We need more from Naithan George

[Cusefan0307]

Stats on a mediocre team can be deceiving.

I think what we're seeing is that George is a little overrated. Great passer, great court vision -- so in transition, he excels. When we played the tomato cans early, he was able to push the ball, make exciting passes, and distribute the ball.

Against better teams -- especially the ones that got in his shorts defensively -- his lack of speed was a liability. He allowed those good defensive teams to bait him into dribbling into double teams where he often got trapped, and had to leave his feet to try to throw the ball back outside.

I'm disappointed by his inability to get into the paint. Needs to improve. And a big part of why we struggle to score so much in our half court offensive sets.

They can be, but having 11 and 12 assist games for Georgia Tech has to be difficult as they averaged less ppg than we did last year.

He also had some of his better games last year against Clemson(15/9)and Louisville(28/7) It wasn’t like he was beating up on BC. They won both of those games too.

 

[Sherman20]

They can be, but having 11 and 12 assist games for Georgia Tech has to be difficult as they averaged less ppg than we did last year.

He also had some of his better games last year against Clemson(15/9)and Louisville(28/7) It wasn’t like he was beating up on BC. They won both of those games too.

Yeah, I wonder if people haven’t looked at his GT stats or watched any of his GT games or highlights. This kid was able to get into the lane and score against good competition, and he shot from 3 point land well against good teams, too. As you pointed out, he scored 15 points and had 9 assists in a home win against Louisville, 28 points and 7 assists in a 3OT win AT Clemson, 28 points and 8 assists in a win over Cal, 20 points and 5 assists in a win at Virginia. He had 5 20-point games in February. Yes, it’s true that alot of his passing highlights came in transition and from lobs, but he also successfully ran lots of high pick and rolls. That said, he has not looked good so far this season, but I have to assume it’s just taking the kid time to adjust to a new team and new players. I just hope Red and the staff are doing everything they can to ease that adjustment for him and put him in a position to succeed. And they need to scheme to get him going over these next 5 games, because we need way more from him. Maybe he just needs to grow his big hair back in!

Naithan George 2024-25 Stats per Game - NCAAM - ESPN

The 2024-25 NCAAM season stats per game for Naithan George of the Syracuse Orange on ESPN. Includes full stats, per opponent, for regular and postseason.

www.espn.com

 

[OrangeFoo]

They can be, but having 11 and 12 assist games for Georgia Tech has to be difficult as they averaged less ppg than we did last year.

He also had some of his better games last year against Clemson(15/9)and Louisville(28/7) It wasn’t like he was beating up on BC. They won both of those games too.

I keep going back to the fact that he sets up basically at halfcourt by himself and the only help he gets is from Kyle who can't do anything with the ball that far from the hoop. I didn't watch GaTech at all last year, but I bet they had a lot of screens and other ways to scheme him open and/or give him driving lanes to the hoop. It makes no sense... when Anthony and Fennell are running the offense they get much deeper before setting up the offense. Why is he stopping so high up the court?

 

[tptcuse]

I keep going back to the fact that he sets up basically at halfcourt by himself and the only help he gets is from Kyle who can't do anything with the ball that far from the hoop. I didn't watch GaTech at all last year, but I bet they had a lot of screens and other ways to scheme him open and/or give him driving lanes to the hoop. It makes no sense... when Anthony and Fennell are running the offense they get much deeper before setting up the offense. Why is he stopping so high up the court?

I’m continually worried he will inadvertently get called for an over and back, he’s that close to the half court line.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Without Naithan George, we wouldn’t have won five effin’ games!

 

[MadNY3]

I think, unfortunately, that George is simply not particularly good. If he can hit a couple jumpers, throw a couple alley-oops and not turn the ball over it's a good game from him

Really? What do you make at what he did at Georgia Tech?

 

[RedtheGOB]

George was very streaky his last 2 years at Tech. Had some huge games against the top of the league and had some stinkers.

He's one of the guys I'm willing to wait on. He drew some of the best defending guards in the league these last 4 games and it showed.

Those defenses did everything to keep us in the half court and that's alot on the Point Guard for 4 games in a row. Tuesday night there were 2-3 times we were trying to run on a turnover and they just fouled us before we could run.

Gotta work on that position and build on it these next 5 games.

 

[Orangezoo]

George was very streaky his last 2 years at Tech. Had some huge games against the top of the league and had some stinkers.

He's one of the guys I'm willing to wait on. He drew some of the best defending guards in the league these last 4 games and it showed.

Those defenses did everything to keep us in the half court and that's alot on the Point Guard for 4 games in a row. Tuesday night there were 2-3 times we were trying to run on a turnover and they just fouled us before we could run.

