome.

And Swish--you know that I am a huge Swish fan.

LGO!!!

 

[Rossco123]

One thing I think is pretty clear. In early games we fed off of turnovers. The rebounding was weak but we maid up for the lost possessions with steals. As the season wears on all teams cut down on turnovers as they find their ball handlers and learn their offense.

We had to compensate by improving our rebounding and we didn’t.

We have a plethora of issues in the half court offense. Dion going off in the last game was good for him, but for the team --- not so much.

If we can get hungry and hit the boards our defense will be our strength. Balanced and disciplined Offense could see us through to a championship game. No discipline = early exit.

 

[swish7]

Swish, it isn't pollyannaish to root for the team to succeed, or be confident that they might.

Honestly, some people predict the worst around here just to spare themselves prospective disappointment if something actually goes wrong.

Tiresome.

And Swish--you know that I am a huge Swish fan.

LGO!!!

I am not referring to the shouting down of posters who are always negative, but the shouting down of legitimate criticism.

Maybe in some distan future society will have been recreated from Tony Robbin's sperm and Oprah's eggs. Until that day, we will just have to learn to get along.

 

[dollarbill44]

to me it is important that they are poised to play well and make a deep run in the dance.
LGO!!!

This is the key. They need to view each game as their NC game and go all out. If they do that, they will play for the NC on April 2.

 

[RF2044]

I am not referring to the shouting down of posters who are always negative, but the shouting down of legitimate criticism.

Maybe in some distan future society will have been recreated from Tony Robbin's sperm and Oprah's eggs. Until that day, we will just have to learn to get along.

I'm not sure that I'm following the physics behind that science fiction response, but you know I'm down with Swish!

LGO!!!

 

[SoBristol]

Not for nothing, but how Dion isn't mentioned here is beyond me lol. Dion was flat out awful down the stretch this season until the Big East Tournament. Not only did he stop making shots, but he started taking more jumpshots and attacking the rim less. Him and James becoming black holes on this team has been so disturbing to watch.

Well -- because Dion was an all-tournament selection in the lights of MSG? So, he showed he could get going in the clutch. Waiting for BT and a few others to show the ability to lift their performance in the big games. We have 4 or 5 guys averaging 7 to 9 points per game -- need a couple of those guys to put up double figures in the big lights.