Won't be a popular post but its the truth

[Tony DeFranco]

We are gonna need transition points - of which we got absolutely nothing against SC - Howard, Battle and Gillon should all be capable of getting the ball up the court - and Howard, Battle, Roberson, Lydon and White should all be capable of finishing - not saying this Scoop, Waiters and MCW but we should be getting some fast points

 

[orange79]

Maybe JB should bring in Dino Babers to teach this team some real offense while he is free this time of year for now...

Well, job search and all...

 

[Cusefan0307]

I said earlier in a thread this year about JB's problem of coaching offensively in the half court. A lot of posters replied saying he hasn't had the PG or talent in recent years to have an efficient half court offense. Well this year, the talent is not the problem and this should be a solid team in the half court.

In past years, in the half court offensively, Syracuse has ranked:

• 139th efficiency wise in (2015-2016) .893 PPP (Points Per Possession)
  
• 173rd efficiency wise in (2014-2015) .853 PPP :bang:
• 123rd efficiency wise in (2013-2014) .9 PPP
• 161st efficiency wise in (2012-2013) .845 PPP
• 76th efficiency wise in (2011-2012) .894 PPP

So, you're telling me, in the past five years Syracuse has basically been below the bottom half in the ENTIRE NCAA DIVISION 1 in half court efficiency every single season. That to me, is extremely concerning and definitely is JB's biggest problem as a Coach. I was at the game yesterday, the lack of spacing, concepts, and details were baffling. We produced almost zero open looks the entire game on the offensive end. That falls squarely on coaching and the ability to create advantages for your players. USC had to guard no long closeouts, no post touches, no quality PNR concepts. Syracuse was incredibly easy to guard yesterday. Syracuse would literally come down on possessions and have our wings cross the floor and that would be the only offensive action we would have for the first 20 seconds in the shot clock. JB HAS TO LOOK INTO THIS AND CREATE OPEN LOOKS FOR HIS PLAYERS. THIS TEAM IS FAR TOO TALENTED TO RANK 150th IN THE HALF COURT EFFICIENCY WISE!!!! I saw a lot of posts throwing our players under the bus yesterday. It's not them. It's primarily coaching. JB is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. 2-3 zone is not the problem people!!!! It's the ability to produce in the half court that has been Syracuse's biggest problem as shown in the evidence above. The staff HAS to do a better job creating actions that are harder to guard. Running your shooters off screens on the baseline for 25 seconds is not hard to guard. Incorporate some PnR concepts and spacing. Run some ballscreen sets out of horns (everyone does this now). The spacing in the offense stinks and we have no actions. The staff simply has to do a better job coaching in this aspect if this team wants to make a run in the tournament.

I don't have a ton of problem with this post and the premise of it, but you lost me when you go on to describe what kind of plays we should run. It was popular to pick on the "Cooney" play when he was here because he ran baseline to baseline a lot. It didn't happen every single set though.

We have run more P&R than any other set going back to since at least Flynn was here. Furthermore we have run multiple sets out of Horns since at least Ennis was here, so I'm not sure your 100 percent paying attention every game or just using the South Carolina game as an example. These are NBA sets and a big reason why we have attracted NBA level wing and guard talent.

Now if you're mad we didn't run these sets against South Carolina, I will tell you this. South Carolina overplayed everything. They also pushed our offense up. It's very difficult to runs horns/P&R when your offense is being initiated 40 feet from the basket. If you go back to the Elite Eight game against Virginia last year we all but abandoned the P&R after the first half because Gbinije could not turn the corner being 40 feet away from the hoop. That's when JB instructed Mal, Cooney, and G to drive the lane.

P&R was not going to work against South Carolina for two reasons. They overplayed everything (Cuts to the basket would have worked better) and they also played a 3-2 zone that was difficult to get in the middle against, especially as our PG's struggled to penetrate.

I know it's popular for some people to blame Boeheim, but at some point this needs to be on the players. Coleman/Chukwu/Roberson can't do anything as the screener. Only Lydon can. Roberson and Chukwu airballed multiple layups in the game. I mean Tyler Roberson was a consensus top 40 recruit 4 years ago that has been healthy every year. He should have developed into a great player by his Senior year. He has not. He was MIA. He can't do anything inside. New concepts aren't going to fix that.

What I saw Saturday isn't the end of the world. I think Lydon and to a lesser degree Howard are close to being able to lead the team. They need to clean up some of their efficiency and they will be fine. Thompson is a freshman and had his first freshman game. Gillon and White need to adjust to this competition IMO. Roberson's the same player. I think we just need to accept what we have received the past 3 years and agree that's what we will get this year.

