Anybody else gleefully notice how Jimmy used almost all his timeouts in the Le Moyne game, despite the fact we had the game completely in hand after about two minutes? He had no hesitation to burn a TO whenever he wanted to scream at coach up the guys after a bonehead play. He also used his insane roster flexibility like a kid with a new toy at Christmas, sending guys in and out in a constant rotation, and eagerly benching players that made the slightest misstep. Just like the good old days! Good times, good times.
This brings me to the point of this post. A developing situation (as much as anything can be “developing” after just one game and a couple of exhibitions) is the crunch in playing time. Early results suggest possible bad news for Mookie Jones — as expected — and also for Kristof Ongenaet, which was less expected.
The problem is that a true nine-man rotation is both A) difficult to manage, and B) outside Jim Boeheim’s comfort zone. If you really do play nine guys, often that ninth player gets nothing more than token minutes, and it’s hard to define his role. Right now, it’s safe to assume this ninth guy will be Mookie Jones. He’s had trouble making his presence felt in any meaningful way against three Division II teams, which suggests he’s not ready to seriously compete for heavy minutes. That’s just as well, given the depth of this team. He’s got plenty of time to practice, learn, and be ready to help when his time comes.
The problem for the rest of the rotation is that Mookie’s classmate Kris Joseph is exceeding expectations in the early going, and Rick Jackson is complicating matters thanks to his major strides on defense and rebounding (and Boeheim’s apparent willingness to play he and AO side by side). These early results suggest some of the preseason calculations might have to change. It’s great news for the team when bench players elevate their games and look to offer more than expected…but all of this bodes ill for our beloved K-Ong, a feisty player who has a lot to offer but less upside than the players he’s competing against.
In the Le Moyne game, Kristof worked his way back in to the starting lineup, but that’s where the good news ended. He only played 9 minutes, even though he also started the second half. Both periods he played a couple minutes and got pulled by Jimmy during the first substitutions. Throughout the game, Boeheim had less patience for Kristof than for most of the other guys, an unfortunately logical result given the many options there are for Kristof’s minutes. One dumb foul or missed assignment from Ongenaet, and he found himself on the bench so Jim could try out someone else or a different mix.
The minutes are going to get extremely tight. Andy Rautins could, in my opinion, start for any team in the Big East. His long-range shooting changes the game when he’s in, whether he’s hitting or not; and now he’s jacked up enough to play physical defense and apparently he’s capable of being a 9 assist man. I’m not expecting him to drop dimes like that consistently, but the 4 steals he had against Le Moyne are a sign of things to come. When your sixth man plays 30+ minutes a game, that cascades down the rest of the lineup and puts a lot of pressure on less secure starters like Kristof. Especially given that Rautins plays essentially the same position as Paul Harris, a stalwart of the franchise who will also get his 30 plus.
Paul can slide down to play the 4, and Andy can slide up to the 2, but we all know there aren’t many minutes available from Devo or Flynn. And Rick has earned more minutes than last year, not fewer. The conversation is familiar. The difference is that going into the year Kristof could have reasonably expected to steal enough minutes to maintain a high-teens level of PT. But if Kris Joseph is serious about contributing then we’re looking at single digit minutes for the guy who was the difference-maker for the team down the stretch last year. That’s not what anyone expected.
That said, allow me to hedge: Le Moyne was not the kind of opponent that required Kristof’s skill set. He’s a hard-nosed scrappy hustle machine that hits the boards, fires up the defense, and gets his offense off put-backs. Against Le Moyne, the finesse players were more than capable of providing overwhelming offensive firepower. Height advantage made for easy rebounds all around, and team athleticism created an avalanche of turnovers. Against Big East opponents, none of this will apply. In the trenches against big, physical, punishing teams, some minutes will free up for a guy like Kristof. When we’re grinding away against the likes of St John’s in bloody and brutal 40-40 ties late in the second half, Kristof’s hustle, elbows, offensive rebounding, and defensive intensity will be just what the doctor ordered, and Kris Joseph will be better suited to sit back and learn.
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K-Ong also had two fouls in the first 4 minutes of the game, and when he came back in with under 2 mins in the first half he committed another foul. He’s no good at chasing 6-footers around the perimeter. I’m not worried — his time will come.
Even if minutes are scarce for K-Ong, I’m not troubled in the slightest. For one thing, I’m not sure where his beloved status comes from, but I’m all for loving Syracuse players, so fine. But, second, his playing style — scrappy, hustle over pure talent (ah, I think I see where the love is coming from) — makes him better suited to battle for minutes, and be valuable when he gets them, than a shooter who needs to find a rhythm to be effective. And dude needs to cut down on the early fouls.