Syracuse-Memphis Thoughts

Just some quick thoughts after watching the game for a second time. We really started off poorly on the offensive side of the ball. Way too many unforced turnovers and mistakes, especially from Andy. This is completely uncharacteristic of him. The first 10 games of the season, I always said that our entire offense runs through Andy. He made a huge impact in every game, even without scoring. With Andy playing poorly, the others have had to make a lot of adjustments offensively to be able to create their own shots. This may not be the worst thing in the world looking at things long term. It will allow the team to be more complete on the offensive side of the ball, and as soon as Andy starts to play well again, watch out.

Triche is playing poorly also. He’s trying to do too much with the ball in his hands, and is very inconsistent. Scoop seems like the more consistent point guard as of late, but it seems like JB is dead set on keeping Triche as the starter. He must see something special in him at practices.

Scoop should have played way more in this game. Even JB in his post game conference said that Scoop has the right to be upset over the lack of playing time in the second half, since he was clearly the better choice. but JB wanted to give Triche an opportunity to get out of his slump. It seems like he’s been given many of the same opportunities the past few games.

Both Arinze and Rick had average games. They played well at times, but just could not connect on a ton of easy layups. The shots that they are missing are not characteristic of either of them, and I’m sure they’ll get back on track. I’m not too concerned.

Wes had a good game. Almost every game so far, I’m surprised when I see his stats at the end of the game. The whole game I feel that he’s been quit, then at the end of the game, it shows him having something like 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. He’s a very quiet stat stuffer. I still think that he should be getting the ball in his hands more often, as well as be more assertive with the ball in his hands.

Kris Joseph had a quiet first half, but was a stud in the second. He was one of the main reasons we won handily last night. His progression from last season has been phenominal, and I can only imagine what he will be like in his senior year. I definitely see him in the NBA one day. Wes should take a page out of Kris’ playbook and try to attack the basket like Kris. He will be a star in Cuse his last 2 years.

Defensively, they played OK. Even though Memphis only scored 25 int he 2nd half, it was more so because of Memphis simply not attacking the zone. Memphis resorted to throwing up long 3 pointers in the second half when they probably didn’t have to. We didn’t force that many turnovers either.

Also, did anybody see JB’s post game conference? He was not happy AT ALL. He said that he saw almost nothing that he liked out there last night, and they have a lot to improve and work on. Obviously it wasn’t our best game, but we still won by 17 against a good Memphis team that brought Kansas down to the wire. Maybe he’s starting to expect more out of these guys because he knows what they are capable of.

Next game is against USF on 1/10.