Bubblicious - The Syracuse Basketball Thread

The Filthy One

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It's November, and that means it's time for the annual Syracuse hoops thread. The team tips off on November 6 against...checks schedule...the defending national champs. Ok, then. That will be fun. Last year's team returned all five starters from a team that went to the Sweet Sixteen the year before and then proceeded to play uninspired basketball before getting bounced in the first round of the tournament.

This year's team returns three-ish contributors from last year's squad -- Elijah Hughes, Buddy Boeheim, and Marek Dolezaj -- along with Bourama Sidibe, Jalen Carey, Robert Braswell, and Howard Washington. Add to that group four freshman -- Quincy Gurrier, Brycen Goodine, Joe Girard III, John Bol Ajak, and Jesse Edwards.

I can't tell what to make of this team. Based on what I've read and seen in highlights from their pre-season play, it looks like this team will look to play up-tempo, at least relative to the last few Syracuse teams, most of whom had to resort to rock fights in the mid-50s to win. That would be a welcome change of pace. Additionally, it looks like this team can shoot it a bit, with Hughes, Boehiem, and Girard all considered legit threats from 3 and Goodine, Braswell, Dolezaj, Guerrier, and Carey all willing to put up shots as well.

Here's my guess at a rotation:

Starters:
G - Jalen Carey
G - Buddy Boeheim
F - Elijah Hughes
F - Quincy Guerrier
C - Bourama Sidibe

Key Reserves:
G - Joe Girard III
G - Brycen Goodine
F - Marek Dolezaj
C - Jesse Edwards

Likely getting few minutes:
Washington. Ajak.

Wildcard:
Robert Braswell. Long like Hakim Warrick, seems to find the ball and make plays like Josh Pace or C.J. Fair. Plus he has a jump shot. He just seems like a Boeheim player. I think he could get sneaky minutes, especially as the season wears on.

Most important player: Carey. Point guard sets the pace, and I get the sense they want Carey to push it. I think if Carey has a big year, Syracuse will be tough. If Carey flops, maybe Goodine ends up the point guard, but that likely means bad things have happened.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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18 wins, a couple of good wins, but a lot of.....ugh.

Though it always seems like the teams you least expect to be good at SU turn out to be nice surprises, so who knows.
 

benhogan

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Good recap FiltyOne

Cuse hoops! I've been hardcore fan for 40years. Older sibling attended starting in '79, then I decided to foolishly bundle up and head to the Hill (graduated in '89). I attended many, many games. Was in the Carrier Dome when fans were throwing oranges at the backboard with Ewing at the line, JAP baiting was controversial and sprinting to the Carrier Dome to get in line for season tickets seemed like a clever idea.

Cuse is best when:
1. no one discusses them in the preseason
2. they have 3pt shooting

I expect Carey will be loose with the ball which will lead to Joe Girard stepping in after the first month. Braswell can shoot, so he should be in Boeheim's 8 man rotation (that's Jimmy's limit).

Hughes is the legit star of this group surrounded by a bunch of role players, so this team will go as Hughes goes. Playing overseas in Italy this Summer along with a tough Virgina game should help them get ready for their usually soft out of conference schedule.

That's all I have, need some time to see what Jimmy is up to before I can comment further:drunk:
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Good recap FiltyOne

Cuse hoops! I've been hardcore fan for 40years. Older sibling attended starting in '79, then I decided to foolishly bundle up and head to the Hill (graduated in '89). I attended many, many games. Was in the Carrier Dome when fans were throwing oranges at the backboard with Ewing at the line, JAP baiting was controversial and sprinting to the Carrier Dome to get in line for season tickets seemed like a clever idea.

Cuse is best when:
1. no one discusses them in the preseason
2. they have 3pt shooting

I expect Carey will be loose with the ball which will lead to Joe Girard stepping in after the first month. Braswell can shoot, so he should be in Boeheim's 8 man rotation (that's Jimmy's limit).

Hughes is the legit star of this group surrounded by a bunch of role players, so this team will go as Hughes goes. Playing overseas in Italy this Summer along with a tough Virgina game should help them get ready for their usually soft out of conference schedule.

