Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
It’s March 2011, and I am sitting at the H Street Country Club in Washington, DC. I want to watch some college basketball, but this area of the city is a hipster haven so my choices are limited. I’m in luck though. My bar of choice not only is showing the NCAA Tournament, but it has a miniature golf course in it. Yes, inside the bar. That should make any guy happy. I’m not. I’m by myself and angry. Why? Because once again a Syracuse team with so much promise makes an early exit from the NCAA Tournament.
Smash cut to today. The start of college basketball is a heartbeat away, and our beloved Syracuse Orange are the No. 5 team in the nation. This team is surrounded by more hope and hype than we have seen in a long time. I should be on the national title train like everyone other Orange fan.
I’m not. Not this time. Not this year.
When it comes to this season, you can call me Lord Buzz Killington, the Duke of Negativity. I don’t want to ruin everyone’s fun, and I’m not one of the forever negative commenters you see on the Syracuse message boards. Preseason expectations are great. But we shouldn’t get overly excited about this season. Syracuse has glaring weaknesses that could kill the dreams of a Big East title, not to mention Final Four aspirations.
No inside presence
Here’s the crazy thing about this season’s expectations. The Orange is getting hyped up after losing its best player from last season. Syracuse’s success last season based primarily on the breakout performance of Rick Jackson. Without a real replacement for his defensive presence and rebounding production, this season could go downhill fast.
The 2011-2012 Orange is a team without bangers. There is nobody who can do the dirty work that Jackson did so well last season, or Onuaku before him. Right now, it appears we are going to rely on Fab Melo to be that guy. Talk about hope and hype. Does everyone remember him last season? Players can improve over time, and maybe he somehow found the inner Derrick Coleman over the summer. However, nothing I saw last year showed me he could be trusted be the guy to get the big rebound, tap in the big put back, or make the big block for an entire season.
Freshman Rakeem Christmas has the build to be our Mr. Inside. But as highly touted as he is, young big men can get eaten alive by the experienced big bodies that inhabit the Big East. Again, see Melo comma Fab.
CJ Fair and Baye Moussa Keita? I’m a pretty big on both these guys, but neither really fits the role as bangers. They have superior athleticism but are rail thin and can get pushed around by the bigger bodies in the conference. One of them would need to turn into Hakim Warrick, and neither is really there yet.
The guy who is the best for this role is probably Joseph. But, this offseason told me everything I need to know. He worked on his midrange jumper. Which is great… it helped him improve his draft status. But for this Syracuse team to have success, he would be most useful spending time down low with the big guys, doing some dirty work. Another five rebound per game season isn’t going to cut it for this team. He’ll need to push that number much closer to eight for this team to have any chance of success.
No consistent 3-point threat
Syracuse is in the second round of the NCAA Tournament playing against the mid-major flavor of the month. Mid-major State has started to heat up, getting the crowd on their side. People smell an upset. What Syracuse needs is a big 3 to quiet the crowd and end the run. So, Triche brings the ball up and court and passes to… umm, yeah.
There is no 3-point threat on this team. Triche can hit the 3 himself, but I wouldn’t consider him a pure shooter. Scoop throws the ball at the basket pretty well. Sometimes they even go in. Many times though, not so much. Joseph has a 3-point shot. But is your best big man really the guy you want out there taking that shot?
The bench isn’t really inspiring either. Dion “Doghouse” Waiters? Possibly, if he ever gets off the bench. I just don’t see him getting many minutes this season — not with the depth on this team. Cooney has a good outside shot, but he’s not seeing the court this year either.
Syracuse’s successful teams of the past decade have all had a solid outside presence. Years of Gerry McNamara and Andy Rautins tends to spoil you I guess. These guys had pure shooting strokes, and you could always count on them to drain one from deep when it was needed most. That player doesn’t exist on this team. This is a team of slashers, not shooters.
I have a solution to our problem though. Can anyone say Mookie? Anyone? No? Well, OK.
No clutch go-to guy
March is when college basketball legends are made. Danny Manning, Christian Laettner, Juan Dixon, Mateen Cleaves. Almost every team that wins a title has a dominant go-to guy who can put a team on his shoulders and lead it to victory. Look no further than Kemba Walker last season. He took a talented team and willed them to a national title. Need a clutch shot made? Kemba Walker. Need someone to draw the double-team to kick the ball out to an open player for free or a pass to a streaking teammate for an easy layup? Kemba Walker. Big players make the big plays.
Syracuse doesn’t have that guy.
Scoop wants to be the man. But wanting isn’t always enough to make it happen. Scoop is a good player, but he isn’t a go-to guy. He’s just a college scorer. He doesn’t make the players around him better and is not a clutch shooter. He can make the big shot to win you the game, but just as often he will make a terrible decision at a clutch moment or force a horrible shot when the smart play is needed. Another season of shooting 41 percent from the field isn’t going to do it for this team, and when has passing ever been an option for Scoop?
Joseph should be our guy. He has the talent to be the next Carmelo Anthony or John Wallace. But nowhere in his three seasons on the hill has he ever shown the drive to want to be the man. For all his NBA potential, he’s never tried to carry this team to victory. Special players have an It factor, and with Mr. Joseph, it sadly just hasn’t been there. It’s a shame too, because he is this team’s best hope.
Listen, I’m not saying this is a bad team. Not by a long shot. Top to bottom this is one of the deepest Syracuse teams in recent memory. But thinking about this team, it reminds me of USA basketball failures in the last decade. Lots of great individual talent but lacking players that fill the key roles needed to make a team successful. For all the expectations placed on this season, this team just isn’t built right to make a serious play for a Big East title, let alone the Final Four.
Buzz Killington Out.
