Another disappointing one. This Syracuse team is not good and I think they will struggle until Boeheim steps away. A lot of uncertainty there. Then once he steps away, who knows which way it will go. Boeheim made that job what it is. It is not the school.
Going over each of these games can feel like piling on at times. That is not what I want to do. We have been over the issues a hundred times. I am trying to take a fresh look at each game as its own, because that is what you do with so many freshmen.
The goal of the staff today was to try to take Battle and Howard out of the game as much as possible. Fairly obvious, as that back court is about all that Syracuse has. They did that for the most part, but the offense failed them again.
Jared comes out and scores 12 right away, and then ends up finishing 3-13 from deep. This has been the issue with him. Has yet to put together an entire game. For two or three minutes, he looks like one of the better scoring wings in the conference. Then he almost literally shoots you out of a game. Not sure what you can do with him. The form on his shot is so poor and everything comes off as a line drive. It is amazing that he can hit a few in a row like he does sometimes.
Marcus had his first double-double and it wasn't a great day today either, but the kid plays hard and has guts. Just wish there was an upperclassmen that could take some of the pressure off of him.
That is two poor shooting nights in a row for Parker. I would like to think he is not streaky and more of a pure shooter, so we will see. He needs to get back to being more aggressive inside the arc and making plays off of the dribble.
Shamiel seems to be regressing. There are a lot of factors that play into it. These ACC teams have the film and know that they can force him into wild drives because he puts his head down. He is not comfortable against the zone either. He is all one-on-one drive right now and there is nothing else.
The 6 blocks were really impressive for Terrell, but he is a mess on the offensive end right now. It has to be very frustrating to watch him make a great move and convert a hook shot, and then see him play offense like he does 90% of the time.
42 minutes of Terrell, Kene, and Peace tonight - total of 2 points and 7 rebounds. There is just nothing at all there. It is to the point that the guards can't even pass the ball inside. That is why this team lives and dies by the three, and it is all death. 9-34 again today. You can just see that when a few come off hard, it is going to be a long day. The other problem is that even when they are hot and make a handful, they can't sustain it.
The most disappointing part is that again, Syracuse did not play well. In fact, they were terrible. 35% from the field and 3-15 from three. Somehow, Pitt shoots 28% from the field and just can't do anything offensively.
We can break down coaching decisions and rotation moves on a game-to-game basis, but there are many issues. There are mistakes each game from the sideline, but it is so much deeper than that right now. I am more concerned about the confidence and development of these freshmen. For me, it is a big picture view.
Going over each of these games can feel like piling on at times. That is not what I want to do. We have been over the issues a hundred times. I am trying to take a fresh look at each game as its own, because that is what you do with so many freshmen.
The goal of the staff today was to try to take Battle and Howard out of the game as much as possible. Fairly obvious, as that back court is about all that Syracuse has. They did that for the most part, but the offense failed them again.
Jared comes out and scores 12 right away, and then ends up finishing 3-13 from deep. This has been the issue with him. Has yet to put together an entire game. For two or three minutes, he looks like one of the better scoring wings in the conference. Then he almost literally shoots you out of a game. Not sure what you can do with him. The form on his shot is so poor and everything comes off as a line drive. It is amazing that he can hit a few in a row like he does sometimes.
Marcus had his first double-double and it wasn't a great day today either, but the kid plays hard and has guts. Just wish there was an upperclassmen that could take some of the pressure off of him.
That is two poor shooting nights in a row for Parker. I would like to think he is not streaky and more of a pure shooter, so we will see. He needs to get back to being more aggressive inside the arc and making plays off of the dribble.
Shamiel seems to be regressing. There are a lot of factors that play into it. These ACC teams have the film and know that they can force him into wild drives because he puts his head down. He is not comfortable against the zone either. He is all one-on-one drive right now and there is nothing else.
The 6 blocks were really impressive for Terrell, but he is a mess on the offensive end right now. It has to be very frustrating to watch him make a great move and convert a hook shot, and then see him play offense like he does 90% of the time.
42 minutes of Terrell, Kene, and Peace tonight - total of 2 points and 7 rebounds. There is just nothing at all there. It is to the point that the guards can't even pass the ball inside. That is why this team lives and dies by the three, and it is all death. 9-34 again today. You can just see that when a few come off hard, it is going to be a long day. The other problem is that even when they are hot and make a handful, they can't sustain it.
The most disappointing part is that again, Syracuse did not play well. In fact, they were terrible. 35% from the field and 3-15 from three. Somehow, Pitt shoots 28% from the field and just can't do anything offensively.
We can break down coaching decisions and rotation moves on a game-to-game basis, but there are many issues. There are mistakes each game from the sideline, but it is so much deeper than that right now. I am more concerned about the confidence and development of these freshmen. For me, it is a big picture view.
