Jackets MBB host Syracuse, 2/17/2024

[CuseJacket]

True, but I was also shocked a) that they played almost exclusively 2-3 zone and b) at how poorly they ran it (considering it's kinda their thing). The ghost of Jim Boeheim still haunts...

Autry said they only played the zone last night because of numbers. As it was, they basically played only six guys.

This is the correct answer. The 2-3 is to avoid foul trouble, since they have maybe 5-6 playable guys on the roster. Prior to the last few games, about 85%+ of their defensive possessions were man-to-man, and they were top 50 in KenPom defensive efficiency.

 

[CuseJacket]

Injuries aside, this is the most unlikeable 'Cuse team I've ever watched, and it's echoed by many fans.

Not sure what was shown on TV, but it was on full display in the stadium. They are a whiny bunch who was visibly and demonstrably arguing with the refs and fighting with each other + coaches during timeouts. Bell basically launched a protest, no-effort corner three in the last 8 minutes, which was basically an intentional turnover.

No tears here. Looking forward to the offseason.

 

[orientalnc]

Injuries aside, this is the most unlikeable 'Cuse team I've ever watched, and it's echoed by many fans.

Not sure what was shown on TV, but it was on full display in the stadium. They are a whiny bunch who was visibly and demonstrably arguing with the refs and fighting with each other + coaches during timeouts. Bell basically launched a protest, no-effort corner three without any effort in the last 8 minutes.

No tears here. Looking forward to the offseason.

I am happy we won the game. I was not aware of the roster problems until game time yesterday. Those same six guys lit up UNC just a few days ago.

 

[spdrama]

They replaced Edwards with Naheem McLeod. McLeod is out for the season due to injury. The back-up center was out due to concussion protocol.

With Benny Williams (6'9" PF) dismissed, they're down to using Brown at the center and a 6'6" unathletic guard, who also can't shoot, at power forward.

Their roster was horribly constructed to begin with, and now they are toast this season.

The exact same lineup that started and played against GT, beat North Carolina earlier in the week. I see posts saying Syracuse can’t shoot, can’t rebound and are toast. Yet this crappy shooting rebound weak piece of toast beat the #1 team in the conference a few nights earlier. Tech is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of its own fan forum. No respect. How about they shot poorly because Tech defended aggressively. Maybe we played tougher on the boards. And just maybe the team likes eating toast.

 

[MtnWasp]

This 20 conference game thing has to end. Not to sound like a SEC fan but all we do is beat each other up. 18 would be a really good number and would allow the ACC to showcase what it can do against other conferences with two additional games. Perhaps a weekend series against the BIG10 and another against the BigEast

I do think it is a good idea for the majority of the pre-season to be used for conference Dual Meets formatted like the ACC-SEC challenge. That way pre-season shedules would be more systematic based on a conference round robin structure.

It would be beneficial specially if there were no team rankings until after the conference dual meets were completed. Then there would be less pre-season bias in the conference rankings that could impact NCAAT at large selection that get carried through from the beginning of the season. The messy part is how do you seed the dual meets? Ideally, the seedings would be done on the fly so that if, for example, Gt was projected last in the ACC preseason, but was 3-0 going into the ACC-Big10 dual meet, that GT's seeding would be adjusted for the 3-0 record. I don't know how practical that would be.

On the other hand, the conference games are the best games of the year and I don't see where reducing the number of interesting games is such a good idea.

Conference teams "beating up on each other" is only an issue with regards to the NCAAT, and the NCAAT only applies to 19 percent of eligible teams. I think fans are too focused on the NCAAT and ignoring some highly relevant basketball. Only teams having a really good year get in. So I wouldn't be sacrificing the regular season for a handful of bubble teams impacted by selection algorithm sampling bias.

 

[alagold]

In an ugly game we got what we needed -EFFORT--on the glass and rebs.Making 10-12 on FTs was a nice change and needed- even though they got more FTs than us.Losing to an undermanned team at home would have been really bad.