That's all I have, need some time to see what Jimmy is up to before I can comment further:drunk:
I've always preferred it when SU would play fast. Get the ball and gogogogo. Even if it doesn't result in a quick shot, I want them to push the pace as often as possible. It would be lovely if they could knock down 3's at a high rate this year. I would really like it for JB to ditch the high ball screen offense that seems to never produce good looks.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I know Virginia's defense is really good. But I've seen literally three shots by SU that weren't forced, deep chucks, off-balance heaves, rushed shots, balls thrown up with a defender draped all over them. It's just been awful to watch. 27 points scored through 31 minutes played.
 

The Filthy One

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I know Virginia's defense is really good. But I've seen literally three shots by SU that weren't forced, deep chucks, off-balance heaves, rushed shots, balls thrown up with a defender draped all over them. It's just been awful to watch. 27 points scored through 31 minutes played.
I’m starting to buy into the “Boeheim can’t coach offense” narrative. Also, I missed the first half. Why did Carey sit almost the entire game?
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I’m starting to buy into the “Boeheim can’t coach offense” narrative. Also, I missed the first half. Why did Carey sit almost the entire game?
Because he sucked. Just like everyone else on the team on the offensive end.

They gave up 48 points (48!) and got crushed. That's how bad they were on offense. This was the worst offensive performance I've ever seen by a Syracuse team by FAR, and I've been watching them since the early 80s. Even the baskets they somehow managed to make were mostly lucky shots off bad shot selections. They were lucky to score 34.
 

bsj

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I do believe that all Syracuse teams are allergic to offense.

I am so MF sick of the hero ball one man offense. Pass the ball. Work inside. Play the post game. Instead, one dribble and a contested 3. Awful offense.
 

LeftyTG

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The game has passed Boeheim by in that Bowden at Florida State way. The program is stale and sliding into irrelevancy. Recruiting has gone down, development has stalled out, and the guy who should be coaching the team is racking up McDonald's All Americans at Washington.

It's gonna be an ugly 5 years for Syracuse basketball, and it could be much, much longer than 5 years. The frustrating thing is they actually had the succession plan in place to ensure high level continuity, and they allowed Boeheim to blow it up. He'll forever be a legend at Syracuse, but he made himself bigger than the program, and Syracuse will be paying that price.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I do believe that all Syracuse teams are allergic to offense.

I am so MF sick of the hero ball one man offense. Pass the ball. Work inside. Play the post game. Instead, one dribble and a contested 3. Awful offense.
Who is the last legit post scorer SU has had? Christmas? His senior year he was a force on the block but since then, I can't remember a single guy. I know the game has changed, blah blah blah blah freaking blah. But SU runs the same frigging stupid high ball screen action where the ball handler gets double teamed and can't find anyone, then has to dribble out of it and reset and absolutely NOTHING productive happens. I don't mind pick and roll offense, but the guy setting the screen has to be an offensive threat for it to work. When it's Sidibe or Dolezaj or last year Chukwu setting the screen, those guys have basically no offensive skills and so the high pick and roll accomplishes nothing. So you end up with Hughes just chucking, or other guys flailing into the lane.

They have no quality penetrators, so can't really play the drive-and-dish game effectively. They can't free anyone up with screening action. They have no post players so can't go inside-out or get easy buckets at the rim. And to top it off, they don't run. They had on a couple of occasions last night a 3-on-2 and they slowed it down to get into a half court offense. Against freaking VIRGINIA, the best half court defensive team in the country. I was pulling my hair out watching this crap.

Oh and they suck at free throws too so when they manage to get to the line, they shoot 60%. It's infuriating.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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The game has passed Boeheim by in that Bowden at Florida State way. The program is stale and sliding into irrelevancy. Recruiting has gone down, development has stalled out, and the guy who should be coaching the team is racking up McDonald's All Americans at Washington.

It's gonna be an ugly 5 years for Syracuse basketball, and it could be much, much longer than 5 years. The frustrating thing is they actually had the succession plan in place to ensure high level continuity, and they allowed Boeheim to blow it up. He'll forever be a legend at Syracuse, but he made himself bigger than the program, and Syracuse will be paying that price.
A-MEN. I wanted JB - who I have loved - to retire on schedule and give the program to Hopkins, as the plan had laid out. But JB just couldn't get out and the entire program is suffering big-time. Oh they'll win 16-18 games this year and maybe get a nice surprise win along the way that will give people hope. But long long long long long gone are the days of SU being an elite team.

Oh and the football team sucks again.

