Syracuse GAME Thread

[Section3]

Just got back from the Garden.

Any negative talk about this game is pure nonsense. They went toe to toe with the #2 team in the country for nearly the entire game. They fell behind in the 1st half only because of poor shooting, nothing more. They fought back and had the Garden rocking. They ran out of steam at the foul line, ironic because they were 17 for 20 when Sampson stepped to the line for two.

Nothing to be embarrassed about, and plenty to look forward to. Our team is just as talented as theirs. We will be playing in March.

I didn't realize Norm was still posting here.

It was men against boys. Boy Lavin was schooled again by the Boeheim's of the world. Boy Harrison was 6 for 19.

This team has established an identity that will stick with us all year, no matter what Lavin speaks. We start weak against everyone (excluding Fordham). We wake up at some point. Then the better teams treat us like washerwomen in the final few minutes. Our three point shooting is abysmal. There are very few teams including low major that are worse. Yet, we make that the focus of our offense while keeping our one or two legitimate three point shooters on the bench. We went toe to toe with Wisconsin and Syracuse until they decided it was time for the smackdown. Plenty of boxers went toe to toe with Mike Tyson when he was in his prime. It's the outcome that matters.

35 of Mike Tyson's 50 wins were won by TKO or KO in the 6th round or before. Very few guys went toe to toe with him.

But back to the subject at hand. I wasn't sure this team was for real after beating Fordham by 46. After all, it was Fordham. Clawing back against Syracuse to take the lead late wasn't being toyed with. They legitimately looked like they belonged on the court with Syracuse. Three calls I think could have gone the other way - one of Obekpa's blocks, the three point play against Sanchez w a very questionable continuation basket could have been a charge, and then when Sampson tried to slam late and was smothered. IF 2 of those 3 calls went SJUs way, the outcome may have been different.

Finally, don't you think that it's pretty much impossible to beat a Syracuse when you aren't making outside shots? When you can't make three's they can pack it in, and its really difficult to play inside vs. Syracuse when they do that. Yet we almost overcame bad shooting from 3. I'm not upset, I'm actually confident, that if we can play like this all season, we'll be in the top 1/2 of the big east.

Those boxers went toe to toe with Tyson in the sixth round or before with the outcome coming earlier.

I can understand the optimism many of you have after watching most of the second half. My problem is that every team shows a pattern. Our pattern has been our Achilles. We get down early to the crappiest teams. We rally. We lose to the majors. We have horrendous three point shooters with the exception of Marco and Max yet we insist on making three point attempts a major part of our offense. I think we have to change the pattern. I'm not lobbying for Marco or Max, even though there are no other players on the team who can come close to shooting with them. Please don't give me the "white guys can't play D" mantra. Syracuse was over 50 percent with M&M on the bench. Let them sit, but take the three point shot out of the offense.

As far as being in the top half of the Big East; that may not be enough to take us to the dance. In case you haven't noticed, the conference isn't nearly what it used to be. I'm confident if we lose the three point shot and play hard for 40 minutes, we can win the whole thing. I'm just not confident we can do that.

Big difference between getting down to Syracuse and the previous opponents...in prior games we got down because we were cavalier in our approach (hoisting 3s without even looking to get it inside)...Yesterday, we were trying to feed the post but were very tentative...we needed to get to the point where we realized we could play with them..once we did, game changed

 

[Class of 72]

Disagreeing about basketball is one thing but no one should try and boost themselves up by saying they go to the games. You don't know what's going in people's lives and you don't know why they can or can't go to games. So don't try to make yourself seem like a better fan by saying you go, that's really low.

Jack, when we urge fans (students and alums) to attend the games it is in the spirit of supporting our players and our school. Obviuosly we have fans in many parts of the country that would be at the games if they lived in the NY area and it is those NY area students and alums (over 50,000 combined) that may be basketball fans that are the focus. Forgetting the casual SJU fans that are not students or grads, just 20% of that group would fill over 10,000 seats at MSG alone and sell out CA. Few of us expect the other 80% to be interested enough in the sport given the multitude of entertainment options in NYC. NYC is an expensive entertainment venue so you need a compelling product and hopefully we are moving in a positive direction to stimulate interest. In NYC it is called winning.
UCLA, one of the top 5 names in the history of the sport and one that has a quality product every year suffers the same lack of interest in Tinsle Town. Unless they are a top 10 team, Pauley is never sold out, unlike at Kansas where it is the only game in town. Life and college basketball is tough in the big cities.

