Grading the Syracuse Orange: Brandon Triche

Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician is putting a bow on the 2011-12 Syracuse Orange basketball season by recapping how each scholarship player performed and looking forward to what lies ahead in 2012-13. In honor of their status as student-athletes (insert Fab Melo joke here) we will score each player’s performance on an A-F scale, and offer some suggestions on what they can work on in the offseason (a.k.a. "summer school").

Brandon Triche

Height: 6’4"
Year: Junior
Position: Guard
Number: 20
MPG: 22.5
PPG: 9.4
RPG: 2.7
APG: 2.9

Passing Grades:

Brandon's most consistent asset, at least in my opinion, is his rock-solid defense. While he doesn't put up the steal numbers that Dion Waiters did, he really understands how to play at the top of the zone, and he was rarely found out of place. He's also probably our best spot-up shooter in the starting rotation, but like our other potential knock-down guy, James Southerland, he needs to gain consistency before we can call him a night-in, night-out threat from deep. Triche is also a good passer, and is not generally prone to many mental errors.

Brandon Triche (via chickenmarm)

Needs Work:

Brandon has the ability to do just about everything well. He can shoot, he can play the point, he can play in transition, and he can take it to the rim. Unfortunately, whether or not he flashes all of these abilities really depends on the day. Brandon takes over some games, and others, he shies away and is barely a factor. The biggest thing that Brandon needs to work on is asserting himself and staying confident in his abilities every night. He had a really nice game in the loss to Ohio State, so hopefully that performance is something that Brandon can build on.

Summer School:

The one thing that I've been clamoring for Brandon to establish since he started at SU is a post-up game. He's a really big, physical guard; if he can take the ball into the paint and post up against smaller guards, like we saw Billy Edelin do in his time at Syracuse, it would really help diversify Brandon as an offensive player as well as play into the advantage that he has against smaller guards on a nightly basis.

Final Grade: B-

He showed flashes of brilliance, but the consistency hasn't been there throughout his career. We'll need him to give us production every game as a senior on a very young Syracuse team.