Turning It Around...

[newmexicuse]

A lot of damage has been done. Right now the team is in freefall. However, as a fan, I still have to have hope. Here is my take on turning it around:

1. Jerami - I can't see more than one or two Dance W's wo him. He has to be healthy for the tourney. Even if he is healthy, he will obviously be susceptible to re-injury. Gotta limit him to 30 MPG or whatever the Doc's recommend, whichever is less.

2. Minutes - nobody should play more than 35 MPG.

3. Roberson - gotta unleash the Beast for better or worse. He needs to play without looking over his shoulder. Sit him down. Tell him he is getting at least 15 MPG (5 from CJ and 10 from Jerami). Is he ready - arguable either way (???), but clearly we aren't going to go far doing what we are doing.

4. Cooney - can't live with the way he is playing. Gotta change things. If he can't average 40% from trey range we aren't going to go far. How do we get him to do that ??? He has to have fresher legs. In his case it is not only the minutes. His treys need to come from transition, inside-out plays, or kicks off of O boards. Stop running that curl play. It results in bad shots that he can't make. Worse, he is in perpetual motion, running himself into the ground so that he has no legs when he does get a look - good or otherwise. He needs to take and make fewer, but higher quality shots. Worse thing that can happen is he makes one or two tough shots early - only encourages him to take more.

5. Spurts - when this team is successful there is invariable one of those 15 to 2 types of spurts. We haven't seen those lately. You need fresh legs to spurt, that is why cutting minutes for starters is key. The spurts are triggered by the D. No fresh legs = no spurts.

6. Ennis - keep doing what he is doing. Keep looking for his own shot a bit more. I think if he averaged 15 PPG - that would be a nice blend of his scoring, but still keeping others involved.

7. CJ - I have total confidence in CJ as long as he is playing w fresh legs - as said above - 35 PPG max.

8. Rak - it is ridiculous when I see a box score & he has taken only three shots. Run some plays for him. Get him 5 to 10 shots & see what happens. Can't have that inside-out game going if there is no inside.

9. Mike G - I am beginning to see him as a BMK type of player, ie, he is what he is. Nothing wrong with his role except in the situation when the team needs an O spark. In those cases he is not your man.

10. Backcourt - probably too late for Buss or BJ to help. However,we do have at least two games to find out for sure. Commit to 5 MPG to which ever one Jimmy feels is more ready. See if one of them can't find a role as a spark.

 

[jec1521]

Not saying I disagree with you, but the chance that JB does even one of these things, this late in the season, is zero. Maybe #6...

 

[newmexicuse]

Not saying I disagree with you, but the chance that JB does even one of these things, this late in the season, is zero. Maybe #6...

This post was certainly not intended as a crystal ball post as to what will actually happen. Just my take on on what I think should happen.

 

[NineOneSeven]

"The spurts are triggered by the D"

LOL

Has a truer statement ever been said?

 

[OrangeYaGladi]

40% is an ambitious number to ask from Cooney. Honestly the team would be fine if he made 33% the rest of the year.

 

[SBU72]

To turn it around, the team needs to make its open shots. Including foul shots. Nothing fancy , its as simple as that. When a team shoots well under 40% even in the first half, fatigue is just a minor factor.

 

[pearl31]

8. Rak - it is ridiculous when I see a box score & he has taken only three shots. Run some plays for him. Get him 5 to 10 shots & see what happens. Can't have that inside-out game going if there is no inside.

And it is equally ridiculous to see a box score showing he had fewer than 5 rebounds in a game. I've seen the dude rebound like a beast when he feels like it, and he has got to bring that intensity every night.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

LOL..I have to give you credit...you are both persistent and consistent...you want JB to use his bench...

Regarding G, however, two weeks ago you wanted him to start at the 2? Pretty huge change in sentiment...

Funny how, other than you, the silence is deafening from that horde of posters that were up in arms about Roberson being rooted to the bench...

I've been on the board for somewhere between 12-15 years and, over that time, I've seen the avalanches of criticism directed at JB for not playing player X.

Most of the time it goes no place because players X remains firmly rooted to the bench.

But, every so often, circumstances force JB's hand and, suddenly, player X is on the court and getting meaningful minutes in important games.

Igor made a living posting on choosing someone buried on the depth chart who would be the next superstar if Boeheim would just remove the shackles.

Unfortunately for Igor, it actually happened one year and Gorman, the all Big 10 performer, started getting playing time. Serviceable player? No doubt. Superstar? No way. Completely killed whatever credibility the self-anointed board hoops genius may have had.

This year it has now happened twice.

First, G went from "giving guys a quick blow" minutes to meaningful minutes.

And then Roberson was forced into the starting lineup and played 23 minutes.

In both cases, it has become clear why Boeheim was not allocating major minutes to those guys...

