Running Diary: SU v. Stanford
Happy Thanksgiving! My gift to you is a live running diary of the game. Just refresh every couple minutes to see new posts.
Bill Simmons has very few rules in life, but one of them is whenever Syracuse is in the finals of a preseason tournament, taking on a west coast team that somehow has an 8-2 record in The Garden, I have to do a running diary.
Pre-game: I'm blogging from my couch with the smell of turkey in the air. My mom always likes to cook her own turkey a day or two after we have our usual celebration in Rochester. That way she can harvest the leftovers. You may not be able to smell the turkey, but I'll be sure to share any astute analysis she has to say throughout the game. Also in the room - Dad and Hornstein. Brother Dan might arrive later with his girlfriend and her family.
Prediction: I'm expecting Stanford to be a little better than Virginia Tech, but still significantly inferior to the Orange. I'm also expecting the Orange to actually have a lead in the first half of this one. I'm pretty confident. I think SU leads most of the way, weathers a mid-2nd half run, and pulls it out fairly comfortably. The 8.5 line sounds about right. In fact, I'll call a final score of 74 to 65.5.
19:30: Finally a match-up with a team that has some size. Stanford has a couple big fellas in their starting lineup, including one lumberjacky-looking gentleman. In related news, I just shaved for the first time this month, proving once and for all, I wasn't doing "No-shave November." I just didn't shave throughout most of November.
17:45: Hey! It's Johnnie Dawkins! DUUUUUUUUKE! I gotta say, I'm ready for SU to start playing Duke every year. And I'm ready to let my fondness for the Dukies slowly erode...
15:49: The best part of the NBA lockout is getting Mike Breen for college games. He's so good. SU looking fine, though only up 4-2. I liked the way they hammered the offensive glass with Fair and Melo, even though they couldn't get the bucket to fall. Melo's hands are excellent, and CJ Fair (hearts) rebounding like I (heart) Dick Vitale.
13:53: Make a note: Dion Waiters enters the game with the score 6-6. Lumberjack re-enters for Stanford.
11:45: Three from Dion ends a nearly four-minute drought for the Orange, and Melo draws a charge on the other end. I'm excited for Melo: Year Two. Very excited. The 5-spot is in good hands following Ricky's departure.
7:45: Question from Hyatt sent to my on twitter, @pa451 - "I need a quick SU hoops comparative analysis - how many blocks does Fab currently have vs McNeil from last season? Fab looks Fab."
Well Hyatt, I think Jeremy McNeil had zero blocks for the Orange last season. Ricky had 13 blocks through six games last year. Fab has 16 and counting...
Also interesting: Ricky had 44 blocks in 452 minutes in his Freshman year. Fab had 14 blocks in 100 minutes last year.
6:37: No flow on offense for the Orange. Who is going to take over? Kris will get his points, mostly on his own. Syracuse needs someone else to step up here, and in every game going forward.
3:57: Alley-oop from Scoop to Triche. From Scoop to TRICHE? Yup. From Scoop to Triche! SU getting it done on the fast-break, as usual. Still need to see them score out of their half-court offense.
2:00: I love CJ Fair, but he shouldn't be looking for his own shot outside of the paint. One of the best things about Fair is the ball doesn't need to run through him for him to make an impact on offense.
:45.5: Great pass by Waiters to find Fair for an old-fashioned 3-point play. That's more like it from CJ. He should let the buckets come to him. SU still down, 25-24. Still not good on offense.
Half: 25-24 Stanford. In games like this, I always like to imagine Boeheim opening up a tool box at half time, making a slight turn with the screwdriver here, pulling out a loose nail there. Anyway, I'm still not worried.
In the long run, though, our half-court offense is most in need of improvement. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Blame Scoop? Still kicking off the rust? It's hard to say.
Still Half: Classic Simpsons alert! "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is on UPN right now! Perfect way to kill halftime.
17:39: Scoop three ties it at 29. Chaos has broken out here as the guests have started to arrive. Lucky I have my invisibility cloak! Now no one will talk to me!
