WKRP

My apologies for the lack of posts the past two weeks; work has been calling.

As an apology gift from me to you, here's a couple of classic TV comedy clips, two of my all time favorites. For you older readers (those of my age), you'll immediately remember these, I'm sure. For you younger readers, sit back and enjoy.

WKRP Thanksgiving Promotion

Reverend Jim's Driving Test

Enjoy.

RY

Roberts And The Free Throw Record

I must admit that I dropped the ball on the Terrence Roberts Free Throw shooting watch. All year long I kept you up to date on his quest for greatness, to be the worst free throw shooter at Syracuse University of all time. And he pretty much sealed the deal back in January. However, I do owe the man a final wrap up of this accomplishment.

Out of 59 players at Syracuse University who have attempted 200 or more free throws in their career, Roberts by far set the mark. His finished his career at 48.0%, 176 for 367, surpassing the legendary Stevie Thompson (52.7%) for the mark. Roberts wasn’t just satisfied with setting the career mark; he also made sure to nab the worst season performances, grabbing both the #1 and #2 positions. His junior season he was 42.1% from the line (56-133). His senior season he improved to 48.4% (62-128).

The Bottom 10 free throw shooters at Syracuse (minimum 200 attempts) are:

Terrence Roberts 48.0%
Stevie Thompson 52.7%
Darryl Watkins 54.2%
Rony Seikaly 57.6%
Jimmy Williams 58.1%
Etan Thomas 59.8%
Bill Smith 60.8%
Dale Shackleford 61.1%
Conrad McRae 64.8%
Otis Hill 65.3%

As I mentioned earlier in the year, the worst free throw shooters I ever saw on the Hill were Herman Harried and Derek Brower. And if you lowered the standard of free throw shooter to 100 attempts the Bottom 4 would be:

Herman Harried 37.8% (45-119)
Derek Brower 42.1% (67-159)
Louis McCroskey 47.2% (51-108)
Terence Roberts 48.0% (176-367)

Brower, if you recall, was responsible for an NCAA rule change regarding intentional fouling.

Some interesting notes about the bottom four. Harried, Brower and McCroskey combined for 386 attempts; Roberts had 367 attempts by himself.

McCroskey was a classmate of Robert and Darryl Watkins. We’re talking about three of the worst free throw shooters in Syracuse University history, all in the same recruiting class! Thankfully Demetris Nichols came along with his 75.2% shooting.

How bad were Harried and Brower? Brower was 67 for 159 in his career. If he had gone 41 for 41 to finish his career, that would have raised him to 108 for 200, or 54% for his career. He still would’ve qualified for #3 on the all time list with a minimum of 200 attempts!

Harried was 45 for 119 for his career. If he had finished going 81 for 81, he would’ve been 126 for 200 for his career, or 63.0%, coming in at #9 on the list. Egads.

Of special note is Hakim Warrick. He started his freshman season on pace to be the worst free throw shooter ever at Syracuse going 23 for 60 (38.3%). Yet, in his sophomore season he improved dramatically to 66.7% (124 for 186), and remained about that level for the remainder of his career. So whomever taught Hak how to shoot free throws that summer… sign him up!

Now Roberts was a frustrating player to watch for four seasons. The guy appeared to have tons of potential, but never seemed to put it all together. Yet, he was a solid player. He’d get his rebounds, do some scoring, play solid defense. He’d make stupid fouls, take silly 3 point shots (5-25 for his career), and shy away from physical play inside. Yet, he showed tremendous heart and hustle. He basically played on one leg his senior season, battled through a lot of pain, and managed to pull down 20 rebounds in the Big East tournament versus Notre Dame.

Roberts would play 127 games at Syracuse, score 963 points (7.6 per game), and pull down 716 rebounds (5.6 per game).

So Terrence, thanks for the memories! It was an adventure to watch you play.

2006-07 Milestones

The 2006-2007 season has been completed for a few weeks now. The senior class is widely recognized as an underachieving class, both in terms of NCAA accomplishments and personal growth. It is true that in the three seasons they were significant contributors the team was 0-2 in the NCAA tournament, and was excluded from the third. On the other hand, they did contribute in back-to-back Big East Championships.

But the season is over, so it is time we can reflect on how the players did in personal accomplishments.

Demetris Nichols finished as the schools 28th all-time leading scorer with 1,344 points, tying him with Bullet Billy Gabor. Terrence Roberts finished at #50, with 963 points. Eric Devendorf, after two seasons, has 945 points, 53rd all time. Darryl Watkins comes in at 86th with 633 points.

If Devo keeps up his pace, he’ll finish around 9th all-time.

Roberts finished as the 18th all time rebounder with 716. Watkins is 25th with 614, and Nichols 35th with 509. Freshman Paul Harris had 248 rebounds, good enough to place him 66th on the all-time career list. Devo comes in at 79th with 180, Matt Gorman at 9th with 142.

