MBB: Duke vs Syracuse (Sat, Jan 22, 12pm ESPN) Pre- and In-game Thread

[CDu]

Time to get the bad taste out of our mouths after Tuesday night's tough loss. Hopefully Keels is okay and able to play (or at least won't be out long). At least if Keels is out, this might be a good game to miss: Syracuse is just as shallow as we are, they play zone, and they aren't terribly quick off the dribble.

This is not a vintage Boeheim team. Though it is at the same time very much a Boeheim team (more on that later). They are surprisingly good offensively, but absolutely abysmal defensively. The calling card of every Boeheim team ever is the 2-3 zone. But this year, it's lacking the athletes that make that zone smothering. The result is a defense outside the top-200. They block shots really well and they don't foul much, but they are bad at defending 3s, awful at defending 2s, don't force turnovers, and awful at rebounding. It's a bad combination. The length and quickness just isn't there to make the zone a weapon as it has been in years past.

On offense, they are an elite 3pt shooting team, and pretty good at protecting the ball. They aren't bad at anything offensively, which combined with that glorious 3pt shooting and low turnover rate makes for a top-25 offense. They don't have a ton of great ballhandlers, but they move the ball well and can really shoot it.

Centers: Jesse Edwards (6'11", 215lb 3rd year sophomore from the Netherlands) is the center. Edwards is sort of a not-terrible facsimile of Mark Williams: very long and reasonably athletic, great shotblocker, good scorer around the rim. He's not quite as long or as good a shotblocker or rebounder as Williams, but he's very much a presence in there. Edwards does nearly all of his work at/around the rim. Edwards will play about as much as he can, with two downgrades available behind him. Frank Anselem (6'10", 210lb sophomore from Nigeria) has been the primary backup. Anselem is overmatched at the major conference level at this point. He's just really raw and undersized (strengthwise). He's played about 6-8 mpg in ACC play. The more interesting name of the backups is Bourama Sidibe (6'10", 220lb fifth year senior from Mali). Sidibe was a regular as an underclassman and a starter as a junior. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his season last year, and injuries have derailed his season this year so far. He is a decent shotblocker and rebounder when healthy, which just hasn't been the case for a while now. But he returned to the lineup Tuesday night, so it remains to be seen if his role will increase moving forward. If so, it gives the Orange some much needed quality off the bench. Not that Sidibe is a worldbeater, but he could provide solid minutes cover for Edwards and allow Cuse to maintain their interior defensive presence.

Forwards: Jimmy Boeheim (6'8", 215lb grad transfer from Cornell) and Cole Swider (6'9", 225lb senior transfer from Villanova) are the main options at the forward spots. Neither are your prototypical 2-3 forwards. Boeheim is a talented stretch 4 who can score in the post against smaller players or take slower players out to the perimeter. He's not overly athletic, but he's smart and tough and has loads of experience. And obviously as the son of the 2-3 wizard, he knows the system. Swider was a big-time recruit who never seemed to find his footing at Villanova, but he's certainly found a home with Syracuse. Swider has become a solid defensive rebounder, and is a good 3pt shooter (~36% career). He's not terribly comfortable scoring inside, but very comfortable shooting from outside. Boeheim has also been a terrific 3pt shooter this year (39.2%). Behind those two is Benny Williams (6'8", 215lb freshman). Unlike Swider and Boeheim, Williams is very much a prototypical forward for Boeheim. Like Swider, he was a top-tier recruit coming out of high school. Williams is long and athletic, but lacks the shooting skill of his starter counterparts. He'll eventually be a good one, but he's not there yet.

Wings: Buddy Boeheim (6'6", 195lb senior) is the star of the team, and yes the brother of Jimmy and son of Jim. Buddy is a really impressive case study in player development. He came in as a less heralded facsimile of Joey Baker: excellent shooter, lacking athleticism or really any other major D-1 bball skill. But he's worked REALLY hard on his game, and is now one of the better offensive players in the ACC. He's still a lethal 3pt shooter, but he's now also become a very capable ballhandler and playmaker. Boeheim is a perfect fit for the 2-3 zone defensively, as he is very long for a guard but not terribly quick (so not well suited for man-to-man). Buddy had a rough start to the season, but has regained his stroke in ACC play. Limiting him will be a difficult challenge as he has range for days. Boeheim doesn't really have a backup. He plays 38 mpg in conference play.

