2011-12 versus 2009-10

The 2011-2012 season ended painfully, with an Elite Eight loss to Ohio State.  The pain of the loss was not so much the particular game, which in itself was horribly officiated on both ends of the court. No, the pain was watching a tremendously accomplished Syracuse team compete without one of its key players in Fab Melo.  That squad was one of the deepest squads in Syracuse history, but the depth at center was not present.  There was a big drop off between Melo and Baye Keita, and there was no real backup to Keita.

I never wrote a recap on this blog about last season, because it was too difficult to do. It also was eerily similar to two seasons prior, the 2009-2010 season, where an equally great team lost its center, Arinze Onuaku, for the post season. That also cost that team in the post season.

Those two teams were great squads on the hill, both achieving #1 rankings at some point in the season, both winning the Big East regular season, and both earning #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.  They had different paths to those seeds.  The 2009-10 squad started the season unranked, went 8-2 versus top 25 teams, and climbed to #1 by March 2^nd.  The 2011-2012 squad started the year with high expectations with a pre-season rank of #5, and never dropped below that all season, rising to #1 by December 17^th.  They would go 6-1 versus top 25 teams.

There is no doubt that the 2011-2012 squad accomplished more. They went 34-3, reached the Elite Eight, and tied the Big East season mark with a 17-1 record. The 2009-2010 squad was impressive at 30-5, reaching the Sweet Sixteen and going 15-3 in the Big East. But you have to acknowledge that last year’s squad accomplished more.

The question I want to propose is which team was better? If the two squads were to meet on the court, who would win?

The 2009-10 squad went seven players deep with no other player appearing in half the games.  This was a team with well-defined roles for all the players, and with a lot of NCAA experience.  There were two fifth-year seniors in Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku, and a fourth-year junior in Wesley Johnson.  Rick Johnson was a junior, Scoop Jardine a third-year sophomore, and Kris Joseph a sophomore.  Brandon Triche was the only inexperienced player as a true freshman.

This squad was extremely proficient at running the half-court offense with Andy Rautins running most of the offense.  Syracuse’s inside-out game was outstanding, with Onuaku and Jackson pounding the ball inside with high precision (67% and 59% respectively).  Johnson and Joseph were extremely adept at driving to the hoop and skying about the rim.  Rautins, Triche and Jardine were all good ball handlers, and because of Rautins’ adeptness at making the three point shot from deep range, teams had to focus on him on the perimeter and on the big men inside. This gave open shots to Triche, Johnson and Jardine, and Syracuse was extremely good at making the three point shot.  Between those four, they made 41% of their three point shots (202 of 498).   

The team had four good free throw shooters in Rautins, Johnson, Jardine and Joseph.  Rautins was extremely good in making 82% of his charity shots.   The team was prone to some careless turnovers from Jardine, and some overly aggressive passing from Rautins.

However, it was the team’s defense that made them a #1 team.  Their ‘Shut It Down’ defense would clamp down on opposing teams, and prevent them from scoring for 5 to 8 minutes of the game.   Onuaku and Jackson were not especially tall, but they were very wide bodied and took up a lot of space along the baseline at 235 lbs and 265 lbs respectively.  Triche (6’4”) and Rautins (6’5”) were tall and rangy up front, preventing easy looks from opposing players inside.  Johnson and Joseph were explosive from the wings intercepting passes and taking off down the court.   The team was not particularly adept at shot blocking, but very good at maintaining its defensive positioning, and good at rebounding.

Let’s go forward two years to the 2011-2012 team.  Syracuse would go 9-10 players deep each game.  A very explosive backcourt with a four man rotation of Brandon Triche, Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Michael Carter-Williams. It was also a very experience backcourt with Triche a junior (and three year starter), Jardine a fifth-year senior, and Waiters a sophomore.  Jardine and Waiters were very adept at tipping passes and running the fast break, something Syracuse did extremely well. 

Kris Joseph provided the interior offensive game with his drives to the hoop, though the lane was not nearly as clear as he had found it two years prior. Syracuse did not have any great three point shooters, but they had five guys who could make about 35% of their shots in Jardine, Triche, Waiters, Joseph and James Southerland. 

The team was extremely good at shot block and altering shots, led by Fab Melo and his three blocks a game. They were also very adept as a team at stealing the ball, and with the ten man rotation, the players were always fresh; Joseph led the team in minutes played and that was about 32/game.   C.J. Fair did a little bit of everything to make sure the job was getting done.

The team did not run its half-court offense very well.  It relied on the fast break to generate most of its points.  However, the guards were very adept at taking their defenders one-on-one and driving into the paint to make things happen, particularly Waiters and Triche. Waiters was extremely explosive, and Triche very strong.  The team had four good free throw shooters in Triche, Waiters, Joseph and Fair.  It hurt that Jardine struggled at the line, since he played the point, but he would often get removed late in the game to prevent that situation.

The two teams would be an interesting matchup.  Up front would be a tough matchup both ways. Up front you would basically have Rautins/Triche/Jardine versus Waiters/Triche/Jardine.  The latter three would be more adept at driving the lane (particularly Waiters), and in pestering offensive players. The former three would be more adept at preventing players from getting into the lane, and in shooting deep (with Rautins).  I would have to give an edge to last year’s squad up front because of Waiters and the more experienced Triche/Jardine combo.  It would not be a huge edge.

The interior play is where I think the 2009-2010 squad would have a big edge. Wesley Johnson was the  Big East player of the year. He was explosive at getting to the hoop, and could pull outside for three.  Onuaku and Jackson were polished interior scorers, and they knew how to get offensive and defensive rebounds.  Joseph was a better player in 2011-12 than in 2009-10, but he struggled last year without other players to open the lane for him.  Christmas and Melo were very limited offensively (as was Keita); Fair would be the only other scoring threat inside, and he would pick up those garbage points. 

 

I think the size and experience of Jackson and Onuaku would take a lot of advantage over the inexperience of Christmas and Melo.  It’s true Melo would block some shots, but big body players are often good at avoiding the blocks by creating separation and going strong to the hoop. 

Both teams would be able to run the court, and run it well.  I don’t think fatigue would come into play for the 2009-10 squad, because they played their whole season with only 7 players anyhow.  I think the answers to two questions would determine the outcome.

1^st – could last year’s squad limit the second and third chance shots that the 2009-2010 team specialized in with its rebounding?

2^nd – could last year’s squad generate enough fast break opportunities to limit its exposure in the half court? 

For those who watched last year’s games, you would know that the team struggled all year to get rebounds, and prevent second chances.  I don’t see how the 2009-2010 squad would be any different, and they would probably get their fair share of second shot opportunities.

