Tyler Roberson: "I'm confident. I'm ready to play."

[Toga]

 

[MikeSU02]

JB said on his show that TR hadn't been practicing well. Coaches tend to base their decisons on things like that.

Has he not practiced well all year or just recently? Have the other guys been a model of practice warriors?

Once DC went down, we were too vulnerable to injuries with the minutes our guys were logging not to have TR ready.

 

[NKR1978]

Roberson's freshman year is similar to Grant's. plays decent minutes early, gets good minutes in big conference games (first Duke game), then the bench shortens. Team tired. Loses some games. We clamor for fresh legs. Last year the BET came about and magically Grant got solid minutes.

Maybe, and I know this will sound crazy to some, but maybe JB knows what he's doing and isn't some stubborn old fool sticking to his Murder She Wrote and prune juice that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to play a guy more minutes.

Also, see Josh Pace, Kristof Ongenaet (twice) for past examples of this behavior.

 

[SWC75]

Has he not practiced well all year or just recently? Have the other guys been a model of practice warriors?

We don't know.

 

[tbonezone]

"Maybe, and I know this will sound crazy to some, but maybe JB knows what he's doing and isn't some stubborn old fool sticking to his Murder She Wrote and prune juice that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to play a guy more minutes. "

i heard tell that boeheim's zone defense is almost matlockian in both it's complexity and predictability.

 

[Van111]

Of course he's ready to play. HE WAS A TOP RECRUIT.

Love the quote. Play the kid, Jimmy. Enough with the six man rotations (w/o Grant).

JB does what he wants to do. That is just the way it is, is going to be, and will be. We have not changed a thing this year frrom game one, and that is the way it is. Is this another season of high expectations going down the drain? We will live and die by this 6 + 1 rotation, just the way it is. And if Grant can't play, more like 5 + 1. Frustrating past 4 years after just another great start. It is way to late to expect anybody to come of the bench and contribute. If we see anybody, it will be because we are in foul trouble or have another injury. If we win, it will be by great defense and playing clutch at the end. A number 1 seed is probably only possible now if we win out and win the ACC Tournament. We will not get the breaks that Kansas and other favorite and hyped schools get. Should we lose another and drop out early in the ACC Tourney, I look for us to drop out of the eastern bracket altogether, which would be a shame in itself.

 

[NKR1978]

Frustrating past 4 years after just another great start.

Wait, what?

 

[SWC75]

JB does what he wants to do. That is just the way it is, is going to be, and will be. We have not changed a thing this year frrom game one, and that is the way it is. Is this another season of high expectations going down the drain? We will live and die by this 6 + 1 rotation, just the way it is. And if Grant can't play, more like 5 + 1. Frustrating past 4 years after just another great start. It is way to late to expect anybody to come of the bench and contribute. If we see anybody, it will be because we are in foul trouble or have another injury. If we win, it will be by great defense and playing clutch at the end. A number 1 seed is probably only possible now if we win out and win the ACC Tournament. We will not get the breaks that Kansas and other favorite and hyped schools get. Should we lose another and drop out early in the ACC Tourney, I look for us to drop out of the eastern bracket altogether, which would be a shame in itself.

It's only 6 with Grant injured. If he can go, it's 7 and maybe 8 if he uses Roberson more, as I think he will. That's what most of the teams across the country use. 7-8 guys, especially if someone can play more than one position as Gbinije can. Actually part of our depth problem this year has been than we have fewer multiple position players than we've had on some of our other teams.

 

[tbonezone]

"We will not get the breaks that Kansas and other favorite and hyped schools get. Should we lose another and drop out early in the ACC Tourney, I look for us to drop out of the eastern bracket altogether, which would be a shame in itself.[/quote]"

i'd agree that unless we win out the east regional could realistically slip away altogether. and that brings up a very interesting end game strategy.
do you rest up your starters and play the bench taking your chances as a 2 seed elsewhere or continue to play 6 full throttle. just knowing jb's modus operandi it's doubtful he'll change but perhaps this time the long view approach might be better strategy.

(edit. playing the bench is not the same as conceding a game. it just means the starters see less minutes. might still win double digits.)

