What Can Syracuse Basketball Do To Solve Its Woes?

With Syracuse mired successful a two-game losing streak aft losses to Boston College and Virginia Tech, nan Orange request to get backmost connected way correct distant to support their postseason NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

How tin they do it? We said to erstwhile Syracuse defender Andrew Kouwe connected today’s Juice connected nan Cuse Podcast to discuss. The Orange struggled pinch spacing, shot activity and scoring successful nan 2nd halves of some games, and Kouwe said that portion of it is simply a chemistry problem. The squad is still coming together aft only 2 players (Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling) returned from past year’s team, and Freeman missed complete a period pinch a limb injury.

“You know, I deliberation a batch of it has to do pinch astir apt assurance arsenic good and benignant of that chemistry. You know, we person to remember, successful essence, this is simply a full caller team, right? We person players who person nan expertise to people connected their ain consciousness like, OK, I sewage to get a bucket. Let maine conscionable do this connected my ain to effort to benignant of extremity nan bleeding.”

Freeman's struggles

In peculiar Freeman has struggled complete nan past 2 games, and has placed nan blasted connected himself. But portion of that besides is that opposing teams are starting to crippled scheme astir Freeman, and Syracuse needs to fig retired a measurement to utilization it.

“Teams spot that and say, ‘Okay, this is what we request to do. This is Syracuse's champion player, nan feline that they spell to for a batch of their scoring.' So teams set defensively toward him. So now that accommodation is being made, Donnie has to make nan accommodation now connected his end.

"What does he request to do these adjacent 4 aliases 5 games to benignant of reverse that? Because you're going to person that bad game, that's conscionable inevitable, particularly erstwhile you're coming successful and you haven't played a batch of games.”

Back to an aged defense?

Given that Kouwe played for Jim Boeheim from 2000-04, he believes that playing much area would thief Syracuse disrupt different team’s offenses. It isn’t conscionable because he played nan zone, but because Syracuse has a roster that is nan astir diversion they’ve had successful caller years, and surely nan astir diversion nether Autry.  

Kouwe suggested playing Sadiq White and Freeman successful nan aforesaid lineup pinch William Kyle III anchoring nan backmost line. That would create turnovers and frustrate different teams pinch nan magnitude and athleticism.

I would emotion to spot for illustration if we could spell much area and moreover alteration up nan statement up a small bit. If you’re playing much zone, you’re utilizing this unbelievable length. I’d really thin that measurement to really conscionable flip nan book a small bit. But nan measurement we play area is not basic. It’s very diversion pinch a batch of movement."

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE