Zag Postgame Thoughts...

[two3zone]

Guys were scared to shoot. Most of those were ok possessions. Bad stat line but the other options are limited.

Cope and Taylor knew their shots weren’t going in before they were released. Those guys killed us last 2 games.

Who was scared to shoot? The three ball hogs had the ball in their hands 98% of the time today.

 

[tbonezone]

Cope and Taylor knew their shots weren’t going in before they were released. Those guys killed us last 2 games.

i think copeland and taylor took a step back . and as brutal as IKE was underneath you gotta move mccloudswatter up a notch.

 

[ssbriefcase]

When Cope came in, isn't that when we got the closest? Every time he comes in he provides a shot in the arm when no one's doing sht. He plays with energy, gets steals, can handle with ease, get to the rim as good as anyone, and can pass, and rebounds like he's 6'10. That board he snatched in traffic with the trees was him in a nutshell. Yes he makes boneheaded plays, on this team I'll live with them.

Mintz moves very slow laterally on D, so noticeable today. No reason he shouldn't be able to stay in front of anyone, and it's not just him going for steals. Taylor can't turtle like he has. I don't know what we're going to do at center, what's up with Hima? And I'm just going to assume we're down a forward. We'll evolve, but the staff is going to have to get more creative than they thought. We've got some big hills to climb

 

[Zepharus]

The only thing saving this team from a really bad record this year is that the ACC stinks again. They can’t shoot, they can’t rebound, hell they can’t inbound the freaking ball. Red needs patience from the fans, however, JB left him with a crap team, the portal can only do so much in the first year

I think Red gets 3 years. This one isn't his. He is on the clock for the next 2. Find an identity. If I were a coach right now I would look specifically for winners in winning programs with a very high motor. You don't need to be a rockstar, come here and develop into one. Grab the best national recruits with a high motor, high IQ, and build a team.

 

[two3zone]

I think Red gets 3 years. This one isn't his. He is on the clock for the next 2. Find an identity. If I were a coach right now I would look specifically for winners in winning programs with a very high motor. You don't need to be a rockstar, come here and develop into one. Grab the best national recruits with a high motor, high IQ, and build a team.

There would be a few guys I’d have to have a difficult conversation with.

 

[Lukeyloo]

My postgame thoughts: I miss when Cuse was good

 

[OmahaCuse]

When Cope came in, isn't that when we got the closest? Every time he comes in he provides a shot in the arm when no one's doing sht. He plays with energy, gets steals, can handle with ease, get to the rim as good as anyone, and can pass, and rebounds like he's 6'10. That board he snatched in traffic with the trees was him in a nutshell. Yes he makes boneheaded plays, on this team I'll live with them.

Mintz moves very slow laterally on D, so noticeable today. No reason he shouldn't be able to stay in front of anyone, and it's not just him going for steals. Taylor can't turtle like he has. I don't know what we're going to do at center, what's up with Hima? And I'm just going to assume we're down a forward. We'll evolve, but the staff is going to have to get more creative than they thought. We've got some big hills to climb

I think the big issue with Mintz is he gambles all the time and is out of position. Did it both games and cost them all of points either directly or indirectly with 2 or 1s…..have to stay in front of you guy and box out.

 

[Sbucketball]

I think the big issue with Mintz is he gambles all the time and is out of position. Did it both games and cost them all of points either directly or indirectly with 2 or 1s…..have to stay in front of you guy and box out.

Agreed. He very aggressively goes for the steal which sometimes results in a highlight play but often results in a guard blowing by and attacking the rim.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I think Red gets 3 years. This one isn't his. He is on the clock for the next 2. Find an identity. If I were a coach right now I would look specifically for winners in winning programs with a very high motor. You don't need to be a rockstar, come here and develop into one. Grab the best national recruits with a high motor, high IQ, and build a team.

with the portal now, a team can be built in 1 season

I would say any coach should get max 2 years to show something

first year ever as a coach, I can see giving a mulligan...

but then after that, it's put up or shut up for me

at least in terms of demonstrating good coaching, let alone results...

we havent seen any of that yet.

 

[ssbriefcase]

I think the big issue with Mintz is he gambles all the time and is out of position. Did it both games and cost them all of points either directly or indirectly with 2 or 1s…..have to stay in front of you guy and box out.

Yeah but that's why I specifically said, not just him going for steals, and that's why it was noticeable. Plenty of times in the 2nd half tonight, and in other games, right in front of the guy and the guy goes around him.

 

[CLMintz]

If Mintz isn't going to pass to set up his teammates and create, I'd rather see Copeland at the 1 and Mintz at the 2. Mintz takes over games because he won't involve his teammates. The last play of the first half was a perfect example of his selfish play.

You have no idea. Judah was signaling JJ to clear out that corner so he attack but JJ refused and he was stuck with the ball for a shot clock violation. Judah had been getting to the cup at will. Gotta go through him.

 

[50YRsofCuse]

You absolutely have to be able to shoot the three effectively to keep defenses honest. It's just a must in the game today. If you can't, moving closer to the basket and/or driving and dishing inside won't work because the defense just packs it in.

