Where do we go from here? | Syracusefan.com

Where do we go from here?

heresjohnny88

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This might be a long rant, but hear me out.

The title of this thread sums up my thoughts about last night’s game. Where do we go from here? What are we as a program? I don’t mean to sound over the top, as if 1 game is somehow indicative of something larger. But that’s where I’m at. Been a Syracuse fan for a long time. Lived through the good years, the bad years, and everything in between. And I just can’t pinpoint who exactly we are right now.

Like it or not, the Dukes, the Carolinas, the UK’s of the world….they know what they are. High talent, high turnover.

I also look at a team like Michigan. They know what they are. They don’t recruit top talent (aside from a random 4-5 star here and there). Beilein’s system is designed to maximize talent + develop players. Virginia is a lot like that too (just without the March success). It's not like they are some blue blood and we are not. It's the opposite. So how did Michigan make the turn? While we've stalled?

This needs to be an inflection point. At some point, JB, the staff, ADJW, whoever…needs to take a long look at what we’re trying to be. I’m not sure JB is the right coach to do that. And that’s what I struggle with. I love JB, he’s done wonders for the program and the community, and deserves fair treatment on the way out, but at a certain point, with him as a coach, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Is he all of a sudden going to reinvent who we are at age 74? Fascinating dilemma for Wildhack. I'm afraid we'll have more of this until JB hangs it up, and then we'll see a reboot.

I watched last night mostly apathetic. It sucks feeling that way, because I’ve lived and died by every game for years. But these March runs recently have masked the fact that this is really what we are. A middling P5 program.

I wonder how we got here, and if it was bound to happen, or recruiting/sanctions/early defections have been the cumulative cause.

I know this post probably doesn’t add up to much, but that’s basically what I was thinking all 40 minutes last night. What are we? And where do we go from here?

Anyone else feeling similarly?
 
We’re in the late stages of JB’s career. Not much will change in terms of structure and strategy, but I’m sure JB will do everything in his power to make one more good run. Recruiting, however, is going to become more difficult as kids realize JB won’t be around for their entire career. That will become more noticeable rather soon. This incoming class and next year’s group will determine whether JB goes out with a whimper or a bang. After that, Wildhack has a huge decision.
 
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We’re in the late stages of JB’s career. Not much will change in terms of structure and strategy, but I’m sure JB will do everything in his powe mr to make one more good run. Recruiting, however, is going to become more difficult as kifs realize JB won’t be around for their entire career. That will become more noticeable rather soon. This incoming class and next year’s group will determine whether JB goes out with a whimper or a bang.

Pretty much agree. And I'm not trying to start a whole "fire JB" campaign. I just think it's reasonable to wonder if we're sort of stuck until he retires.
 
JB is on autopilot. Because of that things are more likely to get worse than stay the same until he retires.
 
We’re in the late stages of JB’s career. Not much will change in terms of structure and strategy, but I’m sure JB will do everything in his power to make one more good run. Recruiting, however, is going to become more difficult as kids realize JB won’t be around for their entire career. That will become more noticeable rather soon. This incoming class and next year’s group will determine whether JB goes out with a whimper or a bang. After that, Wildhack has a huge decision.

shouldnt matter to a few top 10 recruits.

my pitch is - Im picking YOU to help me in my final year coaching
 
shouldnt matter to a few top 10 recruits.

my pitch is - Im picking YOU to help me in my final year coaching[/
shouldnt matter to a few top 10 recruits.

my pitch is - Im picking YOU to help me in my final year coaching

That might work. But we rarely get involved with big-time recruits anymore. Our best chance is to build around this incoming class and hope we can make one more push in a few years.
 
shouldnt matter to a few top 10 recruits.

my pitch is - Im picking YOU to help me in my final year coaching

You would think we'd be going hard at the one-and-done guys at this point, as it would make the most sense for Boeheim and for our recruiting strategy given that they aren't worried about whether he retires after the next season. And yet...
 
Brycen Goodine 6-4 / 170 - shooting guard
Quincy Guerrier 6-7 / 190 - small forward
Joseph Girard 6-1 / 178 - combo guard
John Bol Ajak 6-10 / 205 - center

If Jalen Carey doesn't transfer I think the whole season could ride on his development as the point guard. If he leaves or flops I think we'll see Girard get a shot a point. I don't see Goodine playing point. I'm not sure what happens after the first two. Hope for Battle to return ? lol
 
Also the snow is finally melting. I want to enjoy the next 6-7 months of good weather we actually get here.
 
i think the game has simply passed jb by, and hes too old or stubborn (or both) to adapt. you simply cant rely on the zone anymore, its gonna give up 3s and now the game is all about the 3 point shot. yea youre gonna face some teams that shoot 4-20 from 3 and we all love the zone again, but far too often we're seeing a guy or a whole team go off from 3 against us and theres nothinh we can do about it. as jb says "they made shots". you cant play those percentages anymore.

and the pick and roll offense with bigs who have zero offensive game aint too smart either.
 
Where are these Carey transfer rumors coming from?
 
... and the pick and roll offense with bigs who have zero offensive game aint too smart either.

This baffles me. Everyone in North America knows Chukwu/SB isn't going to get the ball on that, so the defense hedges and ball handler gets chased farther out. It's a play destined to be one-against-two every time it's ran.

edit: Remember the old saw that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results?"
 
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Brycen Goodine 6-4 / 170 - shooting guard
Quincy Guerrier 6-7 / 190 - small forward
Joseph Girard 6-1 / 178 - combo guard
John Bol Ajak 6-10 / 205 - center

If Jalen Carey doesn't transfer I think the whole season could ride on his development as the point guard. If he leaves or flops I think we'll see Girard get a shot a point. I don't see Goodine playing point. I'm not sure what happens after the first two. Hope for Battle to return ? lol

Prediction: By December of next season, Goodine will be starting at PG and Girard at the 2.
 
Goodine has played more point than Carey did coming in.

He could very well be the point guard on his team but I don't know if I see that in highlights. He doesn't look like a kid who'll be running point for Syracuse. At least not what I envision as a PG, he's more a combo guard who can share duties.

Compare - Edelin, Gerry, MCW, Ennis, Flynn, Jardine, Triche, Howard, Devo. Of these guys what are we looking at?
 
I think it's naive to not consider the possibility. I've watched dozens of kids just like Carey transfer out of Syracuse.
Sure, but they seem to be borderline unfounded at the moment
 
Well, tell me why you disagree?

IF it happens (an all freshman backcourt which I highly doubt) I would switch them. To me Girard is the kid who'll run the point.

Buddy will start at the 2 guard before we have freshman backcourt though. This team next year completely hinges on who the PG is.
 

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