The travel call on White

[CuseFaninVT]

I wasn't able to follow along during the actual game, but was there discussion of this in the chatroom, or in the game thread? This point of emphasis came at a great time for Cooney, because he did exactly what White did nearly every time he touched the ball. Heck, most of our recent 2Gs did the same thing, including Triche who was one of my favorites. If this truly is a point of emphasis, I'm thinking this is another reason our offensive sets need to be tweaked. Can't put White into a position to fail like that.

 

[Trueblue25]

Was a real momentum killer and "I'm gonna go put my head through the TV" moment.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Cooney traveled every time he caught the ball.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I know it was popular to pick on Cooney, but at least when he went 5-15 he attempted to get out on open shooters, denied the post entry pass, and would get a couple of steals a game.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I know it was popular to pick on Cooney, but at least when he went 5-15 he attempted to get out on open shooters, denied the post entry pass, and would get a couple of steals a game.

He was much better about getting his hands up and trying to contest the pass to the big on the foul line.

 

[Brooky03]

I know it was popular to pick on Cooney, but at least when he went 5-15 he attempted to get out on open shooters, denied the post entry pass, and would get a couple of steals a game.

A non-Syracuse fan (I think it was a UK fan) on the other board I frequent pointed out that we really miss G and Cooney at the top of the zone. I know it doesn't take a genius to figure that out, but a fan not overly familiar with our zone and no interest in the game beyond just liking basketball could spot how weak the top of our zone is pretty easily. That's telling.

 

[Trueblue25]

Frank's just gotta adjust to the top, one of our things our season hinges on.

 

[Cusefan0307]

A non-Syracuse fan (I think it was a UK fan) on the other board I frequent pointed out that we really miss G and Cooney at the top of the zone. I know it doesn't take a genius to figure that out, but a fan not overly familiar with our zone and no interest in the game beyond just liking basketball could spot how weak the top of our zone is pretty easily. That's telling.

I think we need to roll with Howard and Battle up top. Move Lydon to the 4 and go with Thompson/DC at the 5. White can play the back line, but unfortunately Roberson may be the odd man out. Even last year when Boeheim was frustrated with him, he did not have a 2 game stretch as bad as this. 1 point in 34 minutes the last 2 games. I know he has no offensive game, but you think he would have at least lucked into a putback or something.

 

[RF2044]

I think we need to roll with Howard and Battle up top. Move Lydon to the 4 and go with Thompson/DC at the 5. White can play the back line, but unfortunately Roberson may be the odd man out. Even last year when Boeheim was frustrated with him, he did not have a 2 game stretch as bad as this. 1 point in 34 minutes the last 2 games. I know he has no offensive game, but you think he would have at least lucked into a putback or something.

Agree with this 100% in principle. The problem is, Battle's productivity hasn't warranted the additional PT.

That needs to change.

 

[Brooky03]

I think we need to roll with Howard and Battle up top. Move Lydon to the 4 and go with Thompson/DC at the 5. White can play the back line, but unfortunately Roberson may be the odd man out. Even last year when Boeheim was frustrated with him, he did not have a 2 game stretch as bad as this. 1 point in 34 minutes the last 2 games. I know he has no offensive game, but you think he would have at least lucked into a putback or something.

Agreed on all counts. With Chukwu looking hopeless, TT at Center might be the eventual answer down low. I hope somebody is grabbing TT by the collar and explaining to him that, with his offensive potential and height, he has a legitimate shot at 25-30 mpg if he can play some defense in the middle of the zone.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Agreed on all counts. With Chukwu looking hopeless, TT at Center might be the eventual answer down low. I hope somebody is grabbing TT by the collar and explaining to him that, with his offensive potential and height, he has a legitimate shot at 25-30 mpg if he can play some defense in the middle of the zone.

Much better choice to play him in the center. He was terrible on D from the forward spot last night. Too concerned with being out at the 3-line and just not fast enough rotating back to the paint.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Agree with this 100% in principle. The problem is, Battle's productivity hasn't warranted Ithe additional PT.

That needs to change.

I'm hoping he provides a spark defensively. I think he and Howard give us the best opportunity to play good defense at the top.

 

[OttoMets]

I don't think Thompson can be trusted to play center better than any of the other three guys. He's already lost on the wing; we can't expect him to learn another position that involves communicating with his other defenders.

Walk call on White wasn't obvious to me, but he and Lydon did travel in similar situations earlier in the game. I think 50% of guys not named Trevor Cooney do that.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I don't think Thompson can be trusted to play center better than any of the other three guys. He's already lost on the wing; we can't expect him to learn another position that involves communicating with his other defenders.

Walk call on White wasn't obvious to me, but he and Lydon did travel in similar situations earlier in the game. I think 50% of guys not named Trevor Cooney do that.

I think he'd do better there because he'd be expected to cover less ground.

 

[OttoMets]

I think he'd do better there because he'd be expected to cover less ground.

