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Jim Boeheim’s radio show is on Thursdays from 7-8 or 9PM on ESPN Radio in Syracuse, which is AM1200 or FM 97.7 on the dial. The show is at Carrabba's Italian Grill at 550 Towne Drive, Fayetteville, NY. The first hour, hosted by Matt Park, the Voice of the Orange, is on their general network. The second hour, which usually begins with the conference season, is hosted by Gomez, a local radio personality.
Their schedule: The AmeriCU Jim Boeheim Show Begins Tonight! - Syracuse University Athletics
You can call into the show locally at 315-424-8599 or nationally at 1-888-746-2873. For Gomez’s portion, use 315-424-8599. Or you can submit questions from this page:
Submit a Question! - Syracuse University Athletics
Or on Twitter at mattpark1 or “askBoeheim”.
The show can be heard in Syracuse on FM 99.5. It’s sometime simulcast on AM 1200 or FM 97.7. You can also get it on: TuneIn | Free Internet Radio | Live News, Sports, Music, and Podcasts
The early shows tend to be in a one hour format. I'll post a summary of them the same night. If they go back to the 2 hour format, I may split it up between the items directly related to the team, which I will post that night and the other stuff, which I will post the next day.
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
1st Segment Question:
“Coach, Buddy faced the most aggressive defensive pressure I’ve seen against Florida State and couldn’t get open shots. Villanova seemed to play us more straight-up and Buddy got a lot of good looks but was as far off as I’ve seen him. Is there an after-effect of being guarded aggressively? Do players, when they get open shots, lose some of their poise or their mechanics?”
2nd Segment Question:
“Coach, against Villanova, we hit more two point shots and more free throws and a higher percentage of our three point shots, yet we lost because they attempted 50 three point shots and we only attempted 15. Even with the lower percentage, they made 8 more three pointers than we did. The offensive rebounds allowed them to attempt 21 more shots but are we looking for the three pointer enough? The opposition has attempted 100 more three pointers than we have this year. When we get the ball into the paint, we always seem to be looking to score from there, rather than pass it back out for the three.”
COACH BOEHEIM
(I have, in some instances, put together statements from different parts of the broadcast on the same subject. The quotes may not be verbatim –they are from my scribbled notes. I have not knowingly changed the meaning. In recent years they have started out doing one hour shows and then shifted to two hour shows in January. When they do two hour shows. I might do two posts: one on the night of the broadcast on the issues directly relating to the team on the other the next days on other things that were talked about.)
(Jim was on time for this show.)
Matt referred to the tough games we’ve got early in the schedule. Jim said that it’s not just the toughness of the opponents, but the tournament setting gives them no opportunities for practice. Then came the quick turnaround to face undefeated Indiana. They did get in a couple of practices before Florida State and then another quick turnaround for 6th ranked Villanova. “We’ve had 5 practices in 3 weeks. The guys have worked hard and we’ve improved. Indiana was up 22 over Wisconsin before they lost. Florida State had won 25 in a row at home. We were even with Villanova for 30 minutes. Our defense is better, more active. Villanova is quick and strong and they got to the loose balls. That’s what most of those rebounds were. They weren’t clean rebounds. They are among the top 5-6 teams in the nation. You don’t judge yourself against a team like that. They started senior-senior-junior-junior. We were not quite ready for them. People always think it could be better but it could be worse, too. We could easily be 3-6. That’s the bad case scenario. But we got those two wins and learned some things about our team. Now we’ve got a couple more days to practice our new defense. There’s more spacing, (between games), the first part of the year has been really daunting. It’s bene quite a journey. We usually have some easy games. Lafayette was smart. Drexel was tough. Colgate shot the lights out. That one league win was important to get.”
Matt said he’d checked the last 12 years and we are 57-3 against teams that shoot 33% or less.