Guards: Joe Girard (6'1", 195lb junior) is the team's starting PG. Girard was a prolific high school scorer in NY, and was thought to be an option for Duke at one point. But he stayed in state, and now seems to be finding his rhythm at the college level. Girard is a conscience-free gunner like Buddy. He struggled his first two years, but has been absolutely lethal this year (45.5% from 3, 90% from the FT line). He's not terribly athletic, and rarely shoots anywhere remotely near the rim. But man, if he gets any space, he'll fire a 3, and he very frequently makes them. Both Girard and Buddy are more than capable of making 3s as catch-and-shoot guys or off the dribble. It's a very good combination, despite neither being very athletic. Girard is very undersized defensively for the 2-3 zone, and he's probably part of why it hasn't been a strength this year (along with the forwards). Like the other starters, Girard will play 35+ mpg if possible. Behind him is Symir Torrence (6'3", 200lb junior transfer from Marquette). Torrence was a fringe top-100 recruit out of high school, and is a physical specimen. He's a chiseled guy and is plenty strong with the ball in his hands. He's not a great shooter, but he's a terrific and very willing passer. On this year's team, that skill set is probably underutilized, as the ball is so frequently in the hands of Girard and Boeheim. But next year he'll probably see expanded opportunities as a playmaker. Torrence is a good fit for the zone, with good length and physicality.

The Cuse will typically play a sort-of 6+ man rotation. They'll bring Torrence off the bench for around 10 mpg, and piecemeal the backup big man minutes together with Williams, Anselem, and Sidibe. But they'll ride their starters for 30+ mpg each if possible.

This profiles as a good matchup for Williams to impact the game offensively, with his threat as a lob candidate. It profiles as a really nice opportunity with any of Banchero, Griffin, or Moore being the guy to flash to the FT line to break down the zone. I like that we have a few days to prepare, as I think we should be able to punish the zone offensively. The challenge will be on the other end. If we can contain their 3pt shooters, we stand a good chance of a blowout win (we smoked them last year). If we struggle with their shooters, we could be in for a stressful shootout. They aren't great off the dribble, which helps, as part of our problem is handling dribble penetration. So hopefully we can contain them and win comfortably.

[CameronDuke]

Time to get the bad taste out of our mouths after Tuesday night's tough loss. Hopefully Keels is okay and able to play (or at least won't be out long). At least if Keels is out, this might be a good game to miss: Syracuse is just as shallow as we are, they play zone, and they aren't terribly quick off the dribble.

This is not a vintage Boeheim team. Though it is at the same time very much a Boeheim team (more on that later). They are surprisingly good offensively, but absolutely abysmal defensively. The calling card of every Boeheim team ever is the 2-3 zone. But this year, it's lacking the athletes that make that zone smothering. The result is a defense outside the top-200. They block shots really well and they don't foul much, but they are bad at defending 3s, awful at defending 2s, don't force turnovers, and awful at rebounding. It's a bad combination. The length and quickness just isn't there to make the zone a weapon as it has been in years past.

On offense, they are an elite 3pt shooting team, and pretty good at protecting the ball. They aren't bad at anything offensively, which combined with that glorious 3pt shooting and low turnover rate makes for a top-25 offense. They don't have a ton of great ballhandlers, but they move the ball well and can really shoot it.

Centers: Jesse Edwards (6'11", 215lb 3rd year sophomore from the Netherlands) is the center. Edwards is sort of a not-terrible facsimile of Mark Williams: very long and reasonably athletic, great shotblocker, good scorer around the rim. He's not quite as long or as good a shotblocker or rebounder as Williams, but he's very much a presence in there. Edwards does nearly all of his work at/around the rim. Edwards will play about as much as he can, with two downgrades available behind him. Frank Anselem (6'10", 210lb sophomore from Nigeria) has been the primary backup. Anselem is overmatched at the major conference level at this point. He's just really raw and undersized (strengthwise). He's played about 6-8 mpg in ACC play. The more interesting name of the backups is Bourama Sidibe (6'10", 220lb fifth year senior from Mali). Sidibe was a regular as an underclassman and a starter as a junior. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his season last year, and injuries have derailed his season this year so far. He is a decent shotblocker and rebounder when healthy, which just hasn't been the case for a while now. But he returned to the lineup Tuesday night, so it remains to be seen if his role will increase moving forward. If so, it gives the Orange some much needed quality off the bench. Not that Sidibe is a worldbeater, but he could provide solid minutes cover for Edwards and allow Cuse to maintain their interior defensive presence.

