The View From Here II

[SWC75]

the team got off ot a hot start against Lemoyne, hitting some early 3;s and building up a 19-4 lead at 15:10. the rest of the half was a22-21 slog with Lemoyne looking like the more energized and aggressive team. They had some hops and some quickness and bother Joe Girard a lot. Joe was making his shots, through and got some assists. Jesse Edwards got his shot blocked and seemed lost. Cole Swider disappeared. Benny Williams was playing well, making some funky drives to the basket and scoring or passing the ball from hard-to-defend angles. Sym Torrance was given plenty of run and seemed more aggressive and confident. But not much else was happening.

In the second half, SU came out much more focused and active. Edwards and Swider revved it up, looking much more like they did against Pace. A 17-0 run put the game away. Girard wound up the leading scorer with 20 points, (with 9 assists and a couple of charges drawn) while Swider had 18. he also had 5 assist and actually brought the ball up court like a point guard for a time in the second half. The Boeheims were steady and each scored 11 points. But Williams was the most spectacular player for SU, hitting 4 of 5 shots. he made several dramatic drives to the basket. I as amazed he had no assists as he had several fine passes into or in the paint. He even hit a three. Frank Anselem Had a nice second half sequence with a steal, then a block and difficult rebound. But he's still trying to figure it out and gives us nothing on offense. He's well behind Edwards. John Bol Ajak didn't play and Chaz Owens played with the walk-ons. They seem unlikely to play important roles this year.

the Dolphins shot 33%, 26 form three and only scored 50 points, so our defense was good, despite a few first half lapses. We wound up winning the boards 40-32 but that remains a serious concern. It gets real next week.

 

[bballbeadle]

The doldrums in the first half were concerning. I was glad they came out in the second half with energy. Boeheim apparently told both Benny and Buddy to look more for their shot. Buddy seemed a bit off and I wondered if his foot was bothering him a bit. It shouldn’t be a problem a week from today.

I have always thought that our teams come out tentative in the beginning of the season, as if no one wants to be accused of hogging the ball. I also wondered whether the doldrums might have followed the spectacular 3 point barrage, because they decided they should try to go inside more or pass more or whatever. Guys, no, if you are hot shooting the 3, go for it! What I would love them to do is run up the score shooting 3’s until the defense figures it out. That would do my heart a lot of good, and probably lengthen my lifespan.

The announcer is determined to be corny (and amusing) this year. “It’s a threeee for JG3!” “It’s a Buddy Bombshell!” It’s another Buddy Bucket!” “It’s a Swider Swish!” But the one that really made people laugh was when Jimmy dunked and the announcer yelled, ”It’s a JImmy Jam!” Even the sullen man who sits in front of me (the only one in our section who wouldn’t wear a mask) burst out laughing.

There were no students there - ? - but the band was and they were having fun. A lot of tuba dancing, band swinging from side to side, the drummers dancing in sync. The crowd has been sparse for both exhibitions. I hope that ends with our first regular game.

Go SU!