Bubblicious - The Syracuse Basketball Thread

The Filthy One

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Aug 11, 2005
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Of course they are. God, I hate Georgetown. Have to hope the committee sees other bubble teams that ought to be bounced rather than SU. But I’m not hopeful.
 

Doooweeeey!

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Jul 15, 2005
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Thought the defense was really good against SD State tonight. Looked like the old, effective 2-3.
Aztecs only started hitting threes when it was too late.
Without mentioning Buddy’s gem, some other positives: They got good minutes from Jesse Edwards, Girard hit some tough shots, Dolezaj was nails from the line late. Nothing from Griffin and little from Quincy.

This could be good...
 

The Filthy One

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Playing Richmond, Braswell, and Edwards has changed the dynamic of the team. I hope Boeheim takes note so that in 10-15 years, he plays his bench more.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
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Apr 21, 2009
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Having zero expectations for a middling 'Cuse team that barely sneaks in as an at-large seems to so often lead to a better showing - and therefore way more fun for fans who have been pissed off all season - in the tourney. It's when they're a decent team that they can be counted on to shit the bed.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

RIP Dernell
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Mar 24, 2008
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How bad would this team be if they hadn't been able to recruit their best player if not for him being the coach's son?
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Having zero expectations for a middling 'Cuse team that barely sneaks in as an at-large seems to so often lead to a better showing - and therefore way more fun for fans who have been pissed off all season - in the tourney. It's when they're a decent team that they can be counted on to shit the bed.
This is so true.
 

Humphrey

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Rumors of the death of the 2-3 zone as an effective primary defense appear greatly exaggerated.
 

benhogan

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How bad would this team be if they hadn't been able to recruit their best player if not for him being the coach's son?
Buddy was ranked around 300 by the recruiting services, getting a D1 scholarship from Cuse was generous. It has paid off since he works hard on his game.

Cuse in very good shape for next season, as long as Kadary Richmond comes back. Buddy obviously will be back. Edwards, Anslem, Ajok in the middle. Guerrier/Braswell/Newton at wing. Benny Wiliams is a good recruit

Alan Griffin regressed all season after Jimmy chewed him to pieces, poor kid needs to transfer. I'm sure we'll lose a couple to transfer (Joe Girardi rumors to Siena)
 

benhogan

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Nov 2, 2007
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To my pleasant surprise he's really enjoying his year. The university, to its credit, has been very strict on testing and other protocols (much better than Northwestern, where my older boy graduates this Spring) and has communicated extremely well with both parents and students about what they can and cannot do. I think it's a relative depredation thing. His first year away from home has given him a ton of liberty that he never had, so he's really enjoying that. The covid challenges are real, and the socializing has been quite limited, but he has found a good group of friends and is mostly enjoying it. He's pledging fraternity now (not sure which one, they had to go underground for a semester so he cannot say) and enjoying that process too. He's in the Faulk school.
Loved my time at Syracuse, graduated over 30yrs ago.

I had an older sibling go to Cuse so I've been a fan since 1980. Here is my unsolicited take on Boeheim. He's associated with the 2-3 zone, but it's not your YMCA packed-in zone. It's more like a 4-1, defend the 3pt line, & keep your best shot blocker at the rim. The zone rotations are very disciplined (or you get benched) so it's just enough of a curveball to throw most opponents off. They target the opponents' best 3pt shooters and extend the zone to try to take that away. The key to it working is length, which has been noted a million times. Very short bench, give starters big minutes. Freshman rarely start, and Boeheim likes seasoned transfers. They rarely crack the top 25 in recruiting, but they are always competitive (50 straight seasons of winning). Nothing like 33,000+ in the Carrier Dome (also caught U2/Pink Floyd concerts there in '88).

The Newhouse grads at ESPN pump all the teams, so they get a little more attention than the rest of the Northeastern schools sports-wise.

I'm sure your son will have a blast. I know the fraternity system has its detractors but I still keep in touch with ~ 50 of my old fraternity brothers (go on group ski/golf trips). Plus most fraternity/sorority houses are 3-4 blocks from the Carrier Dome. Your son could roll out of bed and walk to the game within 10 minutes ;)
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Braswell entering the portal. That stings. He's good. Also Quincy testing the draft waters. Would be significant losses.
 