Wonderful days for SU sports. At least field hockey and men's cross country are good.
 

The Filthy One

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I'm surprised Boeheim didn't play more people. The group he had out there was awful and he seemed very reluctant to go to the bench (other than to play Girard). The only thing I can think of is that he had no confidence in any of the freshman being able to play defense yet.

The zone is again a blessing and a curse in games like this. On the one hand, it allowed them to limit UVA to 48 points. But on the other hand, I think it likely forced Boeheim's hand in terms of personnel. I think he normally counts on 8-10 cupcake games early in the year to let new players learn the zone. Without that, he basically played returning players and Girard, despite the fact that none of those players could do anything on offense.
 

The Filthy One

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Worst SU team of my lifetime, going away. Is there anyone on this team that will even sniff the G League or whatever they call the D League now? This is what happens when you are recruiting guys ranked 250 nationally.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Boeheim needs to go. Love the guy but hes cooked. Let's not make the same mistake that we did keeping Pasqualoni too long
It's too late for that. We are 2-3 years too late. Should have let him go and hired Hopkins.
 

JimD

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The game has passed Boeheim by in that Bowden at Florida State way. The program is stale and sliding into irrelevancy. Recruiting has gone down, development has stalled out, and the guy who should be coaching the team is racking up McDonald's All Americans at Washington.

It's gonna be an ugly 5 years for Syracuse basketball, and it could be much, much longer than 5 years. The frustrating thing is they actually had the succession plan in place to ensure high level continuity, and they allowed Boeheim to blow it up. He'll forever be a legend at Syracuse, but he made himself bigger than the program, and Syracuse will be paying that price.
Completely agree. Five years is an eternity to be in the college basketball wilderness and not associated with the sport's elite teams in the minds of the young stars they are trying to recruit.

John Wildhack is going to earn his money here - if the Orange continue to be non-competitive, do they let this go for two more years after this until Buddy graduates? Is Jim prowling on the sideline enough of a draw to keep the fans and money coming in if the team has no serious shot at winning at a high level?
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Brutal. Lots of open misses. No inside presence at all. Sidibe sucks. Boeheim sucks. Dolezaj plays hard but has a limited set of skills.
Boeheim had 25. He can shoot and get hot. Sidibe sucks and our offensive set sucks and the zone can’t stop anyone anymore.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Yeah I guess I just got tired of watching him brick shot after shot in the first half. Totally agree about the zone. Most teams have too many shooters now.
And the zone has to extend so far that it leaves opponents with easy inside opportunities against usually one defender. It’s time for SU to learn to play man defense again. It’s not like they don’t have enough decent athletes. That’s never really been the problem.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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FWIW (and not much, I know).... SU had a really nice win against Virginia on the road, and then followed it up with a trouncing of BC. That's coming off two really close losses to ND and VT. They're playing better. It would still take a miracle to make the NCAA tournament, but perhaps they can at least be interesting down the stretch of the season.

Love the way Girard is playing, BTW. He and Boeheim are the kind of players with basically no shot at the NBA, so will likely be four year college players. When Buddy is a senior and Girard is a junior, that's going to be a really good and proficient college backcourt. Might make SU hoops kind of fun again.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Maybe I was wrong about Buddy. He loses consciousness for a stretch just about every game.
Buddy’s gotten a lot stronger since last year which has really helped his floor game. He looks a lot more confident and in control this year than last when he seems out of his league physically. Credit where credit is due.....he’s clearly put in the work.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Buddy’s gotten a lot stronger since last year which has really helped his floor game. He looks a lot more confident and in control this year than last when he seems out of his league physically. Credit where credit is due.....he’s clearly put in the work.
He is averaging nearly 16 points a game as a sophomore. Pretty good. He’s going to end up having a really really nice college career.

He carried SU today...great win. Nice little stretch they have going here.
 

5050HindSight

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Buddy’s gotten a lot stronger since last year which has really helped his floor game. He looks a lot more confident and in control this year than last when he seems out of his league physically. Credit where credit is due.....he’s clearly put in the work.
How do you all think Girard has been? I was able to watch him play a dozen or so times in high school but unfortunately I haven't been able to catch too many games so far this year.

