Men's basketball 2019-20

[mountainred]

The guys start up the season on Tuesday (at home versus Binghamton).  There is a lot to replace.  In addition to Matt's graduation, the BR lost their starting center and four rotation guards.  In all, about 55% minutes need to replaced.

Returning starters:  Jr. Jimmy Boeheim is probably the top returnee (12 points a game with a couple of big nights).  Jimmy is an adept shooter around the basket, hot and cold from behind the arc and a high effort defender.  It will be interesting to see how he handles being the focus of opposing defenses.  Sr. Josh Warren knows his role in Earl's system; he was missed in the CIT loss.  He's a pretty safe bet for 10 points, 4-5 rebounds and 3-4 assists a game.  Jr. Terrence McBride is a top-flight defender who takes care of the ball well as a PG, but needs to be more aggressive on offense (especially without the Morgan safety net).  Jr. Riley Voss didn't start any games last year, but his minutes rose late.  He's a bit a tweener; skilled but not quite quick enough (or a good enough shooter) to be a D1 guard or big enough to play forward at this level.  No idea what to expect from Chuks Uzoka.

Newcomers:  So. Matt Harshany was a 2000+ point scorer in high school who missed all of last year because of injury.  A couple of power five teams wanted him as a preferred walk-on.  Of the frosh, I'm optimistic that Jordan Jones will be a difference maker after a big post graduate season last year and Greg Dolan should be a fine to very good point guard (though he may need a year to get up to speed).  Marcus Filien will be in the mix for time in the front court.

Other guards:  Jr. Bryan Knapp has showed flashes, but the game has looked too fast for him.  Perhaps it slows down during his junior year the way it did for fellow Smith Day School alum Eitan Chermeninski. Sophs. Dean Noll and Max Samberg were deep bench players last year.  Sr. Noah Gear is walking on.

Other forwards:  Last year's JUCO recruits Thurston McCarty and Chaz Mack were, frankly, really disappointing last year as neither earned meaningful minutes.  The other post option is So. Kobe Dickson who was really raw last year but is literally the only 6-9 or taller player on this team.  Expect these guys to get lot of chances to prove themselves, or else this team is going to be really small.

The pre-season poll pegged the Big Red for a tie with Dartmouth at 7th place (I know that is also last).  Columbia got some bad news this week when Sr. big man Patrick Tape announced he would skip this year, graduate, and play elsewhere next year.  Throw in an injury to Gabe Stefanini and the Lions may fall into the tier with Cornell and Dartmouth and make 6th place a realistic goal.  Harvard and Penn are the class and it is hard to see the guys challenging Yale, Princeton or Brown for an ILT slot without a lot of weirdness.

[mountainred]

Encouraging start for the guys, cruising past Bingo 84-64.  The Bearcats aren't good, but it nice to have a comfortable second half.  The offense looked like it made the transition from Matt to Boeheim (24 points on a great shooting night).  Warren played well in his usual role (19 points, 7 assists) and McBride looked like his freshman version (15 points only 1 turnover).  Sr. Thurston McCarty is the defensive center (6 reb, 3 blks) while giving the team some offense (11 points, but will he hit 3 of 4 from behind the arc every night?)

The offense moved the ball well and might be really efficient.  The defense may struggle against better competition, but they shut down Bingo.  And despite a big height advantage for the Bearcats, the Big Red out rebounded them 38-29.

The rest of the nine man rotation: Knapp started at the off guard and had a fairly quiet 30 minutes.  Dean Noll had the most minutes off the bench and had a good stat line (8p 5r).  Voss looked okay, but had 4 fouls in 6 minutes.  Dickson played 10 minutes and was noticeable drop off from McCarty (Mack didn't play until the final seconds).  Jones was the only freshman who played; 9 minutes and he looked really quick.

In all, a nice win.  Bryant is also supposed to stink, so a 2-0 start is doable.

[semsox]

In all, a nice win.  Bryant is also supposed to stink, so a 2-0 start is doable.

Twas not to be. Bryant pulls out the 1 point win at home. Looks like it will be another long season.

[mountainred]

In all, a nice win.  Bryant is also supposed to stink, so a 2-0 start is doable.

Twas not to be. Bryant pulls out the 1 point win at home. Looks like it will be another long season.

