The Definition of Insanity...

[newmexicuse]

1. I just can't stand seeing Trevor get 40 minutes on nights when he does nothing.

2. Team looked tired & worn down at the end - why - RAK, Trevor, & McC get 40 minutes & G got 37. Didn't the dinosaur learn even a little bit from last season - you gotta give guys a blow & have em fresh for the end. NOBODY should play more than 35 minutes.

3. Is the three point line a brick wall - no pun intended - why can't a team that can't hit threes take a J from a couple of steps inside the line ???? Is it now a rule that only paint & three point shots count ???

4. It hurt seeing how smooth Jordan looked for them (even though he wasn't their star). This is a kid that could have been ours with a different recruiting strategy. They have three guys who can hit from distance - we have zero.

5. No excuse for some of the d lapses. Not getting back, not keeping track of Harrison, & totally losing Greene at the end.

6. What would I do to fix ?

My starting lineup would be:

C - Rak, but he doesn't play more than 35 MPG - Obokoh should be able to fill in for 5.

Forwards - I would rotate amongst McC, BJ, and Roberson when he gets back - for now G has to fill in. Again - no more than 35 MPG for anyone.

PG - Gotta give Kaleb a chance to grow. Agreed with Jimmy's decision to bench him for a long stretch, but he should have been given another chance. Buss provided some instant spark, but that wore off after about 5 minutes. That was the time to bring Kaleb back in at least for a minute or two to see if he learned anything on the bench.

2G - I am officially in the I am sick of Trevor camp. Sorry, but the kid has a one dimensional game & that dimension no longer/rarely works. Mike G has to start in his place & Trevor needs to earn any minutes he gets & not just be given them, especially not 40 of them. Maybe Trevor's game would improve if his role was to be a 6th man spark. He is simply not a D1 caliber starting guard.

So, in summation with the lineup - Gotta keep guys fresh for the end.

Mike G plays best in the backcourt - his attack is strictly from the top of the key. Once TR is back he should not get frontcourt time unless Trevor is somehow hot. Mike G is far better all around than is Trevor & he deserves to start @ the 2G.

Kaleb - His growing pains are worse than I had hoped, but if this team is to improve, this kid's stepping up his play is absolutely mandatory. he has to be put into the fire at least for short bursts even on his off nights. He will only improve by learning to play thru the hard times.

BJ - Why only 7 minutes ???? - He got 6 points in those 7 minutes on a team that hurts for points. He hasn't been an efficient player as of yet, but he is much more of a "natural" scorer than are most others on this team. He has got to be given a bigger role. He did not deserve a second half DNP.

Buss - He provided a nice 5 minute spark & then fizzled. His upside may only be role player, but I am still not sure about him.

 

[Cusefan0307]

The reason we stink is because the sophomores haven't improved. You're mad at Trevor? At least teams guard him. St. John's wanted Patterson and Johnson to shoot. They fired up 15 shots in 24 combined minutes and made 4! Even JB said so in his press conference.

Nobody even guards the two of them when they shoot!

 

[newmexicuse]

The reason we stink is because the sophomores haven't improved. You're mad at Trevor? At least teams guard him. St. John's wanted Patterson and Johnson to shoot. They fired up 15 shots in 24 combined minutes and made 4! Even JB said so in his press conference.

Nobody even guards the two of them when they shoot!

I am not mad at Trevor, I did not blame him for anything. I blame the Coach for giving him far more many minutes than he earns. Everybody else on the team has to earn minutes - why is Trevor exempt ???? And just as an FYI, Kaleb, BJ, and Buss, as bad as they were, all shot for a better % than did Trevor.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I am not mad at Trevor, I did not blame him for anything. I blame the Coach for giving him far more many minutes than he earns. Everybody else on the team has to earn minutes - why is Trevor exempt ???? And just as an FYI, Kaleb, BJ, and Buss, as bad as they were, all shot for a better % than did Trevor.

