Syracuse Basketball: Loss to Georgetown opens backcourt questions

The latest loss for the Syracuse basketball team has raised serious questions about its backcourt. Here are all the details.

Syracuse basketball dropped one at their long-time rival Georgetown. The Hoyas move to 3-and-2 against the Orange since Syracuse’s departure from the Big East.

Georgetown was able to continue their stellar play since the loss of several players to transfer mid-season as the Orange raises questions on defense just as their offense took another step forward.

The Hoyas’ 89 points squeaks out as the most scored by an opposing team against Syracuse this year. Oklahoma State and Penn State each cracked 80 as well.

One or two guys can’t solely bear the blame for Syracuse’s weakest defensive performance on this season. However, current performances do show what might be a cap for the current group’s potential on that end.

The current backcourt of Joe Girard III and Buddy Boeheim has helped with the Syracuse scoring

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output this year and against the Hoyas was no exception as they combined for 41 of the Orange’s 79 points with a 69 percent true shooting percentage. Defensively the backcourt has struggled on the point of attack for other offenses.

Against Georgetown, while both Boeheim and Girard III were on the floor the Hoyas scored 1.25 points per possession and 1.5 in the first half. Girard III and Boeheim have complemented each other on the offensive end it has not been enough to make up for their defensive shortcomings.

Against Georgetown, the backcourt of Boeheim and Girard III were exposed by their lack of combined athleticism and size Syracuse has deployed in the past. This has allowed teams to not only drive to the basket and get off contested shots with less fear of shots being disrupted on the perimeter but make penetrating passes into the zone allowing other teams to have the numbers advantages inside against the Syracuse defense.

The frontcourt defense and rebounding deserve all the criticism for their play as well, but they also need more help then they are getting.

Defenses feeling less pressure from the top has contributed to the easy scoring opportunities, mounting fouls each game, and lack of defensive rebounding. Minus Jalen Carey the backcourt options of Boeheim, Girard III, Howard Washington, and Brycen Goodine have averaged 6.1 rebounds total as a group. Girard leads the group at 2.5 a game.

Girard’s rebounding total and any of these individuals are not horrendous for the type of players they are, Trevor Cooney averaged two rebounds a game in his career, they don’t have any complimentary guards that can add elite length yet as Cooney had in Michael Gbinije.

Cooney as the comp for the landscape of the current Syracuse backcourt options, does show that the lack of top-end physical attributes can be made up with anticipation and feel on the defensive end.

Cooney was excellent in anticipating passes being made by the offense and be able to take away what the opposing team attempted to achieve. Cooney was able to shade bigger players off ball from receiving a pass in the high post or locking down on shooters looking to score on the catch. This did not always show in box scores but Cooney still found a way to achieve 1.4 steals a game. Girard III is meeting that at 1.6 in his young career.

Girard has shown the potential to become an average defender with his activity level on defense. Growth is still needed on the court, especially considering the 6-foot-1 185-pound guard doesn’t project much more growth there. This is slightly more alarming after looking even smaller against Mac McClung who does not have the size to brag about either.

Girard III’s size and experience issues showed at the end of the first half when McClung was able to take an inbound pass after an Elijah Hughes basket to the exact spot of the floor he wanted for a buzzer-beating three to end the half.

Girard was in full retreat on the back peddle offering no resistance to McClung who had a clean look over Girard before he could realize he gave too much space.

Reinforcements are not coming for the backcourt this season. What is coming for the backcourt is much-needed game reps and experience. There is a cap on the Orange’s defense this year, making the continued growth of the offense crucial for the Orange to remain competitive.

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Only three nonconference games remain and no slip-ups can be allowed with the next real test come in ACC play and Syracuse already has five losses on their resume.

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