15:30: The pace of the game has completely changed. It's 40-37 Stanford, but I really think this favors the Orange over the long haul.
14:00: CJ Fair bricked three leads to a Stanford fast-break. Please don't shoot that, CJ!
11:25: 43-43 as the Orange superiority starts to take over. It happened at the same time in Wednesday's game.
Relevant Matrix quote: "You hear that Mr. Anderson?... That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death... Goodbye, Mr. Anderson.."
10:30: Maybe not. Stanford just brought out a token moppy-haired white guy to nail a three. Scoop hits 2 of 3 free throws to make it 46-45 Stanford.
7:51: Yikes. Ugly turn of events. Stanford shot in and out...and back in. Fab Melo offensive rebound...turnover. Scoop steal...turnover. And then a Stanford dunk makes it 52-45.
6:24: KJ bumped by two players in the body as he converts a lay-up... no call. But a turnover on the inbounds by Stanford. SU ball, 55-49 Stanford.
5:33: Aaron Bright is the favorite for player of the game... And John Gage is edging Fab Melo for Funny-looking player of the game, at the moment.
4:39: Big three from KJ to cut it to 58-54. SU needs some stops...they'll go with the press out of the timeout. Always love the Boeheim press.
3:55: A sub-par game from Trich...until now. Nails a sweet runner in the lane, and then grabs a steal that's eventually converted into a 3-point play by CJ. 60-59 Stanford. "You hear that, Stanford?..."
2:25: Bright throws up a brick when it matters most. On the other end, Waiters...AND ONE!!!! "A freight train with the ball off the dribble," says Frischilla about Dion. 64-60 SU.
:44.5: Another bad play by Aaron Bright. Dion comes back the other way and gets a bucket to push the lead back to three.
:22.2: Gage hands the ball to KJ...and hands the Funny-looking Player of the Game trophy to Fab Melo! KJ hits 1 of 2 on the other end to make it a four point game.
Final: Scoop rides the pine down the stretch as SU closes it out. 69-63. Nice rally, good game! Happy Thanksgiving!
Bill Simmons has very few rules in life, but one of them is whenever Syracuse is in the finals of a preseason tournament, taking on a west coast team that somehow has an 8-2 record in The Garden, I have to do a running diary.
Pre-game: I'm blogging from my couch with the smell of turkey in the air. My mom always likes to cook her own turkey a day or two after we have our usual celebration in Rochester. That way she can harvest the leftovers. You may not be able to smell the turkey, but I'll be sure to share any astute analysis she has to say throughout the game. Also in the room - Dad and Hornstein. Brother Dan might arrive later with his girlfriend and her family.
Prediction: I'm expecting Stanford to be a little better than Virginia Tech, but still significantly inferior to the Orange. I'm also expecting the Orange to actually have a lead in the first half of this one. I'm pretty confident. I think SU leads most of the way, weathers a mid-2nd half run, and pulls it out fairly comfortably. The 8.5 line sounds about right. In fact, I'll call a final score of 74 to 65.5.
19:30: Finally a match-up with a team that has some size. Stanford has a couple big fellas in their starting lineup, including one lumberjacky-looking gentleman. In related news, I just shaved for the first time this month, proving once and for all, I wasn't doing "No-shave November." I just didn't shave throughout most of November.
17:45: Hey! It's Johnnie Dawkins! DUUUUUUUUKE! I gotta say, I'm ready for SU to start playing Duke every year. And I'm ready to let my fondness for the Dukies slowly erode...
15:49: The best part of the NBA lockout is getting Mike Breen for college games. He's so good. SU looking fine, though only up 4-2. I liked the way they hammered the offensive glass with Fair and Melo, even though they couldn't get the bucket to fall. Melo's hands are excellent, and CJ Fair (hearts) rebounding like I (heart) Dick Vitale.
13:53: Make a note: Dion Waiters enters the game with the score 6-6. Lumberjack re-enters for Stanford.
11:45: Three from Dion ends a nearly four-minute drought for the Orange, and Melo draws a charge on the other end. I'm excited for Melo: Year Two. Very excited. The 5-spot is in good hands following Ricky's departure.