And I do not think last year’s team would generate enough fast break opportunities to offset  their half-court liabilities against a team that was ‘Shut It Down’ in the half-court defense. Basically, we would have a team that struggled in the half court set (2011-2012) trying to score against a team that specialized in stopping that exact same thing. 

I think 2009-2010 comes out on top. That’s not a knock on last year’s team. I thought the 2009-2010 team was going to win the National Championship. Their teamwork and unselfishness were outstanding (and much of that carried over to last year’s team).  That 2009-2010’s biggest weakness was they had no player outside of their top seven, and that came back to get them. 

You Cannot Play Them All

Jim Boeheim cannot win praise from his detractors, regardless of what he does.   You would think Syracuse was mired in an underperforming season with a record of 20-10 instead of being 33-2, ranked #2 in the country with a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.  Fans love to second guess head coaches, and Syracuse fans are no different.

Historically Boeheim has gone only 7-8 players deep on his roster, preferring to keep his top talent on the court as much as possible.  This season, he has gone 10 players deep most of the season and yet he still gets criticized for not giving some players more playing time.

I like Brandon Triche’s game a lot. He is likely the team’s best three point shooter  and clearly their best free throw shooter.  He is the best rebounding guard on the team, and while not flashy, he is a solid point guard, and he is a three year starter with tons of experience.  Yet he sits a lot, and that is quite reasonable considering the best offensive talent on this team is the backcourt players.  You have to find time for Scoop Jardine and for Dion Waiters; Boeheim does an excellent job of getting them all playing time. 

A faction of the fan base criticize Boeheim because he does not play Michael Carter-Williams more.  MCW plays in most games, about 3-7 minutes of time.  Considering there are three talented guards ahead of him in terms of experience, and current talent level, I think it says a world about how good Boeheim thinks he is by getting him that time.  He is getting some seasoning and experience, and being handled well by being put into situations he can succeed, and being held from situations where he can fail.  I think it will be invaluable for him come next season; and if the need arose this season, he would play more.  My guess is MCW will be a start for Syracuse and in the NBA someday.  Right now, that is not his role.

Other fans question why Boeheim doesn’t play to his strength and run a three guard offense. That is looking at only half the picture.  A three guard offense would definitely help the offense; there is no doubt about it.  However, what is the greatest strength of this team? It’s zone defense, a defense so good that a lot of fans in forums call it the best Syracuse defense they have ever seen.  Syracuse cannot play that zone with three guards; that would require Triche or Waiters to play the wing and guard a forward, which could be disastrous.  Do you really want to take away the best asset of the team, their zone defense, in order to get more playing time for a guard?  And going to man-to-man is not the solution; the team does not practice that well enough to effectively use it and Boeheim and his staff recruit players ideal for zone defense, not for man-to-man.

I have seen many fans question why Trevor Cooney was redshirted, when the team could clearly use his three point shooting.  Boeheim cannot currently find enough time for a talented Michael Carter-Williams on the court, and you want him to find time for Cooney?  Furthermore, we do not even know how good Cooney is with defense or ball handling at this point in his career.  I do not know how you would find reasonable playing time for him, and having him lose a season as the fifth guard makes no sense.

Rakeem Christmas is the interesting player in the mix. I know some fans are looking at Christmas’ Kansas State effort of 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots as evidence that Boeheim should have played him a lot more.  Those numbers are huge, and should not be taken lightly.  I do think Christmas is far more comfortable at center than forward.  I also think Christmas is a better rebounder than Melo, in fact, much better, and likely a better offensive player.  Christmas has been playing organized basketball for years, where as Melo only a few season, and I think Christmas is more comfortable with the ball in his hands. He is by no means an offensive juggernaut.   Christmas is okay at defense in the center position, but does not have the dominating shot blocking, the body size, nor the zone understanding that Melo does.   So there is a loss of defense without Melo, which would be expected as Melo was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

I think Boeheim and his staff want Christmas to develop into a power forward, a role Christmas is not comfortable with now.  I think Christmas is likely failing his defensive assignments as a forward, and is not the offensive threat that Joseph, Fair or Southerland is, so he is the fourth forward behind  three other veteran forwards.  I would like to see a couple more minutes out of Christmas each game, and he does have a very quick hook from Boeheim.  However, in a best case scenario, Christmas was not going to get too many more playing minutes at the forward position. 

Southerland needed the playing time to open up the Syracuse perimeter game, and he has developed his rebounding and defensive skills.  Fans love C.J. Fair, and Fair usually brings that spark to the table, along with adding in all the statistics stuffing needing to help the team.  Kris Joseph is the best scoring forward on the team, and the most experienced player on the team. 

You could have played Christmas instead of Baye Keita at center, but remember they want to develop Christmas a forward which will help him in his pursuit of a professional career, and Keita can only play center.  Keita needs to develop too, and Syracuse needed Melo on the court as much as they could.

I think minor changes could have been made at various points in the season, but they would have been minor, and with no impact on the season results.  Remember, Syracuse is 33-2. 

Some tidbits of information:

Rakeem Christmas has now started five games at center, and he has had rebound totals of 9, 1, 7, 7 and 11.  Fab Melo averages only 5.8 rebounds a game.  Of course, shot blockers are often out of rebounding position, so you trade off one ability for another.

James Southerland has scored 43 points in the four post season games, shooting 8 of 17 from three point range, and chipping in 24 rebounds, and 8 blocks. 

Where as C.J. Fair disappeared to? The man was a stat sheet stuffer all season.  In the postseason run, Fair is 2-17 from the field, including misses from point blank range, and open 10 foot jumpers.  He has 17 rebounds, but 11 came against UNC Asheville; only 6 in the other three games combined.   This has coincided with him starting, but that cannot be the reason as he did not suffer when he started three games during Melo’s first suspension.

Triche found his shooting touch as the regular season ended, but he has struggled in the post season. He is 1 of 10 from three point range, and surprisingly 4 of 10 from the free throw line.

Dion Waiters struggled for much of the season at the free throw line, but has shot 16 of 18 from the charity stripe in the post season.   He has also made 25 of 45 shots during that time frame, and has had only three turnovers.

Scoop Jardine has made seven of his eight free throw attempts in the post season, and has 17 assists the past three games. However, he has also had 14 turnovers the past three games, which has to stop.

Kris Joseph, who has logged more playing time than any other Syracuse player this post season, has continued his month long shooting problems. Joseph is 8 for 31 in the post season from the field, including 2 for 13 from three point range.  He was held reboundless against Cincinnati and had only one rebound against Kansas State yesterday. 

All Big East Selections 2012

I cannot complain about the Syracuse All Big East Team selections.  I had guessed three Syracuse players would make the list earlier today, possibly four, and Syracuse ended up with three.

