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Statement made
Will we see more man this year?
The Orange hoops team has gone out and made a big statement to Coach Jim Boeheim. Let’s play some more man! The Orange was able to make that statement by jumping out early in the first half and getting off to a comfortable lead and then not looking back. There was a noticeable effort on the part of the starting 5 to get out and establish that this team can get a lead and keep it.
It just seems that this team is a bit more suited at this time to play man. The wingspan of Flynn and Devo in the front of the 2-3 isn’t that long. AO in the middle is not a huge shot blocking force. But the overall atheleticsm of the team seems best for getting in shirts and harassing the opposition. When Rick Jackson entered the game, he made his presence felt with a pair of rejections on one of Jonathan Jones’ forays into the paint. A nice sign of the intensity displayed up and down the lineup.
The good: The first half had alot of nice ball movement by the Orange, not so much in the second half due to the fact that the game was in a cruise control mode for the most part. There was an intent to move the ball quickly and look for good shots. Twelve of the first thirteen hoops were assisted. That is a nice thing to see.
Kris Joseph continues to impress. He scored 13 points on 6-6 shooting. Joseph is displaying a knack for getting his production from within the natural flow of the game. He had a nice flurry in the second half where he scored three baskets within a couple minute span when things were starting to get lax on the court. I believe that we could see him get even more minutes as his overall understanding of the defense improves.
Arinze continues to be an efficient source of production. Another perfect night from the field. He could in theory be our leading scorer if he got the number of looks that the guards have. He is shooting a ridiculous 79% from the field. He needs to demand more touches.
Let’s work on this: While it is nice to have a PG who can score, I am not overly enamored with having a point who is the leading scorer. Flynn again led the way with 18. He did a nice job of moving the ball around in the opening stanza, but then seemed to enjoy dribbling in the second. It was good to see him drill some threes. HIs ast/TO ratio was not good at 4:4. This has to improve with Florida and Kansas as possible next opponents.
The TOs overall were a problem, especially in the second half when the game was in hand. Things tend to get sloppy when you lead by 20 and the coach is working in players. Still ball control needs to be addressed.
Three point shooting is still not firing on all cylinders. In fact it wasn’t firing much at all. Rautins and Devo were each 1-6, although Devo’s early 3 set the tone for a fast start. KO and PH missed their two chucks from beyond the arc and were likely two more threes a piece that JB would rather not see. Mookie hit his lone three and looked better for having sat in the last game.
Overall, it was a nice win. Anytime there isn’t high drama in the second half is a good sign. The team was determined to get off to a fast start and show their coach that they would like to play more man. They definitely showed that kind of effort last night. At the end of the day isn’t what we want to see at this stage of the season? One lingering question will be answered this week – just how good are we? Onward to the CBE and we shall see!
