Encouraging Signs

I know it was Cornell, and not the same Cornell that made it to the sweet sixteen last year. With none of the seniors that made last year’s team so tough, Cornell was smaller and slower, and really no challenge for the Orange. So it’s hard to get overjoyed when they beat Cornell by twenty points. But even so, there were some encouraging signs in last night’s win. At least in the first half of last night’s win.

The most noticeable change was that, for the first time this season, Fab Melo actually did something. He ended up with eight points, and seven boards. One would think that a seven foot kid playing against opposition that was several inches shorter ought to end up with some rebounds. But having watched Fab Melo do nothing against comparable teams, I had pretty much given up on the kid. So I was glad to see him fill the lane, score on assists from Scoop, slam home an alley oop, and actually look like he was starting to figure out what to do on offense. Maybe it’s just a learning process.

More encouraging was the fact that, at least in the first half, Cuse had almost as many assists as buckets. Last year there were assists on an overwhelming percentage of baskets, but not so in the early games this fall. Everyone seemed out of sync; each guy seemed to be playing one on five. But last night, there was lots of passing to the open man, both underneath and at the three point line. I recall a couple real nice passes by Jackson, who has been the team’s MVP in the early going.

I also thought the team ran the break real well last night. That’s actually been their strength all season. As bad as the half-court offense has been, they have looked good when they have rebounded and gotten out on the break. And, that’s where Joseph is at his best. He’s not Carmelo; he really can’t create off the dribble. But he can run the floor well, and can usually take his guy when he’s in the open court.

Lastly, I was encouraged by the play of Dion Waiters. For one thing, he was the only guy hitting from outside the three point line. Scoop went scoreless, even though he had seven assists; Triche missed all his three pointers; but Waiters ended up with double figures off the bench. Getting that kind of contribution from him and Fair will make up for the offensive vacuum in the middle.

Two big games are coming up. NC State is not ranked, but anyone from the ACC is a worthy opponent. And then Michigan State in the Garden, which we be the first chance really to measure this year’s team. After the William and Mary game, I was convinced that Michigan State would win by 45 points. But Cuse has looked much better in their last three games, and while I’ll be shocked if they beat the Spartans, I’m hoping they can avoid humiliation. Maybe it will end up being one of those ugly low scoring contests - a preview of Big East play.

And one more thing, a loss to Michigan State would drop them out of the top ten, which in the long run, will only help. No way in hell the Orange deserve their number seven ranking right now. A little disrespect might do away with a lot of complacency. Let’s get that chip back on the shoulder, just like last year.