 

[CuseJacket]

I am happy we won the game. I was not aware of the roster problems until game time yesterday. Those same six guys lit up UNC just a few days ago.

The UNC game was the exception rather than the rule.

Back to GT, the Jackets deserved the W. We outplayed and outclassed them. Ndongo was particularly impressive to me. Maliq Brown is probably one of the 20 best players in the ACC in my opinion, or is at least destined to become one, and Ndongo imposed his physical will on him throughout the game to make Brown's life difficult on both ends.

 

[CuseJacket]

The exact same lineup that started and played against GT, beat North Carolina earlier in the week. I see posts saying Syracuse can’t shoot, can’t rebound and are toast. Yet this crappy shooting rebound weak piece of toast beat the #1 team in the conference a few nights earlier. Tech is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield in its own fan forum. No respect. How about they shot poorly because Tech defended aggressively. Maybe we played tougher on the boards. And just maybe the team likes eating toast.

See my last post to hopefully make you feel better.

But yes, statistics prove Syracuse is a bad shooting and rebounding team on the whole.

Georgia Tech beat UNC and is 4-11 in the ACC. We aren't good either. Let's be real.

GT deserved to win yesterday.

 

[spdrama]

See my last post to hopefully make you feel better.

But yes, statistics prove Syracuse is a bad shooting and rebounding team on the whole.

Georgia Tech beat UNC and is 4-11 in the ACC. We aren't good either. Let's be real.

GT deserved to win yesterday.

I fully understand that, but the team does deserve credit occasionally. Emphasizing weaknesses or poor play in our foes as the reason or major factor for a win strikes me as puncturing the celebratory balloon.

 

[MtnWasp]

I fully understand that, but the team does deserve credit occasionally. Emphasizing weaknesses or poor play in our foes as the reason or major factor for a win strikes me as puncturing the celebratory balloon.

I have to agree with this.

A lot of "Sophisticated" fans who are trying to keep things real will discount wins against weaker opposition.

But those same sophisticated fans should be able to recognize good basketball regardless of the quality of the competition. For instance, we should be able to discern that Michael Jordan was a special player even when he was playing against over-matched competition. The same goes for team play.

But more than that, discounting accomplishments against weaker teams is a kill joy in an arena that is supposed to be an unimportant past-time. So, I consider the practice to be a bad habit and a bit socially "off."

 

[CuseJacket]

I fully understand that, but the team does deserve credit occasionally. Emphasizing weaknesses or poor play in our foes as the reason or major factor for a win strikes me as puncturing the celebratory balloon.

I have to agree with this.

A lot of "Sophisticated" fans who are trying to keep things real will discount wins against weaker opposition.

But those same sophisticated fans should be able to recognize good basketball regardless of the quality of the competition. For instance, we should be able to discern that Michael Jordan was a special player even when he was playing against over-matched competition. The same goes for team play.

But more than that, discounting accomplishments against weaker teams is a kill joy in an arena that is supposed to be an unimportant past-time. So, I consider the practice to be a bad habit and a bit socially "off."

Folks, I think you know me and my history here. If you read back through this thread, I hope you can see that I was only trying to respond to Cuse-related talking points that were either misinformed or provide context that was missing. Or respond to those who responded to me. It is an attempt to inform, not dismiss our performance.

For this game, I think I am uniquely qualified to provide a level of insight about the opponent that you won't otherwise get. The opponent is not fun to watch or talk about, hence why I didn't care to post anything pre-game as a preview.

GT flat out was the better team yesterday -

• Not only did we negate Brown, we generally made it very tough for their starting back court - the same two guys who UNC could not guard - to get anything going downhill. We made it very very hard on them.
• We further scouted them well and left Justin Taylor wide open, baiting him to shoot. That also enabled us to clog the lane against their guard penetration.
• Beyond those example, Stoudamire outcoached Autry in several ways on both ends, taking advantage of mismatches incessantly.
• We simply outhustled and wanted it more than Syracuse. That is tough to coach and for players to do when our team is what it is this year, and it demonstrated buy-in and gives hope for the future.

