The real missing piece with this team

[Orangezoo]

Is not having a true "3". CJ is a tweener with a a nice mid range game but no handle, James is a tweener who plays more like a mix of a 2g and a stretch pf.. but still with no handle. Without that - there is just too much reliance on the guards to do all the heavy lifting regarding ball handling. Watching Porter just sealed that for me. Think to K-Jo, Wes, Melo, Blackwell in the past 15 years and then continue back further as well. The SF position has always been key. Jerami shows signs of having the ability to put the ball on the floor more than James/CJ showed early during there time on the hill. I don't know enough about what the crew next year brings but unless next year provides a drastic improvement in inside scoring and outside shooting we need someone to step up and be a true "3". The little things that don't show up on the scoreboard like spacing that K-Jo provided really show when you watch how Porter gives Gtown that same kind of weapon and how our guards have no room to operate. I am impressed we stand at 22-5 basically off the back of defense/rebounding and some big games from James/Jerami/MCW and Triche.

 

[bpo57]

Very good point but I still think our biggest flaw is the '5' spot. Just about every night, no matter the opponent, our centers get outplayed by their counterparts. That puts a lot of pressure on the other players to make up the difference. If they have off nights we are toast. And opposing coaches are ignoring our big men and focusing on the real scoring threats.

 

[Orangezoo]

Very good point but I still think our biggest flaw is the '5' spot. Just about every night, no matter the opponent, our centers get outplayed by their counterparts. That puts a lot of pressure on the other players to make up the difference. If they have off nights we are toast. And opposing coaches are ignoring our big men and focusing on the real scoring threats.

Agree that may be our biggest flaw - but considering college hoops in general is devoid of quality big men not having a true 3 to go along with missing a big man is just devastating. I really hope Dajuan is a beast next year. Rak will likely always be better suited to be the other guy in the middle vs "the guy". Jerami developing into a Hakim like player who has a handle to go with would be huge as well. CJ does the Josh Pace role much better than being "the guy".

 

[Ghost]

Very good point but I still think our biggest flaw is the '5' spot. Just about every night, no matter the opponent, our centers get outplayed by their counterparts. That puts a lot of pressure on the other players to make up the difference. If they have off nights we are toast. And opposing coaches are ignoring our big men and focusing on the real scoring threats.

Very good point but I still our biggest flaw is the '2' spot.

In college the center position just isn't all that important since there aren't a lot of dominant centers (a lot of teams simply ignore the position), we have two guys that can hold their own most nights tbh. We need someone that can relieve pressure on everyone else, open things up, and make others better. We don't have that. Instead we rely on Dirty going ballistic from three to open things up. Not a good formula for success. We could use an explosive shooting guard, that can shoot.

That would solve a lot of our problems.

 

[cuseguy]

We're not balanced. Our best teams have been balanced. It also helps when your forwards and centers are better ballhandlers and passers. It is amazing. When you think about all of our flaws, 22 wins is an accomplishment.


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[Ghost]

Agree that may be our biggest flaw - but considering college hoops in general is devoid of quality big men not having a true 3 to go along with missing a big man is just devastating. I really hope Dajuan is a beast next year. Rak will likely always be better suited to be the other guy in the middle vs "the guy". Jerami developing into a Hakim like player who has a handle to go with would be huge as well. CJ does the Josh Pace role much better than being "the guy".

I didn't see ur post before I started mine - no plagiarism!!!!

 

[bpo57]

Agree that may be our biggest flaw - but considering college hoops in general is devoid of quality big men not having a true 3 to go along with missing a big man is just devastating. I really hope Dajuan is a beast next year. Rak will likely always be better suited to be the other guy in the middle vs "the guy". Jerami developing into a Hakim like player who has a handle to go with would be huge as well. CJ does the Josh Pace role much better than being "the guy".

I am very optimistic on Grant and DC. I'd like to see BMK in a limited back-up role. His hands and footwork are really a problem but I like his attitude and ability to get up and down the floor. Just not a fan of RC.

And I agree with you on the lack of quality big men these days. But that just makes it more annoying when our bigs get outplayed each night. Not like they're dealing with Patrick Ewing etc.

 

[bpo57]

We're not balanced. Our best teams have been balanced. It also helps when your forwards and centers are better ballhandlers and passers. It is amazing. When you think about all of our flaws, 22 wins is an accomplishment.


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I think 22 wins is a fair accomplishment and JB deserves credit. I would say though that we have played tougher schedules in the past. The OOC resume is weak and the BE has a surplus of bad to mediocre teams.

 

[JLine]

We need some damn marbles.

 

[BlueCurtain]

I think 22 wins is a fair accomplishment and JB deserves credit..

