ryan murray, the rivals.com cuse publisher. answered some questions for me:
this is a big, long cuse lineup. would you say they are physical?
You can say that, but it depends on the situation really. On offense they struggle to use their size to score in the paint and that leads to strings of jumpers for a bad shooting team.
On defense this Syracuse team has been very good at using their size rebounding and blocking shots.
The Orange 2-3 zone is also playing at a high level because of their length.
how has frank howard developed?
When it comes to Frank Howard improving it has really just been with his offensive game. If Howard had played this much in his previous seasons his game would not be such a surprise. He is a very good defender and has played a solid point guard. The one item that he does need to improve on is the turnovers he does comitt.
are the fastbreaks not what they have been so far?
This season the transition game has improved from the past couple of seasons. The biggest problem of the transition game has been spacing as the Orange rush to the basket. They have tendincies to bunch together and it forces them into taking and missing bad shots. With more chances though i could see Syracuse improving as the season progresses.
how far along in 2 3 zone are the cuse now?
Right now this zone is better than the Syracuse zone from last season. The overall size has made the zone really tough to beat. If a team does not have muliple threats from the outside it could make for a long day.
is any big a threat to score outside of stick backs?
The Orange will get their share of put back buckets, but that is not all they count on. Syracuse can score from the outside with Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, and Oshae Brisset, but they are streaky. The Orange can also spend a lot of time at the free throw line that could help their overall scoring line.
this is a big, long cuse lineup. would you say they are physical?
You can say that, but it depends on the situation really. On offense they struggle to use their size to score in the paint and that leads to strings of jumpers for a bad shooting team.
On defense this Syracuse team has been very good at using their size rebounding and blocking shots.
The Orange 2-3 zone is also playing at a high level because of their length.
how has frank howard developed?
When it comes to Frank Howard improving it has really just been with his offensive game. If Howard had played this much in his previous seasons his game would not be such a surprise. He is a very good defender and has played a solid point guard. The one item that he does need to improve on is the turnovers he does comitt.
are the fastbreaks not what they have been so far?
This season the transition game has improved from the past couple of seasons. The biggest problem of the transition game has been spacing as the Orange rush to the basket. They have tendincies to bunch together and it forces them into taking and missing bad shots. With more chances though i could see Syracuse improving as the season progresses.
how far along in 2 3 zone are the cuse now?
Right now this zone is better than the Syracuse zone from last season. The overall size has made the zone really tough to beat. If a team does not have muliple threats from the outside it could make for a long day.
is any big a threat to score outside of stick backs?
The Orange will get their share of put back buckets, but that is not all they count on. Syracuse can score from the outside with Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, and Oshae Brisset, but they are streaky. The Orange can also spend a lot of time at the free throw line that could help their overall scoring line.