We can be an elite defensive team

[Cusefan0307]

It’s Cornell, but we were impressive tonight. We need to be elite defensively if we are going to be good. Much better performance today than what we had against the division 2 teams. Not many turnovers either. Also we covered the spread by a ton. Great call you negative nellies.

 

[OrangeDW]

Return of the “bug eyes”, as Duany famously called it after the Oklahoma game in ‘03!

 

[Brooky03]

We can be and we have to be if we want any success this year

 

[OttoMets]

I'm sold. Lots of potential and even more "want to" from our players. Fun to watch.

Though we did seem baffled by those backdoor cuts. And Cornell might be horrible.

 

[Dave85]

It’s Cornell, but we were impressive tonight. We need to be elite defensively if we are going to be good. Much better performance today than what we had against the division 2 teams. Not many turnovers either. Also we covered the spread by a ton. Great call you negative nellies.

Regardless of 2-3 zone or M2M, defense requires an insane mentality and desire to "shut them down". I think we've been missing the shut 'em down edge the last few years. It would be nice to see us developed a true shut-em-down defense this season. Ten years ago there were some defenses that went to the BET that would breathtakingly amazing! I want see that again in March!

Team defense beats 5-star players.

 

[AZOrange]

I like the pieces. Not all great but some b-ball players. Love defense

 

[moqui]

unadjusted defensive efficiency was 79.8 tonight, which is terrific regardless of the opponent

 

[Cusesky8214]

It’s Cornell, but we were impressive tonight. We need to be elite defensively if we are going to be good. Much better performance today than what we had against the division 2 teams. Not many turnovers either. Also we covered the spread by a ton. Great call you negative nellies.

Oh c'mon! Now you just got your Orange shades on! Don't you know we are the 3rd best team in NY state and we are for sure NIT bound after 2 exhibition games and according to most pro board analyst this is the worst JB team ever assembled! You my friend drank too much of the Orange koolaid tonight!

 

[Trueblue25]

Washington and thorpe were looking very good at the top of the zone

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

This team has all the pieces to be an elite defense. Marek and Sidibe are really good defenders especially considering they are freshman. Moyer and Brissett look strong rebounding. The three guards look very active at the top. They had better be good at defense because offense may be a struggle.

 

[Dave85]

Oh c'mon! Now you just got your Orange shades on! Don't you know we are the 3rd best team in NY state and we are for sure NIT bound after 2 exhibition games and according to most pro board analyst this is the worst JB team ever assembled! You my friend drank too much of the Orange koolaid tonight!

I'm nowhere near Orange drunk right now. I was so Orange drunk a few years ago. But not with this team. The ACC teams just have way too high of a caliber of talent. The ACC games are going to be really tough.

However, the exhibition games and this game give me hope that when March rolls around with outstanding defense we just might squeeze out 16 to 18 wins. If this team becomes a bubble team it will be quite an achievement. If this team makes the tournament it will be pure gravy.

Defense is the ticket.

 

[310Pigpen]

Well if it's going to be a defensive team this year I hope we have rowdy crowds at home to aid that defense when the opponent is on offense.

 

[pearl31]

so much further along than last year at this point in season - Chukwu showed tonight (yep, only Cornell) he can be a real presence while staying out of foul trouble

 

[moqui]

so much further along than last year at this point in season - Chukwu showed tonight (yep, only Cornell) he can be a real presence while staying out of foul trouble

jury still out there, imho. cornell is perimeter oriented - took more than half their shots from beyond the arc; not a true test of our centers. i believe they'll be able to spread their 10 fouls out over 40 minutes against most teams, but tonight wasn't the opponent to prove that.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I like the defensive prowess, improvement, and potential. This was not a very good Cornell team, IMO. They just passed it around and didn’t attack very much. In some aspects, that team with Wallace’s kid looked better. Certainly quicker. VWe gotta pump the breaks with this elite defensive team business until after Iona, Oakland, etc.

 

[AZOrange]

jury still out there, imho. cornell is perimeter oriented - took more than half their shots from beyond the arc; not a true test of our centers. i believe they'll be able to spread their 10 fouls out over 40 minutes against most teams, but tonight wasn't the opponent to prove that.

Bourama is a freakin animal in there. Relentless

 

[AZOrange]

This team has all the pieces to be an elite defense. Marek and Sidibe are really good defenders especially considering they are freshman. Moyer and Brissett look strong rebounding. The three guards look very active at the top. They had better be good at defense because offense may be a struggle.

I’m trying to figure out. Seems like the 4 yearguy I always want to be a star but never quite makes it. I hope I’m wrong. I’m trying to understand why he looks so out of shape. Iommi any insight.