You lost me right there. Georgetown has 1 player that we would like to have on our team. And we had no friggin' clue. No adjustments. Nothing. JB does not deserve credit for that. He deserves a horse-whipping.

 

[JLine]

You lost me right there. Georgetown has 1 player that we would like to have on our team. And we had no friggin' clue. No adjustments. Nothing. JB does not deserve credit for that. He deserves a horse-whipping.

I'm going to get off after this because it pains me too much but JB was embarrassed out there today. Porter had 12 of 19 baskets made for them, that's absolutely disgusting. I want to throw up, every time he shot I knew it was going in but do we do anything to stop that? No. Not a chance in hell we should have lost to Otto Porter and no one. Most embarrassing loss in the history of my Syracuse fanaticism.

 

[bpo57]

You lost me right there. Georgetown has 1 player that we would like to have on our team. And we had no friggin' clue. No adjustments. Nothing. JB does not deserve credit for that. He deserves a horse-whipping.

lol. Gtown has won nine in a row in the BE. They're 21-4 and two of their losses were on the road at Marquette by 1 and to Indiana in OT. JB did not have a good game today. Will definitely grant you that but this notion that we have a lot more talent than Gtown this year is nuts.

 

[BlueCurtain]

lol. Gtown has won nine in a row in the BE. They're 21-4 and two of their losses were on the road at Marquette by 1 and to Indiana in OT. JB did not have a good game today. Will definitely grant you that but this notion that we have a lot more talent than Gtown this year is nuts.

Tell me, then, who would you trade for besides Porter?

 

[PoppyHart]

We ridicule JTIII and praise JB, yet they have the same number of NCAA wins since they've both been in the BE.

 

[orangefan13]

a team that has shot 35 percent in 3 r ecent be losses flaw is bad shooting. uconn went all the way with kemba and lamb 2 years ago. our forwards on the outside instead of the post because our guards shoot poor from outside on top of no post scorer doesnt help though. would like to see mike drive and pass 2-3 times on one possesion sometimes. especially against a zone.

 

[bpo57]

Tell me, then, who would you trade for besides Porter?

First off their defense completely suffocated us today. They were more physical (got away with a few) and played with more intensity. If you want to credit JT3 for that then fine but I think their players deserve credit, too. As for their players I like Starks and I'd take Lubick on my team any day of the week. He's no star but he does all of the little things you need a player to do. Whittington was a major loss for them. The other players are role players but they do a good job. I am not saying they have NBA talent but what I am saying is that maybe our players are not as good as you think.

 

[anomander]

Very good point but I still think our biggest flaw is the '5' spot. Just about every night, no matter the opponent, our centers get outplayed by their counterparts. That puts a lot of pressure on the other players to make up the difference. If they have off nights we are toast. And opposing coaches are ignoring our big men and focusing on the real scoring threats.

Our centers didn't go 4-20. We need shooters. Others then James we have absolutely nothing , and what he gives you on offense we lose out defensively and rebounding by not having grant out there .
There just isn't a lot this current roster can do then hope to lock down defensively and pray at least one of our guys other then James is knocking down shots.
Also I would rather see grant out there then kieta. He brings absolutely nothing to the table. As much as christmas is struggling he is still a far better option then kieta. Positive attitude doesn't give us any production on the floor . If you notice whenever he is in we get murdered on the glass . We really went down the tube when cooney and kieta check in at the same time . I still don't see how that still happens?

 

[bpo57]

Our centers didn't go 4-20. We need shooters. Others then James we have absolutely nothing , and what he gives you on offense we lose out defensively and rebounding by not having grant out there .
There just isn't a lot this current roster can do then hope to lock down defensively and pray at least one of our guys other then James is knocking down shots.
Also I would rather see grant out there then kieta. He brings absolutely nothing to the table. As much as christmas is struggling he is still a far better option then kieta. Positive attitude doesn't give us any production on the floor . If you notice whenever he is in we get murdered on the glass . We really went down the tube when cooney and kieta check in at the same time . I still don't see how that still happens?

I would agree with just about everything you say. Notice I said I'd like to see BMK in a limited reserve role. I am no higher on him than you are. I haven't liked RC from the get-go. But in any event whether it's RC or BMK when you look at the boxscore you basically see nothing and when you watch them on the court you see minimal production. You can't be a top flight team in the NCAAs when that is the case.

