The Worst Case, Moving Forward
by Girardi Party on Mar 11, 2010 7:13 PM EST
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PrintI am NOT one of the nutjobs that thinks that 4 minutes a game in the Big East season would have helped DaShonte Riley "develop"—that's what practice is for. (Yes, we're talkin' 'bout practice.) If he were good enough, he'd have been out there, that simple.
That said, IF Onuaku can't go in the NCAA Tournament, I think Riley should get some time. Not a lot... maybe 5 to 7 minutes a game tops. Just enough time to give Jackson a breather. My thinking if they did that would be that he's only their seventh most-important player if he's getting that time. They're not winning or losing on his back; he's just spelling Rick for a minute and taking up space. So you send him in there, tell him "you've got five fouls—don't let them get easy buckets," and let him go to town. Don't use him as a Chaney-like goon, don't have him play dirty. Just have him realize that he'd basically be in as a placeholder and he should be super-aggressive. If he fouls out, eh, whatever.
I say this just as a worst-case. No matter how good the top six are, if AO can't go, Rick WILL need some time on the bench (due to fatigue or fouls), and they will run into teams where "going small" (especially when nobody can foul in a six-man rotation) won't be the answer.
I know he's extremely raw and I know Boeheim knows best; if he thinks Riley would be a liability he won't play him—he's miserable on offense. It's just a thought. Hopefully it's not an issue.
Thoughts? Am I completely freaking nuts? Is Riley even athletic enough to pull this off?
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Might not
have a choice.
Kris Jo certainly can’t take AO’s spot fulltime and we can’t have Wes downlow all night either.
Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.
Yup
I think that Bernie has some extra work to do this week. Gotta make it clear – 2min/foul is totally Fine. (see what I did there?)
A good pun is its own reword
Best case for Riley the remainder of the season would be reminiscent of Jeremy McNeil’s “enforcer” role his senior year: play rough, don’t be afraid to foul, provide a spark and relieve the starting center.
(Actually, best case would be he doesn’t have to play a single minute.)
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 11, 2010 8:47 PM EST up reply actions
He has to play
The fact that he is not better than AO or RJ, does not mean that he cannot serve a purpose now. Who are you going to take out to put him in if everyone is healthy? Well, everyone is not healthy. So… time to play.
Really, the way RJ played, I am not sure Riley can be much worse. RJ had hands of stone… was a bullfighter on defense (ole!)… had the ball stolen multiple times…. and just continues to be far too soft for a Junior with his size.
Today was one of those games
where they could not finish inside. Not Rick, not anybody. Those games have now happened against Louisville (twice) and Georgetown (say maybe one and a half times)… it’s getting to the point where it’s not really a coincidence. Long, physical teams contain “the bigs” too well.
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 11, 2010 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
Long teams
Don’t really exist in the NCAA tourney outside of the top seeds this season. Rick will be fine, I have a ton of confidence in him. If there’s one team that scares you with length it is Baylor, I’m crossing my fingers they’re not in the same quadrant
BTW
Pitt and Notre Dame just did their best to impress the Big 10… 50 to 45???? First one to 50 wins (won!)?
Hopefully
the injury isn’t anything too serious. Even if he has to miss a week, that would be the first round at most. We should be able to run over whoever we’re playing, meaning Arinze should get some rest either way.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
If we are a #1 seed
we should win first game with or without A.O.
The second game is a crapshoot. The #8 team is top 32 in the country. No gimme without AO.
We just lost to the #22 team with AO for 34 minutes.
it has been said
that riley is a great passer from the post.
all is not lost, but, i mean, Rick Jackson better start hanging onto the ball.
but whatevers, I hope they go deep, this has been a great ride, and I will stay on the ride as long as it runs. I ask nothing from them, except their best effort.
That's a good attitude
and that’s all we can hope for, especially without AO (knock on wood)
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 11, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions
love the positive outlook
Believe me, by no means am I mailing it in.
BUT, if you look back to the beginning of the year when I bought my student tickets for my only year at Syracuse, I thought to myself, “Sweet, I’ll probably get to see some pretty good teams come here and Syracuse should be alright. Maybe a fringe top 25 team throughout the season.”
Instead, I was treated to a fantastic team in every sense of the word.
I’ll save my long diatribe for a FanPost when the season is over (hopefully, April 6), but I’ll just say that at this point, I just want to see them reach their goals.