I think the anticipating more his problem - he's athletic enough to cover space, but he doesn't know where to be without thinking his way through. The 5 is arguably the most difficult position, and our guards have been a sieve. Could be a recipe for disaster; I'd rather try to hide him on the wing and let him learn his way to adequacy.

 

[Ghost]

I thought the travel was crap. I mean, fine, call them if they're an issue. However, White's seemed like a one-off coming around the curl. Not the biggest issue ever. Wisconsin had one dude that shuffled after each catch. That's more of an issue, he's traveling every time. No advantage, so who cares, but go after the chronic traveler if ur seeking to send a message to someone.

 

[Newhouser]

I thought the travel was crap. I mean, fine, call them if they're an issue. However, White's seemed like a one-off coming around the curl. Not the biggest issue ever. Wisconsin had one dude that shuffled after each catch. That's more of an issue, he's traveling every time. No advantage, so who cares, but go after the chronic traveler if ur seeking to send a message to someone.

and once the league season starts they will stop calling it.

 

[two3zone]

A non-Syracuse fan (I think it was a UK fan) on the other board I frequent pointed out that we really miss G and Cooney at the top of the zone. I know it doesn't take a genius to figure that out, but a fan not overly familiar with our zone and no interest in the game beyond just liking basketball could spot how weak the top of our zone is pretty easily. That's telling.

I mentioned this many times during the off season about the loss of G and Cooney but was told that Frank Howard was better than both and we'd be better at the top of the zone and on offense.

 

[RF2044]

I think the anticipating more his problem - he's athletic enough to cover space, but he doesn't know where to be without thinking his way through. The 5 is arguably the most difficult position, and our guards have been a sieve. Could be a recipe for disaster; I'd rather try to hide him on the wing and let him learn his way to adequacy.

I actually think that much of what you say may be applicable to Lydon, too. He's more than athletic enough to cover ground, but maybe he's just more comfortable defending the post in our system. That's where he go the majority of his minutes last year, anyway.

 

[Cowtown]

A non-Syracuse fan (I think it was a UK fan) on the other board I frequent pointed out that we really miss G and Cooney at the top of the zone. I know it doesn't take a genius to figure that out, but a fan not overly familiar with our zone and no interest in the game beyond just liking basketball could spot how weak the top of our zone is pretty easily. That's telling.

It reminded me of the old days of Devendorf, Wright and Flynn, whose interest in playing D could be described as passive at best.

 

[cuseinseattle]

They will stop calling that traveling once we get into the new year.

 

[Cowtown]

Much better choice to play him in the center. He was terrible on D from the forward spot last night. Too concerned with being out at the 3-line and just not fast enough rotating back to the paint.

They all were. And when the 3 or 4 popped out to the wing, the guards were quite slow coming over.

 

[Cowtown]

I thought the travel was crap. I mean, fine, call them if they're an issue. However, White's seemed like a one-off coming around the curl. Not the biggest issue ever. Wisconsin had one dude that shuffled after each catch. That's more of an issue, he's traveling every time. No advantage, so who cares, but go after the chronic traveler if ur seeking to send a message to someone.

The game has evolved, and maybe not necessarily for the better. But nonetheless, the rule of thumb is, if he a.) beats his man; b.) is going to the basket; or c.) gains an advantage (ie, steps back outside the three point line) then it's a travel. I don't necessarily like how loosely it's handled that way, because it ... "migrates." Yeah, that's a good word for it. But truthfully, if you're calling traveling 15 times a game, you're just being a real pain in the ass. Just wait until you go to an amateur level game and some beginner is doing it. The real problem is the NBA's "rule," - the stars get at least 5 steps - and too many fans don't understand the difference between real basketball and the NBA. :noidea:

 

[JoeySimz]

I wasn't able to follow along during the actual game, but was there discussion of this in the chatroom, or in the game thread? This point of emphasis came at a great time for Cooney, because he did exactly what White did nearly every time he touched the ball. Heck, most of our recent 2Gs did the same thing, including Triche who was one of my favorites. If this truly is a point of emphasis, I'm thinking this is another reason our offensive sets need to be tweaked. Can't put White into a position to fail like that.

All of this ran through my head too. I watched it a few times and noticed that White had to fight through his man holding him on the baseline and a bump from a secondary defender that weren't called. He aggressively fought through as he should and met the ball at the correct spot but his momentum was too much I guess. Watch most shooters coming fast around the line to receive a pass and you will probably see this a lot. I started paying attention to this after the call and almost every guard does this.

 

[OttoMets]

and once the league season starts they will stop calling it.

It was odd how Fran sidestepped that question in the broadcast. Something along the lines of:

"Will they keep calling it all year?"
"They HAVE to keep calling it all year, because what's the sense in having a point of emphasis to clean up the game if they don't call it all year?"

Well...yeah. But I remember talk of "points of emphasis" for officiating going back to the mid-'90s and can't recall any that stuck after the fall semester. Palming, hand-checking, moving screens, they abandon all of them after coaches complain about "taking the game away from the players."