I called in and, before getting into my question, went to the subject of loose balls. For year’s I’ve wanted there to be a stat on getting those ’50-50’ balls the commentators talk about. I proposed that every ball that hits the floor not in the control of anyone should be a loose ball and that we should kept track of who wound up with it. Rebounds should be balls taken out of the air. Jim thought that was a good idea but “They’re not going to do that”. He didn’t elaborate so I’ll just put that back into my file of great ideas, (in my mind) that aren’t going to happen. “We had a couple of rebounds they took away from us. We need to be better. We can afford to be outrebounded by 8-10 but not 20. We were already down 15-16 rebounds when it was tied. We got pretty good shots. Our defense is better”.
He didn’t’ feel that the rough defense Buddy faced in Tallahassee had a lingering impact on his shooting in the Villanova game. “They doubled him a lot and helped on him a lot at Florida State. The 3 shots he made there were tough shots. He had 1-2 open ones he could have made. Against Villanova, 10 of the shots he missed were good shots. If he could have made 5 of them it would have made a difference. Cole got some good shots against Florida State but we couldn’t get him open shots against Villanova. We need to try to get him in better shooting situations. Jesse would have had a 20 point game if he’d made hi lay-ups and free throws. It’s good we got him the ball so much. Buddy and Cole will score for us.“
“Steph Curry is the greatest shooter ever and he recently had a 3 for 16 game. Clay Thompson was 0 for 16 when he suddenly had his record 37-point quarter.” Steph is about to catch Ray Allen as the all-time NBA three-point shooter, (the most makes). “He’s only played about half as many games. He’s going to break that record by 800 and nobody will ever top it. He shoots it from father out and quicker than anybody I’ve ever seen.” 1,100 of his makes have been unassisted. Curry always has the ball. He’s going to get his shots off the dribble. Allen and Reggie Miller did everything off screens. They call a lot of stuff in the NBA. It’s not as physical. They want their stars to have the freedom to play.”
Matt said that it was really something against Florida State to see Buddy confronted with a 7-footer as soon as he crossed the midcourt line and then there would be another one behind him. JB: “Indiana never had help coming. Buddy is getting better with the ball. He’ll never have an easy night again. But he has his pride. He was running at the treadmill for an hour today. It’s a new system for Cole and Jimmy, a whole new deal.” Matt noted Jimmy’s scoring and versatility. JB: “He’s sneaky around the basket.”
Josh in Boulder said that he enjoyed the first half but felt that Nova made an adjustment in the second half to go for mid-range jump shots. He asked if we could have gone back to the 2-3 to combat that. Jim said “We did got back to the 2-3 and they got the ball into the high post, where we’ve been getting hurt. But once you give up an offensive rebound you are out of alignment.” [You are in an ‘unsettled situation’.] “We’re trying to adjust and figure it out. We were down 25-7 in second chance points. (regarding the fact that Jesse Edwards was the only Orange player to attempt any free throws) “We got fouled but they didn’t call much.”
Matt said that “Our best defensive teams featured longer-armed guards like Michael Carter Williams which allows you to get away with playing two guards.” JB: “Teams are going to the high post more and more. Our centers and forwards are learning their reactions. It’s never bene a straight 2-3.” Matt said that Jay Wright had told an interviewer that “the biggest fraud in basketball is the notion that Jim Boeheim just plays a 2-3 zone, CYO-style”. [Is that what they play at the CYO?] JB: “We’re just trying to prevent them from lining up threes. We’re getting better but we’re still not good enough.”
Georgetown’s Kaiden Rice recently hit 10 threes in a game, (they beat Maryland-Baltimore County 100-71). “They started slow but are now playing well and that’s who we’ll see. Our series with them was a 25-30 year run of great games every year. It got so loud in the Dome and also down there and in New York. I hope there won’t be any punches this time.”
John in Liverpool wanted to talk about golf. Has Jim ever shot his age? How good are Jimmy and Buddy?
