Three Big Things: Syracuse

[shandeezy7]

A rather flattering article from Eamonn Brennan on Boeheim, the Syracuse program, and this year's team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuse

 

[orangefan13]

A rather flattering article from Eamonn Brennan on Boeheim, the Syracuse program, and this year's team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuse

They claim Christmas is more mobile and Coleman has dropped his body fat to its lowest point since the eigth grade. That is HUGE news!!!

 

[Whitey23]

[Correction: An original edition of this post called DaJuan Coleman the son of former NBA and Syracuse star Derrick Coleman. They share no relation. I apologize for the error. -- Eamonn]

 

[Gabjon]

A rather flattering article from Eamonn Brennan on Boeheim, the Syracuse program, and this year's team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuse

Great article and no mention of the **** mess which is an added pleasure!

 

[sutomcat]

A rather flattering article from Eamonn Brennan on Boeheim, the Syracuse program, and this year's team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuse

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuseI thought the most interesting thing in the article was him saying BT is going to be the point guard and MCW is going to be a shooting guard this season. Could that be true? Will JB make BT the primary point guard?

Based on what I saw last year, that would be a mistake. I think BT would be a fine PG and MCW would be a good SG, but surely the team would be more effective overall if MCW played PG and BT played SG most of the time.

Put another way, I think BT will definitely be more effective as a SG than MCW would. Not sure who would be more effective at PG (though I strongly suspect it would be MCW). Put me in the camp that has MCW at PG every minute he is on the court, with BT switching there only when MCW is out.

This is all about the potential greatness of MCW at the PG position, and how out of position/uncomfortable he would be trying to play SG.

 

[orangefan13]

Good post.
Will we need him to look to put up 15 points a game or 9-10?
And if so are we better off throwing brandon at SG and asking him to put up the 15 and MCW the 9-10 instead?

Need to have a guard who looks to score in that range. Tough to imagine Cooney as that guy unless he can pull up off the dribble. MCW's outside shooting consistancy will play a big part early on. He seems to have more of a arc and confidence then Triche from deep.

Having one guard doing all the outside shooting and passing can take the other guard out of the offense unless he looks to shoot or take his guy off the bounce.

 

[stuckinbig11]

I don't think Brennan has a good feel for anyone in the Big East--that conference is not his thing.

 

[SoBristol]

I suppose we have to have the annual discussion of BT's merits as a point guard.

He should get more chances at the point (with Cooney), but MCW will be our primary point guard. It is a matter of skills -- BT is a good spot-up shooter; good at scoring inside when he gets the opportunity; good on the break. MCW is the better passer and MCW should have the better handle. It will be interesting to see who has the ball late in the shot clock in a close game. Last season, it was Scoop or Dion because they could make a move with the dribble.

And yes, Cooney has a pull up jumper off the dribble. Great form & accuracy, in practice.

 

[shandeezy7]

I thought the most interesting thing in the article was him saying BT is going to be the point guard and MCW is going to be a shooting guard this season. Could that be true? Will JB make BT the primary point guard?

Based on what I saw last year, that would be a mistake. I think BT would be a fine PG and MCW would be a good SG, but surely the team would be more effective overall if MCW played PG and BT played SG most of the time.

Put another way, I think BT will definitely be more effective as a SG than MCW would. Not sure who would be more effective at PG (though I strongly suspect it would be MCW). Put me in the camp that has MCW at PG every minute he is on the court, with BT switching there only when MCW is out.

This is all about the potential greatness of MCW at the PG position, and how out of position/uncomfortable he would be trying to play SG.

I think as Boeheim has said a bunch of times, the PG and SG in this system are interchangeable. It's a motion offense, without a single player dominating the ballhandling/distribution responsibilities. With that said, I would definitely agree that MCW has more of that natural playmaking ability, where he can put his teammates in the best position to excel. The sample size with him is extremely small though, so I don't know how well that will translate once he starts playing 30-35 mins a game.

 

[Gabjon]

I think as Boeheim has said a bunch of times, the PG and SG in this system are interchangeable. It's a motion offense, without a single player dominating the ballhandling/distribution responsibilities. With that said, I would definitely agree that MCW has more of that natural playmaking ability, where he can put his teammates in the best position to excel. The sample size with him is extremely small though, so I don't know how well that will translate once he starts playing 30-35 mins a game.

I agreed with this and I'm also concerned with MCW turning the ball over because he is trying to make the great play. Brandon is not as dynamic a player but he is very steady with the ball.

 

[SoBristol]

I think as Boeheim has said a bunch of times, the PG and SG in this system are interchangeable. It's a motion offense, without a single player dominating the ballhandling/distribution responsibilities. With that said, I would definitely agree that MCW has more of that natural playmaking ability, where he can put his teammates in the best position to excel. The sample size with him is extremely small though, so I don't know how well that will translate once he starts playing 30-35 mins a game.

Our PG and SG will sometimes interchange -- does not make them each a combo guard with equal time at the point. It is usually obvious who is the principal PG and who is off-the-ball more of the time.
Boeheim will deflect this question (why isn't BT on the point more?); then he will say other things (Scoop is our best point guard; Dion is the most dynamic).

