The biggest reason why Syracuse and Arizona are arguably the
two strongest teams in the field right now is that on any given night, they
have multiple players who can win a game for them. Case and point, Trevor
Cooney dropping 33 and willing the Orange to a win Monday night.
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| Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant are likely to be lottery picks in the 2014 NBA Draft. |
But the two teams are more similar than you might think.
Look at Tyler Ennis and TJ McConnell. Both control the
offense. Both are pass-first point guards who can drive and handle the ball.
Ennis adds another dimension with his ability to take over a game. Versus
Pittsburgh, Ennis drove to score in the final seconds.
But, McConnell is a perfect fit for Arizona because of the
system there. He scores a lot in transition, which is much easier to do out of
a man defense than a zone because he has to release from one man and create
that separation. In transition, McConnell’s ball handling and ability to finish
creates transition points.
The differences between the two are minimal. Both command
the game and without them, their teams would be in trouble. For Syracuse,
they’d not only lack the court presence and leadership, but the Orange would
struggle for depth at guard. And mind you, both players are new to their teams
playing in the shadows of Michael Carter-Williams and Mark Lyons.
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| Nick Johnson provides a terrific scoring spark for the Wildcats. |
Trevor Cooney and Nick Johnson aren’t the superstars but
vital role players. More importantly, they give experience to players who don’t
necessarily have it. Cooney offsets Ennis’ youth with his experience in the
backcourt and Johnson knows how to score when the Wildcats need it the most. When
Cooney is on, he’s on. And Johnson’s transition ball-handling is vital.
The biggest concern for this Syracuse team is its depth at
guard. Cooney and Ennis take the lion’s share of the minutes, even though Mike
Gbinije has been playing more and more. Gbinije is great and probably even an
upgrade from Cooney defensively. But he flat out can’t score. Time and time again, Gbinije
has had the ball in transition and failed to take the ball to the basket. He
hit a three pointer vs. ND but other than that, he completely lacks confidence
offensively.
God forbid, if Cooney or Ennis goes down with an injury, or
DEFINITELY God forbid an academic suspension, that Gbinije automatically has to
play 32 minutes a game.
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| CJ Fair's 28 points against Duke has Syracuse ranked #1. |
That’s something Arizona now has to deal with: Brandon Ashley
was injured in the Wildcats’ loss to Cal and will miss the rest of the season.
His consistency and minutes as a “4” player is a considerable loss to Arizona.
Freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is supposed to
take Ashley’s spot and is supposed to be a solid perimeter defender. But
replacing Ashley’s offense is a tall task.
Before Ashley’s injury, he was the CJ Fair of Arizona, whose
experience and leadership is valuable to the team except Fair’s consistency far
outranks Ashley’s. Fair goes 38 minutes a game (when he doesn’t go 40 like he
did vs. UNC, Pitt, @ Miami and all 45 vs. Duke) and Ashley was hovering around
30 mpg. Any team would be lucky to have Fair’s composure and scoring ability.
Both guys score the same way, along the baseline and with
spot up jump shots. Fair takes an occasional three pointer, and Ashley is less
inclined to shoot long range. But, Ashley is more physical and has more weight
than Fair does. Against Colorado, he scored 15 points mostly off the block.
Still, Fair is the anchor of the Orange. He struggles to
drive with his right hand, but averages almost 17 ppg and 6 rpg. His numbers
are subtle but extremely consistent. Fair’s basketball instincts make him
perfect for Boeheim’s zone, he anticipates passes and uses his length to tip
halfhearted passes.
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| Aaron Gordon's athleticism can be compared to that of Jerami Grant. |
Jerami Grant and Aaron Gordon both use their athleticism to
get to the rim and score. But both leave something to be desired in their
technique. The strongest forwards in the league keep the ball above their
waists, and really above chest level, in the paint. Both these players are
wonderful athletes and would succeed at both Syracuse and Arizona. There’s just
some signs of immaturity from both in the paint. Assuming they don’t go pro,
this presents Boeheim and Miller with tremendous upside at the forward
position.
And that’s not to say both players aren’t great now.
Gordon’s offensive rebounds and Grant’s length defensively make them the two
best “3” players in the country. Both are lockdown on the baseline and already
NBA caliber defenders.
Syracuse took every single No. 1 vote from Arizona this
week. But all in all, the teams are extremely similar and poised to make deep
runs.
~Boomer Dangel
Boomer also helps
ESPN’s Bruce Pearl with his research, so if this article looks similar to Bruce
Pearl’s ESPN INsider column, don’t be surprised.
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