Jim said he had yet to shoot his age. [But he’s working on getting older.] Jimmy and Buddy can hit the ball about 320 yards. Jim used to be able to hit it 260 but now he’s down to 220. He doesn’t use the gold tees yet but he’s switched from the blue to the white. He’s only played 18 holes a couple of times this year. He likes to play 9 holes at night. It’s cooler and there aren’t so many people out on the course. Jimmy and Billy never really played that much and they tend to be wild in the shot game. “I used to use a 9 iron to hit it 150 yards. Now I use a 7 iron.” The best golfer on the coaching staff is Gerry McNamara, who can shoot in the 70’s, although he doesn’t play much now with 4 children. “Adrian and Griff like to play but they are just hacking it around. Adrian is terrible but made a hole in one. Good players don’t make holes in one.” He told some more golf stories about playing in tournaments with pro players but I didn’t recognize the names.
Jesse in Lexington, Kentucky said that he’s got two young children and wanted to know how to “introduce basketball to kids”. [As opposed to introducing kids to basketball.] Jim told how Julie had bought the small plastic hoop you see on the cover of the Post Standard’s basketball preview. “She’s throw them the balls and they’d shoot shots every day. It developed their hand-to-eye coordination. They this long before they could shoot a real basketball. They grew up to be tall- it helps. They read Malcolm Gladwell’s books: Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia and started practicing 10 hours a day. We took them to games from pre-school. You have to give them a chance to be good if they want to be. They’ve got to want it. You never know when that kicks in.”
Elijah Hughes is playing the G league for a team that has too many players at his position. He’s a talented player but needs to get in the right situation, as Oshae Brissett did last year.
Tisha Hyman of the SU women’s team almost had a quadruple double, which no women’s college basketball player has ever had. Against central Connecticut, she had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 15 assists and 11 steals. Teisha Hyman - Women's Basketball - Syracuse University Athletics NP: 56 in 37 minutes. They’ve won 4 in a row and are 6-4 with a win over #18 Ohio State and they also beat Colgate. The men are jealous. And women’s basketball at Syracuse isn’t dead.
Nick from Ft. Myers, Florida said that they have a tournament down there and wondered when Syracuse was going to play in that tournament. I believe he’s referring to this tournament: Fort Myers Tip-Off Jim said that that was a good spot for a tournament. “We’ll be in New York next year and in Maui the following year.” Matt suggested that Covid concerns might “Throw Ft. Myers out of whack.” Matt noted that the Texas tech-Tennessee game was “gruesome. Nobody was there. There was a great atmosphere for the SU- Villanova game. That was the ‘varsity game’.“
Gomez came on for the final half hour. He noted that seton Hall and Texas were on the telly. And Rutgers was hanging in against #1 Purdue. It was a great day for New Jersey: Rutgers became the third team to beat a #1 team this year, 70-68 while the Hall beat #7 Texas 64-60. (A certain long-armed guard played 20 minutes, scoring 5 points with 1 assist, a steal and a turnover.) Gomez said that the SU-Villanova game was also a battle of good teams. “We missed some shots, some free throws. We needed to get 6-8 more rebounds. We held the #6 team to a low percentage.” Gomez noted that that was Jimmy Boeheim’s first game at MSG. JB: “He played a very good game. Villanova covered Cole and Buddy. Joe was good. Jesse has to do a little better offensively and get more defensive rebounds. Everything’s new to Jesse, Cole, Jimmy and Symir.” Was there pressure on Cole playing his old team? “There always is. He’s never had to play 30 minutes a game. He’s never had to rebound much or drive to the basket. We need more practices.
Gomez asked when Jim and Jay Wright had worked together in international play. “We worked with a junior team many years ago. He was my assistant. He’s a great coach, understands the game and his players understand what he wants them to do.” Gomez revealed himself as an Ed Pinkney fan. Jim remembered him as a great player on Nova’s first national championship team.
In today’s practice the emphasized defense but worked on everything. “For the first three quarters of the season, you are going to be working on everything, trying to get some good wins and get in a good position.“ Reviewing the country: “Purdue, [who hadn’t lost yet] has really stepped up big . Kansas, Gonzaga, Duke are strong. North Carolina and Kentucky are getting up there. Southern California, UCLA, Houston, LSU and Auburn have good teams. Michigan State is coming back. Villanova, Xavier, seton hall and Texas are good.“ [When will we be good?] Purdue went down and Jim said “They have a good 7-2 guy, a good 6-9 guy, some great wings, some great shooters and seniors. It’s hard to keep winning.”