For what it's worth... High School Girard was unlike anything I've ever seen; just so much more athletic/skilled than his peers and in a system built to maximize his shooting/attempts. (I was tracking some of his stats, and while shot attempts for high school games are spottily reported at best, one game I have him with 42 field goal attempts. To put that in perspective, the NBA has kept track of field goal attempts since the '83-84 season and the record for attempts in a game is 50, held by Kobe in his farewell game when he basically shot every time he touched the ball. BUT... NBA games are 48 minutes long, and high school games only 32. So on a per 48 minute basis, Girard's game is the equivalent of 63 attempts!) So it was the absolute perfect storm to put up a lot of points. On the flip side, everyone in the gym knew he was going to shoot, and even double teaming him on every possession didn't really slow him down too much.

Looking past the scoring, I thought he'd have a chance to be a good college player, maybe even really good by his Jr or Sr year. His shooting was a necessity, and he has incredible range, but his outside shot runs a bit streaky. And I thought one of his best high school assets (driving into the lane for a layup or getting fouled) would be neutralized quite a bit by the bigger and faster college players. But at the same time, his handle and court vision were both underutilized in high school but would be essential at Syracuse. And unlike a lot of high school shooters, he has a lot of athleticism. I also thought he'd be better defensively since he wouldn't save himself quite so much at that end of the floor, though he does also like to gamble a bit and I could see that biting Cuse a bit in the 2-3 zone.

Anyway, when I read about him going to play college it seemed that people were either expecting the next Jimmer (which was mostly lazy due to both being white long range shooters from the same town) or that he'd be a complete bust. I'm glad that he got into the lineup early and has pretty much disproved the complete doubters and look forward to seeing how it plays out for him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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How do you all think Girard has been? I was able to watch him play a dozen or so times in high school but unfortunately I haven't been able to catch too many games so far this year.

For what it's worth... High School Girard was unlike anything I've ever seen; just so much more athletic/skilled than his peers and in a system built to maximize his shooting/attempts. (I was tracking some of his stats, and while shot attempts for high school games are spottily reported at best, one game I have him with 42 field goal attempts. To put that in perspective, the NBA has kept track of field goal attempts since the '83-84 season and the record for attempts in a game is 50, held by Kobe in his farewell game when he basically shot every time he touched the ball. BUT... NBA games are 48 minutes long, and high school games only 32. So on a per 48 minute basis, Girard's game is the equivalent of 63 attempts!) So it was the absolute perfect storm to put up a lot of points. On the flip side, everyone in the gym knew he was going to shoot, and even double teaming him on every possession didn't really slow him down too much.

Looking past the scoring, I thought he'd have a chance to be a good college player, maybe even really good by his Jr or Sr year. His shooting was a necessity, and he has incredible range, but his outside shot runs a bit streaky. And I thought one of his best high school assets (driving into the lane for a layup or getting fouled) would be neutralized quite a bit by the bigger and faster college players. But at the same time, his handle and court vision were both underutilized in high school but would be essential at Syracuse. And unlike a lot of high school shooters, he has a lot of athleticism. I also thought he'd be better defensively since he wouldn't save himself quite so much at that end of the floor, though he does also like to gamble a bit and I could see that biting Cuse a bit in the 2-3 zone.

Anyway, when I read about him going to play college it seemed that people were either expecting the next Jimmer (which was mostly lazy due to both being white long range shooters from the same town) or that he'd be a complete bust. I'm glad that he got into the lineup early and has pretty much disproved the complete doubters and look forward to seeing how it plays out for him.
I really like Girard a lot. Mannion is my favorite freshman guard in the county, and it really isn't close, so I can't say Girard is my #1 freshman guard but he's up there. I do question why he would choose Syracuse as that system doesn't seem to play to his strengths as much as it could in other places but it's nice to see McNamara's range in orange again.
 

BaseballJones

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SU has now won four straight ACC games and has managed to climb to 12-7. Three of the four have been high quality wins, all on the road: at Virginia, at Virginia Tech, and at Notre Dame.

12 regular season games left. If they can somehow go 7-5, that would put them at 19-12 before the ACC tournament, and probably among the last teams into the NCAA field.
 

tims4wins

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SU has now won four straight ACC games and has managed to climb to 12-7. Three of the four have been high quality wins, all on the road: at Virginia, at Virginia Tech, and at Notre Dame.

