The Downside- San Diego State

[SWC75]

- Alan Griffin is what Dick Vitale calls a “Dow Joneser” – he’s up and he’s down. He’s got plenty of talent and came be hugely productive: or he can come up with a dud like his last two games against Virginia and San Diego State, in which he’s attempted 6 shots, none of which he made. His only point came on three free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc against the Cavs. If he could become a consistent contributor, it would give us that extra gear that could get us to the top of the hill.

- Quincy Guerrier played very tentatively, especially in the first half. If he was defended, he wanted somebody else to have the ball. When he did decide to shoot, he tired a floater rather than taking it to the hole. He had one awful play where the got the ball with just one defender between him and the basket. He held the ball until he was double-teamed, then tried a cross court pass that got intercepted.

- Joe Girard seemed to have a pretty good handle last year. This year, he’s often getting the ball slapped away or just losing control of it on his own. He had 4 turnovers in this game and had to be pulled early in the second half because of it. I was surprised that JB put him back in in the final minutes but he had stopped the bleeding at that point. I hope it stays stopped as it could cost us a game.

 

[JoeSU]

- Alan Griffin is what Dick Vitale calls a “Dow Joneser” – he’s up and he’s down. He’s got plenty of talent and came be hugely productive: or he can come up with a dud like his last two games against Virginia and San Diego State, in which he’s attempted 6 shots, none of which he made. His only point came on three free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc against the Cavs. If he could become a consistent contributor, it would give us that extra gear that could get us to the top of the hill.

- Quincy Guerrier played very tentatively, especially in the first half. If he was defended, he wanted somebody else to have the ball. When he did decide to shoot, he tired a floater rather than taking it to the hole. He had one awful play where the got the ball with just one defender between him and the basket. He held the ball until he was double-teamed, then tried a cross court pass that got intercepted.

- Joe Girard seemed to have a pretty good handle last year. This year, he’s often getting the ball slapped away or just losing control of it on his own. He had 4 turnovers in this game and had to be pulled early in the second half because of it. I was surprised that JB put him back in in the final minutes but he had stopped the bleeding at that point. I hope it stays stopped as it could cost us a game.

JB really chewed out Girard after he lost the ball bringing it upcourt, leading to an easy lay-up by the Aztecs. That's a potential 4-5 pt. swing. I'm sure JB "reminded" Girard that as our point guard, that can NEVER happen. In a close game, easy giveaways like that can end up being the difference.

Having said all this, I thought Joe had a good game overall. I'm still waiting for him to go on a hot streak like last season.

 

[All4SU]

I thought Guerrier broke out of his funk at one point when he fought for a rebound. But then at the other end of the court he was found and went to the floor. Just struggling to find his spots.

 

[General20]

I thought Guerrier was going to have a great game going against a smaller player, but that Michell guy out muscled him and kept him out of the spots he wanted to get to. I've never seen that happen to Guerrier before. It might have been the best defense I've seen anybody play all year.

The good news is everybody else Guerrier goes up against this year will feel easy to score against in comparison.

 

[MikeSU02]

- Alan Griffin is what Dick Vitale calls a “Dow Joneser” – he’s up and he’s down. He’s got plenty of talent and came be hugely productive: or he can come up with a dud like his last two games against Virginia and San Diego State, in which he’s attempted 6 shots, none of which he made. His only point came on three free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc against the Cavs. If he could become a consistent contributor, it would give us that extra gear that could get us to the top of the hill.

- Quincy Guerrier played very tentatively, especially in the first half. If he was defended, he wanted somebody else to have the ball. When he did decide to shoot, he tired a floater rather than taking it to the hole. He had one awful play where the got the ball with just one defender between him and the basket. He held the ball until he was double-teamed, then tried a cross court pass that got intercepted.

- Joe Girard seemed to have a pretty good handle last year. This year, he’s often getting the ball slapped away or just losing control of it on his own. He had 4 turnovers in this game and had to be pulled early in the second half because of it. I was surprised that JB put him back in in the final minutes but he had stopped the bleeding at that point. I hope it stays stopped as it could cost us a game.

Got to say, I just think Q is hurt. He's fallen off a cliff a bit. Love him, but I just think part of his explosiveness is gone and he's thinking too much out there being a little limited.

AG still floats into his own world at times. And, it seems like JB is managing it like this: if AG starts hitting those ridic shots, he'll play. When he floats, he's going to give him the hook, quick.

