Top 10 a majority of the season

[Devilsadvocate]

I think the biggest reason for optimism that our offense will improve next year is the potential for significant improvement by our two forwards. I can't think of two returning players as certain to improve as Brissett (because he was SO CLOSE to being dominant last year, and just needs to finish with contact) and Marek (because he improved so dramatically over February and March, and will return with confidence and 15 pounds). Those two are going to open up things for everyone in the offense.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think the biggest reason for optimism that our offense will improve next year is the potential for significant improvement by our two forwards. I can't think of two returning players as certain to improve as Brissett (because he was SO CLOSE to being dominant last year, and just needs to finish with contact) and Marek (because he improved so dramatically over February and March, and will return with confidence and 15 pounds). Those two are going to open up things for everyone in the offense.

Realistically, if Marek does well in off-season conditioning and just gets a bit stronger, and just returns skill wise as the same player we saw at the end of the season... he's a plus forward at this level. If he improves his skills and conditioning things can get really interesting.

 

[Trueblue25]

This teams the best we’ve had since Waiters last year.

Top to bottom this teams filthy. Wouldnt mind marek being the 6th man but gettin 65% of the mins between him and hughes

 

[CuseFaninVT]

This teams the best we’ve had since Waiters last year.

Top to bottom this teams filthy. Wouldnt mind marek being the 6th man but gettin 65% of the mins between him and hughes

Slow your roll, please. Top to bottom filthy? There is nothing filthy about PC, except maybe his hands. If Sid comes back as the guy we saw a few times last year (Pitt) then we've got a complete squad. But expecting much more out of PC is unrealistic. And if I have to eat those words later in the season, well bully for PC and I'll be glad to do it.

 

[UnknownOrange]

The 5 position is going to be crucial. Will the group stay healthy? Can they rebound like they should? The most important group to me is Chukwu & Sidibe.

 

[Trueblue25]

Slow your roll, please. Top to bottom filthy? There is nothing filthy about PC, except maybe his hands. If Sid comes back as the guy we saw a few times last year (Pitt) then we've got a complete squad. But expecting much more out of PC is unrealistic. And if I have to eat those words later in the season, well bully for PC and I'll be glad to do it.

PC improved a lot year to year and even through the season last year. He, like Frank, was hurt and due to circumstances told to suck it up. We havent had a center we could toss ally oops to like that in a while. He’s also an absolute force down in the zone.

For him this year i think it starts with managing foul trouble and developing a look downlow outside of oops.

I wont get my hopes too high about sidibe until I see how he’s moving, but I saw the difference in chukwu’s game developing last year.

 

[Lucid]

One low key massive benefit to Battle returning is that it keeps the primary defensive lineup intact.

That's our secret sauce. We can run the shutdown 5 out there whenever we need to.

This is the key many are not considering. The zone we ran last year has the potential to be even better, as long as the players understand what a huge weapon it is, both for shutting down the opponent AND for catalyzing the offense.

The danger is that having more weapons will lead to an unintended laziness/sloppiness on D. If this team can develop a similar chemistry to last year's squad, AND maintain a similar defensive intensity, the ceiling is high indeed.

No matter what, it should prove great fun to watch!

 

[cliftonparksufan]

The danger is that having more weapons will lead to an unintended laziness/sloppiness on D. If this team can develop a similar chemistry to last year's squad, AND maintain a similar defensive intensity, the ceiling is high indeed.

I'm not following what you are saying. Why will it lead to laziness/sloppiness? We should have more pieces to the puzzle. Less minutes/fresher guys. More time for coaching.

"Similar chemistry to last year's squad". It's the same guys plus Carey. Hughes was there last year. He just couldn't play. Carey is a stud. He should fit in what ever role he is asked. Buddy is a Boeheim. Smart kid. He will also fit in wherever.

 

[elimunelson]

Not even close to the same. Top recruit Carey, Hughes, and Buddy. We played a walk on during a game going into the sweet 16. That’s not happening this year.

I think the key is we may have a team that allows the starters to get a breather. I liked our starters last year and they punched wayyy above their weight last year with so many injuries. This team can win big if they have help from the bench. This team should be a top 15 team if we can keep it healthy

 

[Lucid]

Why will it lead to laziness/sloppiness?

Maybe lazy or sloppy are too strong.

What I mean is that last season, without much of an offense, they literally needed to go ALL IN on defense, and that's exactly what they did. With more tools in their box, and not having to rely entirely on the zone, might there be a tendency to not be as tenacious on D?

I'm not saying it will happen, but can you imagine a team with last year's all-in defensive intensity, and more offensive options? I can, and I like the image.

As far as the chemistry goes, that's always an intangible, isn't it? In spite of returning all the starters, this is a new group, and they will need to forge a new identity.

Like I said, fun to watch!

 

[Jasoncuse]

If JB allows the team to play differently, then yes.

If he uses a shallow bench, grinds out games and relies on a complete iso offense, then no, definitely not a top 10 team. It'd end up similar to this past year.

We need to find shooting, play more up tempo and be better on the interior defensively. I'm not sure how much better this version will be besides hopefully more efficient shooting from Tyus/Oshae. We'll still be painfully undersized (strength-wise) along the front line, so hopefully we see a lot more pressing and tempo pushing with the backcourt depth we'll have. Simply put, we cannot play the same style we have and expect to be vastly improved.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

We'll still be painfully undersized (strength-wise) along the front line, so hopefully we see a lot more pressing and tempo pushing with the backcourt depth we'll have.
Simply put, we cannot play the same style we have and expect to be vastly improved.

