'Cuse Fans, Where Do We Stand Post-Clemson?

Some interesting things happened during Syracuse’s 57-44 win over Clemson. The first of which being that the game was played on a Sunday.

But other things happened, too. There are lots of ways to look at Sunday’s game so I’ll present a few different vantage points:

The Optimist’s P.O.V. – Sure, Syracuse got outrebounded, but that’s only because Baye Moussa Keita got hurt and Rakeem Christmas was in foul trouble. For a good amount of the second half, Mike Gbinije was playing along the baseline in the zone while Jerami Grant anchored the center. How could we not get outrebounded? There was a breadth of scorers spread out over the starting five and, considering who was in the game, holding an opponent to 44 is pretty good.

The Pessimist’s P.O.V. – Well, Syracuse won. But at what cost? We lost Keita for three quarters of the game and we’re not sure if he’ll be able to play in the biggest road test of the year till now. Plus, Rakeem proved that when he can’t get subbed out for, he’s just going to foul. So now we’re really screwed. It’s not like we can give Gbinije all the minutes on the block, the dude can’t score at all. Not to mention, we got three points off our bench. THREE POINTS! Sure, the starting five is supposed to carry the load, but with Keita out I’m concerned.

The Ambivalent P.O.V. – We’re catching a break by who we’re playing on Wednesday. Even though it’s Pitt and they’re good (really good at home,) they lack one towering player who can beat us on the block. The only player over 6’9” is Joseph Uchebo who averages like two minutes a game. Obviously, I’d rather have Baye in there, but maybe putting Grant as the anchor is good to combat all their forwards and guards?

The Pittsburgh Fan’s P.O.V.  – ATTACK THE ZONE HEAD ON! If Rakeem Christmas doesn’t have three fouls by halftime, then I want Andrew McCutchen to coach our second half.

Average Syracuse Fan P.O.V. – We knew someone would get hurt at one point or another, so if this is the worst injury we deal with all season it’ll be a major victory. Again, I’m not so sure having Grant in the middle of the zone is a bad thing. His athleticism allows for a lot. What we have to worry about now is foul trouble vs. Pitt. They’re obviously going to attack us in the paint so we need to stay straight up. Sure we only got three points off the bench Sunday, but that’s why we have guys like CJ and Tyler.

All for now.

~Boomer Dangel

Syracuse-Arizona: Depth Key For Two Best Teams In The Nation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.