Sunday, May 19th, 2013
At the beginning of this season I made five predictions, and so far I’m shooting 60%, or almost double what Michael Carter-Williams is from the field.
Just to refresh your memory, I had predicted that CJ Fair will average 12 points and 8 boards per game (13.4ppg, 7.2rpg thus far, so unless you want to nitpick I’m taking this one), 4 players will average double digits in scoring (yup), Rakeem Christmas will struggle for meaningful minutes (depends on the game but he’s averaging 22mpg and I predicted closer to 15, so I’ll take the loss here), Michael Carter-Williams will have a 30 point game (ugh), and Brandon Triche will lead the Orange in scoring (nailed it).
MCW is one of the NCAA’s best passers
» Related: Grant playing larger role for SU
I realize complaining about the Nation’s Top Assist guy might seem a little petty, but I really believed he was a better offensive talent than we’ve seen so far. His vision has been great and he’s come up huge in some big moments, but the stroke has not been there all season.
In my explanation as to why he’d go off for 30 points in a game, I wrote, “With the exception of the St. John’s game last season where he scored 13 points in 17 minutes on 5-of-6 shooting, MCW did not get to showcase his talents. He is a multidimensional guard who might be playing point, but has a scorer’s mentality. I believe he’ll go off one night, probably in January against Rutgers or Villanova as the Carrier Dome crowd goes crazy. “
I never would have guessed that his scorer’s mentality would be the biggest potential obstacle in the path of a successful Syracuse season.
Look, I get that he’s the biggest reason for our 18 wins thus far. He’s played great zone defense for Coach Jim Boeheim averaging 3.0 steals per game and pulling down 5 boards per contest. His 8.9 assists per game shows the kind of court vision he has on the other end of the court.
The problem is that his shooting can also be heavily blamed for the Orange’s two losses. Against both Temple and Villanova he took a season high 17 shots. He connected on 20.5% of those attempts. Sadly those were not anomalies. On the season, MCW is shooting a lowly 36.8 percent from the floor, 33% in his past 10 contests.
» Related: Carter-Williams struggles in loss
I hate to admit it, but it’s pretty clear he’s simply not a good shooter at this stage of his career. That would be fine, if he stuck to dishing the rock. Instead the rest of the Orange, shooting a combined 47% on the season, are forced to try to rebound his bricks. And yes, James Southerland’s suspension has placed additional burden on MCW, but he is clearly not the one who should be trying to make up for Southerland’s absence in the scoring column.
He’s young, so maybe he’ll figure it out, but when the shots aren’t falling he needs to get back to doing what he does best- setting up his teammates for easy scoring opportunities.
I confess I was wrong. MCW is not going to score 30 points this season. He may not even crack 20. The sooner he realizes this too, the sooner he can go back to being a potential All-American point guard. Otherwise, a few more 4-for-17 outings will only serve to decrease his draft stock and increase the number in the loss column for the Orange.
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Tags: Basketball, Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
More From: Matt Goodman
Dishing becomes increasingly difficult when the guy guarding you is daring you to shoot. Without Southerland he has to shoot.
If he attacks the rim he’ll force someone to guard him. And he’s a much better finisher at this point than he is a shooter.
His shooting percentage includes every shot…rather he attacks the rim or shoots from the perimeter..I think it is hysterical that people are questioning MCW about the end of games decisions and how may shots he should take when he is coached by a Hall of Famer who has over 900 wins…I would be willing to bet Coach Boeheim is the one who makes the decisions and Coach Boeheim will tell MCW to shoot more, less…attack the rim…I get we all like to talk hoops..but why not discuss why his shots are not going in. He scored over 2200 points in the best prep school league in the country. Look at his bio. He played great competition in high school against most of the players he sees now. I think he is hesitating because he wants to pass…(dump down low to Coleman vs Villanova at the end of the game..)How about some plays to get the shooters open instead of the standing and watching MCW dribble which happened many times at Nova. His % may be low because he thinks too much. He should shoot it with confidence and stop questioning himself. He looks unsure at times. Hopefully he is not reading all the cuse “fans” opinions on the websites..Tough place to play here in Orange Country…
A little harsh once again Goody. You take your analysis of players to the next level….Should he keep dishing to the bigs? Who exactly outside of Trishe and maybe CJ (who is heavily guarded most of the time..) pretty sure most of his turnovers are from trying to dish. He needs to shoot better because if the Orange are going to win without Sutherland they need MCW to make shots.
I agree he needs to make shots, Lisa. My point was that the numbers show he isn’t capable at this point. 36% on the season is proof he can’t make shots at a high clip. The more shots he takes the more misses the team will have. And yes, Fair and Triche, and even Grant should garner more shots right now than MCW.