The major issues/problems and what can be done to solve them

[JeremyCuse]

I was hopeful that after the first few games the kinks would start to work themselves out but unfortunately the same issues are dogging this team and now new ones are popping up.
I will try to address each of them as I can and point out some positives along the way.

Goalie - No way around it, Lamo and Lerman have both been dissapointing so far and some Desko's decisions have been head scratching. Of the two you would think Lerman has looked slightly better but Lamo has started and played all of the last two games (note Lerman was sick vs Prov). I thought Lamo was suspect at best versus Providence who barely shot the ball all game but still got 6 goals and unfortunately Lamo was exposed versus Nova, 11 goals to that team is an embarassement. But its not all on the goalie, Nova got a handful of looks near the cage that this defense in the past did not give up, that said Lamo let in 3-4 goals that a D1A goalie at Syracuse should stop 100% of the time. Also our short stick defenders not named Kevin Drew continue to be abused and allthough I love the kids heart and hustle its time for the Drew Jenkins experiment to end, he was abused by the Nova mid fielder he was guarding on backcuts 3-4 times yesterday and doesnt have the speed to make up for his 5'5 height.

The solution? Its time to play Wardwell period. We have seen enough of the goalie carousel, Lerman and Lamo would make great backups but there simply not starters, time to get Wardwell out there and to roll with him. With Wardwell mixed in with Harris, Megill, Fazio, and Mullins our D can be back to what it was.

Man Up Offense - As bas as the D was yesterday the man up offense was absolutely putrid. Two years ago it was bad, last year it was really bad, this year its flat out awful. Our man up O looks like an early season SU basketball game where the overmatched OOC opp just passes the ball around the perimiter until the clock is gone and throws up a prayer. Our first couple man ups we didnt even get a shot off and when we finally did it was a long range shot that had zero chance of going in.

The solution? - We need to totally revamp the Man up Offense, new schemes, plays, and personnel. Coleman should be taken off along with Palasek or Jo Jo as we need shooters not multiple feeders. Powderly should be out there as he scored versus Providence and then for some reason played zero minutes yesterday. I would also get Rice and Schoonmaker out there as well, that unit needs some new young blood desperately.

Offense - Inconsistent, Mediocore, underwhelming are all words I would use to describe the 2012 SU lax offense to date. At times we see the old run and gun SU offense with good fastbreak passes and even some bounce shots yesterday. But to often this O gets bogged down and has no real star or playmaker to run the offense through. Tim Desko has been pretty dame good all year but hes trying to put the burden on his shoulders and do it all himself to much. Tim is a good player but hes not Mikey Powell and yesterday the Nova defender completely frustrated him into taking bad shots and he was a non factor. I thought Jo Jo did a much better job of getting good looks yesterday then I have seen for most of the year, the problem is he never changes shot angles or the direction of the shot. 3-4 times he worked to get a great shot from straight on only to shoot high to high and was stoned each time. This team refuses to go high to low or god forbid low to high like Daniello used to do with great success. Even the announcer opposite Drypolcher who sounded like he was 11 and never played a sport in his life kept noting how SU always shoots high and doesnt change angles. This is coaching and playing 101 everyone is to blame.

The Solution? - Run the young guns until opposing defenses wear down from wave after wave of SU offensive attacks. The playing time of Pete Coleman, Steve Ianzito, and Ryan Barber has been slowly diminished and save for maybe Barber they should be replaced by the young guys. Rice, Dejohn, Messina, Powderly, Ward and others need to be given more burn and the hook quicker for Lecky, Eilers, and Pratt who are really struggling out there. Palasek and Marasco have looked better the past two games and we need to keep them trending upward. We also need to make a concerded effort to get Maltz the ball early to get him going, he hasnt gotten many touches the past few games and he is one of our more promising young players. I had hoped to see Grimm this year but it appears he will definitely red shirt which based on next years class is probably a good thing.

