USA East Coast Basketball trip with Benny Williams

[Sbucketball]

I went back and read some of the evaluations on him coming out of high school. Honestly, a lot of them, don't even sound like they're talking about the same player. I mean, " range out to the 3-point line, with room to extend out

My prediction - Taylor is our 4th leading scorer this season.
I think not being the focal point of opposing defenses; Justin regains his 3-point shooting stroke, for about 8-9/game.

Rumor has it JT regained his touch in summer workouts.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I just think he needs to focus on rebounding, defense and transition. As someone posted earlier in this thread, I haven’t seen enough skill from him as of yet to function in a half court setting offensively.

He is going to have to be high energy every night out.

I think this is a recipe for disaster and underperformance.

If this is what JB wants from Benny we're likely in for a frustrating season. Benny hasn't shown that he's an energy big. He has shown that he's a guy that needs to feel involved. You don't accomplish that by telling that kind of player that if he wants to get his he has to just go get it. Some bigs need to be included to get the best of them. Very likely that's Benny.


With the Boeheim bros moving on and 7 new players there are going to be lots of shots to go around. We should absolutely be able to call Benny's number once in a while and get him some shots to make the game easier for him.

 

[MikeSU02]

I think this is a recipe for disaster and underperformance.

If this is what JB wants from Benny we're likely in for a frustrating season. Benny hasn't shown that he's an energy big. He has shown that he's a guy that needs to feel involved. You don't accomplish that by telling that kind of player that if he wants to get his he has to just go get it. Some bigs need to be included to get the best of them. Very likely that's Benny.


With the Boeheim bros moving on and 7 new players there are going to be lots of shots to go around. We should absolutely be able to call Benny's number once in a while and get him some shots to make the game easier for him.

I would say Benny does have to focus on D and rebounding. Energy or not, he has to do those two things.

I'm not as big on transition because that is really dependent on team rebounding, outlets, ball handlers that can push and a team that is conditioned to be able to keep it up. I'd love to see it, just not banking on it.

With that said, Benny should be living above the rim - whether in transition or half court. I think he can be given opportunities within the O to get looks. But I haven't seen anything for him to get thrown a pass down on the block or the elbow and letting him cook. Or even coming off a screen for a catch and shoot.

Mintz is a willing passer it seems like. Joe can move the ball. Sy as well. I think Benny can be plenty involved as the ball should move more, but unless he's blowing up in practice, I'm not sure what warrants him getting looks to get him going. It'd be one thing if he was an all american defender and you threw him a look to thank him for his effort on the defensive end... but that's not the case.

I think Benny can be a good to great before he leaves Syracuse, but if he wants the ball handed to him to get him going, he has to show more. If there are a few set plays that get him looks at the rim to get him going - all for that.

 

[kcsu]

I think Mintz is going to do wonders for Benny. If Benny cuts aggressively and sees the lanes properly, Judah will get his buddy the ball. Once Benny starts building his confidence, his game will expand.

Great post. I agree 100%. Benny is very talented. Last years team wasnt a good fit for him. If Jim allows him to play freely,play through mistakes he is going to catch fire. He has a ton of athleticism and God given gifts. He just needs to know that he isnt coming out as long as he plays hard. I think he will be fine.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I would say Benny does have to focus on D and rebounding. Energy or not, he has to do those two things.

I'm not as big on transition because that is really dependent on team rebounding, outlets, ball handlers that can push and a team that is conditioned to be able to keep it up. I'd love to see it, just not banking on it.

With that said, Benny should be living above the rim - whether in transition or half court. I think he can be given opportunities within the O to get looks. But I haven't seen anything for him to get thrown a pass down on the block or the elbow and letting him cook. Or even coming off a screen for a catch and shoot.