The Filthy One

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Richmond is gone too, after Boeheim apparently told him Girard would still start next year. Which is...I just don’t understand the thinking there.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Yeah Boeheim telling Kadary that is INSANE. First, Kadary is a much better player. Second, Girard is a nice scorer to come off the bench and that's his best fit. Third, it's unlikely that Girard leaves if Kadary starts, so it's kind of like keeping the guy who doesn't have options. You start Girard and you lose Kadary. You start Kadary and you probably keep both.

I'm sure SU will pick up some good players in the portal, just as much as they're losing them, but damn this one REALLY hurts. And it's inexcusable, honestly. Unforced error by Boeheim.
 

The Filthy One

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Since losing Kadary Richmond to the transfer portal, Cuse picked up Symir Torrence (PG, transfer from Marquette), Cole Swider (F, transfer from Villanova), and a commit for 2022 from 5-star wing Kamari Lands (a prototype SU player - a 6'8" athletic beanpole). Bourame Sidibe also announced he'll return for a fifth year, while Quincy Guerrier is testing the NBA Draft process, Woody Newton is transferring, and Marek Dolezaj is going pro in Europe.

So the team for next year stands at:

G - Joe Girard
G - Buddy Boeheim
F - Benny Williams
F - Cole Swider
C - Jesse Edwards

G - Symir Torrence
C - Bourame Sidibe
F/C - Frank Anselem

And other assorted pieces. It's not clear what Alan Griffin's plans are but it seems like he's unlikely to return after taking up permanent residence in Boeheim's doghouse for the last 6 games of the season, but you never know. Guerrier, also, could opt to return if he gets bad news from NBA folks (which I would assume he will). The team likely needs another wing to transfer in, but that's certainly not the worst Syracuse team in recent memory. They should be able to shoot it, and they should be a little longer than last year's team, with Edwards in the middle and Williams/Swider/whoever on the wings.

I will say this, though: I'm happy for the kids that they can transfer and play right away. The NCAA makes so much money off their backs that anything they can do to make the players' lives easier is merely a small step towards a more fair system. But as a fan, the new era of college basketball sucks. First, you lose any talented player after a year or two (max) to the pros, and now you've got transfer portal madness on top of it. The only players who stick around are more marginal talents or people with some extra attachment to the program, area, etc. It's so much worse than it was 20 years ago, and despite a fun Final Four, I think you can see it on the court. Old man rant over. :)
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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This year's transfer portal is especially crazy due to Covid, so we won't likely see this many transfers in a normal year. But yeah it's nuts.

That's not a terrible roster. Definitely want another wing. Getting Swider should really help. He's a good player that can really shoot. If Girard could actually improve his shooting, this becomes a talented group from the outside. And Edwards' development helps considerably. They were MUCH better with him in the middle. I think Williams has a chance to be a stud. Which, of course, means that he'll be here for one year and then be gone. :-/

Definitely has the potential to be a top-25 team, but we shall see. A couple of things don't break right and they'll be mediocre again.
 

LeftyTG

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Jul 18, 2005
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With that lineup, their ceiling is fringe top 25 team with upset potential on nights they get hot from 3. As long as Boeheim and Girard are the starting backcourt, Syracuse has a low ceiling. Those two simply are not athletically capable of beating anyone off the dribble or creating for anyone else. Boeheim will at least attract attention as a shooter and can manipulate the shape of the defense that way. We saw what Houston did to Syracuse in the tournament. Anyone with athletic, defensively sound guard will play Boeheim and Girard close and choke the offense. Torrence is another athletically limited guard. Losing Richmond was a tough loss, as he was the one guy in the backcourt who could get to the rim. It is hard to be consistent on offense without someone who can break down the defense with the dribble.

Not to be pessimistic, but I expect to be squarely on the bubble again next year.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Crap. It's time for JB to move on, IMO. I get he wants to coach his boys but when they've graduated, please retire Jimmy.