St. Joseph's - Syracuse Postgame Reactions OR Basketball is Back At Last!
1 Comments Published on 11.14.2007 by Brian Harrison
Jonny Flynn is my homeboy.Welcome back to basketball articles here at Orange::44. It is a new season, and, although I am sorry I missed the recap of yesterday’s game, I’m back with a game that was not only entertaining, but pretty awesome to watch as well. The ‘Cuse is still alive and well in the Preseason NIT Tournament and we will head to New York City to play in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden (get it ready, Vito). A lot of great things happened tonight, but also some things that are discouraging.
While Jonny Flynn was the big star last night with 28 points, he only had one basket tonight. More on that later, but there are several stories which are interesting in this game. The first was Paul Harris looking mighty fine on the floor. Paul had a night we all wished he would have had last year (18pts, 14reb, 6ast). This kid’s game from last year is like night and day. At one point, St. Joe’s failing to respect his shooting, paid after leaving him wide open for a three, and Paul drained it. We all knew Paul was athletic, but he was lacking a shot component to his game. I think last night we all learned that his shooting was much improved.
Donte Green had his coming out party tonight. While he had 14 points the previous night, his performance was greatly overshadowed by Jonny Flynn’s. However, tonight, with 18 points, most of them off assists from Flynn and Harris, Green looked like an elite forward in the Big East. Playing all 40 minutes, he was an integral part of the Syracuse offense. While he showed his youthful inexperience with five turnovers, he played like a true star.
Speaking of turnovers, Syracuse was, yet again, a leader in turnovers. They had 17 to St. Joseph’s 14. Yet, Syracuse outlasted Phil’s team by three points. The freshman showed their inexperience, contributing five from Green, one from Flynn, two from Ongenaet, and one from Scoop. Devo and Harris each chipped in four a piece. This team needs to learn how to slow down and take a deep breath. While the fast break game was damn exciting to watch, and efficient in scoring at times, sometimes it just contributes to turnovers. Occasionally it contributes to a streak of turnovers. For us to be successful this year, as I said all last year, it is absolutely key to limit turnovers and the points off them.
Rebounds are key as well. We were continually outrebounded last year, especially against inferiorly talented teams. This game we outrebounded 38 to 31. Now that Arinze Onuaku is back on the floor, we have a rebounding presence again. However Arinze only had four rebounds in 30 minutes of play. He did contribute a career high 17 points though. Good enough for me for this game.
But how about that Jonny Flynn! He only made one basket after contributing 28 points the night before. It was the one basket that really mattered in the game. With five seconds remaining on the clock he stuck a three pointer from NBA range to put Syracuse ahead in the game by three points, a margin of victory the Orange would not relinquish. Flynn did contribute six assists, some of which were damn spectacular and made the ESPN highlights, including number five on the top ten. He also showed tremendous poise in my mind by hitting two clutch free throws late in the game. This kid, if he stays around for a couple years, will be a superstar.
This team will be an enormous amount of fun to watch this basketball season. I have no doubt that, at times, they will also be extremely frustrating to watch as well. The deal at this point in the season is limiting turnovers and playing an active Syracuse Zone. Offense puts people in the seats, but defense wins games. This was most evident tonight. We held on, won a close, exciting game, and I had a lot of fun watching. All in all, a good day for the Syracuse program. Next up in the NIT? THE Ohio State in Madison Square Garden. I will surely enjoy that while at home on Thanksgiving break (people with real jobs are suckers!!!).
This team should be a great team this season. How great is up to them and them alone. The ‘Cuse will be back in action this Friday evening against Fordham. I myself will be heading to Storrs Friday night and then East Hartford Saturday to view the Syracuse/UConn football contest (UPSET ALERT), so don’t expect posts on the two games until late Sunday night or Monday morning. Rest assured, the postgame reactions will be there though, win or lose. The only variable is whether they will be excited in nature, or full of Debbie Downer statements. Time will tell. As always, stay tuned.
While Jonny Flynn was the big star last night with 28 points, he only had one basket tonight. More on that later, but there are several stories which are interesting in this game. The first was Paul Harris looking mighty fine on the floor. Paul had a night we all wished he would have had last year (18pts, 14reb, 6ast). This kid’s game from last year is like night and day. At one point, St. Joe’s failing to respect his shooting, paid after leaving him wide open for a three, and Paul drained it. We all knew Paul was athletic, but he was lacking a shot component to his game. I think last night we all learned that his shooting was much improved.
