Five Takeaways: Duke 79 Syracuse 59
Syracuse fell 79-59 at #6 Duke on Saturday. Here are five takeaways from the loss. 1. Shooting Syracuse had arguably its worst shooting game of the season.
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Five Takeaways: Duke 79 Syracuse 59
- Thread starter MikeMcAllister
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OrangeExtremist
Well-known member
It sucks when you go into every game not expecting to win at this point. Well below the expectations of being a Syracuse basketball team.
I’ve really only felt that way about this and the Auburn game. Going forward it’s Duke and UNC I feel that way about. Every other game I go into it expecting Syracuse will have a shot.
I think we can beat UNC. But I'm always optimistic about winning, I thought we had a realistic shot to beat Duke yesterday. Saw an NBA scout quoted earlier in the season saying he hated watching UNC because they're all so selfish. I think teams 2-13 in the ACC aren't separated by more than a half dozen points no matter the match up.
We can't beat any good team without shooting and playing well offensively. Can't really complain about this team giving up 79 at Duke, although we could've gotten out on Griffin and Baker better and kept them in the low 70s. We'd lose to almost every team on our schedule if Buddy and Joe go 2-19 from three.
Symir would've had double digit assists if anyone could make a shot yesterday. And he had zero turnovers in 24 minutes against Duke. I think he's our starting point guard next year. Hate the idea of being so small in the zone with Joe and Symir, but Symir's a strong defender and we will have size when Taylor or Copeland are out there. Could definitely see a backcourt rotation of Symir and Joe starting, but Symir not getting heavy minutes of 35+ so there's some minutes available for Taylor and Copeland, with Joe sometimes swinging to the point if he's paired with Taylor.
rochcuse44
Well-known member
Love a lot about Symir’s game. If he could improve his jump shot and become a threat from three, he would be tremendous. I would have to imagine improving his jump shot and three point shooting are an emphasis in his development going forward and in the off-season.
I think Symir could also be valuable next year as a mentor to Copeland. Quadir is a skilled dribbler who knows how to use his big body to protect the ball, but he does too much standing still with his dribble in the half court offense. Symir will quickly teach him in practice that college defenders won’t let him do that. He’ll get right up on him and pester him with his quick hands and not let him stand there on the perimeter dribbling for ten seconds. Symir could also help guide him through the ups and downs of being a college freshman basketball player. The two seemed to have already developed a relationship. When the SU team posts on Instagram a handful of photos of the team in practice or in warmups, Copeland often reposts it and he chooses to use Symir’s photo even though it’s usually not the first photo.
rochcuse44
Well-known member
Good point, Pearl, about Symir being a potential mentor for Quadir.