Syracuse:
4.58
C
DaJuan Coleman Sr: 5.5
Coleman
played his usual 15 minutes. He was tenacious on the boards early,
and tried to get established offensively. However, he played
sparingly in the second half with the team behind. Coleman scored
four points. Half of his points came from the free throw line; he
took four shots from there. Coleman also had four rebounds.
F
Tyler Roberson Sr: 4.5
Roberson
struggled on both sides of the ball. He missed all three of his field
goal attempts, scoring just a single point. The senior forward did
not seem engaged on the offensive end, which could explain why he
played less this game. Roberson also did not look great on defense
with the way SC moved the ball against the zone. Roberson had six
rebounds in just 21 minutes, which isn't bad for playing the minutes
he did.
F
Tyler Lydon So: 6
There
were times late in the first half, and early in the second, when it
seemed Lydon was going to lead Syracuse back. He looked like the
player many NBA scouts are salivating over, hitting threes, while
shooting over the defense, and using the ball fake to get an open
look. Lydon also took the ball to the basket, getting to the line six
times. The sophomore ended up with, a team high, 18 points, and
although he shot just 5-12 from the floor, he made three of five from
beyond the arc. He led Syracuse in rebounds with seven as well. Lydon
did not however, look as dynamic as he usually is on the defensive
end. In fact, it was his worst defensive performance of the season,
struggling against SC's slashing guards, and Kotsar inside. Lydon
also was responsible for SIX of Syracuse's 15 turnovers. He struggles
when the team is on his shoulders. He's best as a no. 2, not a one.
G/F
Andrew White Sr: 5.5
One
of the biggest questions coming into the season was: who would be the
go-to guy on offense? Andrew White had been answering the call the
first few games. He's looked like the player who could lead the team
in points, take the big shot, and put the team on his back. Then
Syracuse played South Carolina, and Andrew White no longer looked
like that guy. White scored ten points, shooting just 3-9, and making
just one of his five 3pt attempts. He also still isn't quite as
comfortable defending on the wing as a forward.
G
Frank Howard So: 5.5
Another
of the big questions for Syracuse coming into the season was their
point guard player. Howard has been one of the greatest surprises,
looking like a well rounded, and mature point guard. Unfortunately
for the Orange, Howard picked up two quick fouls, and missed a
majority of the first half as a result. He came back into the game
inside of ten minutes, but picked up a third foul. And, that third
foul was a really bad foul more than 30 feet from the basket. Howard
came back in the second half, and was one of the more productive
players on the team. He finished the game with 10 points on 3-7
shooting, with three assists. Howard did show a deficiency making
free throws. He made just 3-7 from the charity stripe, and is
shooting 33.3% from there on the season. Howard is a much better
defender at the top of the zone than Gillon, and that showed. As SC
found it easier to penetrate the zone on the drive with Gillon in the
game. Howard also had two steals.
G
John Gillon Sr: 2
Gillon
was forced into the spotlight with Howard in foul trouble. The
graduate-senior has been a highly aggressive player on both ends of
the floor when coming off the bench thus far this season. He charges
at defenses, and is fearless both shooting from outside, and taking
the ball to the rim on the dribble. Why is it then, that when Gillon
finally gets a chance to lead the offense for the majority of the
game, did he manage just a single, ONE, field goal?? ONE FIELD GOAL?
He took one shot in 28 minutes? Really? Against SC State he took 12
shots in 20 minutes. Monmouth: seven shots in 21 minutes. Holy Cross:
eight in 18. Colgate: eight in 21. But, South Carolina, while playing
28 minutes, most of which at the point guard position in Howard's
absence, he took one shot. I don't get it. To
his credit, Gillon did make his one field goal attempts, a
three-pointer. But still, with Syracuse behind and struggling
mightily on offense, Gillon, who has been the most aggressive player
on the team, took a single shot. [Shakes head]. What's the cliché
Dick Vitale might use: You make 0% of the shots you don't
take. Whatever Gillon was doing
instead of shooting clearly wasn't working; he turned the ball over
five times. To pile on, Gillon is not a great zone defender, and
South Carolina had a couple of tall guards, Dozier and Thornwell who
could take advantage.
(Forgive
the never ending run-on sentences. I don't even care to discuss the
potential matchup zone difficulties Gillon could have faced. Gillon,
in the position he was in this game, should have taken more than one
shot.)
C
Paschal Chukwu So: 3.5
Chukwu
has looked like a dynamo in the middle of the zone this season.
However, he was less effective against the Gamecocks than he's been
in other game. South Carolina had little difficulty scoring inside
against Syracuse. They [SC] shot 19-38 inside of the arc, 50%. They
found a way to make Chukwu obsolete, because he isn't going to help
on offense. Chukwu finished the game with 0 points, four rebounds,
and just one block.
G
Tyus Battle Fr: 3
Battle
was expected to be an explosive scorer, coming in as a Syracuse's
highest rated recruit. However, he has struggled to find his groove
thus far this season, and that fact was bolded and underlined this
game. He took just two shots, missing them both. Battle barely played
in the second half, which says a lot about how Boeheim views him
right now. Battle is a good defender, and he dished two assists
without turning the ball over. However, he needs to get it together
on offense. Even though Battle was almost invisible on
offense, and played just 13 minutes, he still took more shots, two,
than Gillon.
F
Taurean Thompson Fr: 4
Thompson
has been surprisingly effective on offense, knocking down more jump
shots in his first four games than Roberson has his entire career
(and I'm not convinced that's actually hyperbole). However, he missed
his shots against South Carolina, and looked like the raw freshman he
is. Thompson scored just four points on 1-6 shooting. He also
continued to struggle on the defensive end.
Team
Overview:
Frank
Martin (as soon as I remembered Frank Martin was the coach of SC, I
knew it wouldn't be an easy game) deserves all the credit in the
world for preparing his team for this game. South Carolina did
everything right against Syracuse and the zone. Everything that could
go wrong this game—did. Syracuse shot just 31.8%. They were
outrebounded 30:37. They turned the ball over 17 times. Their point
guard got into early foul trouble, and missed the bulk of the first
half. Their defense was broken down by a dynamic player, PJ Dozier.
Simply put—they played like crap. Under every player's name above
is a sentence that begins, “[So-and-so] has been...” Followed by,
“This game, they were not.” Everyone played worse than they have
in every other game, except Tyler Lydon. Howard missing most of the
first half was a tough loss, and it exposed Gillon. Gillon is best
suited coming off the bench as a change of pace point guard. There
was a lot of bad in this game. But, hopefully, this is a loss that
will galvanize the team. Hopefully, it will light a fire under them.
Maybe it will inspire one of the many offensive talents to step up
and be the leader this team needs. Anyways...here comes the B1G
challenge.
Player
Ratings through five games:
Coleman:
6.1
Roberson:
6.4
Lydon:
6.8
White:
7.3
Howard:
7.2
Battle:
5.1
Chukwu:
5.5
Gillon:
5.9
Thompson:
6.8
Team:
6.50
For
the record, here's a list of Syracuse's team rating in each of the
first five games for comparison's sake:
South
Carolina – 4.58
South
Carolina State – 7.18
Monmouth
– 6.48
Holy
Cross – 7.60
Colgate – 6.68
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