Where is this team right now?

[Rage4CUSE]

This team has already shown us basically the far reaches of each end of the spectrum. We can be really good(Atlantis) or really bad(Georgetown,St. johns) against power 6 competition (Yes, Big East BBall is a power conference). Also we can be really good against inferior teams(Cornell, Colgate) or not so good(St Bonnie, Lehigh).

Where do people think this team really is right now on the spectrum of Great to Terrible.

Myself I think we are very near the middle right now.

 

[PeteCalvin]

The Varsity?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

The Varsity?

44's. Oh wait...

 

[DonLightfoot]

Perhaps not every game is like this, but I would change the rules and play until the first official TO of the first half, go to the locker room and then play the 20 minute second half. We "normally" make some good adjustments at halftime.

To be serious, I still think we have a decent team, nowhere near top caliber like we are used to though. The front line size of most of our ACC opponents will hurt us. Same holds true, at least in my opinion, for the major minutes being racked up by five or six of the players. At the start of the year I was optimistic we would finish higher than ninth in the ACC as predicted, but that optimism is fading. I also thought before the season we would see more depth in player minutes. Unless things turnaround drastically, I think the best we can hope for is barely sneaking into the NCAA's. Hope I am wrong.

 

[Alsacs]

We are not good. We might be able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament but we aren't that dangerous.
Gbinije is playing at an all-ACC first team level.
Lydon is showing he can be a really solid ACC player and is growing.
Richardson is showing flashes but he is a young Freshman who needs more minutes and definitely has an upside.
Cooney is Cooney. Has good flashes and has bad flashes. I don't want to say anymore as everyone knows.
Coleman is still coming back but doesn't look like he will contribute that much in ACC play right now. He could get his legs and improve but I am cutting him major slack as microfracture surgery is serious.
Roberson is an enigma. As he can be really good and help us and he can be bad and hurt us. The dude just needs confidence. Give him confidence he is great but when he plays passively he should sit but he can't sit with our depth.

Joseph/Howard don't get any minutes for the most part because JB has decided Trevor Cooney has to play 38 minutes a game for Syracuse to win.

Chino honestly looks like the most helpless Syracuse basketball recruit since Mike Williams or Devin Brennan-McBride both of those guys were Calhouned. I don't think Syracuse will Calhoun Chino but I wish we could get something from him but it is doubtful.

 

[urban96]

The Varsity?

hopefully not chipotle

 

[Flacusian]

I rather enjoyed watching the team today. Although they struggled and shot poorly in the first half, Hop made some nice adjustments and they played well during the 2nd half. I'm not expecting a final 4 run from this team so I've decided to just sit back and enjoy those aspects which are pleasurable. Certainly watching the development of our younger players is fun and rewarding and bodes well for the future of the program.

Anything beyond that I just consider a bonus and I find I'm no longer getting bent outta shape with every game when they don't look so hot. No JB, Young team with no substantive down low presence, a young inexperienced coach standing in... need to give 'em some slack.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I keep hoping that this is the rare SU team that struggles in the pre-conference regular season and peaks toward Feb and March. More like a UConn or L'ville improvement curve instead of the standard SU February swoon and March collapse.

 

[jdubs30]

Honestly I just want to get to March. This is the type of team that can shoot it's way to a few wins in a tournament setting. What's to say we can't stay hot for a few weekends in March?

 

[NineOneSeven]

Getting to the tourney will be a massive accomplishment

 

[bozophobe]

Honestly I just want to get to March. This is the type of team that can shoot it's way to a few wins in a tournament setting. What's to say we can't stay hot for a few weekends in March?

It seems statistically unlikely that SU will put together more than 2 good shooting games in a row - and thats just against teams dominated by players who grew up in homes with granite counter tops and They Might Be Giants cd's.

But with 4 good outside shooters, they'll probably shock someone along the way (ACC season, at least). Let's be that dangerous team this year.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

This team has already shown us basically the far reaches of each end of the spectrum. We can be really good(Atlantis) or really bad(Georgetown,St. johns) against power 6 competition (Yes, Big East BBall is a power conference). Also we can be really good against inferior teams(Cornell, Colgate) or not so good(St Bonnie, Lehigh).

Where do people think this team really is right now on the spectrum of Great to Terrible.

Myself I think we are very near the middle right now.

The St Johns team that manhandled them just lost to something called Incarnate Word, by 22! Incarnate Word lost to something called Our Lady of the Lake. This team is bad, has way too many weaknesses to expect anything more than last year. No C, no PG, no depth, and inconsistent shooting? 20 wins will be a miracle.