Gotta work on that position and build on it these next 5 games.

Overall he hasn’t been the disappointment that some are taking from the box score. The poor shooting we have seen as a team has taken away from his assist numbers along with a few too many point blank misses of his own.

He was streaky for sure at GT. He also has been solid because of how he plays hard on both ends. He also clearly was developed into a system at GT which was something we knew and was called out pre season. Thus there is a learning curve offensively with a new team and a different system to where he can move past thinking and just play.

The turnovers and occasionally poor execution in the half court are frustrating but with that said we are better FT shooting and 3 pt shooting away from having at least 3 top 25 wins ( no idea who we get if we beat Houston and Kansas) with him running the show and without Donnie to boot.

 

[CardiacCuse]

George looks good against lesser athletes as he can pretty much get to where he wants to go. Against the better athletes on the teams we have been recently playing, his lack of athleticism begins to show. He gets cut off on drives and then gets stuck under the hoop. He has passes deflected from the top of the key area. He falls alot when dribbling under even medium pressure. He does have skill but that skill doesn't have a chance to be utilized against the top teams. I think he will be fine when we settle into bulk ACC play but his warts will again flare up (Gross) when we face the Dukes and Carolinas of the world.

it comes down to scheme and running plays that fit his strengths and weaknesses

vs athletic teams hes not gonna shine "freestyling", it appears

how the pick and roll is ran matters...i think the way the pnr has been executed thus far is poor. they arent putting any pressure on defenses and they dont run it very often. i suppose having freeman out hurts the pnr but kyle and white should be able to execute.

do they even run the pnr with white?? if so i havent noticed

pnr has to be about attacking. making the defense make a tough decision then punishing it. the offense is just too passive thus far.

george can shoot and has to take his shot when hes open.

a lot of times thus far the team passes up a good look early in the clock only to force a tough shot when the clock runs down. if you have a good shot take it.

also, overall, i think the team can beneift from more interior passing and passing in the paint. the bigs are good passers and that usually leads to a wide open dunk or shot when a big makes a pass. would like to see more postups and then the post player either going up to shoot or passing to a teammate. also if you run the pnr a bit better george can find space in the lane where he can be devastating.

the offense is just so predictable and doesnt have enough variety. way too much standing around. the guys are good players so they get shots but it could be so much better.

the offense should make it a goal to make defending this team DIFFICULT

the curent offensive schemes make defending this team SUPER EASY

 

[Newhouser]

Isn't the head guy at Tech a former legit, NBA player? Maybe he helped more than say Griff.

Only explanation I can think of because he's been dreadful here.

 

[Orangezoo]

Isn't the head guy at Tech a former legit, NBA player? Maybe he helped more than say Griff.

Only explanation I can think of because he's been dreadful here.

He’s had some offensive struggles but he’s still the second highest rated player overall while Donnie has been out per Evan Miya. Poor shooting has hurt his figures but honestly there is plenty of reason to still be bullish and I expect everyone will be pleased with his first season. Hopefully then that sets him up for a huge senior year and we have lots who run it back.

There has not been a team let alone a PG that’s faced 4 top 25 defenses back to back without their leading scorer.

This all makes me think of and miss SWC…I wonder in the Ken Pom era how many p5 teams (if any)have faced a four game slate like we did in Vegas and then with Tenn outside of the tourney…

 

[pearl31]

I think, unfortunately, that George is simply not particularly good. If he can hit a couple jumpers, throw a couple alley-oops and not turn the ball over it's a good game from him

this is a take right here

 

[Cusefan0307]

this is a take right here

Just doubling down on his offseason take that he wanted Desmond Claude instead.

 

[Orangezoo]

Just doubling down on his offseason take that he wanted Desmond Claude instead.

The same Claude shooting 31 pct from the field with 2.3 assists to 2.8 turnovers at UW.

 

[Orangezoo]

this is a take right here

I’ll say it’s a take somewhere between 3’11 and 4’8….

 

[sufan59]

Was watching a few highlights from Tuesday where he set things up that doesn’t get shown on the stat sheet. I’m hopeful we are going to look back at this thread by March and laugh. This is the kind of player that separates good and great teams apart by late season.

 

[Orangezoo]

Was watching a few highlights from Tuesday where he set things up that doesn’t get shown on the stat sheet. I’m hopeful we are going to look back at this thread by March and laugh. This is the kind of player that separates good and great teams apart by late season.

His impact and effort, despite some of the struggles is still a major positive so far this year. We need him to be better but he’s still been head and shoulders over Carlos because of his defense alone.