What JB is doing with Scoop

[TheRoyalIveyFund]

A lot of comments/complaints about what JB is doing not having BT in at the end. I would also much rather have BT and Dion in at the end but my guess is that JB is playing for March right now. Yes, JB wants to win now but he knows he needs Scoop for March. If Scoop continues to play poorly and JB sits him for extended mins, Scoop might regress more so than he has. As it is, he's a 5th year Senior making Frosh mistakes, momentum killers, four point swing plays. Who of us didn't say, after seeing scoop pull up and start to shoot the 1 and 4 jumper, "he's getting pulled".

If Scoop didn't play the mins he did at the end against both Prov and Marq, the distribution of mins would have been about 64 for BT/Dion, 16 for Scoop. For one game, not a huge deal. However, if it continued, I think JB fears that going forward, bad Scoop being more the norm than good. That said, as we get to the March, make no mistake, BT and Dion will be closing games.

This trip to Philly is coming at the right time as Scoop needs the boost. Last year, he played real well back in Philly. Hopefully we see the same.

I would love to see the Philly crowd turn out like they did last year, or two year's ago...almost felt like a home game.

 

[pfister1]

It would be unlike JB to make in game decisions based on anything but giving us the best chance to win the game at hand, but if he is I give him additional kudos for evolving on yet another front this year. Long bench, deep rotation and thinking beyond the game at hand.

 

[zeekay]

I didn't care about end of game frankly. Not pulling Scoop in first half in favor of MCW was astonishing. Scoop played terrible, and if JB wanted to rest BT, then MCW should have been in.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

So wait...5 years isn't enough to realize Scoop just is what he is? Doesn't matter how many mins you play him. He is our version of Russian Roulette...every play he has the ball in his hands. Nothing has changed, nothing will change.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

A lot of comments/complaints about what JB is doing not having BT in at the end. I would also much rather have BT and Dion in at the end but my guess is that JB is playing for March right now. Yes, JB wants to win now but he knows he needs Scoop for March. If Scoop continues to play poorly and JB sits him for extended mins, Scoop might regress more so than he has. As it is, he's a 5th year Senior making Frosh mistakes, momentum killers, four point swing plays. Who of us didn't say, after seeing scoop pull up and start to shoot the 1 and 4 jumper, "he's getting pulled".

If Scoop didn't play the mins he did at the end against both Prov and Marq, the distribution of mins would have been about 64 for BT/Dion, 16 for Scoop. For one game, not a huge deal. However, if it continued, I think JB fears that going forward, bad Scoop being more the norm than good. That said, as we get to the March, make no mistake, BT and Dion will be closing games.

This trip to Philly is coming at the right time as Scoop needs the boost. Last year, he played real well back in Philly. Hopefully we see the same.

I would love to see the Philly crowd turn out like they did last year, or two year's ago...almost felt like a home game.

I am having a difficult time understanding have Scoop in late. It doesn't seem like typical JB. And I don't want to see Scoop in there at the end closing out meaningful games in March. Not when you have the option of Triche.

It does seem like a good move for harmony of the team and distribution of minutes. But it seems if that was his goal, which is hard for me to believe, he could have arranged it differently, and still had BT in at the end.

But, to me, it seems like BT is the headier, steadier, player. Along with the better free throw shooter. BT's demeanor seems custom fit for end of game situations. A thinking man, unflappable, with a good ft%, normally just the kind of guy JB wants on the court down the stretch. While Scoop seems a little out of it at times, seemingly not knowing time/shot situations. Also his FT% is still pathetic.

If you think BT will be in the end of games at the end of the season, why not give him the experience now to close out opponents?

 

[TheRoyalIveyFund]

I am having a difficult time understanding have Scoop in late. It doesn't seem like typical JB. And I don't want to see Scoop in there at the end closing out meaningful games in March. Not when you have the option of Triche.

It does seem like a good move for harmony of the team and distribution of minutes. But it seems if that was his goal, which is hard for me to believe, he could have arranged it differently, and still had BT in at the end.

But, to me, it seems like BT is the headier, steadier, player. Along with the better free throw shooter. BT's demeanor seems custom fit for end of game situations. A thinking man, unflappable, with a good ft%, normally just the kind of guy JB wants on the court down the stretch. While Scoop seems a little out of it at times, seemingly not knowing time/shot situations. Also his FT% is still pathetic.

If you think BT will be in the end of games at the end of the season, why not give him the experience now to close out opponents?

