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Whatever… Syracuse Still Sucks
Game Grades: Whatever…Syracuse Still Sucks
Boeheim might be gone, but I still hate everything about Syracuse. I hope they enjoy this one cause it’s the last game against the Hoyas they are ever going to win.
A great crowd. A meh game. Let’s do this.
Supreme Cook – B
16pts, 8-10 80% FG, 0-3 FT, 10 REB, 2 TO, 30 MIN
Boy, do teams really dislike Supreme. Every game, he seems to get on someone’s nerves. I thought he was the best of the starters by far, and that is not going to be a recipe for success for this team. This was his prototypical performance: a double-double with most of his points coming off dunks.
Dontrez Styes – C
7pts, 1-5 20% FG, 0-3 3PT, 5-5 FT, 5 REB, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 30 MIN
I didn’t really mind Trez in this one. I just don’t think he got nearly enough looks. I think a lot of that is frankly on the starting guards who just did not share the ball the way you would hope. He also needs to raise his activity level on the glass and in transition. And do more to get downhill rather than just settling for jumpers.
Ismael Massoud – C
7pts, 3-10 30% FG, 1-6 16% 3PT, 9 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 4 TO, 33 MIN
This felt like a game from a guy who is coming off a broken hand. Let’s be honest, he has been great in his first few games, considering his injury. This one felt like a rusty game, and his shot was just not falling. That happens. It’s a bummer it happened during a game where everyone elses shot wasn’t falling either.
Jayden Epps – C-
17pts, 6-17 62% FG, 1-9 11% 3PT, 4-7 FT, 1 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 5 TO, 37 MIN
This game felt like it was probably coming from Jayden. He was shooting at an insane clip the past few games. Some regression was due. I don’t have many issues with his shooting – though I think he forced it a bit. I would like to see him attack closeouts and get to the rim when his outside shot isn’t falling. He is a pretty good playmaker and finisher around the rim, and he needs to be able to do that to keep defenses honest. He had a few good possessions of that in the second half, but it was after Georgetown was down 10. The real problem is the turnovers. Almost all came from either lax passes or trying to do too much on his own. He’s always going to be able to score. If he wants the team to succeed, he will need to focus on his assist-to-turnover ratio. It’s 1:1 right now – both at about 4 and a half a game. That is just unsustainable.
Jay Heath – D
7pts, 2-7 28% FG, 1-5 20% 3PT, 2-2 FT, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0 TO, 26 MIN
I would probably experiment with moving Jay back to the bench and starting Rowan again. Part of that is because he and Jayden are just way too similar – they both are looking to create their own shot, and Jayden is better at it. I actually think Jay could fit well with Jayden, but for whatever reason, it’s just not really working. I think Rowan helps both Jayden and Jay settle into better roles, as long as he isn’t turning the ball over too much. And I also think Jay can help with his scoring punch off the bench. Regardless, he needs to get right on defense, and it needs to be quick. He has been rough on that end, and I think was really taken advantage of today. I’ve mentioned before that some of his struggles on that side of the floor are likely a result of his turf toe injury, and I admittedly have no idea if that is still the case. It’s to a point now that I am not sure it matters. The defense is not good. There are many reasons for that, but the primary one is they cannot keep their opponents in front, particularly the guards. Jayden is guilty of this, as is Rowan, but to my eye, Jay is struggling the most and should really not be. He has a bad habit of dying on screens or completely losing his man. Yes, the help defense needs to be better, but Jay finds himself out of position or with his man in between him and the basket WAY too much for my liking right now.
Wayne Bristol Jr. – B+
9pts, 3-5 60% FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-2 FT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 20 MIN
Bristol gets a B+ solely for stepping up to Bell after he shoved Rowan. Bristol came to his teammate’s aid. I also thought he was good in his minutes and was one of the only guys who was able to defend in this one. A few more guys playing like Wayne and they might have had a different result
Rowan Brumbraugh – B
3pts, 1-3 33% FG, 1-2 50% 3PT, 0-1 FT, 1 REB, 4 AST, 4 STL, 1 TO, 15 MIN
I thought Rowan was really good for the first time in a few games. He looks more comfortable again, and he had a couple of really nice dishes down low around the basket that led to dunks. Now that he is healthy, I wouldn’t mind him being inserted back into the starting 5 in place of Jay. I think that might help both Jayden and Jay. Rowan’s challenge is going to be playing fast while keeping turnovers low. I think he did that really well against Syracuse. He looked more confident than he’s been in the past few games, and the offense worked better when he was on the floor. 4 steals is great, and those mostly came from good help defense, but he was also OK on the ball.
Drew Fielder – NO GRADE
2pts, 1-2 50% FG, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 TO, 10 MIN
I thought it was another solid if unspectacular game for Drew. I think he is going to have a spectacular game at some point this season, and I, for one, am very much looking forward to it.
Other Grades
Coaching – C
This was kind of a weird game, and I am honestly not really sure if there is much to complain about with the coaching, but they lost, so it gets a C. They were right there in the first half, and then all of a sudden, in the second half, they were down ten, and it was pretty much over. For what it is worth, Shot Quality had this as a 76-70 Georgetown win based on the quality of shots taken, which just kind of confirms how weird this one was and probably just comes down to missing shots. I’d like to see some rotation changes, as noted above and while I think the defense is largely just about execution, it’s hard to argue that they need to change things on that end. They have tried to go zone throughout games, but that has been largely a crapshoot, depending on the execution. I think they could try switching less – or switching 1 through 4 rather than trying to switch everything, as there were a couple of instances of guys getting blown by after a switch that felt like you were just asking them to do too much. But some of it is guys just need to be better and keep their man in front. It doesn’t appear to be a scheme issue or confusion about what they are supposed to be doing (as in years past). I just think guys need to be individually better.
Next up – Hoyas had a get-right game against a flat-out bad Coppin State team who are 1-11 on the season. Now, they have the “What could have been bowl” against Notre Dame on Saturday to close out the nonconference schedule.
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