 

[NateW]

Agree with the OP...

Sidibe and Chukwu were covering to the corners extremely well. Very reminiscent of BMK, which is definitely a good thing. This is the action that gives the zone that amoeba-like effect. It allows the wings to be more aggressive out to the 3-point line. Instead of a 2-3 zone it can become a 4-1 zone. These are good signs for the first game of the season.

Aesthetically there was a stark difference at the top of the zone compared to last year. Every guard is big and every guard was extremely active last night - Frank, Battle, Thorpe, Washington. Last years team was extremely frustrating compared to the teams of the last 8-9 years, they didn't want to play defense. Finally some guys with some want-to. I was impressed with Washington's quick hands defensively - he's going to get a lot of steals in Orange.

On the wing Moyer was also noticeably active. He is an odd player. He passes the look test to be an Orange wing, but he is not supremely gifted athletically. However he seems to understand his assignments and made a few steals by being solid in positioning. His commitment to rebounding was noticeable. From everything I've read he bleeds Orange and is committed to hard work. Excited to have him on as a 4-year program player. Brisset and Marek also seem more interested defensively and on the boards than any wing from last years team. It will get tougher in the ACC but again, I like the want-to.

Those were just some quick defensive thoughts...

Overall, I like the potential of this team. I was nervous about what I'd see after reading the exhibition reports. I see pieces of a TEAM. I like that we have some guys that want to go toward the basket. It's so hard for teams that rely on the jumper to be consistent. Hopefully this team can rely on defense and getting to the hoop. I think that's a more consistent construct for a successful team. Excited to see how this team develops and excited for the next game!

Go Orange!

 

[pearl31]

jury still out there, imho. cornell is perimeter oriented - took more than half their shots from beyond the arc; not a true test of our centers. i believe they'll be able to spread their 10 fouls out over 40 minutes against most teams, but tonight wasn't the opponent to prove that.

hear what you're saying but smaller guys can cause even more unnecessary fouling than a bigger team - both Bourama and Paschal did a fine job last night of playing big, blocking shots without fouling (same can't be said for Dolezaj, Brissett, and Battle) - so I'd still say that, yes, last night did prove something - last year in those games against similar smaller teams he played before his eye injury Chukwu was racking up all kinds of bad fouls

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

Return of the “bug eyes”, as Duany famously called it after the Oklahoma game in ‘03!

Bookmarking this photo for my Kaleb Joseph lookalike in case we ever play Creighton.

 

[OrangeDW]

Bookmarking this photo for my Kaleb Joseph lookalike in case we ever play Creighton.

Lol! Wow. Cold, but hilarious and accurate. It’s from the Tribe Called Quest video for the song “Buggin Out”.

 

[kmart128]

This could be Jim's best rebounding team ever. Moyer and Marek seem like typical players that can do all the small things like fighting for rebounds. Our Guards Battle and Frank rebound very well. Oshae seems to box out well. And of course Sidibe and Chukwu are both big guys that have some jumping abilities.

 

[dasher]

This could be Jim's best rebounding team ever. Moyer and Marek seem like typical players that can do all the small things like fighting for rebounds. Our Guards Battle and Frank rebound very well. Oshae seems to box out well. And of course Sidibe and Chukwu are both big guys that have some jumping abilities.

We had a front court of Leron Ellis, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens. All first round picks. This will not be his best rebounding team.

 

[kmart128]

We had a front court of Leron Ellis, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens. All first round picks. This will not be his best rebounding team.

Best might be the wrong words. I meant most fundamentally sound rebounding team. Something about the way this team boxes out seems different than all the other teams. Both Dolezaj and Moyer seem to fit that Ongenaet mold of scrappy and just does their job well. And the way Frank comes in and grabs boards was super impressive as well

 

[Sherman20]

I'm nowhere near Orange drunk right now. I was so Orange drunk a few years ago. But not with this team. The ACC teams just have way too high of a caliber of talent. The ACC games are going to be really tough.

However, the exhibition games and this game give me hope that when March rolls around with outstanding defense we just might squeeze out 16 to 18 wins. If this team becomes a bubble team it will be quite an achievement. If this team makes the tournament it will be pure gravy.

Defense is the ticket.

I don’t agree that there’s that big a talent differential. Sure, Duke, Miami and Louisville are more talented. Other mid pack teams, though, simply have more experience, not talent. Florida State and Wake do not have more talent. Even UVA and Va Tech aren’t oozing talent. They just have more experience. As for VA Tech, if Chris Clarke is slow to recover well from his ACL injury, they’re not going to be as good as people think. And UNC lost a crap ton of size from last year.