This isn't on Cooney

[Ghost]

See how all the guys are outside the foul line? None are in a position to score or get into a position to score given the time left. They just watched.

If the drive is open you don't want to drag all the defenders into position to clog the lane. They left the lane to the rim open, you cut when the pass is going to be available to open up. If the defenders go on their own Accord, that's when you present for a pass or crash the boards . I can see both sides of the clock argument, but it's 7 seconds, if it was at 4 or 5 I would see the mistake better... A player normally has some innate feel for that stuff.

 

[xc84]

Also unmentioned: he cut back into four defenders and all of his teammates! Holy crap!

There's no argument to be made that he didn't do the wrong thing. The polite thing to do would be to move on; not sure why the Cooney Defense Minority insists on prolonging this affair.

His defender was over-playing his left. No other place to go especially with his teammates stuck in glue.

 

[xc84]

If the drive is open you don't want to drag all the defenders into position to clog the lane. They left the lane to the rim open, you cut when the pass is going to be available to open up. If the defenders go on their own Accord, that's when you present for a pass or crash the boards.

Who do you pass to? No one was doing a thing to get into position to score.

 

[orangenirvana]

Um, yeah. I think if the other players got into a better position (including moving faster), Cooney would have had more options. So you don't think the other 4 players should try to get into position to help? You think they should just watch Cooney? You got your wish. Btw...I was yelling at the TV for Lydon to move before it was even in-bounded. He just stood there at half-court. So someone noticed and I doubt I was the only one. You keep saying "if Cooney made a better choice" but he was being overplayed on his left and pushed toward the middle. He went to his left. In the meantime, everyone else just watched.

At least four superior options. You continue to ignore this post.

 

[Ghost]

Who do you pass to? No one was doing a thing to get into position to score.

If no defenders help, you do not pass. If Gs guy over pursues, he can present for a pass and score. Otherwise, he's just crashing the boards. He got a great option, he just pulled up instead.

 

[xc84]

At least four superior options. You continue to ignore this post.

I didn't ignore it. I would consider it the "If" post. If Cooney's teammates tried to get into better position, Cooney would have had more options than his three point attempt.

 

[xc84]

If no defenders help, you do not pass. If Gs guy over pursues, he can present for a pass and score. Otherwise, he's just crashing the boards. He got a great option, he just pulled up instead.

If he had driven and missed I can just imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth here and the complaint that "He should have taken a 3!"

It's a team game and more players should have been proactively involved. They just stood and watched Cooney try to win the game. No options.

 

[OttoMets]

I didn't ignore it. I would consider it the "If" post. If Cooney's teammates tried to get into better position, Cooney would have had more options than his three point attempt.

I mean, they're not running a set (assuming we ever run a set with these guards) - there're 6 seconds left. Seems that there are three rough options here, maybe four:

1. Drive, left-handed layup from the left side if Lydon's man shades toward Lydon;
2. Drive, bounce pass or lob to Lydon (bounce pass, please) if his man cheats up on Cooney;
3. Round that corner and shoot;
3b. Round the corner, reverse to Richardson (who's had the time now to cut to the left elbow, hopefully getting Artis and Richardson's own defender tangled) for a three (ugh, that's a low-percentage option that we'd all rightly criticize if it came to that).

In an open-court situation with seconds to go, it's best to clear out, give the guy with the ball the easiest shot possible, maybe have a couple guys prepared to crash (but holding their defenders far enough away that they can't protect the rim). Once Cooney heads upcourt, he's the playmaker -- good ballhandler or not -- and is time-restricted in terms of his options.

 

[orange2win]

Who do you pass to? No one was doing a thing to get into position to score.

Yes the photo shows it. Lydon should have been where the ref is standing. However, everyone in the stadium, including the SU players knew the script. Trevor was given the ball (as decreed by the coach) and would be taking the last shot. No time for rebounds. Might as well just watch the show.

 

[Victory Lap]

It's not on Cooney, we can't blame him for everything. That said, every time he touches the ball I wince.

 

[RF2044]

Yes the photo shows it. Lydon should have been where the ref is standing. However, everyone in the stadium, including the SU players knew the script. Trevor was given the ball (as decreed by the coach) and would be taking the last shot. No time for rebounds. Might as well just watch the show.

Decreed by the coach? More like intentionally schemed by the Pittsburgh defense.

I can't under any circumstance envision that the desired option was to get Cooney the ball there. Option A would have been Gbinije. Option B was was a long pass with someone breaking to the basket. When none of those things emerged [and with no timeouts to go back to the huddle to draw up a new play], the ball got inbounded to the only open player--Cooney.

I don't dispute that he is not the guy you want the ball in his hands at the end of game situation, but the hyperbole is getting thick in here about what transpired and how it went down.