I was very disappointed with Battle on Saturday. I know some people want him in there more and you may be able to sell me, but he isn't aggressive when he is in there. He kind of just stands out on the perimeter and waits for something to happen instead of attacking.

This is less on the coaches concepts and more on the players ability to run our current concepts. If we are going to be successful this year the players need to do a better job than they did Saturday.

EDIT: I'll add that you probably think Beilein is a great offensive coach, yet his team somehow managed to score less than ours against South Carolina.

 

[realorange]

The team is still at the point where they are thinking about what to do instead of just doing it. To me, that's one of the biggest reasons you don't see enough energy or aggressiveness on the court. As has been said in other threads, this is a new team with a significant number of players who have never played at Syracuse and/or at the level needed.

It should be much better by the time ACC starts.

 

[RMH44]

Im a transition into secondary PnR guy but with concepts and principles to it. Need more details also. We do not set contact screens. We do not roll to the rim hard. We do not set the ball screen up well. We do not run action into a ballscreen. We do not run roll/replace when we do run the pick and roll. Our spacing is weak. Just overall Syracuse is painful to watch in the half court situation offensively. Defensively, they are one of the best in the half court

I can't remember the last time I saw a back screen set. Something needs to change to make the "first pass" easier and get into the offense. Endless dribbling by the PG above the top of the key is futile.

 

[GooseMutt]

I got ripped for basically saying the same thing back in Ennis freshman year saying we run an offense slower than the big 10 teams did. Ennis was only doing what he was told to do.I remember later in the year that Jake said the same thing as I was saying and got praised for it. The big men in the last decade are being recruited to play the zone first and are limited in what they can do offensively seems like all the time now. Look at Chuckwa and his skills and everyone here said he would be great in the zone.We need some solid center skills offensively to take the pressure off our guards and open up the offense.

For once i would love to get a center averaging well over 20 points a game out of high school instead of ones averaging 10-13 PPG.

Who is jake

 

[DoctorBombay]

I don't have a ton of problem with this post and the premise of it, but you lost me when you go on to describe what kind of plays we should run. It was popular to pick on the "Cooney" play when he was here because he ran baseline to baseline a lot. It didn't happen every single set though.

We have run more P&R than any other set going back to since at least Flynn was here. Furthermore we have run multiple sets out of Horns since at least Ennis was here, so I'm not sure your 100 percent paying attention every game or just using the South Carolina game as an example. These are NBA sets and a big reason why we have attracted NBA level wing and guard talent.

Now if your mad we didn't run these sets against South Carolina, I will tell you this. South Carolina overplayed everything. They also pushed our offense up. It's very difficult to runs horns/P&R when your offense is being initiated 40 feet from the basket. If you go back to the Elite Eight game against Virginia last year we all but abandoned the P&R after the first half because Gbinije could not turn the corner being 40 feet away from the hoop. That's when JB instructed Mal, Cooney, and G to drive the lane.

P&R was not going to work against South Carolina for two reasons. They overplayed everything (Cuts to the basket would have worked better) and they also played a 3-2 zone that was difficult to get in the middle against, especially as our PG's struggled to penetrate.

I know it's popular for some people to blame Boeheim, but at some point this needs to be on the players. Coleman/Chukwu/Roberson can't do anything as the screener. Only Lydon can. Roberson and Chukwu airballed multiple layups in the game. I mean Tyler Roberson was a consensus top 40 recruit 4 years ago that has been healthy every year. He should have developed into a great player by his Senior year. He has not. He was MIA. He can't do anything inside. New concepts aren't going to fix that.

What I saw Saturday isn't the end of the world. I think Lydon and to a lesser degree Howard are close to being able to lead the team. They need to clean up some of their efficiency and they will be fine. Thompson is a freshman and had his first freshman game. Gillon and White need to adjust to this competition IMO. Roberson's the same player. I think we just need to accept what we have received the past 3 years and agree that's what we will get this year.

I was very disappointed with Battle on Saturday. I know some people want him in there more and you may be able to sell me, but he isn't aggressive when he is in there. He kind of just stands out on the perimeter and waits for something to happen instead of attacking.

This is less on the coaches concepts and more on the players ability to run our current concepts. If we are going to be successful this year the players need to do a better job than they did Saturday.

EDIT: I'll add that you probably think Beilein is a great offensive coach, yet his team somehow managed to score less than ours against South Carolina.