Forwards: Jimmy Boeheim (6'8", 215lb grad transfer from Cornell) and Cole Swider (6'9", 225lb senior transfer from Villanova) are the main options at the forward spots. Neither are your prototypical 2-3 forwards. Boeheim is a talented stretch 4 who can score in the post against smaller players or take slower players out to the perimeter. He's not overly athletic, but he's smart and tough and has loads of experience. And obviously as the son of the 2-3 wizard, he knows the system. Swider was a big-time recruit who never seemed to find his footing at Villanova, but he's certainly found a home with Syracuse. Swider has become a solid defensive rebounder, and is a good 3pt shooter (~36% career). He's not terribly comfortable scoring inside, but very comfortable shooting from outside. Boeheim has also been a terrific 3pt shooter this year (39.2%). Behind those two is Benny Williams (6'8", 215lb freshman). Unlike Swider and Boeheim, Williams is very much a prototypical forward for Boeheim. Like Swider, he was a top-tier recruit coming out of high school. Williams is long and athletic, but lacks the shooting skill of his starter counterparts. He'll eventually be a good one, but he's not there yet.

Wings: Buddy Boeheim (6'6", 195lb senior) is the star of the team, and yes the brother of Jimmy and son of Jim. Buddy is a really impressive case study in player development. He came in as a less heralded facsimile of Joey Baker: excellent shooter, lacking athleticism or really any other major D-1 bball skill. But he's worked REALLY hard on his game, and is now one of the better offensive players in the ACC. He's still a lethal 3pt shooter, but he's now also become a very capable ballhandler and playmaker. Boeheim is a perfect fit for the 2-3 zone defensively, as he is very long for a guard but not terribly quick (so not well suited for man-to-man). Buddy had a rough start to the season, but has regained his stroke in ACC play. Limiting him will be a difficult challenge as he has range for days. Boeheim doesn't really have a backup. He plays 38 mpg in conference play.

Guards: Joe Girard (6'1", 195lb junior) is the team's starting PG. Girard was a prolific high school scorer in NY, and was thought to be an option for Duke at one point. But he stayed in state, and now seems to be finding his rhythm at the college level. Girard is a conscience-free gunner like Buddy. He struggled his first two years, but has been absolutely lethal this year (45.5% from 3, 90% from the FT line). He's not terribly athletic, and rarely shoots anywhere remotely near the rim. But man, if he gets any space, he'll fire a 3, and he very frequently makes them. Both Girard and Buddy are more than capable of making 3s as catch-and-shoot guys or off the dribble. It's a very good combination, despite neither being very athletic. Girard is very undersized defensively for the 2-3 zone, and he's probably part of why it hasn't been a strength this year (along with the forwards). Like the other starters, Girard will play 35+ mpg if possible. Behind him is Symir Torrence (6'3", 200lb junior transfer from Marquette). Torrence was a fringe top-100 recruit out of high school, and is a physical specimen. He's a chiseled guy and is plenty strong with the ball in his hands. He's not a great shooter, but he's a terrific and very willing passer. On this year's team, that skill set is probably underutilized, as the ball is so frequently in the hands of Girard and Boeheim. But next year he'll probably see expanded opportunities as a playmaker. Torrence is a good fit for the zone, with good length and physicality.

The Cuse will typically play a sort-of 6+ man rotation. They'll bring Torrence off the bench for around 10 mpg, and piecemeal the backup big man minutes together with Williams, Anselem, and Sidibe. But they'll ride their starters for 30+ mpg each if possible.

This profiles as a good matchup for Williams to impact the game offensively, with his threat as a lob candidate. It profiles as a really nice opportunity with any of Banchero, Griffin, or Moore being the guy to flash to the FT line to break down the zone. I like that we have a few days to prepare, as I think we should be able to punish the zone offensively. The challenge will be on the other end. If we can contain their 3pt shooters, we stand a good chance of a blowout win (we smoked them last year). If we struggle with their shooters, we could be in for a stressful shootout. They aren't great off the dribble, which helps, as part of our problem is handling dribble penetration. So hopefully we can contain them and win comfortably.