 

[xc84]

Yes the photo shows it. Lydon should have been where the ref is standing. However, everyone in the stadium, including the SU players knew the script. Trevor was given the ball (as decreed by the coach) and would be taking the last shot. No time for rebounds. Might as well just watch the show.

Actually, the ball was supposed to go to Mike G. The script didn't play out.

"We wanted to get it to Mike,'' Boeheim said.
Originally, we had a counter if they tried to front me on the out of bounds,'' Gbinije said. "We just had people in the wrong spots and the play broke down at that point.''

"We figured they would double-team him,'' Boeheim said. "We had something set up, but somebody didn't get into the position they were supposed to.''

 

[xc84]

Decreed by the coach? More like intentionally schemed by the Pittsburgh defense.

I can't under any circumstance envision that the desired option was to get Cooney the ball there. Option A would have been Gbinije. Option B was was a long pass with someone breaking to the basket.

Option B may not have been scripted by Boeheim but I sure as hell thought Lydon had a shot at it. He just stood at mid-court and could not have made himself easier to guard.

 

[orange2win]

Decreed by the coach? More like intentionally schemed by the Pittsburgh defense.

I can't under any circumstance envision that the desired option was to get Cooney the ball there. Option A would have been Gbinije. Option B was was a long pass with someone breaking to the basket. When none of those things emerged [and with no timeouts to go back to the huddle to draw up a new play], the ball got inbounded to the only open player--Cooney.

I don't dispute that he is not the guy you want the ball in his hands at the end of game situation, but the hyperbole is getting thick in here about what transpired and how it went down.

You think JB expected Option A to be available. That they would not be completely smothering the hot Gbinije? Come on. Option B was clearly Cooney. Badly arranged plan from the TO. The other kids appeared to have been given no instructions.

 

[orangenirvana]

If he had driven and missed I can just imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth here and the complaint that "He should have taken a 3!"

It's a team game and more players should have been proactively involved. They just stood and watched Cooney try to win the game. No options.

The only one you can really blame for "standing around" is Lydon - which isn't for lack of try, it's obvious the frosh isn't sure what to do. Either that or he was incredulous as to why Cooney wouldn't blow by his obviously unbalanced defender but we'll never really know.

The other three - Gbinjie, Richardson and yes even Roberson - are all either running down the court or trying to free himself from his defender.

 

[RF2044]

You think JB expected Option A to be available. That they would not be completely smothering the hot Gbinije? Come on. Option B was clearly Cooney. Badly arranged plan from the TO. The other kids appeared to have been given no instructions.

The following quotes debunk your assertion:

"We wanted to get it to Mike,'' Boeheim said.

"Originally, we had a counter if they tried to front me on the out of bounds,'' Gbinije said. "We just had people in the wrong spots and the play broke down at that point.''

"We figured they would double-team him,'' Boeheim said. "We had something set up, but somebody didn't get into the position they were supposed to.''​

Yeah... I think JB expected Option A to be available. And it sounds like that was the play they had drawn up to free him up, based upon the quote above. Somebody just missed an assignment. Looking to get the ball to Gbinije for that last possession was absolutely the right coaching strategy, the players just didn't execute properly. Your declaration that Boeheim wanted to get the ball to Cooney and that it was predetermined for him to take the last shot is a false attribution.

 

[Cusefan0307]

You think JB expected Option A to be available. That they would not be completely smothering the hot Gbinije? Come on. Option B was clearly Cooney. Badly arranged plan from the TO. The other kids appeared to have been given no instructions.

Option B was most likely, Roberson or Lydon flash, pass it to G as he runs up court... Pretty simple play that works. However, they didn't do their job.

 

[KevMonstah]

I'd bring up two other issues before you even get to this shot:

17 seconds left, other team has the ball and the lead, why aren't they fouling? Almost ten seconds bled
off the clock before they fouled.

Second ... one guy SHOOTING from the FT line contests a miss with four SU guys? You can sell me on
the zone doesn't allow great rebounding numbers when telling about SU's weakness here, but this was flat-out
not putting much (any) effort into rebounding at all.

Then you probably have a bunch of other things ... why take the press off? ... why sub out Howard? ... why not
bring him back in? ... why is Malachi the inbounder? ... before you get to "you sir, are no G-Mac" on the shot.

Kev

 

[MikeSU02]

This is all on JB.

Everyone in the building knew G was going to be heavily guarded coming out of the break.

Even if he wasn't, he was coming back TOWARDS the inbounder. On the inbound, we had to ensure the person receiving the pass was catching on the way up the floor or on the turn towards heading up the floor.

There also should have been a contingency to make sure that G could get the ball if he got doubled or denied the ball on the inbound.

If the end goal was to drive to the hoop, it should have been G and then Mal as a backup.

If the end goal was a jump shot, it should have been G and then Lydon as a backup.

TC's look was what it was. He probably had a 15% - 20% chance of making that shot. Not bad. But not great.

