Running Diary - SU v. Minnesota
Bill Simmons has very few rules in life, but one of them is whenever
Syracuse almost loses at home to a school with the same name as the Pope, I have to do a running diary for the subsequent game.
1st half, 20:00 - Boeheim vs. Pitino! No, not that Pitino. Rick's son, Richard "Don't Call Me Junior But Feel Free to Call Me Rick" Pitino, who, in his first season as Minnesota's Head Coach, apparently runs a full-court press. I wonder where he learned that from! Rick Pitino Jr. is definitely doing better than Jim Boeheim Jr., who still hasn't graduated high school! C'mon, Jim Junior! Get it together!
19:45 - Minnesota also runs a 2-3 zone, which Trevor Cooney is unimpressed with. 3-0 Orange on the Cooney three.
18:44 - A hearty "Let's go Orange!" chant from the Orange alumni in Maui. Good show! SU's point guard buries two FTs to make it 7-0, while Minnesota's PG is bleeding after a collision with the media table. Not the best start for the Gophers.
18:10 - Cooney misses a wide open three in the corner. Those are shots he has to bury. I think the jury is in on Trevor Cooney. He's a poor man's Marius Janulis at best.
16:00 - Cooney hits a three. Nice shot. OK, he might BE Marius Janulis...
13:05 - Minnesota weathered the early Orange spurt with some good defense. A run-out gives them their first lead, 15-14. This guy, A. Hollins, is really good for them, but I also like their second-leading scorer, A. Hollins.
11:00 - Grant passes up an open jumper only to get blocked at the rim. I never mind the drive to the hoop, trying to draw fouls, but Grant has to take and make those for SU's offense to have a chance at being great. Minnesota scores on the other end 17-14.
10:05 - Disastrous brick from a wide open Cooney on the brick. Definitely a poor man's Janulis. I'm sticking with that.
9:30 - Coleman with a great rebound. He looks excellent early, with 4 pts and 4 boards. Very active, and looking to take advantage of the "weaker" (i.e. white) Minnesota front line. Grant adds a follow-up dunk to give SU the one-point lead.
6:22 - Interesting point from the broadcasters about this Maui tournament...none of the eight teams in the field has lost a game yet this year.
5:10 - Cooney is carrying the offense with 12 points. He's had six great looks and made four of them. There is not much more you can ask for from the kid. 31-27 SU.
4:28 - Holy cow, he's cut! CJ Fair is cut! He just got whacked in the face on a massive dunk and now he's got blood all over the place! Yikes. Count the dunk, but no foul called. (!!??!!) His reaction is vintage CJ Fair. He hops to his feet, looks to the ref for the foul, then starts jogging back down the court muttering what I think was, "Good heavens! That felt like a foul to me! Oh well! Them's the breaks!" Then he notices he's bleeding profusely and strolls casually to the bench.
:10 - Grant blocked by Elliott Eliason, the big center for Minnesota who deserves to be mentioned. He's got three blocks already and is really clogging up the lane. If Cooney cools off from outside, the second half could be dicey for the Orange offense.
Half - Nice play by Ennis, taking the ball right to the hoop and drawing a second foul on Eliason right at the half. He makes both FTs and it'll be 39-36 at half for the Orange. Not bad. Minnesota looks like a solid team that plays excellent defense.
20:00, 2nd Half - Tyler Ennis without a turnover in this game. He hasn't hit a shot, but let's not forget...let's NOT forget, that he's only a Freshman. This is his first game against a major conference opponent. He looks very controlled out there and he's got three assists...make that four as he hits Cooney for a three. SU doubles its lead to six early.
18:44 - Am I the only one who thinks Rak Christmas looks like a completely different player on offense? He's putting the ball on the floor a lot. He does it here again and draws a devastating third foul on Elliot Eliason. Very intriguing development in Rak's game.
17:13 - Offensive rebound tip-in for CJ Fair gives him 10 points and SU a 10 point lead. Love that man, CJ. Josh Pace who?
16:24 - DaJuan Coleman came out of the gate really sluggishly against Cornell, and he had me wondering if he was ever going to be much of a factor. But he had a double-double against Fordham, 14 points against St. Francis, and he is holding down the middle of the Syracuse offensive very effectively tonight. He's got 7 points and 3 offensive rebounds. More importantly, it looks like he's figured out his spacing and positioning. On the last play he snuck under the hoop and got a nice pass from Ennis. He turned under control and went up strong with two hands, drawing a foul. The sophomore might be getting it. If he can combine the finishing touch he had in high school with the footwork and in-the-paint savvy he needs at this level, he might be an occasional 20-10 threat by the end of this season.
