The Downside (X3)

[SWC75]

- This team sure gets criticized a lot for a team with an 18-1 record and a #3 national ranking. Maybe that’s because two years ago we were 18-0 and ranked #3. Then we lost 4 in a row and 8 of our least 17. There’s a reason Coach Boeheim mentioned losing in the second round in his post- game press conference. That’s what the team two years ago did.



- Christmas doesn’t come in January and Rakeem Christmas seems to have left his game behind as well. He scored that first basket against Louisville and never took a shot the rest of the game, except for that one at the buzzer that I think should have counted. He had 8 points and 13 rebounds in the three games.



- DuJuan Coleman continues to be this year’s nominal starter. He begins each game by flexing his muscles and having a teammate make a show of punching him in his unforgiving gut. The message is that he’s the strongest dude on the court. And he is. But he plays the game in almost a dainty way, reaching slowly for rebounds and loss ball and bringing the ball down to his defender’s level when he gets it. Maybe he’ll be a good player someday.



- As I said, maybe the two treys Trevor Cooney got vs. Cincinnati will get him going. Or maybe the two he had against Villanova. Or maybe the two he gets against somebody else….



- We managed to out-rebound Louisville but lost the battle of the boards vs. Villanova and got killed vs. Cincinnati, who rebounded 43% of their misses compared to 24% for us. The Bearcat’s rebounds seemed even more significant because they often waited until the shot clock was nearly gone before shooting, thus extending their possessions for minutes, not seconds.



- We live and die with MCW, who was 3 for 12 from the field vs. Villanova and had 8 turnovers compared to 7 assists vs. Louisville.



- We win, therefore we are. But what are we?

 

[bballbeadle]

Yes! That still seems to be the question, which I thought had been settled once and for all by the victory at Louisville. This team has been winning despite major flaws, but how long can they keep it up? In the meantime, ranked teams are being beaten left and right and this college bball season is not only a mystery to us, but to many fans across the nation. Roller coaster, meet college bball. Bball, meet coaster.

So glad to see you back! I'm going to Florida this morning and will "see" everyone on Sunday. Yippee!

 

[OrangeTown]

After seeing what life on the board without you is like these past days, I am now going to 'like' every single one of your posts for all of eternity. My sincere apologies for having ever taken you for granted.

 

[SoBristol]

Glad to see these posts -- you were missed.

The issue with DC2 is his defense. Rebounds well; is working at running the court to get back. His positioning and movement at the back of the zone isn't what it needs to be. Similar with Rak -- he can provide an occasional highlight on offense, rebound with authority, but until he improves his defense, JB will insert Keita. And that isn't because Keita provides offense.

Trevor Cooney is showing more each time out. He is rushing many of those 3s (or moving laterally rather than getting square), but showed a nice pull-up, put the ball on the floor just a little more, scored on a break. Many didn't like the 3 guard line-up (though it held its own for 7 minutes against a small Cincy line-up), but that gave Cooney some time to settle in. Helps in the longer run. Would also help if he looked to start with a pull-up or two -- rather than taking the first 3 that comes his way.

 

[Melancer46]

Glad to see these posts -- you were missed.

The issue with DC2 is his defense. Rebounds well; is working at running the court to get back. His positioning and movement at the back of the zone isn't what it needs to be. Similar with Rak -- he can provide an occasional highlight on offense, rebound with authority, but until he improves his defense, JB will insert Keita. And that isn't because Keita provides offense.

Trevor Cooney is showing more each time out. He is rushing many of those 3s (or moving laterally rather than getting square), but showed a nice pull-up, put the ball on the floor just a little more, scored on a break. Many didn't like the 3 guard line-up (though it held its own for 7 minutes against a small Cincy line-up), but that gave Cooney some time to settle in. Helps in the longer run. Would also help if he looked to start with a pull-up or two -- rather than taking the first 3 that comes his way.

The part on Cooney is spot on. Granted I was in the student section for the Cinci game, but it seemed that he actually squared up for the first time I can remember. I even remember him hopping into a pass to get his body going forwards instead of side to side. It makes a huge difference. It seemed like the game is finally starting to slow down for him a little bit.