7:45: Question from Hyatt sent to my on twitter, @pa451 - "I need a quick SU hoops comparative analysis - how many blocks does Fab currently have vs McNeil from last season? Fab looks Fab."
Well Hyatt, I think Jeremy McNeil had zero blocks for the Orange last season. Ricky had 13 blocks through six games last year. Fab has 16 and counting...
Also interesting: Ricky had 44 blocks in 452 minutes in his Freshman year. Fab had 14 blocks in 100 minutes last year.
6:37: No flow on offense for the Orange. Who is going to take over? Kris will get his points, mostly on his own. Syracuse needs someone else to step up here, and in every game going forward.
3:57: Alley-oop from Scoop to Triche. From Scoop to TRICHE? Yup. From Scoop to Triche! SU getting it done on the fast-break, as usual. Still need to see them score out of their half-court offense.
2:00: I love CJ Fair, but he shouldn't be looking for his own shot outside of the paint. One of the best things about Fair is the ball doesn't need to run through him for him to make an impact on offense.
:45.5: Great pass by Waiters to find Fair for an old-fashioned 3-point play. That's more like it from CJ. He should let the buckets come to him. SU still down, 25-24. Still not good on offense.
Half: 25-24 Stanford. In games like this, I always like to imagine Boeheim opening up a tool box at half time, making a slight turn with the screwdriver here, pulling out a loose nail there. Anyway, I'm still not worried.
In the long run, though, our half-court offense is most in need of improvement. Too many cooks in the kitchen? Blame Scoop? Still kicking off the rust? It's hard to say.
Still Half: Classic Simpsons alert! "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is on UPN right now! Perfect way to kill halftime.
17:39: Scoop three ties it at 29. Chaos has broken out here as the guests have started to arrive. Lucky I have my invisibility cloak! Now no one will talk to me!
15:30: The pace of the game has completely changed. It's 40-37 Stanford, but I really think this favors the Orange over the long haul.
14:00: CJ Fair bricked three leads to a Stanford fast-break. Please don't shoot that, CJ!
11:25: 43-43 as the Orange superiority starts to take over. It happened at the same time in Wednesday's game.
Relevant Matrix quote: "You hear that Mr. Anderson?... That is the sound of inevitability... It is the sound of your death... Goodbye, Mr. Anderson.."
10:30: Maybe not. Stanford just brought out a token moppy-haired white guy to nail a three. Scoop hits 2 of 3 free throws to make it 46-45 Stanford.
7:51: Yikes. Ugly turn of events. Stanford shot in and out...and back in. Fab Melo offensive rebound...turnover. Scoop steal...turnover. And then a Stanford dunk makes it 52-45.
6:24: KJ bumped by two players in the body as he converts a lay-up... no call. But a turnover on the inbounds by Stanford. SU ball, 55-49 Stanford.
5:33: Aaron Bright is the favorite for player of the game... And John Gage is edging Fab Melo for Funny-looking player of the game, at the moment.
4:39: Big three from KJ to cut it to 58-54. SU needs some stops...they'll go with the press out of the timeout. Always love the Boeheim press.
3:55: A sub-par game from Trich...until now. Nails a sweet runner in the lane, and then grabs a steal that's eventually converted into a 3-point play by CJ. 60-59 Stanford. "You hear that, Stanford?..."
2:25: Bright throws up a brick when it matters most. On the other end, Waiters...AND ONE!!!! "A freight train with the ball off the dribble," says Frischilla about Dion. 64-60 SU.
:44.5: Another bad play by Aaron Bright. Dion comes back the other way and gets a bucket to push the lead back to three.
:22.2: Gage hands the ball to KJ...and hands the Funny-looking Player of the Game trophy to Fab Melo! KJ hits 1 of 2 on the other end to make it a four point game.
Final: Scoop rides the pine down the stretch as SU closes it out. 69-63. Nice rally, good game! Happy Thanksgiving!
posted by Prof. A at 5:04 PM
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