Va Tech Thoughts...

[AlaskaSU]

Yup. We all probably remember the story of Dion cursing at him on the bench his freshman year, and he was ready to leave after that year.

Scoop talked on Devendorf’s podcast about throwing the soap bar at the wall or something while swearing at JB, and they patched it up.

McCroskey was never heard from again, but he couldn’t shoot, pass, or dribble, and played guard.

But McCroskey knew how to celebrate.

 

[Cusefan0307]

It started even before that. As soon as the 2nd half started Benny and JB had words on the bench sitting next to each other. Like Jake alluded to, seemed Benny was pissed he didn't start the half. Oh well, hopefully he shakes it off as just frustration in the moment, and plays with that fire he's shown in a few games.

I sit behind the bench so it’s hard to see that from my vantage point. I do think part of it JB is trying to motivate him, but he’s running out of options.

I don’t ever remember anyone missing two games from being sick like Benny has either. It’s weird to me.

 

[Cuse'91]

I agree with you 100%. I am getting very uncomfortable with all the piling on Bell. He is a freshman playing at Syracuse. Why do we expect so much right away given all the guys we have seen come through here and struggle their first year? He is considerably better than Kris Joseph was as a freshman. Bell can shoot and he can also shoot off the dribble. We haven’t run a single play for him all year. Of course he needs to get stronger. But this is clearly a kid who is a product of an AAU program where he was asked to score and not do any dirty work. It is the staff’s job to keep working on him and helping him develop into an all-around player. Of course it doesn’t help that JB beats the hell out of them and singles him out at every single press conference . Frankly maybe he should recognize that the kid is not a rebounder and is best suited to play the two or only play the three when he has two other strong rebounders in the game.

Lastly I have seen no reason to question his heart or desire. In particular he has been one of the only guys to get back for chase down blocks. The willingness of some to quit on this kid boggles my mind.

Well, when you're a true freshman that starts from Day 1 @ Syracuse, regardless of circumstances, you just might be open to more criticism than your average college basketball player. Bell would be better served to start from the bench, watch the flow of the game, then come in like a "microwave" with some instant scoring, imo. Both Bell and Taylor have hiccup shooting strokes, but Justin seems to be ready to contribute more in a variety of ways right now.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Neither Bell nor Justin can rebound. They are both 2's forced to play the 3 spot. Play Benny at the 3. Brown is our only 4, although I think that Jesse has some 4 skills.

Did Benny rebound last night when he was in?

 

[AlaskaSU]

Also this is a good win but it was at home and isn't a great win VT has lost to a bunch of bad teams its not like we beat them on a Saturday at their place in a huge game for them.

We still have to go out and beat someone good it hasn't happened yet this year if it does the season can change for the better.

This was a desperation game for them.

 

[VA2NY]

I agree with you 100%. I am getting very uncomfortable with all the piling on Bell. He is a freshman playing at Syracuse. Why do we expect so much right away given all the guys we have seen come through here and struggle their first year? He is considerably better than Kris Joseph was as a freshman. Bell can shoot and he can also shoot off the dribble. We haven’t run a single play for him all year. Of course he needs to get stronger. But this is clearly a kid who is a product of an AAU program where he was asked to score and not do any dirty work. It is the staff’s job to keep working on him and helping him develop into an all-around player. Of course it doesn’t help that JB beats the hell out of them and singles him out at every single press conference . Frankly maybe he should recognize that the kid is not a rebounder and is best suited to play the two or only play the three when he has two other strong rebounders in the game.

Lastly I have seen no reason to question his heart or desire. In particular he has been one of the only guys to get back for chase down blocks. The willingness of some to quit on this kid boggles my mind.

JB has said Bell isn’t a 2 because he can’t handle the ball well enough. He’s kind of in between right now because he’s not strong enough to play the 3. He’s 6’7 180 while Taylor is 6’6 205 (but looks like he weighs more than that). They really haven’t run many plays for either Bell or Taylor other than sometimes that one at the top of the key. Bell has a nice stroke. Only problem is his 3 point shot is more of a flat footed set shot and he needs space to get it off. Taylor is much better shooting off the move and has elevation and a quick release which helps against good man to man defenses

 

[AlaskaSU]

Did Benny rebound last night when he was in?

Benny has had some good rebounding games and some not so good. He would be a better rebounder at the 3. Rebounding has been our weakness.

 

[newmexicuse]

Let’s remember Benny was coming off illness. At this point he is erratic, but the times we have seen Best Benny he has been pretty good.

