The Long Drought

[Flacusian]

Just got to thinking that it seems like forever since the last Syracuse Basketball game. That's most likely on account of this being the longest stretch between games ever. Since the Cuse did not participate in any post season tournaments it figures to be the longest stretch between games ever.

That coupled with all of the drama, most of which has been very unpleasant, has really changed the vibe of being a Syracuse Basketball fanatic. Some bad stuff has happened no doubt but there is still some things to be excited about moving forward. I think Silent G is going to have a phenomenal year and Roberson will be a force as well. We have some new kids coming into the program that are going to be very good players and I'm thinking that we can look forward to teams in the future which will not struggle so greatly to score.

Regardless of how the season plays out... I"m going to cheer for Orange just as mightily as I ever have and since it does absolutely no good whatsoever to dwell on all of the bad ju-ju we've had recently we might as well put on our Orange colored glasses and move on with some optimism. It's all going to work out in time and we will emerge a better program as a result of it. And as one old time denizen of the board would often say... Book it!

 

[Rage4CUSE]

Next season can not come fast enough. But at least there is football now to help us wade through offseason. Yay football.

 

[AlaskaSU]

The season after next cannot come fast enough. Ditto for the decision on our appeal. I will still follow the games and all the nuances, but my expectations are low. Duke, the Ville, NC and Virginia are all probably far out of reach. However, I would not be shocked if DC surprises on the upside.

 

[br801]

The season after next cannot come fast enough. Ditto for the decision on our appeal. I will still follow the games and all the nuances, but my expectations are low. Duke, the Ville, NC and Virginia are all probably far out of reach. However, I would not be shocked if DC surprises on the upside.

I have been a fan long enough to know it's never a good idea to wish away seasons, as they are all precious and often full of good surprises.

 

[721Comstock]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

 

[Flacusian]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

True dat... but he's got his work cut out for sure not to mention he has been ordered to be laissez faire for the first 10 games of the season. That makes it pretty difficult to be impactful in the formative portion of the season.

 

[Dave85]

Just got to thinking that it seems like forever since the last Syracuse Basketball game. That's most likely on account of this being the longest stretch between games ever. Since the Cuse did not participate in any post season tournaments it figures to be the longest stretch between games ever.

That coupled with all of the drama, most of which has been very unpleasant, has really changed the vibe of being a Syracuse Basketball fanatic. Some bad stuff has happened no doubt but there is still some things to be excited about moving forward. I think Silent G is going to have a phenomenal year and Roberson will be a force as well. We have some new kids coming into the program that are going to be very good players and I'm thinking that we can look forward to teams in the future which will not struggle so greatly to score.

Regardless of how the season plays out... I"m going to cheer for Orange just as mightily as I ever have and since it does absolutely no good whatsoever to dwell on all of the bad ju-ju we've had recently we might as well put on our Orange colored glasses and move on with some optimism. It's all going to work out in time and we will emerge a better program as a result of it. And as one old time denizen of the board would often say... Book it!

When I first read this thread I got excited because I thought it was going to be about a long draught of beer.

 

[Dave85]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

If we make it into the NCAA tournament with this team it will be quite a feat!

 

[orangefan13]

I think the team should easily make the tournament all depends on our centers.
We are underestmating our offense.
Three 5th year seniors. 2 of them were are 2nd options last year.
Tyler roberson turns to Junior, and now Kaleb has a year under his belt. They both will make HUGE strides. Kaleb will because of the speed level he plays at and Tyler will because he is moving to a upperclass role.
Not to mention Lydon and Malachi even Howard are the kind of guys who you can imagine to come in and give us a few points come acc play.

On top of that we play alot of tough games road games also.
But we will have the confidence (Kaleb is the only sophmore and hes the confident type. Our 3 freshmen are also the confident not passive types. I don't think there will be alot of pressure or growing pains outside our centers.

On top of that we should have
1.Atleast 3 great outside shooters this year. 2 is needed 3 is great.
2. And (a bold prediction of mine) two maybe even possibly 3 guys to score off the dribble from the perimeter in the lane(not just around the rim) 1 is needed 2 is solid 3 rare to find.
(Depends if Howard is ready for the speed of the college game), and cooney can score some in the lane as well, but its been more of a 1-2 times a game shot for him so far come acc play so doubtful.
Those are two great qualities to have, and to possibly have them together is a bright dream.

On top of that we have our go to guy Gbinije will give us a true isolation go to guy and Cooney a true go to shooter if open.

The only thing holding us back is can our centers recover baseline on the defensive end, and stay ready for 20 plus minutes all year for us. Since our freshmen center never made it. They are the entire question mark.

 

[pfister1]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

We had superstar players on the roster both those years in JDubs and Melo. Maybe G can play at JDubs level, but I'm not expecting it.

 

[two3zone]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

The pundits had low expectations but in all reality that was a solid team and had probably the best recruit that didn't go to the NBA coming in. 1996 had John Wallace. We don't have a Wallace or a Melo on this team.