I called in again to ask my second question, wanting to know why the other teams attempt so many more three pointers than we do. JB: “We push our zone out but it’s still a zone. People are going to try to beat it with threes. They were face-guarding Buddy and Cole and so we have to drive. They are not letting us shoot threes. The offensive rebounds hurt us. That was the #1 thing. We need to shoot a little better against a great defense and we needed about 10 more rebounds.” I noted that other teams throw offensive rebounds back out for threes and that we never seem to pass to a three off a drive. JB: “We do try to pass it back out when get an offensive rebound. The other teams are staying on the shooters and not coming in to help so our drives have to go to the basket. Man-to-man face guarding opens up the drives to the basket.” I told the coach that I hoped we can score enough two pointers to offset the other team’s three pointers.
Gomez asked about the 1-1-3. JB: “It keeps them out of the high post but has weaknesses elsewhere. We’ve played much better defense against Indiana, Florida State and Villanova.” [Indiana?] “we’ll keep getting better.” Gomez said that we need a guy like Derrick Coleman who went after rebounds “like it was his last meal”. JB: “We aren’t a great rebounding team and that’s a fact. Cole is making an effort at it. Jesse’s got to be better.”
Next year’s TBT, (The Basketball Tournament, which Boeheim’s Army won last year), will have a couple of games in Syracuse next summer.
Tigers Woods will again play in a golf tournament with his son. Jim thinks that with his leg injuries it will be hard to walk four rounds and win. Maybe could use a cart as Casey Martin won the right to do. [What would ben Hogan think?]
Dick Butkus is 79 today. “He was some middle linebacker. I used to watch highlight films of him.” Gomez said that he never played in a post season game. Neither did Gayle Sayers. “Those Packers were pretty tough.” (Actually the Packers last championship of that era was in 1967. Sayers and Ditka played from 1965-71 and 73.)
Gomez ended it by saying “You can throw the rules out when rivals like Syracuse and Georgetown get together.” The records, too. I’ve been to some SU Georgetown games where the refs seemed to have throw the rules out.
Their schedule: The AmeriCU Jim Boeheim Show Begins Tonight! - Syracuse University Athletics
You can call into the show locally at 315-424-8599 or nationally at 1-888-746-2873. For Gomez’s portion, use 315-424-8599. Or you can submit questions from this page:
Submit a Question! - Syracuse University Athletics
Or on Twitter at mattpark1 or “askBoeheim”.
The show can be heard in Syracuse on FM 99.5. It’s sometime simulcast on AM 1200 or FM 97.7. You can also get it on: TuneIn | Free Internet Radio | Live News, Sports, Music, and Podcasts
The early shows tend to be in a one hour format. I'll post a summary of them the same night. If they go back to the 2 hour format, I may split it up between the items directly related to the team, which I will post that night and the other stuff, which I will post the next day.
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
1st Segment Question:
“Coach, Buddy faced the most aggressive defensive pressure I’ve seen against Florida State and couldn’t get open shots. Villanova seemed to play us more straight-up and Buddy got a lot of good looks but was as far off as I’ve seen him. Is there an after-effect of being guarded aggressively? Do players, when they get open shots, lose some of their poise or their mechanics?”
2nd Segment Question:
“Coach, against Villanova, we hit more two point shots and more free throws and a higher percentage of our three point shots, yet we lost because they attempted 50 three point shots and we only attempted 15. Even with the lower percentage, they made 8 more three pointers than we did. The offensive rebounds allowed them to attempt 21 more shots but are we looking for the three pointer enough? The opposition has attempted 100 more three pointers than we have this year. When we get the ball into the paint, we always seem to be looking to score from there, rather than pass it back out for the three.”
