The McNamera begins tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena with an exhibition game pitting the Syracuse Orange against the notably stoic Dan Hurley and his UConn Huskies.
Tip-off is at 7:00 tonight and the game will be streaming on Cuse.com. Here’s what we’re watching for:
Kevin: Offensive philosophy
We’ve heard all about the Syracuse position length and commitment to defensive intensity, but what happens when the Orange have the ball? Siena played a slower offense, which was efficient in the MAAC, but will that translate to the ACC? Are we going to see the Boeheim offense of controlling the shot clock and trusting guys to make plays in late-clock situations, or will we get something that relies on motion and movement to get good looks?
Dom: Improvement from the two young returners
Plenty of the attention will go to all the new additions and the first impressions of the system McNamara will implement, but to be good this year, Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr. need to be more than 15-minute-a-night contributors. Leaps from one or both will go a long way for the Orange, especially with *most of the talent coming in being from Siena or mid-major programs. Both were highly-touted recruits; now it’s time for them to unlock more of their potential.
Sam: DEFENSE
I’ve been waiting all summer to watch this Syracuse men’s basketball team play defense. Lock and load. Switch 1-through-4, pick up full court every once in a while, jump passing lanes, be aggressive, use your length. I think this team will defend unlike any Syracuse team in recent memory. Garwey Dual gets an early test against Silas Demary Jr and I’m curious to see who Gerry McNamara has chasing UConn’s shooters around off-ball screens. UConn runs one of the most difficult offenses to guard in college basketball, so I wouldn’t be shocked if there are some breakdowns, but any possession that the Orange turn into a 1-on-1 battle is a victory.
Audrey: Defense pt. 2
Sam hit the nail on the head. One of the major takeaways from the MBB press conference on media day was length and defense. “Small” to this group means 6’5 with a 7’1 wingspan. There is no better opportunity to see what this team is capable of than to face the exceptional offense of the Huskies. If it goes well (not necessarily pulling out a victory, but preventing UConn from doing as they please scoring-wise), great. If not, this group knows what they need to improve on from literal day one.
Max: Having an offensive scheme
Watching Syracuse basketball last year, the offense just ran around and set screens until they could drive to the basket or get an open look. Gerry McNamara needs to implement his gameplan into the Orange and have a legitimate offense that runs under a certain style, not just waiting and waiting until something is good enough to take. The days of Autry are over, and McNamara needs to put his work into motion in this exhibition.
Szuba: How deep is your bench?
We’ve heard that Syracuse wants to use this game to go deep into the bench to see what it has. I’m curious to see who starts this game and also curious to see which lineups and which guys play at the same time. I wouldn’t read too much into the allocation of individual minutes played, but it’ll be interesting to see what the rotation of players looks like and just how many guys get run in this game.
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What are you looking for tonight?