I've rarely posted opinion/insights this year because it hasn't been a fun year as a GT fan. You know this based on my posting history. I've not attempted to degrade the convo or tear down our wins. Happy to take this offline if you disagree.

 

[kg01]

Injuries aside, this is the most unlikeable 'Cuse team I've ever watched, and it's echoed by many fans.

Not sure what was shown on TV, but it was on full display in the stadium. They are a whiny bunch who was visibly and demonstrably arguing with the refs and fighting with each other + coaches during timeouts. Bell basically launched a protest, no-effort corner three in the last 8 minutes, which was basically an intentional turnover.

No tears here. Looking forward to the offseason.

I picked up on that biGTime.

The complaining to the refs was incessant. The one kid that kept tossing up contorted jumpers tryna get fouled was just ... something. I can see how that, plus the constant arguing amongst themselves, would turn a fan off.

Broadcast kept saying that's what Autry wants. Seems like a recipe for disaster eventually.

I mean, there's a way to hold each other accountable without openly chastising each other every time something goes wrong.

Have fun with that, Cu$e.

 

[dtm1997]

They replaced Edwards with Naheem McLeod. McLeod is out for the season due to injury. The back-up center was out due to concussion protocol.

With Benny Williams (6'9" PF) dismissed, they're down to using Brown at the center and a 6'6" unathletic guard, who also can't shoot, at power forward.

Their roster was horribly constructed to begin with, and now they are toast this season.

Plus Judah Mintz might have one foot out the door

 

[Rzunz]

Folks, I think you know me and my history here. If you read back through this thread, I hope you can see that I was only trying to respond to Cuse-related talking points that were either misinformed or provide context that was missing. Or respond to those who responded to me. It is an attempt to inform, not dismiss our performance.

For this game, I think I am uniquely qualified to provide a level of insight about the opponent that you won't otherwise get. The opponent is not fun to watch or talk about, hence why I didn't care to post anything pre-game as a preview.

GT flat out was the better team yesterday -

• Not only did we negate Brown, we generally made it very tough for their starting back court - the same two guys who UNC could not guard - to get anything going downhill. We made it very very hard on them.
• We further scouted them well and left Justin Taylor wide open, baiting him to shoot. That also enabled us to clog the lane against their guard penetration.
• Beyond those example, Stoudamire outcoached Autry in several ways on both ends, taking advantage of mismatches incessantly.
• We simply outhustled and wanted it more than Syracuse. That is tough to coach and for players to do when our team is what it is this year, and it demonstrated buy-in and gives hope for the future.

I've rarely posted opinion/insights this year because it hasn't been a fun year as a GT fan. You know this based on my posting history. I've not attempted to degrade the convo or tear down our wins. Happy to take this offline if you disagree.

Mintz and Starling could be the best backcourt combo in the league. Good job Jackets!

 

[orientalnc]

I'm going to defend Syracuse just a bit. This lineup didn't play well against us last night and there are legit reasons for it. But they handled UNC four nights ago. They are not chumps.

 

[spdrama]

Folks, I think you know me and my history here. If you read back through this thread, I hope you can see that I was only trying to respond to Cuse-related talking points that were either misinformed or provide context that was missing. Or respond to those who responded to me. It is an attempt to inform, not dismiss our performance.

For this game, I think I am uniquely qualified to provide a level of insight about the opponent that you won't otherwise get. The opponent is not fun to watch or talk about, hence why I didn't care to post anything pre-game as a preview.