COACH BOEHEIM
(I have, in some instances, put together statements from different parts of the broadcast on the same subject. The quotes may not be verbatim –they are from my scribbled notes. I have not knowingly changed the meaning. In recent years they have started out doing one hour shows and then shifted to two hour shows in January. When they do two hour shows. I might do two posts: one on the night of the broadcast on the issues directly relating to the team on the other the next days on other things that were talked about.)
(Jim was on time for this show.)
Matt referred to the tough games we’ve got early in the schedule. Jim said that it’s not just the toughness of the opponents, but the tournament setting gives them no opportunities for practice. Then came the quick turnaround to face undefeated Indiana. They did get in a couple of practices before Florida State and then another quick turnaround for 6th ranked Villanova. “We’ve had 5 practices in 3 weeks. The guys have worked hard and we’ve improved. Indiana was up 22 over Wisconsin before they lost. Florida State had won 25 in a row at home. We were even with Villanova for 30 minutes. Our defense is better, more active. Villanova is quick and strong and they got to the loose balls. That’s what most of those rebounds were. They weren’t clean rebounds. They are among the top 5-6 teams in the nation. You don’t judge yourself against a team like that. They started senior-senior-junior-junior. We were not quite ready for them. People always think it could be better but it could be worse, too. We could easily be 3-6. That’s the bad case scenario. But we got those two wins and learned some things about our team. Now we’ve got a couple more days to practice our new defense. There’s more spacing, (between games), the first part of the year has been really daunting. It’s bene quite a journey. We usually have some easy games. Lafayette was smart. Drexel was tough. Colgate shot the lights out. That one league win was important to get.”
Matt said he’d checked the last 12 years and we are 57-3 against teams that shoot 33% or less.
I called in and, before getting into my question, went to the subject of loose balls. For year’s I’ve wanted there to be a stat on getting those ’50-50’ balls the commentators talk about. I proposed that every ball that hits the floor not in the control of anyone should be a loose ball and that we should kept track of who wound up with it. Rebounds should be balls taken out of the air. Jim thought that was a good idea but “They’re not going to do that”. He didn’t elaborate so I’ll just put that back into my file of great ideas, (in my mind) that aren’t going to happen. “We had a couple of rebounds they took away from us. We need to be better. We can afford to be outrebounded by 8-10 but not 20. We were already down 15-16 rebounds when it was tied. We got pretty good shots. Our defense is better”.
He didn’t’ feel that the rough defense Buddy faced in Tallahassee had a lingering impact on his shooting in the Villanova game. “They doubled him a lot and helped on him a lot at Florida State. The 3 shots he made there were tough shots. He had 1-2 open ones he could have made. Against Villanova, 10 of the shots he missed were good shots. If he could have made 5 of them it would have made a difference. Cole got some good shots against Florida State but we couldn’t get him open shots against Villanova. We need to try to get him in better shooting situations. Jesse would have had a 20 point game if he’d made hi lay-ups and free throws. It’s good we got him the ball so much. Buddy and Cole will score for us.“
“Steph Curry is the greatest shooter ever and he recently had a 3 for 16 game. Clay Thompson was 0 for 16 when he suddenly had his record 37-point quarter.” Steph is about to catch Ray Allen as the all-time NBA three-point shooter, (the most makes). “He’s only played about half as many games. He’s going to break that record by 800 and nobody will ever top it. He shoots it from father out and quicker than anybody I’ve ever seen.” 1,100 of his makes have been unassisted. Curry always has the ball. He’s going to get his shots off the dribble. Allen and Reggie Miller did everything off screens. They call a lot of stuff in the NBA. It’s not as physical. They want their stars to have the freedom to play.”
Matt said that it was really something against Florida State to see Buddy confronted with a 7-footer as soon as he crossed the midcourt line and then there would be another one behind him. JB: “Indiana never had help coming. Buddy is getting better with the ball. He’ll never have an easy night again. But he has his pride. He was running at the treadmill for an hour today. It’s a new system for Cole and Jimmy, a whole new deal.” Matt noted Jimmy’s scoring and versatility. JB: “He’s sneaky around the basket.”