Tags: Basketball, Jim Boeheim, Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine, Syracuse
More From: Mark Porter
KJ has no killer instinct, and will never turn it on, so don’t hold your breath cuse nation. Looking at the exhibition games KJ looks fat, slow and hesistant to do anything. He needs to get in shape fast. Triche is the worst 2 guard in the country. It boogles my mind why he starts or even gets 1 minute. He is slow, too robotic and not aggressive. Jardine has a lot of talent but his decision’s make him poisonous… I rather have fordham’s pg rather the scoop. MCW makes scoop ‘s 5 year scholarship look like a charity case. our backcourt with Triche and scoop will be our demise….They have a total of 8 years experience and they look like the worst backcourt in all of D2 athletics. They have no chemistry what so ever. If you take a look at when MCW and Waiters are on the court, they look magnificent They look like they have 8 years experience on the court. If we go deep it wil be because of MElo, KJ, Fair, waiters and MCW….thats it.
You need to lay of the hatorade every morning and drink some decaffeinated coffee. How exactly can you call Triche robotic? Is it because he doesnt show he doesnt jump up and down after a 3 like Devendorf? Triche is as solid of a guard we have had in years. Last year he was 2nd in assists, 4th in points and first in FT%. He doesnt make stupid mistakes and has improved his game every year.
KJ and Scoop I will agree with. But with Scoop gone next year and MCW and Cooney, this backcourt will be the best in the Big East.
Lol….no hatorade here…Triche is terrible. What 2 guard is he better then in SU history….his assist to turnovere ratio is horrific. 71 turnovers to 90 assists or something like that…against Cal stat he shot 2-11 (an exhibition game). He can’t drive, and he is hesistant to shoot. I rather have devendorf any day then Triche… He is robotic because he is a stiff in the back court. Trust me, watch tha game on saturday or read the stats, and let me know how effective he is. I rather have triche redshirt and cooney play. If you watched the exhibiton games and you see how Waiters and MCW plays together…thats the type of play we need and chemistry from a back court perspective in order to go far. They make plays for others and they go to the basket. Triche and Scoop’s minutes will dwindle as the season goes on because they lack efficency.
The day scoop leaves would be the year SU has a chance to win the chip. If scoop is our go to guy, we are in big trouble….@ best he should come off the bench. I mean scoop has great talent but his decisions are terrible and I still see it in the exhibition games. The reason why he is not ranked top 10 is because everybody outside of cuse nation knows the terrible decisions he makes. I mean scoop averaged 12.3 ppg, and 5 asst, and had a 2:1 assit to turnover ratio which is great….but to put peyton silva over scoop say’s a lot.
Dion waiters and MCW are pro’s on the court and they both spread out our zone. waiters should start at 2 but he messed up last year and has to work his way into coach B’s graces…once that is accomplished he will start over the exposed triche….MCW is a pro….and KJ needs to get in shape, and is a sidekick at best. if you dont have a killer instinct now you might never have one, ask lebron.
Im not a hater, just keeping it real.
I watched both games and yes he looked bad, but this is exhibition. I think we have to give him credit for what he has done in the regular season, when it counts.
He is not the go to guy, yet against the best of the Big East he put up over 20 point games 3 times last year.
But I am with you 100%. This team will not go ANYWHERE with Scoop. If Waiters starts and Scoop comes off the bench (like he did 2 years ago), this team has a shot. Actually, I rather have Cooney start at 2 over Scoop. But that is not going to happen…
Funny, I don’t think anybody disagrees about scoop….Why is he on magazine covers? Boehiem is very smart though. He knows that MCW is better… He is loyal to his seniors and knows it is a matter of time before MCW gets more minutes and closes games….the same way Johnny flynn ended Josh wright’s career will be the same for scoop.
Triche, trust me will be replaced for Dion…Dion is just that much better…but for now he will come off the bench. He can easily average over 14. MCW, witers, joseph, Fair and Melo should be the 5 with the rest coming off the bench.. but we this is reality and it wont happen….yet.
Triche just needs to be more aggressive and consistent this season. Last year was a transition for him from point guard to 2 guard. He knows his role this year and is going to have a solid year.
I read this and thought it must have been written before the exhibition games were played, but it was posted today. Your concerns about Melo may still prove to be valid, but he has proven that he is a much improved player and should not be a weakness for the team this year.
Also, Dion has gotten major minutes and will clearly continue to do so. He has shown flashes of attempting to become a playmaker for the team and seemed to have great chemistry with MCW in the backcourt. An absolutely killer second unit to bring into the backcourt.
CJ Fair is “rail thin”? He is very sturdy, has a nose for the ball, and is a solid rebounder.
My concerns are that a) Kris Joseph still has knee problems. When JB says he’s a month away from being full speed, you know there are serious problems. It was the knee problems that hindered his play last year and unfortunately it appears that will be the case again, b) Baye’s hand is not recovered. He had it wrapped again for St. Rose. If he is rendered ineffective by the hand again then the depth at center suddenly doesn’t look so great and the position could be a liability again (I think Melo will be much better this year but we still need an effective Baye), and c) I am not sold on Scoop yet. His maturity/decision making absolutely cost Syracuse at least two games last year, and probably three (3rd being the exit from the NCAAs). He will have to show a dramatic improvement in clutch situation decision making (or have his role reduced in those situations)for me to think the team has any shot at getting past the Sweet 16.
I cringe just like every one else each time I see Scoop running up the court, but how is this statement accurate- “when has passing ever been an option for Scoop?” while he led the league in assists last year?
I stopped reading the moment you stated your argument for Mookie “black hole” Jones. You have no basketball iq, therefore any opinion you have is useless. Good day to you Sir!
Mark Porter doesn’t seem like he knows much.