14:45 - Sweet pump-n'-duck move by Coleman spinning to his right, with a nice touch off the glass to give Orange a 54-42 lead. The big fella is fired up. He's going to love the ACC atmosphere...I can see it now.
12:30 - Ennis is 0-6 from the field. I don't believe that is the real Ennis. He's taking good shots, he's just not making them. Feels like a chance for Minnesota to close the gap here...
10:48 - Gophers cut the lead to four and Ennis goes to work. He drops the ball off to Cooney who is covered and gives it back, so the PG drives off a screen into the hoop, right at Eliason. He misses the bucket but draws the foul, Eliason's fourth. Unless Pitino (wisely) pulls a Boeheim and leaves Eliason in (he doesn't), that is game over. I think "letting players in foul trouble play longer" is the college basketball equivalent of "going for it more often on fourth down" in the NFL. Would love to see a statistical analysis on the subject PS, Ennis makes both FTs.
9:00 - Syracuse leads by seven, thanks in large part to the fact they are doubling up the Gophers in FTs. SU's made 14 of 18 from the line.
7:40 - Malik Smith is going bonkers for the Gophers off the bench, with 16 points and four threes, some from very deep. He just picked Gbinije's pocket and scored to cut the lead to five. Smith looks like a useful spark-plug for the Gophers going forward.
6:30 - Ennis gets his first bucket, a nice floater in the lane. He looks great coming off the high screen, which is Boeheim's offense at it's most simple. 63-56 Orange.
5:07 - Elliot Eliason checks back in to the same situation he left when he got his fourth foul: SU up four with Ennis on the line. Gophers didn't lose ground with him out...just five crucial minutes. I stand by my belief he should have stayed in the game, or at least not have sat that long.
4:12 - Gophers cut the lead back to four after an offensive board by Eliason, who heads to the bench with the TV timeout looming and Minne going on defense. THAT foul management makes more sense.
2:30 - Eliason with a huge block on a Grant dunk attempt! Gophers trail by four, and haven't really been closer than that all half...
1:35 - After Andre Hollins cuts the lead to two, Ennis is rejected going to the hoop but Minnesota throws a long pass away. CJ calmly knocks down a short jumper to put SU back up by four. Good ol' CJ! I'm still not worried...
:20 - Grant grabs an offensive rebound and draws a flagrant foul. He hits the two FTs to put SU up 8. The Orange defense clamped down nicely on the Gophers down the stretch. Easy peasy! Bring on Cal Bears.
1st half, 20:00 - Boeheim vs. Pitino! No, not that Pitino. Rick's son, Richard "Don't Call Me Junior But Feel Free to Call Me Rick" Pitino, who, in his first season as Minnesota's Head Coach, apparently runs a full-court press. I wonder where he learned that from! Rick Pitino Jr. is definitely doing better than Jim Boeheim Jr., who still hasn't graduated high school! C'mon, Jim Junior! Get it together!
19:45 - Minnesota also runs a 2-3 zone, which Trevor Cooney is unimpressed with. 3-0 Orange on the Cooney three.
18:44 - A hearty "Let's go Orange!" chant from the Orange alumni in Maui. Good show! SU's point guard buries two FTs to make it 7-0, while Minnesota's PG is bleeding after a collision with the media table. Not the best start for the Gophers.
18:10 - Cooney misses a wide open three in the corner. Those are shots he has to bury. I think the jury is in on Trevor Cooney. He's a poor man's Marius Janulis at best.
16:00 - Cooney hits a three. Nice shot. OK, he might BE Marius Janulis...
13:05 - Minnesota weathered the early Orange spurt with some good defense. A run-out gives them their first lead, 15-14. This guy, A. Hollins, is really good for them, but I also like their second-leading scorer, A. Hollins.
11:00 - Grant passes up an open jumper only to get blocked at the rim. I never mind the drive to the hoop, trying to draw fouls, but Grant has to take and make those for SU's offense to have a chance at being great. Minnesota scores on the other end 17-14.
10:05 - Disastrous brick from a wide open Cooney on the brick. Definitely a poor man's Janulis. I'm sticking with that.
9:30 - Coleman with a great rebound. He looks excellent early, with 4 pts and 4 boards. Very active, and looking to take advantage of the "weaker" (i.e. white) Minnesota front line. Grant adds a follow-up dunk to give SU the one-point lead.
6:22 - Interesting point from the broadcasters about this Maui tournament...none of the eight teams in the field has lost a game yet this year.
5:10 - Cooney is carrying the offense with 12 points. He's had six great looks and made four of them. There is not much more you can ask for from the kid. 31-27 SU.
