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Message: [QUOTE="Flacusian, post: 1981984, member: 264"] Reading many of the posts here it becomes abundantly apparent that there is a lot of disappointment and some element of alarm at having lost the past 2 games, especially in the fashion we played both offensively and defensively. There is certainly nobody more qualified to assess the strengths and weaknesses of this team than JB and the fact that he has been uncharacteristically calm in the face of the past 2 performances should serve as a great cue for all of us as fans. A couple things seem to stand out that haven't gotten much mention. First off, many Syracuse basketball fans are spoiled and have been treated to many years of teams that tore through the November schedule with, in many cases, no losses at all. This years team differs greatly from most Syracuse teams in that we are putting a team out on the floor that for the most part has absolutely no experience playing with each other, playing the complex Jim Boeheim 2-3 zone, and has lost it's 3 best scorers from the previous season. We are extremely fortunate to have picked up two 5th year transfer players who although both possess skills and talent which will undoubtedly help the team but at the same time will be faced with a huge adjustment in terms of learning the nuances and intricacies of the zone which relies heavily on players understanding almost on an instinctual level their responsibilities and proper rotations which are absolutely essential for the zone to be effective. Add to that 2 freshman who show great promise and talent but again will need time to learn how to dovetail their skills is such a manner that they become working components in the zone and team in general. We also have a 7'2" center who appears to be a complete project but who nonetheless has been evaluated by JB as someone who is going to contribute to this team, this year. So I would think that most here would agree that we do have a collection of players who possess considerable skills and abilities but as we have all seen they are not playing well as a team, both offensively and defensively. I think the surprising thing is that anyone would have had expectations that we might not have some pretty good sized problems to work on coming out of the gate at the season's start. I think it would be fair to say that JB is faced with one of the biggest team building projects that he as ever been faced with. Yet he seems almost nonchalant when speaking about the current state of the team. Two schools of thought: 1. he has lost his spark and is indifferent, 2. He is totally realistic about what he has to work with and has confidence that given time he can teach and coach this group into a very good team which will be ready to compete at the highest levels when it matters most. JB has made some statements heading into this season about the raw material he has to work with and has intimated that he feels good about the prospects for this group of players, ergo, this years team. That's good enough for me. I'm ok with taking some lumps early on if that's what it takes as part of the process of assimilating a good team with what we have to work with. I recall a team that started off 21-0 or something like that and they limped into the final several weeks of the season and couldn't get it done. I'm willing with deferring to JB and staying on board with this group and watching what JB can do with them. If JB can remain calm, composed and optimistic... then I don't see any reason why I can't do the same. I've seen sparks of excellence from pretty much every player we have on this years squad and with proper coaching and consensus/team building done by a HOF coach who has often done more with less... It's time to in the words of Aaron Rogers, "Relax" Just like the players should do...let the game come to you/us. Patience isn't a very big price to pay. I believe in these guys... there is too much talent and too much great coaching for this team not to improve significantly and end up being a team we will all be proud of. [/QUOTE]

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