 

Kris Joseph earned All Big East First Team selection, becoming the 22^nd Orangeman to earn that selection.  Scoop Jardine earned Second Team recognition, and Dion Waiters Third Team.

 

I thought Fab Melo may get a nod as a Third Team or Honorable Mention because of his defensive presence, but with an eighteen team league, and only 21 selections made, that is a lot of competition.

 

I would hate to be a South Florida fan. Your team is 12-6 in conference, 19-12 overall with an RPI of 43, and you are not considered a lock for the NCAA by the national media experts.  Then you get no players receiving any recognition in the All Big East First, Second, Third or Honorable Mention selections. Meanwhile Pitt (5-13 Big East, 16-15 overall), Villanova (5-13, 12-18), Providence (4-14, 15-16) and DePaul (3-15, 12-18), all land one player on one of the selections. Only Rutgers (6-12, 14-17) was shut out like South Florida.

 

Syracuse has done historically well in the All Big East selections.  They have 78 selections overall, far more than anyone else, with Connecticut second with 64.  And the Syracuse selections have historically been high recognitions. 35 times a Syracuse player has made first team; Georgetown is next with only 23.  23 times a Syracuse player has made second team; Connecticut is next with 20. 

 

The selections have been warranted. Syracuse is by far the winningest program in Big East history with 401 victories; Georgetown is next at 374. Syracuse has won 10 Big East Regular Season titles, matched only by UConn.

 

There have been some notable oversights in history, most recent being last year when Rick Jackson failed to make First Team, despite being the defensive player of the year and leading the conference in scoring.  But all in all, the coaches do well in their selections.

30-1! A Season for the Ages

The Orange wrapped up the regular season in style, sweeping the Louisville Cardinals with a 58-49 victory at the Carrier Dome.  Fittingly, in a season where the team really plays as a team, senior point guard Scoop Jardine was held scoreless, and was happy about it.

 

Syracuse is 30-1, establishing a new benchmark for wins in a regular season, besting their record of 28 set two years ago. The school record for total wins in a season is 31, set in 1986-1987, and the team should pass that mark with their post season activity.  Their one loss in the regular season is the fewest ever since post season activity began, and regardless of how their season ends, they will finish the year with their fewest losses since at least 1934-1935 when the team went 15-2.

 

The Orange finished 19-0 at home, only their second undefeated season in the Carrier Dome. The previous effort was from the 2002-2003 national championship team.

 

The games also marked the 71^st time the Carrier Dome has had a crowd in excess of 30,000 fans.  Syracuse has now run their record to 48-23 in those games, including winning 11 of the last 14 big crowd games.

 

The Big East Tournament looms ahead, and the Orange are fortunate to get the double round bye. We will not know the Orange opponent until the end of day Wednesday. It will certainly be a team that is playing well, and playing for its post season life.  It will be another tough game.

Syracuse completed this season 5-0 against top 25 teams. The Big East was down compared to the past few seasons, and Syracuse has played its fewest top 25 ranked teams since the 2001-2002 season. However, the postseason action will certainly bump that number up a few places.  And though the number of ranked Big East teams was not as high as it has been the past few years, that does not mean the Big East was an easy schedule. Far from it.

 

First of all, comparing any league to the level the Big East played the past few seasons is a ridiculous standard. Secondly, ask talented teams like Pitt, Villanova and UConn about how difficult they thought this schedule was. If you are not ready to play each and every game, you will end up on the losing side of the ledger.

 

The Orange are 30-1.  That is absolutely remarkable; I do not care who you play. That record is a testament to the players and to the Syracuse coaching staff.  It speaks well of the leadership of the team leaders Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph. And it speaks well of the character of their teammates who bought into what they were selling.

 

The Big East post season accolades should be very interesting.  Several factors will come into play with Syracuse players getting consideration: (1) how much do the coaches recognize the top players focusing on the team effort instead of personal glory; (2) how much weight does the 17-1 conference record carry; (3) how much will the deep play of Syracuse and the lack of ‘go to’ players split the votes for Syracuse players?  And of course, in an eighteen team league, it’s tough to get any recognition with that much competition.

 

I think Jim Boeheim should win the Big East Coach of the Year. The Orange were expected to finish tied atop the Big East, but they greatly exceeded anyone’s expectations on how they did it. If you throw in the backdrop of the Bernie Fine situation, and the short term Fab Melo suspension, you have a coach who won the conference, overcome obstacles, and overachieved. What more can you ask? I know Buzz Williams (Marquette) and Mike Brey (Notre Dame) had outstanding seasons, each with their own story, but Boeheim should win it. He won’t. It will be Brey or Williams.

 

Syracuse’s zone defense has been the story throughout college basketball all season, and Fab Melo’s importance to that defense was undeniable, as evidenced by the impact on the team when he was missing for three games.  I think the team sacrificed individual offensive glory for the team defense, and I think coaches recognize that. I think Melo does win the Big East defensive player of the year.

 

If Melo is going to win the defensive player of the year, he has got to be a lock on the Most Improved Player.  The improvement in his game from last season to this season is well documented, and well known.  I would be shocked if he does not get this recognition.

 

The Big East Sixth man award will be interesting. First of all C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters will split the votes between one another. I personally do not consider Fair a sixth man.  He does not start the game, but he does replace Rakeem Christmas very early in the game, and he keeps that position for the rest of the game.  It is not as if Boeheim uses Fair to give Joseph a breather at any point.  Rather he uses Southerland to give Joseph and Fair a breather.  Fair is really a starter who just does not happen to start. Waiters on the other hand is a sixth man. He splits time at both the point and shooting guard positions, and may partner with either Triche or Jardine on the court. He often plays more minutes than either of them, but not always. I would vote for Waiters as the Sixth Man, and I think he will win it; but the split vote and a perception that he is not really a sixth man could hurt him.

 

The All Big East Team selections are the biggest mystery to me.  I would suspect that Joseph, Jardine and Waiters will all make selections to one of the teams, and I would hope Jardine and Joseph make first team. Melo might squeak in on the third team. We’ll have to see when results are released this week.

 

However the post season accolades go, it has been a great regular season, and now it’s time to gear up for some post season fun!

 

Let’s Go Orange!

A Fun Win

The Florida - Syracuse game was a fun game to watch, one of those games that if Syracuse had managed to lose the game, I likely would have still enjoyed the viewing experience.  I wouldn't have been happy with the outcome, but it would not have been a wasted evening.

The Orange played well as a unit for most of the game.  Scoop Jardine had far more highlights than lowlights, and made a strong positive difference in the game.  Fab Melo had a coming out party in the first half of the game, though he was strangely silent in the second half.  Brandon Triche played a strong all around game, as did C.J. Fair, and Kris Joseph was a typical solid Kris Joseph.