Good points on Roberson, and where he's really come up short is his inconsistency on offense. A dialed in Robey giving you a steady 10 & 8 per game would be more than adequate for this team. But he's not a guy that can be counted on to be an option on offense. I see him more as a Dennis Rodman type, where he owns the boards & out-hustles everyone, like in the Duke game last year. If he brings that, then the points will come.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

I don't have a ton of problem with this post and the premise of it, but you lost me when you go on to describe what kind of plays we should run. It was popular to pick on the "Cooney" play when he was here because he ran baseline to baseline a lot. It didn't happen every single set though.

We have run more P&R than any other set going back to since at least Flynn was here. Furthermore we have run multiple sets out of Horns since at least Ennis was here, so I'm not sure your 100 percent paying attention every game or just using the South Carolina game as an example. These are NBA sets and a big reason why we have attracted NBA level wing and guard talent.

Now if you're mad we didn't run these sets against South Carolina, I will tell you this. South Carolina overplayed everything. They also pushed our offense up. It's very difficult to runs horns/P&R when your offense is being initiated 40 feet from the basket. If you go back to the Elite Eight game against Virginia last year we all but abandoned the P&R after the first half because Gbinije could not turn the corner being 40 feet away from the hoop. That's when JB instructed Mal, Cooney, and G to drive the lane.

P&R was not going to work against South Carolina for two reasons. They overplayed everything (Cuts to the basket would have worked better) and they also played a 3-2 zone that was difficult to get in the middle against, especially as our PG's struggled to penetrate.

I know it's popular for some people to blame Boeheim, but at some point this needs to be on the players. Coleman/Chukwu/Roberson can't do anything as the screener. Only Lydon can. Roberson and Chukwu airballed multiple layups in the game. I mean Tyler Roberson was a consensus top 40 recruit 4 years ago that has been healthy every year. He should have developed into a great player by his Senior year. He has not. He was MIA. He can't do anything inside. New concepts aren't going to fix that.

What I saw Saturday isn't the end of the world. I think Lydon and to a lesser degree Howard are close to being able to lead the team. They need to clean up some of their efficiency and they will be fine. Thompson is a freshman and had his first freshman game. Gillon and White need to adjust to this competition IMO. Roberson's the same player. I think we just need to accept what we have received the past 3 years and agree that's what we will get this year.

I was very disappointed with Battle on Saturday. I know some people want him in there more and you may be able to sell me, but he isn't aggressive when he is in there. He kind of just stands out on the perimeter and waits for something to happen instead of attacking.

This is less on the coaches concepts and more on the players ability to run our current concepts. If we are going to be successful this year the players need to do a better job than they did Saturday.

EDIT: I'll add that you probably think Beilein is a great offensive coach, yet his team somehow managed to score less than ours against South Carolina.

Every team in college basketball runs ball screens. it's the hardest thing to guard so I am not arguing at all for us to HAVE more PnR's. My complaint is the piss poor execution of them and the lack of details we have when running them. We do not change our offensive strategy at all with how a team guards a ball screen. For example, if a team hedges hard on the ball screen, teams in Europe "short" roll. Make a quick pass to the short roller and you are playing 4 v 3. We do not run our roll/replace action well enough (when ball handler is going away from you in a ballscreen, the player lifts or replaces the ball screen). Everyone basically runs that. The teams who run it well are extremely hard to guard. Case in point, Saint Mary's and Gonzaga. We have no secondary actions out of our transition that flow into a PnR. We stink offensively because of the lack of details and concepts to our PnR offense. Which is what I am saying in my original post. And I do think Beilein is an amazing offensive coach, but not the best. If you want to bring up one game to judge his success in the half court then I strongly question your argument. I just proved the past 5 years Syracuse's half court offense stinks.

As for your point about our PnR not working because they overplayed everything, that makes no sense. Teams in Europe run PnR all game long and the defense over there is very similar to how USC played Syracuse. Disruptive and get into the passing lanes. You can run a PnR offense perfectly fine against that defense if you have competent ball handlers (which we have). Roll to the rim hard and force someone to tag the roller. Have your team spaced out and have the ball handler recognize who is tagging the roller. When he does, pass it to the offensive man whose defender is tagging the roller. This creates a long closeout (hardest thing to guard in basketball). WE CREATE ZERO LONG CLOSEOUTS

 

[CuseAJM]

How about you guys realize that South Carolina is actually a really good team this year. It wasn't a bad loss, relax.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

How about you guys realize that South Carolina is actually a really good team this year. It wasn't a bad loss, relax.