Josh in Boulder said that he enjoyed the first half but felt that Nova made an adjustment in the second half to go for mid-range jump shots. He asked if we could have gone back to the 2-3 to combat that. Jim said “We did got back to the 2-3 and they got the ball into the high post, where we’ve been getting hurt. But once you give up an offensive rebound you are out of alignment.” [You are in an ‘unsettled situation’.] “We’re trying to adjust and figure it out. We were down 25-7 in second chance points. (regarding the fact that Jesse Edwards was the only Orange player to attempt any free throws) “We got fouled but they didn’t call much.”
Matt said that “Our best defensive teams featured longer-armed guards like Michael Carter Williams which allows you to get away with playing two guards.” JB: “Teams are going to the high post more and more. Our centers and forwards are learning their reactions. It’s never bene a straight 2-3.” Matt said that Jay Wright had told an interviewer that “the biggest fraud in basketball is the notion that Jim Boeheim just plays a 2-3 zone, CYO-style”. [Is that what they play at the CYO?] JB: “We’re just trying to prevent them from lining up threes. We’re getting better but we’re still not good enough.”
Georgetown’s Kaiden Rice recently hit 10 threes in a game, (they beat Maryland-Baltimore County 100-71). “They started slow but are now playing well and that’s who we’ll see. Our series with them was a 25-30 year run of great games every year. It got so loud in the Dome and also down there and in New York. I hope there won’t be any punches this time.”
John in Liverpool wanted to talk about golf. Has Jim ever shot his age? How good are Jimmy and Buddy?
Jim said he had yet to shoot his age. [But he’s working on getting older.] Jimmy and Buddy can hit the ball about 320 yards. Jim used to be able to hit it 260 but now he’s down to 220. He doesn’t use the gold tees yet but he’s switched from the blue to the white. He’s only played 18 holes a couple of times this year. He likes to play 9 holes at night. It’s cooler and there aren’t so many people out on the course. Jimmy and Billy never really played that much and they tend to be wild in the shot game. “I used to use a 9 iron to hit it 150 yards. Now I use a 7 iron.” The best golfer on the coaching staff is Gerry McNamara, who can shoot in the 70’s, although he doesn’t play much now with 4 children. “Adrian and Griff like to play but they are just hacking it around. Adrian is terrible but made a hole in one. Good players don’t make holes in one.” He told some more golf stories about playing in tournaments with pro players but I didn’t recognize the names.
Jesse in Lexington, Kentucky said that he’s got two young children and wanted to know how to “introduce basketball to kids”. [As opposed to introducing kids to basketball.] Jim told how Julie had bought the small plastic hoop you see on the cover of the Post Standard’s basketball preview. “She’s throw them the balls and they’d shoot shots every day. It developed their hand-to-eye coordination. They this long before they could shoot a real basketball. They grew up to be tall- it helps. They read Malcolm Gladwell’s books: Malcolm Gladwell - Wikipedia and started practicing 10 hours a day. We took them to games from pre-school. You have to give them a chance to be good if they want to be. They’ve got to want it. You never know when that kicks in.”
Elijah Hughes is playing the G league for a team that has too many players at his position. He’s a talented player but needs to get in the right situation, as Oshae Brissett did last year.
Tisha Hyman of the SU women’s team almost had a quadruple double, which no women’s college basketball player has ever had. Against central Connecticut, she had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 15 assists and 11 steals. Teisha Hyman - Women's Basketball - Syracuse University Athletics NP: 56 in 37 minutes. They’ve won 4 in a row and are 6-4 with a win over #18 Ohio State and they also beat Colgate. The men are jealous. And women’s basketball at Syracuse isn’t dead.
