Identity Questions
Phil is an old friend of mine and a master of schtick. One of his schticks in high school was delivering an over the top, "Who ARE you?" whenever anyone did or said something even mildly ridiculous. So, let's say I made a bad joke to him, like "Did you know Baye Moussa Keita, properly translated, means 'Fast Break Put-Back Dunker Guy'?" he would look at me with exaggerated bafflement and reply, "Who ARE you?"
Phil had a classmate in gym class, Brian, who was particularly fun to use this line on. Brian was an odd young kid with an awkward humorlessness. Phil would say, "Who ARE you?" and Brian would reply, "I'm Brian! You know who I am!" He was sort of like a timid, teenage version of Al Cowlings. ("My name is AC! You know who I am, Goddamn it!") This happened enough that the exchange itself became a schtick for Phil and I. Whenever either of us would say, "Who ARE you?" the other would reply, "I'm Brian! You know who I am!"
I thought of this tonight as Syracuse struggled through the first half of their season opener against Cornell. In each of the past few seasons, the Orange have regularly lost several key rotation players but have reloaded with ease. That's the luxury of having Jim Boeheim and a top 10 team. I think most SU fans just assumed this year would work the same way. SU would more or less crank up to speed over the non-conference schedule and hit the ACC strong. But the Orange started so out of sync on offense and defense, they had me baffled. "Who ARE you?" I kept wondering. OK, so part of my confusion was figuring out who was who among the new guys. Ennis was easy. Gbinije quickly left his mark. (He's got the hustle, athleticism, and well-rounded skill set to quickly make him a fan favorite.) But I can't quite distinguish between the three -sons: Johnson, Roberson, Patterson. I think Roberson had a nice looking shot, but the box score says Johnson is the one who hit a three, so...I dunno.
But "Who ARE you?" was less a question about the new guys and more a question about the team as a whole. What is their identity? What is their schtick? I sensed a tentative answer, both from the team's behavior, and from the fans. The crowd's expectations were evident every time those expectations weren't met - every time Josh Pace Redux missed a shot in the paint, every time (seven times, to be exact) he turned the ball over. "Who ARE you?" "I'm CJ Fair! You know who I am!"
OK, I should probably talk about Trevor Cooney. He was fantastic. He was a dream come true for SU and its fans. The redshirt sophomore's previous best shooting night was a 5-9 performance from three-point range last December in Syracuse's 108-56 "game" against Monmouth. Tonight Cooney went 7-8 from three, and put up 27 total, almost doubling his previous career high. He also led the team with four steals. He kept SU close enough in the first half so the Orange could put Cornell away quickly in the second. He was the star. He was amazing. But he was amazing because, even if he's made a huge step foreward, even if he'll be the shooter we hope and need him to be, we all know that it won't always be THIS easy for him. This won't be the last time Cooney erupts, but he won't erupt every time.
And besides, you can't build a team around a single, sharpshooting two-guard. Well, you can if you're playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, but not if you're in the big, new ACC. "Who ARE you?" "I'm CJ Fair! You know who I am!"
Now, SU was missing Jerami Grant (suspended for a summer league violation). The sophomore sixth man is the big X-Factor for this season. He's the difference between whether SU is an elite team or just a very good team. He's got the tools and upside to be a real stud. If he makes the leap this year and turns into a matchup nightmare on offense, then the Orange might have something. Also, Tyler Ennis looks perfectly capable of running the point. But we've yet to see how he imposes his personality on this team
For now, SU's identity is CJ Fair. And I adore the guy, but I'm worried that Syracuse's ceiling is limited by that identity. CJ's final line wasn't too bad, but those seven turnovers belie the disappointing start to his senior season. This is the Syracuse star. This is the ACC player of the year candidate. This is the potential first team All-American. This is a new role for CJ.
We fell in love with Josh Pace Redux because he was a sublime role player. He complemented everyone and everything on the floor, falling perfectly into place on offense behind MCW and Southerland and Triche and Waiters and Joseph. CJ was best on offense when he was picky about his shot, when he was free to crash the offensive boards, and when he was loose to sneak into the paint for a catch and lay-up. But now the best complementary guy is also the best player on the Orange. Can that work? Cooney's outburst and Syracuse's inevitable dominance of Cornell aside, the initial results were not promising.