Last Issue and the newest problem Recruiting - Contrary to popular belief throughout the course of Desko's tenure SU has never been a team thats consistently brought in a top 1-2 class each year. Syracuse has been known to make Stars out of its recruits while teams like JHU, UVA, and UNC bring in more of the top 5-10 offensive players each year. Thats not to say SU never brings in top kids see Mikey Powell and the Dan Hardy Kenny Nims class but if you look back into the 90's and early to mid 2000's SU's recruiting classes have been usually outside the top 3 and have taken a lot of under the radar guys and made them stars. Unfortunately this seems to have finally caught up with us. The one thing this team is desperately lacking is offensive star fire power. If you look at the inside lacrosse top 100 freshmen this year you will see that SU's name isnt mentioned nearly enough and are two highest rated guys (Wardwell and Grimm) havent played a second year. The top 50 rising Seniors has only 1 SU recruit on it, Palasek's brother who is a D long pole.

The Solution? - Tough to say, I trust Coach Desko and the staff but its clear this team could really use a Stanwick, Ranagan, Panell, Bitter type of player. Personally I think we need to take a renewed look at recruitign the Island better, we are bleeding top guys out of there each year, I know SU has not historically owned downstate NY but we need to stem the tide here a bit. I also think we need to hit OOC harder, we took Pratt this year but due to the recent misses on the recruiting trail ie Ianzito, Coleman, JD kid who transferred, Barber, and cousin of the Thompsons who no showed this year we could really use an infusion of seasoned talent. There is some big time talent on OCC again this year including some familiar names we should hit it hard and look to bring in 2-3 kids. The good news is that the class two years from now SU has allready landed some big time committs including Maltz's brother Dylan who had offers from everyone and will be an All American.

All in all we need everyone on the team coaches include to step up and get these issues that have been dragging on 2-3 years now resolved so that this young team can take that next step this year.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

For the last 2 games Ianzito has been a SSDM. Looks like he's no longer in the mix on offense.

 

[jr4750]

For the last 2 games Ianzito has been a SSDM. Looks like he's no longer in the mix on offense.

True. To make matters worse, he has struggled mightily playing defense. In fact, 2 of the first three goals at Hopkins were a result of him getting beat on one, and falling down on another.

 

[JeremyCuse]

True. To make matters worse, he has struggled mightily playing defense. In fact, 2 of the first three goals at Hopkins were a result of him getting beat on one, and falling down on another.

I had high hopes for Ianzito but right now hes a total and complete liability out there, he needs to find the bench and quick.

 

[jr4750]

Good post. I'll add to your recruiting thoughts, it seems like SU has always favored recruiting the raw athletes over the straight lax players. Getting a 6'4 kid who starred in other sports is kinda our niche. I think Desko has also been very good at seeking out non-lacrosse hot beds for talent. SU seemed to have kids from Cali and Illinois, etc, before anyone. This years team is loaded with kids from strange places... CO, TX, OR, IL, OH. I find it hard to believe that we don't target the stars on LI at all, but you're right, we don't seem to get them very often. UVA, Princeton, MD, Hop, Duke have always gotten these kids and there are connections that make sense. All of a sudden it seems UNC is killing it on the island. I'm not sure what the answer is there...

 

[OrangeXtreme]

We need a dude.

 

[Jables]

disagree on Barber. I think he has looked good this year. Also, where has Joe Moore been?

 

[JeremyCuse]

Good post. I'll add to your recruiting thoughts, it seems like SU has always favored recruiting the raw athletes over the straight lax players. Getting a 6'4 kid who starred in other sports is kinda our niche. I think Desko has also been very good at seeking out non-lacrosse hot beds for talent. SU seemed to have kids from Cali and Illinois, etc, before anyone. This years team is loaded with kids from strange places... CO, TX, OR, IL, OH. I find it hard to believe that we don't target the stars on LI at all, but you're right, we don't seem to get them very often. UVA, Princeton, MD, Hop, Duke have always gotten these kids and there are connections that make sense. All of a sudden it seems UNC is killing it on the island. I'm not sure what the answer is there...

Great point about SU getting kids from strange places, was gonna mention that myself in the original post but got caught up with our issues on the island. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you werent sure what the answer is for recruiting on the Island. Our issues down there go back decades at this point and it seems as if we have all but abandoned getting kids form certain schools at this point down there. I would really like to see us try and tak a new run at recruiting Long Island as there is zero reason why UNC should be getting the top players out of there and not us.

