The Dennis Green Thread

[OttoMets]

We are who we thought we were.

SU's got a lot of good pieces but isn't operating comfortably as a team yet. And our defense is bad and probably won't become great at any point this year.

My concerns about Gillon were realized today - he didn't look like he had the ability to play against a decent opponent. Too rushed, too much space needed to shoot, too inefficient with the dribble and slow to get us into a set.

The other guys, not a lot of surprises. The spacing was crappy and the guards, as is too often the case, couldn't or wouldn't feed the post. So Roberson's offense went missing and we didn't get much from the bigs. White's slow; he's also kind of a black hole and forced some bad shots. Thompson had a typical freshman game.

Not the end of the world. Weaknesses were exploited by a disciplined opponent. We knew this team would need to improve to become a very good team and that's still the case. Wouldn't be surprised if we beat Wisconsin on Tuesday.

 

[Cuse'91]

Why is it so hard for "basketball minds" to figure out that you can't start a game hamstrung with both Robes AND DC2 on the court? Is it that important to Boeheim to start seniors? Bring Robes off the bench for high energy boarding; Battle, White, and Lydon are must starts, or our offense will be enemic at the beginning of games...

 

[orangefan13]

Ending something prematurely could bring negative consequences and holding on to something to long could stunt its personal growth and development.
which is it with this team?

 

[realorange]

People who are pushing for Battle to start or have more time, didn't pay attention to what he did when he was on the court.
As someone said in another thread------deer in the headlights.
As good as the kid is, he isn't quite ready for the speed and intensity of D-1.

Good news is that he will be before the year is over.

 

[br801]

Why is it so hard for "basketball minds" to figure out that you can't start a game hamstrung with both Robes AND DC2 on the court? Is it that important to Boeheim to start seniors? Bring Robes off the bench for high energy boarding; Battle, White, and Lydon are must starts, or our offense will be enemic at the beginning of games...

Coleman can score in the post if fed the ball for some opportunities and is an excellent rebounder on a per minute basis. It would be silly to have Lydon end up playing big minutes at center this season for the sake of offense, as too much would be sacrificed in terms of defense and rebounding, and he would likely get worn down doing so. And if you're worried about offense, Chukwu's presence on the court isn't going to inspire much optimism, at least based on what we've seen so far.

 

[Cuse'91]

Coleman can score in the post if fed the ball for some opportunities and is an excellent rebounder on a per minute basis. It would be silly to have Lydon end up playing big minutes at center this season for the sake of offense, as too much would be sacrificed in terms of defense and rebounding, and he would likely get worn down doing so. And if you're worried about offense, Chukwu's presence on the court isn't going to inspire much optimism, at least based on what we've seen so far.

Oh, I love DC2 in the middle... But, both he and Roberson starting will lead to poor starts like USC; start Lydon at the 4 and move AW3 down to 3, and start Battle...

Chukwu needs to be the 9th man on this team... You can't teach 7'2"? You can't teach basketball instincts either...

 

[kirbivore]

Why is it so hard for "basketball minds" to figure out that you can't start a game hamstrung with both Robes AND DC2 on the court? Is it that important to Boeheim to start seniors? Bring Robes off the bench for high energy boarding; Battle, White, and Lydon are must starts, or our offense will be enemic at the beginning of games...

JB loves the legacy starts that put SU behind the 8 ball until the under 16:00 timeout

 

[br801]

Oh, I love DC2 in the middle... But, both he and Roberson starting will lead to poor starts like USC; start Lydon at the 4 and move AW3 down to 3, and start Battle...

Chukwu needs to be the 9th man on this team... You can't teach 7'2"? You can't teach basketball instincts either...

I like having Coleman and Roberson starting and attempting to get in the flow of the game early. If they're on, you can ride with them. If they start slowly, you can always get them out of there quickly.

This belief that SU always starts slowly is merely anectdotal. I've yet to see quantitative evidence that this is the case. It seems people remember the slow starts more than the fast starts. It would be interesting to see actual data for SU and other teams regarding how they perform early in games.