You would think the board would learn that the guy who sees them in practice every day knows a he!! of a lot more about his players than us internet desk jockeys.

But we don't.

Mexi, this post is not directed at you personally. I have wanted to make this point and simply chose my response to your post as the place to do it...

 

[rrlbees]

40% is an ambitious number to ask from Cooney. Honestly the team would be fine if he made 33% the rest of the year.

And 33% from 3 is equivalent to 50% from 2 which everyone would be happy with from a non 3 point shooter. Even with his poor shooting the past several games, he's still 4th in the ACC in adjusted FG%.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

And 33% from 3 is equivalent to 50% from 2 which everyone would be happy with from a non 3 point shooter. Even with his poor shooting the past several games, he's still 4th in the ACC in adjusted FG%.

And would be even higher if he'd take more 12-15 footers. With defenses in his shorts he's shown the ability to beat people off the dribble. I wish he'd pull up more rather than always try to take it to the rim. He'd be almost automatic inside the arc.

 

[djcon57]

"In both cases, it has become clear why Boeheim was not allocating major minutes to those guys..."

Please link to the posts that were suggesting Roberson play "major mins". Thanks.

 

[newmexicuse]

LOL..I have to give you credit...you are both persistent and consistent...you want JB to use his bench...

Yes, I am.

Regarding G, however, two weeks ago you wanted him to start at the 2? Pretty huge change in sentiment...

I have not had a change of sentiment. In this case it wasn't because I thought G is playing at a starter's caliber level. A lot of my thinking had to do with the decline in Trevor's game. My thought was that the team badly needed an O spark off the bench & maybe if Trevor did not start it would take some pressure off of him. It also had to do with rotations since Jimmy often put in G & BMK together which severely limited our O IMHO. I thought rotationally if Trevor came in w BMK it might help make us more consistent on the O end. I also thought (and still think) this team needed a shakeup. In hindsight, though we will never know if that idea would have worked well, it is a certainty that it would not have hurt us in view of our recent play.

Funny how, other than you, the silence is deafening from that horde of posters that were up in arms about Roberson being rooted to the bench...

You can't expect a kid who hasn't played to be the immediate hero. Maybe I am wrong, but I believe had he received steady minutes all year that he would have stepped up. Now he may be force fed those minutes. He will perform, the only issue is whether it is a bit sooner or a bit later. He has talent and he hustles. He has to stop looking over his shoulder.

I've been on the board for somewhere between 12-15 years and, over that time, I've seen the avalanches of criticism directed at JB for not playing player X.

You would think Jimmy, for all his greatness, would have learned by now. The AO team, even without AO, should have gotten to the FF had Riley been developed that season. The next season it happens again w Fab. Last year, it was only Southy's problems that got Grant to strut his stuff - successfully I might add.

Most of the time it goes no place because players X remains firmly rooted to the bench.

We are sports fans - gotta talk about something whether it does any good or not.

But, every so often, circumstances force JB's hand and, suddenly, player X is on the court and getting meaningful minutes in important games.

And too often they have not been properly prepared for that role.

Igor made a living posting on choosing someone buried on the depth chart who would be the next superstar if Boeheim would just remove the shackles.

I would like to think that I am NOT Igor, though like anybody else sometimes I get it wrong.

Unfortunately for Igor, it actually happened one year and Gorman, the all Big 10 performer, started getting playing time. Serviceable player? No doubt. Superstar? No way. Completely killed whatever credibility the self-anointed board hoops genius may have had.

I don't see Igor making a living as a scout.

This year it has now happened twice.

First, G went from "giving guys a quick blow" minutes to meaningful minutes.

G's meaningful minutes rose as Trevor's play declined, it wasn't a case of Jimmy putting him in for the sake of developing depth.

And then Roberson was forced into the starting lineup and played 23 minutes.

In both cases, it has become clear why Boeheim was not allocating major minutes to those guys...

Developing a bench is not about allocating major minutes, it is about giving a guy a role and consistent minutes to see if they can improve and step up. Why shouldn't Buss and Roberson not have gotten a solid 5 minute run in the first half of games consistently ?? When we were rolling early in the season we had a ten plus point leads pretty frequently. Games got closer as the starters minutes piled up and they wore down and coasted when they could. Eventually they could no longer get over the hump.

You would think the board would learn that the guy who sees them in practice every day knows a he!! of a lot more about his players than us internet desk jockeys.

Are you still trying to argue that Jimmy knows all, and the the lack of a bench hasn't hurt us severely in three of the last four seasons including this one ??

But we don't.

Mexi, this post is not directed at you personally. I have wanted to make this point and simply chose my response to your post as the place to do it...

I respect your post and your thoughts.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I respect your post and your thoughts.

Right back at 'ya.

BTW, I don't think Jimmy is infallible.