If you take Trevor out, teams are going to pack it in worse. Lavin made it a point to stop him. He stopped him last year to when he was on his hot streak. That game isn't on Trevor. Lavin didn't want him to shoot. If he's out of the game and buss and Johnson are in at the same time, Christmas and McCullough are going to have even a harder time getting the ball. We need someone else besides Trevor to prove they can make a jumpshot, so they can be guarded. As much as people hate him here. He did make 90 threes last year and opposing coaches do try to stop him.

The open shots came from Patterson and Johnson yesterday. They weren't even guarded. Lavin wanted them to shoot.

 

[CusefanATL]

I am not mad at Trevor, I did not blame him for anything. I blame the Coach for giving him far more many minutes than he earns. Everybody else on the team has to earn minutes - why is Trevor exempt ???? And just as an FYI, Kaleb, BJ, and Buss, as bad as they were, all shot for a better % than did Trevor.

The problem with Trevor is that he sits on 1 side of the court for an entire possession.

I can't for the life of me understand how there arent numerous screens on every possession. Our 1 goal in life should be to get Trevor open. He is BY FAR the most important player on our team. And I mean BY FAR.

Its time to give him the Gerry green light.

But right now, (i said this on another thread) we are voluntarily playing 4 on 5. Cooney literally sits on 1 side of the court and doesnt move. It has to be some weird strategy. There is no explanation for it. Its similar to a strategy to use to bring the big man out of the lane... but Cooney is just bringing a random player out. It was not out of the ordinary for Cooney to go 3 or 4 consecutive possessions without touching the ball.

 

[orangejunkie]

Agree about the assessments above. I don't think that Gbinije is going to be our 3 pt. shooter. I think Boeheim knows that and has gotten him into more into "drive mode" which uses his athleticism more. Clearly he doesn't feel that Joseph is ready to be the 3 point shooter either. Patterson and Johnson have to be the guys to balance out the floor with Cooney. They both seem to have a nice shooting touch from 3, they just have to start knocking down shots. Patterson is essentially 3 years out of high school and Johnson is also in his second year. The big question is "will it be this year?".

 

[Cusefan0307]

The problem with Trevor is that he sits on 1 side of the court for an entire possession.

I can't for the life of me understand how there arent numerous screens on every possession. Our 1 goal in life should be to get Trevor open. He is BY FAR the most important player on our team. And I mean BY FAR.

Its time to give him the Gerry green light.

But right now, (i said this on another thread) we are voluntarily playing 4 on 5. Cooney literally sits on 1 side of the court and doesnt move. It has to be some weird strategy. There is no explanation for it. Its similar to a strategy to use to bring the big man out of the lane... but Cooney is just bringing a random player out. It was not out of the ordinary for Cooney to go 3 or 4 consecutive possessions without touching the ball.

I think it was part of the gameplan. I think JB knew lavin wanted to take him out of it. He was probably placed where he was so the lane didn't get more clogged for the bigs.

We needed Gbinije and one other guy out of Joseph, Patterson, and Johnson to play well to win. Gbinije did his part, the other three did not.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

1. I just can't stand seeing Trevor get 40 minutes on nights when he does nothing.

Lavin's defense kept a guy in Cooney's face all night. Joseph and Patterson were left wide open, and they combined for 2-12.

2. Team looked tired & worn down at the end - why - RAK, Trevor, & McC get 40 minutes & G got 37. Didn't the dinosaur learn even a little bit from last season - you gotta give guys a blow & have em fresh for the end. NOBODY should play more than 35 minutes.

Rak 15 & 15
McC 13 & 8
Gbinije 13 & 5.

41 out of 57 points (71.9%) and 28 out of 40 rebounds (70%)

I'd hate to think how badly we would have lost if we benched our leading scorer and rebounder for Chino last night.

BTW ... Obekpa played 39 minutes, Harrison played 38, and Pointer played 36.

 

[jekelish]

BJ - Why only 7 minutes ???? - He got 6 points in those 7 minutes on a team that hurts for points. He hasn't been an efficient player as of yet, but he is much more of a "natural" scorer than are most others on this team. He has got to be given a bigger role. He did not deserve a second half DNP.

He's pretty horrible defensively. Gets lost on the baseline and doesn't rotate. Guys are constantly slipping behind him, and he's not strong enough to successfully rebound from that position yet.

