Considering we saw almost no press during the exhibitions I’m guessing it may not be the most effective tool, at least not now.
Ya, but I’m saying Red may be different, I don’t think he will be as predictable. I don’t believe it’s possible to be as predictable as Jimmy’s teams the last 20 years, it was zone. Sure he’d extend and trap out of it and press in double digit deficits but recent teams, let’s be honest, hasn’t had the athletes to be considered good defensively for years.
To me Coach B had plenty of highly regarded teams in those mid 80’s, full of big, athletic HIGHLY SKILLED players. Penetrating, play making guards who were not great “shooters” but they’d get to the rim and finish. Forwards who again, not great “shooters”, but rebounded, filled the lanes and would finish in transition extremely well. And centers to me has historically been a weakness for Syracuse in my opinion. There were a few over the years, Rony Seikaly, Mr. Conrad McRae, Arinze Onuaku, Jeremy McNeils, Rakeem Christmas….ok maybe we’ve had some decent Centers too. And every team in the 80’s and 90’s could NEVER MAKE FREE THROWS. Those teams played a lot of M2M.
But then he changed, he integrated zone, fell in love with it and let’s be honest had a few defensive dominant teams in that zone, but then Jimmy became so dependent on it and couldn’t recruit those same highly rated classes we had back then, so he recruited to it and refused to come out of it, even after coaches and teams just started shredding it.
I don’t think Red is cut from that cloth, I don’t think he’s going to be the…um stubborn SOB Jimmy was, all due respect. I think if he sees something not working, you’re not only going to see lineup changes but he MAY actually change the game plan within the game changes. I know that sounds crazy after being a fan of SU basketball for so long but I think Red is going to be more aggressive in every way and that’s a great thing.