Donte Green had his coming out party tonight. While he had 14 points the previous night, his performance was greatly overshadowed by Jonny Flynn’s. However, tonight, with 18 points, most of them off assists from Flynn and Harris, Green looked like an elite forward in the Big East. Playing all 40 minutes, he was an integral part of the Syracuse offense. While he showed his youthful inexperience with five turnovers, he played like a true star.
Speaking of turnovers, Syracuse was, yet again, a leader in turnovers. They had 17 to St. Joseph’s 14. Yet, Syracuse outlasted Phil’s team by three points. The freshman showed their inexperience, contributing five from Green, one from Flynn, two from Ongenaet, and one from Scoop. Devo and Harris each chipped in four a piece. This team needs to learn how to slow down and take a deep breath. While the fast break game was damn exciting to watch, and efficient in scoring at times, sometimes it just contributes to turnovers. Occasionally it contributes to a streak of turnovers. For us to be successful this year, as I said all last year, it is absolutely key to limit turnovers and the points off them.
Rebounds are key as well. We were continually outrebounded last year, especially against inferiorly talented teams. This game we outrebounded 38 to 31. Now that Arinze Onuaku is back on the floor, we have a rebounding presence again. However Arinze only had four rebounds in 30 minutes of play. He did contribute a career high 17 points though. Good enough for me for this game.
But how about that Jonny Flynn! He only made one basket after contributing 28 points the night before. It was the one basket that really mattered in the game. With five seconds remaining on the clock he stuck a three pointer from NBA range to put Syracuse ahead in the game by three points, a margin of victory the Orange would not relinquish. Flynn did contribute six assists, some of which were damn spectacular and made the ESPN highlights, including number five on the top ten. He also showed tremendous poise in my mind by hitting two clutch free throws late in the game. This kid, if he stays around for a couple years, will be a superstar.
This team will be an enormous amount of fun to watch this basketball season. I have no doubt that, at times, they will also be extremely frustrating to watch as well. The deal at this point in the season is limiting turnovers and playing an active Syracuse Zone. Offense puts people in the seats, but defense wins games. This was most evident tonight. We held on, won a close, exciting game, and I had a lot of fun watching. All in all, a good day for the Syracuse program. Next up in the NIT? THE Ohio State in Madison Square Garden. I will surely enjoy that while at home on Thanksgiving break (people with real jobs are suckers!!!).
This team should be a great team this season. How great is up to them and them alone. The ‘Cuse will be back in action this Friday evening against Fordham. I myself will be heading to Storrs Friday night and then East Hartford Saturday to view the Syracuse/UConn football contest (UPSET ALERT), so don’t expect posts on the two games until late Sunday night or Monday morning. Rest assured, the postgame reactions will be there though, win or lose. The only variable is whether they will be excited in nature, or full of Debbie Downer statements. Time will tell. As always, stay tuned.
Labels: Basketball, NIT Tournament
Gotta love Cuse hoops off to a 2-0 start. The freshman Flynne and Greene are looking great so far and Flynne has definitely got a flair for the dramatic. For those who didn't realize it, he broke Melo's freshman debut scoring record in the first game. The 2 extra games in the Garden next week will be a great experience for this young group. Second, here we go again with NFL network. The Thanksgiving night game between the Packers and Cowboys will only be shown on NFL networks. They pulled this crap last year and it didn't set well with me. Hey NFL, wake the hell up, don't screw over your loyal fanbase and not show game on network TV. Remember, this is a time when family and friends are together and possibly the only day of football some families get together over the course of the season. Newsflash NFL, you wouldn't be rolling in dough without your loyal fan base so do the right thing and show the damn game. Third, score one for the good guys, arrogant Elliot has thrown in the towel on his dumb idea to give illegals drivers licenses. In 3 years I hope New Yorkers remember his arrogance and lack of sound judgement throughout the affair and punch his ticket to retirement as NY Gov. Finally, I still don't think Hillary has taken a position on the issue 2 weeks later...hey Hillary, want some syrup with those waffles? Or maybe her staff forgot to plant the appropriate question in the audience?? Just wondering.