 

[beast of the east]

Disagreeing about basketball is one thing but no one should try and boost themselves up by saying they go to the games. You don't know what's going in people's lives and you don't know why they can or can't go to games. So don't try to make yourself seem like a better fan by saying you go, that's really low.

Jack, when we urge fans (students and alums) to attend the games it is in the spirit of supporting our players and our school. Obviuosly we have fans in many parts of the country that would be at the games if they lived in the NY area and it is those NY area students and alums (over 50,000 combined) that may be basketball fans that are the focus. Forgetting the casual SJU fans that are not students or grads, just 20% of that group would fill over 10,000 seats at MSG alone and sell out CA. Few of us expect the other 80% to be interested enough in the sport given the multitude of entertainment options in NYC. NYC is an expensive entertainment venue so you need a compelling product and hopefully we are moving in a positive direction to stimulate interest. In NYC it is called winning.
UCLA, one of the top 5 names in the history of the sport and one that has a quality product every year suffers the same lack of interest in Tinsle Town. Unless they are a top 10 team, Pauley is never sold out, unlike at Kansas where it is the only game in town. Life and college basketball is tough in the big cities.

Actually, I had checked stubhub looking for extra tickets, and tickets in my section were starting at $210. I thought that was high, until I looked at the face value of the ticket, which is $85. I thought $85 was a lot, but an orchestra seat on Broadway are now going for about $160, Met tickets behind home plate a little higher, and Billy joel concert tickets about $130 (including ticketmaster fees). My section (usually an SJU section) was surprisingly orange on Sunday. I guess our "fans" dumped them in order to net about $150 per ticket.

I think everyone here is sympathetic to financial constraints. Still, incredibly frustrating to give up home court advantage for years to UCONN, Syracuse, Duke, etc. in our own backyard. For many college football teams, fans will travel over 100 miles to attend a home game, selling out all hotels in a 10 mile proximity to the stadiums on game weekends. These are stadiums in out of the way places, like State College PA. I guess our fan base is much, much smaller than we perceive, even in one of the largest cities on earth.

 

[SJUISBACK]

Bet Harrison and co are kicking themselves in the ass know that they had Syracuse beat, damn if only we had a Hatten or a Hardy to take over for us in the last 3 minutes.
Nothing you can do about it now.

What I would like to see is Lavin somehow get that 2nd half intensity for the 1st half, maybe start the game with the trap to get them going early, and push the ball on offense all damn game.
We got 3 games before conf play starts, and after the Cuse game we know we`re as good as the #2 team in the country, so their confidence should be sky high.
So I`m expecting a pissed off team to beat the hell out of SF, Youngstown St. and Columbia. into submission. I feel bad for SF, I gotta think it will be a 30+pnt loss for them.

 

[Jack Williams]

Bet Harrison and co are kicking themselves in the ass know that they had Syracuse beat, damn if only we had a Hatten or a Hardy to take over for us in the last 3 minutes.
Nothing you can do about it now.

What I would like to see is Lavin somehow get that 2nd half intensity for the 1st half, maybe start the game with the trap to get them going early, and push the ball on offense all damn game.
We got 3 games before conf play starts, and after the Cuse game we know we`re as good as the #2 team in the country, so their confidence should be sky high.
So I`m expecting a pissed off team to beat the hell out of SF, Youngstown St. and Columbia. into submission. I feel bad for SF, I gotta think it will be a 30+pnt loss for them.

I don't know. They lost their point guard who's shredded us last year but they still did beat us. You just don't know with this team, I hope we win by thirty.

 

[Moose]

Bet Harrison and co are kicking themselves in the ass know that they had Syracuse beat, damn if only we had a Hatten or a Hardy to take over for us in the last 3 minutes.
Nothing you can do about it now.

What I would like to see is Lavin somehow get that 2nd half intensity for the 1st half, maybe start the game with the trap to get them going early, and push the ball on offense all damn game.
We got 3 games before conf play starts, and after the Cuse game we know we`re as good as the #2 team in the country, so their confidence should be sky high.
So I`m expecting a pissed off team to beat the hell out of SF, Youngstown St. and Columbia. into submission. I feel bad for SF, I gotta think it will be a 30+pnt loss for them.

I'll bet you right now we don't beat San Fran by 30.

 

[jumbo_peanuts]

Disagreeing about basketball is one thing but no one should try and boost themselves up by saying they go to the games. You don't know what's going in people's lives and you don't know why they can or can't go to games. So don't try to make yourself seem like a better fan by saying you go, that's really low.