I think we're all on the same page. It's uncharacteristic of JB to not play the absolute best person at the moment to win that specific game, even if it's game one vs Colgate, LeMoyne, etc. Also, I think we all agree with your paragraph that BT is all of those things. He will not do a crazy pass off someone's head, is shooting 35% or whatever better from the line, etc . Personally, I would also want BT in the end of the game now, next week and two months from now. But, this is conjecture on why JB is doing this (I don't buy his answer from the press conf about why Scoop played late), not should he be doing it.

JB is a smart guy, what else can we conclude? He has to be doing this to get Scoop somewhat happy/focused/ready for the late season gaunlet and March and keeping the mins somewhat equally distributed. Zeekay wondered why MCW didn't get more time in the first half for Scoop? I think most of us wanted Scoop out too. So why didn't he put in MCW? It has to go back to keeping Scoop happy and distributing mins. Otherwise, Dion and BT would be getting the bulk of the mins.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

I think we're all on the same page. It's uncharacteristic of JB to not play the absolute best person at the moment to win that specific game, even if it's game one vs Colgate, LeMoyne, etc. Also, I think we all agree with your paragraph that BT is all of those things. He will not do a crazy pass off someone's head, is shooting 35% or whatever better from the line, etc . Personally, I would also want BT in the end of the game now, next week and two months from now. But, this is conjecture on why JB is doing this (I don't buy his answer from the press conf about why Scoop played late), not should he be doing it.

JB is a smart guy, what else can we conclude? He has to be doing this to get Scoop somewhat happy/focused/ready for the late season gaunlet and March and keeping the mins somewhat equally distributed. Zeekay wondered why MCW didn't get more time in the first half for Scoop? I think most of us wanted Scoop out too. So why didn't he put in MCW? It has to go back to keeping Scoop happy and distributing mins. Otherwise, Dion and BT would be getting the bulk of the mins.

Why is JB doing this? Good question. Since I don't think it is to develop Scoop for the March run, I have to come up with another reason. I can only think it is to keep harmony. But not really with Scoop, but with Dion. A happy Scoop will go a long way for a happy Dion. That's all I can come up with right now.

He never cared about Scoop's ego before. Many considered Scoop the better player 2 years ago when he came off the bench for BT, yet JB never started him. But you do have to be careful with Dion, he is part head case, and you can't have him lose focus. You don't want Scoop badmouthing and being a debbie downer around Dion or things could unravel quick, ala the Flynn/Harris man to man debacle.

As for MCW, I think the quick pressure oriented guard teams are when he is not going to play. I think that is a big MCW weakness that JB is not going to fix via hard knocks experience at this stage, when he doesn't have to. So, against Marq or L'ville type teams I don't expect to see much of MCW this year.

I just can't really explain it. My attempt above seems a stretch. But managing these egos would be tough and will be a big part of the job as multiple McDs start coming in.

 

[realorange]

I believe MCW did not get minutes simply because JB did not want to expose him to the aggressive pressure Marquette was using. While he is a good ball handler, he might not be strong enough to handle that type of defense.

 

[SoBristol]

Why is JB doing this? Good question. Since I don't think it is to develop Scoop for the March run, I have to come up with another reason. I can only think it is to keep harmony. But not really with Scoop, but with Dion. A happy Scoop will go a long way for a happy Dion. That's all I can come up with right now.

He never cared about Scoop's ego before. Many considered Scoop the better player 2 years ago when he came off the bench for BT, yet JB never started him. But you do have to be careful with Dion, he is part head case, and you can't have him lose focus. You don't want Scoop badmouthing and being a debbie downer around Dion or things could unravel quick, ala the Flynn/Harris man to man debacle.

As for MCW, I think the quick pressure oriented guard teams are when he is not going to play. I think that is a big MCW weakness that JB is not going to fix via hard knocks experience at this stage, when he doesn't have to. So, against Marq or L'ville type teams I don't expect to see much of MCW this year.

I just can't really explain it. My attempt above seems a stretch. But managing these egos would be tough and will be a big part of the job as multiple McDs start coming in.

Or JB has seen Scoop have strong stretches of play; and same for BT. So, unlike some on this board, he believes starters's minutes for both is a winning formula.
I agree that JB is going to work MCW in by playing him in situations where he is more likely to have success. JB actually does know what he is doing -- giving Christmas a chance to get his feet wet (first 3 minutes every game); giving MCW an opportunity in the first half.
His starting line-up is working; in the second half, he typically pulls Scoop in favor of Dion; brings Scoop back in for BT at around the 10 or 12 minute mark; then closes out the game with one of his pairings, depending on game situations. (I know it is not always the same formula -- but he is rotating the guards to keep each of the three involved.)
It does make sense to use BT when the opponent is sure to foul in the backcourt; JB didn't do that against Providence, and I agree that was puzzling but it is a judgment call, and his way worked. He explained after Marq that he wanted the two guards who could best handle the ball and make individual moves under pressure. Guess what -- it worked out. BT has many positive skills -- beating a tough Marq defender with his dribble isn't his strength.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

The big head scratcher for me is that JB normally wants a good free throw shooter with the ball in his hands at the end of a tight game.