We did have James Southerland tossing up a donut despite having plenty of opportunity in the game, and Dion Waiters struggled offensively.  Rakeem Christmas disappeared again, and the nature of the game kept Michael Carter-Williams on the bench the whole game. 

The beauty of a deep squad is that if your best offensive player (Waiters) struggles, you have three other guards to turn two, and four or five other offensive options.  If a freshman like Christmas doesn't develop quick enough you can count on a C.J. Fair (11 rebounds) to help out.

The game was fun. Syracuse had a strong defensive effort for most of the game, and Florida played well on their end.  The Gators made some long range three point shots to keep the game close until about 5 minutes to go, and the game could have go either way.  But it came out in the Orange's favor. 

So what makes a game fall under the 'fun' category, when winning isn't necessarily required as the final outcome?  Typically, I think the following criteria come into play (this isn't a conscious criteria by the way):

1. The game has to involved a ranked opponent so that the game has some value in that both teams are perceived to be good teams.
2. The game has to have no meaning regarding the final outcome of the season. That is, it cannot be an NCAA tournament game, where a loss ends the Orange season. Nor can it be a Big East tournament game.  The Orange aren't going to win every game of the season, so I can accept losses, under certain circumstances. 
3. The game cannot be against UConn, Pitt or Georgetown.  Nope... losing to a hated rival, regardless how we played, is never any fun. 
4. The game has to be competitive.  That is, both teams have chances of winning the game in the second half.
5. The game has to have some bright offensive moments and bright defensive moments.  The game has to have a good flow to it.  Moments of the game where you can just enjoy the effort by both teams and really appreciate it.

Keep in mind that all games do have 'meaning'.  A win against a top 10 team surely helps in the NCAA seeding time, and a loss likewise can hurt. But I think you can appreciate what I mean by it having no meaning (or perhaps I should say lower meaning). 

Anyhow, the Orange have passed their second big test of the early season. They won the NIT for their first test, and now took out a top 10 team from a major conference.  A few more challenges come up before the Big East season begins.

Let's go Orange.

The Season is Over

Syracuse earned their loss tonight to Marquette. Syracuse consistently made poor decisions all game, was sloppy with its ball handling and lacked the hustle of its opponent. It’s a shame to see the season end that way, a bad taste to have to sit in the fans and players mouths for the summer. The ‘unfinished business’ will remain that way.

I’ll give Marquette credit for its game plan. They executed their ball movement well, with sharp crisp passes. They double teamed Rick Jackson all night and stymied the Orange offense.

I feel bad for Rick Jackson. I hate to see a senior’s career end, particularly on a night where he is having a bad game. Jackson was clearly frustrated all night, and though his shooting wasn’t bad (3 for 6), he only had 6 attempts, and he had only four rebounds. The box score is showing he has 3 turnovers, but it seemed like more.

Scoop had more than his share of ‘Scoop moments’ tonight. Lord knows what he was thinking at the end of the first half when he jacked a three point attempt with 19 seconds to go, and the Orange had the opportunity to run the clock down for one shot. Instead SU missed, and Marquette scored. He is being credited with only 3 turnovers too, but it surely seemed like more. You knew he was going to rush a three point attempt at the end when the Orange were down by three… and he did, even though he was guarded, there was plenty of time, and the Orange had no rebounding position.

The foul calls seemed lopsided but I don’t recall seeing bad calls or missed calls. I think it was a case of the more aggressive team drawing more fouls. Marquette consistently beat the Orange down the court; they did it at least twice after the Orange made a basket. Shameful for Syracuse!

The future for the Orange should be bright. Dion Waiters is going to be one heck of an offensive player in the future; if he can learn to play solid defense he’ll be outstanding all around. James Southerland showed flashes tonight. He has a summer to grow and mature some more. C.J. Fair was hampered by fouls tonight, and was pretty much a non-factor, but we have all seen his ability to stuff the stat sheet all year long.

The team frustrated me all season long with their sloppy play at times, and tonight is really a fitting ending to the season.

Milestones Entering the NCAA

Congratulations to the Orange for earning a #3 seed in the NCAA tournament. And congratulations to the UConn Huskies for winning five straight and winning the Big East tournament. The Huskies now tie the Hoyas for most Big East Tournament championships with 7.

Some quick notes on milestones for the Orange. Brandon Triche now holds the school record of 37 consecutive free throws made, breaking Mike Lee's record. He does not yet hold the Big East record for consecutive free throws made, which is 41. More notably, that record is held by a Syracuse player. So how is that possible? More on that later in the article.

Rick Jackson has played 141 games for Syracuse, and trails only Stephen Thompson (144 games) and Derrick Coleman (143 games) for games in a Syracuse uniform. A trip to the Sweet 16 would tie him for the school record, and Elite Eight would break it for him.

Jackson has 349 rebounds for the season. Earlier in the year he was on pace to break Coleman’s single season school rebounding record of 422. However, he now needs 74 rebounds to do that; if the Orange were to go to the national championship with 6 more games, he’d have to average 12.3 rebounds a game. That’s not to negate the fact that big Rick has had an outstanding season rebounding. He’s been consistent game after game this year.

Jackson now has 256 career blocked shots, which is good for seventh all-time at Syracuse. 7 more blocked shots would get him to 5th all time, passing Darryl Watkins and Jeremy McNeil. I never would have thought Jackson was that much of a shot blocker, but the statistics state otherwise.

Syracuse’s loss to UConn in the Big East Tournament was coach Jim Boeheim’s 300th career loss. It was going to occur, and really, for a guy with 855 wins, who cares?

Scoop Jardine needs 10 more assists to become the 8th Orangeman to have a 200+ assist season (Sherman Douglas did it three times).

Kris Joseph has 956 career points. He should get to 1000 points in the NCAA tournament. It would be very disappointing to all the Orange faithful if he did not (the implications being how poorly the Orange would have done).

Brando Triche has made 84.6% of his free throws this season, the 16th best season in Syracuse history (minimum of 50 attempts).

So who holds the Big East consecutive free throw record? The answer is Gerry McNamara. GMac started the streak in his first Big East game against Seton Hall on January 8th, 2003, and broke his streak during the Georgetown game on February 3rd, 2003. He, however, did not make 37 in a row? Why? Because the Orangemen played Missouri on January 13th, 2003, and McNamara missed a free throw in that game. It was a non-Big East game, so it did not impact his Big East shooting streak, but it did snap his Syracuse streak. McNamara would have two 30 free throw streaks that season.

Let’s go Orange!

15-0

The 2010-2011 version of the Syracuse Orange have entered a very elite group of Syracuse teams that started out 15-0. This year’s team is only the fifth squad to accomplish that feat in the 111 year history of Syracuse basketball.

