Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim recently said that his team’s make-up is primarily that of outside shooters, and not so much drivers.
The Orange, in recent games, has proven woeful from beyond the arc, save for a solid performance from deep in a win against former Big East Conference rival Georgetown on the Hill, when Syracuse basketball connected on about 42 percent from 3-point range.
It’s no wonder, then, that the ‘Cuse has lost three of its past four contests. Syracuse fared relatively well from 3-point land in defeating the Hoyas, but the Orange was really sub-par from downtown in two losses to Pittsburgh, one each at home and on the road, and at North Carolina.
At Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cuse hit on just 3-of-22 from beyond the arc, which translates to a paltry 13.6 percent, according to ESPN statistics.
I do give a small slice of credit to the Orange for focusing more on paint touches and interior scoring versus the Panthers than the ‘Cuse has in other recent encounters.
Case in point, junior small forward Alan Griffin (a career-high 28 points), sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier (18 points) and senior power forward/center Marek Dolezaj (14 points) all shot efficiently from the field and performed admirably.
On the flip side, sophomore point guard Joe Girard III, junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and freshman combo guard Kadary Richmond struggled in the team’s 20-point loss.
Syracuse basketball needs to get going from the perimeter on offense.
In his post-game Zoom call with media members after Syracuse basketball fell to Pittsburgh, 96-76, at the Petersen Events Center, head coach Jim Boeheim said that the Orange hasn’t “made anything from the 3-point line for a while now” and is lacking in consistency from downtown.
Guerrier said in his virtual call that ‘Cuse players have to look to drive to the basket more when they’re not shooting all that well from 3-point land. I totally agree with him, and I do think that Syracuse basketball did a better job of scoring in the paint versus the Panthers than the Orange has in other recent affairs.
A lot of ‘Cuse fans are really coming down hard on Buddy Boeheim and Girard on social media, and it’s no secret that Boeheim needs to find his groove from deep.
It’s also no secret that Girard has proven inconsistent throughout the 2020-21 campaign. However, in all fairness, Richmond has had some nice moments here and there, but he needs to play better, too. Jim Boeheim said as much in his virtual call.
I’m encouraged by the recent performances of the Syracuse basketball forwards, but for the Orange to have any kind of sustained success, given the ‘Cuse roster construction, it will have to make a fair share of 3-point shots to win games.
Through its first 11 contests, Syracuse basketball (7-4) as a collective unit is hitting on 31.6 percent from 3-point land, per ESPN. That simply isn’t good enough.