What has Benny done to deserve...

[djcon57]

Marek is an offensive threat. Jesse is not. Gotta play Marek and live with his rebounding because he can score. Jesse is a non-factor on offense.

There’s a better example, but, you know...

 

[pearl31]

Ok. I think you’re wrong. Now what.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

Jimmy made back to back buckets last night that Benny has zero chances of making. He hit the corner three and then drove from the wing for a layup. Benny can’t make either play. Benny doesn’t rebound or finish. Jimmy gets lost on defense, but there’s no comparing their offensive games. Jr. had quite a few offensive out backs too. When do you ever see Benny anywhere near the rim? I hope Benny gets it’s together, but he’s too much of a gamble to play many minutes.

Jimmy is possibly the worst defender on the team. Saying a lot when buddy and joe are out there.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

I listened to Benny on the radio yesterday afternoon and he admitted he has to focus more at practice and play with more energy. Listening to him on the radio he sounded like someone with zero energy. He’s just not ready and he knows it.

He’s too nice of a kid!!! Gimme a break.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

A Coach with 50 years experience must have some idea how to get through to a player. JB is not stupid. I think the real reason that is obvious to all is not mentioned and being swept under the rug. And most of you know what I'm referring too.

Minute for minute played Jimmy has produced more than Benny, Bennys offense has been terrible, defense mediocre. Acknowledging that Jimmy has defensive failings, he still on balance outperforms Benny currently.

Why do we need 4 poor defenders on the court? Go with 3 and sacrifice a little offense at the 4

 

[Cstate]

I can see peoples point regarding his “athleticism” on the defensive end, even though it doesn’t seem to help him rebound the ball. He has had 3 great blocks on the season. However, the uproar over him not playing more is just crazy. He literally brings nothing but a flat shot on offense. Seth Greenberg said it best last night when talking about his game and his struggles when he said, “he hasn’t scored a field goal since January 8th”

 

[Newhouser]

Minute for minute played Jimmy has produced more than Benny, Bennys offense has been terrible, defense mediocre. Acknowledging that Jimmy has defensive failings, he still on balance outperforms Benny currently.

That is fair. Has Jimmy played well enough to get 35 a night is a different debate. No doubt Jimmy has outperformed Benny.

 

[SUbear]

you can acknowledge that Jimmy outperforms Benny and not think he should play 35 mins a game.

Jimmy “produces” in that he plays a lot of minutes on a 500 team.

The same way Kaleb Joseph produced when he started on a bad team

You are trying to project better play from Benny than he delivers. Neither player is your dream forward, but we have what we have and currently Jimmy is better, not great but better, ergo he deserves the greater minutes on the court.
Whether he deserves 35 a game is debatable, but this coach has always played the players he feels are best the most minutes and his success at doing this argues against your ascertion. I doubt coach is going to change his long standing, and usually successful motis operandi.

 

[djcon57]

You are trying to project better play from Benny than he delivers.

I'm not. I'm looking at the defensive analytics. If you want to debate the numbers, I'll be glad to. Not interested in "you're not the coach" type talk though you displayed above, I'll pass

 

[TrickySU]

I'm not. I'm looking at the defensive analytics. If you want to debate the numbers, I'll be glad to. Not interested in "you're not the coach" type talk though you displayed above, I'll pass

Out of curiosity, why do you only bring up the defensive analytics? Plus, I'd argue a current DBPM of 0.1 isn't out of this world compared to others.

His BPM is -4.5...Negative...Apparently anything under -2 is an end-of-bench player.

These analytics are flawed in ways too. That's why I caution using them too much.

 

[djcon57]

Out of curiosity, why do you only bring up the defensive analytics? Plus, I'd argue a current DBPM of 0.1 isn't out of this world compared to others.

His BPM is -4.5...Negative...Apparently anything under -2 is an end-of-bench player.

These analytics are flawed in ways too. That's why I caution using them too much.

Because the head coach said we lose because our defense.

Jim Boeheim on Syracuse's Defense: 'It's 100% Responsible For Our Record'

Defensive issues have been at the center of Syracuse basketball's losses this season.

www.si.com

 

[TrickySU]

I think you have a solid argument here, but I don’t think people want to listen (Though I was encouraged by Benny’s energy and play on Saturday and JB saying something seems to have clicked in practice.) So…you say Benny came in with too high of expectations and was seen as an instant contributor. What did the coaching staff think? Did they think he’d be an instant contributor? If they did, that makes me really question their evaluation skills. If not, why in the heck did they not get another forward out of the portal or tell Braswell that he if come back he could start? Or tell Q that it was very unlikely that Benny would be ready as a freshman? The off season roster mismanagement is just so stunning.

I think roster management is obviously a disappointment with this staff. I think JB mentioned that on his show Thursday. He has nobody to blame but himself for that. I will say though, he told Quincy that he would be an All-American here, but Q still left. Sometimes things are just out of a staff's control. The biggest mismanagement for me was Kadary. This team is so different with a guy like that who can create and actually beat guys off the dribble. Whatever the reason, it's too bad this staff couldn't keep him. Sounds like maybe someone was in his ear either way, but that's the biggest miss in my mind for this staff. Or at least a big missing piece.

