The Upside- Boston College

[SWC75]

- Each winter, no matter how long it takes to get here, once it does, it seems like it’s always been winter. Similar, both defeat and victory, no matter how long it’s been since the last one, is always just as bitter or sweet. If anything, the distance makes it more so. It was nice to finally change the numbers below.

- Our defense, against a limited opponent, was nonetheless, strong. Any time an opponent struggles to get to 40 points, we are going to win easily. We out-shot BC from two point, range from three point range and from the foul line while out-rebounding them , blocking more shots, getting more steals and forcing more turnovers.

- The offense played tortoise and the hare but the hare won by 22 points. A while ago I posted several areas where I thought improvement was possible for this team. #1 was more consistent play from the “Two R’s: Roberson and Richardson. They’ve both played well in ACC play and both played well tonight, although the first half was Roberson’s and the second half belong to Richardson, (mostly due to foul trouble for Roberson). Combined, in 58 minutes they scored 25 points on 8 for 13 shooting, had 15 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple of steals.

- Another hope for improvement is DaJuan Coleman who had a strong game with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting with 5 rebounds in 26 minutes.

- BC didn’t hound Michael Gbinije as much as North Carolina did and Mike was able to shoot 5 for 8 for 14 points with 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.

- Tyler Lydon had an active first half with 7 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes. He didn’t do much in the second half but I like the fact that half his shots were two pointers. At his size he’s more than just an outside gunner.

11-7 (1-4) with 13+ to go…and only 6 more wins needed to guarantee our 46th consecutive winning season!

LET’S GO ORANGE!

 

[AlaskaSU]

I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight - 6 more wins

 

[bballbeadle]

The person sitting behind me leaned forward and said, "I've never thought much about DaJuan Coleman." Every single time he did something, I turned again and gave her a smile. I was smiling a lot! Finally she conceded, "Ok, ok, he's having a good game!"

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I was very pleased to see G not force the three point shot last night as well. Him taking the ball to the hoop resulted in good things and will continue to do so.

 

[sugrad68]

I'm holding off on my opinion of Coleman until he shows he can succeed against a real college team. I think that there are HS teams that could beat BC. I'll bet there isn't a center in the country who gets more shots blocked than Coleman. He's the best we have so I'm certainly hoping his play against BC continues.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I'm holding off on my opinion of Coleman until he shows he can succeed against a real college team. I think that there are HS teams that could beat BC. I'll bet there isn't a center in the country who gets more shots blocked than Coleman. He's the best we have so I'm certainly hoping his play against BC continues.

I believe UNC would qualify as one of those 'real college teams' you mentioned. I thought he looked pretty good against them, and they had some real big men to face.

 

[sugrad68]

I believe UNC would qualify as one of those 'real college teams' you mentioned. I thought he looked pretty good against them, and they had some real big men to face.

He looked okay against UNC. 27 minutes, 5 points, 2-3 on FGs. 7 rebounds. Okay but hardly great. Opposing centers/forwards scored 67 of UNC's 84 points which would lead one to believe our interior defense sucked. Obviously not all Coleman's fault. Lydon 1 rebound in 23 minutes. I'm in Coleman's corner hoping he continues to play as well as he did against BC, but let's just say I'm not counting on it.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

He looked okay against UNC. 27 minutes, 5 points, 2-3 on FGs. 7 rebounds. Okay but hardly great. Opposing centers/forwards scored 67 of UNC's 84 points which would lead one to believe our interior defense sucked. Obviously not all Coleman's fault. Lydon 1 rebound in 23 minutes. I'm in Coleman's corner hoping he continues to play as well as he did against BC, but let's just say I'm not counting on it.

I think you are asking too much if you want great from him. That's not going to happen, especially not in our system where he posts up and never sees the ball. I fully expected him to foul out with lots of time left against UNC, but he didn't.

I also loved his mentality on the dribble drive to the hoop for the dunk last night. The BC kid Carter couldn't get out of his way fast enough. It was awesome.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Opposing centers/forwards scored 67 of UNC's 84 points which would lead one to believe our interior defense sucked. Obviously not all Coleman's fault.

But Coleman was also playing 2-1 or 3-1 in most of that since the wings were way up top guarding against threes. Lots of backdoor cutters.

 

[sugrad68]

I think you are asking too much if you want great from him. That's not going to happen, especially not in our system where he posts up and never sees the ball. I fully expected him to foul out with lots of time left against UNC, but he didn't.

I also loved his mentality on the dribble drive to the hoop for the dunk last night. The BC kid Carter couldn't get out of his way fast enough. It was awesome.

Yes, I agree. That was a highlight moment for him. I also agree that, outside of last year, the center rarely sees the ball in the SU offense. I'm not really looking for "great" from him. Last night's performance was great for him, average for an ACC center. I will settle for average. Around 25 minutes a game. A few baskets. 7-8 or so rebounds on a good night. Clogging the middle on defense.

 

[sugrad68]

But Coleman was also playing 2-1 or 3-1 in most of that since the wings were way up top guarding against threes. Lots of backdoor cutters.

Yes they were. I've said before, this is the worst defensive SU team I can remember. Too many open 3's. Cooney consistently out of position to guard against the 3's. Forwards coming up too high and not getting back. Guards allowing penetration into the middle which was always rare against our zone. The good news is we've out-rebounded the opposition 2 straight games.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I think you are asking too much if you want great from him. That's not going to happen, especially not in our system where he posts up and never sees the ball. I fully expected him to foul out with lots of time left against UNC, but he didn't.

I also loved his mentality on the dribble drive to the hoop for the dunk last night. The BC kid Carter couldn't get out of his way fast enough. It was awesome.

That play, and the baseline block on the jumper, looked to me like he is getting confident that all is good physically.
If he can play without concerns about the leg, I expect his play to improve exponentially.

 

[br801]

He looked okay against UNC. 27 minutes, 5 points, 2-3 on FGs. 7 rebounds. Okay but hardly great. Opposing centers/forwards scored 67 of UNC's 84 points which would lead one to believe our interior defense sucked. Obviously not all Coleman's fault. Lydon 1 rebound in 23 minutes. I'm in Coleman's corner hoping he continues to play as well as he did against BC, but let's just say I'm not counting on it.

As I recall, UNC's bigs did most of their damage when Coleman was out of the game with foul trouble. His numbers did not accurately reflect the impact he had on that game. If he can stay on the court for 25-30 minutes, that's a game-changer for this team.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Some encouraging signs from DC for sure. His rebounding percentage is the same as Robersons and for all the fuss about his inability to jump, his block rate is as high as Roberson's as well. The biggest issue for DC is he commits over 7 fouls per 40 minutes.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

That play, and the baseline block on the jumper, looked to me like he is getting confident that all is good physically.
If he can play without concerns about the leg, I expect his play to improve exponentially.

He tried to execute a similar play in the UNC game but from the foul line area. He got hacked on the way in to the hoop, but if he hadn't, he was going to crush the rim and blow the roof off the dome. I like your thoughts on him and his growing confidence in his physical abilities. Could be.

 

[NYCSUGrad]

Some encouraging signs from DC for sure. His rebounding percentage is the same as Robersons and for all the fuss about his inability to jump, his block rate is as high as Roberson's as well. The biggest issue for DC is he commits over 7 fouls per 40 minutes.

Maybe this question is moot but how many of those fouls are legit as opposed to poor or biased refs?