 

[hoopsupstate]

You can tell JB really feels comfortable with Bras on the floor. He’s by far our best defensive forward and he plays within himself on offense. He rarely makes mistakes with the ball. He‘s the perfect complimentary player.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

You can tell JB really feels comfortable with Bras on the floor. He’s by far our best defensive forward and he plays within himself on offense. He rarely makes mistakes with the ball. He‘s the perfect complimentary player.

Yeah, I think the fact that Braswell has some limitations on offense kinda helps because he's smart enough to not play beyond his abilities. He picks his spots and doesn't get himself into trouble by trying to create off the bounce or anything. If he's got an open look he doesn't hesitate to take the shot, and that's fine.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Got to say, I just think Q is hurt. He's fallen off a cliff a bit. Love him, but I just think part of his explosiveness is gone and he's thinking too much out there being a little limited.

AG still floats into his own world at times. And, it seems like JB is managing it like this: if AG starts hitting those ridic shots, he'll play. When he floats, he's going to give him the hook, quick.

Well, the good news is that after about 3 or 4 consecutive seasons of being too stubborn to play his bench when starters are hurt or under-performing, Coach Boeheim seems to have "got religion" this past month. Braswell, Edwards and Richmond are all essential pieces of the rotation now. We are a much better team for it. They add bounciness and athleticism to our defense, and we lose nothing offensively when they're in there.

 

[orangeinohio]

Got to say, I just think Q is hurt. He's fallen off a cliff a bit. Love him, but I just think part of his explosiveness is gone and he's thinking too much out there being a little limited.

AG still floats into his own world at times. And, it seems like JB is managing it like this: if AG starts hitting those ridic shots, he'll play. When he floats, he's going to give him the hook, quick.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about Quincy.
He’s not showing it on his face when he’s on the court but he’s not moving like someone who is healthy.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

- Alan Griffin is what Dick Vitale calls a “Dow Joneser” – he’s up and he’s down. He’s got plenty of talent and came be hugely productive: or he can come up with a dud like his last two games against Virginia and San Diego State, in which he’s attempted 6 shots, none of which he made. His only point came on three free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc against the Cavs. If he could become a consistent contributor, it would give us that extra gear that could get us to the top of the hill.

- Quincy Guerrier played very tentatively, especially in the first half. If he was defended, he wanted somebody else to have the ball. When he did decide to shoot, he tired a floater rather than taking it to the hole. He had one awful play where the got the ball with just one defender between him and the basket. He held the ball until he was double-teamed, then tried a cross court pass that got intercepted.

- Joe Girard seemed to have a pretty good handle last year. This year, he’s often getting the ball slapped away or just losing control of it on his own. He had 4 turnovers in this game and had to be pulled early in the second half because of it. I was surprised that JB put him back in in the final minutes but he had stopped the bleeding at that point. I hope it stays stopped as it could cost us a game.

All good points. JAB coached like a true HOF'er and didn't let the above affect the flow of the game.

 

[SWC75]

Well, the good news is that after about 3 or 4 consecutive seasons of being too stubborn to play his bench when starters are hurt or under-performing, Coach Boeheim seems to have "got religion" this past month. Braswell, Edwards and Richmond are all essential pieces of the rotation now. We are a much better team for it. They add bounciness and athleticism to our defense, and we lose nothing offensively when they're in there.

They weren't ready before!

 

[SWC75]

Got to say, I just think Q is hurt. He's fallen off a cliff a bit. Love him, but I just think part of his explosiveness is gone and he's thinking too much out there being a little limited.

AG still floats into his own world at times. And, it seems like JB is managing it like this: if AG starts hitting those ridic shots, he'll play. When he floats, he's going to give him the hook, quick.

Right now our best line-up is Edwards, Dolezaj, Braswell, Boeheim and Richmond. That won't be our starting line-up but until Quincy, Alan and Joe get their problems fixed, that's what we'll wind up with.

 

[Madbiker]

You can tell JB really feels comfortable with Bras on the floor. He’s by far our best defensive forward and he plays within himself on offense. He rarely makes mistakes with the ball. He‘s the perfect complimentary player.

Now if Bras could just rebound, even a little. IMO he has the mindset of being a SG.

 

[SBU72]

They weren't ready before!

Don't know why that's so hard to understand. I think that part of Griffin's decline is the advancement of Braswell. He is ready! He plays much better defense and is adequate on offense without taking bad shots. As Grif pushes it he becomes a liability.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Now if Bras could just rebound, even a little. IMO he has the mindset of being a SG.

I think he's underrated in the zone. I thought he played very well defensively against SD State.