Time to move on from Cole Swider experiment

[althea]

With the new Covid rules, does he get another year?

yes, but it remains to be seen if he will use it.

 

[Bayside44]

The Chris Mullin who played for StJohns?

Dream Team / Hall of Fame Chris Mullin?

 

[Fly Rodder]

I like Cole or Jimmy out there. Not both at the same time. Both have offensive games that SU has been lacking from the front court. The defense is bad though. Need a weak side shot blocker and someone who can drive. Someone like CJ Fair would be great on this team.

 

[CuseMan4]

Been saying for awhile now this Cole Swider Experiment is no bueno. Is pretty evident after awhile. He played good the first few games but once we started playing tougher comp he disappears. His athleticism just really limits him and offensively overall he has been pretty bad.

It’s tough because he has not been great but neither has Benny. And Benny would be the one to eat into Cole’s minutes.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Cole tries and fails to mimic the quick release of Buddy and Joe. Any time he is rushing the shot for any reason, you can literally see his shooting form get worse. He took a couple shots from three yesterday that reminded me of Kadary's shooting form (not what you want). At times his stroke looks just as pure as Buddy's, but that is only when he has plenty of time, and even then it doesn't drop nearly as often as we need it to.

 

[TinyManInside]

Squint harder. The team that beat Indiana and Florida State is pretty good. We have zero room for error. Cole needs to get his crap together. Benny needs to snap out of it. Buddy has to hit his stride. Joe needs to focus. Jesse needs to get some breaks during the game, so that he can play at a high level all game and not get a couple of fouls because he is spent. It is hard covering that corner three for a center. The bench just needs to step up. That is a lot that has to go right for us to win.

"Zero room for error" is not a characteristic of good teams. You go through and describe all the problems that make this team NOT good as a way to defend that it is good? Makes no sense. You could literally write the same post as an indictment for why the team is 7-6.

I expect Boeheim to cobble together a +0.500 season because the ACC is sooooo bad this year, but there are massive fundamental issues with the team construction that will prevent it from being anything close to "good" by historical Syracuse standards.

 

[TinyManInside]

There are many reasons why we are playing worse than any team since JB became coach. But Cole is in the mix for number 1. Besides Symir he has the worst fg % (40) on the team and is shooting a luke cold 33 % from deep. His stats look ok but are deceiving. JB said that he was one of the best 3 point shooters for a forward he's had, coming into the season. Cole has gotten and missed more wide open 3's than anyone I can remember. And he would be missing more of them if he was ready to shoot the ball when he catches it. But let's face it, when we really need him to can one it just doesn't happen. He's had a few great games but I'm with the OP. His mpg should decrease for sure. I'm tired of waiting for him to consistently make any kind of jumpshot, especially the wide open variety.

I was honestly shocked when I pulled up his numbers and saw 40%/33%. Both are much higher than my perception of how he has shot this season. I was expecting that number to be like 26 or 27% from three.

 

[orangefog]

"Zero room for error" is not a characteristic of good teams. You go through and describe all the problems that make this team NOT good as a way to defend that it is good? Makes no sense. You could literally write the same post as an indictment for why the team is 7-6.

I expect Boeheim to cobble together a +0.500 season because the ACC is sooooo bad this year, but there are massive fundamental issues with the team construction that will prevent it from being anything close to "good" by historical Syracuse standards.

I'm an optimist. I believe all of the things I mentioned are achievable. I agree those are the things that make this team a disappointment. Nothing is going to make the unathletic guys more athletic. But, I think these guys can figure out how to win some games. I am not holding my breath.

 

[br801]

I was honestly shocked when I pulled up his numbers and saw 40%/33%. Both are much higher than my perception of how he has shot this season. I was expecting that number to be like 26 or 27% from three.

Yes, he's not as awful as many seem to assume, and he started a bit slowly as well.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I was honestly shocked when I pulled up his numbers and saw 40%/33%. Both are much higher than my perception of how he has shot this season. I was expecting that number to be like 26 or 27% from three.

Cole has a slightly better 3pt% than Buddy (.333 to .330), but Buddy has a better overall FG% (.414 to .400)

Jimmy and Joe are both over 40% from outside.

If we're going to rely on perimeter scoring, we need everyone to be over 40%.

 

[Alsacs]

Alan Griffin gave us everything Swider has given us.
Except Griffin was a better shooter early.
Griffin struggled big time at the end but he was our best offensive player for the early part of the season last year.

 

[rrlbees]

Yes, he's not as awful as many seem to assume, and he started a bit slowly as well.

He also leads the team in rebounding. Is 2nd in steals and shoots 84% on FTs. He’s far from useless.

 

[br801]

Cole has a slightly better 3pt% than Buddy (.333 to .330), but Buddy has a better overall FG% (.414 to .400)

Jimmy and Joe are both over 40% from outside.

If we're going to rely on perimeter scoring, we need everyone to be over 40%.

Buddy's percentages are trending upward, as has been the case with him every season. I would expect him to end up around 40% on 3-pointers when then the dust settles.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Cole has a slightly better 3pt% than Buddy (.333 to .330), but Buddy has a better overall FG% (.414 to .400)

Jimmy and Joe are both over 40% from outside.

