Thursday August 22nd @ Champlain-St. Lambert
Bishop's 5 3 10 17 - 35
Syracuse 22 26 11 18 - 77
Syracuse is a top 5 NCAA program who produces NBA players every year and played in the Final 4 last season....just in case you did not know that!! They are renowned for their 2-3 zone defense and they play that exclusively. So, they know what they are doing, they have a Hall of Fame coach (who is a true gentleman by the way) and they have NBA level talent, size & athleticism. When you combine that with the fact that it is August 22nd and that we had one week of practice things can get ugly...and it was very ugly in the first half!
We had worked all week at focusing on getting the ball into the high post and talked about it constantly throughout the game. However, if our timing was not perfect (see...1 week of practice & NBA size) we were not getting the ball where it needed to go. Then when we did get a good look we had been so rattled by them we had lost all offensive rhythm. That carried over to the foul line as we shot 1- 8 from the foul line in the first half. For most part we were not able to execute what we had set out to do and even when we did their talent would negate good execution.
After a miserable & frustrating first half we opened up the 3rd quarter on a 7-0 run. It was nice to score...period! We almost matched our first half total in 2 minutes! It was a small victory in that it made them call a timeout. From there we were competitive despite Syracuse making some spectacularly athletic plays at both ends of the floor. They were very impressive at times and quickly reminded you that their top guys play the game at another level and that their others guys are still pretty damn good! Despite that I was very pleased with how our guys competed in the 2nd half.
We were able to play all 14 players which included our 8 freshmen and we were pleased with their effort. As a coaching staff we have enjoyed coaching our guys this past week. We like their work ethic and character. We feel we have the potential to put together a very good season. That may not have been obvious vs. Syracuse, but as we improve our conditioning (which is not great right now & was magnified by a hot gym & a challenging training camp) and get more time in the gym together we should improve significantly.
It was fantastic to have so many BU fans, friends and alumni at the game. We truly appreciated your support and hope to see you out again when we play on the road in Montreal, Ottawa etc...this season!
I will keep you posted!
Rod