Mintz is a willing passer it seems like. Joe can move the ball. Sy as well. I think Benny can be plenty involved as the ball should move more, but unless he's blowing up in practice, I'm not sure what warrants him getting looks to get him going. It'd be one thing if he was an all american defender and you threw him a look to thank him for his effort on the defensive end... but that's not the case.

I think Benny can be a good to great before he leaves Syracuse, but if he wants the ball handed to him to get him going, he has to show more. If there are a few set plays that get him looks at the rim to get him going - all for that.

We agree that we need good defense and rebounding from Benny.

I'm coming at this from the perspective that for this team to perform at its highest level, we need Benny to perform at as high a level as we can.

If we think that means we just tell Benny to go out and hustle, it's not going to work. That's not the kind of player he is. He's a guy that needs to be in the flow of the game. We need to help him with that. There's room for us to do that. We go into the season with a certainty that we have guards that will crank up some awful shots with no consequence. We can absolutely throw it in to Benny once or twice a half.

I know I'm an old man yelling at a cloud on this because we know how JB do.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

He’s too good of an athlete and too quick to not beat 4’s off the dribble. Hope we see some of that…

 

[CuseDream]

Benny needs to sit down and watch all the Jerami Grant film that he can possibly watch

 

[DCUNITED13]

I'm very happy that Benny received significant minutes and performed well (per stats) on this tour. I wish him the best breakout season in SU history. I'm sure everyone does on this board. Go CUSE.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Here’s to Benny!! Want to see him blow up this year!

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Here’s to Benny!! Want to see him blow up this year!

Here’s to this thread! Truly intrigued to see how much it grows before we actually get to see him play.

But oh yeah, I’m rooting for the kid. Hope he doesn’t get boeheimed. (Respect to Igor)

 

[HoustonCuse]

Here’s to this thread! Truly intrigued to see how much it grows before we actually get to see him play.

But oh yeah, I’m rooting for the kid. Hope he doesn’t get boeheimed. (Respect to Igor)

I don’t think it is possible for him to be Boeheimed. At least by my definition of it. He could be reverse Boeheimed though. That is where he gets a ton of minutes at the expense of one of the freshmen who appears to be better.

 

[jdubs30]

I don’t think it is possible for him to be Boeheimed. At least by my definition of it. He could be reverse Boeheimed though. That is where he gets a ton of minutes at the expense of one of the freshmen who appears to be better.

Agreed. Benny will have a longer leash than anyone except JG3 (who will have no leash).

 

[pearl31]

Agreed. Benny will have a longer leash than anyone except JG3 (who will have no leash).

I think Mintz will have a longer leash than Benny, and so will Edwards unless he's in foul trouble

 

[jdubs30]

I think Mintz will have a longer leash than Benny, and so will Edwards unless he's in foul trouble

I think JB will be more comfortable putting Sy in than he would a freshman forward.

I just think JB will trust his options for Judah more than he will his options for Benny (when considering subs). Ultimately the lack of potential options behind Benny will make his leash extremely long

 

[pearl31]

I think JB will be more comfortable putting Sy in than he would a freshman forward.

I just think JB will trust his options for Judah more than he will his options for Benny (when considering subs). Ultimately the lack of potential options behind Benny will make his leash extremely long

Possibly. But if all indications are correct and Mintz is the player it looks like he is, he's not going to be on the bench much.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Possibly. But if all indications are correct and Mintz is the player it looks like he is, he's not going to be on the bench much.

Joe's going to play 38, Judah will go about 34, Symir gets the scraps, we completely waste Quadir.

Market down, keep it here.

 

[orangefog]

Joe's going to play 38, Judah will go about 34, Symir gets the scraps, we completely waste Quadir.

Market down, keep it here.

That's the fear

 

[djcon57]

Joe's going to play 38, Judah will go about 34, Symir gets the scraps, we completely waste Quadir.

Market down, keep it here.

