The 2

[OttoinGrotto]

Boeheim pretty much said that Cooney will start at the 2.

When did this happen?

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[Madbiker]

4 games is a small sample size. Cooney played decent after he hit a few shots against McGill. To be honest I was underwhelmed by Gbinije. He just doesn't seem like an aggressive offensive player. Cooney at least stayed aggressive. I think he can shoot 34 to 38 from three this year. That's acceptable for a sophomore. Give me around 10 ppg, don't turn the ball over, and play good defense he will start. Cooney is great at the top of the zone, just like bt and mcw were.

Bj is probably the best scorer of the 2's, but he needs to gain weight and is inexperienced. He will be a great player here and he will play this year just because he can make shots. This is JB we are talking about, no way BJ starts this year, but he will play.

I don't think Patterson gets much run.

That said. My 2 guard depth chart is:

Cooney
BJ
G
Buss

Agree that 4 exhibition games in August is too small a sample to be very meaningful. But for the record, Cooney was 2-8 from the arc against Carlton and 0-2 against Ottawa. So 2-10 in the last 2 games. He had one good shooting game and that was against Bishop in the 2nd game. BJ looked very good all around much better than I had expected. The 6 weeks of practice coming up should be very interesting.

 

[SoBeCuse]

We just need to see more. Not sold on anybody. BJ did look good but they were mostly set shot threes against shrimps and inferior competition. His handle or lack thereof wasn't really tested in these games. Same with the others vs this competition excluding maybe Carleton.

 

[jordoo]

I think you are playing games with the numbers. Even if you believe the 7-21 stat, that's concerning 3pt%. He couldn't have started 0-6 if his first game ended up 2-7. Cooney had one good game out of three. And he finished his last two at 2-10. It's not like he turned some corner.

The 2g looks like a problem this year. No easy answer. Cooney looks to give us a soph Rautins at most, MG doesn't look like a scorer, Buss doesn't appear to have the offensive game, and BJ is just so young.

Cooney is getting the defacto start because he played last year, but I sense the position is wide open. Cooney didn't solidify anything in Canada in my book.

Wasn't tryingto play with the numbers. It seems there is some inconsisctansies with them even in this thread. My point was Cooney got off to a rough start but once he made one he not only continued to make them at a decent rate he also looked more confident shooting them. Thats all I was really trying to say. Obviously the numbers are what they are and we don't know for sure how any of the guys will shoot in for the season. Its speculation. I for one am optimistic that Cooney will shoot pretty well from 3 this year which should also make the rest of his offense easier. I'm not saying he is a better player than MikeG or BJ just that I expect him to shoot pretty well and he is good enough in the other area's to play pretty heavy minutes if that is the case.

 

[Cusefan0307]

For the record Donna Ditota mentioned yesterday in her chat that Boeheim likes Cooney starting at the 2 and bringing G off the bench because of G's versatility. There was also an article last week that I am sure OE posted, where Boeheim stated these games were good for the Cooney/Ennis partnership. Also when i stated Cooney his shots after the first half against Mcgill I didn't just mean three pointers. He hit one or two big 2 point shots against Carleton as well down the stretch.
I know people have their opinions and favorite players, but as long as TC shoots 33% and above from three and averages around 10ppg I believehe will start because he plays defense, and everything so far suggests he will start and see the most minutes out of anyone at the 2.

 

[sutomcat]

It does seem like a knock on BJ when you suggest to take his good performance with a grain of salt. The numbers suggest BJ did well in an unfamiliar environment. He handled pressure well. That's a big question for a young player.
This is a big plus when compared to Cooney. Unfortunately, Cooney is starting to consistently shrink as the lights get brighter, that's a difficult trait for JB to have to deal with come crunch time.
For instance, the start of last year, Cooneys first, he had a poor start. He slowly got better in OOC and then BE started. Cooney did poorly. Many point to his GTown game but he did his damage in the first half and was never heard from again as the game tightened up. He looked completely lost at the end of the Michigan game.

Even in the small sample size in Canada it looks like every time the lights brightened Cooney shrinks. The lights go on in the first game and Cooney comes out with an 0 for whatever start. Then he is able to adjust and finish the two easy games at 5-11 from deep. Then the hard game comes and he goes 2 for 8...same old.

Yes, I can see Cooney starting pretty much regardless of what else happens, much in the same way that I see Rak starting at the 4. JB is going to reward the veterans who have put in their time. But the question is going to be who finishes.