 

[Cusefan0307]

This is all on JB.

Everyone in the building knew G was going to be heavily guarded coming out of the break.

Even if he wasn't, he was coming back TOWARDS the inbounder. On the inbound, we had to ensure the person receiving the pass was catching on the way up the floor or on the turn towards heading up the floor.

There also should have been a contingency to make sure that G could get the ball if he got doubled or denied the ball on the inbound.

If the end goal was to drive to the hoop, it should have been G and then Mal as a backup.

If the end goal was a jump shot, it should have been G and then Lydon as a backup.

TC's look was what it was. He probably had a 15% - 20% chance of making that shot. Not bad. But not great.

I really think Lydon was supposed to flash to center court and didn't. Roberson shouldn't of been in the game, thats on JB, but if Lydon was supposed to flash and didn't hard to blame JB. Sometimes the players don't do what they are supposed to.

 

[djcon57]

This is all on JB.

Everyone in the building knew G was going to be heavily guarded coming out of the break.

Even if he wasn't, he was coming back TOWARDS the inbounder. On the inbound, we had to ensure the person receiving the pass was catching on the way up the floor or on the turn towards heading up the floor.

There also should have been a contingency to make sure that G could get the ball if he got doubled or denied the ball on the inbound.

If the end goal was to drive to the hoop, it should have been G and then Mal as a backup.

If the end goal was a jump shot, it should have been G and then Lydon as a backup.

TC's look was what it was. He probably had a 15% - 20% chance of making that shot. Not bad. But not great.

Make no mistake...Cooney was the #2 option for JB. Anyone thinking otherwise is kidding themselves. "Shooters gonna shoot"

 

[MikeSU02]

I really think Lydon was supposed to flash to center court and didn't. Roberson shouldn't of been in the game, thats on JB, but if Lydon was supposed to flash and didn't hard to blame JB. Sometimes the players don't do what they are supposed to.

He was at center court on the catch. TC's drive up the left hand side of the court really took a lot of passing options off the table. To be fair to him, if the play went off the rails, that's not necessarily his fault. He probably shifted into "get it up the court" mode.

I honestly think it was bad coaching. Can't blame TC on this. If a play breaks down and you are making an inbound catch heading the wrong way, he has to prioritize sprinting up the floor in a straight line. What he did once his defender fell down is another story, but that's really secondary to the poor coaching, imo.

G didn't get the ball. That means Dixon beat JB on this play, period.

 

[Cusefan0307]

He was at center court on the catch. TC's drive up the left hand side of the court really took a lot of passing options off the table. To be fair to him, if the play went off the rails, that's not necessarily his fault. He probably shifted into "get it up the court" mode.

I honestly think it was bad coaching. Can't blame TC on this. If a play breaks down and you are making an inbound catch heading the wrong way, he has to prioritize sprinting up the floor in a straight line. What he did once his defender fell down is another story, but that's really secondary to the poor coaching, imo.

G didn't get the ball. That means Dixon beat JB on this play, period.

We are 5-17 against Dixon which is pathetic. It's been the same script since 04. The players change, the results havent.

I'm as angry as anyone that we stink against Pitt. There's really no reason for it when a player for player basis we have had more talent for years.

 

[Easy Goer]

The following quotes debunk your assertion:

"We figured they would double-team him,'' Boeheim said. "We had something set up, but somebody didn't get into the position they were supposed to.''​

I don't know the spacing on the floor, but could Cooney have been the one who "didn't get into the position they were supposed to"? A lot of times, the guy coming over to set the screen will end up getting open because the defenders both go with the guy being screened for. So that could have been the play drawn up with Cooney being option #2 depending on where the defenders went.

I don't think it was Roberson, because I get the feeling Boeheim would have called him out publicly for not being in the right position. The way he constantly covers for Cooney and Cooney can seem to do no wrong in his eyes, I wonder if Cooney was the player out of position?

 

[two3zone]

I don't know the spacing on the floor, but could Cooney have been the one who "didn't get into the position they were supposed to"? A lot of times, the guy coming over to set the screen will end up getting open because the defenders both go with the guy being screened for. So that could have been the play drawn up with Cooney being option #2 depending on where the defenders went.

I don't think it was Roberson, because I get the feeling Boeheim would have called him out publicly for not being in the right position. The way he constantly covers for Cooney and Cooney can seem to do no wrong in his eyes, I wonder if Cooney was the player out of position?

There were 3 guys without the ball who had no idea where they were going, 1 guy without the ball who was blanketed by 2 people, and 1 guy with the ball who literally had one way to go with the pack of 8 other players in his way. It looked like something a JV team wouldn't be caught doing.

The more and more I review this play in my head the more and more it angers me and convinces me that it's poor poor coaching which upsets me even more that the staff is putting it on the players when they were in an absolute lose lose situation.