 

[OrangeTown]

From BT's interview with Dana:

_______________________________________________________
Speaking of Syracuse, you’re from Jamesville, right around the corner. This could be the last year in your hometown as well. Are you ready to leave the nest?

BT: Definitely, I’m ready. Syracuse is a cool city to live in when you’re about 40 or 50 years old. As far as the lifestyle and activities, it’s a little bit boring when you’re my age. I’m ready for something maybe a little more fast paced. And a little warmer.
________________________________________________________

Someone better make sure Brandon is never brought back to help in recruiting...

Edit: Just saw the other thread and Melo's response in it mirroring mine. Sorry!

 

[OttoMets]

Our PG and SG will sometimes interchange -- does not make them each a combo guard with equal time at the point. It is usually obvious who is the principal PG and who is off-the-ball more of the time.
Boeheim will deflect this question (why isn't BT on the point more?); then he will say other things (Scoop is our best point guard; Dion is the most dynamic).

Exactly. He'll say what fits his point in that particular press conference or interview. In 2011, the Syracuse system had no point guard. In 2012, Scoop was our point guard.

In the end, it doesn't matter. And I think Mike's going to spend most of each game on the ball.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I suppose we have to have the annual discussion of BT's merits as a point guard.

He should get more chances at the point (with Cooney), but MCW will be our primary point guard. It is a matter of skills -- BT is a good spot-up shooter; good at scoring inside when he gets the opportunity; good on the break. MCW is the better passer and MCW should have the better handle. It will be interesting to see who has the ball late in the shot clock in a close game. Last season, it was Scoop or Dion because they could make a move with the dribble.

And yes, Cooney has a pull up jumper off the dribble. Great form & accuracy, in practice.

Sorry to go against the grain. Neither MCW nor BT has a good handle, not in the same class as Dion or Scoop. When you have to resort to a panicked mini-sprint followed by a quick stop everytime you bring the ball up court under pressure, your handle is inadequate. Can you imagine Edelin, Z, Pearl, or even Scoop being bothered by pressure such that they could no longer bring the ball up smoothly and in complete control, going wherever they want to go, completely throwing off their defender? Stop and go mini mad dashes is what one does when lacking faith in your crossover, look away etc. I can't imagine that anyone that played the point would think that BT and MCW have good handles. Neither one can smoothly handle pressure. Their handles are adequate but nothing more. Each time they bring it up court under pressure I hold my breadth. I know this is sacrelige because they both wear orange and we see orange. I expect to get bombarded.

 

[cuseinseattle]

A rather flattering article from Eamonn Brennan on Boeheim, the Syracuse program, and this year's team:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/64477/three-big-things-syracuse[/quote]

I agree it was flattering but I have thought about this before in comparing Boeheim to Calhoun and thought the same thing. I was in St. Thomas for my honeymoon the same time the UConn was in the Paradise Jam and they happened to be on my flight leaving. This airport has like 40 people in it and maybe 8 were none UConn people. I sat there with my wife and remember thinking my god Calhoun looks so old and tired. He was just sitting off on his own next to what I assume are his grandkids while all the other assistants and various trainers where with the players. He seemed so detached and tired.

I've met Boeheim at coaching clinics in Seattle many times as my brother is a college basketball coach at a small school. Everytime Boeheim has been eager to talk and very nice and full of energy. He makes jokes and is always viewed as one of the best speakers by the various high school and small college coaches that go to those things. He always gives really good drills and different things you can run and you will hear coaches warn younger ones not to miss him because they will get good information they can use for their teams. One time he went right before lunch and afterwards talked to me and my brother for 15 minutes about drills for bigs and then as we were leaving called us both by name which I couldn't believe he remembered and asked if wanted to get a bite to eat. So we went and had lunch with him. It was awesome and he couldn't have been nicer.

I think generally he sometimes goes after the media and maybe does things that rub people the wrong way but anyone who has met him and spent time with him one on one in my opinion would come away thinking he just seems to be pretty relaxed.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think as Boeheim has said a bunch of times, the PG and SG in this system are interchangeable. It's a motion offense, without a single player dominating the ballhandling/distribution responsibilities. With that said, I would definitely agree that MCW has more of that natural playmaking ability, where he can put his teammates in the best position to excel. The sample size with him is extremely small though, so I don't know how well that will translate once he starts playing 30-35 mins a game.

I mentioned this "interchangeable" aspect of the PG/SG often with JB a few weeks ago and was laughed at.

 

[JDubbin]

Sorry to go against the grain. Neither MCW nor BT has a good handle, not in the same class as Dion or Scoop. When you have to resort to a panicked mini-sprint followed by a quick stop everytime you bring the ball up court under pressure, your handle is inadequate. Can you imagine Edelin, Z, Pearl, or even Scoop being bothered by pressure such that they could no longer bring the ball up smoothly and in complete control, going wherever they want to go, completely throwing off their defender? Stop and go mini mad dashes is what one does when lacking faith in your crossover, look away etc. I can't imagine that anyone that played the point would think that BT and MCW have good handles. Neither one can smoothly handle pressure. Their handles are adequate but nothing more. Each time they bring it up court under pressure I hold my breadth. I know this is sacrelige because they both wear orange and we see orange. I expect to get bombarded.