Jack, when we urge fans (students and alums) to attend the games it is in the spirit of supporting our players and our school. Obviuosly we have fans in many parts of the country that would be at the games if they lived in the NY area and it is those NY area students and alums (over 50,000 combined) that may be basketball fans that are the focus. Forgetting the casual SJU fans that are not students or grads, just 20% of that group would fill over 10,000 seats at MSG alone and sell out CA. Few of us expect the other 80% to be interested enough in the sport given the multitude of entertainment options in NYC. NYC is an expensive entertainment venue so you need a compelling product and hopefully we are moving in a positive direction to stimulate interest. In NYC it is called winning.
UCLA, one of the top 5 names in the history of the sport and one that has a quality product every year suffers the same lack of interest in Tinsle Town. Unless they are a top 10 team, Pauley is never sold out, unlike at Kansas where it is the only game in town. Life and college basketball is tough in the big cities.

So are you saying that only students and alumni are fans of the basketball team?

 

[Class of 72]

Disagreeing about basketball is one thing but no one should try and boost themselves up by saying they go to the games. You don't know what's going in people's lives and you don't know why they can or can't go to games. So don't try to make yourself seem like a better fan by saying you go, that's really low.

Jack, when we urge fans (students and alums) to attend the games it is in the spirit of supporting our players and our school. Obviuosly we have fans in many parts of the country that would be at the games if they lived in the NY area and it is those NY area students and alums (over 50,000 combined) that may be basketball fans that are the focus. Forgetting the casual SJU fans that are not students or grads, just 20% of that group would fill over 10,000 seats at MSG alone and sell out CA. Few of us expect the other 80% to be interested enough in the sport given the multitude of entertainment options in NYC. NYC is an expensive entertainment venue so you need a compelling product and hopefully we are moving in a positive direction to stimulate interest. In NYC it is called winning.
UCLA, one of the top 5 names in the history of the sport and one that has a quality product every year suffers the same lack of interest in Tinsle Town. Unless they are a top 10 team, Pauley is never sold out, unlike at Kansas where it is the only game in town. Life and college basketball is tough in the big cities.

So are you saying that only students and alumni are fans of the basketball team?

NO! I mention the "casual fan" not affiliated with the school. You cannot "quantify" that number. I have friends that went to CUNY and non basketball schools that pull for SJU. How many are there out there? Your guess is as good as mine!

 

[jumbo_peanuts]

Disagreeing about basketball is one thing but no one should try and boost themselves up by saying they go to the games. You don't know what's going in people's lives and you don't know why they can or can't go to games. So don't try to make yourself seem like a better fan by saying you go, that's really low.

Jack, when we urge fans (students and alums) to attend the games it is in the spirit of supporting our players and our school. Obviuosly we have fans in many parts of the country that would be at the games if they lived in the NY area and it is those NY area students and alums (over 50,000 combined) that may be basketball fans that are the focus. Forgetting the casual SJU fans that are not students or grads, just 20% of that group would fill over 10,000 seats at MSG alone and sell out CA. Few of us expect the other 80% to be interested enough in the sport given the multitude of entertainment options in NYC. NYC is an expensive entertainment venue so you need a compelling product and hopefully we are moving in a positive direction to stimulate interest. In NYC it is called winning.
UCLA, one of the top 5 names in the history of the sport and one that has a quality product every year suffers the same lack of interest in Tinsle Town. Unless they are a top 10 team, Pauley is never sold out, unlike at Kansas where it is the only game in town. Life and college basketball is tough in the big cities.

So are you saying that only students and alumni are fans of the basketball team?

NO! I mention the "casual fan" not affiliated with the school. You cannot "quantify" that number. I have friends that went to CUNY and non basketball schools that pull for SJU. How many are there out there? Your guess is as good as mine!

So a "casual fan" has to be someone who went to a non basketball school?

 

[ManhattAn1]

Didn't go to the school had family who went but I am a huge fan go to every game and many away games- So I guess I am one of them

 

[logen]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

Because, I prefer to wait 'til February or March to give a verdict.

Even more so, considering I see plenty of hope for this bunch.

That's all well and good but games are being played now! Hope is fine and if you think we/I don't hold out hope you are wrong. But I and others are commenting on the NOW and it appears your hope would be that we ignore what we see on the court in the HOPE that it gets better. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. Frankly, I think we have better, more experienced talent than the Cuse, were ahead late and at home; and the fact that we sleptwalked through the first 20 mminutes and than played the last 4 like a junior high school team disappoints me greatly. So choose not to comment on the now and hold out hope it gets better but I have a feeling were we 9-0 you would be commenting on what you were seeing.