Michigan State led the NCAA in rebounding margin last year and out rebounded us 51-30 and we still found a way to win. I agree with you about the tempo. We have more depth so we could see more things. I think with the additional players, it gives JAB the ability for more in game adjustments (if he is up for that).

 

[realorange]

I predict that JB will become a great coach again by the end of the season.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Michigan State led the NCAA in rebounding margin last year and out rebounded us 51-30 and we still found a way to win. I agree with you about the tempo. We have more depth so we could see more things. I think with the additional players, it gives JAB the ability for more in game adjustments (if he is up for that).

MSU didn't know how to attack and couldn't throw it in the ocean. The rebounding kept them in it. They had more ORebounds than we had total rebounds. That's crazy. A normal game with that type of rebounding disparity will be a disaster for us. The front line D/rebounding worries me a great deal against teams that have some bulk/talent inside.

 

[JrodCuse]

Our defense will be a strength again and we will have another top5 D this year, to go with an offense that is way better than 300th or whatever we were ranked last year. Top 5 D and top 100 O = top 10 team.

 

[l'orange]

I’m cautiously optimistic but reality is this is the same team we had that was brutal on offense last year. I know I’m being a buzz kill and I’m ecstatic Battle is returning. I really hope we can improve from Chukwu high screens and one on one threes as the shot clock expires.

This is spot on. I want to be optimistic but cautiously so. This past year's team struggled. I hope we can figure out how to score in transition better.

 

[OttoMets]

One low key massive benefit to Battle returning is that it keeps the primary defensive lineup intact.

That's our secret sauce. We can run the shutdown 5 out there whenever we need to.

Bingo!

Do we have a good offense? Do we have an above-average point guard? Can enough players make jump shots?

We won't know the answers to those questions for months. But if everyone's healthy, we know that the zone is strong and has two of Boeheim's all-time best defenders up top.

 

[tee1222]

Going Sizzler!

 

[Knicks411]

So I was thinking about this, I knew it was true as it happened, but stepping back made me realize:

We've been a bubble team each of the last 4 years. 2013-14 was the last year we were safely in the field. So for all the talk about top ten all year or whatever, my first goal is just to not be on the bubble in February.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

PC improved a lot year to year and even through the season last year. He, like Frank, was hurt and due to circumstances told to suck it up. We havent had a center we could toss ally oops to like that in a while. He’s also an absolute force down in the zone.

For him this year i think it starts with managing foul trouble and developing a look downlow outside of oops.

I wont get my hopes too high about sidibe until I see how he’s moving, but I saw the difference in chukwu’s game developing last year.

He was in his FOURTH YEAR OF COLLEGE. Good Lord. He landed (caught and returned to his feet instead of dunking) far more passes for alley oops than he dunked last year. I'd estimate based on nothing at all it was on the order of 5 or 10 to 1 (lands to dunks).

 

[kuethstheman]

Good thing we're so much smarter than we were two years ago! I can't wait for the hysteria that ensues when someone picks us outside the top 20!

If half of the what-ifs and expected improvements happen, it will have been an unusually good result.

Cautious optimism, folks! Better for your health and also, it might bring us good luck.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Good thing we're so much smarter than we were two years ago! I can't wait for the hysteria that ensues when someone picks us outside the top 20!

If half of the what-ifs and expected improvements happen, it will have been an unusually good result.

Cautious optimism, folks! Better for your health and also, it might bring us good luck.

I think theres a big difference between what we have next season and two years ago when we were doing a lot of projecting based on freshmen and 5th year transfers who had never played together and, in the case of White and Gillon, 4 years and two programs worth of bad habits to be unlearned.

 

[SUskibum]

Realistically, if Marek does well in off-season conditioning and just gets a bit stronger, and just returns skill wise as the same player we saw at the end of the season... he's a plus forward at this level. If he improves his skills and conditioning things can get really interesting.

I am cautiously looking for a Hak type frosh to soph improvement.

That would be huge. Also, somebody is gonna have to block that corner three in the ‘Chip, it always comes down to that...

 

[kuethstheman]

I think theres a big difference between what we have next season and two years ago when we were doing a lot of projecting based on freshmen and 5th year transfers who had never played together and, in the case of White and Gillon, 4 years and two programs worth of bad habits to be unlearned.

There's always a difference. We're still banking on a bunch of things we don't know will happen.

It's easy to predict we'll be better. Predicting top 10 is a whole different thing.

Things that I think are equally likely:
Marek makes a big step forward/Marek has already hit his ceiling
Tyus improves his shooting and adds drive-and-dish/Tyus has hit his ceiling
Oshae finishes a lot better/Not being able to finish is who he is.
Sidibe is a 10/10 guy/Sidibe's knees still hurt and he plays spot minutes
The new guys fit right in/The new guys take a year or more to learn the zone
The new guys can shoot/The new guys aren't up to the level of competition (a la Nichols)
The offense flows/The offense sucks

Like I said, if half of those go our way, we'll be doing well. We'll need much more than half to sniff the the top 10.

 

[Trueblue25]

He was in his FOURTH YEAR OF COLLEGE. Good Lord. He landed (caught and returned to his feet instead of dunking) far more passes for alley oops than he dunked last year. I'd estimate based on nothing at all it was on the order of 5 or 10 to 1 (lands to dunks).

chukwu’s contributions defensively alone are a piece that make this team great. If he can contribute 6 ppg consistently then even better. We dont need him to be an offensive threat. We have 6 guys that should be double digit scorers on any given night.

Tb, fh, ob, md, elijah and jalen carey (remains to be seen on these two)