Syracuse, Stewart, Hillsman

[UcMiami]

I hope we can put to bed the various threads of disdain for Syracuse now (on the women's side of Uconn fandom.) Was interested in the lead-up to hear Hillsman talk about the continuing contact he has had with the Stewart family and to learn how strong the bond between Sykes and Stewart has remained through their respective college careers.

Did everyone notice the long and very affectionate hug between Stewart and Hillsman after the game - there was a lot of feeling on both sides and no sign of animosity, resentment, whatever between the two.

And Syracuse played well and physically, but it was never a rough house game - it was straight up basketball and we had the better team. And it really would not have made a lick of difference if Syracuse had played us this year or last year. They were a team like Louisville (twice) that got on a really hot streak in the NCAAs and surprised some very good teams to get to the championship game. Louisville had played Uconn multiple times, Syracuse had not and it made no difference - Uconn in all three cases was just a much better team and defensively strong enough to burst the 'hot streak' bubble. 22, 33, and 31 says everything. And I didn't see any sign of 'surprise' from Syracuse - they actually played with great ball control - against a team that usually forces 20+ turnovers, Syracuse keep theirs to 12! and forced 17 against a team that averages under 12. Both teams did a good job of not allowing live ball turnovers except for that 16 point run stretch where Uconn was uncharacteristically loose with the ball under pressure.

Where Uconn won the game was ironically in rebounding and three point defense - two areas where some felt they were 'suspect' all year long. That is called coaching and commitment.

 

[Henry]

That was a nice moment between Hillsman and Stewie. Also, there was no flopping by his players and no goon-ball. Let's see if he is willing to play us in the regular season at some point. Geno would do it.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Q is a class act, I don't like how the media focused so closely on his clothing and cuff links

 

[TheGOAT23]

That was a nice moment between Hillsman and Stewie. Also, there was no flopping by his players and no goon-ball. Let's see if he is willing to play us in the regular season at some point. Geno would do it.

I saw a piece where Hillsman was telling his players in practice that now is not the time to flop. You have to play tough in the championship game.

 

[intlzncster]

I hope we can put to bed the various threads of disdain for Syracuse now (on the women's side of Uconn fandom.)

Thank you for the clarification. That alone would have been enough to get strung up on the Men's side. Hating Syracuse is one of the most enjoyable things we do.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Q is a class act, I don't like how the media focused so closely on his clothing and cuff links

They were also focused on Geno's tie or lack thereof as well. I wonder how much fashion talk went on about Coach Wright and Williams the night before.

 

[Blueconn]

I was wrong about Q and his team. Allowed 40+ year old animosity re the men's rivalry and the stuff from the early Maya games to come to the fore last week. Tried to find justification to get snarky about the NC. Guess what ? I was wrong.

Congrats to the coach and players of the 2016 Syracuse Orange team that reached the Championship Final. Well done.

 

[UcMiami]

They were also focused on Geno's tie or lack thereof as well. I wonder how much fashion talk went on about Coach Wright and Williams the night before.

At least it isn't sexist - they pay enough attention to the women when they wear interesting attire, just given the male coaches equal time!

 

[Wally East]

At least it isn't sexist - they pay enough attention to the women when they wear interesting attire, just given the male coaches equal time!

My exact thought. It's not the equality people might want, but it's the equality people deserve, apparently

 

[intlzncster]

They were also focused on Geno's tie or lack thereof as well. I wonder how much fashion talk went on about Coach Wright and Williams the night before.

I was wrong about Q and his team. Allowed 40+ year old animosity re the men's rivalry and the stuff from the early Maya games to come to the fore last week. Tried to find justification to get snarky about the NC. Guess what ? I was wrong.

At least it isn't sexist - they pay enough attention to the women when they wear interesting attire, just given the male coaches equal time!

My exact thought. It's not the equality people might want, but it's the equality people deserve, apparently

I'm not sure who was doing the talking, but if it's a woman, she's more likely to be interested in fashion (on average). Guys on the sports side just don't care, probably doesn't even cross their minds. Although they'll make a joke if Pitino is wearing a white suit or something.

 

[vtcwbuff]

"And Syracuse played well and physically, but it was never a rough house game -"

And nobody got tripped!

Seriously, I think Hillsman has grown and learned in the years since trip gate. IIRC Syracuse was his first head coaching job and he inherited a mess.

Just ditch the ugly ass plaid shirt.

 

[Henry]

I don't think people were wrong about Hillsman and his team. We had some run-ins with them. Yesterday, on the national stage he knew he could not play whack a Stewie and WWE. This was his chance to try to win a NC and to help with recruiting. He played it well, acted classy and helped himself in the long run. In reality he knew the game was over at halftime so he wanted to avoid melting down. The way he acted has lead us to change our opinion of him. I personally feel he earned some props in my eyes especially with his talk with Stewie after the game.

