The Downside- Virginia II | Syracusefan.com

The Downside- Virginia II

SWC75

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THE DOWNSIDE

Matt Park said after the game that “at least they proved that they are a good team”. No they didn’t. They’ve proven that, when they are a mind to, they can compete with good teams but you’ve got to find a way to win your share of those games and always go all out to win to be a good team. You can attribute that to the youth of the team but will this group still be together when they learn to do that?

Benny Williams: a 5 star recruit who couldn’t do anything right last year, occasionally played the way JB wants him to this year, got pulled from the starting line-up Saturday, played 7 minutes and di nothing, then took a ‘personal day’ when we are playing the $7 team in the country. And yes, JB’s response to the question about him was ridiculous. Of course it’s going to be the first question, especially after you’ve said you would address the issue after the game.

Joe Girard had his second straight bad game. He was 5 for 20 an 2 for 8 from three. As JB said, he was tightly guarded by the other team’s best defender but that’s been the situation all year.

Chris Bell and Justin Taylor were 3 for 9 and 2 for 8 from the arc. We are still waiting for them to provide the second outside threat we desperately need.

We got called for 12 fouls and Jesse got called for 5. They seemed legit and he’s a senior center who should know how to avoid them.

The refs laid off the whistles for most of the game but then tried to make up for it down the stretch. My favorite play was a pass from Ben Vander Plas to no one under the basket. Kihei Clark tried to reach the ball and fell down. The ref ruled he was fouled by Vic Hanson’s ghost, (it was ascribed to Judah Mintz), and Clark made two free throws. There was also an unacknowledged tie-up and another that was declared a foul. At least we got to the line 18 times instead of 3, (as we did vs. UNC). Unfortunately, we missed 7 of them- and lost by 5.

When I entered the shuttle bus back to Manley, a man who looked like I think I look now motioned for me to sit in the last available seat. I never look a gift horse in the mouth but I looked at him and wondered how old does he think I am?
 
SU only made one field goal and shot 50% from the free throw line during the final 5:15 of the game. And I believe Jesse didn't have a single rebound during the last nine minutes. That is a big part of the downside.
 
losing close game after close game to good teams, with the occasional blow out loss against not good teams, doesn't make you a good team. It makes you a bad team that other teams probably don't get up for and thus play down to your level...yet in crunch time that better team snuffs you out OVER and OVER again.

we are bad. who have we beat? cw post?
 
If everyone was going to be back next year maybe you could look at all these "close" losses as a learning experience that will turn into close wins next year. But key pieces are NOT coming back next year. It will be a different team without Jesse, Joe, Benny, and probably 1 or 2 others. The days of building a team and having them mature together are over. That also means JB will have to teach new players the zone and it takes years to get it to be cohesive.
 
If everyone was going to be back next year maybe you could look at all these "close" losses as a learning experience that will turn into close wins next year. But key pieces are NOT coming back next year. It will be a different team without Jesse, Joe, Benny, and probably 1 or 2 others. The days of building a team and having them mature together are over. That also means JB will have to teach new players the zone and it takes years to get it to be cohesive.
For what it’s worth, VA also runs a complex system that takes at least a year for a kid to truly learn.
 
If everyone was going to be back next year maybe you could look at all these "close" losses as a learning experience that will turn into close wins next year. But key pieces are NOT coming back next year. It will be a different team without Jesse, Joe, Benny, and probably 1 or 2 others. The days of building a team and having them mature together are over. That also means JB will have to teach new players the zone and it takes years to get it to be cohesive.

Joe and Jesse most likely gone. No current recruits committed for next year. We have pulled in 2 transfers since the transfer portal? (Hima, Cole). We most likely lose Benny, if not more. You just never really know anymore who will stay and who will go. Not saying I don’t like some of the pieces. But those pieces are not enough. Mintz, Taylor, Brown look like solid building blocks. Symir is an under utilized 6 man. But now you are asking a bunch of the freshman that look over matched to take a HUGE jump, or to pull in big time transfers which we have not done or have not tried to do. It’s terrifying.
 
Joe and Jesse most likely gone. No current recruits committed for next year. We have pulled in 2 transfers since the transfer portal? (Hima, Cole). We most likely lose Benny, if not more. You just never really know anymore who will stay and who will go. Not saying I don’t like some of the pieces. But those pieces are not enough. Mintz, Taylor, Brown look like solid building blocks. Symir is an under utilized 6 man. But now you are asking a bunch of the freshman that look over matched to take a HUGE jump, or to pull in big time transfers which we have not done or have not tried to do. It’s terrifying.
Jimmy was also transfer portal. Not sure on Sy.
 
losing close game after close game to good teams, with the occasional blow out loss against not good teams, doesn't make you a good team. It makes you a bad team that other teams probably don't get up for and thus play down to your level...yet in crunch time that better team snuffs you out OVER and OVER again.

we are bad. who have we beat? cw post?
Our second best win was against Cornell.
 

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