 

[SoBeCuse]

The thing is--and I qualify this up front by acknowledging that it is partial wishful thinking on my part until the kid shows he can do it--but Roberson getting an infusion of PT might be exactly what this team needs right now. Our rebounding has gone south, and we aren't as formidable defensively in terms of challenging shots inside as we were for the first 2/3 of the season. Those two things play to Roberson's strengths.

He's also got fresh legs, unlike some of his teammates, and helps bolster depth at forward in a way that seemed non-existent the previous four games.

This could end up being like a mini-version of what happened last year when Grant got a helping of PT when Southerland was suspended. When given the opportunity, Grant stepped up and became a contributor. The question is: will Roberson do the same?

Not saying that the kid has to be a world beater, but he could prove to be an important cog who helps give the team added energy / depth for the stretch run.

Good post! I think your "fresh legs" observation is spot on. I'm in the camp saying that this team is drained physically. Mentally too probably but we need more bodies out there. Is there a top recruit out there just sitting and barely playing other than Chris Walker who was ineligible most of the season?!

 

[Van111]

Wait, what?

I'm trying to be wrong here early is all. I was at the game in Virginia and the team played well after just another bad start. But at the 10 minute mark, they had nothing left in their legs. Shooting has been just atrocious, and the call I made a few weeks ago about a quick turn around for an 8 footer in the zone is there all day long as well as wide open looks for 3's, why our team runs the same offense on vurtually every play. We looked like we did against GTown last year in DC. Think our kids are tired and when you are already bad offensively, well enough said on the offense. My one criticism on JB this year was he didn't get other guys PT and now is it just too late to do so? It is not realistic to think you can get away with 6 players. I am not counting Grant at this point because it doesn't look good. That leaves silent "G" as the only experienced sub as Baye will have to cover Grants position along with Rak. That is a realistic eval on this team, without my Orange Tinted Glasses on. When you lose to a dredful BC ball club on your home court and then really do nothing to change things up in the next games, what are your expectations?

 

[Van111]

Wait, what?

By the way, frustration not necessarily pointed at JB either.

2010 losing AO at the end of the season and losing to Butler...
2011 losing on controversial call to Marquette...
2012 losing to that lousy called OSU game, probably the worst game I ever witnessed in bad calls, and not getting to play KY, which I feel we could have beaten them...
2013 the late charge call on Trish that changed the rule for what is a charge today, except for the Duke game that is this year...
and 2014 yet to come after a 25-0 start.....

One thought comes to mind here, we are often losing a crucial game by a controversial call. I don't mind losing, but not when its coupled way to many times in controversy.

The real frustration in not getting to a NC game over these past 4 seasons, and I hope we can change that this year. Again, you can't win a championship unless you get to this game after all.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Yet another reason to play Roberson more. Often Syracuse's best offense is rebounds and second chance putbacks after misses. Roberson can do this. Defense really isn't the problem although Ennis/Cooney/Rak have been bad the past 2-3 weeks. I still say some of this is fatigue. As RF and others have pointed out the potential fresh legs from him could be a fresh injection of life. This will only help the team moving forward, imo.

 

[MikeSU02]

Roberson's freshman year is similar to Grant's. plays decent minutes early, gets good minutes in big conference games (first Duke game), then the bench shortens. Team tired. Loses some games. We clamor for fresh legs. Last year the BET came about and magically Grant got solid minutes.

Maybe, and I know this will sound crazy to some, but maybe JB knows what he's doing and isn't some stubborn old fool sticking to his Murder She Wrote and prune juice that needs to be dragged kicking and screaming to play a guy more minutes.

Also, see Josh Pace, Kristof Ongenaet (twice) for past examples of this behavior.

Josh Pace and Kristof (and I love both of these guys) do not have near the talent that Roberson does. Not even close. Roberson has the potential to be good enough to leave after next year (not saying it will happen, but it could).

I understand when it's tough for him to get minutes after being cleared late and we had DJC. But after we lost DJC and with the number of minutes some of our guys are playing like CJ and Ennis, he should have been folded into the rotation.

I get that we have a great record, but a great record should be a byproduct of a team that is built to win a title, since that is the real goal every year.

If Grant can't go, we cannot win a title going six deep, period. And now we have a situation where Roberson is force-fed into the lineup.

 

[NineOneSeven]

In the '03 championship, we had 8 guys who played 13+ minutes, and only one over 35. That guy was Carmelo Anthony.