Tired legs

[hoopsupstate]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

You're right. Too many high emotion games to go along with that and they were mentally tired as well.

 

[two3zone]

I don't buy it, these guys are in excellent shape and they've played less than 40 games in 6 months.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I don't buy it, these guys are in excellent shape and they've played less than 40 games in 6 months.

Maybe on CJ, but Ennis made the jump to 40 games from high school the previous year.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

these guys have had alot of time off and plenty of rest with limited minutes vs WMU.

Im sure there is a gradual wearing down issue that is going on with the extended minutes, but the vast majority of teams deal with this. I dont think people realize how many minutes that starters eat up across the college bball landscape.

 

[two3zone]

Maybe on CJ, but Ennis made the jump to 40 games from high school the previous year.

Most of these guys AAU ball, that's 8-12 games, their normal HS games, then their All Star games.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Most of these guys AAU ball, that's 8-12 games, their normal HS games, then their All Star games.

And none of those are as taxing as a college game against the likes of Pitt and Duke.

 

[orangeinohio]

This is where someone should post that pic with the 'not this sh$t again' message.

It's the NCAA tournament.
These guys are dialed up for this. Tired legs didn't lose this game.

 

[two3zone]

And none of those are as taxing as a college game against the likes of Pitt and Duke.

It's not an argument that I want to get into, but I'm not going to be convinced that the difference of averaging 35 minutes compared to 30 over the course of a season is really going to make a difference to a 18-20 year old kid.

 

[orangehomer]

the problem is that you cant look at only one team. plenty of good teams don't play a hell of a lot of guys and you don't hear the "tired" argument. they weren't tired. they played like crap and the offense made no sense which is coaching.

 

[SUfaninAZ]

This is where someone should post that pic with the 'not this sh$t again' message.

It's the NCAA tournament.
These guys are dialed up for this. Tired legs didn't lose this game.

Exactly! Every team plays the same amount of games! For the most part.

 

[orangepassion]

I wonder how many D-1 teams only play 7 guys

 

[Cowtown]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

I was saying that over a month ago, and got sneered to the back of the bus.

 

[Cowtown]

Maybe on CJ, but Ennis made the jump to 40 games from high school the previous year.

Well, for about 25 games he did ...

 

[Halfmooncuse]

Drink the kool aid. Tired legs. Bad coaching. Zone. Only playing 7 . Bad luck. Etc. all exCuses.
Bottom line is team not that good.

 

[richard levy]

on the fan site for another school I follow, where everybody also bitches about the same stuff (coaching, individuals, bench, O/D, refs, etc), someone looked at the top ranked teams during the course of the season and found that almost all of the top ranked teams play 6-7 guys that eat up the 40 mins in games decided by 10 pts or under. The numbers were pretty specific. Most coaches can't afford to have one or two seasons perceived to be below expectations, so they play to win every game.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

Drink the kool aid. Tired legs. Bad coaching. Zone. Only playing 7 . Bad luck. Etc. all exCuses.
Bottom line is team not that good.

No, I think they are very good...but also very inconsistent...

 

[bpo57]

No doubt this team was worn down. If it was a great idea to play your main guys 38-40 minutes every night then Izzo, K, Pitino et al would all do it. They don't.

 

[FireballPhil]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

your post, and others like this, are complete BS. I normally don't call out people on their posts, because most is a matter of opinion, but saying a bunch of 18-23 year old kids are tired and thats why they lose is complete and utter BS. When I was that age I was in the Marine Corps, go out drinking a lot, work on just a few hours sleep, and still get up at 5 or 6am to run pt for 5+ miles a day. These guys are in just as good shape as I was back then, and to say they can't go 40 minutes every few days, especially with all the treatment they get for soreness etc (which we didn't get) is bull. Does tired legs at the end of a game lead to a few missed shots? Yes it does. But these guys have played longer, harder games for the past 10 years of their life, this isn't new to them. If they are tired, simply take a few steps in. They know their bodies, they know what they are capable of. I don't know what closes the rim for these guys, and I am sure the coaches don't either, or they would have fixed the problem long ago. Because I guarantee you this: JB and staff want to win just as badly as the players do, and it is 100X more painful for them to watch knowing these shots should be going in but aren't.

 

[MadNY3]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

I so disagree with tired leg syndrome. They played three games over the course of 11-12 days or so. There are so many media timeouts. And the zone does not burn energy like M2M.

Plus...has anyone figured out Boeheim's substitution patterns in his first 38 years? He's not been known to rotate in armies.

We stopped being able to shoot the rock. Period. Of course, tired legs in general DOES do that, but 18 points in the first half against Dayton had zip/zero/nada to do with being tired, IMHO.

 

[br801]

When you lose your legs, you lose your jumper. This team just got worn down. JB can say whatever he wants, but this team became tired physically and mentally. You can't play the minutes that these kids played and expect them to not get tired. On one of our final defensive possessions, CJ and Grant were both bent down with their hands on their knees.

But where were their jump shots last night when they had fresh legs?

 

[HurleyForHeisman]

I think the original post is self-evident, and am surprised how many people have difficulty grasping the obvious. It's been proven in all sorts of physiological tests that athletes need recovery time in order to maintain peak effectiveness, even if they're young.

If you've been watching Syracuse basketball at all during the last 40 years you should notice that they tend to win almost all of their games at the beginning of the season and fade down the stretch. The Big East tournament provided a nice little experiment of this effect over the years. Syracuse made the final game more than any other team but usually lost in the final game due to exhaustion compared to the other team. I know you don't play three straight games in the NCAA tournament, but the larger principle is still the same. If you're a realistic Syracuse fan, you should realize your team is generally going to decline in relative effectiveness as the season progresses.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Most of these guys AAU ball, that's 8-12 games, their normal HS games, then their All Star games.

More like 30, on top of the regular HS season...and fall leagues, summer leagues, etc.

Most AAU tournaments are 3 guaranteed games, at minimum. You play a full season of 7 - 10 tournaments...that's a lotta games. Four games in two days is a lot. I added up all the games my friend's son played one year and it came out to like 65 games...but spread out over a full year. AAU season, summer and fall leagues, school season, and winter league. That's pretty typical for most of the diehard basketball-only kids, at least based on the feedback from parents I have talked to over the last three years. And that's at the middle school level!

 

[hoopsupstate]

Did you watch CJ at all for the past 10 games? He either has an injury or he had dead legs. He had no lift on his jumper and he was nearly non-existent on defense. This team didn't have many easy December games. Close games take a hell of a lot more out of you than winning by 20. The mental part is the same.

 

[bpo57]

For those that argue fatigue wasn't a factor (btw I think it's one factor and not the main one) down the stretch for SU, I have a question. Why do the best coaches in the country (Izzo, K, Pitino, Self) all make liberal use of their benches? None of these guys play their starters 38-40. JB is a HOFer and a great coach but I thought he did a poor job of developing his bench this year and it cost him down the stretch.