We are a year away

[orangenauburn]

Going to be a tough year with pains and bumps along the road but man, you can see the potential.

Next year this team will be legit top three seed

 

[DonLightfoot]

You are probably right, but I'm not giving up on this year. Definitely work to be done though.

 

[JLine]

We need the stars to align one time again. I think we will be good next year, but imagine two years from now. If we somehow have this foundation intact, with Carey and Baze in year two. Just pondering, as we just keep losing a piece that could put us over the top.

That said, I'm excited to see how this young crew does this year. Looking ahead is fun, but I'm gonna enjoy Tyus and the crew for now. Exhibitions are just that. So many new pieces. I believe they can come together and click in time to put together a good season.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Going to be a tough year with pains and bumps along the road but man, you can see the potential.

Next year this team will be legit top three seed

How bad would we have to be to be an 8 seed next year in your opinion ? Section x basketball last place bad ?

 

[Jake]

Was going to make the same general point. These players are typical Syracuse players, but they're all being asked to play way over their skis this year.

In a typical year:
Battle is a 1a or #2 option.
Frank is a backup PG.
Brissett is the energy guy off the bench.
Sidibe is the .5 in a 7.5 rotation
Chuckwu / Moyer are 9th / 10th guys.
Marek redshirts
And we never go after Thorpe.

I am not kidding or exaggerating when I say the first half tonight was the worst BB ever played by a JB team when you consider the competition.

That press is going to have to become a fixture, because we suck in a half court structure.

I like what I see in Brissette, Sidibe and Marek. Washington and Moyer are program guys. Battle is a stud. Frank "is what he is". Somehow have to cobble together enough wins to keep that .500 winning streak alive.

Im seriously worried about losing Friday. No game is a gimme this year.

 

[Deano]

We need the stars to align one time again. I think we will be good next year, but imagine two years from now. If we somehow have this foundation intact, with Carey and Baze in year two. Just pondering, as we just keep losing a piece that could put us over the top.

That said, I'm excited to see how this young crew does this year. Looking ahead is fun, but I'm gonna enjoy Tyus and the crew for now. Exhibitions are just that. So many new pieces. I believe they can come together and click in time to put together a good season.

Unless they change the one and done next year Baze is gone. Lottery pick if he keeps playing like he is now.

 

[cuse2013]

In a typical year:
Battle is a 1a or #2 option.
Frank is a backup PG.
Brissett is the energy guy off the bench.
Sidibe is the .5 in a 7.5 rotation
Chuckwu / Moyer are 9th / 10th guys.
Marek redshirts
And we never go after Thorpe.

Nail on the head here...talent level is not there. Expectations should not be high...

 

[Jake]

One other thought. Every minute that Battle is on the bench this year is going to feel like an eternity.

 

[dasher]

One other thought. Every minute that Battle is on the bench this year is going to feel like an eternity.

He isn't going to be on the bench once we start playing games.

 

[hungrychuck]

Was going to make the same general point. These players are typical Syracuse players, but they're all being asked to play way over their skis this year.

In a typical year:
Battle is a 1a or #2 option.
Frank is a backup PG.
Brissett is the energy guy off the bench.
Sidibe is the .5 in a 7.5 rotation
Chuckwu / Moyer are 9th / 10th guys.
Marek redshirts
And we never go after Thorpe.

I am not kidding or exaggerating when I say the first half tonight was the worst BB ever played by a JB team when you consider the competition.

That press is going to have to become a fixture, because we suck in a half court structure.

I like what I see in Brissette, Sidibe and Marek. Washington and Moyer are program guys. Battle is a stud. Frank "is what he is". Somehow have to cobble together enough wins to keep that .500 winning streak alive.

Im seriously worried about losing Friday. No game is a gimme this year.

Great post Jake. Perfect summary.

 

[Orangezoo]

Couple of things-

You have to give credit to the opponent. They defended very well, had some solid guard play and shot it well. Very disciplined team. Also that Luckett kid could do well at the D1 level.

Also , I love Tyus but it's funny the comments about how much we will hurt without him. I agree he is key but early in this game his decision making was awful. It quickly spread and everyone became obsessed shooting jumpers and gambling. He is important but he also has to set the tone.

I see no reason we shouldn't press frequently as already mentioned. I agree that teams with better guards will fair well but having two legit shot blockers and being able to speed teams up equals better offense. The team responds well and the kids seem to genuinely prefer to play this style of defense.

 

[AZOrange]

I think you forget the wealth of riches we have had as 'energy guys off the bench'. Freshman Grant, Freshman Carter-Williams, Sophomore Gbinije, Freshman Dejuan Coleman, Freshman Dion Waiters, etc. etc.

Waiters is closest. Oshae is way ahead of the others at this point.

 

[JLine]

Unless they change the one and done next year Baze is gone. Lottery pick if he keeps playing like he is now.

I know, unfortunately. Just wish we could have a year in which we don't lose that key missing piece. Instead we have to hope that everyone is ready to roll next year. Damn first world problems with a top basketball program. Luckily Baze will be a force from day one. Jalen should be ready to go too. Oshae, Marek, Matt, HW, and Sidibe with a year under their belt. Throw in Hughes, and sounds good to me.

 

[NYCorange]

Waiters is closest. Oshae is way ahead of the others at this point.

I hope you're right, but it seems a little early since we've only played 2 DII teams...

 

[CaptainJ]

I think you forget the wealth of riches we have had as 'energy guys off the bench'. Freshman Grant, Freshman Carter-Williams, Sophomore Gbinije, Freshman Dejuan Coleman, Freshman Dion Waiters, etc. etc.

Sophomore Dion Waiters, too.