Great scout, thanks CDu. Duke’s 3-point shooting worries me. They’re shooting just 36.7% from 3 overall and 35.9% from 3 in ACC games. Cuse will sit in the zone and dare Duke to beat them from deep. Keels is Duke’s worst 3-point shooter percentage wise yet he’s taken the most by 33 shots. If he plays, I hope he can have a good game shooting from deep. Typically, I like to see Duke flash someone to the free throw line or elbow extended area on the zone vs Cuse. That has worked in the past when Duke isn’t shooting well from deep. There’s a huge soft spot there open for traffic. Amile flashed there when he was at Duke and I remember the offense having success vs Cuse. The guy who flashes there can turn and shoot, penetrate and dish, or if the zone collapses, kick it back out for an open 3. I nominate sir A.J. of Gryffindor for this task. Also known as A.J. Griffin. (Harry Potter reference there - huge fan!). He seems the prototype of a guy we can flash to the free throw line, throw the ball into, and let him go to work in the ways I just mentioned.

I also hope Duke rebounds better. Seems like a good game for Paulo, Theo and Mark to buck the trend and really get physical in the post. Would like to see Wendell come out of his Covid pause funk and drop like 25 points tomorrow. If Keels doesn’t play, I think the starter in his place will be Roach, along with Wendell, sir A.J. of Gryffindor, Paulo, and Mark. Bates Jones and Joey Baker likely will have lots of opportunities for open corner 3s tomorrow so they may get some extended burn - especially Joey.

Just stay healthy and most importantly - just win!

Let’s Go Duke!

[robed deity]

Agreed that the Duke shooting this year has been spotty, but near 37 percent is actually pretty good. I'm surprised to see it up that high. Maybe we can get Griffin more shots. When he's open, it is money.

[CDu]

Agreed that the Duke shooting this year has been spotty, but near 37 percent is actually pretty good. I'm surprised to see it up that high. Maybe we can get Griffin more shots. When he's open, it is money.

Yeah, we're 5th in the conference in 3pt shooting - both for the season and in conference play. And we've shot over 40% on 3s in 2 of the past 3 games.

It's certainly a question mark from game to game, but we've been a relatively good 3pt shooting team overall.

I do think this is a good matchup for Baker, both in terms of being a floor spacer vs the zone as well as Cuse not being very dynamic off the dribble.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Yeah, we're 5th in the conference in 3pt shooting - both for the season and in conference play. And we've shot over 40% on 3s in 2 of the past 3 games.

It's certainly a question mark from game to game, but we've been a relatively good 3pt shooting team overall.

I do think this is a good matchup for Baker, both in terms of being a floor spacer vs the zone as well as Cuse not being very dynamic off the dribble.

Duke has a number of players that can go off against the Syracuse zone, including Baker. I also think Roach, Moore, and Griffin have done very well on set jumpers.

Plant Paolo in the high post and have him make passes as the zone collapses. There will be plenty of open shots for Duke.

You're absolutely right that Mark Williams is also poised to have a big game. As a freshman last season, Williams set a then-career best 18 pts/11 reb performance (his first double-double) against 'Cuse. Duke centers have feasted on the Syracuse zone in recent years, setting up camp along the baseline so they can attack the rim for lobs once the ball gets into the high post.

2/1/2020: Vernon Carey 26 pts/17 reb
1/14/2019: Marques Bolden 12 pts/11 reb/5 blk
2/23/2019: Bolden only played 10 minutes, so not really a good example
2/24/2018: Wendell Carter 16 pts/10 reb/4 blk (Bolden scored 7 pts/6 reb in 12 minutes off the bench, too)
3/23/2018 (NCCAT S16): Carter 14 pts/12 reb/1 blk (Bolden played 8 min and had 2 pts/3 reb/1 blk)

Paolo is just about the perfect player to have in the high post in this matchup with Williams camping out along the baseline. As long as the big lineup isn't allowing too many open looks from 3, this should be a good matchup for Duke to punish what has been a very weak Syracuse zone.

[Kedsy]

I do think this is a good matchup for Baker, both in terms of being a floor spacer vs the zone as well as Cuse not being very dynamic off the dribble.

Thanks, as always, CDu for your pre-game report.