 

[MJDinkins]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

Because, I prefer to wait 'til February or March to give a verdict.

Even more so, considering I see plenty of hope for this bunch.

That's all well and good but games are being played now! Hope is fine and if you think we/I don't hold out hope you are wrong. But I and others are commenting on the NOW and it appears your hope would be that we ignore what we see on the court in the HOPE that it gets better. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. Frankly, I think we have better, more experienced talent than the Cuse, were ahead late and at home; and the fact that we sleptwalked through the first 20 mminutes and than played the last 4 like a junior high school team disappoints me greatly. So choose not to comment on the now and hold out hope it gets better but I have a feeling were we 9-0 you would be commenting on what you were seeing.

Myself and others are also talking about what they are seeing NOW, and what they envision how things could play out from they've witnessed the past 2 1/2 games. You see it half-empty, while I see it half-full.

I AM commenting on what I'm seeing. I've already stated that I'm seeing improvement. If you don't see improvement, then that is your prerogative.

If you and others are gonna critique and nit pick all the bad things (whether, it's actually there or not) and ignore anything good or positive, then knock yourself out.

I'll just allow it to play out. Technically, at the end of the day, you, me, or anyone else really have no choice but to allow it to play out. We should have a pretty, good idea where we stand in February. I just sense we're gonna be alright.

 

[logen]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

If the season ended tosay, we would be a tournament team. If you can't accept a loss to the #2 team in the country, then you have to believe that we are #1. I'm disappointed but anyone who acts like this is an unacceptable loss is full of crap! (same goes for the Wisconsin loss)

First of all, I could care less about ANY teams ranking so the #2 is just that, nothing but a number. I care and comment about the game I see, the team I root for. Personally, I think we have as good or better talent than Syracuse but for whatever reason we don't play to our strengths. We don't press and force a fast tempo which is our strength; I will never, ever understand. We recruit athletes and than refuse to take advantage of that athleticism for 40 minutes. We recruit two shooters and refuse to use them. We don't always play hard (see almost any any 1st half.) We don't always play intelligently (see Harrison's shot selection at the end of almost any close game; Sampson's foul at the end of the Penn State game, etc. etc.) And whether I am full of crap or not aside, I never used the word unacceptable.

 

[Mean Gene]

I think the team is obviously improving. The issue with losing both games to Wisconsin and Syracuse is that, in previous years if we lost to a non conference ranked team, in the old Big East there were at least 5 or 6 ranked teams ranked high in the conference so there were plenty of opportunities for us to beat ranked teams. With this new Big East, Villanova is the only ranked team right now so our opportunities to play and beat ranked teams are not as prevalent in the new conference set up. Now we really have to clean up in conference to get ourselves noticed and lock up an NCAA bid. I think we have to go 12 - 6 or 13 - 5 and make it to at least the Big East Championship game for us to be a lock for a bid. Otherwise we'll be on the fence. That being said, the way we played Syracuse, and if we continue to improve, we have as much talent as anyone and if it everything comes together we can win this league. IMHO.

 

[usguard]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

If the season ended tosay, we would be a tournament team. If you can't accept a loss to the #2 team in the country, then you have to believe that we are #1. I'm disappointed but anyone who acts like this is an unacceptable loss is full of crap! (same goes for the Wisconsin loss)

First of all, I could care less about ANY teams ranking so the #2 is just that, nothing but a number. I care and comment about the game I see, the team I root for. Personally, I think we have as good or better talent than Syracuse but for whatever reason we don't play to our strengths. We don't press and force a fast tempo which is our strength; I will never, ever understand. We recruit athletes and than refuse to take advantage of that athleticism for 40 minutes. We recruit two shooters and refuse to use them. We don't always play hard (see almost any any 1st half.) We don't always play intelligently (see Harrison's shot selection at the end of almost any close game; Sampson's foul at the end of the Penn State game, etc. etc.) And whether I am full of crap or not aside, I never used the word unacceptable.