GT flat out was the better team yesterday -

• Not only did we negate Brown, we generally made it very tough for their starting back court - the same two guys who UNC could not guard - to get anything going downhill. We made it very very hard on them.
• We further scouted them well and left Justin Taylor wide open, baiting him to shoot. That also enabled us to clog the lane against their guard penetration.
• Beyond those example, Stoudamire outcoached Autry in several ways on both ends, taking advantage of mismatches incessantly.
• We simply outhustled and wanted it more than Syracuse. That is tough to coach and for players to do when our team is what it is this year, and it demonstrated buy-in and gives hope for the future.

I've rarely posted opinion/insights this year because it hasn't been a fun year as a GT fan. You know this based on my posting history. I've not attempted to degrade the convo or tear down our wins. Happy to take this offline if you disagree.

On board with you nearly 100%. Understand your very real take on the Orange. I am a New Yorker and never a Cuse fan and have lived with their alumni/fans fingers and laughs for decades. Just so few opportunities this year to congratulate the players and coaches on a job well done that any blame on Syracuse for losing seems to detract from the credit earned by GT for winning

 

[gte447f]

True, but I was also shocked a) that they played almost exclusively 2-3 zone and b) at how poorly they ran it (considering it's kinda their thing). The ghost of Jim Boeheim still haunts...

Autry said they only played the zone last night because of numbers. As it was, they basically played only six guys.

This is the correct answer. The 2-3 is to avoid foul trouble, since they have maybe 5-6 playable guys on the roster. Prior to the last few games, about 85%+ of their defensive possessions were man-to-man, and they were top 50 in KenPom defensive efficiency.

Agree that the amount of 2-3 zone played by Cuse was primarily to try to keep their guys out of foul trouble, but I don’t agree that they played poorly in the zone. We turned the ball over 17 times. Many of those turnovers happened in the belly of their zone. We only scored 65 points. Their zone forced us or baited us into shooting and missing a lot of long 3 pointers. CDS acknowledged in his post game presser that their zone gave us our fair share of problems.

 

[gte447f]

CDS mentioned a couple of big plays in his post game press conference. He specifically called out the and-one by Kelly to seal the game and a big offensive rebound by Ndongo down the stretch.

I want to throw out a couple of other big momentum plays. Reeves’ big dunk was 2 plays in one. First the shake and bake to blow by his man on the perimeter, and then the pump fake while airborne to elude a defender and finish the monster dunk. From start to finish that was a helluva drive to the basket.

The best play of the game in my opinion was Sturdivant blocking the dunk attempt of a cuse player on a 1v1 fast break. Unfortunately, he was called for a foul, which I thought was a shame, because that was a heck of a difficult play for a point guard to make.

 

[GaTech4ever]

Injuries aside, this is the most unlikeable 'Cuse team I've ever watched, and it's echoed by many fans.

Not sure what was shown on TV, but it was on full display in the stadium. They are a whiny bunch who was visibly and demonstrably arguing with the refs and fighting with each other + coaches during timeouts. Bell basically launched a protest, no-effort corner three in the last 8 minutes, which was basically an intentional turnover.

No tears here. Looking forward to the offseason.

My girlfriend (who had never seen Syracuse play and isn’t a huge sports fan) said at one point, “I feel terrible for Syracuse’s players.” Me: “Uhhhh okay?” Her: “They have to play with Copeland and he’s a cancer.” He’s obviously talented and emotional but I just thought it was interesting she picked up on it. And this was before he got into it with his teammate late during a timeout.

Why a woman who hasn’t married me yet is willing to watch this GT team on a Saturday night (delayed watch), I’m still trying to figure out.

 

[Bogey]

Sturdivant should start instead of George

I agree with this. The kid has a lot of talent but he is so immature he doesn't need to have starting pressure put on him. His classmates are still in high school.
And Kyle can provide senior leadership that this team desperately needs.
Nait played much better earlier but now he is a turn over machine with his passing and his scoring has disappeared, 0 points today in 20 minutes. We should see him play more up to his potential after a year in the system under CDS next year. I do like Nait a lot but to me he should be given time to grow into his role as a starter.