I want to see a consistent and committed effort on defense, I want to see them squeeze the ball and be smarter about not turning it over, and I want to see the balance/chemistry they had for a fantastic stretch through Big East play. If we lose in the tournament to a better team, there’s not really much to be mad about, but I don’t want it to be because of our own shortcomings/mistakes.
That’s all I ask.
I don't want the season to end
in an effort like that Georgetown game yesterday—20+ turnovers, missed inside looks, generally sloppy play. This team has been really special and I just hope that IF they don’t end up winning it all, they’ll go down playing their style of smart, balanced basketball. (But I guess if they play as well as they’re capable of, they’re really hard to beat haha so maybe what I was thinking there couldn’t happen.)
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 12, 2010 7:49 AM EST up reply actions
asdf
He has difficulty when pounding with the big guys in the paint trying to finish his shot.
Maybe Riley can be our Kouric, break out of his shell off the bench and penetrate the boards.
On the other hand…
Riley looks thin as a rail so will have trouble boxing out and Rick Jackson plays it soft on defense.
Maybe you can play small with kris jo and scoop on the floor and get to the 16 with a recovered AO
If he were good enough
He would have gotten a scholarship offer. Oh wait…
GO CUSE, BLUE, AND EAGLES!
Deshonte certainly was not ready
when he got put into the Georgetown game a couple weeks back. Yeah, the kid should be bulkier, but more than that, he wasn’t ready mentally. I doubt he thought he was going to play against Georgetown.
Having said that, he has more than a week to get mentally ready, and teams in other conferences don’t pound nearly as hard in the post as Big East teams do (I’ve been to some ACC games this year, and was not impressed). The best case scenario would of course be to have AO 100% healthy, but under the circumstances, he might surprise us.
Other people look, Andy Rautins can SEE.
Look.
Onauku is a tough loss, no doubt. But this is not at all a one-man team this year. EVERYONE has led this team to a at least one win this year. Thats the beauty of Syracuse. We aren’t used to this! Yeah, so our rotation is short now and we have to play someone at least a few minutes that doesn’t normally play. But this team has so much talent and such good chemistry there is absolutely no reason to panic or think our hopes are dashed. Yeah, of course I hope Onauku is ok and that his injury is as minor as possible. But if not…so what?! Worst case scenario is we don’t have to worry about his sub 40% FT shooting!
Seriously. I have suddenly seen people question our #1, debate whether SU would be able to beat a #8 seed, and lay out numerous other obstacles and reasons why SU might be finished. I don’t buy any of that crap. If Onauku stays down, it makes our march tougher, but it is not nearly the same is if we lost Carmelo Anthony.
Nut up, boys. This might be exactly what we want. Suddenly Syracuse is an underdog again.
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 12, 2010 10:29 AM EST reply actions
The poll questions on ESPN.com
are always a joke but it’s been especially true the last 24 hours, basically trying to get America to say Syracuse should be a 3 seed. Why does Syracuse not deserve to be a no. 1 seed? Arinze Onuaku ain’t exactly Wes Johnson.
The current “SPORTSNATION” Poll: “If Ohio State wins the Big 10 Tourney, who is more deserving of a number one seed: Syracuse or Ohio State?”
I vote the invisible third option: Uh, why not both….?
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 12, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions
Yeesh
We definitely have the most sensitive fan base.
It’s just a hypothetical.
Maybe getting spoiled by Syracuse media darling status this season
but it seems a little ridiculous that ESPN is just murdering the ‘Cuse for yesterday’s loss in the college basketball equivalent to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. I hope the Selection Committee is a bit more reasonable about it than just looking at the last 8 days of the season (and I’m sure they will be).
All I was trying to say was I don’t see why OSU and Syracuse couldn’t both be number one seeds. Also, forgot to mention, Syracuse was leading the poll everywhere except the Big 10 footprint and Wyoming(?)…. so… we got that going for us.
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 13, 2010 1:39 AM EST up reply actions
Wyoming still hates us from the backout
of the football home-and-home.
Would I rather have AO play?
Obviously. There’s no question that he’s a force that brings a lot to the team. Is it the end of everything if he does not? I don’t think so. Looking at his numbers for this year and there are a few games where he did not play big minutes and the team still did well. He played 5 min against Oakland, didn’t register a shot, and the team won by almost 30 (yes I realize that Oakland isn’t exactly the cream of the NCAA). Against Cornell he played for less than 20 min, shot 50% and SU won by 15.