Phil had a classmate in gym class, Brian, who was particularly fun to use this line on. Brian was an odd young kid with an awkward humorlessness. Phil would say, "Who ARE you?" and Brian would reply, "I'm Brian! You know who I am!" He was sort of like a timid, teenage version of Al Cowlings. ("My name is AC! You know who I am, Goddamn it!") This happened enough that the exchange itself became a schtick for Phil and I. Whenever either of us would say, "Who ARE you?" the other would reply, "I'm Brian! You know who I am!"
I thought of this tonight as Syracuse struggled through the first half of their season opener against Cornell. In each of the past few seasons, the Orange have regularly lost several key rotation players but have reloaded with ease. That's the luxury of having Jim Boeheim and a top 10 team. I think most SU fans just assumed this year would work the same way. SU would more or less crank up to speed over the non-conference schedule and hit the ACC strong. But the Orange started so out of sync on offense and defense, they had me baffled. "Who ARE you?" I kept wondering. OK, so part of my confusion was figuring out who was who among the new guys. Ennis was easy. Gbinije quickly left his mark. (He's got the hustle, athleticism, and well-rounded skill set to quickly make him a fan favorite.) But I can't quite distinguish between the three -sons: Johnson, Roberson, Patterson. I think Roberson had a nice looking shot, but the box score says Johnson is the one who hit a three, so...I dunno.
But "Who ARE you?" was less a question about the new guys and more a question about the team as a whole. What is their identity? What is their schtick? I sensed a tentative answer, both from the team's behavior, and from the fans. The crowd's expectations were evident every time those expectations weren't met - every time Josh Pace Redux missed a shot in the paint, every time (seven times, to be exact) he turned the ball over. "Who ARE you?" "I'm CJ Fair! You know who I am!"
OK, I should probably talk about Trevor Cooney. He was fantastic. He was a dream come true for SU and its fans. The redshirt sophomore's previous best shooting night was a 5-9 performance from three-point range last December in Syracuse's 108-56 "game" against Monmouth. Tonight Cooney went 7-8 from three, and put up 27 total, almost doubling his previous career high. He also led the team with four steals. He kept SU close enough in the first half so the Orange could put Cornell away quickly in the second. He was the star. He was amazing. But he was amazing because, even if he's made a huge step foreward, even if he'll be the shooter we hope and need him to be, we all know that it won't always be THIS easy for him. This won't be the last time Cooney erupts, but he won't erupt every time.
And besides, you can't build a team around a single, sharpshooting two-guard. Well, you can if you're playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, but not if you're in the big, new ACC. "Who ARE you?" "I'm CJ Fair! You know who I am!"
Now, SU was missing Jerami Grant (suspended for a summer league violation). The sophomore sixth man is the big X-Factor for this season. He's the difference between whether SU is an elite team or just a very good team. He's got the tools and upside to be a real stud. If he makes the leap this year and turns into a matchup nightmare on offense, then the Orange might have something. Also, Tyler Ennis looks perfectly capable of running the point. But we've yet to see how he imposes his personality on this team
For now, SU's identity is CJ Fair. And I adore the guy, but I'm worried that Syracuse's ceiling is limited by that identity. CJ's final line wasn't too bad, but those seven turnovers belie the disappointing start to his senior season. This is the Syracuse star. This is the ACC player of the year candidate. This is the potential first team All-American. This is a new role for CJ.
We fell in love with Josh Pace Redux because he was a sublime role player. He complemented everyone and everything on the floor, falling perfectly into place on offense behind MCW and Southerland and Triche and Waiters and Joseph. CJ was best on offense when he was picky about his shot, when he was free to crash the offensive boards, and when he was loose to sneak into the paint for a catch and lay-up. But now the best complementary guy is also the best player on the Orange. Can that work? Cooney's outburst and Syracuse's inevitable dominance of Cornell aside, the initial results were not promising.
posted by Prof. A at 12:21 AM
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