Yeah, because MCW brought the ball up all the time against pressure last year, it really gave you a great sample size and a feel for how he's going to be for the rest of his career. Oh wait, he didn't bring it up against consistent pressure last year and there's no evidence supporting AlaskaSU's post? Okay gotcha.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Yeah, because MCW brought the ball up all the time against pressure last year, it really gave you a great sample size and a feel for how he's going to be for the rest of his career. Oh wait, he didn't bring it up against consistent pressure last year and there's no evidence supporting AlaskaSU's post? Okay gotcha.

While I agree the flipside is also true by not having everybody anoint MCW as an all-conference or all-american player right now because of this lack of sample size.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Yeah, because MCW brought the ball up all the time against pressure last year, it really gave you a great sample size and a feel for how he's going to be for the rest of his career. Oh wait, he didn't bring it up against consistent pressure last year and there's no evidence supporting AlaskaSU's post? Okay gotcha.

I said nothing about the rest of his career. I've seen enough to know that he did not have a good handle last year. Hell, I could bring the ball up if there was no pressure. He struggled with pressure. If his handle were better he would not have struggled. If you are going to make a coherent argument please address his mad stop and go dashes to get across the line.

 

[SmilinBob]

MCW is very good at seeing the court but he does have a slower dribble than Scoop did...Scoop had a nice cross over and I haven't seen that yet from MCW. MCW had a pretty decent turnover ratio last year and that isn't always easy to do with a small amount of playing time. I want to see how he does in a in your face tough man defense situation. Love the kids potential.

 

[SoBristol]

I said nothing about the rest of his career. I've seen enough to know that he did not have a good handle last year. Hell, I could bring the ball up if there was no pressure. He struggled with pressure. If his handle were better he would not have struggled. If you are going to make a coherent argument please address his mad stop and go dashes to get across the line.

You expected to be bombarded, but I don't disagree. My comment was that MCW was the better passer and should have a better handle (than BT). MCW has a high dribble, and isn't particularly quick with his dribble moves. There is room for improvement. This team should be better in some areas (rebounding), but we will have to see how the guards handle pressure.

 

[Orangemen]

I think MCW is a little taller than our other guys (or maybe just looks taller), but when he is closely guarded while dribbling up the court it has looked a little frenetic sometimes.

I definitely see the cause for worrying about it, but I think with time and experience he will do very well in this situations.

 

[General20]

I thought the most interesting thing in the article was him saying BT is going to be the point guard and MCW is going to be a shooting guard this season. Could that be true? Will JB make BT the primary point guard?

Based on what I saw last year, that would be a mistake. I think BT would be a fine PG and MCW would be a good SG, but surely the team would be more effective overall if MCW played PG and BT played SG most of the time.

Put another way, I think BT will definitely be more effective as a SG than MCW would. Not sure who would be more effective at PG (though I strongly suspect it would be MCW). Put me in the camp that has MCW at PG every minute he is on the court, with BT switching there only when MCW is out.

This is all about the potential greatness of MCW at the PG position, and how out of position/uncomfortable he would be trying to play SG.

In the old days every player fit a mold. The point guard always handled the ball and initiated the offense, the center always uses back to the basket moves, etc. That is not the case anymore, skills are blurred, you see more general basketball skills than any one particular positions skill set, and as a result specific labels for positions can become meaningless.

This year Syracuse will have a 6'5 guard and a 6'4 guard who is built like Hercules. Either one is capable of getting to the basket and scoring. Most teams will have at least one guard who is on the small side, or slow, or just plain a bad defender. That means there is going to be a mismatch. The "point guard" for this team (meaning the guy with the ball most often in his hands, and the guy who initiates the offense by beating his man) is most often going to be whoever has the biggest mismatch on that particular night.

 

[SoBeCuse]

This is a good discussion. I'm curious how MCW will deal with smaller and pesky M2M defenders. I did think he had a 'slow' dribble as mentioned above, and, combined with his height could make it easy for ball handling follies. I'm sure the coaches have addressed this.

 

[Gabjon]

I said nothing about the rest of his career. I've seen enough to know that he did not have a good handle last year. Hell, I could bring the ball up if there was no pressure. He struggled with pressure. If his handle were better he would not have struggled. If you are going to make a coherent argument please address his mad stop and go dashes to get across the line.

The stopping and going is taught. It is one way to beat the press (there are several) MCW is taller then most people guarding him so he is not going to get lower then most defenders. He is also thin so he can't or couldn't last year put a guy on his hip and move him down the court like Scoop or Dion can. The stop and go is a good move it may not be fun to watch, but if the defending gambles and loses than the offense has numbers. The concern I have from last year was guys were able to steer him towards the corners too much this is a great way to get yourself trapped. As for him not having a handle as good as Scoop or Dion, well Scoop had one of the best handles in school history and Dion is one of the strongest guards in school history so that opinion shouldn't be a slap in the face to MCW.