And if a poster presents a point of view that is substantiated with a rationale argument, I will absolutely respect it, even if I disagree with it.

What I hate are histrionics, posts labelled as fact with no support whatsoever and posts that are insulting to players and/or coaches.

My number one concern?

The Zone.

It clearly sets us apart as a team and gives us a competitive edge but it has also gotten so complex that the learning curve for new players is very high.

It makes guys have to think too much and, when you have to think to react on the playing field, you are dead.

It is not that Jimmy isn't developing his bench, it is that learning the complexities of the zone clearly takes a long time, especially for the wings who have to cover an extraordinary amount of territory.

And the zone requires so much coordination that, if one guy is not pulling his weight, it causes issues.

If you had a team that could score the baskettball with ease, it would be less of an issue but when you have a team that relies on its defense to win games because it cannot outscore people, defensive breakdowns are much more problematic.

I'm not an advocate of abandoning the zone - the competitive advantage is too great.

But, JB has to figure out a way to get the message across quicker - especially in this day and age where guys are leaving earlier and younger, inexperienced players need to be able to be step up and contribute.

It has gotten to the point where guys almost have to have a redshirt year to get the intricacies of the zone.

Unless you are invaluable to the team offensively, ie. Ennis this year, and that value overwhelms defensive liabiliies, younger, inexperienced guys are not going to see the floor - and the depth issue could persist.

 

[newmexicuse]

Right back at 'ya.

BTW, I don't think Jimmy is infallible.

And if a poster presents a point of view that is substantiated with a rationale argument, I will absolutely respect it, even if I disagree with it.

What I hate are histrionics, posts labelled as fact with no support whatsoever and posts that are insulting to players and/or coaches.

My number one concern?

The Zone.

It clearly sets us apart as a team and gives us a competitive edge but it has also gotten so complex that the learning curve for new players is very high.

It makes guys have to think too much and, when you have to think to react on the playing field, you are dead.

It is not that Jimmy isn't developing his bench, it is that learning the complexities of the zone clearly takes a long time, especially for the wings who have to cover an extraordinary amount of territory.

And the zone requires so much coordination that, if one guy is not pulling his weight, it causes issues.

If you had a team that could score the baskettball with ease, it would be less of an issue but when you have a team that relies on its defense to win games because it cannot outscore people, defensive breakdowns are much more problematic.

I'm not an advocate of abandoning the zone - the competitive advantage is too great.

But, JB has to figure out a way to get the message across quicker - especially in this day and age where guys are leaving earlier and younger, inexperienced players need to be able to be step up and contribute.

It has gotten to the point where guys almost have to have a redshirt year to get the intricacies of the zone.

Unless you are invaluable to the team offensively, ie. Ennis this year, and that value overwhelms defensive liabiliies, younger, inexperienced guys are not going to see the floor - and the depth issue could persist.

Nice post - I agree that what you say is 100% true in Jimmy's mind.

However, I recently made a post titled "Rocket Science". It may be complicated, but it should not take a player who isn't in mensa a year to master the Zone. I, too, do not want to see the Zone abandoned, but I have always favored using some M2M as a change of pace when a change of pace is needed. I have totally gotten over that as something that will never happen under Jimmy.

This season, how many times has Roberson has his cameos cut short ? Sometimes because he made an O mistake, sometimes because he made a D mistake. There were times when to my non-nuanced eye he appeared to be doing no harm and could and should have stayed in the game longer even if you don't wish to provide some learning curve allowance.

Several factors to consider:

1. Our rotation guys make plenty of mistakes as well, they just don't get the quick hook. I remember earlier this season when Trevor virtually handed the ball to an opponent (I forget which game) on consecutive possessions & did not get a seat. Why so much tolerance for what were two incomprehensible mistakes in a row from a starter & zero tolerance for subtle mistakes by a young player ???

2. I am not sure what the delta is in terms of making mistakes by a frosh like Roberson v a Grant or a Fair. I assume the frosh would make more mistakes, but how many more per minute ???

3. I especially like your comment about Jimmy figuring out how to get the message across more quickly - great point.

4. The more you play em (the frosh), the more they will learn and the faster the delta will reduce.

5. Personally, I do not buy the argument that it is only because of what JB sees in practice. Practice, of course, matters, but in terms of learning it does not replace game situations. Also, there are example of guys who never got a sniff stepping in successfully when they had to, eg, Grant last season, MCW his rookie year when he got some run, etc. Were those guys also that bad in practice or was it Jimmy just refusing to play a young guy unless he absolutely had to.

Bottom line for me - this team is slumping because certain players aren't getting the job done, and I am not talking just one or two off games. In some cases it is attributable to fatugue, in other cases I have to wonder if the talent is over-rated. Yes, I have the backup QB syndrome. I want to see the next man up - there is just no way to know if the next man up can help or not if you never get to see him.