 

[OrangeAl]

Only ten weeks 'til spring football!

 

[RF2044]

 

[Briancuse]

Getting to the tourney will be a massive accomplishment

I'm not willing to go there yet, there is so much parity in college hoops right now, look at What Ohio St did to Kentucky today, this team has the talent to be a tournament team.

 

[SWC75]

I hope Sal Maneen isn't reading this thread.

I see a team that should make it to 10-3 but one that, without significant improvement, will be a .500 team in the ACC at best. MY concern over a winning record was a "worst case scenario". I think we can do that but I'm not sure how much better than that we can be.

A good question would be what improvements do you hope to see as the season progresses. I think that's worth a separate thread.

 

[Conrad13]

We're just not a "solid" team. Anyone other than Gbenije is susceptible to having really bad nights. When you throw in the lack of an inside scoring or defensive presence we're going to have lots of ups and downs (like we've already seen). With all of the parity at the top of college basketball this team really could beat any other team in the country, but over the course of a long season the team's glaring holes are going to lead to lots of losses. Besides from that however, I still really like this team in the sense that they all seem to be hard working, good guys. By all accounts Coleman has done everything that he can to get himself back in shape and if anything Cooney works too hard. So even though they may not be as talented as past Syracuse teams it will be easy for me to root for them.

 

[jdubs30]

It seems statistically unlikely that SU will put together more than 2 good shooting games in a row - and thats just against teams dominated by players who grew up in homes with granite counter tops and They Might Be Giants cd's.

But with 4 good outside shooters, they'll probably shock someone along the way (ACC season, at least). Let's be that dangerous team this year.

We put together 3 in 3 days in Atlantis. I don't know if it's "unlikely" -- but you are right because we can't really count on it happening.

It's just one of those things where if we make it to March and 3 of our shooters can have good games for 2 or 3 games in a row, why not.

 

[Knicks411]

What kinda bothers me is that this looks like 2 years in a row we're going to be mediocre with a first team all league caliber player on the roster.

 

[Nicknack]

We are not good. We might be able to sneak into the NCAA Tournament but we aren't that dangerous.
Gbinije is playing at an all-ACC first team level.
Lydon is showing he can be a really solid ACC player and is growing.
Richardson is showing flashes but he is a young Freshman who needs more minutes and definitely has an upside.
Cooney is Cooney. Has good flashes and has bad flashes. I don't want to say anymore as everyone knows.
Coleman is still coming back but doesn't look like he will contribute that much in ACC play right now. He could get his legs and improve but I am cutting him major slack as microfracture surgery is serious.
Roberson is an enigma. As he can be really good and help us and he can be bad and hurt us. The dude just needs confidence. Give him confidence he is great but when he plays passively he should sit but he can't sit with our depth.

Joseph/Howard don't get any minutes for the most part because JB has decided Trevor Cooney has to play 38 minutes a game for Syracuse to win.

Chino honestly looks like the most helpless Syracuse basketball recruit since Mike Williams or Devin Brennan-McBride both of those guys were Calhouned. I don't think Syracuse will Calhoun Chino but I wish we could get something from him but it is doubtful.

I agree with the points that you made except for one thing. I think we are in fact a dangerous team but we probably won't see it that much this year and especially not consistently. That's what makes us dangerous, in my mind. On any given night, we could lose to just about anyone but at the same time, we could also win against most teams as well. If we can just make it to the big dance, who knows, maybe a sweet sixteen appearance. This is definitely a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like team.

 

[Nicknack]

What kinda bothers me is that this looks like 2 years in a row we're going to be mediocre with a first team all league caliber player on the roster.

Yeah, definitely true. However, another way to look at it is to consider where we would be without that talent. Thank goodness that we have G this year or things would be REALLY bad.

 

[orangecuse]

Thanks, I needed that! :rolling:

 

[MikeSU02]

What kinda bothers me is that this looks like 2 years in a row we're going to be mediocre with a first team all league caliber player on the roster.

Agreed.

this year we have multiple players playing a position outside of their natural position with G, Mal and, at times, Lydon.

We aren't even remotely close to being a great shooting team, yet that's our offense and we can't rebound. Out 3ptFG% is tied for 95th. Our points per shot is tied for 153rd. Our FG% is tied for 263rd.

I really don't see how this team, as positioned, can do any better than .500 in conference, and I think that may be a stretch.

That loss to St Johns is really starting to worry me more and more.