12 regular season games left. If they can somehow go 7-5, that would put them at 19-12 before the ACC tournament, and probably among the last teams into the NCAA field.
They host Duke next Saturday, good chance for a resume builder
 

HomeRunBaker

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SU has now won four straight ACC games and has managed to climb to 12-7. Three of the four have been high quality wins, all on the road: at Virginia, at Virginia Tech, and at Notre Dame.

12 regular season games left. If they can somehow go 7-5, that would put them at 19-12 before the ACC tournament, and probably among the last teams into the NCAA field.
Hosting Pitt today is one of those secret “must win” games.......two fairly evenly matched teams, at home, that you can’t afford to lose if you want to make the dance.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Hosting Pitt today is one of those secret “must win” games.......two fairly evenly matched teams, at home, that you can’t afford to lose if you want to make the dance.
Yep. Plus I hate Pitt with a burning passion, so all the more reason to want SU to win today.
 

BaseballJones

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At the half, up 11. Announcer listing his top 4 Syracuse players: Carmelo, Coleman, Pearl, Moten. An interesting question. I'll basically go from my time (say Pearl) forward.

All-SU First Team
Pearl Washington
Lawrence Moten
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony
Derrick Coleman

All-SU Second Team
Sherman Douglas
Gerry McNamara
John Wallace
Hakim Warrick
Rony Seikaly

All-SU Honorable Mention
CJ Fair
Adrian Autry
Dave Johnson
Rafael Addison
Stephen Thompson
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Nice win against another quality opponent. Five in a row. 13-7 overall. They're giving themselves a chance at the NCAA tournament.
 

BaseballJones

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This is why Boeheim decides when it is over. No coach in NCAA history has been written off by the naysayers more only to come roaring back every time.
Two key moves from the early part of the year: (1) Girard replacing Carey. Carey has a lot of skill as a basketball player but he's been a godawful fit for this team. (2) Guerrier getting a lot more playing time. He's been really helpful up front.
 

HomeRunBaker

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At the half, up 11. Announcer listing his top 4 Syracuse players: Carmelo, Coleman, Pearl, Moten. An interesting question. I'll basically go from my time (say Pearl) forward.

All-SU First Team
Pearl Washington
Lawrence Moten
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony
Derrick Coleman

All-SU Second Team
Sherman Douglas
Gerry McNamara
John Wallace
Hakim Warrick
Rony Seikaly

All-SU Honorable Mention
CJ Fair
Adrian Autry
Dave Johnson
Rafael Addison
Stephen Thompson
Did you forget Jason Hart or simply not a fan? (My guess is forgot but wanted to ask)
 

The Filthy One

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At the half, up 11. Announcer listing his top 4 Syracuse players: Carmelo, Coleman, Pearl, Moten. An interesting question. I'll basically go from my time (say Pearl) forward.

All-SU First Team
Pearl Washington
Lawrence Moten
Billy Owens
Carmelo Anthony
Derrick Coleman

All-SU Second Team
Sherman Douglas
Gerry McNamara
John Wallace
Hakim Warrick
Rony Seikaly

All-SU Honorable Mention
CJ Fair
Adrian Autry
Dave Johnson
Rafael Addison
Stephen Thompson
I tried to find issue with this and could not. I think I concur. Hart vs. Autry is a good debate.

Regarding this year's team, I want to believe, but I also think they have beaten 3 bad teams and two mediocre ones (UVA and VT). Still, it's better than losing to those mediocre teams.

There is a pattern developing, though: Lights out shooting in the first half, which helps them build a large lead. And then stagnant offense in the second half that makes every game (other than against BC) into a nail-biter. It's going to take two good halves to beat teams like FSU, Duke, and Louisville, and I figure they have to win at least one and probably two of those games to sniff the tournament.
 

BaseballJones

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I think part of it is when Hughes isn’t scoring in the first half, he feels like he HAS to on the second, so he forces a lot of shots. I think he has some “I have to get mine” in him. Which works great when he’s on...not so great when he’s off and getting frustrated.

Also at the ends of these games Boeheim runs a LOT of iso ball with Hughes. Slows the game way down and relies almost entirely on him to either score or create for someone else. It’s different than how they play most of the rest of the game, when they’re running P&R with Dolezaj or pin downs for Buddy.
 

bsj

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Shows you the depth of the hole they dug that despite how well they are playing they still seem, from a bracketology perspective quite a bit away from tourney consideration. Hopefully they can keep it up
 

BaseballJones

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Yeah, when you lose to Oklahoma State, Penn State, Iowa, and Georgetown in the span of five games, and find yourself at 8-7, it's going to be very difficult to make the NCAA tournament. But now if they go 6-5 the rest of their ACC schedule (won't be easy but it's doable), they should be in, or at least on their annual bubble.
 