Not the argument I made in the OP whatsoever.

 

[Cusefan0307]

First, do not remember Syracuse running a horns ball screen set every when Ennis was the point guard. So disagree there. In addition, every team in college basketball runs ball screens. it's the hardest thing to guard so I am not arguing at all for us to HAVE more PnR's. My complaint is the piss poor execution of them and the lack of details we have when running them. We do not change our offensive strategy at all with how a team guards a ball screen. For example, if a team hedges hard on the ball screen, teams in Europe "short" roll. Make a quick pass to the short roller and you are playing 4 v 3. We do not run our roll/replace action well enough (when ball handler is going away from you in a ballscreen, the player lifts or replaces the ball screen). Everyone basically runs that. The teams who run it well are extremely hard to guard. Case in point, Saint Mary's and Gonzaga. We have no secondary actions out of our transition that flow into a PnR. We stink offensively because of the lack of details and concepts to our PnR offense. Which is what I am saying in my original post. And I do think Beilein is an amazing offensive coach, but not the best. If you want to bring up one game to judge his success in the half court then I strongly question your argument.

As for your point about our PnR not working because they overplayed everything, that makes no sense. Teams in Europe run PnR all game long and the defense over there is very similar to how USC played Syracuse. Disruptive and got into the lanes. You can run a PnR offense perfectly fine against that defense if you have competent ball handlers (which we have). Roll to the rim hard and force someone to tag the roller. Have your team spaced out and have the ball handler recognize who is tagging the roller. When he does, pass it to the offensive man whose man is tagging the roller. This creates a long closeout (hardest thing to guard in basketball). WE CREATE ZERO LONG CLOSEOUTS

This is a lot different than what you said in your original post. I do agree we didn't run many Horns set Saturday. We have a lot in the past, especially when Ennis was here. Go watch film from that year.

Saturday we tried sticking someone in the middle of the 3-2 zone and wheeling players around. It didn't work.

This is what you said in your original post: Incorporate some PnR concepts and spacing. Run some ballscreen sets out of horns (everyone does this now). The spacing in the offense stinks and we have no actions.

If you have issues with the attention to detail, I agree it's a problem. So is using anyone but Lydon as the screener.

 

[RF2044]

I got ripped for basically saying the same thing back in Ennis freshman year saying we run an offense slower than the big 10 teams did. Ennis was only doing what he was told to do.I remember later in the year that Jake said the same thing as I was saying and got praised for it. The big men in the last decade are being recruited to play the zone first and are limited in what they can do offensively seems like all the time now. Look at Chuckwa and his skills and everyone here said he would be great in the zone.We need some solid center skills offensively to take the pressure off our guards and open up the offense.

For once i would love to get a center averaging well over 20 points a game out of high school instead of ones averaging 10-13 PPG.

I understand the point you are attempting to make, but everything is relative. A kid averaging 20+ ppg playing for a random HS that doesn't play quality competition isn't necessarily better than someone averaging 10-13 at a national powerhouse prep school, playing against top flight competition.

 

[Eric15]

In the last 5 years?? That includes two final fours. hmmm.

Last year was a terrible season for Syracuse standards in terms of our overall product on the court.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

This is a lot different than what you said in your original post. I do agree we didn't run many Horns set Saturday. We have a lot in the past, especially when Ennis was here. Go watch film from that year.

Saturday we tried sticking someone in the middle of the 3-2 zone and wheeling players around. It didn't work.

This is what you said in your original post: Incorporate some PnR concepts and spacing. Run some ballscreen sets out of horns (everyone does this now). The spacing in the offense stinks and we have no actions.

If you have issues with the attention to detail, I agree it's a problem. So is using anyone but Lydon as the screener.

Agree. Detail is a huge problem. Why we struggle to beat the same type of teams (teams that can actually play defense and have attention to detail in their ball screen coverage defensively). There are plenty of ways to counter and adjust to how someone is guarding your ball screens. We do the same thing every time regardless of how we are being guarded defensively (HUGE MISTAKE!)

 

[RF2044]

Im a transition into secondary PnR guy but with concepts and principles to it. Need more details also. We do not set contact screens. We do not roll to the rim hard. We do not set the ball screen up well. We do not run action into a ballscreen. We do not run roll/replace when we do run the pick and roll. Our spacing is weak. Just overall Syracuse is painful to watch in the half court situation offensively. Defensively, they are one of the best in the half court

Good post.