Boeheim missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it.  Bryant had narrow losses to Brown and Rutgers, so this loss is disappointing, but not the end of the world.  Can't keep giving up offensive rebounds, though.

In all, I kinda like the main 5-6 guys, but the depth falls off after that.  That could be an issue when the Ivy season starts.  

Next up, a home game with NJIT that is winnable, but will be tough.  Then two near certain losses (@DePaul, @Syracuse).

[Al DeFlorio]

Next up, a home game with NJIT that is winnable, but will be tough.

Certainly was "winnable" with an 18-point halftime lead, yet another last second 1-point loss.  Sorry to say, but this is a pick-up team on offense.  No system, pattern or weave.  Disappointing from Earl, who has apparently forgotten his basketball roots.

[mountainred]

Next up, a home game with NJIT that is winnable, but will be tough.

Certainly was "winnable" with an 18-point halftime lead, yet another last second 1-point loss.  Sorry to say, but this is a pick-up team on offense.  No system, pattern or weave.  Disappointing from Earl, who has apparently forgotten his basketball roots.

Only saw the second half, but it was pretty brutal.  A D1 team should never go 1 for 16 from behind the arc for an entire half.  With the possible exception of McBride, there is no one on this team that can make "hero ball" work.  Maybe Earl can use this tape to show the team what happens when they stop running the offense.  

Barring a miracle, the next two won't be pretty.

[mountainred]

Turns out the next three weren't pretty.  The losses to DePaul and Syracuse were expected (and the guys hung with the Orange for 30 or so minutes) but last night's Coppin State overtime loss was awful basketball.

One bright side was the rebounding:  26(!) offensive boards and 54 total.  The D was okay I guess, but CSU's offense was 15 seconds of playground ball followed by a wild shot or a three ball. They are bottom ten nationally in efficiency and it showed.

The offense was just brutal.  The guys share the ball, but there is no cutting or attacking the basket so the passes just go around the arc in the hope the D blows a coverage.  And the shooting was unbelievably bad - under 30% as a team. The three point shooting has been ugly all season, but the shooting yips crept into all phases of the game last night.  It was bad basketball all around.  Maybe you could you say it is nice they almost stole a win playing that poorly, but they didn't and it wasn't.

At least Columbia is struggling too.  They just lost to Rider when the Broncs closed the game out on a 25-0 run.

[Trotsky]

Seesaw battle with Lafayette on ESPN+ in a prime display of white prep school hoops.

[scoop85]

Seesaw battle with Lafayette on ESPN+ in a prime display of white prep school hoops.

And another close loss, 62-59, to a quality Lafayette squad.  Cornell is likely the best 1-7 team in the country, but the record is what it is.

[mountainred]

Lafayette hits a late 3 and wins 62-59.  Back and forth, and sloppy, the entire game.  Boeheim had 27 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, but received almost no offensive support.

The amazing stat is the team shot 3-21 from behind the arc.  14%.  Didn't think that was possible at this level.

[mountainred]

Seesaw battle with Lafayette on ESPN+ in a prime display of white prep school hoops.

And another close loss, 62-59, to a quality Lafayette squad.  Cornell is likely the best 1-7 team in the country, but the record is what it is.

They are what 4 or 5 possessions from 5-3?

The three point shooting is killing them. They can't be this bad at that, can they?

[upprdeck]

maybe its a Boehiem thing?  Su has shot like that most games this yr

[mountainred]

maybe its a Boehiem thing?  Su has shot like that most games this yr

Maybe, but he's infected the entire team.  No regular is shooting even 30%.

[dbilmes]

Harvard, which is hosting the Ivy League tournament this season, is selling tickets for the tournament. You can buy seats in the Cornell block, and if Cornell doesn't make the tournament, you can get your money refunded (unless you still want to go!). Act now. Tickets are going fast!

[mountainred]

Another depressing loss:  'gate 66-58

Game started well, as Cornell had a 44-33 lead early in the second half, in large part because the offense moved well and took good shots.  Then the wheels fell off and Colgate went on a 23-2 run that saw lots of poor 3's and slow D. Colgate could't put the Red away, but Cornell also couldn't make enough plays to get closer than 5 and the game kind of ended in whimper.

Warren had the quietest double/double I've ever seen.  11 days off before a trip to Hartford.