If we're going to rely on perimeter scoring, we need everyone to be over 40%.

Makes it even scarier that we are 7-6, imo.

 

[domestu]

It’s really too bad that Cole wasn’t able to redshirt this year. The year off practicing with the team, learning the zone, working with the assistants on his game, hungry to play big minutes, working on his consistency within the system - could have been a big help to him and the team in the future. Our transfers who sit out like Elijah Hughes who work hard seem to change their trajectory not only personally but their value/role with the team. He’s 22 now so I imagine he’d have been reluctant to redshirt though. Wish he’d transferred last year. He has a fully developed body and at 6’9” should be much more of a dual threat - inside and out, defensively and offensively. With the new Covid rules, does he get another year?

Elijah Hughes was a sophomore and had to sit out a year under the NCAA transfer rules at that time. Cole is a senior and probably would have been less likely to transfer if he had to redshirt under the old NCAA requirements.

The NCAA might offer an extra year of eligibility for players this season but the guidelines currently apply only to last season.

 

[AZOrange]

He also leads the team in rebounding. Is 2nd in steals and shoots 84% on FTs. He’s far from useless.

Yeah I think the big problem is that people saw him as maybe the best player in the team capable of doing it all. He’s less than that but far from bad. He has weird moments where he just fades away

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Yeah I think the big problem is that people saw him as maybe the best player in the team capable of doing it all. He’s less than that but far from bad. He has weird moments where he just fades away

He's been better than I expected. The disappearances for stretches are weird.

 

[djcon57]

Buddy's percentages are trending upward, as has been the case with him every season. I would expect him to end up around 40% on 3-pointers when then the dust settles.

There were differences last year that assisted with Buddy’s percentage going up later in the year that were detailed within the stats. Those differences aren’t here this year. The open shots aren’t going to be there. I just don’t see the 40 percent mark this year for him.

 

[br801]

There were differences last year that assisted with Buddy’s percentage going up later in the year that were detailed within the stats. Those differences aren’t here this year. The open shots aren’t going to be there. I just don’t see the 40 percent mark this year for him.

He's 30-92 right now, which is still a relatively small sample size. He's only a few 6-10 games away. He was putting up those kind of numbers in the last 15 or so games last season, when every opponent knew what he could do and was trying to stop him. Now he seemingly has better deep threats around him in Swider, a better shooting Girard, and even his brother.

 

[CardiacCuse]

It’s really too bad that Cole wasn’t able to redshirt this year. The year off practicing with the team, learning the zone, working with the assistants on his game, hungry to play big minutes, working on his consistency within the system - could have been a big help to him and the team in the future. Our transfers who sit out like Elijah Hughes who work hard seem to change their trajectory not only personally but their value/role with the team. He’s 22 now so I imagine he’d have been reluctant to redshirt though. Wish he’d transferred last year. He has a fully developed body and at 6’9” should be much more of a dual threat - inside and out, defensively and offensively. With the new Covid rules, does he get another year?

yeah agreed. hughes still took two years for it to click

 

[djcon57]

He's 30-92 right now, which is still a relatively small sample size. He's only a few 6-10 games away. He was putting up those kind of numbers in the last 15 or so games last season, when every opponent knew what he could do and was trying to stop him. Now he seemingly has better deep threats around him in Swider, a better shooting Girard, and even his brother.

as weve seen, just having deep threats don’t create open shots.

we have no one, NO ONE, who can consistently get past their man. There’s literally zero reason for every team not to face guard Joe up and down the floor and double Buddy when he gets the ball.

which is why imo the game plan needs to turn to going into Jesse more. Inside, out.

 

[br801]

as weve seen, just having deep threats don’t create open shots.

we have no one, NO ONE, who can consistently get past their man. There’s literally zero reason for every team not to face guard Joe up and down the floor and double Buddy when he gets the ball.

which is why imo the game plan needs to turn to going into Jesse more. Inside, out.

No question Jesse needs to be utilized more.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

At least Providence is in the top 25. They have 6 Q1 wins.

Lost to UVA like us. If Duke had returned they would be really good.

I think everyone in the Big East is going to be close to .500 at the end of the year in conference even Nova.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

as weve seen, just having deep threats don’t create open shots.

we have no one, NO ONE, who can consistently get past their man. There’s literally zero reason for every team not to face guard Joe up and down the floor and double Buddy when he gets the ball.

which is why imo the game plan needs to turn to going into Jesse more. Inside, out.

Buddy would also be helped a ton were he to turn into a more willing passer. It's pretty obvious when he drives that he will not pass the ball. He'd have more success if the defense actually saw him as a triple threat. I see Cole waving his arms and getting angry when he's wide open and Buddy starts his back-down fadeaway. Sure, he makes a bunch of them against smaller guys. But he's less successful when a smart coach puts an athletic bigger guy on him. He starts making those passes to Cole and opposing coaches might thing about using the bigger guy on Cole. I know he's just doing what he is told by the coach.

 

[Cheriehoop]

yeah agreed. hughes still took two years for it to click

Actually Elijah did very well his first year (2018-20199 playing here, especially considering Tyus Battle, OShae Brissett, Frank Howard etc were on the team. He made a mark his first year here despite not being the focus of the offense. Elijah Hughes College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com