 

[Eric15]

I said earlier in a thread this year about JB's problem of coaching offensively in the half court. A lot of posters replied saying he hasn't had the PG or talent in recent years to have an efficient half court offense. Well this year, the talent is not the problem and this should be a solid team in the half court.

In past years, in the half court offensively, Syracuse has ranked:

• 139th efficiency wise in (2015-2016) .893 PPP (Points Per Possession)
  
• 173rd efficiency wise in (2014-2015) .853 PPP :bang:
• 123rd efficiency wise in (2013-2014) .9 PPP
• 161st efficiency wise in (2012-2013) .845 PPP
• 76th efficiency wise in (2011-2012) .894 PPP

So, you're telling me, in the past five years Syracuse has basically been below the bottom half in the ENTIRE NCAA DIVISION 1 in half court efficiency every single season. That to me, is extremely concerning and definitely is JB's biggest problem as a Coach. I was at the game yesterday, the lack of spacing, concepts, and details were baffling. We produced almost zero open looks the entire game on the offensive end. That falls squarely on coaching and the ability to create advantages for your players. USC had to guard no long closeouts, no post touches, no quality PNR concepts. Syracuse was incredibly easy to guard yesterday. Syracuse would literally come down on possessions and have our wings cross the floor and that would be the only offensive action we would have for the first 20 seconds in the shot clock. JB HAS TO LOOK INTO THIS AND CREATE OPEN LOOKS FOR HIS PLAYERS. THIS TEAM IS FAR TOO TALENTED TO RANK 150th IN THE HALF COURT EFFICIENCY WISE!!!! I saw a lot of posts throwing our players under the bus yesterday. It's not them. It's primarily coaching. JB is one of the best defensive coaches in the country. 2-3 zone is not the problem people!!!! It's the ability to produce in the half court that has been Syracuse's biggest problem as shown in the evidence above. The staff HAS to do a better job creating actions that are harder to guard. Running your shooters off screens on the baseline for 25 seconds is not hard to guard. Incorporate some PnR concepts and spacing. Run some ballscreen sets out of horns (everyone does this now). The spacing in the offense stinks and we have no actions. The staff simply has to do a better job coaching in this aspect if this team wants to make a run in the tournament.

Thoughtful, fact-based criticisms of JB are always better for the board than robotic approval of every decision he makes.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Last year was a terrible season for Syracuse standards in terms of our overall product on the court.

I disagree it was terrible. Average yes. Multiple NBA players and Advanced metrics would tell you we had 7 worse teams this millenium in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2015. The conference we are in today is much better than the early oughts Big East. We can't automatically assume we are just going to walk to 25 wins like we used to. Fans need to get used to that. Metric wise last years team was very similar to the team we had with Ennis in 13-14.

 

[Dave85]

Some of this criticism is on the player and not the coaching. In recent years getting open looks did not seem to be the problem to me. Making baskets, however, has been a problem. I think the coaching is fine. Players need to work really hard on both ends. When the players are shooting well we win big games.

 

[Oráiste]

The staff simply has to do a better job coaching in this aspect if this team wants to make a run in the tournament.

I generally agree with your concern about the half court offense; I think the problem mostly lies with the point guards we have had: Ennis was deliberate to a fault, Kaleb Joseph was just not good enough, and Gbinije was not a true point guard. Frank Howard is a work in progress; I have good hopes for him this year (Gillon, not so much). But even so, our half court offense in those five seasons have been middle of the pack, not terrible. I'd be willing to bet they were well within a single standard deviation of the national mean each year.

I also notice that in the first of your 5 year examples, we had the very capable Scoop Jardine as the primary point guard and the team was in the upper quartile in half court efficiency.

But I disagree with your dismissal of transition offense. The entire point of basketball is to get easy buckets. Any overall scheme designed to maximize such buckets while still maintaining competence in the half court is a system that is going to work a lot, both IMHO and backed up by our history.

Finally, the quote I highlighted above was a strange way to end your critique. The team has gone 12-4 in the NCAA tournament the last 5 seasons. Discounting national champions, I'll bet there's not 3 teams with a better tournament record over that period. Bad offense can cost you a game at any time, but it has absolutely not led to Syracuse making short tourney runs in recent years. Bizarre.

 

[RF2044]

I generally agree with your concern about the half court offense; I think the problem mostly lies with the point guards we have had: Ennis was deliberate to a fault, Kaleb Joseph was just not good enough, and Gbinije was not a true point guard. Frank Howard is a work in progress; I have good hopes for him this year (Gillon, not so much). But even so, our half court offense in those five seasons have been middle of the pack, not terrible. I'd be willing to bet they were well within a single standard deviation of the national mean each year.

