The Mother of all meltdowns

[Flacusian]

will be on full display if we lose to Pitt. Even now, in the wake of the loss to Fla. State there is a level of despondency with a few sides of vitriol found liberally throughout the posts on this board. Some of it is as predictable as the crocuses and tulips emerging in mid March except the posts are anything but flowery. The cries bemoaning the fact that M2M is considered sacrilege, we don't have a real point guard, our best players are playing out of position, and we have no big men and worse than that, no big man coach.

It seems that all criticisms are on the table. the level of recruiting hasn't been good. The assistant coaches aren't developing our players. JB is too harsh on players, he plays Cooney too much and the bench isn't deep enough.

For me, I always want the program to excel. but I also realize that there is constant ebb and flow with respect to the strength of a program and as much of that has to do with things well outside the control of the program as within it. It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that this years edition of Syracuse Basketball was going to be challenged by several inherent limitations it had going in. All things considered they are probably right about where we should have realistically expected they would be at this point. A borderline Tourney team.

If you consider for a moment the things which the team was faced with they have actually done us proud. They came into the year having experienced early defections to the NBA for several consecutive years. Some programs can deal with that since they reload with top 25 players year after year. We do not, never really did, and likely never will. We get one top 20 player every now and then and build around them with kids ranked 50 to 100 who we develop within the program. We also were faced with being in the midst of experiencing recruiting limitations which arguably cost us a top big man and most certainly has limited the scope of our targeting with respect to recruiting as a result of NCAA penalties. We also had the distraction of having our head coach completely sequestered from the team for 7 games during the formative portion of the season.

In spite of that and with the help of two outstanding freshmen, one of whom is playing completely out of position we managed to win the Battle for Atlantis and subsequently found ourselves ranked as high as #14 and we also defeated a Duke team that may not be a top 10 team but has lots of talent nonetheless. The kids have also for the most part played with drive and desire and staged several huge comebacks when they could have easily been routed.

We have help coming in next year. It does seem that we may still have some weaknesses and liabilities with them as well but guess what, that is par for the course in College Basketball and this year has clearly demonstrated that across the land. So we go into the Pitt game with fingers crossed and emotions high and hope for the best. Regardless of the outcome I still think this team has done a good job considering what they had to deal with. As far as all the criticism which is inevitably doled out after an emotional loss, sometimes it's better to withhold one's judgment until a little time has passed after the season.

 

[two3zone]

What early entrants did you project being on this team?

It's hurt us in the past but there's no real surprise that left last year and Ennis and Grant would have been gone anyway.

 

[Flacusian]

What early entrants did you project being on this team?

It's hurt us in the past but there's no real surprise that left last year and Ennis and Grant would have been gone anyway.

I get your point but Grant leaving wasn't considered a sure thing from the get go. Many thought we would've gotten one more year from him. And as for Ennis, sure he would have been gone but who is to say how Joseph might have turned out had he not been thrown into a situation he clearly wasn't ready for and arguably shattered his confidence. That's not to say that it wouldn't have been the same outcome in the end but it certainly poses the thought that it may have worked out differently for him had he had the opportunity to be Ennis's understudy. Also, the NCAA penalties certainly played a role in who left and who we were able to get to come in. My overall point is that there was a lot of things stacked against the program going into the season.

 

[br801]

Thoughtful posts, as usual, Flacusian.

 

[bballbeadle]

Flacusian, that was such a balancing post, at least for me. I tend to withdraw when things get like this, and I also don't get heavily into hope and "can't wait until next year," because the older one gets, the more one likes the days and weeks kind of drawn out, ya know? I have difficulty picturing us beating Pitt (sorry Hulk!) and then am sure we won't get into the Tourney. Two years in a row - oof! Hard on the heart and guts.

Just so you know, my Carolina and Duke friends feel disappointed about their seasons as well, and kind of worried about the future. Are we college bball fans never content? EVER?

But we have had great moments this year, and a lot of joy. This team is just not one of our better teams. And no one, not even Kansas, is feeling secure, so there's some cold comfort. So, I don't work on Wednesday and will be in front of the tv with sweaty palms, hoping for the best, because weird stuff happens every day and who knows? We could . . . go . . . all . . . the . . . way!!!

By the way, tulips don't come up in March in Syracuse, but this year? They might!

 

[SUGIANT]

will be on full display if we lose to Pitt. Even now, in the wake of the loss to Fla. State there is a level of despondency with a few sides of vitriol found liberally throughout the posts on this board. Some of it is as predictable as the crocuses and tulips emerging in mid March except the posts are anything but flowery. The cries bemoaning the fact that M2M is considered sacrilege, we don't have a real point guard, our best players are playing out of position, and we have no big men and worse than that, no big man coach.

It seems that all criticisms are on the table. the level of recruiting hasn't been good. The assistant coaches aren't developing our players. JB is too harsh on players, he plays Cooney too much and the bench isn't deep enough.

For me, I always want the program to excel. but I also realize that there is constant ebb and flow with respect to the strength of a program and as much of that has to do with things well outside the control of the program as within it. It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that this years edition of Syracuse Basketball was going to be challenged by several inherent limitations it had going in. All things considered they are probably right about where we should have realistically expected they would be at this point. A borderline Tourney team.

If you consider for a moment the things which the team was faced with they have actually done us proud. They came into the year having experienced early defections to the NBA for several consecutive years. Some programs can deal with that since they reload with top 25 players year after year. We do not, never really did, and likely never will. We get one top 20 player every now and then and build around them with kids ranked 50 to 100 who we develop within the program. We also were faced with being in the midst of experiencing recruiting limitations which arguably cost us a top big man and most certainly has limited the scope of our targeting with respect to recruiting as a result of NCAA penalties. We also had the distraction of having our head coach completely sequestered from the team for 7 games during the formative portion of the season.

In spite of that and with the help of two outstanding freshmen, one of whom is playing completely out of position we managed to win the Battle for Atlantis and subsequently found ourselves ranked as high as #14 and we also defeated a Duke team that may not be a top 10 team but has lots of talent nonetheless. The kids have also for the most part played with drive and desire and staged several huge comebacks when they could have easily been routed.

We have help coming in next year. It does seem that we may still have some weaknesses and liabilities with them as well but guess what, that is par for the course in College Basketball and this year has clearly demonstrated that across the land. So we go into the Pitt game with fingers crossed and emotions high and hope for the best. Regardless of the outcome I still think this team has done a good job considering what they had to deal with. As far as all the criticism which is inevitably doled out after an emotional loss, sometimes it's better to withhold one's judgment until a little time has passed after the season.

I'm glad this is the first post IO read after the game, I know the ones I haven't read will be very negative. I am in complete agreement with what you said here.

 

[hoopsupstate]

The big problem is that JB made way too many recruiting mistakes and is too lazy to get off the couch to go after players outside his backyard. If you want to win in the ACC you better recruit. You also need to adjust the way you play and he won't. I respect your comments, but it sounds like too many excuses to me. The problem we got in with the NCAA is JB's doing. He's totally at blame. Don't forget that. People want to blame the NCAA, but there are rules and he totally ignored them (drug testing). I'm getting tired of excuses. At best, we've be become a middle of the pack ACC team.