 

[jr4750]

Great point about SU getting kids from strange places, was gonna mention that myself in the original post but got caught up with our issues on the island. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you werent sure what the answer is for recruiting on the Island. Our issues down there go back decades at this point and it seems as if we have all but abandoned getting kids form certain schools at this point down there. I would really like to see us try and tak a new run at recruiting Long Island as there is zero reason why UNC should be getting the top players out of there and not us.

It's funny that the branding of SU as NY's college team had led to a huge emphasis on the football team to recruit down state players, but not lax. Now granted, we get our share and a little bit of the next guys in terms of CNY kids, but I agree that we should pay a little bit more attention down there in the next few years prior to our move into the ACC. Simply can't allow all of the great players from there to leave the state.

In fact, because of our move to the ACC in 2013-14, I think it might even be more important at this stage to focus on NYC and less on the west coast in the near future. I also really like it when we pull kids out of the MD, VA, DC prep schools. They are usually quite skilled and have played top top competition their whole lives. That should happen more often now that we will play MD, UVA, Duke yearly.

 

[OrangeinBoston]

Great assessment of the situation. Wonder how long it will take for it to appear in the Syracuse newspaper! (Modified slightly, of course!)

 

[JeremyCuse]

It's funny that the branding of SU as NY's college team had led to a huge emphasis on the football team to recruit down state players, but not lax. Now granted, we get our share and a little bit of the next guys in terms of CNY kids, but I agree that we should pay a little bit more attention down there in the next few years prior to our move into the ACC. Simply can't allow all of the great players from there to leave the state.

In fact, because of our move to the ACC in 2013-14, I think it might even be more important at this stage to focus on NYC and less on the west coast in the near future. I also really like it when we pull kids out of the MD, VA, DC prep schools. They are usually quite skilled and have played top top competition their whole lives. That should happen more often now that we will play MD, UVA, Duke yearly.

We were hitting MD, VA and DC hard for a couple years but appeared to back off recently though I think we have a couple kids committed from that area over the next two classes.. I agree we shoudl continue to hit that area with regularity especially with the ACC on the horizon and closing fast.

 

[im4cuse]

I was hopeful that after the first few games the kinks would start to work themselves out but unfortunately the same issues are dogging this team and now new ones are popping up.
I will try to address each of them as I can and point out some positives along the way.

Goalie - No way around it, Lamo and Lerman have both been dissapointing so far and some Desko's decisions have been head scratching. Of the two you would think Lerman has looked slightly better but Lamo has started and played all of the last two games (note Lerman was sick vs Prov). I thought Lamo was suspect at best versus Providence who barely shot the ball all game but still got 6 goals and unfortunately Lamo was exposed versus Nova, 11 goals to that team is an embarassement. But its not all on the goalie, Nova got a handful of looks near the cage that this defense in the past did not give up, that said Lamo let in 3-4 goals that a D1A goalie at Syracuse should stop 100% of the time. Also our short stick defenders not named Kevin Drew continue to be abused and allthough I love the kids heart and hustle its time for the Drew Jenkins experiment to end, he was abused by the Nova mid fielder he was guarding on backcuts 3-4 times yesterday and doesnt have the speed to make up for his 5'5 height.

The solution? Its time to play Wardwell period. We have seen enough of the goalie carousel, Lerman and Lamo would make great backups but there simply not starters, time to get Wardwell out there and to roll with him. With Wardwell mixed in with Harris, Megill, Fazio, and Mullins our D can be back to what it was.

Man Up Offense - As bas as the D was yesterday the man up offense was absolutely putrid. Two years ago it was bad, last year it was really bad, this year its flat out awful. Our man up O looks like an early season SU basketball game where the overmatched OOC opp just passes the ball around the perimiter until the clock is gone and throws up a prayer. Our first couple man ups we didnt even get a shot off and when we finally did it was a long range shot that had zero chance of going in.