The truth is, the portal reality and transfers are something this staff has to adjust better to moving forward no matter what.

 

[SUbear]

It's hard to compare the two when the playing time has been so lopsided. I think that with more time on the court, Benny would settle in and be much more productive than he currently is. I believe that he would give us something different than what Jimmy is providing. That is my believe after watching a ton of him in high school. It doesn't make me right. We wouldn't know unless it happened. People saying that Benny gives us nothing is ridiculous. Watch how he moves on defense and tell me you don't see a difference between he and the other forwards. That pull up jumper is almost there. He had a horrible hitch in it, but the last one he shot looked pretty good. And, he can get it pretty much anytime he wants. It can become a weapon. He is getting close, and with every minute he plays he gets closer. It's a tough call in close games, but when guys need a breather, then get him in for a couple of minutes. There are plenty of other guys to take shots. You tell Benny to get out there and play hard for a few minutes, concentrate on defense and rebounding and if you get an offensive rebound go for the putback.

Not sure what Benny you have been watching, but he is not playing good defense either. Jimmy is giving us everything he has, and yes he has his liabilities. Benny will not currently increase our ratio of winning, sorry I too wish we had better choices but we do not.
I do agree Benny should get better, the question is when. Expectations for him were way too high given his skillset, athleticism is not enough at this level.

 

[TrickySU]

Because the head coach said we lose because our defense.

Jim Boeheim on Syracuse's Defense: 'It's 100% Responsible For Our Record'

Defensive issues have been at the center of Syracuse basketball's losses this season.

www.si.com

But Benny hasn't been outstanding on defense either. And the analytics show he's a huge liability on offense. I wouldn't go so far to say that, but the analytics do. I'm not even sure what his best defensive analytic is at this point.

 

[Alsacs]

Give Benny 30 minutes in a game and see how much better our defense would be.

I just can’t wait for change. Not more of the same.

 

[djcon57]

But Benny hasn't been outstanding on defense either. And the analytics show he's a huge liability on offense. I wouldn't go so far to say that, but the analytics do. I'm not even sure what his best defensive analytic is at this point.

Maybe reread the thread and notice the 0.0 for Jimmy, start there.

 

[TrickySU]

Maybe reread the thread and notice the 0.0 for Jimmy, start there.

Benny isn't so much better though. That's the problem. Would he be a slight improvement defensively in some ways? Sure. But he doesn't rebound the ball well and still finds himself not in the best positions (Which was better these last two games...Something I'll address in another post I'm writing now).

 

[Cuse_NYC]

When you become coach you should follow your opinion. Everyone has one.

It ain’t just me

 

[SUbear]

I'm not. I'm looking at the defensive analytics. If you want to debate the numbers, I'll be glad to. Not interested in "you're not the coach" type talk though you displayed above, I'll pass

Lets just acknowledge that neither player is our ideal defensive forward, and part of our problem and theirs is that the other players on the team also have defensive failings, which tend to compound our and their overall defensive lapses.
If you think Benny is much better defensively I do not know what to tell you.

 

[SUbear]

It ain’t just me

True, difference is I am not trying to change the coaching philosophy, you are.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

True, difference is I am not trying to change the coaching philosophy, you are.

Philosophy? I’m not saying change the stupid zone, although I should be. I’m saying let other personnel have a chance.

 

[djcon57]

Lets just acknowledge that neither player is our ideal defensive forward, and part of our problem and theirs is that the other players on the team also have defensive failings, which tend to compound our and their overall defensive lapses.
If you think Benny is much better defensively I do not know what to tell you.

Neither forward is ideal to be a starter on a winning team. I agree on that.

Also agree on the second point for sure. There's shaky parts of the zone all around except for Jesse.

The last point...Benny is better defensively than Jimmy. I can point to specific stats that suggest this. What's your opinion based on?

 

[Wrinkle]

Benny is just awful right now. I'm just hoping he turns into a player of any kind

 

[TrickySU]

Lets just acknowledge that neither player is our ideal defensive forward, and part of our problem and theirs is that the other players on the team also have defensive failings, which tend to compound our and their overall defensive lapses.
If you think Benny is much better defensively I do not know what to tell you.

And I would argue that the defensive failings with the guards is the most important thing defensively. They're bad at identifying and spacing out to shooters. And they allow too much dribble penetration. Just watched Joe let an NC State player drive right along side him to the block to make a pass to a post player for an And 1 after Frank stepped up to help.

Why was our defense so much better in the second half against Wake Forest? A big reason was the tipped passes and correct positioning of the guards. It has always made a major difference in this defense.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

And I would argue that the defensive failings with the guards is the most important thing defensively. They're bad at identifying and spacing out to shooters. And they allow too much dribble penetration. Just watched Joe let an NC State player drive right along side him to the block to make a pass to a post player for an And 1 after Frank stepped up to help.

Why was our defense so much better in the second half against Wake Forest? A big reason was the tipped passes and correct positioning of the guards. It has always made a major difference in this defense.

Buddy and Jimmy often give up on plays defensively and watch the opposition score. Only to see Jim find a way to yell at another player for their lack of effort.