Some people take to the bright lights quicker than others. Who do you want in at the end of the close Duke game, a sophomore Nichols or a frosh GMac?

You are welcome to tell me what I meant in my post but you are wrong, it wasn't a knock on BJ; you are just interpreting it as such.

The fact is, BJ played most of his minutes in garbage time, often against backups for the other team. You might not think this is important to consider, I do.

Also disagree with your opinion on Trevor. Glad to see that you agree he is going to be the starter.

Your prediction BJ will be finishing games at SG is a very bold one. Kudos to you for having the guts to take such an extreme position. I am a big fan of BJ and think he is going to be a very good player here, but unless one of the big three guards gets hurt, I don't see him getting much playing time at guard this season. I believe that Buss will play there before BJ, as he did in all 4 of the games in Canada.

Time will tell.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I can't see Cooney and G being so bad that you don't have to guard them, which is really what 'Cuse needs, imo. Obviously it's always optimal to have great shooters, but sometimes respectable ones make a world of difference, too, which I think 'Cuse has.

Silent G has me worried. I expected a player who didn't just "blend in", but was attacking on offense. Don't get me wrong, I like him and think he is a solid player. But he suffers a bit from the Brandon Triche disease of being a good teammate, but maybe not an assertive enough player on offense. For comparison purposes, when Wes Johnson joined the squad, he was not reluctant to shoot, but kept it completely within the scope of his role in the offense.

Now, in Silent G's defense, he never had to play pick and roll before, he was a guy running in a motion offense looking for open space on the floor to catch and shoot (think Andy Rautins running off picks). We are asking him to develop a completely different skill set, as the backup PG.

 

[IthacaMatt]

There's more to the game than shooting.

Yes, but teams with more shooters tend to win.

 

[RF2044]

Silent G has me worried. I expected a player who didn't just "blend in", but was attacking on offense. Don't get me wrong, I like him and think he is a solid player. But he suffers a bit from the Brandon Triche disease of being a good teammate, but maybe not an assertive enough player on offense. For comparison purposes, when Wes Johnson joined the squad, he was not reluctant to shoot, but kept it completely within the scope of his role in the offense.

Now, in Silent G's defense, he never had to play pick and roll before, he was a guy running in a motion offense looking for open space on the floor to catch and shoot (think Andy Rautins running off picks). We are asking him to develop a completely different skill set, as the backup PG.

And we also haven't seen him play off the ball alonside Ennis. I came away from the Canadian scrimmages with very little feel for what he can actually do.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I wrote in the other threads, if roberson is as good as advertized we might be able to go with grant or roberson at the two on D swapping with fair on offense. The way JB was playing CJ uptop on the offensive end it wouldn't surprise me. If there is a way to create a mismatch at the 2 JB is going to consider it thats how you win games deep in the tournament.
It wouldn't be the first time a SF has played offense uptop for Cuse. Dnic and Joseph did it for 85% of the time they were on the floor as jr/seniors.

Grant or Roberson at the 2 is not going to happen. Don't even think about it.

 

[IthacaMatt]

And we also haven't seen him play off the ball alonside Ennis. I came away from the Canadian scrimmages with very little feel for what he can actually do.

He struck me as a Howard Triche kind of player - good size, but not a dominant rebounder; capable scorer, but not a go-to guy. Under control, good sense of the game, not likely to make too many mistakes. You need guys like that, but you can only play so many guys who are not big threats to score. That's why I think this year, we won't see too much of our centers playing corner forward in the zone. We aren't in the Big East anymore and will face fewer physical teams, and our best players are the forwards, and we will need the offense from our front court. Last year, starting Triche, Coleman and Rak, how many times did we hit the first TV timeout either being behind, or having pitched a near shutout on defense only to lead 6-2?

 

[rrlbees]

It does seem like a knock on BJ when you suggest to take his good performance with a grain of salt. The numbers suggest BJ did well in an unfamiliar environment. He handled pressure well. That's a big question for a young player.
This is a big plus when compared to Cooney. Unfortunately, Cooney is starting to consistently shrink as the lights get brighter, that's a difficult trait for JB to have to deal with come crunch time.
For instance, the start of last year, Cooneys first, he had a poor start. He slowly got better in OOC and then BE started. Cooney did poorly. Many point to his GTown game but he did his damage in the first half and was never heard from again as the game tightened up. He looked completely lost at the end of the Michigan game.

