The last Jim Boeheim Show of the season

[Newhouser]

Clear he expects more than Tyus to be gone

I agree so that means OB? Sid?

 

[Alsacs]

It was beyond obvious Tyus Battle wasn’t coming back.
We were lucky he gave us a 3rd year.
If JB wants better players he controls recruiting.
Now I do give JB this he won’t pay for players.
However maybe when a Jaylen Brunson 5 star is interested in the program we can push for him hard instead of targeting for the zone.
Girard was a good change but we can go after Jonny Flynn like PGs regardless if they fit the zone.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Glad they are taking a summer trip. Going to be much needed.

 

[Dinkyspond]

Has JB ever publicly said we don't have good players? Im trying to recall

He said Navy had better players than us when they beat us in the second round of the NCAAs in 84 or 85 or 86 when it was played in the Dome. They had David Robinson, that's who I always thought he was referring to when he said that in the presser.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Good guards can cover up a lot of issues. I’d rather have good guards

So would I. Who says it has to be one or the other?

 

[PauliePeppas]

I agree so that means OB? Sid?

Those are my top 2 with lower chances of Jalen/Wash but these are total guesses

 

[Alsacs]

So would I. Who says it has to be one or the other?

If we have non offense big it will just cause his defender to hedge on the pick and roll we will run because we don’t change.
Or that big will just plant in the paint and stop penetration from guards.
We need a threat at the 5. It doesn’t need to be a star but just a threat.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Shooting/overall guard play is more important than a big. UVA gets by fine without elite bigs. Just need a rim protector who can CATCH and DUNK. Shouldn't be too much to ask.

 

[Alsacs]

Shooting/overall guard play is more important than a big. UVA gets by fine without elite bigs. Just need a rim protector who can CATCH and DUNK. Shouldn't be too much to ask.

Huff and Salt give UVa about 10 PPG from the middle.
That is what we need as that is about what Rick Jackson averaged.

We need a 8-12 PPG from the middle just to force the D not hedge off our bigs.

 

[orangecuse]

The first step is recognition of the problem. JB sounded determined to turn things around.

Great job as always!

It would be interesting to know when this recognition was first realized. If it was obvious to many here, I'm sure JB and the staff has had to know this too as this is their livelihood. It also would be interesting to know how he plans on turning this around? Is he going to become far more active in recruiting? It seems we have gone after many of these "better players" but we simply haven't been able to land them. The last 2 recruiting cycles we have gone after highly rated centers, but have whiffed on all of them. So, what changes in order to land these better, higher rated prospects? It's not as if JB can make himself 10, 15 years younger, if that is truly an issue relative to "relating" more with his prospects, or prospects allegedly concerned how much longer he'll coach, etc.

 

[AZOrange]

Those are my top 2 with lower chances of Jalen/Wash but these are total guesses

I’m not getting specific but I think you have 1 in each grouping

 

[SWC75]

Yeah and note he says we don’t have enough good players...not system...players...

Our system is a variable zone on defense with occasional full-court pressure when we have to make a comeback and no man-for-man and an offense based on three pointers, isolation plays and the pick and roll. The defensive result has been good with occasional lapses but an inability to dictate the nature of the game and impose our will on the other team beyond that. The offensive result has been too many ugly, grind it out games. Our running game for which we were once famous and which put so many fans in the stands, has disappeared.

I'd like to see us use more consistent, pro-active defensive pressure, digging the ball to get steals or steal time from the other team's offense and using more traps to force turnovers. I don't care if we don't use man for man, which can be played as poorly as a zone when you aren't hustling. I'd like to see an offense that emphasizes motion and passing to get defenders moving, which would create more opportunities that the pinball-like spacing we currently use.

Personnel wise, there's a reason why the classic C-PF-SF-SG-PG line-up is considered classic. it gives the right combination of size and speed, inside and outside scoring, rebounding, ball handling and passing. You kick the doors and you don't hear a rattle. When you've got three of one thing and none of another, you are going to have someone playing out of position and you will be the weaker for it. The wing players get to be the stars in modern basketball but good teams are strong up the middle. We've got to get strong at center and point guard to have a really strong team and we haven't been really good at both positions since early in the decade when we had three different teams achieve a number one ranking.

What I'm tired of is statements like "nobody does that any more" or there aren't any of those type of players any more". They are out there. We see them every day and we'll be reading about them as we fill out our NCAA sheets. I hope JB's honesty in last night's show signals that he realizes that and that he's going to make the changes that will make us strong again.

 

[OttoMets]

...

Gomez quoted Gerry McNamara as saying that when he first watched the Virginia game, we seemed to have many defensive lapses but when he re-watched the game, we had guarded the shooters better than he realized. JB: “they made 5-6 shots you wouldn’t think they could make. We’d still have lost but it would be a 10 point game. Sometimes fans don’t want to give the other team credit. ...