 

[UcMiami]

We generally really respect Jeff here, but no one ever accused him of not playing physical and 'dirtying' up a game where he had a talent disadvantage. I never though Syracuse reached the level of physicality that Rutgers did on occasion, so I never thought that was 'his style'. Two unfortunate things occurred in Syracuse games - CDs ACL which was a non-contact injury, and the trip which was just stupidity on the part of an immature player. They were physical in games but I didn't ever think they were playing dirty or dangerous, and I continue to be a little surprised by the deep seated animus exhibited here - caught me off guard.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

We generally really respect Jeff here, but no one ever accused him of not playing physical and 'dirtying' up a game where he had a talent disadvantage. I never though Syracuse reached the level of physicality that Rutgers did on occasion, so I never thought that was 'his style'. Two unfortunate things occurred in Syracuse games - CDs ACL which was a non-contact injury, and the trip which was just stupidity on the part of an immature player. They were physical in games but I didn't ever think they were playing dirty or dangerous, and I continue to be a little surprised by the deep seated animus exhibited here - caught me off guard.

I'm glad someone noticed about Jeff. Heck of a coach, but there was one game against Rutgers (early in his Louisville career) where he played "hack a Kia" - which was executed by a player who was a little "over-enthusiastic", to say the least. Mostly, what annoyed was he didn't tell the player she didn't need to body-slam or pound on Kia's arms to commit the foul. The player would foul, come out, come back in 5 minutes later and foul again until her fouls were used up.

 

[hoophuskee]

We generally really respect Jeff here, but no one ever accused him of not playing physical and 'dirtying' up a game where he had a talent disadvantage. I never though Syracuse reached the level of physicality that Rutgers did on occasion, so I never thought that was 'his style'. Two unfortunate things occurred in Syracuse games - CDs ACL which was a non-contact injury, and the trip which was just stupidity on the part of an immature player. They were physical in games but I didn't ever think they were playing dirty or dangerous, and I continue to be a little surprised by the deep seated animus exhibited here - caught me off guard.

As long as Syracuse keeps losing to UCONN I have no problem with whatever they do (as long as they don't hurt other players which they don't- no one looks to do that.) outside of UCONN and teams in our conference. I'll be more of a fan of Q and Cuse if they help us get into a P5 Conference. With that said - they did an amazing job. Good b-ball team.

 

[Kibitzer]

I liked him best when he removed his glasses and got in a car with Spike Lee and Samuel T. Jackson for those Capital One commercials.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I liked him best when he removed his glasses and got in a car with Spike Lee and Samuel T. Jackson for those Capital One commercials.

I thought that was Laurence Fishburne

and its L Jackson

 

[Wbbfan1]

Will be interesting to see if Syracuse can take advantage of their fortuitous break they got in this years seeding/brackets in the future. Cards fell for them perfectly for them to make the National Championship game.

1: They got assigned to the South Carolina Bracket. IMHO So Carolina was the weakest offensive minded team of the #1 Seeds. Also had the weakest set of guards of the #1 seeds.
2: Albany upsets Florida 1st step in making Syracuse's trip easier.
3: Lady Vols upset #2 seeded Arizona St.
4: Lady Vols upset #3 rated Ohio St. OSU had injuries & Kelsey Mitchell would have been a nightmare for Syracuse
5: Syracuse upsets So Carolina because So Carolina decides to shoot 3's instead of going to their strength. Low Post Scoring. Fell into a trap. If So Carolina plays Syracuse again they win by double digits.
6: Syracuse meets and beats Lady Vols to go to the Final Four. Syracuse guards made this a bad match up for the Lady Vols

Lexington Region:

1:#4 Stanford Upsets #1 Notre Dame. The team most favored to meet UConn in the Championship Game.
2: #7 Washington upsets #2 Maryland Still don't know how that happened
3: #7 Washington upsets #3 Kentucky*
4: #7 Washington upsets #4 Stanford Tara would have come up with game plan like Geno did to handle Syracuse

* Syracuse most likely beats Kentucky because of superior depth. if they met to go to the Championship Game. But they play a similar style, Kentucky may have made it interesting.

Syracuse might have beaten Maryland, but they would not have beaten Notre Dame

 

[ThisJustIn]

Will be interesting to see if Syracuse can take advantage of their fortuitous break they got in this years seeding/brackets in the future. Cards fell for them perfectly for them to make the National Championship game.

1: They got assigned to the South Carolina Bracket. IMHO So Carolina was the weakest offensive minded team of the #1 Seeds. Also had the weakest set of guards of the #1 seeds.
2: Albany upsets Florida 1st step in making Syracuse's trip easier.
3: Lady Vols upset #2 seeded Arizona St.
4: Lady Vols upset #3 rated Ohio St. OSU had injuries & Kelsey Mitchell would have been a nightmare for Syracuse
5: Syracuse upsets So Carolina because So Carolina decides to shoot 3's instead of going to their strength. Low Post Scoring. Fell into a trap. If So Carolina plays Syracuse again they win by double digits.
6: Syracuse meets and beats Lady Vols to go to the Final Four. Syracuse guards made this a bad match up for the Lady Vols

Lexington Region:

1:#4 Stanford Upsets #1 Notre Dame. The team most favored to meet UConn in the Championship Game.
2: #7 Washington upsets #2 Maryland Still don't know how that happened
3: #7 Washington upsets #3 Kentucky*
4: #7 Washington upsets #4 Stanford Tara would have come up with game plan like Geno did to handle Syracuse

* Syracuse most likely beats Kentucky because of superior depth. if they met to go to the Championship Game. But they play a similar style, Kentucky may have made it interesting.