He might have been more talented than any of our starters this season.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Couple of things-

You have to give credit to the opponent. They defended very well, had some solid guard play and shot it well. Very disciplined team. Also that Luckett kid could do well at the D1 level.

Also , I love Tyus but it's funny the comments about how much we will hurt without him. I agree he is key but early in this game his decision making was awful. It quickly spread and everyone became obsessed shooting jumpers and gambling. He is important but he also has to set the tone.

I see no reason we shouldn't press frequently as already mentioned. I agree that teams with better guards will fair well but having two legit shot blockers and being able to speed teams up equals better offense. The team responds well and the kids seem to genuinely prefer to play this style of defense.

Give credit to a Division 2 direction team from Connecticut ? There is literally nothing such a team should be able to do to prevent us from having our way with them

 

[IthacaMatt]

One other thought. Every minute that Battle is on the bench this year is going to feel like an eternity.

I think Battle is going to force a lot of bad shots early. He was 4-13 deep into the second half last night. I think we're going to see a lot of those, especially early in the year. The ball moved pretty well when it was second unit guys during the second half. Reasons for hope there.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I'm getting really sick of having to hold on for dear life to preserve our >.500 streak.

 

[orangecuse]

Was going to make the same general point. These players are typical Syracuse players, but they're all being asked to play way over their skis this year.

In a typical year:
Battle is a 1a or #2 option.
Frank is a backup PG.
Brissett is the energy guy off the bench.
Sidibe is the .5 in a 7.5 rotation
Chuckwu / Moyer are 9th / 10th guys.
Marek redshirts
And we never go after Thorpe.

I am not kidding or exaggerating when I say the first half tonight was the worst BB ever played by a JB team when you consider the competition.

That press is going to have to become a fixture, because we suck in a half court structure.

I like what I see in Brissette, Sidibe and Marek. Washington and Moyer are program guys. Battle is a stud. Frank "is what he is". Somehow have to cobble together enough wins to keep that .500 winning streak alive.

Im seriously worried about losing Friday. No game is a gimme this year.

Couldn't agree more, especially with Frank being "what he is." And, that is not a point guard at this level. The biggest improvement I was hoping to see from Frank was in his handle. And, from what I've observed in these two exhibitions is that he's made no progress and it's still quite weak. His high unsteady dribbling will be there for the taking all season, especially against better guards/competition he'll see. He has the desired size to penetrate, but with such a poor handle, he knows he'll just get it stripped or turn it over.

Realizing this, other teams will continue to expose his significant weakness there, which will keep his confidence very low and why he'll continue to go East/West (same as Kaleb Joseph) vs. North/South. If we had a legit PG this year (Quade), this team, even with all it's flaws/greenness is much better with far more potential. I know in the past we've lost recruits that we really wanted badly, but I can't recall a recruit in recent memory that was more critical in landing/missing than Green.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Might as well tack this and rename it the "silver lining" thread. I think we'll be seeing a lot of posters looking for it throughout the season.

 

[Orangezoo]

Give credit to a Division 2 direction team from Connecticut ? There is literally nothing such a team should be able to do to prevent us from having our way with them

They played solid man to man and help defense and moved the ball well. They were at one time top 5 in the D2 rankings last year and are coached by a former rival. They came in fearless and had a couple players to go with it. So yeah they deserve some credit to go with our absolutely crapper of a first half. The 2nd half showed we have the ability and the tools but if we are going to have any success have to play smarter and take better shots.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Let’s be honest. Everyone is grasping for straws. This team is dreadful. They can’t and will not score in a half court game against anyone decent. This team has two decent players in Battle and Brissett. I can’t see anyone else even seeing the court on a good ACC team. Sidibe has potential and I was totally underwhelmed with Thorpe. Kaleb Joseph looked like an all ACC player compared to Thorpe. I know he isn’t healthy, but he looks out of control and he’s not the shooter I thought he was. He’s another dribble machine with no where to go. There is no one at the four or five spot that can score or even rebound. This team is physically weak with no leaders in sight. I hope I’m wrong, but I see this team losing 4-5 pre-ACC games and there’s no way they can win half of their ACC games. I wonder if there is anyone they can beat in the ACC. Pitt will be bad. They may be our only hope. BC’s backcourt will eat this team up. If JB can win with this team, he should be ACC coach of the year.

 

[JeremyCuse]

One other thought. Every minute that Battle is on the bench this year is going to feel like an eternity.

He and Brissett are going to play like 38 mins a game, by far the two best scorers on the team, the drop off after them is absolutely enormous.

 

[Todoubled23]

Let’s be honest. Everyone is grasping for straws. This team is dreadful. They can’t and will not score in a half court game against anyone decent. This team has two decent players in Battle and Brissett. I can’t see anyone else even seeing the court on a good ACC team. Sidibe has potential and I was totally underwhelmed with Thorpe. Kaleb Joseph looked like an all ACC player compared to Thorpe. I know he isn’t healthy, but he looks out of control and he’s not the shooter I thought he was. He’s another dribble machine with no where to go. There is no one at the four or five spot that can score or even rebound. This team is physically weak with no leaders in sight. I hope I’m wrong, but I see this team losing 4-5 pre-ACC games and there’s no way they can win half of their ACC games. I wonder if there is anyone they can beat in the ACC. Pitt will be bad. They may be our only hope. BC’s backcourt will eat this team up. If JB can win with this team, he should be ACC coach of the year.

Get some sleep buddy, it does the body/mind good.

 

[cuse10]

Taurean being tampered with is already showing its effects on the roster. This is a very young team. If you have National Championship expectations, check them at the door now. This is trial by fire for many of them. There isn't anyone coming off of the bench to save them. They will take their lumps and hopefully be a better team for it in 2018-19. If they make the NCAA Tournament, this will have been one of Boeheim's best coaching jobs.