It will be interesting to see how good this squad becomes. They were definitely an overrated team early in the year (to quote a Hall of Fame coach we all are quite familiar with!), and they managed to stay unbeaten in spite of themselves. The team started to gel, and now has impressive runaway wins over Michigan State, and Big East foes Providence and Notre Dame.

This years squad is definitely a versatile group of players, with a deeper than usual bench filling in for different roles. Now that James Southerland has the confidence in his perimeter shot and has shown some spots of inspired defense, the missing pieces of the squad are starting to get filled in. I would still like to see Scoop Jardine pass the ball more often and be a little more careful with it, despite his nine assists the last game. Better defense from Dion Waiters would be great (though he is improving), and a good 20 minute effort in some game, any game, by Fab Melo would really inspire me. The fact that Kris Joseph is hitting his 3's is very encouraging for the long term progress of this team.

But they team is playing shutdown defense like they did last year, and quickly converting to their transition game for easy baskets. And the team is crashing the board very well, something that has not always been a trademark of Syracuse teams. I think the top squads like Pitt and UConn will give the Orange a real test because they are so familiar with our zone defense and don’t typically get rattled, but I do like how this team is playing.

15-0 is very tough, as evidenced by the exclusive five member club. Last year’s team, which I think was much better than this year’s team, only went 13-0 before losing their first game. And I thought last year’s team had an excellent chance of winning the National Championship before the Arinze Onuaku injury finally came to hurt them in the Butler game.

So, how have the other four 15-0 teams finished?

The 1999-2000 squad was the last team to start 15-0, and they started off the season 19-0, a school record for most wins to start a season. This wasn’t the best team in Syracuse history, but like this year’s squad, was an outstanding defensive team. Etan Thomas, two time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, anchored the middle of the defense. Add in Jason Hart to harass the opposing guards and Ryan Blackwell to guard the post players, and it was a tough team to score on. The team would end up 26-6, winning the Big East regular season championship, and losing in the Sweet Sixteen.

1986-1987 team unexpectedly started 15-0 behind an unknown point guard named Sherman Douglas. The team had lost Pearl Washington, Rafael Addison, and Wendell Alexis from the year before, so expectations were not high. This team finished 31-7, as the Big East regular season champions. Douglas, along with Rony Seikaly, Derek Coleman, Howard Triche and Greg Monroe would make an impressive run through the NCAA tournament, only to lose to in the National Championship game to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 1925-1926 team was led by the Three Musketeers: All-American junior Vic Hanson, and his classmates Charlie Lee and Gotch Carr would start out 15-0. They would lose their first (and only game) on February 24th at Penn State 37-31. A few weeks later they would play the Nittany Lions again, easily beating them 29-12 to revenge the victory. The squad was awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their 19-1 season.

The 1917-1918 team was the first one to start out 15-0, and they went to 16-0 behind All-Americans Joe Schwarzer and Bob Marcus. The team was a dominant defensive presence, and would enter the last game of the season undefeated. In a very physical game, Penn would beat the Orangemen 17-16. Penn would score only 2 points from the floor, the rest from the free throw line, as Penn’s Sweeney went 15-16 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s Schwarzer, normally an excellent free throw shooter was only 5 of 13. The Orangemen were still awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their outstanding 16-1 record.

All five of these teams were outstanding defensive teams with strong rebounders and excellent guard play. Let’s see how far the 2010-2011 edition can go.

2010-2011 Milestones

Syracuse has a younger team in 2010-2011 than in the past few years, but that does not mean the squad does not have a chance to reach some significant milestones.

Jim Boeheim entered the season with 828 wins and #6 all-time on the Division I All-Time Win list. He’s moved up to #5 passing Jim Phelan’s 830 wins. He won’t be moving any higher up this list this year with Mike Krzyzewski active and at #4 with 868 (start of year), Adolph Rupp at #3 with 876, Dean Smith at #2 with 879, and Bob Knight at #1 with 902. Krzyzewski, on the other hand, it going to move up to #2 this year, easily passing Rupp & Smith.

I show the university currently having 1788 wins. 12 more will give the institution 1800.

Entering this season, Rick Jackson has 786 points, needing 214 to hit the 1000 point plateau. He should pass that around mid-season, and finish around #33 all-time at Syracuse.

Jackson has 570 career rebounds, plus 42 already this season, moving him up to 612, #28 all-time. If he averages just 10 rebounds a game this year, he should move to #8 passing Billy Owens. If he stayed at his current pace of 14 rpg (which he won’t), he would finish around #3 all-time.

Scoop Jardine has 499 career points. He needs 501 to reach 1,000 which is not out of reach. If he scored around 14.4 points a game this year, he would get there. Kris Joseph is in the same situation with 495 career points, needing 504 this year.

Jardine started the year with 233 assists and is currently at 253 putting him at #33 on the all-time list. He could finish the year somewhere around 480 assists all-time, putting him at #7 all-time. Two solid back-to-back seasons would give him a shot at being #2, surpassing Jason Hart. Sherman Douglas’ record of 960 should be safe.

Brandon Triche has 32 three point field goals after his freshman year. If keeps his current pace of 70 for this year, he will be #15 all-time at Syracuse. If he averaged 70 a year for the next three years, he would finish around #3 all-time at Syracuse. The Syracuse single season mark is 107 set by Gerry McNamara.

Four freshman have the potential to see significant playing time, so some freshman records should be observed. I do not think any of these will be broken, but they could. Blocked shots is something that Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita both do well, and both could move into the freshman top 10:

Freshman blocks:
91 Roosevelt Bouie
68 Derrick Coleman
65 Craig Forth
64 Jeremy McNeil
59 Rony Seikaly
57 Donte Greene
48 Etan Thomas
44 Rick Jackson
42 Otis Hill
39 John Wallace

Most points by a freshman is 778 by Carmelo Anthony, and that is not going to be broken this year.

The SU record for most fouls by a freshman is a 120 set by Derrick Coleman. Melo could take a run at that one. The all-time Syracuse record for fouls was by Otis Hill who as a junior had 134 fouls. That may also be possible.

The SU record for foul disqualifications for a freshman is 11 set by Rony Seikaly (this is also the all-class record). Melo already has 2 this year, so he could make a good run at that mark (hopefully not).

The freshman assist record is 199 by Pearl Washington. With none of the freshman taking on the role of point guard, and Syracuse two deep with Jardine and Triche, that is not going to be broken.

The freshman rebound record is 349 by Carmelo Anthony. That would require about 10 rebounds a game. If Keita had enough playing time and enough big 15 rebound games, he could challenge it, but I think he’ll play about 20 minutes a game, and be luck to average 5-6 rebounds a game.