That's why JB doesn't trust him enough to play him more.

 

[Madbiker]

If you take Trevor out, teams are going to pack it in worse. Lavin made it a point to stop him. He stopped him last year to when he was on his hot streak. That game isn't on Trevor. Lavin didn't want him to shoot. If he's out of the game and buss and Johnson are in at the same time, Christmas and McCullough are going to have even a harder time getting the ball. We need someone else besides Trevor to prove they can make a jumpshot, so they can be guarded. As much as people hate him here. He did make 90 threes last year and opposing coaches do try to stop him.

The open shots came from Patterson and Johnson yesterday. They weren't even guarded. Lavin wanted them to shoot.

I think the problem is nobody can make a jump shot...at least not better than 2 out of 10. The entire offense is Rak and Chris at the rim. It's too easy to stop especially in crunch time by teams that also have good big guys. Poor perimeter shooting is not a problem that is really correctable it takes a lot of work over a long period of time if it changes at all. This is going to be a problem all season.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

The reason we stink is because the sophomores haven't improved. You're mad at Trevor? At least teams guard him. St. John's wanted Patterson and Johnson to shoot. They fired up 15 shots in 24 combined minutes and made 4! Even JB said so in his press conference.

Nobody even guards the two of them when they shoot!

The sophomores haven't improved? Improved relative to what? They got little to no run last season.

How do you know whether they've improved when you had no idea how good they were last year?

You, along with others, were one of the primary "the freshmen should have played more and could have changed the season" despite the fact you never saw them at practice and rarely saw them play.

Your idea of how good they were last year had no basis in fact and was all in your head so you have nothing to compare it to.

Guess what. You and the others were dead wrong.

As usual, when JB isn't playing somebody, there is a damn good reason for it.

And all of you who were insisting that the guys on the bench who are getting no PT would make the team better had no idea what you were talking about.

All this year has shown, so far, is that the sophomores are struggling and it has become clear why they didn't play last year.

Sorry. This was supposed to be a reply to NewMexiCuse, not you.

 

[newmexicuse]

The sophomores haven't improved? Improved relative to what? They got little to no run last season.

How do you know whether they've improved when you had no idea how good they were last year?

You, along with others, were one of the primary "the freshmen should have played more and could have changed the season" despite the fact you never saw them at practice and rarely saw them play.

Your idea of how good they were last year had no basis in fact and was all in your head so you have nothing to compare it to.

Guess what. You and the others were dead wrong.

As usual, when JB isn't playing somebody, there is a damn good reason for it.

And all of you who were insisting that the guys on the bench who are getting no PT would make the team better had no idea what you were talking about.

All this year has shown, so far, is that the sophomores are struggling and it has become clear why they didn't play last year.

Sorry. This was supposed to be a reply to NewMexiCuse, not you.

You are correct - there is nothing to compare them to. That is on the Coach. This year they could have been sophs & maybe made the freshman to soph jump. Instead, they are really just more frosh to go along with McC & KJ beacause BJ & RP had zero development & TR had minimal development last season.

There is such a thing as addition by subtraction. A big part of my criticism is not necessarily that I think the guys on the bench are better than the guys JB is playing (though in some cases that is true), but that Jimmy wears down our best players to the point where they have nothing left at the end of games and at the end of seasons. Last year and last night being perfect examples.

We may as well just save the $$$ & only give out 5 scholies.

40-40-40-37 - something is wrong with that picture.

 

[Consigliere]

I am not mad at Trevor, I did not blame him for anything. I blame the Coach for giving him far more many minutes than he earns. Everybody else on the team has to earn minutes - why is Trevor exempt ???? And just as an FYI, Kaleb, BJ, and Buss, as bad as they were, all shot for a better % than did Trevor.

Unfortunately Cooney is our best defensive option at the top of the zone right now and that's why he's playing 40. Kaleb was lost out there last night with two experienced, bigger guards for the Johnnies. 3 turnovers with Joseph in the game last night. 9 with Cooney and Buss out front. Forget the quote about wanting to be a 3 point shooter. His pine time was because of defense.

