Early results have Boeheim's Army looking primed for a long TBT run

Boeheim’s Army returned to The Basketball Tournament in style Saturday evening, coasting past the Herkimer Originals in the Syracuse Regional, 97-71. Led by Buddy Boeheim and Elijah Hughes, the Army buried their opponent in an avalanche of 3-pointers, hitting 18-of-29 from beyond the arc.

While that degree of hot shooting is not likely to last, Boeheim’s Army did show some trends that bode well for them as the tournament progresses.

Selfless style of play up and down the roster greased the wheels of an efficient offense

The Army had 27 assists as a team, led by 11 from Jacob Gilyard. While Gilyard was an excellent distributor in his debut with the team, he was not the only good passer, as he was one of five players to hand out at least three assists in the game.

That generous style of play helped the Army score the third-highest number of points in first round play behind La Familia and Fort Wayne Champs while leading all TBT teams in 3-pointers, 3-point percentage, and field goal percentage.

Lots of those dimes came in the halfcourt, as Boeheim’s Army was able to take advantage of slow or poor defensive rotations. Many possessions started with a pick-and-roll action near the top of the key to manipulate the defense, then two quick passes led to a wide-open 3-pointer, usually for one of the corners.

While many of their 18 triples came from taking advantage of transition opportunities, the Army’s ability to generate great looks in the halfcourt is something they should be able to rely on as tournament play progresses.

Boeheim's Army used a common strategy to great effect in their first outing

The Army’s strategy is a very common one in modern basketball: take (and make) a lot of 3-pointers on offense and defend the rim. Their roster construction reflects this, as seven players took at least one 3-pointer in the opening game and the presence of Rakeem Christmas, Chris McCullough, and Noah Starkey means the team can always have at least one shotblocker on the floor.

Each member of that big man trio had at least one swat last night, led by McCullough’s three, and Christmas was noteworthy in how he used his size and strength to intimidate opponents at the rim. Another 6’8” defensive option is yet to appear with Boeheim’s Army, as stretch four Jamil Wilson is a reinforcement also on the roster.

The Army's deep roster helps with the long term goals

The team’s depth allowed head coach Allen Griffin to build a revolving door at the scorer’s table to cycle fresh players into the action. Ten players saw action in the game, ranging between Boeheim and Gilyard’s 30 minutes to Charles Pride’s eight. Elijah Hughes’ 23 minutes made him the only other player to spend more than half the game on the floor.

Most notably, the bigs were allowed ample rest as the game went on. McCullough’s 18 minutes led the way with Christmas right behind with 17. Most of their court time came in shorter spurts lasting around four minutes as the game went on, a term enabled by their shorter opponents as Boeheim, Hughes, and Malachi Richardson ended up playing what might be classified as power forward at times.

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