If Harris were to play four years at 248 rebounds a year, he’d finish 6th all-time at Syracuse; the reality is that if he stayed four years, he would likely increase his average, and would finish at #2. I think Derrick Coleman is safe at 1,537 for now (Coleman had 333 rebounds his freshman year).

Devo is currently 30th on the Syracuse all-time assist list with 227. The enigmatic Josh Wright comes in at 32nd with 216. Nichols is 55th with 132, Roberts 58th with 121, Andy Rautins 80th with 60, Watkins 84th with 61, and Harris is 87th with 57. Statistics were only an official statistics as of the 1965-1966 season, so there’s not a ton of history to compare against.

There have only been 70 players to make a three point basket for Syracuse, with the shot being introduced in the 1986-87 season. Nichols finished 3rd all time with 205 3 point field goals. Devo is 13th with 104, Rautins 17th with 82 and Wright 30th with 34.Gorman is 38th with 17, Roberts 46th with 5, and Harris is 57th with 1.

How does Harris’ freshman campaign stack up? His 248 rebounds is 5th all-time for a Syracuse freshman. He was third all time in free throws made, and 14th all-time in points scored with 302.

Devo had the 6th most assists ever for a sophomore, and was 8th in points, and 5th in 3 point field goals made. Rautins had the third most three point fields goals ever for a sophomore.

Wright has the 9th most assists ever for a junior (and he did not make the top 10 in most turnovers).

Nichols finished with the 8th most points for a senior and the 2nd most three point baskets by a senior. He increased his scoring from his junior season to his senior season by 197 points; that’s only good enough for the 20th biggest increase from a junior to senior season (if you were curious).

26 times a Syracuse basketball player has had 50+ 3 point fields goals made in a season. Three occurred this season as Nichols, Rautins and Devendorf all accomplished the feat. The only other time that has occurred? 2005-2006 with Gerry McNamara, Devo and Nichols accomplished the feat.

Nichols 41.7% from three point range last season was the fourth best in Syracuse history for players with 100+ three point attempts.

Nichols 85% from the free throw line was 9th best in school history for players with 100+ free throw attempts.

Harris was a rebounding machine, almost leading the team in rebounding despite playing about 22 minutes a game. He averaged 13.08 rebounds per every 40 minutes of playing time; 4th best total in school history (though minutes played was only tracked starting in the early 80s). Derrick Coleman holds the top three: 13.77 (junior), 13.65 (senior), 13.55 (sophomore). Harris does hold the freshman record; Coleman had held it with 11.45.

Finally, Syracuse University played its 1,700 men varsity basketball game last season. Jim Boeheim coached his 1,000th game, and reached 750 career wins.

The Off Season

So what is up for Orenge Hoops during the off season? Well, the blog will be continuing. Even during the regular season, I don’t have a regular posting schedule. I’ll probably be more likely to post something every couple of weeks, but you never know… a few may come in a couple of days span.

I mentioned earlier in the year a concept called the “Jeter Effect”, and I promise I will get to that one day. I also have some additional concepts called the “Iverson Effect” and the “Chamberlain Effect”, which I’ll eventually get too.

You can also expect to see more commentary on past Syracuse teams, trends of the past few seasons, and where I see this team going. I won’t be covering recruiting too much. It’s not something I generally have too much interest in, and Orange Fan covers that very well. Likewise, Cuse Country covers former Orangemen in the professional action with great detail, so I’ll let them keep up the good work. I'm sure I'll have some words on the NBA draft.

I’ll also continue to update the ongoing project of OrangeHoops.Org. I’ve recently added the profile of the 1924-25 Orangemen, and a player profile for Otis Hill. I also need to finish my 2006-2007 player updates.

Anyhow, I just wanted to let you all know I’m still around, and the information will keep flowing.

I appreciate all the e-mails I have gotten! It is great to hear from you all. Thanks.

Harris going pro?

Paul Harris came to Syracuse with a lot of potential, and he had a solid freshman season. He showed he was an outstanding rebounder. His defense at times was stellar, and other times he looked lost. On offense, he demonstrated he had no jump shot of any form, and a tendacy to run like a bull through a China shop when he saw a lane to the hoop. When he didn't have the ball in his hands, he looked like he struggled where to go on the court. He still had enough talent to score, despite these obvious short comings.

So why do I mention this? Because ESPN's Chad Ford has Harris listed at 50/50 about going in the NBA draft this spring.

I don't have any idea what Ford's source is, whether he has talked to anyone or if he's just flat out speculating (I'm guessing the latter).

I personally find it inconceivable that Harris would even contemplate going professional at this point, unless he has pressing financial concerns that need immediate address.

Normally I don't like to post speculative articles, but considering that ESPN is a major media outlet, and Ford's opinion is completely in contrast with my own, I thought it was interesting to share.