Even in the small sample size in Canada it looks like every time the lights brightened Cooney shrinks. The lights go on in the first game and Cooney comes out with an 0 for whatever start. Then he is able to adjust and finish the two easy games at 5-11 from deep. Then the hard game comes and he goes 2 for 8...same old.

Yes, I can see Cooney starting pretty much regardless of what else happens, much in the same way that I see Rak starting at the 4. JB is going to reward the veterans who have put in their time. But the question is going to be who finishes.

Some people take to the bright lights quicker than others. Who do you want in at the end of the close Duke game, a sophomore Nichols or a frosh GMac?

Thank god he didn't shrink so much that he was unable to hit what was arguably the biggest 3 of the game.


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[nolacuse44]

Many point to his GTown game but he did his damage in the first half and was never heard from again as the game tightened up.

Perhaps that's because of the 15 minutes he played in that game, only 2 were in the second half when JB put him in to give Brandon a breather.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

You are welcome to tell me what I meant in my post but you are wrong, it wasn't a knock on BJ; you are just interpreting it as such.

The fact is, BJ played most of his minutes in garbage time, often against backups for the other team. You might not think this is important to consider, I do.

Also disagree with your opinion on Trevor. Glad to see that you agree he is going to be the starter.

Your prediction BJ will be finishing games at SG is a very bold one. Kudos to you for having the guts to take such an extreme position. I am a big fan of BJ and think he is going to be a very good player here, but unless one of the big three guards gets hurt, I don't see him getting much playing time at guard this season. I believe that Buss will play there before BJ, as he did in all 4 of the games in Canada.

Time will tell.

I didn't tell you what you meant, I told you how it read to me.

I've never said the level of competition isn't important. My point was I thought it was impressive that such a young player didn't seem to have stage fright.

I didn't predict BJ to finish games, I'm hoping something along those lines can emerge. Odds are, we are just going to have to live with the subpar 2 that has been shown. Generally the longer someone has been with the program the smaller projected increase in improvement. The ceiling for Cooney and MG for this year looks limited.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Until TC makes 6 shots for every 5 he takes, some people will want him on the bench.

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[Oakland]

has historically been SU's weakest position - this year just continues the trend.

 

[orangedave]

has historically been SU's weakest position - this year just continues the trend.

You mean guys like Brandon Triche, Dion Waiters, Andy Rautins, Eric Devendorf and on and on?

 

[Oakland]

Fair enough, so if not SG, which position do you think is historically SU's weakest?

You mean guys like Brandon Triche, Dion Waiters, Andy Rautins, Eric Devendorf and on and on?

 

[Gabjon]

Fair enough, so if not SG, which position do you think is historically SU's weakest?

Center

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[IthacaMatt]

Fair enough, so if not SG, which position do you think is historically SU's weakest?

Center. No question. We've had the fewest great players at that position.

 

[AlaskaSU]

D Schayes, R Bouie, C McRae, R Seikaly, A Hawkins, O Hill, E Thomas, D Coleman played the 5 one year, AO, R Jackson

 

[doc05]

The only real "true" 2 on the team besides Bus right now is Cooney (Silent G to me has always been a 3 trying to play out of position). This team appears like it is going to need scoring punch, so you would hope to have a somewhat dynamic shooting guard for isos and js. Cooney just doesn't strike me as the type of scorer I think this team will need in the backcourt. Besides CJ and (I'm going to assume) Grant, I think there is legitimate scoring concern on this team, particularly in the backcourt.

 

[thebigeast44]

We're not Rutgers - we don't have any "weak" positions historically.

 

[Quazzum69]

Anyone more worried about the other guard position? If Ennis gets injured or suspended, who would take over? Triche was invaluable as he had every skill you'd want in a guard - ballhandling, driving, good defense, shooting - some better than others. Hopefully Gbinije can be Triche-esque.

At least we have 2-3 players who can play shooting guard. There's only one with natural point guard abilities.

 

[OrangeDW]

. Last year, starting Triche, Coleman and Rak, how many times did we hit the first TV timeout either being behind, or having pitched a near shutout on defense only to lead 6-2?

With the approach of starting a freshman big guy who is not any good yet being an ongoing thing since Fab Melo's freshman year, we've been playing 4 on 5 to start games for awhile.

I don't often question Boeheim's tactics, but that one I don't really get. If promises of starting from day 1 are made to lock these guys up, then fine. Otherwise, I don't see the purpose.