The Syracuse all-time season field goal percentage is 66.8% set by Arinze Onuaku last year. There are guys on this team who in theory could challenge that mark: Jackson, Melo or Keita if they get enough chances. But my guess is no one will come close.

The SU record for rebounds in a season is 422 set by Derrick Coleman. If Jackson remains committed to rebounding, he could take a run at it. Jackson is averaging 14 rebounds a game right now, which would obliterate the record; however, that number is unrealistically high, with his 22 rebound performance skewing that. Nevertheless, an average of about 12.1 rebounds a game would give him a shot at the season record.

Three Down

Jim Boeheim is going to have his work cut out for him this season. Rick Jackson has historically been an inconsistent player, and is suddenly your most consistent player, that may raise some concern. Jackson had an outstanding night against Detroit with 22 rebounds, following a very solid 13 rebound effort against Canisius. A consistent strong effort from Jackson each game will go a long way in making the Orange a strong winner.

Scoop Jardine was the hero of the night with an effort very much like Sherman Douglas; 27 pts, 8 assists, 5 steals and only 3 turnovers. I criticized Jardine the other night because I thought he was taking too much shots, and I think in the first two games that was true. However, last night, excellent job by Jardine in recognizing that he had to do the scoring, and then in following through on it. And the eight assists shows that he did not give up on his teammates.

Boeheim loved how Baye Moussa Keita played during his time on the court, despite the stats, and I'm glad to hear it. At least we know three guys came to play last night. The rest of the squad, I'm not going to waste time talking about their lack of performance, and hopefully it will all clear up in a game or so. It had better.

Meanwhile, some great quotes from Boeheim in his post game press conference. This is a pot shot at himself, referring to his own criticism of the Orange:

"We're better than this. Whoever said we are overrated... you know, you can't listen to those people anyways. Most of those people are idiots anyways".

We all knew Boeheim bled Orange. Nice to see him close his comments with some pep for the football team.

"Saturday night, let's get out there. Let's beat Connecticut. Let's beat those guys, alright."

2010 Results After Two

Congratulations to Coach Jim Boeheim for this 831st career winning, giving him sole possession of the title of 5th all-time winningnest NCAA Div I basketball coach.

And congrats to the Syracuse football team for its 7th win, making the team bowl eligible for the first time since 2004, and guaranteeing their first winning season since 2001. All of this with two games left on the schedule.

Syracuse basketball is 2-0, and the team is starting to show its character for the year, with a solid win over a good mid-major program (Northern Iowa) and a win over one of its easier local teams (Canisius). Both games involved a tight first half, with a solid defensive effort throughout the game, and a explosive run to start the second half.

Rick Jackson showed us today the reminder of how well he can play when focused with a 17 point, 13 rebound effort againt Canisius. We do have to remember that he has shown that ability before and then disappeared, but it is a good early sign. Brandon Triche seems to be fitting in comfortable with his shooting guard role, hitting 4 of 9 three point shots. And I always like having a shooting guard who can also play the point.

Scoop Jardine had 8 assists today which puts a smile on my face; I wish he had taken less than 19 shots from the field in the first two games. I always like the point guard to pass first, shoot later, particularly early in the game as to involve his teammates. 12 assists and only three turnovers so far is excellent news.

C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters are showing signs they will be pushing for their share of playing time, and Mookie Jones and James Southerland look like they want to both earn the title as designated three point shooter off the bench. So there may be some good depth, though I think it may be situational.

The Orange have also shown that they are staying committed to executing the Syracuse zone defense. I think that may be the most positive of all the good news so far.

The center position is going to be interesting. Fab Melo is having a ton of foul problems early in this season, having fouled out of both games after a combined playing time of 31 minutes. Fouling out in 13 minutes against a much smaller Canisius is something that I hope is a good learning experience for the freshman. It is tough to tell really how good he may be with the limited playing time.

Baye Moussa Keita has played rather impressively in his reserve role. The freshman pulled down 15 rebounds against the Griffins earlier today, in only 17 minutes of play. That is the most rebounds by an Orangeman since Paul Harris had 16 rebounds against Stephen F. Austin in the 2009 NCAA tournament. Keita did manage to foul out of the Northern Iowa opener in 18 minutes of play, a rather impressive feat for both SU centers to pull in the same game. But I am impressed with the early showing of Keita, and having some early signs of strong potential for him is excellent news as it looks like Melo will definitely be getting some bench time this season due to his foul troubles. Bernie Fine is definitely going to have his work cut out for him. I had hoped to find an early career parallel with Rony Seikaly. But Seikaly, even as foul prone has he was as a freshman, managed to not foul out of either of his first two games, against two quality opponents, Georgia Tech and DePaul. Seikaly played 32 minutes with 3 fouls in his first game, and 29 minutes with 4 fouls in his second.

This is the type of season where the non-conference schedule becomes vitally important for the Syracuse freshman to learn how to play the college game, make the adjustments to the officiating and to the speed of the game.

What to Expect in 2010-2011?

The 2010-2011 season is almost upon us, and as is the life in collegiate basketball, the churn of the team continues. Last season was a magical ride, that ultimately ended too early, but had the Orange running at the top echelon of collegiate hoops for the bulk of the competitive season.

Last season was a surprise, and many factors came together to make the team one of the strongest in Syracuse basketball history.

1) The emergence of Wes Johnson as a top tier NCAA basketball player. Coach Jim Boeheim was telling everyone how good Johnson was in practice in 2009-2010, and how good he thought he would be. Yet no one wanted to believe the Hall of Fame coach, despite Boeheim having a long history of understating how good the new players were. Johnson ended up being better than I believe Boeheim even believed he could be.

2) The re-emergence of the shutdown zone defense, something that was not seen operating in its full beauty since the 2002-2003 season. The improvement in the zone defense itself should not have been a surprise as the change in personnel alone signaled an improvement would occur in the zone. Eric Devendorf never pretended to play defense, and Paul Harris never understood the nuances of playing zone defense. Jonny Flynn, as talented as he is, was more suited for man-to-man defense, and undersized for the top of the key in the zone defense. Those three were switched out for a 6’4” Brandon Triche at the top of the key, 6’5” Andy Rautins who was a master of zone defense, and 6’7” Wes Johnson whose natural athleticism and understanding of the game allowed him to fill that back end of the zone well. Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were both a year older and more mature, and the extra year of playing in the Boeheim zone only benefited them. So we knew the zone would be better; I don’t we think could have anticipated that it would have been a phenomenal defense. That was the surprise.

3) A selfless team led by two selfless players in Rautins and Johnson. The 2009-2010 team made the extra pass, played a style of basketball the rewarded teammates for hustling down the court. The team moved the ball well around the perimeter and inside-out, resulting in some outstanding interior shooting by Jackson and Onuaku, and some excellent perimeter shooting by Rautins, Johnson, and Triche.

