Wednesday @ Louisville -- Frank Howard national coming out party

[jdubs30]

Does anyone think Frank will be huge on Wednesday? Ville will no doubt try to press us, especially with our lack of depth. G and Trev are decent ball handlers, but both struggle against heavy ball pressure. Howard is clearly our best ball handler and has shown tremendous vision (with a few freshman mistakes, but it happens). With Ville pressing, I think Frank will see a lot of -- the thing with the press is if you get by the first guy, it essentially becomes a transition situation; I can already see Frankie sprinting up court with open shooters on the wings or a big down low ready for a dish.

As long as he plays decent D and stays in the game, I think he will have a big impact. We don't really want G/Trev handling the ball 40 minutes vs. that pressure.

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

I hope we do, but I think Malachi will also be helpful against the press.

 

[Jasoncuse]

I don't he's our best ball handler and I don't think he's going to handle pressure well. His handle is rather weak and he exposes the ball to the defender a bit too much. Maybe, he'll buckle down in this one, but his lack of any kind of scoring threat is not going to help us in a game that it may be tough to score.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I still have trouble getting excited about guards that are not outside shooters.

 

[Cowtown]

The key to beating ball pressure is, and has always been, passing the ball. The problem is trying to hang onto it long enough to find the open player.

 

[RF2044]

I don't he's our best ball handler and I don't think he's going to handle pressure well. His handle is rather weak and he exposes the ball to the defender a bit too much. Maybe, he'll buckle down in this one, but his lack of any kind of scoring threat is not going to help us in a game that it may be tough to score.

I tend to agree. Huge Howard fan, but I think people got dazzled by that one slick ball handling maneuver he had about 8 games ago and expect that to be the norm. In actuality, his handle is still developing, and he's shaky with the ball at times--especially against pressure. Some of the hyperbole feels like backup QB syndrome being expressed.

 

[Cusefan0307]

When Duke pressured him, he didn't look good.

Need to pass through the pressure, or be strong with the ball. Remember Triche brought it up down in Louisville in 2013, because MCW struggled against the pressure.

I think we might see a similar scenario with Malachi tomorrow.

 

[Scotch]

I still have trouble getting excited about guards that are not outside shooters.

Really? Never got excited about Billy Edelin's impact on a game? It would be one thing if we didn't have shooters, but this team (and next year's team slightly less so) is strong there. We desperately need what Frank brings to the table, which is efficiently delivering the ball to guys where they can make plays. He's the straw the stirs the drink.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Really? Never got excited about Billy Edelin's impact on a game? It would be one thing if we didn't have shooters, but this team (and next year's team slightly less so) is strong there. We desperately need what Frank brings to the table, which is efficiently delivering the ball to guys where they can make plays. He's the straw the stirs the drink.

I think we need to pump the brakes on Howard. For example, he's got 17 assists and 11 turnovers in ACC play, along with just 13 points (on 4-21 shooting). The minutes haven't been huge, but a few slick passes seem to be clouding everyone's view of him. He will be a nice player down the line, but it's really hard to see him being the key to beating Louisville's pressure based on what we've seen of him.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

I think we need to pump the brakes on Howard. For example, he's got 17 assists and 11 turnovers in ACC play, along with just 13 points (on 4-21 shooting). The minutes haven't been huge, but a few slick passes seem to be clouding everyone's view of him. He will be a nice player down the line, but it's really hard to see him being the key to beating Louisville's pressure based on what we've seen of him.

Point taken, but do you really want to see G ground down by the press for most of the game? If I remember correctly, Miami made his life miserable and he lost a lot of his offensive and defensive effectiveness accordingly.-VBOF

 

[Scotch]

I think we need to pump the brakes on Howard. For example, he's got 17 assists and 11 turnovers in ACC play, along with just 13 points (on 4-21 shooting). The minutes haven't been huge, but a few slick passes seem to be clouding everyone's view of him. He will be a nice player down the line, but it's really hard to see him being the key to beating Louisville's pressure based on what we've seen of him.

Agreed. My excitement is mostly forward-looking. The stuff you can't teach (vision, feel) is there, he just needs more game experience. Gonna be fun to watch him develop.

 

[donniesyracuse]

Really? Never got excited about Billy Edelin's impact on a game? It would be one thing if we didn't have shooters, but this team (and next year's team slightly less so) is strong there. We desperately need what Frank brings to the table, which is efficiently delivering the ball to guys where they can make plays. He's the straw the stirs the drink.

I was never a huge Edelin fan. I hated when he and Pace were in the same lineup. McNamara was the only guy teams had to worry about on the perimeter. I think the 04 and 05 teams were actually better without Edelin.

 

[Brooky03]

I'll say this, I'm more confident with Howard dribbling the ball against pressure than I am with Gbinije. In fact, the guy least likely to get straight up stripped is probably Cooney.

 

[orange79]

I still have trouble getting excited about guards that are not outside shooters.

Well, hopefully that is what Frankie works on this entire off-season. I have no doubt that is what JB will be talking about in his post-season meeting with FH. That, and NO FLOATERS!

 

[OttoMets]

I was never a huge Edelin fan. I hated when he and Pace were in the same lineup. McNamara was the only guy teams had to worry about on the perimeter. I think the 04 and 05 teams were actually better without Edelin.

 

[Cowtown]

I was never a huge Edelin fan. I hated when he and Pace were in the same lineup. McNamara was the only guy teams had to worry about on the perimeter. I think the 04 and 05 teams were actually better without Edelin.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, Of course, you were aware Edelin and Pace together scored 20 points in each of the '03 final 4 games ... :noidea:

 

[donniesyracuse]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, Of course, you were aware Edelin and Pace together scored 20 points in each of the '03 final 4 games ... :noidea:

Yes, but they were not on the floor together at all-times. Edelin and Pace were great when there were two other perimeter threats on the floor. In 2003, there was McNamara and Anthony.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I'll say this, I'm more confident with Howard dribbling the ball against pressure than I am with Gbinije. In fact, the guy least likely to get straight up stripped is probably Cooney.

Not sure about that but this just illustrates how insecure the guards are generally against good defense (not even talking press) like against Miami's guards.

Will Frank score outside of transition? I'll be happy with 10 minutes of steady play from him. He'll have a turnover or two but hopefully some assists.

 

[Nicknack]

I really like Howard (mostly his potential) and the fact that Boeheim is giving him as many minutes as he is. However, what I don't like is the fact that his shooting is a liability at this point. Boeheim clearly doesn't want him to shoot unless it's a layup. Whenever he is on the court, the other team knows that he isn't going to shoot and can let their D sag. What I've grown to love about this team this year and what makes us dangerous is that 4 guys (and arguably 5) could go off on any night. The points tend to come from all over thus making it tough for defenses. When Howard is out there, we have one less guy who can put the ball through the hoop. Yes, he can help with assists, but he also can hurt us with turnovers. Long story short... I like Howard but I'm not completely sold until I see him starting to make shots.