 

[Tony DeFranco]

We need to play Joseph - we need him to improve for next year - Joseph, Richardson, G, Roberson and Bryant could develop into something

 

[Ghost]

Trevor is limited.

It's not ideal to have a shooting guard that is entirely dependent on the offense firing on all cylinders to make a shot. Or pretty much accomplish much of anything. That's what we have right now apparently.

Still, the offense only seems explosive if he's hitting shots from outside. Just keep praying he figures it out. He shouldn't be playing 40 minutes though, that's a tad much regardless.

 

[Trueblue25]

Sick of people defending Cooney.

He's a great kid. Had a great first half of the season last year.

He's just not very good. Looks like a hopeless colgate player throwing up threes. He's just not helping.

 

[two3zone]

Sick of people defending Cooney. He's a great kid. Had a great first half of the season last year. He's just not very good. Looks like a hopeless colgate player throwing up threes. He's just not helping.

He just helped us against Michigan. Who at this point helps more? Patterson and his 11% shooting? Look out, but guess who's our best three point shooter last year, and look this year. Same guy, Cooney.

 

[SUintheVille]

Given the team shooting woos, can't help but think Trevor may be pressing some knowing that Cuse needs to score and he is supposed to be a good shooter or "the" shooter on the team. May be getting into his head again or there's been a slight change in his mechanics. He will hit more. In the meantime, Trevor hustles out there and can give his team more than just the 3.

 

[Eagles20]

Sick of people defending Cooney.

He's a great kid. Had a great first half of the season last year.

He's just not very good. Looks like a hopeless colgate player throwing up threes. He's just not helping.

He put the ball on the floor more yesterday than Joseph and Patterson.

 

[Ghost]

He just helped us against Michigan. Who at this point helps more? Patterson and his 11% shooting? Look out, but guess who's our best three point shooter last year, and look this year. Same guy, Cooney.

McCullough is our best! Hasn't missed yet this year!

 

[EastCoast2]

You are correct - there is nothing to compare them to. That is on the Coach. This year they could have been sophs & maybe made the freshman to soph jump. Instead, they are really just more frosh to go along with McC & KJ beacause BJ & RP had zero development & TR had minimal development last season.

If only JB played MCW 30 mpg as a freshman maybe he would have had a decent sophomore season and be NBA Rookie of the Year a year later.

 

[jekelish]

Sick of people defending Cooney.

He's a great kid. Had a great first half of the season last year.

He's just not very good. Looks like a hopeless colgate player throwing up threes. He's just not helping.

Really? You're sick of people sticking up for a player? So you'd rather people be trashing him?

Give me a freaking break. I'd rather have people defending a struggling player than rip on him 100 times out of 100, personally.

 

[Trueblue25]

Really? You're sick of people sticking up for a player? So you'd rather people be trashing him?

Give me a freaking break. I'd rather have people defending a struggling player than rip on him 100 times out of 100, personally.

Didn't mean to trash him, my bad.

Really funny that you choose to pick out me instead of the dozen or so other veteran posters that say far worse things nearly every game. But whatever man.

 

[KevMonstah]

I don't totally understand the philosophy of not playing kids to rest the starters and to make
the bench players improve, but JB believes in using his better players to the point of really
tiring them out. It doesn't seem that the teams he's used a short bench fare that well as the
season goes on. To get the guys to develop, they need to play, and I don't think practice
gives them everything that they need.

My bigger complaint would be ... they shoot 3-22 from the 3pt line, 19-36 from inside ... so
why do they continue to chuck up 22 shots from out there? SU is not Michigan shooting
from outside; even in losing to NJIT, they went 11-24. SU is not a good deep shooting team,
and I don't see why you'd shoot that many. Unless they are following the Louisville model
from a few years ago, and hoping for 12-40 from out there. Yes you need to take some shots,
but not 22. This sequence drove me nuts watching it on Sat:

4:08 Green makes a 3pt to make it 55-55
3:56 SU timeout
3:53 Patterson misses a 3

There's NO WAY that JB called that shot out of the timeout. I didn't mind his miss a moment
or two later, because the shotclock was about to expire, but did mind that Greene went and
buried another three.

Kev