4) Experience, experience, experience. Syracuse did have three new starters in the squad in 2009-2010, but Rautins was a fifth year senior, and Johnson a fourth year junior, both with plenty of collegiate experience. Jackson was in this third year of the program, and Onuaku in this fifth. Scoop Jardine came off the bench as a third year sophomore. Kris Joseph was in his second season as a reserve with plenty of experience his freshman year, leaving only Brandon Triche as the inexperienced player. This team had a lot of experience, particularly in the correct positions.

5) An easier schedule in 2009-2010 than in 2008-2009. Now don’t get me wrong; last season was a very difficult season, and Syracuse was outstanding in playing that season. Last year they played 10 games versus top 25 teams, and the Orange went 8-2, including 6-0 versus top 10 teams. The only losses to top 25 teams occurred when Arinze Onuaku was no longer effectively in the squad. In 2008-2009, they played 15 games versus top 25 teams; that is an absurb number, and the Orange went a respectable 7-8. They played 4 games against top 5 teams, going 1-3.

Clearly, a lot of things went well for the Orange last season. Addition by subtraction. Maturation/improvement from all the key players; that doesn’t always happen. I team that bought into the ‘team concept’ and played outstanding team defense.

The coaching staff is back, and that constant had led to the ongoing success in the Boeheim era. The single concept of Jim Boeheim being there every year is absolutely vital for the program’s continued success. Keeping the key assistants in Mike Hopkins, Bernie Fine and Rob Murphy is also vital.

Syracuse is bringing in some top flight talent, which is a change from last year where there were no top 50 recruits in SU’s starting lineup. Syracuse does have some experience coming back, which again will help them out. Scoop Jardine will be a fourth year junior, and Rick Jackson a pure senior. Kris Joseph will be in his third year, and was third in minutes for the Orange last year. Many, including myself, are expecting Joseph to continue to elevate his game. Brandon Triche now has a year of collegiate basketball under his belt, and Mookie Jones is now in his third year with the program. James Southerland had a year of practicing against Onuaku and Johnson last year, so I am eager to see how he has improved.

The incoming freshman are highly touted. Fab Melo is being counted on for some valuable minutes at the center. Replacing Onuaku will be very difficult, and Melo is a different style player, and only a freshman. Freshman centers are often the least disciplined players in their first years, having to make the biggest adjustments, so it will be asking a lot for Melo to be star in year one. But he could be. Baye Moussa Keita, a lanky but athletic freshman, will back him up.

Syracuse will be a little bit smaller at the top of the key with Jardine (6’2”) replacing Rautins (6’5”); but Jardine is not inexperienced at the zone. Freshman Dion Waiters, at 6’4”, should be a nice piece of the zone at the top, if he understands the concept.

The loss of Onuaku in the back of the zone will hurt a lot. Arinze took up a lot of space horizontally, and had tremendous strength. Rick Jackson will likely play some center this year, and has a similar build, but that removes size from Jackson’s former position. Melo, at 7’, would definitely fill up space, but he will have a lot to learn. Joseph at 6’7” should be a good replacement for Johnson. Sophomore James Sutherland and freshman CJ Fair, both at 6’8”, should be able to provide some wingspan on the back of that zone.

If the returning players from last year can convince the new players to buy into the concept that won so many games last year, and some of the players continue to develop, 2010-2011 can be another exciting year.

2010 Milestones Reached

The 2009-2010 season has wrapped up, and we have to say farewell to a couple of fifth year seniors in Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku. Though neither was a four year starter, they both did put up some notable career statistics, and this season saw a few other highlights.

Before I move on, here is the trivia question for today. Rautins and Onuaku were fifth year seniors, and because of injuries in their career, they played a year beyond their class graduation (2009). Who were the three Syracuse basketball players who should have been seniors on this year’s team?

Back to the statistics. Rautins finished his career as the 2nd all-time three point shooter at Syracuse with 282 three point shots made, trailing only Gerry McNamara’s 400. Rautins is 10th all-time in 3 point pct with 37.4%.

Andy Rautins, of course, is forever linked to his father Leo, and we can check how they compared. Both are in the 1000 point club, Andy with 1,121 pts (46th all time) versus Leo’s 1,031 (53rd). Leo has the edge in points per game, leading 12.1 to 8.8.

Leo shot 76.7% from the free throw line (18th all-time) versus Andy’s 76.3% (20th all-time). Leo had 423 assists (9th) versus Andy’s 347 (16th). Leo had 529 rebounds, Andy 327 rebounds.

Arinze Onuaku set both the all-time best marks and all-time worst. Onuaku’s career field goal percentage is 64.8%, the school record for a player with 200 or more field goal attempts. On the downside, Onuaku’s career free throw percentage is 39.5%, the worst for any player with 200 or more attempts.

Onuaku broke the single season record for field goal percentage this year with 66.8% (153 of 229), breaking the record he set last year at 66.7%. Onuaku finished his career with the #1, 2 and 6 best season field goal percentages ever.

Onuaku also joined the Rautins clan in the 1000 point club, finishing with 1,232 (36th all time).

Onuaku is 11th all-time on the blocked shot list with 148. His teammate, Rick Jackson, is currently 10th on that list with 173.

On the all time Syracuse three point percentage list (career), Wesley Johnson and Brandon Triche rank 3rd and 5th respectively at 41.5% and 40.0%.

I am not sure how many people realize how much of a three point shooting team the Orange were this year. In Syracuse Orange history, only 14 times has a player shot 40% or better from three point range. Four of those players were in this past season: Mookie Jones hit 44.6% (25 of 56, 2nd best all time), Wesley Johnson 41.5%, Rautins 40.7% and Triche 40.0%. That is quite a quartet of shooters with fine seasons, despite the fact that three point range was extended last season.

The Syracuse team shot 39.1% from three point range, 2nd best in team history, trailing only the 1986-1987 team that shot 40.3%. And when you consider that Syracuse made 244 of 624 shots from three point range this year, versus 100 of 248 shots that year, the feat is more amazing. The 244 three point shots made were fourth most in school history, trailing the 2005-2006 season record where they team made 260 (but shot only 33.9%).

65% of the teams field goals this year were made associated with an assist (1042 field goals, 673 assists), which is the highest percent in school history. This broke the record of 64% set in 1999-2000.

Brandon Triche had the 2nd best freshman three point percentage (40%), trailing only DeShaun Williams 41.8%. Triche also had the 8th most assists by a freshman with 99 (Pearl Washington holds the record with 199).