Yeah, Brown has been our most consistent forward, but he has also had a couple of clunker games.

I actually think Jimmy has done fairly well with this group in terms of finding and playing the hot hands. At this point brown and Taylor are stepping up a bit more, but let’s not count out Chris and Benny.

 

[AlaskaSU]

JB has said Bell isn’t a 2 because he can’t handle the ball well enough. He’s kind of in between right now because he’s not strong enough to play the 3. He’s 6’7 180 while Taylor is 6’6 205 (but looks like he weighs more than that). They really haven’t run many plays for either Bell or Taylor other than sometimes that one at the top of the key. Bell has a nice stroke. Only problem is his 3 point shot is more of a flat footed set shot and he needs space to get it off. Taylor is much better shooting off the move and has elevation and a quick release which helps against good man to man defenses

Isn't Bell only 170?

 

[CousCuse]

JB has said Bell isn’t a 2 because he can’t handle the ball well enough. He’s kind of in between right now because he’s not strong enough to play the 3. He’s 6’7 180 while Taylor is 6’6 205 (but looks like he weighs more than that). They really haven’t run many plays for either Bell or Taylor other than sometimes that one at the top of the key. Bell has a nice stroke. Only problem is his 3 point shot is more of a flat footed set shot and he needs space to get it off. Taylor is much better shooting off the move and has elevation and a quick release which helps against good man to man defenses

Bell shoots baseline jump shots which are excellent.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Benny has had some good rebounding games and some not so good. He would be a better rebounder at the 3. Rebounding has been our weakness.

There's not a discernible difference in Benny and Taylor's rebounding percentage. Benny is at 11.9 and Taylor 10.4 and that was before yesterdays game. I think fans are trying to see Benny for what they think he could be and not what he is. JB is too and that's why he's got a leash as long as he has.

 

[Fly Rodder]

Maliq is just a machine under the basket, he moves intuitively and is ready for the ball. He had a helluva pass to Jesse, but Jesse was fouled on the shot. One sequence last night that would have brought the house down was the jump bounce pass from Joe to Judah on a break that Maliq almost slammed home the putback as the trailing man.

I can't believe that something this obvious is still an issue (though it looks like it is changing). And I don't even get paid millions of dollars to coach basketball or opine about it on TV. Benny came out in the second half after hitting the deck and getting a basketball caught between his face and the floor. One can see how athletic he is out there, he moves fluidly and has good bounce, but he's mostly lost. Bell is just a catch and shoot guy. One of his two rebounds was because the ball happened to bounce to him in wide open space.

 

[DoctahLexus]

JB has said Bell isn’t a 2 because he can’t handle the ball well enough. He’s kind of in between right now because he’s not strong enough to play the 3. He’s 6’7 180 while Taylor is 6’6 205 (but looks like he weighs more than that). They really haven’t run many plays for either Bell or Taylor other than sometimes that one at the top of the key. Bell has a nice stroke. Only problem is his 3 point shot is more of a flat footed set shot and he needs space to get it off. Taylor is much better shooting off the move and has elevation and a quick release which helps against good man to man defenses

While i think Taylor has made a better case for time recently with his defense, I think Bell can also release a three quickly and does not need a lot of time. A lot of his recent threes have been quick releases where he does not have a lot of time or space.

 

[MikeSU02]

He has to play to get to the point where he is shooting at the level he is capable of. It's worth the trade off because when he gets on track he is going to blow up. His shot is pure poetry.

IMO, JB has given him enough runway as a started to bench him. In spot minutes, in a specific role, I think he can still be useful.

 

[MikeSU02]

Neither Bell nor Justin can rebound. They are both 2's forced to play the 3 spot. Play Benny at the 3. Brown is our only 4, although I think that Jesse has some 4 skills.

Bell cannot dribble. Bell has no vision. He begrudgingly rebounds and plays defense. He will in spurts when JB reminds him.

He is not well rounded at all.

 

[malpearl31]

I really hope Bell can develop over the course of a few years and not bolt to the portal. I think he has the potential to be a solid player as a soph/junior if his game can become more well-rounded. He has a very smooth jumper, it's just the other aspects of his game simply aren't there yet.

Keeping Bell in the starting lineup may be the best way to ensure that he doesn’t jump to the portal, so that if he develops over the course of the next couple of years (as most freshman do), he does it at SU instead of someplace else. Taylor has played more minutes than Bell in each of the last 5 games, so the folks who believe that Taylor is a big upgrade are getting what they want (more Taylor, less Bell).