Syracuse might have beaten Maryland, but they would not have beaten Notre Dame

Reads like you give Syracuse not one iota of credit... is that what you meant to do?

As for physical play - methinks that's a product of "early in your program growth" strategy. You don't have the finesse/high skill players yet, so you bump and bruise your way to victory. UConn's history shows that.....

 

[JoePgh]

I will still have a somewhat negative opinion about Coach Q based on his refusal to allow a game for Stewie in Syracuse. That is consistent with his behavior several years ago with a University of Hartford player who was from Syracuse, where he also refused a homecoming game for her. Admittedly he is not unique in that behavior, but Stewie IS unique and you would think he could understand that (as well as having a personal relationship with her and her family).

In the recent case, he not only refused to have his own team play UConn; he also refused to allow the UConn - Colgate game to take place in the Carrier Dome. I'm sure it would have been embarrassing to see a much larger turnout for that game than for most of his own home games, but still ...

On a somewhat related topic, I wonder if Coach Mike Carey at West Virginia ever asked Geno for a homecoming game for Bria Holmes. I would think that Geno would accommodate that request if he possibly could, not just for Bria Holmes but because WVU would have been a pretty good opponent this past year. It may be that there were no openings in the schedule that would allow it, or maybe Coach Carey just never asked.

 

[UcMiami]

Will be interesting to see if Syracuse can take advantage of their fortuitous break they got in this years seeding/brackets in the future. Cards fell for them perfectly for them to make the National Championship game.

1: They got assigned to the South Carolina Bracket. IMHO So Carolina was the weakest offensive minded team of the #1 Seeds. Also had the weakest set of guards of the #1 seeds.
2: Albany upsets Florida 1st step in making Syracuse's trip easier.
3: Lady Vols upset #2 seeded Arizona St.
4: Lady Vols upset #3 rated Ohio St. OSU had injuries & Kelsey Mitchell would have been a nightmare for Syracuse
5: Syracuse upsets So Carolina because So Carolina decides to shoot 3's instead of going to their strength. Low Post Scoring. Fell into a trap. If So Carolina plays Syracuse again they win by double digits.
6: Syracuse meets and beats Lady Vols to go to the Final Four. Syracuse guards made this a bad match up for the Lady Vols

Lexington Region:

1:#4 Stanford Upsets #1 Notre Dame. The team most favored to meet UConn in the Championship Game.
2: #7 Washington upsets #2 Maryland Still don't know how that happened
3: #7 Washington upsets #3 Kentucky*
4: #7 Washington upsets #4 Stanford Tara would have come up with game plan like Geno did to handle Syracuse

* Syracuse most likely beats Kentucky because of superior depth. if they met to go to the Championship Game. But they play a similar style, Kentucky may have made it interesting.

Syracuse might have beaten Maryland, but they would not have beaten Notre Dame

I mean, look at how fortuitous Uconn's run to the NC was!!!
1. Scary ND gets taken out in the S16!!! Would have had 'home court' advantage - but they laid an egg
2. Mystery Baylor gets taken out by a Pac12 team not named Stanford - I mean really, does any one really fear beavers!!!
3. Giant SC lays another egg not reaching the E8!

And who do they put in our region ... Mississippi State (snigger - SEC cannon fodder) and Texas a team still trying to recover from the previous nightmare blood bath handed to them by, you guessed it Uconn.

The FF become a who's who of who are these people - callow novices looking up at towering Olympus. You can't make this stuff up. It's like the NCAA was designed as a re-run of the AAC regular season! (hee, hee!) 40 point margin of victory included just to make us feel more comfortable!
OSU - see above - fear the beavers, I think not!
Syracuse - a team that hasn't beaten Uconn in 20+ games and 20+ years!)


[Those who succeed in the NCAA are got all the breaks, those who fail got royally screwed by the ________ (fill in your preferred: refs, committee, gods) ]

 

[DaddyChoc]

Reads like you give Syracuse not one iota of credit... is that what you meant to do?

As for physical play - methinks that's a product of "early in your program growth" strategy. You don't have the finesse/high skill players yet, so you bump and bruise your way to victory. UConn's history shows that.....

well said

 

[VAUConnFan]

I will still have a somewhat negative opinion about Coach Q based on his refusal to allow a game for Stewie in Syracuse.

In the recent case, he not only refused to have his own team play UConn; he also refused to allow the UConn - Colgate game to take place in the Carrier Dome. I'm sure it would have been embarrassing to see a much larger turnout for that game than for most of his own home games, but still ...

From what source did you derive that factoid about use of the Carrier Dome?