I called it correctly last year w/ Sy's PT...but this year, I dont know, maybe will like be 32-32-16. Sy might have earned some trust with his play late in the year. I def dont see anything over 20 mins for him though and 32 for Joe might be a stretch knowing how JB do.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I know this sounds insane but the over under on Joe's minutes starts at 36.

 

[MikeSU02]

I know this sounds insane but the over under on Joe's minutes starts at 36.

I think there will be a difference with what JB may *want* Joe to play and what Joe *can* play in terms of mpg at a high level.

I am not knocking Joe, I don't think any of our guys should really be over 33/34 mpg at absolutely most and prob more close to 30 mpg, but I just don't know if the kid, if he is the focus of the O, can be productive in the last 2-3 minutes if he's grinding out that many minutes, especially when we get into conference play. I don't think that's fair to him.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I think there will be a difference with what JB may *want* Joe to play and what Joe *can* play in terms of mpg at a high level.

I am not knocking Joe, I don't think any of our guys should really be over 33/34 mpg at absolutely most and prob more close to 30 mpg, but I just don't know if the kid, if he is the focus of the O, can be productive in the last 2-3 minutes if he's grinding out that many minutes, especially when we get into conference play. I don't think that's fair to him.

It's not fair to him.

If you look at our mpg leaders by season though... 38, 36.2, 36.7, 36.3, 39 (lol, and the next two highest were both over 38), 37.2, 37.9, 37.3, 37.8, 34.9. You have to go back TEN SEASONS to get to a guy that was tops in minutes but under 36 minutes.

Is JB going to buck a 9 year trend of having his main guy play 36+ minutes?

We know how JB do. Look at the roster. Joe's by far the guy he'll feel he has to have out there. He's never checking out.

 

[Cuse'91]

It's not fair to him.

If you look at our mpg leaders by season though... 38, 36.2, 36.7, 36.3, 39 (lol, and the next two highest were both over 38), 37.2, 37.9, 37.3, 37.8, 34.9. You have to go back TEN SEASONS to get to a guy that was tops in minutes but under 36 minutes.

Is JB going to buck a 9 year trend of having his main guy play 36+ minutes?

We know how JB do. Look at the roster. Joe's by far the guy he'll feel he has to have out there. He's never checking out.

Thank you Mr. Sunshine.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Thank you Mr. Sunshine.

I mean what we ultimately have here is the classic question of can an old dog learn new tricks.

It's a fascinating question, but we know how this is going to go. It's fun to pretend otherwise in the off-season, but JB has really strongly ingrained habits as a coach. Those habits are going to be very apparent this season, as they were the season before, and the season before, and the season before...

 

[IthacaMatt]

Losing Cole was a dagger to this team but if Benny is the same as last year or just marginally better we are probably in for a long season. Unless we hit a home run with the incoming class we are looking at another sub par season.

If Benny plays the same as last season, he won't still be starting by December.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

It's not fair to him.

If you look at our mpg leaders by season though... 38, 36.2, 36.7, 36.3, 39 (lol, and the next two highest were both over 38), 37.2, 37.9, 37.3, 37.8, 34.9. You have to go back TEN SEASONS to get to a guy that was tops in minutes but under 36 minutes.

Is JB going to buck a 9 year trend of having his main guy play 36+ minutes?

We know how JB do. Look at the roster. Joe's by far the guy he'll feel he has to have out there. He's never checking out.

Let's look at this years (anticipated) guards vs last years. Sy was not ready to play at this level early, and with limited paint scoring, we needed shooters. Also, no real size at guard other than Buddy, and not a lot of places to mix and match guards.
This year: Joe and Judah. Check. Sy and Q- offense remains to be seen, but they could give the other team fits defensively. Depending on how Jesse does with fouling and what Hadir (sp?) brings defensively, I could see a 5 or more minutes per half of full court hell with Q on the inbounder. Sy and Bennie on the wings, Can likely mix JT in at the 2, Malik, or Carey at other spots. Some really good athletes bringing mayhem. I think our bench guys will play.