 

[phil77]

Look every time our team starts slow for whatever reason almost every time Bell comes out of the lineup we turn it around it is like clockwork. He doesn't do things on the floor to make the TEAM successful. Could it be because he is young? Sure Could it be because he doesn't know how to do those things? Sure Could it be because he isn't interested in doing those things? Sure It could be a lot of things but one thing I do know is THE TEAM magically gets better when he is on the bench and that happens in almost every game.

I could stand out there and shoot and magically hit some that doesn't mean I should be playing D1 for Syracuse if I can't contribute to any other aspect of the basketball game. Our three forwards should be Brown-Benny-Taylor in that order. If someone like Benny last night gets out of line or is just playing bad then give Bell a chance but this starting for whatever reason is awful and sets the team back every game.,

 

[GoSU96]

I sit behind the bench so it’s hard to see that from my vantage point. I do think part of it JB is trying to motivate him, but he’s running out of options.

I don’t ever remember anyone missing two games from being sick like Benny has either. It’s weird to me.

He’s going Patches Ohoulihan on him.

 

[SUMJF]

Maliq is type of player we need. He does all the dirty work and will fill a stat sheet.
He reminds of a player like Dale Davis on the Pacers. He isn’t going to shoot but we get rebounds and junk points.
We need a player like this on the roster to balance out the offense first players.

Coach Boeheim found a keeper with Maliq Brown. He is a type of player on those Villanova teams that would kill us on the glass and surround their guards.

 

[MikeSU02]

Keeping Bell in the starting lineup may be the best way to ensure that he doesn’t jump to the portal, so that if he develops over the course of the next couple of years (as most freshman do), he does it at SU instead of someplace else. Taylor has played more minutes than Bell in each of the last 5 games, so the folks who believe that Taylor is a big upgrade are getting what they want (more Taylor, less Bell).

I'm fine with him leaving. Don't want him to.

But this program isn't the Chris Bell program. It's Syracuse.

 

[CousCuse]

IMO, JB has given him enough runway as a started to bench him. In spot minutes, in a specific role, I think he can still be useful.

A lot of the decisions on PT and roles on this years team have some percentage on what will be next years team. Taylor and Bell will both start on next years team, at the 2 and 3 and I think the coaches think next years team has the chance to be elite.

 

[Cheriehoop]

There's not a discernible difference in Benny and Taylor's rebounding percentage. Benny is at 11.9 and Taylor 10.4 and that was before yesterdays game. I think fans are trying to see Benny for what they think he could be and not what he is. JB is too and that's why he's got a leash as long as he has.

I think it’s because he sees a very different Benny at practice. JB has said numerous times how he’s their best forward day in and day out at practice but it’s not converting to consistency in games. JB is frustrated, Benny is frustrated. JB has been very honest saying that they point out in films where he will just watch during games instead of aggressively going after rebounds, like he does in practice. JB sees the effort Benny makes in practice and definitely hasn’t given up on him.

 

[CousCuse]

I'm fine with him leaving. Don't want him to.

But this program isn't the Chris Bell program. It's Syracuse.

Mike, I'm sure you know this. There's guys that can shoot, they get coached on their form and practice nonstop and can be great. Then there's guys that are born natural shooters, those guys are rare.

 

[MikeSU02]

Mike, I'm sure you know this. There's guys that can shoot, they get coached on their form and practice nonstop and can be great. Then there's guys that are born natural shooters, those guys are rare.

That's fine. I want him to stay. I don't want him to start now.

Brown and JT have shown a much more multi-faceted game. I would like them both to start over Bell and Benny.

I'm not here to massage someone's ego or feelings. We need wins and need them now.

Again, I like Bell. I like Benny. But I don't like losing.

 

[MikeSU02]

I think it’s because he sees a very different Benny at practice. JB has said numerous times how he’s their best forward day in and day out at practice but it’s not converting to consistency at games. JB is frustrated, Benny is frustrated. JB has been very honest saying that they point out in films where he will just watch during games instead of aggressively going after rebounds, like he does in practice. JB sees the effort Benny makes in practice and definitely hasn’t given up on him.

JB doesn't need to give Bell or Benny any more runway. He has. Plenty.

If it's time to make a change, and personally I think so, then it should be fine.

If they have issues with that, so be it. JB has been more than fair starting that pairing.