As I said, I’d much have him on the floor than on the bench and the road is certainly harder without him, but I have to believe that the team’s season didn’t end with his injury.
by Trapped_In_ACC_Hell on Mar 12, 2010 11:14 AM EST reply actions
Oakland's RPI is 54
The best case scenario here is:
MRI negative.
If we can get that, then it is just a matter of how effective he can be if hobbled. If we can survive #16 game… maybe get Riley and Mookie some PT to get the rust off…. maybe we can get a handful of minutes in the second round game. Enough to spell RJ.
If not… remember….we once played Donovan McNabb at center. I think its toughness more than anything that is needed out of the 5. KJ played center against UConn. If Mookie can be aggressive there, why not let him use up some fouls there? He has shown toughness in diving for rebounds, etc. Not many teams have 7’0" centers these days. To me, that seems better than putting KJ and Wes out of position.
see, thats the thing
i agree with you, except where you say “if we can survive #16 game”.
We wont have to “survive” #16. They cn be the best #16 seed ever in the history of the NCAAs, i expect Syracuse to handle them easily with or without AO.
Get that “survive” out of your vocab!!
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 12, 2010 1:14 PM EST up reply actions
Yep
No #2 had ever lost to a #15 until we did. Why couldn’t we be the first #1 to do the same thing???
Unless you expected Richmond and Vermont to beat Syracuse, I think I would be cautious. All it takes is aggressive foul calling and our lineup will be Triche, Joseph, Mookie, Southerland, and Riley. That’s not beating anyone down the stretch.
OK man
Please know I am not directing this just at you but at a majority of the fan base. I know it’s never happened before and it seems impossible, but:
STOP IT.
Anyone else saying that Syracuse will destroy a 16 seed, with or without AO, just by showing up? STOP IT. I realize what we say has no bearing on the team, but it can happen, and it will happen someday, and if Syracuse is the first team it happens to, I will literally quit sports or put my face into a running blender. Do not be a part of the lax attitude that will breed bad karma and overconfidence.
They should win easily, they probably will win easily, but let’s not even go there. I remember Michigan fans talking about Appalachian State as “a functional DNP” leading up to the 2007 season. Don’t say it can’t happen, don’t say we might not have to survive, I’ve lived it, and it was awful.
/rant over, sorry.
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 12, 2010 4:16 PM EST up reply actions
i understand your rant
I’m not saying we assume #16 #15 or whomever just lays down. Of course they won’t. I’m saying this Orange team is built under the cliche “the Orange go as Onauku goes”.
I’m saying its time to stop pissing in our pants because Onuaku has an injury.
ITS NOT A BIG DEAL. Yeah, it hurts, but its absolutely ridiculous how nervous people seem to be on here.
It is quickly getting tiresome at how many people seem to want to run for the hills because of this. Ohio State lost Evan Turner early this season to TWO CRACKED VERTEBRAE IN HIS BACK. They didn’t panic. He’s fuckin’ fine now too!! The guy drained a 37ft jumper to beat Michigan today.
Relax. Have more confidence in the Orange. This aint no one man show.
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 12, 2010 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
This is New York. Leave the panicking to Purdue, or the state of Massachusetts.
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 12, 2010 4:33 PM EST up reply actions
They did panic
They just stopped panicking so long ago that nobody remembers.
It seems like ages ago
that we had to deal with a panicked Syracuse team. Boy, next year will be a shock to the ol’ system.
I’m not panicked right now, really—I do know that it will take an outright disaster for Syracuse to lose to a 16, and AO is only maybe the team’s fourth most-important player. But after sitting in freaking Michigan Stadium half-drunk and sunburned watching Amanti Edwards pick apart a Big 10 defense, I just can’t laugh in the face of the SWAC winner or whoever we’ll play. Excited for Sunday, excited for (the first game, which barring catastrophe will take place on) Friday, Go Orange, woo!
...it's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.
by Girardi Party on Mar 13, 2010 1:32 AM EST up reply actions
Hmmm....
The best thing to keep our #1 seed would be WVU and OSU losing. One banks in a 23-foot shot to win it. The other hits a 37-foot shot to win it. The ball is back in WVU’s court… perhaps a white guy can hit a shot from 52 feet tonight… down by 3… and get fouled… and make the free throw.