The solution? - We need to totally revamp the Man up Offense, new schemes, plays, and personnel. Coleman should be taken off along with Palasek or Jo Jo as we need shooters not multiple feeders. Powderly should be out there as he scored versus Providence and then for some reason played zero minutes yesterday. I would also get Rice and Schoonmaker out there as well, that unit needs some new young blood desperately.

Offense - Inconsistent, Mediocore, underwhelming are all words I would use to describe the 2012 SU lax offense to date. At times we see the old run and gun SU offense with good fastbreak passes and even some bounce shots yesterday. But to often this O gets bogged down and has no real star or playmaker to run the offense through. Tim Desko has been pretty dame good all year but hes trying to put the burden on his shoulders and do it all himself to much. Tim is a good player but hes not Mikey Powell and yesterday the Nova defender completely frustrated him into taking bad shots and he was a non factor. I thought Jo Jo did a much better job of getting good looks yesterday then I have seen for most of the year, the problem is he never changes shot angles or the direction of the shot. 3-4 times he worked to get a great shot from straight on only to shoot high to high and was stoned each time. This team refuses to go high to low or god forbid low to high like Daniello used to do with great success. Even the announcer opposite Drypolcher who sounded like he was 11 and never played a sport in his life kept noting how SU always shoots high and doesnt change angles. This is coaching and playing 101 everyone is to blame.

The Solution? - Run the young guns until opposing defenses wear down from wave after wave of SU offensive attacks. The playing time of Pete Coleman, Steve Ianzito, and Ryan Barber has been slowly diminished and save for maybe Barber they should be replaced by the young guys. Rice, Dejohn, Messina, Powderly, Ward and others need to be given more burn and the hook quicker for Lecky, Eilers, and Pratt who are really struggling out there. Palasek and Marasco have looked better the past two games and we need to keep them trending upward. We also need to make a concerded effort to get Maltz the ball early to get him going, he hasnt gotten many touches the past few games and he is one of our more promising young players. I had hoped to see Grimm this year but it appears he will definitely red shirt which based on next years class is probably a good thing.

Last Issue and the newest problem Recruiting - Contrary to popular belief throughout the course of Desko's tenure SU has never been a team thats consistently brought in a top 1-2 class each year. Syracuse has been known to make Stars out of its recruits while teams like JHU, UVA, and UNC bring in more of the top 5-10 offensive players each year. Thats not to say SU never brings in top kids see Mikey Powell and the Dan Hardy Kenny Nims class but if you look back into the 90's and early to mid 2000's SU's recruiting classes have been usually outside the top 3 and have taken a lot of under the radar guys and made them stars. Unfortunately this seems to have finally caught up with us. The one thing this team is desperately lacking is offensive star fire power. If you look at the inside lacrosse top 100 freshmen this year you will see that SU's name isnt mentioned nearly enough and are two highest rated guys (Wardwell and Grimm) havent played a second year. The top 50 rising Seniors has only 1 SU recruit on it, Palasek's brother who is a D long pole.

The Solution? - Tough to say, I trust Coach Desko and the staff but its clear this team could really use a Stanwick, Ranagan, Panell, Bitter type of player. Personally I think we need to take a renewed look at recruitign the Island better, we are bleeding top guys out of there each year, I know SU has not historically owned downstate NY but we need to stem the tide here a bit. I also think we need to hit OOC harder, we took Pratt this year but due to the recent misses on the recruiting trail ie Ianzito, Coleman, JD kid who transferred, Barber, and cousin of the Thompsons who no showed this year we could really use an infusion of seasoned talent. There is some big time talent on OCC again this year including some familiar names we should hit it hard and look to bring in 2-3 kids. The good news is that the class two years from now SU has allready landed some big time committs including Maltz's brother Dylan who had offers from everyone and will be an All American.

All in all we need everyone on the team coaches include to step up and get these issues that have been dragging on 2-3 years now resolved so that this young team can take that next step this year.

Faceoffs? We haven't been good at this for a while (maybe since 08-9?) but now it's a disaster. We can't "run waves" of offense b/c we don't have the ball. When we score, we can't sustain a run b/c we lose the next draw. Appears to be combination of bad technique, or moving too early (does anyone know the rule well enough to teach it?) and not strong enough wing play. When we were bad in the recent past, guys like White would cover by being so good on the wing that we could get possession. Without him, we just don't have the ball enough. I think this is as big a recruiting need as a fancy finisher (though agree this is a need too; where's the next Canadian?). Without the ball, its a long game.