 

[orangefan13]

A quick comparison
02-03 we won a few really close games to get to the championship same with back in 96. same with our last final four team we rolled over top seeded indiana and barely lost to michigan.

Look at uconns boatright championship team. vs syracuse a few years back
Boatrights championship team.
17ppg
11.6
10.9
9.1
5.5
vs
14.5(CJ)
13.6(Triche)
13.3(Southerland)
11.9 MCW
5.1 Rak


or howbout uconns kemba championship team vs our 09-10 orange
23.5kemba
11.1
9.6
7.8
6.3
vs

16.5 wes
12.1 Rautins
10.8 arinze
10.5
9.7
9.1
8.1

Now take a scenerio for this year.
Gbinije 14.5
Cooney 13.8
Roberson 12.6
Kaleb 11.5
Dajuan 8.2
Malachi or Lydon 6.5
I think that is very solid.

show me only that preseason and I got the cuse teams over the uconn national champs personally.
you?
-Kemba and boatright were not the second coming of Carmelo or Duane Wade nowhere close neither was russ smith.

But its not so much stats or one player its a few that can make tough shots.
three reasons Gmac,Fair,Pace,Edelin, Dnic were so good at shooting off the dribble is right when you think they are bouncing for another dribble they are pulling up for their shot because they kept the ball high and their back straight off the bounce, and could pull right into their shot off a high pass. I think Malachi Howard and definitely Battle have that potential. I love watching that kind of ball.

 

[SBU72]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

Key could be that 9 game stretch to begin the ACC. Not only is the JB banned from the building, it is one of the toughest starts to a conference season that I can remember. I have thought SU has been getting the short end for many a year getting their hardest games the 2nd half of conference play. Now those first 9 games are tough, with Pitt, UNC, Duke, Virginia and ND. And not to dis Wake and Miami.

 

[two3zone]

A quick comparison
02-03 we won a few really close games to get to the championship same with back in 96. same with our last final four team we rolled over top seeded indiana and barely lost to michigan.

Look at uconns boatright championship team. vs syracuse a few years back
Boatrights championship team.
17ppg
11.6
10.9
9.1
5.5
vs
14.5(CJ)
13.6(Triche)
13.3(Southerland)
11.9 MCW
5.1 Rak


or howbout uconns kemba championship team vs our 09-10 orange
23.5kemba
11.1
9.6
7.8
6.3
vs

16.5 wes
12.1 Rautins
10.8 arinze
10.5
9.7
9.1
8.1

Now take a scenerio for this year.
Gbinije 14.5
Cooney 13.8
Roberson 12.6
Kaleb 11.5
Dajuan 8.2
Malachi or Lydon 6.5
I think that is very solid.

show me only that preseason and I got the cuse teams over the uconn national champs personally.
you?

But its not so much stats or one player its a few that can make tough shots.
three reasons Gmac,Fair,Pace,Edelin, Dnic were so good at shooting off the dribble is right when you think they are bouncing for another dribble they are pulling up for their shot because they kept the ball high and their back straight off the bounce, and could pull right into their shot off a high pass. I think Malachi Howard and definitely Battle have that potential. I love watching that kind of ball.

You can look at almost any team and put there top guys and points per game next to them and they'll all look the same.

It's not so much one player? Tell me where we would have been in 2003 without Carmello Anthony. As JB where we would have been 2004-2007 without GMac. In this sport it can absolutely be one player.

 

[Flacusian]

I think the team should easily make the tournament all depends on our centers.
We are underestmating our offense.
Three 5th year seniors. 2 of them were are 2nd options last year.
Tyler roberson turns to Junior, and now Kaleb has a year under his belt. They both will make HUGE strides. Kaleb will because of the speed level he plays at and Tyler will because he is moving to a upperclass role.
Not to mention Lydon and Malachi even Howard are the kind of guys who you can imagine to come in and give us a few points come acc play.

On top of that we play alot of tough games road games also.
But we will have the confidence (Kaleb is the only sophmore and hes the confident type. Our 3 freshmen are also the confident not passive types. I don't think there will be alot of pressure or growing pains outside our centers.

On top of that we should have
1.Atleast 3 great outside shooters this year. 2 is needed 3 is great.
2. And (a bold prediction of mine) two maybe even possibly 3 guys to score off the dribble from the perimeter in the lane(not just around the rim) 1 is needed 2 is solid 3 rare to find.
(Depends if Howard is ready for the speed of the college game), and cooney can score some in the lane as well, but its been more of a 1-2 times a game shot for him so far come acc play so doubtful.
Those are two great qualities to have, and to possibly have them together is a bright dream.

On top of that we have our go to guy Gbinije will give us a true isolation go to guy and Cooney a true go to shooter if open.

The only thing holding us back is can our centers recover baseline on the defensive end, and stay ready for 20 plus minutes all year for us. Since our freshmen center never made it. They are the entire question mark.

Excellent and insightful post! Optimism seems like an endangered species recently and it's refreshing to read an upbeat post which is focused on possible outcomes which are positive. Thanks!!!