 

[RF2044]

Is not having a true "3". CJ is a tweener with a a nice mid range game but no handle, James is a tweener who plays more like a mix of a 2g and a stretch pf.. but still with no handle. Without that - there is just too much reliance on the guards to do all the heavy lifting regarding ball handling. Watching Porter just sealed that for me. Think to K-Jo, Wes, Melo, Blackwell in the past 15 years and then continue back further as well. The SF position has always been key. Jerami shows signs of having the ability to put the ball on the floor more than James/CJ showed early during there time on the hill. I don't know enough about what the crew next year brings but unless next year provides a drastic improvement in inside scoring and outside shooting we need someone to step up and be a true "3". The little things that don't show up on the scoreboard like spacing that K-Jo provided really show when you watch how Porter gives Gtown that same kind of weapon and how our guards have no room to operate. I am impressed we stand at 22-5 basically off the back of defense/rebounding and some big games from James/Jerami/MCW and Triche.

I don't agree at all. We have two true threes on this team, both of whom have been playing very well lately, and were the only two players on the team who did anything today.

I can't envision watching how this season has unfolded in general, or today's game in particular, and reaching the conclusion that our WFs are the main problem this team has. I can think of 3 or 4 others that are way more salient to this team's limitations than CJ or James.

 

[Ghost]

I don't agree at all. We have two true threes on this team, both of whom have been playing very well lately, and were the only two players on the team who did anything today.

I can't envision watching how this season has unfolded in general, or today's game in particular, and reaching the conclusion that our WFs are the main problem this team has. I can think of 3 or 4 others that are way more salient to this team's limitations than CJ or James.

Like, like, like.

 

[OttoMets]

We ridicule JTIII and praise JB, yet they have the same number of NCAA wins since they've both been in the BE.

For his first five or so years, there appeared no bigger mismatch in the Big East than Boeheim vs. Young John. They won two when they had more talent and another when we got jobbed during Flynn's freshman year, but Boeheim schooled him.

Twice in the last three at the Dome, Thompson has had all the answers and Boeheim has appeared unable or unwilling to adjust. Never thought we'd see that.

 

[anomander]

I would agree with just about everything you say. Notice I said I'd like to see BMK in a limited reserve role. I am no higher on him than you are. I haven't liked RC from the get-go. But in any event whether it's RC or BMK when you look at the boxscore you basically see nothing and when you watch them on the court you see minimal production. You can't be a top flight team in the NCAAs when that is the case.

I actually don't mind rak . When he is playing with confidence he is really good (for a college center). I just think he has been totally dismantled mentally by Jim . You can see every time something happens around him he's looking at the bench to see if he is getting the hook . I said it before I an probably the biggest rak fan around. Maybe it's because I have seen what he can bring (@pc, nova, Louisville). His athleticism alone should give him the majority of the minutes

 

[bpo57]

I don't agree at all. We have two true threes on this team, both of whom have been playing very well lately, and were the only two players on the team who did anything today.

I can't envision watching how this season has unfolded in general, or today's game in particular, and reaching the conclusion that our WFs are the main problem this team has. I can think of 3 or 4 others that are way more salient to this team's limitations than CJ or James.

I think Fair fits the definition of a 3 pretty well particularly because has improved his perimeter game very nicely this year. JS is a long range bomber but can't put the ball on the floor and is not much of a threat to take it to the hole.

 

[RF2044]

I think Fair fits the definition of a 3 pretty well particularly because has improved his perimeter game very nicely this year. JS is a long range bomber but can't put the ball on the floor and is not much of a threat to take it to the hole.

I'm not saying that either of them is a "complete" player in the mold of versatile wings like Pippen, Lebron, or even Melo for that matter. But they are both pretty good collegiate players, and both bring a LOT to the table. Heck, CJ has been on a mad tear our last 6-7 games, and I'm not going out on a limb to suggest that they are emerging as the two best players on the team [with MCW slumping into third place].

There are a lot bigger problems that this team has than the way the 3's are playing. In no particular order:

--Complete and utter lack of an inside game
--Inconsistent three point shooting outside of CJ / James
--A PG who over-dribbles and has difficulty facilitating our half court offense against good teams
--Subpar rebounding

 

[bpo57]

I actually don't mind rak . When he is playing with confidence he is really good (for a college center). I just think he has been totally dismantled mentally by Jim . You can see every time something happens around him he's looking at the bench to see if he is getting the hook . I said it before I an probably the biggest rak fan around. Maybe it's because I have seen what he can bring (@pc, nova, Louisville). His athleticism alone should give him the majority of the minutes

I know some folks that are well connected to the coaching staff at a big 5 school in Philly. They told me two years ago that RC's intensity was not held in high regard by that staff and that they weren't impressed with him. A few weeks ago Dan Dakish (sp) did an SU game and he let the cat out of the bag. He said that Hopkins was trying everything in the book to motivate RC. Not good. I am just distressed that DC could not get on the floor ahead of the other two.