Interestingly for a senior, Joey Baker has only played 8 career minutes against Syracuse, and 5 of them came in his very first game when he burned the redshirt. Despite Joey averaging 12 or so mpg in 2020 and 2021, K opted not to play him against the Orange (DNP-CD in 2020 and 3 minutes in 2021).

[chrishoke]

What's the spread?

[DavidBenAkiva]

What's the spread?

T-Rank and KenPom have this one as a 12-13 point Duke advantage.

[CameronDuke]

T-Rank and KenPom have this one as a 12-13 point Duke advantage.

Feel like that’s fair. All of Duke’s ACC wins have come in that range-ish. The exception being beating NCSU by 15 and Virginia Tech by 11.

[simplyluvin]

Great report CDu. Look to build confidence in these next two home games, which will be followed by a tough road stretch. I feel pretty good about this matchup, and as you noted, MW should do well. Hitting from the arc always helps against the 2-3. If we can keep up ball pressure and contain the Boeheim bros, I think we win easily. Also look for us to take care of the ball better.

[Music man55]

Syracuse could give us problems if their 3pt.shots are falling. I don’t think Duke’s defense is going to let them shoot them un-contested. Paolo should be able to break the zone stationed at the free throw area. Looking for Mark to get some easy lobs also. It would also be a good time for Joey to showcase his outside bombing along with Moore, Roach and Griffen. If Keels can go, would be a great plus. We should get back in the win column after this game. Go Devils!

[jimsumner]

I would expect Cameron to be well short of full. Sleet, snow, freezing rain Friday, maybe into the wee hours of Saturday, lows in the teens, temps below freezing at tip-off. Folks are going to stay home and Duke might lose some of that fabled home-court advantage.

[FerryFor50]

Yeah, we're 5th in the conference in 3pt shooting - both for the season and in conference play. And we've shot over 40% on 3s in 2 of the past 3 games.

It's certainly a question mark from game to game, but we've been a relatively good 3pt shooting team overall.

I do think this is a good matchup for Baker, both in terms of being a floor spacer vs the zone as well as Cuse not being very dynamic off the dribble.

Yea, I don't get thinking 37% from 3 as a team is bad. That's better than the past two seasons' 35%.

Syracuse, if I recall, was always where Alex O'Connell would go relatively bonkers. He scored 16, 20 and 11 in the games after his freshman season. But O'Connell was a bit more dynamic than Baker is. Baker hasn't really played against Syracuse, so maybe this is the year. But I think it might be a bigger game for Jeremy Roach - especially if Keels is out. Roach combines the ability to shoot and drive, whereas Baker is mostly a spot up shooter with a pretty slow release, which is bad against a zone IMO. I suspect we'll see Baker camping out in the corners and hopefully he can hit a few open looks.

This will be a game where we'll need Banchero to hit some of those midrange shots to keep the zone honest. Having him and Griffin at the free throw line and in the corners/dunker spot on the floor is likely what we'll see - similar to how Rodney Hood/Jabari Parker were used against Syracuse.

I do think if Keels sits, we'll miss him, because that's one less player to break them down off the dribble. Hopefully Moore gets his feet back under him on his drives, because we'll need to make the zone react to get outside shooters open.

Duke's passing this season has very good, so we might also be able to break down the zone with lobs and ball movement. Luckily, the Cuse defense stinks this year.

This game will be a real test of if Duke's 3-point defense is as good as the stats say. Syracuse averages about 24 three point attempts per game and hits 38% of them.

[Music man55]

I would expect Cameron to be well short of full. Sleet, snow, freezing rain Friday, maybe into the wee hours of Saturday, lows in the teens, temps below freezing at tip-off. Folks are going to stay home and Duke might lose some of that fabled home-court advantage.

Didn’t think about that one Jim, but you might just be correct. I hope enough show up to make a lot of noise.

[Kedsy]

I would expect Cameron to be well short of full. Sleet, snow, freezing rain Friday, maybe into the wee hours of Saturday, lows in the teens, temps below freezing at tip-off. Folks are going to stay home and Duke might lose some of that fabled home-court advantage.

Back in my day, we had a superstition that Duke always won in the snow. And the students wouldn't let a little white stuff (as unusual as it was in those days) keep us out of Cameron. A full student section is capable of plenty of noise.