 

[orangefan13]

Excellent and insightful post! Optimism seems like an endangered species recently and it's refreshing to read an upbeat post which is focused on possible outcomes which are positive. Thanks!!!

anytime, and willing to take flack for it
Basketball and Football season start at the same time for me

 

[igor]

JB often does his best work when there are low expectations coming into a season.
See: 1996, 2003.

y r the expectations low? silent g and cooney r seniors. roberson and dc 2 r juniors. kaleb joseph is an experienced point. in addition there r some terrific ready for action frosh. the big kid is primitive on offense, but not a stiff.

 

[dasher]

y r the expectations low? silent g and cooney r seniors. roberson and dc 2 r juniors. kaleb joseph is an experienced point. in addition there r some terrific ready for action frosh. the big kid is primitive on offense, but not a stiff.

What big kid are you talking about? And since I'm sure you haven't seen any of these guys play, I can't wait for your answer.

 

[igor]

i saw him play last year as did u. from rochester

 

[orangefan13]

chinoso obokoh Hope hes working on his lateral quickness and recovering baseline bigtime he was not ready to spell Rak for 5 minutes in acc play last year. That's his only task imo.

 

[bballbeadle]

I have been a fan long enough to know it's never a good idea to wish away seasons, as they are all precious and often full of good surprises.

Oh my good sir, you are so right about this! I want to enjoy every season and streeeeeeetch it out. If we can survive last year, we can survive anything! And now it's out with the old, in with the new.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Goooooooooooood.

 

[igor]

Oh my good sir, you are so right about this! I want to enjoy every season and streeeeeeetch it out. If we can survive last year, we can survive anything! And now it's out with the old, in with the new.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Goooooooooooood.

r u having a baby

 

[Dave85]

r u having a baby

It's like the Trunk Monkey commercial on the breathing part!

 

[bballbeadle]

r u having a baby

I am the Dalai Lama.

 

[orangefan13]

The pundits had low expectations but in all reality that was a solid team and had probably the best recruit that didn't go to the NBA coming in. 1996 had John Wallace. We don't have a Wallace or a Melo on this team.

I liked this post above, however as you mention it also isn't a set in stone law. Not here to debate as much as to build alittle preseason momentum for this team.

We were a one seed in 09-10 and one of the two top best teams in the land all year with only Wes Johnson making the NBA. And he went 4th in the draft. Gbinije has the potential to be as good as Wes Johnson in the NBA, he might not be a better outside shooter or rebounder but hes a better isolation guy. Will he go 4th in the draft like wes, probably not as Wes was a freak athletic jumper and sat out a year raising his draft stock. But Gbinije is also the better ball handler, invites physical defense better off the dribble, and is the better isolation scorer as well as a true 6'7 ball handeling SG in the NBA.

Also look at Dion in 11-12. Same thing that team only had Dion who was on fire. Fab had to sit out down the stretch and we were still very solid without him. But give me Gbinije this year over Dion that year due to his seniority and isolation being alittle more polished not that Dion wasn't a stud and shot the ball at a high percentage. And Joseph was good but defensively he was slower and wasn't the shooter Gbinije is imo.

MCW on way to our FF run scored 12 points in the elite 8 and 2 points against Michigan in a final four game we nearly won before being nba rookie of the year. If we make a final four this year no way gbinije doesn't score much better. so nba stud doesn't always equal team scoring leader.

in 02-03 Warrick stuck around 2 more years afterward. Melo put up 33 against texas and 19 against Kansas. I don't see Gbinije doing that but he could put up 17-25 against any team when he needs to step up and take more shots. Melo took that many shots because he was unstoppable. But it was Gmac that owned the first half with 15.

In terms of Wallace I am going out on a limb as I was a young fan back then. He was a very solid nba player averaged I think around 14 ppg. But who else did he have on that team outside of hill to really score alot off the dribble. Junulius and Cippola were solid but nowhere near the nba potential.

This team has 3 future nbaers Lydon, Malachi,Gbinije. Maybe 4/5 in kaleb or dajuan.

Lastly NBA is a different beast then college. Look at all the top 10 picks who don't make it in the nba because of their body.

I respect your thought to having a star but don't underrate a team for not having one, when it has toughness to maintain its lead go on runs, and finish down the stretch. This team has way more then then basic potential to do that they have signs pointing.
We have signs of great shooters (and off the dribble), great drivers (plural) and Roberson and Dajuan to post up . This team has nobody coming in unconfident in the rotation outside of maybe obokoh(and hes a jr.).
Cooney and Gbinije have more game winning late 2nd half buckets then anyone in the acc . I like the underdog role, but the signs are there. This teams needs to shy away from Cooney being the 2nd go to guy instead third or get him more wide open or hes got to make more off the dribble (which he got better at late last year). Defensively Lydon and our centers need to step up.

Reguardless of our debates this team will push themselves and hype doesn't equal wins when you have depth and this team has depth.

-Kemba, Boatright and Russ smith were not the 2nd coming of carmel Anthony or Duane Wade they are no better then Dion Waiters or MCW or maybe Gbinije.