.
Just an opinion but perhaps staff feels it.gives up other things by.playing them10-15 min pg They both do not have quick.feet so whomever they guard. other .players have to help out But do think coach is not using them enough and taking advantage .of their assets. In all our .loses 2-3 3 pointers could have turn them to wins

 

[MJDinkins]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

If the season ended tosay, we would be a tournament team. If you can't accept a loss to the #2 team in the country, then you have to believe that we are #1. I'm disappointed but anyone who acts like this is an unacceptable loss is full of crap! (same goes for the Wisconsin loss)

First of all, I could care less about ANY teams ranking so the #2 is just that, nothing but a number. I care and comment about the game I see, the team I root for. Personally, I think we have as good or better talent than Syracuse but for whatever reason we don't play to our strengths. We don't press and force a fast tempo which is our strength; I will never, ever understand. We recruit athletes and than refuse to take advantage of that athleticism for 40 minutes. We recruit two shooters and refuse to use them. We don't always play hard (see almost any any 1st half.) We don't always play intelligently (see Harrison's shot selection at the end of almost any close game; Sampson's foul at the end of the Penn State game, etc. etc.) And whether I am full of crap or not aside, I never used the word unacceptable.

I agree, we should press. I'm leading the fan club of the "Full-court pressing Johnnies." I wish we would use it more often, instead of sparingly.

I never thought Hooper (or Bourgault) would log a bunch of minutes. I, figured Hooper would come in and give us a lift in some games. And, he's done it in a loss (Penn State) and a win (Georgia Tech). I was hoping Hooper and Bourgault gotten more of a chance on Sunday, but to no avail. Hopefully, Hooper (and, Bourgault) are valuable to us as the season moves forward.

I don't know if the kids do not always play hard. But I do tend to believe they don't always play smart (which, would fall under "intelligently").

Things that could be worked on throughout the remainder of the season. Will it? Remains to be seen.

 

[MJDinkins]

I think the team is obviously improving. The issue with losing both games to Wisconsin and Syracuse is that, in previous years if we lost to a non conference ranked team, in the old Big East there were at least 5 or 6 ranked teams ranked high in the conference so there were plenty of opportunities for us to beat ranked teams. With this new Big East, Villanova is the only ranked team right now so our opportunities to play and beat ranked teams are not as prevalent in the new conference set up. Now we really have to clean up in conference to get ourselves noticed and lock up an NCAA bid. I think we have to go 12 - 6 or 13 - 5 and make it to at least the Big East Championship game for us to be a lock for a bid. Otherwise we'll be on the fence. That being said, the way we played Syracuse, and if we continue to improve, we have as much talent as anyone and if it everything comes together we can win this league. IMHO.

RPI plays a role, as well. I haven't checked the RPI rating of the teams in the conference, but I saw gman post the Big East is the #3 rated conference, per RPI, at the moment. I don't know, whether we'll (the conference) be able to sustain that particular ranking or not, but that serves well for our conference if the RPI ranking holds steady.

If we can somehow go 2-1 or (even, better) 3-0 at the start of the conference season, then that'll do wonders for us. Getting out to a good start against some solid opponents (Xavier, G'town, and Villanova) could do wonders for confidence (and perception).

 

[beast of the east]

The opinions on this thread concerning losing to Syracuse, and the attendance at MSG basically verify one thing: Most basketball fans and sports fans in general are fans of WINNING. Most fans don't care to come out and watch a work-in-progress, and be happy that a team shows signs of being competitive, and in our case, rising from the ashes. If we crack the top 25 this year, some more fans will start to come out. If we break the top 15, a lot more. IF we go deep into the NCAA tourney, all of a sudden, the whole city will be buzzing with fans professing their allegiance through bad times and good. The reality is most fans can only accept a top program, and anything else is worth bitching about and staying home.

 

[logen]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

Because, I prefer to wait 'til February or March to give a verdict.

Even more so, considering I see plenty of hope for this bunch.

That's all well and good but games are being played now! Hope is fine and if you think we/I don't hold out hope you are wrong. But I and others are commenting on the NOW and it appears your hope would be that we ignore what we see on the court in the HOPE that it gets better. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. Frankly, I think we have better, more experienced talent than the Cuse, were ahead late and at home; and the fact that we sleptwalked through the first 20 mminutes and than played the last 4 like a junior high school team disappoints me greatly. So choose not to comment on the now and hold out hope it gets better but I have a feeling were we 9-0 you would be commenting on what you were seeing.

Myself and others are also talking about what they are seeing NOW, and what they envision how things could play out from they've witnessed the past 2 1/2 games. You see it half-empty, while I see it half-full.

I AM commenting on what I'm seeing. I've already stated that I'm seeing improvement. If you don't see improvement, then that is your prerogative.