[tommy]

From CDu's report, seems like the primary thing Cuse can do to cause us trouble is shooting 3's. If they don't have a quick penetrating guard, and it doesn't seem like they do, our perimeter guys should be told to just not help on any drives. Do not sag or help off the Boeheims, Swider, or Girard, and just depend on our bigs to help defend any drivers. Make them finish against size, but don't allow kickouts to open shooters. Cut off that part of their offense and we should be in good shape.

[UrinalCake]

Agree with DBA that putting Paolo in the middle of the zone is a great recipe. We had a really hard time getting the ball to him against FSU, and the good news is that the middle of the zone is relatively open so it shouldn’t be a challenge to feed him. Then he can take a short jumper, lob to Mark, or kick out to the wings. K talked after the NC State game about using Paolo has a point forward, and while this isn’t quite the same thing I do think having him be our primary initiator will open things up for everybody else.

If we have another 1 for 15 kind of night from three then we’ll probably lose. But I’m hopeful we have guys who can create in other ways so we’re not so dependent on the three and can play inside out rather than vice versa.

[DukeHoo]

From CDu's report, seems like the primary thing Cuse can do to cause us trouble is shooting 3's. If they don't have a quick penetrating guard, and it doesn't seem like they do, our perimeter guys should be told to just not help on any drives. Do not sag or help off the Boeheims, Swider, or Girard, and just depend on our bigs to help defend any drivers. Make them finish against size, but don't allow kickouts to open shooters. Cut off that part of their offense and we should be in good shape.

The good news here is that Cuse's guards are, for the most part, relatively slow and not particularly creative. Buddy Boeheim has decent handles and is capable of creating his own shot off the dribble, but Swider and Girard are really just threats as set shooters. On defense, we don't need to play them with dribble penetration in mind. They'll look to kick or pull up rather than go to the rim.

[heyman25]

Great scout, thanks CDu. Duke’s 3-point shooting worries me. They’re shooting just 36.7% from 3 overall and 35.9% from 3 in ACC games. Cuse will sit in the zone and dare Duke to beat them from deep. Keels is Duke’s worst 3-point shooter percentage wise yet he’s taken the most by 33 shots. If he plays, I hope he can have a good game shooting from deep. Typically, I like to see Duke flash someone to the free throw line or elbow extended area on the zone vs Cuse. That has worked in the past when Duke isn’t shooting well from deep. There’s a huge soft spot there open for traffic. Amile flashed there when he was at Duke and I remember the offense having success vs Cuse. The guy who flashes there can turn and shoot, penetrate and dish, or if the zone collapses, kick it back out for an open 3. I nominate sir A.J. of Gryffindor for this task. Also known as A.J. Griffin. (Harry Potter reference there - huge fan!). He seems the prototype of a guy we can flash to the free throw line, throw the ball into, and let him go to work in the ways I just mentioned.

I also hope Duke rebounds better. Seems like a good game for Paulo, Theo and Mark to buck the trend and really get physical in the post. Would like to see Wendell come out of his Covid pause funk and drop like 25 points tomorrow. If Keels doesn’t play, I think the starter in his place will be Roach, along with Wendell, sir A.J. of Gryffindor, Paulo, and Mark. Bates Jones and Joey Baker likely will have lots of opportunities for open corner 3s tomorrow so they may get some extended burn - especially Joey.

Just stay healthy and most importantly - just win!

Let’s Go Duke!

If Keels can not play is there any possibility Blakes will be given a few minutes? Or is Blakes just not ready for prime time? They need to penetrate the zone and then kick out passes. Do passing quickly to avoid jump ball calls or turnovers. I just hope we improve and get a much needed solid win.

[CDu]

If Keels can not play is there any possibility Blakes will be given a few minutes? Or is Blakes just not ready for prime time? They need to penetrate the zone and then kick out passes. Do passing quickly to avoid jump ball calls or turnovers. I just hope we improve and get a much needed solid win.

Given the opponent, I wouldn't expect Blakes to see much time. I'd imagine the team would instead rely heavily on the other 5 starters, John, and Baker. Banchero, Moore, and Roach would handle the ballhandling. And honestly, the best way to beat a zone is with the pass anyway, so having an extra ballhandler is perhaps less critical to having a coordinated gameplan and executing it well.