 

[Whitey23]

FOs, EMO and goalie are all Donahue's responsibility. FO hasn't been good in years. Ditto for EMO and Galloway was a gift. He needs to get it together.

 

[JeremyCuse]

FOs, EMO and goalie are all Donahue's responsibility. FO hasn't been good in years. Ditto for EMO and Galloway was a gift. He needs to get it together.

Good point about Donahue, if things dont get turned around for 2 out of the three he maybe re-assigned or let go, Desko's job isnt in jeopardy but that doesnt mean Gross wont mandate or request that changes be made.

 

[RoysRunts]

Donahue's Son not in the right spot IMO Should be on bench. Would like to see Barber/Rice/Dejohn more Bring back Simmons the 3rd. DOn't know if it's a + or - but anoter Desko is coming next year.

 

[jr4750]

Good point about Donahue, if things dont get turned around for 2 out of the three he maybe re-assigned or let go, Desko's job isnt in jeopardy but that doesnt mean Gross wont mandate or request that changes be made.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but I don't believe anyone is within TGD's sights at this point. Remember over the last four years we won more games than anyone ever has, and brought aboard two championships. The last two years we have been ranked #1 through the entire year and then got upset by Army, and stall balled to death by a very good Maryland team that then went on to the championship themselves. Outside of a complete implosion, I think the AD is all ok with what is going on within the lax program.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but I don't believe anyone is within TGD's sights at this point. Remember over the last four years we won more games than anyone ever has, and brought aboard two championships. The last two years we have been ranked #1 through the entire year and then got upset by Army, and stall balled to death by a very good Maryland team that then went on to the championship themselves. Outside of a complete implosion, I think the AD is all ok with what is going on within the lax program.

I dont disagree but if we fail to make the tourney this year I would anticipate that Desko will make some changes either on his own or from direction from the top. Fair or not Syracuse Lax is judged on tourney success and a lot of the issues we have been having over the past 2-3 years go back to Donahue.

 

[jr4750]

I dont disagree but if we fail to make the tourney this year I would anticipate that Desko will make some changes either on his own or from direction from the top. Fair or not Syracuse Lax is judged on tourney success and a lot of the issues we have been having over the past 2-3 years go back to Donahue.

I'm not opposed to some fresh blood in the assistant roles either. However, I don't want to lose Rogers, and Simmy is the DO. So I guess it's Donahue or bust to bring in a different perspective. Let's hope we can win some games down the stretch and not have to have this conversation in May.

 

[Whitey23]

To counter my earlier argument, hard to put much blame on a volunteer assistant. Maybe paying for some new fresh ideas(coaches) from outside the Syracuse circle would help.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I'm not opposed to some fresh blood in the assistant roles either. However, I don't want to lose Rogers, and Simmy is the DO. So I guess it's Donahue or bust to bring in a different perspective. Let's hope we can win some games down the stretch and not have to have this conversation in May.

Rogers isnt going anywhere and if anything I think Donahue would just take on a different role and maybe someone would be brough in at a paid position to help.

 

[JeremyCuse]

To counter my earlier argument, hard to put much blame on a volunteer assistant. Maybe paying for some new fresh ideas(coaches) from outside the Syracuse circle would help.

Agreed and I think that could pay huge dividends for this program. Might be time to find out what Danny Brennan is up to.

 

[tbonezone]

a cannon or two out front and a dodger behind the net. oh yeah more speed and less turnovers

 

[jr4750]

a cannon or two out front and a dodger behind the net. oh yeah more speed and less turnovers

Bet Cathers would have helped... Too bad!

 

[dollarbill44]

I don't understand the persistence of the high-high shots. This falls on the coaching staff, imo. Anyone who shoots high in practice runs a lap or does pushups. Anyone who goes high-high in a game and doesn't score, comes out. It won't take long with that kind of emphasis to break the habit.