I agree. To read this board, we had the 2008 matador all-stars running around out there, but I thought we played pretty good defense for the first 37 minutes. Virginia just had a special night.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Great job as always!

It would be interesting to know when this recognition was first realized. If it was obvious to many here, I'm sure JB and the staff has had to know this too as this is their livelihood. It also would be interesting to know how he plans on turning this around? Is he going to become far more active in recruiting? It seems we have gone after many of these "better players" but we simply haven't been able to land them. The last 2 recruiting cycles we have gone after highly rated centers, but have whiffed on all of them. So, what changes in order to land these better, higher rated prospects? It's not as if JB can make himself 10, 15 years younger, if that is truly an issue relative to "relating" more with his prospects, or prospects allegedly concerned how much longer he'll coach, etc.

Amen. It's easy to say we need to get better players. It's a lot harder to do when you're 76, 77, 78, 79.

 

[tbonezone]

Our running game for which we were once famous and which put so many fans in the stands, has disappeared.

did find this fossil evidence of a syracuse team last pushing tempo ...

 

[pfister1]

I’m not getting specific but I think you have 1 in each grouping

If it’s OB and JC that would seem to me to be a much bigger setback for our prospects next year than Sid/HW, although I’d really rather not lose anyone unless we have a better option lined up to take the scholarship that is freed up.

 

[supp]

The Stewart loss was killer. He transforms next year's team. All this talk on the recruiting board about Ajak stepping up is just talk. Boeheim clearly doesn't think so.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Yeah and note he says we don’t have enough good players...not system...players...

The defense is fine, but I think we rely way too much on ISO on offense. Need more passing and movement overall.

 

[Alsacs]

The defense is fine, but I think we rely way too much on ISO on offense. Need more passing and movement overall.

ISO requires effort to slow down.
Unless you have Duke or Kentucky talent.
JB is treating our best players like they Hakim Warrick or Jason Hart.
Michael Gbinije has been the best player in the program the last 5 years and it’s no coincidence that when Malachi was a great second banana and Lydon was a great third banana we were able to beat Virginia in 2016.

We need to run sets on offense keep the ball moving and forcing the defense to not just lock down on our best player and flooding the paint with bigs.

 

[Sherman20]

called in my second question about why we haven’t done as well in the ACC tournament as we had done in the Big East tournament. Jim jumped right on that but not in a defensive posture. “It’s because we don’t have as good players! We’re in a downturn. We’ve struggled for the last 4-5 years. You have to be one of the top 3-4 teams in a conference to win the tournament, normally. We’re not in the Top 8…..we’ve lost three close games.” (we lost by 3 to NC State in 2014, by 1 to Pittsburgh in 2016, by 5 to Miami in 2017 and by 19 to North Carolina last year after beating Wake Forest by 9). “We’ve got to get to the top 2-3 seeds.” I asked how we do that. “Get better players. Develop them better. Coach them better.” I knew it- JB is “Alsacs”!!!!

Yikes. Wow, those are some very scary quotes. I guess my question is, if the program has been in a downturn for 4-5 years and you need to get better players, develop them better, and coach them better... what changes are being instilled to ensure that those 3 things are happening?

Of course he means “downturn” in relation to our usual top 15-25 success, but better than most programs. It’s easier to jump back up into the top rung from where we are than where most programs are. We’ll get there. If we can get to 11-7 in the ACC, win a game or two in the ACC tourney and go on a little run in the big dance, I’ll feel better that we’re starting to turn the corner. Gotta find a good offensive big man. Hopefully we can pick somebody up from overseas or a decommitment or transfer from one of these teams that get hammered by the NCAA over the FBI probe.

 

[Sherman20]

Yes. That’s what I’ve heard also.

Who? If you don’t know, what’s your guess?

 

[Alsacs]

Who? If you don’t know, what’s your guess?

It’s gotta be either
Oshae Brissett not wanting a reduced role and will just become a pro, Howard Washington being told to move because of the depth or Jalen Carey transferring out of frustration.
I don’t think Marek will go back to Europe yet outside of the Italy trip we have scheduled this May.

 

[Sherman20]

I’m not getting specific but I think you have 1 in each grouping

So you think we’ll have 3 players transfer out?

 

[Alsacs]

So you think we’ll have 3 players transfer out?

It’s wont be the 3 I said. It’s likely just one of them as JB hinted according to what SWC wrote we could have an additional player move on besides Battle, Chukwu, and Howard.
So my guess it’s one of Brissett, Washington or Carey.

 

[Sherman20]

If it’s OB and JC that would seem to me to be a much bigger setback for our prospects next year than Sid/HW, although I’d really rather not lose anyone unless we have a better option lined up to take the scholarship that is freed up.

OB and JC leaving would be devastating. I’m counting on them and Hughes and Buddy and Marek to make us halfway decent next season. I can’t imagine they’d willingly transfer and sit out a whole year when they’ll be two of the key players on our team next season. If that happens, their idiot handlers are giving them terrible advice and sabotaging their careers.