How did Carmelo Anthony and Wesley Johnson match up? The two played the same number of games so its an interesting comparison. Anthony clearly had the scoring and rebounding edge (22.2 ppg, 10.0 rpg vs 16.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg). Johnson is the better pure shooter, beating Anthony in all three shooting percentages: field goal (50% vs 45.3%), free throw (77.2% vs 70.6%), and three point percentage (41.5% vs. 33.7%). Anthony took far more field goal shots (612 vs 412) and was fouled far more (238 free throw attempts vs 145).

They had nearly identical assists, turnovers and steals. Johnson blocked 64 shots compared to Anthony’s 30. Anthony was definitely the better player, but Johnson was clearly the better shooter, and slightly better as a defender.

Coach Jim Boeheim earned his 800th career win in the season opener, and is now the 2nd winningest active coach, with 829 total.

Scoop Jardine set the school record for most points scored in a season without starting a game, with 318 points. This broke the record held by Wendell Alexis, who had 298 points without starting in his junior season.

Going back to the trivia question. The answer is: Paul Harris (who left in 2009 as a junior), Mike Jones (who left in 2007, as a freshman) and Devan Brennan-McBride (who left in 2008 as a sophomore). Neither Rautins nor Onuaku were part of this freshman class, nor was Eric Devendorf, who like his classmates Rautins & Onuaku, missed a season because of injury and would’ve been a fifth year senior if he had stayed.

25-2, a Hoya Sweep, and Making the Free Throws

A season sweep of the Hoyas. That’s always one of those tasks that makes for a great season. Syracuse is now 12-2, alone atop the Big East (Villanova is ½ game back at 11-2). The Orange are 25-2 overall. Syracuse has matched that mark twice before: in 1978-1979 and in 1979-1980, those two Bouie N’ Louie squads started out 25-2, before both finishing 26-4.

The Syracuse record for wins in a season is 31, set by the Douglas-Coleman-Seikaly team of 1986-1987, that went 31-7. Two other Syracuse teams won 30. The 1988-1989 squad went 30-8, while the 2002-2003 National Championship team went 30-5.

Syracuse has four regular season games left, and then at least two postseason games. They could be 28-3 or 29-2 entering the Big East Tournament, which sets them well for breaking the school record. They could falter down the stretch in the regular season, and each win will be critical for breaking this record. There won’t be an easy game in the Big East Tournament (especially since they’ll have a first round bye).

These Orangemen love to squander big leads. Yet, they show they can gel and hold on for the win. I would hope they would learn to play a solid forty minutes before the NCAA starts. At least on the bright side, they are learning to play close games.

Syracuse shot an amazing 27-30 last night, or 90% for the game. That is one reason this year's team is winning these tight contests. They do have two of the worst free throw shooters in school history on the squad with Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson. Jackson did go 4-4 last night to bring his season average over 50%, up to 51.3%. Onuaku is at 43.1%, which is well above his school record 29.8% set last year. Onuaku’s attempts are way down this year, with only 58 through 27 games, so it is not negatively impacting the Orange as much as it could.

But the team statistics can be misleading. The Orangemen are actually a decent free throw shooting bunch. Other than Jackson and Onuaku, Brandon Triche is the only other weak shooter, at 65.2%. Andy Rautins (79.4%) and Wes Johnson (78%) are very good free throw shooters, and Kris Joseph (72.7%) and Scoop Jardine (75%) are solid.

In conference play, the top shooters are even better. Rautins is an outstanding 86.5% in conference play, 45 out of 52. Wes Johnson is hitting at 82.2% (51 of 62). Joseph is 53 of 69, or 76.8%.

Andy Rautins joined the 1,000 point club last night with his last free throw of the night, giving him an even 1,000. He also surpassed Preston Shumpert and is now has the 2nd most 3 points shots made in Syracuse history with 251 (Gerry McNamara's record is safe). Despite the defenses designed to stop him, Rautins is hitting at a respectable 39.6% clip from three point range (67 of 169).

Wes Johnson leads the team in three point percentage at 41.3% (36 of 87). While he does get a few more open looks at the basket than Rautins, it is nice to have Johnson providing that extra perimeter shooting. It also helps open up things inside for himself and the big guys up front.
Syracuse does not go 10 players deep, but they do have a deep team in terms of talent. As I mentioned the other day, seven different players have scored 20+ points in a game this year. The team’s second leading scorer is Kris Joseph, who comes off the bench. The team’s leader in assists (tied with Rautins) is Scoop Jardine, who comes off the bench.

Syracuse has seven players with 200+ points. That feat has been accomplished only twice before in team history. The 2006-2007 squad had Terrence Roberts, Eric Devendorf, Andy Rautins, Josh Wright, Darryl Watkins, Demetris Nichols and Paul Harris accomplish the feat. The other squad was the 1995-1996 Final Four team with John Wallace, Jason Cipolla, Todd Burgan, Otis Hill, Lazarus Sims and J.B. Reafsnyder.

The team also has six players averaging 8+ points per game. Only five other Syracuse teams have done that. The 1954-1955 team was led by Vinnie Cohen, and also had Gary Clark, Jim Brown (yes, that Jim Brown), Jim Snyder, Manny Breland and Ron Gillespie. The 1976-1977 team had Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Dale Shackleford, Larry Kelley, Marty Byrnes and Jimmy Williams. The 1981-1982 team had Erich Santifer, Tony Bruin, Leo Rautins, Gene Waldron, Ron Payton and Sean Kerins. The 1983-1984 team had Wendell Alexis, Gene Waldron, Sean Kerins, Andre Hawkins, Pearl Washington and Rafael Addison. And last season’s squad had Jonny Flynn, Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Eric Devendorf, Andy Rautins and Paul Harris accomplish the feat.

This year’s team did have seven players with 8+ points a game, entering last night, but Scoop Jardine was shutout dropping his average just below 8. It is quite possible this balanced squad will have 7 players meet that mark by season’s end.

The team also has three guards all on pace for 100 assists. That is not unheard of; in fact Flynn, Devendorf and Rautins did it last year. But it is rare. In 1989-1990 Billy Owens, Michael Edwards and Stephen Thompson accomplished the feat. And in the preceding season 1988-1989, Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens did it. The 1982-1983 squad had Gene Waldron, Leo Rautins and Erich Santifer each with 100+. And the first Syracuse squad to accomplish the feat was the 1974-1975 Final Four team with Jimmy Lee, Rudy Hackett and Jimmy Williams all getting 100+.

The Orangmen are 25-2, and an amazing 6-0 versus Top 20 teams this year, 5-0 versus the Top 10. They are 7-0 on the road, 10-0 in games not played at home. They currently have the #2 RPI rating in the country, and the #10 toughest Strength of Schedule (SOS) in the country.

Well done Syracuse. Well done.