Nick from Ft. Myers, Florida said that they have a tournament down there and wondered when Syracuse was going to play in that tournament. I believe he’s referring to this tournament: Fort Myers Tip-Off Jim said that that was a good spot for a tournament. “We’ll be in New York next year and in Maui the following year.” Matt suggested that Covid concerns might “Throw Ft. Myers out of whack.” Matt noted that the Texas tech-Tennessee game was “gruesome. Nobody was there. There was a great atmosphere for the SU- Villanova game. That was the ‘varsity game’.“
Gomez came on for the final half hour. He noted that seton Hall and Texas were on the telly. And Rutgers was hanging in against #1 Purdue. It was a great day for New Jersey: Rutgers became the third team to beat a #1 team this year, 70-68 while the Hall beat #7 Texas 64-60. (A certain long-armed guard played 20 minutes, scoring 5 points with 1 assist, a steal and a turnover.) Gomez said that the SU-Villanova game was also a battle of good teams. “We missed some shots, some free throws. We needed to get 6-8 more rebounds. We held the #6 team to a low percentage.” Gomez noted that that was Jimmy Boeheim’s first game at MSG. JB: “He played a very good game. Villanova covered Cole and Buddy. Joe was good. Jesse has to do a little better offensively and get more defensive rebounds. Everything’s new to Jesse, Cole, Jimmy and Symir.” Was there pressure on Cole playing his old team? “There always is. He’s never had to play 30 minutes a game. He’s never had to rebound much or drive to the basket. We need more practices.
Gomez asked when Jim and Jay Wright had worked together in international play. “We worked with a junior team many years ago. He was my assistant. He’s a great coach, understands the game and his players understand what he wants them to do.” Gomez revealed himself as an Ed Pinkney fan. Jim remembered him as a great player on Nova’s first national championship team.
In today’s practice the emphasized defense but worked on everything. “For the first three quarters of the season, you are going to be working on everything, trying to get some good wins and get in a good position.“ Reviewing the country: “Purdue, [who hadn’t lost yet] has really stepped up big . Kansas, Gonzaga, Duke are strong. North Carolina and Kentucky are getting up there. Southern California, UCLA, Houston, LSU and Auburn have good teams. Michigan State is coming back. Villanova, Xavier, seton hall and Texas are good.“ [When will we be good?] Purdue went down and Jim said “They have a good 7-2 guy, a good 6-9 guy, some great wings, some great shooters and seniors. It’s hard to keep winning.”
I called in again to ask my second question, wanting to know why the other teams attempt so many more three pointers than we do. JB: “We push our zone out but it’s still a zone. People are going to try to beat it with threes. They were face-guarding Buddy and Cole and so we have to drive. They are not letting us shoot threes. The offensive rebounds hurt us. That was the #1 thing. We need to shoot a little better against a great defense and we needed about 10 more rebounds.” I noted that other teams throw offensive rebounds back out for threes and that we never seem to pass to a three off a drive. JB: “We do try to pass it back out when get an offensive rebound. The other teams are staying on the shooters and not coming in to help so our drives have to go to the basket. Man-to-man face guarding opens up the drives to the basket.” I told the coach that I hoped we can score enough two pointers to offset the other team’s three pointers.
Gomez asked about the 1-1-3. JB: “It keeps them out of the high post but has weaknesses elsewhere. We’ve played much better defense against Indiana, Florida State and Villanova.” [Indiana?] “we’ll keep getting better.” Gomez said that we need a guy like Derrick Coleman who went after rebounds “like it was his last meal”. JB: “We aren’t a great rebounding team and that’s a fact. Cole is making an effort at it. Jesse’s got to be better.”
Next year’s TBT, (The Basketball Tournament, which Boeheim’s Army won last year), will have a couple of games in Syracuse next summer.
Tigers Woods will again play in a golf tournament with his son. Jim thinks that with his leg injuries it will be hard to walk four rounds and win. Maybe could use a cart as Casey Martin won the right to do. [What would ben Hogan think?]
Dick Butkus is 79 today. “He was some middle linebacker. I used to watch highlight films of him.” Gomez said that he never played in a post season game. Neither did Gayle Sayers. “Those Packers were pretty tough.” (Actually the Packers last championship of that era was in 1967. Sayers and Ditka played from 1965-71 and 73.)
Gomez ended it by saying “You can throw the rules out when rivals like Syracuse and Georgetown get together.” The records, too. I’ve been to some SU Georgetown games where the refs seemed to have throw the rules out.