That aside, I think there is too much microanalysis of this situation. If I'm not mistaken, BT and Dion played together in late game situations earlier in the year. I thought that went well but JB obviously feels more comfortable with a Scoop/Dion pairing for whatever reason...game-specific matchups or whatever.

JB runs the show and we're 17-0. I'm not going to second guess it because he is obviously looking at and looking for different things than I am.

 

[DoctorBombay]

I was flabbergasted as to why we didn't see MCW- it just didn't make sense, IMO.
Yes, Marquette is great at applying pressure, but thats why you put the kid in when we're up 20, to ease him into the game atmosphere.
MCW is a player, & I'd rather he struggle against Marquette's press in January, than we need him in March & he's a lost puppy.
Bad Scoop is just a disaster waiting to happen. After that 1-on-4 jumper he took, he shoulda got yanked & MCW given the reigns.
The guy is a senior- what exactly are we hoping to find out about him now?

 

[Garbs]

I thought JB was pretty clear on why he did it, because he thinks Scoop moves the ball more and gets others involved

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

Some interesting thoughts here, I tend to side with the keeping-the-troops-happy theory myself.

 

[arbitragegls]

This is not about which guard is better...for me it is which guard is better during a specific game. Each of our 3 guards has played good games and not so good...but this game Scoop was way down compared to Waiters and Triche...and MCW didnt get in even in first qtr...that being case, Scoop should not have been in the final 5 minutes of this game--there were and will be games he should be in----but keeping minutes even is frightening as a reason...keeping everyone happy (except a Frosh?) makes more sense...team chemistry appears good so maybe that is the reason...otherwise, I do not buy JBs ball movement and stability as the reason...unless he means that 6 TOs and few assts is what this team needed this game.....ugh

 

[br801]

This is not about which guard is better...for me it is which guard is better during a specific game. Each of our 3 guards has played good games and not so good...but this game Scoop was way down compared to Waiters and Triche...and MCW didnt get in even in first qtr...that being case, Scoop should not have been in the final 5 minutes of this game--there were and will be games he should be in----but keeping minutes even is frightening as a reason...keeping everyone happy (except a Frosh?) makes more sense...team chemistry appears good so maybe that is the reason...otherwise, I do not buy JBs ball movement and stability as the reason...unless he means that 6 TOs and few assts is what this team needed this game.....ugh

Mid-way through the second half I saw Triche shaking out his right hand. Perhaps he got banged on the thumb and re-aggravated the injury, and JB thought he could get through the rest of the game without him.

 

[arbitragegls]

Mid-way through the second half I saw Triche shaking out his right hand. Perhaps he got banged on the thumb and re-aggravated the injury, and JB thought he could get through the rest of the game without him.

..I noted that also...he was shaking his hand...also his father said he hoped it would get better quicker..maybe the reason...in that case JB is smart for not saying anything about it

 

[General20]

I see several posts that imply Jardine has had a string of bad games. I dont see that as the case. Jardine had one bad game against Marquette. Other than that you have to go back to the very beginning of the year (Virginia Tech maybe) to find the last bad game Scoop had.

We know that Triche has been playing great lately, and we know he was definitely better than Scoop in the Marquette game. We know that Triche is our best free throw shooter. We also know that Triche is banged up. My guess is Boeheim knew going into the game that Triche would not close it out because of injury, or that Triche's injury was aggravated in some way during the game.

I thought during the Providence game that Triche had to be hurt to not play because they were intentionally fouling us for about two straight minutes. Marquette did not foul us for as long or as vigorously as Providence did, so I'm not sure Triche's absence is such a big deal. Yes, Jardine had a bad game (a very bad game, actually) but I'm not sure Boeheim was wrong to put him out there and not give him a chance to turn it around considering how consistently good Jardine has been all year.

As for Carter-Williams, he is the fourth guard in a three guard rotation. The reason three guards is optimal is because guards need consistent playing time to get into the flow of the game. A turnover or two by Jardine should not be the cue to pull him for a freshman in a game as big as Marquette was. Expect Carter-Williams to get very limited minutes from here on out, not because he does not deserve them, but because the three guys ahead of him are very good, experienced, and leading us to a 17-0 season, so far.