4:28 - Holy cow, he's cut! CJ Fair is cut! He just got whacked in the face on a massive dunk and now he's got blood all over the place! Yikes. Count the dunk, but no foul called. (!!??!!) His reaction is vintage CJ Fair. He hops to his feet, looks to the ref for the foul, then starts jogging back down the court muttering what I think was, "Good heavens! That felt like a foul to me! Oh well! Them's the breaks!" Then he notices he's bleeding profusely and strolls casually to the bench.
:10 - Grant blocked by Elliott Eliason, the big center for Minnesota who deserves to be mentioned. He's got three blocks already and is really clogging up the lane. If Cooney cools off from outside, the second half could be dicey for the Orange offense.
Half - Nice play by Ennis, taking the ball right to the hoop and drawing a second foul on Eliason right at the half. He makes both FTs and it'll be 39-36 at half for the Orange. Not bad. Minnesota looks like a solid team that plays excellent defense.
20:00, 2nd Half - Tyler Ennis without a turnover in this game. He hasn't hit a shot, but let's not forget...let's NOT forget, that he's only a Freshman. This is his first game against a major conference opponent. He looks very controlled out there and he's got three assists...make that four as he hits Cooney for a three. SU doubles its lead to six early.
18:44 - Am I the only one who thinks Rak Christmas looks like a completely different player on offense? He's putting the ball on the floor a lot. He does it here again and draws a devastating third foul on Elliot Eliason. Very intriguing development in Rak's game.
17:13 - Offensive rebound tip-in for CJ Fair gives him 10 points and SU a 10 point lead. Love that man, CJ. Josh Pace who?
16:24 - DaJuan Coleman came out of the gate really sluggishly against Cornell, and he had me wondering if he was ever going to be much of a factor. But he had a double-double against Fordham, 14 points against St. Francis, and he is holding down the middle of the Syracuse offensive very effectively tonight. He's got 7 points and 3 offensive rebounds. More importantly, it looks like he's figured out his spacing and positioning. On the last play he snuck under the hoop and got a nice pass from Ennis. He turned under control and went up strong with two hands, drawing a foul. The sophomore might be getting it. If he can combine the finishing touch he had in high school with the footwork and in-the-paint savvy he needs at this level, he might be an occasional 20-10 threat by the end of this season.
14:45 - Sweet pump-n'-duck move by Coleman spinning to his right, with a nice touch off the glass to give Orange a 54-42 lead. The big fella is fired up. He's going to love the ACC atmosphere...I can see it now.
12:30 - Ennis is 0-6 from the field. I don't believe that is the real Ennis. He's taking good shots, he's just not making them. Feels like a chance for Minnesota to close the gap here...
10:48 - Gophers cut the lead to four and Ennis goes to work. He drops the ball off to Cooney who is covered and gives it back, so the PG drives off a screen into the hoop, right at Eliason. He misses the bucket but draws the foul, Eliason's fourth. Unless Pitino (wisely) pulls a Boeheim and leaves Eliason in (he doesn't), that is game over. I think "letting players in foul trouble play longer" is the college basketball equivalent of "going for it more often on fourth down" in the NFL. Would love to see a statistical analysis on the subject PS, Ennis makes both FTs.
9:00 - Syracuse leads by seven, thanks in large part to the fact they are doubling up the Gophers in FTs. SU's made 14 of 18 from the line.
7:40 - Malik Smith is going bonkers for the Gophers off the bench, with 16 points and four threes, some from very deep. He just picked Gbinije's pocket and scored to cut the lead to five. Smith looks like a useful spark-plug for the Gophers going forward.
6:30 - Ennis gets his first bucket, a nice floater in the lane. He looks great coming off the high screen, which is Boeheim's offense at it's most simple. 63-56 Orange.
5:07 - Elliot Eliason checks back in to the same situation he left when he got his fourth foul: SU up four with Ennis on the line. Gophers didn't lose ground with him out...just five crucial minutes. I stand by my belief he should have stayed in the game, or at least not have sat that long.
4:12 - Gophers cut the lead back to four after an offensive board by Eliason, who heads to the bench with the TV timeout looming and Minne going on defense. THAT foul management makes more sense.
2:30 - Eliason with a huge block on a Grant dunk attempt! Gophers trail by four, and haven't really been closer than that all half...
1:35 - After Andre Hollins cuts the lead to two, Ennis is rejected going to the hoop but Minnesota throws a long pass away. CJ calmly knocks down a short jumper to put SU back up by four. Good ol' CJ! I'm still not worried...
:20 - Grant grabs an offensive rebound and draws a flagrant foul. He hits the two FTs to put SU up 8. The Orange defense clamped down nicely on the Gophers down the stretch. Easy peasy! Bring on Cal Bears.
posted by Prof. A at 7:47 PM
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Woohoo.
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