Gerry McNamara stopped play and walked across the floor to Michael Gbinije on the left wing.

Fellow Syracuse assistant coach Adrian Autry had already called out the slow-footed defense earlier in the four-on-four drill at practice Wednesday. Then the defense allowed three consecutive baskets.

McNamara had seen enough.

“We’re not working. We’re not taking away angles. We’re not doing sh*t,” McNamara said.

He took Gbinije’s place and showed him how to play more squarely, to stop trying to take away the middle. By opening a lane into the left block, Gbinije was giving freshman Ron Patterson “ bullsh*t passing angles” into the paint.

McNamara then walked out past the top of the key and scolded the whole defense for its “f*cking awful” effort.

The tone changed immediately.

Gbinije closed his stance and forced Nolan Hart to swing the ball back to the other side. Tyler Ennis slid in front of a crossing McNamara. The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center court echoed with the squeaks of sliding feet and claps of teammates and managers off the floor.

McNamara’s message got through.

Hopkins working through offensive struggles with big men

DaJuan Coleman bumped his left shoulder into Jerami Grant on the right block and turned to elevate for a right-handed hook.

The ball floated over Grant’s hand, but fell a few inches short of the front rim. It didn’t even touch the net.

Assistant coach Mike Hopkins tossed his folded note sheet on the ground in disgust.

Hopkins has helped Coleman and the rest of the Syracuse big men craft their offensive games through the preseason. There were mixed results at practice on Wednesday.

Coleman attempted a number of pump fakes and reverse layups. He finished some —including two short jumpers — but didn’t force any shots. Rakeem Christmas looked sharp cleaning up missed shots while C.J. Fair scored easily on freshman Tyler Roberson a few times.

“This year we definitely came back bigger and stronger,” Coleman said at media day on Friday. “Definitely more offensive minded. Just can’t wait for the season to start.”

Even Fair, though, made a mistake. During the five-on-five scrimmage near the end of practice, Fair beat Roberson with a shoulder shake in the post. He turned back to his right, but instead of shooting the open 8-footer, Fair kicked the ball out to Trevor Cooney.

Hopkins turned away, visibly frustrated.

Cooney’s corner 3-pointer highlights practice

Cooney made the hardest play of practice look easy.

Standing in the right corner during the five-on-five scrimmage, Cooney watched as B.J. Johnson’s cross-court pass soared higher than expected.

He leapt, reached up and snared the ball with his right hand before turning to square his body up on the descent. Then he popped right back up and drained the 3-pointer.

“I think Trevor is really coming along nicely,” head coach Jim Boeheim said at media day on Friday. “He showed some good signs last season. I think he’s much more consistent this year, every day in practice you see a difference in his game.”

Cooney made a slew of other 3-pointers during practice Wednesday and was visibly one of the most aggressive players on the court throughout all the drills.

“With some players it takes them a year or two to really get ready, and I think Trevor has used these past two years extremely well,” Boeheim said. “He’s much more confident, and I think he’s going to have a great season this year for us.”

Loose balls:

Syracuse closed practice with a four-minute layup drill. Players ran the length of the court, making two passes each before shooting. Each got roughly 20 seconds rest before taking off again back up court. … Baye Moussa Keita fell down after a Grant bump in the paint. As he was getting up, he smiled wryly and said, “ACC man, one bump,” hinting at the expected increase in foul calls. … Gbinije looked sharp on the offensive boards, crashing in for at least four during Wednesday’s scrimmages. … Hopkins can be credited with the unofficial quote of the day, directed at the big men during a defensive positioning drill: “A bad shot is better than a good turnover.”

Published on October 23, 2013 at 8:59 pm

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