The season looks bleak for SU basketball right now. NIT is the three letters no one wants to hear, but Saturday's loss to Nova and tonight's loss to Georgetown really put that abbreviation into perspective. Three things were particularly effective in bringing me to this:
1.) Johnny Flynn getting into it with Jeremiah Rivers
So, you were beating them up, and you had a lead, but you need to finish the game, Johnny, and not worry about one-on-one games. It's 5 on 5, and as Johnny became score-first for 2 or 3 possessions, Georgetown slowly pushed their way back into the game. And he kept the hogging going in overtime. Terrible choices that will hopefully be out of his system after practice tomorrow.
2.) Scoop Jardine
Not an offensive threat in any way. Bricked the first shot of overtime. Played real sloppy, as did Paul Harris
3.) Donte Greene
This one goes out to nbadraft.net, who currently have Donte predicted to go 5th to the Knicks: HE IS NOT THAT GOOD! If he knows best, he'll stay at Syracuse for at least another year and get to work. Here's a checklist to start on:
-Inconsistency: TERRIBLE against Nova, 1-11 in the first half against Georgetown. As I have pointed out before on numerous occasions when comparing him to Carmelo Anthony: If Melo fucked up one game, he took it out on the opponent the next, something Donte has yet to discover. It is also known as "killer instinct," and if you don't have it, you should not be considering going pro at all. Not even in the back of you mind.
-Robotic offensive game: Really, you need to not shoot two threes and then drive, shoot two threes, then drive, etc. Donte needs to get the basket and try to get to the line against smaller guys, like every person that guarded him tonight besides Hibbert.
-DEFENSE: I talked to a few people about this tonight, and we all agree: Donte just doesn't play defense at all. He is the least active person I have ever seen in the zone. Ever. Think of other people who have played 2-3 zone at Syracuse: Billy Celuck, Craig Forth, Elvir Ovcina, all big, goofy, white guys, all better defenders than Donte Greene. Donte likes to block one shot and then relax for the rest of the night. That is definitely not helping the zone.
Conclusion: Donte should go undrafted if he declares this year. He has a ways to go.
In other news, Arinze put up a great fight on Hibbert, putting in 12 and grabbing 13 boards. his free throw shooting along with Donte's in OT really ended the game. But Arinze also set a career-high with 5 assists. And we're talking about passing out of a double down for an open 3 as well as finding cutters down the lane. Really impressive stuff.
And congratulations to Johnny Flynn on his first dunk of the year! Took him a while to learn how hard it is to do in traffic, as he scored lots of 2s tonight on a floater instead of attacking the rim (ridiculous bounce on one over Hibbert).
And the officiating? Well, according to a source of mine, Jim Burr and John Cahill are golf buddies with Boeheim, and that's why they give him such terrible calls all the time. I really don't know about that, but they really let it be a physical game. Especially under the basket, where Georgetown could be watching out for some lawsuits involving priests. A lot of stuff should have been called, but it's in the books, and no one can change that. Except the Miami Heat.
Also, congratulations to the Memphis Tigers for finally getting that #1 ranking. Barring an uprising from the "untouchables" who make up the rest of C-USA, the caste system should remain and Memphis should roll to the overall #1. Well, watch out for Bruce Pearl sweating.
Till next time...
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