You are right about having an outside scoring presence but when it is clear that you aren’t making any, you need to try a different approach. 3 for 18 is not an effective scoring option. Guess it would be better if we had an offensive rebounding presence.

 

[CLMintz]

SU just couldn't put the puck in the net today.

Judah went 9/14 and 100% from the line for 22 pts. Could have had more but they went away from him.

 

[orangefog]

I hope our guys watch teams like Marquette and figure out that they should always be moving on offense.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I disagree about talent. This is not ACC level talent.

There are a lot of 4 star players / even borderline 5 star players on this team. The pieces don't all fit, but there is talent there. It's just that these guys play SO selfishly that it's unbelievable. The coaching has been dreadful. It should be better by January. We have 8 games between now and then, and a month full of practices after getting embarrassed. We need to win at least 5 of them (lose to UVa, Oregon and LSU), but you have to win the rest, or this team will finish below .500 this year.

 

[two3zone]

There are a lot of 4 star players / even borderline 5 star players on this team. The pieces don't all fit, but there is talent there. It's just that these guys play SO selfishly that it's unbelievable. The coaching has been dreadful. It should be better by January. We have 8 games between now and then, and a month full of practices after getting embarrassed. We need to win at least 5 of them (lose to UVa, Oregon and LSU), but you have to win the rest, or this team will finish below .500 this year.

Talent there according to whom? High school ratings scouts? Judah is the only legit dude living up to his rating and he has zero interest in the position and job he has on this team.

We’re not athletic, we’re not talented and we have one of the worst IQ teams in our history.

 

[Sherman20]

There are a lot of 4 star players / even borderline 5 star players on this team. The pieces don't all fit, but there is talent there. It's just that these guys play SO selfishly that it's unbelievable. The coaching has been dreadful. It should be better by January. We have 8 games between now and then, and a month full of practices after getting embarrassed. We need to win at least 5 of them (lose to UVa, Oregon and LSU), but you have to win the rest, or this team will finish below .500 this year.

I think we have to beat Oregon and/or LSU.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Talent there according to whom? High school ratings scouts? Judah is the only legit dude living up to his rating and he has zero interest in the position and job he has on this team.

We’re not athletic, we’re not talented and we have one of the worst IQ teams in our history.

Did you see Cuffe block that forward's shot? That wasn't athletic?

 

[two3zone]

Did you see Cuffe block that forward's shot? That wasn't athletic?

You cite one play to deem this team athletic? Come on…:

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think we have to beat Oregon and/or LSU.

Not looking likely right now. We should beat Cornell, Georgetown, Chaminade, Pitt and Niagara. Pitt is at home, and looking at the ACC schedule this year, I think they finally scheduled us like a non-contender. Seems much easier this year, although maybe a little front-loaded. That would leave us 8-5 coming into January and Duke. That's my baseline.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You cite one play to deem this team athletic? Come on…:

Copeland is a 6-6 guard who can get to the rim against almost anyone. His decision making is holding him back, but he has MCW potential; maybe a better rebounder, too.

Benny is a head case, but is certainly athletic. Not a good teammate, apparently, and probably gone in January, I'm guessing.

In terms of "run and jump" athleticism and size, there's a lot of it on this team.

Not many people look like they have basketball instincts, though. Very selfish play, lacking in fundamentals, low IQ plays.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Some things for me..

- I thought we would get rocked in Maui so the fact we've gone 0-2 is not surprising to me, but the means to the end matter for us for rest of season outlook.

- Effort in the first half both ways was terrible. Effort improved a bunch the first 10' of the 2nd half, then we cratered. Several times to get a stop and cut it down to 5 or so and we did not rebound or get a loose ball, leading to a 3. Not good.

- Obviously still figuring out rotations. Not sure what the answers are.

- Need more from Taylor. Expected more. Not seeing it though.

- Outside shooting and rebounding, 2 huge aspects of basketball, are a glaring problem.

- Shooters shoot and misses happen but Bell getting what, 17 shots? Yikes.

- 3-24 from 3 and only 6 assists.

- Bill Walton (I love him, personally) had a lot more fun than I did. My favorite quote- "an indescribably bad play by Syracuse" when we, again, could not inbound the ball and turned it over leading to fast break.

17 shots is inexcusable. Let's start by fixing that coach

 

[IthacaMatt]

As much as people have been banging on Naheem, it seems to me that he has been pretty effective on the offensive boards. It's the defensive boards where he seems like the other players are moving too fast for him.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

As much as people have been banging on Naheem, it seems to me that he has been pretty effective on the offensive boards. It's the defensive boards where he seems like the other players are moving too fast for him.

He gets offensive boards, but instead of going right back up with it, he tends to kick the ball outside.

If he gets a board but we end up not scoring on the possession, it's wasted.

 

[texascpa]

I think this is a better team than last few seasons. We are a lot more athletic. I want to see us play more evenly matched teams. We played couple of really good teams so far, hard to judge against that.

Personally, I am tired of having long, athletic players that can't win one-on-one matches, can't rebound, don't move and can't shoot. I'd rather have shooters who move and play tight defense.