Syracuse Basketball vs. Pittsburgh: 5 Takeaways

2 of 6

Dec 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Chris Jones (12) and forward Michael Young (2) reach for a rebound against Syracuse Orange forward Michael Gbinije (0) and center DaJuan Coleman (32) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Rebounding Will be an Issue All Year

Gee, what a shocker, SU got destroyed on the glass again. The Syracuse basketball team has collected a grand total of 513 rebounds this year. They’ve given up 543 rebounds. That’s -30 on the year, which is awful.

Let’s not forget, that includes five games against teams who’s tallest player was 6’8 or shorter. So don’t be surprised if those numbers get even uglier in the coming weeks.

I know there are a lot of people who say “it’s the zone, you can’t rebound effectively in the zone!” Yes, there is some truth to that statement, but it doesn’t fully explain what this team’s problem is on the glass.

The Syracuse basketball team is getting out-rebounded so badly for a much simpler and more fundamental reason. They are ball-watching on shots instead of boxing out. This isn’t an occasional thing, or even a frequent thing, it’s a constant thing.

More from Inside the Loud House

Instead of finding a man and putting a body on him, they are staring at the ball as it goes towards the basket and then just hoping and praying that it bounces their direction if it misses. As someone who has played basketball in some capacity since he could basically stand up, this drives me absolutely insane.

This isn’t some problem where we are just being outclassed by talent and size. Although that plays a small part, the biggest part in this is the simple laziness and lack of fundamentals being displayed by this team.

I learned in third grade, in Camillus Optimist League basketball, how to box out and how essential it was. My coach, the supremely talented Mr. Dale Keida, taught us that from day one. When the shot goes up, find the nearest opponent and keep them from getting in front of you.

I remember this so vividly because it was always a fun exercise to help teach how to properly box out. It was called “the butt drill” and is almost the exact same one used in lacrosse, hockey, and many other sports.

Basically, you crouch down, stick your butt out, and put your arms out as wide as you can while fending off any defender that comes in range. You want to make it as hard as possible for someone to get around you and in better position. If I could learn this in third grade and still remember it, why can’t our SU players?

Sadly, I have to give the coaches some of the blame for this. As much as I’d like to fault the players for just being lazy, some of that has to go on the coaching staff for allowing it to happen. It’s not like it’s just been a problem occasionally, it’s been a problem all season.

Dec 30, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Jamel Artis (1) goes to the basket against Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Roberson (21) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Just last night I watched this happen on at least 20 possessions for Pittsburgh and at least 15 of those turned into offensive rebounds. Yes, sometimes Pitt was in better position, but most of the time they just collapsed into the lane once the ball went up and found zero resistance from SU players.

The worst part is that it isn’t just one or two guys, it’s everyone. Dajuan Coleman does it. Tyler Lydon does it. Tyler Roberson does it. Malachi Richardson does it. Even the guards do it when they’re down lower near the hoop.

If I were Mike Hopkins, I would devote 100% of the next several practices to boxing out. Put a couple walk-ons on the perimeter and have them pass it around and shoot 3s. Then have all of our players who see any kind of minutes take turns on offense and defense.

The offense does nothing but crash the boards and specifically try and find gaps. The defense boxes out. Hell, put 7’2″ Chukwu on the offensive side and tell him to go get every rebound and have the defenders try and keep him out.

Until they do something like this and re-teach this fundamental skill, Syracuse is going to keep getting annihilated on the glass and will never be able to pull away from a team. Even if they play tremendous defense, like they did last night, they will lose games like this because they can’t get out of that end of the court.

Ok, let’s move on to the next takeaway and another of my big pet peeves in basketball.

Home/Syracuse Orange