If you and others are gonna critique and nit pick all the bad things (whether, it's actually there or not) and ignore anything good or positive, then knock yourself out.

I'll just allow it to play out. Technically, at the end of the day, you, me, or anyone else really have no choice but to allow it to play out. We should have a pretty, good idea where we stand in February. I just sense we're gonna be alright.

Has the team improved from earlier in the season; without a doubt. Did the level of play early in the season come anywhere near what I expected, no. So the improvement, while obvious, is also from my perspective, relative. We are a team obviously challenged on offense in the half court yet we do little if anything to force tempo. I think we have a very talented team, I legitimately believe we have better talent than Syracuse but the coaches chose to play at Syracuse's tempo and that amazes me. If we are going to play slow, we need to put Hooper or Bourgault on the court for enough minutes to prove they can get and make shots, not just cameos. Regardlessof that, where is the consistency? Why the Jekyl and Hyde act from 1st half to 2nd half? As for half full or empty, from my perspective many are taking optimism from losses I believe we should not have; if that is half empty, so be it.

 

[MJDinkins]

I will be in the minority I suppose but 16 minutes of great basketball and 24 minutes of well, ugh...doesn't get me charged up. We make a great comeback from a deficit we should probably never have been in and then play clueless on offense for the last 4 minutes to come away with yet another almost. Sorry, it leaves me nothing but disappointed and frustrated. I give credit where it is due and the team made a great comeback but they are far enough along where they should at least maintain the good play until the end, win or lose. The Cuse goes to Fair down the stretch, no question, SJU reverts back to passing around the perimeter and poking and hoping. Sanchez seemed afraid to assert himself down the stretch and Harrison got back to trying to do it by himself. For those who say I am being too negative I apologize but I didn't need another moral victory; I already knew we had talent but I have expectations that talent will translate into something real.

Your right about being disappointed. We lose to Penn. St. and the Cuse. We don't have not a one quality win. Right now we are not a NCAA team, and that was the goal. How can you not be disappointed?

Because, I prefer to wait 'til February or March to give a verdict.

Even more so, considering I see plenty of hope for this bunch.

That's all well and good but games are being played now! Hope is fine and if you think we/I don't hold out hope you are wrong. But I and others are commenting on the NOW and it appears your hope would be that we ignore what we see on the court in the HOPE that it gets better. Sorry, but that's not the way it works. Frankly, I think we have better, more experienced talent than the Cuse, were ahead late and at home; and the fact that we sleptwalked through the first 20 mminutes and than played the last 4 like a junior high school team disappoints me greatly. So choose not to comment on the now and hold out hope it gets better but I have a feeling were we 9-0 you would be commenting on what you were seeing.

Myself and others are also talking about what they are seeing NOW, and what they envision how things could play out from they've witnessed the past 2 1/2 games. You see it half-empty, while I see it half-full.

I AM commenting on what I'm seeing. I've already stated that I'm seeing improvement. If you don't see improvement, then that is your prerogative.

If you and others are gonna critique and nit pick all the bad things (whether, it's actually there or not) and ignore anything good or positive, then knock yourself out.

I'll just allow it to play out. Technically, at the end of the day, you, me, or anyone else really have no choice but to allow it to play out. We should have a pretty, good idea where we stand in February. I just sense we're gonna be alright.

Has the team improved from earlier in the season; without a doubt. Did the level of play early in the season come anywhere near what I expected, no. So the improvement, while obvious, is also from my perspective, relative. We are a team obviously challenged on offense in the half court yet we do little if anything to force tempo. I think we have a very talented team, I legitimately believe we have better talent than Syracuse but the coaches chose to play at Syracuse's tempo and that amazes me. If we are going to play slow, we need to put Hooper or Bourgault on the court for enough minutes to prove they can get and make shots, not just cameos. Regardlessof that, where is the consistency? Why the Jekyl and Hyde act from 1st half to 2nd half? As for half full or empty, from my perspective many are taking optimism from losses I believe we should not have; if that is half empty, so be it.

I thought we did a pretty, decent job in the halfcourt offense on Sunday. Do I think we should've consistently forced the tempo? Yes. I said as much in this very, same game thread.

I'm not one who takes losses as 'moral victories' and whatnot. I thought it stunk that we lost on Sunday. Especially, when it felt like we could very, well walk away with a 'W.'

But there are times when a loss can be taken as optimism. We'll see how this all plays out. I feel we're gonna be 'ok.' If not, then you can have at it.