BTW… is it me or did Burr blow that call against Cincy. He was motioning like it went off the Cincy’s players leg… I didn’t see THAT happen. Maybe his hand was the last thing to touch it.
Unless the staggered one bent leg hop while slapping your knee is the “official sign for a player knocking it out of bounds of himself.” That crossed my mind. If so, sorry Burr.
If Duke doesn't win the ACC...do they lose their #1 seed before Syracuse?
I say they SHOULD, but Duke’s name recognition probably keeps them….
But its an interesting point, no?
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 12, 2010 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
Could be
it’s also really hard for me to envision WV getting a #1 seed over us if we beat them in WV.
I mean… if Pitt was 26-3… wouldn’t we expect that winning the BET would not put us ahead of them?
Wow
Worst post ever.
The first sentence means: “Given that we beat WV on the road, I find it hard to believe that the committee would put WVU ahead of us.”
The second sentence means: “Given that we lost to Pitt at home, I would not expect that a Pitt team with a better record would fall behind us if we had a worse record (in this hypothetical world)—even if we (again, in this hypothetical world) won the BET and they were eliminated early (again, in this hypothetical world).”
Sorry that my post looked like it was translated into French and then back into English… and then typed by Michael Graham.
Only thing that worries me is Ohio State sneaking past SU
Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Ohio St. That would leave a bad taste.
Fortunately, Jay Bilas on ESPN and the guys from College Gameday seem to be talking that SU is still a #1. Seems like its between Duke and Ohio St for the last #1 seed. Which seems about right to me. I’m not very worried at this point.
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 13, 2010 7:10 PM EST up reply actions
Ohio St
lost 4 games WITH Turner. So why suddenly are they getting so much more credit b/c they’ve played better with him than without? Yeah, give them a 2 seed. They’ve earned it. We’ve only lost to 3 teams a total of 4 times TOTAL, all who will be in the tournament.
Duke? WVU? No way they get a #1 over us.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Mar 12, 2010 6:14 PM EST up reply actions
You ready for this?
The 4th #1 seed will be Purdue. If Ohio State does not win the Big 10 and Purdue makes the finals, they deserve it 100%. They’re showing that they can still win even without Hummel. That first loss was more a product of the team learning how to adjust playing without him.
Personally I think that Purdue has done nothing to show that they do not deserve it.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
Conference tournaments are overrated
There is no reason why we should not be a #1 seed. Whether the final #1 goes to Purdue, Duke, Ohio St., WVA, Kansas St. or someone else is really not our concern.
Frankly, given the overall “strength” of the BIg 10 compared to the ACC…. I tend to think Purdue deserves it more than Duke.
I would be okay with that
If we’re a 1 seed, I’d rather have Duke as a 2 in our region than a number of other teams, but that probably won’t happen.
Purdue probably does deserve it if they win their conference tournament.
Side note on the ACC, I can’t believe GA Tech beat Maryland… I’ve been to a couple Tech games this year, and haven’t been impressed… They can’t pass the rock!
Other people look, Andy Rautins can SEE.
Nah, Purdue shouldn't be a #1
Yeah. they are a good team, but even with Hummel, I would call them a #2 at best. Now without him, well, they are just holding themselves together. Nothing against them, but the committee does take into account an injury to ones BEST player. Especially given that he is not coming back. With teams like SU, OSU, Duke, & WVU fighting for that #1 spot, it would be a waste to see it go to a crippled team like Purdue.
Though, with the loss to Minnesota today (and by over 20 pts) I think its a moot point now.
"you're the Rod Thorn in my Chris Bosh side."
by Chris Child's Fist on Mar 13, 2010 7:06 PM EST up reply actions
Down to 4
Agreed. Syracuse, Duke, OSU, and WVU for the final 2 spots.
Sadly, got to root for G’Town. Although if they have similar records and Syracuse beat WVU at Morgantown, I just don’t see how WVU slides ahead. They beat the only team to play 2 prior games (barely), and then beat overachieving ND (barely), and now get G’Town on its 4th game. Good thing we were a #1 seed. But G’town deserves the BET title more. They have risen to the occasion.
Also, root for Minnesota. I don’t think any BE teams are on the bubble, so no loss if Minnesota knocks someone else off. I just can’t fathom a 7-loss OSU team being elevated over Syracuse (or WVU for that matter). That would be absurd.
If Duke loses tomorrow, I am fine with OSU moving past them.
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