Doooweeeey!

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Shows you the depth of the hole they dug that despite how well they are playing they still seem, from a bracketology perspective quite a bit away from tourney consideration. Hopefully they can keep it up
Probably also helps that it's a perceived "down year" for the power programs in the ACC.
I've enjoyed watching Dolezaj's offense improve. If he continues to look to score and the shooters aren't terrible, the Orange still be a tough matchup.

@BaseballJones: Great List. I might have put Raf Addison higher, but that's likely nostalgia for my era, which apparently matches yours.

Edit: And what about Preston Shumpert, couldn't he be on that third team maybe..?
 

The Filthy One

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Syracuse got a commitment from Dior Johnson, 5-star PG in the 2022 class. This is probably their biggest recruiting win since Melo, though obviously a lot can happen between now and 2022 (the NBA could (probably will) end the one-and-done rule, Dior could decide to play in Australia or China, he could take an internship with Vitamin Water or some shit, the United States might descend into civil war...). Regardless of whether he ever plays a game for Cuse, landing Johnson this early should lead to more prestigious recruits considering Syracuse, so I'll consider this a win either way.

Also worth noting -- Johnson is teammates with Bronny James. I doubt James will consider Syracuse, but it's at least a fun fantasy.
 

bsj

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Syracuse got a commitment from Dior Johnson, 5-star PG in the 2022 class. This is probably their biggest recruiting win since Melo, though obviously a lot can happen between now and 2022 (the NBA could (probably will) end the one-and-done rule, Dior could decide to play in Australia or China, he could take an internship with Vitamin Water or some shit, the United States might descend into civil war...). Regardless of whether he ever plays a game for Cuse, landing Johnson this early should lead to more prestigious recruits considering Syracuse, so I'll consider this a win either way.

Also worth noting -- Johnson is teammates with Bronny James. I doubt James will consider Syracuse, but it's at least a fun fantasy.
He is very very vocal and passionate about coming. Doesnt mean one thing at all of course if the rules change or the money is there...but saying all the right things to lead me to believe there is at least a chance he'll stick with us
 

BaseballJones

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After getting blown out by Louisville last night, SU sits at 14-12, 7-8 in the ACC. Terrible. But...not out of it yet. They're just 1-5 in their last six games, but four of those losses were close. Their remaining schedule:

vs. Georgia Tech (13-13, 7-8) - they beat GaTech 97-63 earlier
at Pitt (15-12, 6-10) - they beat Pitt 69-61 earlier
vs N. Carolina (10-16, 3-12)
at Boston College (13-14, 7-9) - they beat BC 76-50 earlier
at Miami (14-12, 6-10)

Honestly, they should run the table here. They won't, because SU. But they *should*. And if they do, that would get them to 19-12, 12-8 in the ACC. I know it's a down year in the ACC, but going 12-8 in the ACC is still a good record. If they could then go 1-1 in the ACC tournament, that would get them to 20-13 and right back on the bubble again, with a pretty decent chance of getting in, given that in order to get there, they'd have gone 6-1 in their last 7 to end the season.

So...still a chance.
 

bsj

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Central NJ SoSH Chapter
I mean...if they run the table i think they still need minimum 1 win in the tourney just because they have so few quality wins.

20-13, 12-9 ACC may get them in because the conference is so crappy...but their metrics are terrible and wont change that much
 

The Filthy One

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 11, 2005
3,451
Los Angeles
Yesterday, Dick Vitale said that Syracuse was one player away from being really good. Unfortunately, that player is Derrick Coleman. I think he's exactly right. If Cuse had one of the three best players in program history, they would be really good. It's just the kind of insightful commentary I've come to expect from Dicky V.

I'm a little higher on the program than I was at the beginning of the year, but it's become clear that Girard and Guerrier can really play and Sidibe has looked more stable as the year has gone on. That said, next year's team could be rough. Maybe there's some Ewing Theory upside in subtracting Hughes, but it's hard to see who on next year's team can get their own shot consistently the way that he can.