I also notice that in the first of your 5 year examples, we had the very capable Scoop Jardine as the primary point guard and the team was in the upper quartile in half court efficiency.

But I disagree with your dismissal of transition offense. The entire point of basketball is to get easy buckets. Any overall scheme designed to maximize such buckets while still maintaining competence in the half court is a system that is going to work a lot, both IMHO and backed up by our history.

Finally, the quote I highlighted above was a strange way to end your critique. The team has gone 12-4 in the NCAA tournament the last 5 seasons. Discounting national champions, I'll bet there's not 3 teams with a better tournament record over that period. Bad offense can cost you a game at any time, but it has absolutely not led to Syracuse making short tourney runs in recent years. Bizarre.

There's a lot of great information in there.

Not on the same page with your assessment of Gillon, however [last game notwithstanding]. But this cycle of one-year turnover at PG hasn't been beneficial--no question.

 

[SUintheVille]

I'd just like to have a center (not just TL) who the offense can actually run some offense through, i.e., has some post moves, etc. Provides another option on offense. This would open up the court more and allow the guards and wings to drive and dish, shoot an open shot, etc. more. Right now we don't have this in DC2 and esp. PC. This isn't absolutely essential to a successful season and deep tournament run, but sure would be nice to have.

Let's let the offense gel here in the OOC schedule. Hopefully, it shows better synergy as the season plays on.

 

[OttoMets]

I generally agree with your concern about the half court offense; I think the problem mostly lies with the point guards we have had: Ennis was deliberate to a fault, Kaleb Joseph was just not good enough, and Gbinije was not a true point guard. Frank Howard is a work in progress; I have good hopes for him this year (Gillon, not so much). But even so, our half court offense in those five seasons have been middle of the pack, not terrible. I'd be willing to bet they were well within a single standard deviation of the national mean each year.

I also notice that in the first of your 5 year examples, we had the very capable Scoop Jardine as the primary point guard and the team was in the upper quartile in half court efficiency.

But I disagree with your dismissal of transition offense. The entire point of basketball is to get easy buckets. Any overall scheme designed to maximize such buckets while still maintaining competence in the half court is a system that is going to work a lot, both IMHO and backed up by our history.

Finally, the quote I highlighted above was a strange way to end your critique. The team has gone 12-4 in the NCAA tournament the last 5 seasons. Discounting national champions, I'll bet there's not 3 teams with a better tournament record over that period. Bad offense can cost you a game at any time, but it has absolutely not led to Syracuse making short tourney runs in recent years. Bizarre.

It's amusing how different players are labeled based on perception (don't mean to single you out - I bet the majority of the board agrees with your characterization). I consider this splitting hairs; fact is, as far as point guards go, all three weren't good enough (Ennis's draft position and Gbinije's popularity notwithstanding). Our subpar guard play has been the single biggest contributing factor to poor half-court offensive play in the last four years, no doubt about it.

The Boeheim offense is a separate matter, though, and it's highlighted when we don't have great guards. When we do, we shine; it doesn't matter what Boeheim draws up if Sherman Douglas is bringing the ball upcourt. When we don't, we need to outscheme opponents - motion, screens, and ball movement are our friend. It's not Boeheim's strong suit, though.

 

[Townie72]

Thoughtful, fact-based criticisms of JB are always better for the board than robotic approval of every decision he makes.

At first I was going to respond to this with a simple "Why".

But than I remembered that one of the purposes of this board is to allow venting from the frustrated and self-agrandizement by those who think they are smarter than JB.

 

[Eric15]

But than I remembered that one of the purposes of this board is to allow venting from the frustrated and self-agrandizement by those who think they are smarter than JB.

No one here is smarter than JB. Criticizing coaching decisions is just part of the overall fan experience. The reason why JB is a famous millionaire is because he coaches a sport which many people are emotionally invested in. If he coached field hockey, nobody would care about his decisions.

 

[kirbivore]

No one here is smarter than JB. Criticizing coaching decisions is just part of the overall fan experience. The reason why JB is a famous millionaire is because he coaches a sport which many people are emotionally invested in. If he coached field hockey, nobody would care about his decisions.

All I know is that
There were rumours he was into field hockey players
There were rumours
- So I applied basically
- He was gone the next day
- I went out for the team
- It's like - he was go... [Kim stops halfway through the word "gone"] - they'd just like
It was like so hush hush
They were so... quiet about it
And then the next thing you know...