Winning the Big Games

There are a lot of ‘knee jerk’ comments by fans and commentators that tend to irk me over time, and more often than not they are just extensions of an unfounded myth, as opposed to fact. One comment that always irks me is a label applied to coaches with impressive records but a label the ‘coach can’t win the big games’, and the comment is meant to imply the coach chokes in the big games.

Marv Levy, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, wears such a label unjustly. You’ll hear the comment that Levy cannot win the big games based purely on the fact that his teams went 0-4 in the Super Bowl. But those aren’t the only ‘big’ games that Levy coached. What about the four AFC Championship games in each of those seasons? He went 4-0 in those games, and I’d say those were pretty big games. And there were several regular season games of significance that Levy’s teams had to win in order to position themselves for the playoffs. There were a lot of big games a coach has to win in order to get to that ultimate championship.

Now, the phrase that Levy ‘cannot win the biggest game or the Super Bowl’ would be a more accurate statement. That phrase would factually be correct, but also has different implications.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has often been a victim of the “he can’t win the big game’ comment. The facts indicate otherwise.

As all Syracuse fans know, the Orangemen won the National Championship in 2003, the biggest game for college basketball. Boeheim did not need to win that game to remove that label, though it did quiet a lot of detractors. The fact he had made it to three National Championship games in itself means he won a lot of ‘big games’ along the way.

The two losses Boeheim suffered in the championship games were highly competitive. Syracuse was both a Keith Smart missed basket or a Derrick Coleman made free throw of winning the 1987 championship. In 1996, Kentucky was heavily favored, and Syracuse was within four points of the game with just over two minutes to play. John Wallace fouled out at that point, and Kentucky pulled away, but the game was highly competitive despite predictions otherwise.

Jim Boeheim is 3-0 in Final Four games. Those are very high pressured games, with huge implications. They do not get much bigger, and he is 3-0 in those games. And those games were not even close, winning 77-63 over Providence in 1987, 77-69 over Mississippi State in 1996, and 95-84 over Texas in 2003.

Boeheim was won 5 Big East tournament championships, and has appeared in 13 of them overall. He has lost 8 tournament championships, but clearly he had to win some big games to get to the finals. His Syracuse teams have gone 42-24 in the Big East tournament, winning 64% of their games.

He does not win all his games against cupcake teams. Syracuse is 300-168 in Big East regular season play, winning 64% of his games. That’s his record year-in year-out against one of the most competitive conferences in the country.

He is 49-20 in national post season play, going 39-24 in the NCAA, and 10-6 in the NIT. He’s had his heartbreakers with losses to Richmond and Vermont in the first round. But those don’t count as big games; and if they do, then you have to count all the first round wins he has had as big game too, and he’s had far more first round victories than losses.

Boeheim is 380-66 in non-conference play. This includes championships and strong showings in tournaments like the pre-season NIT, Coaches vs. Cancer, Great Alaska Shootout and Maui Invitational.

Now Jim Boeheim gets to add an Olympic Gold Medal to his resume, for his participation as an assistant coach in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the ‘Redeem Team’.

Boeheim does win his share of easy non-conference games (as any respectable coach should win), and he has had his share of upsets and disappointing finishes. When you coach 1,049 games you are going to have memorable upsets and losses. And when you are favored more often than not, you will have more opportunities for upset losses than upset wins. But, to be favored that often, you have to have won a lot of big games, and Boeheim has done that.

He’s not a flawless coach. He does make mistakes, and some losses occur we would rather not see. But to say he cannot win the ‘big games’ is a fallacy.

Greene goes 28th

Congratulations to Donte' Greene for being selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft last Thursday, by the Memphis Grizzlies. His time in Memphis was very short, as he ended up being traded to the Houston Rockets overnight.

Greene was probably somewhat disappointed as he did not end up being a lottery selection, as was originally projected by many back mid season. Yet, being a first round pick is going to put some nice change in his pocket, so I don’t think he will be too disappointed.

Greene is the 15th former Orangemen to be selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft, the 51st Orangemen ever drafted, and the first Orangeman drafted in the first round since Hakim Warrick was the 19th pick in 2005 by the same Memphis Grizzlies. With the assumption that Greene does make the NBA roster and play next year for Houston (or any other NBA team), he will be the 36th former Syracuse player to play in the NBA.

The first were Bob Shaddock and Lew Spicer in 1947; Shaddock would play a mere two games with the Syracuse Nationals, and Spicer four with the Providence Steamrollers. The first Syracuse player to be a regular in the NBA was Bullet Billy Gabor in 1949. Gabor would make an impact in the NBA being named to the all rookie team his first season, make the NBA All-Star team in 1953, and win the NBA Championship with the Nationals in 1955.

The greatest Syracuse player in NBA history is Hall of Famer Dave Bing, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 1966 draft by the Detroit Pistons. Bing would score 18,327 points in his 12 year NBA career, averaging 20.3 ppg and 6.0 assists per game, and play in seven NBA All-Star games.

Danny Schayes played more games than any former Orangemen in NBA history with 1,138 games over 18 seasons. Schayes started for a few seasons, but really found a solid role as a reserve center, with his ability to play smart basketball, make the free throws and jump shots, and grab rebounds as needed.

Derrick Coleman is the only Orangemen drafted number 1 overall in the NBA draft, going to the New Jersey Nets in 1990. Now Coleman was a bust as a number one pick; he never reached the stardom predicted for him, and he had the talent and ability to be a great NBA player. That is not to say Coleman was a bust in the NBA. He did have a solid fifteen year career, averaging 16.5 ppg and 9.3 rebounds a game. Those aren’t bad numbers, and he was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1991, and on the All-Star team in 1994. They’re just not the numbers expected from the number one overall pick.

Other Orangemen have gone on to productive NBA careers. Sherman Douglas played 12 years, averaging 11.0 ppg and 5.9 assists per game, showing that he could master the alley-oop pass in the professional leagues as well as he did at college.

Louis Orr played 8 seasons averaging 9.8 ppg, Billy Owens played 11 seasons averaging 11.7 ppg, though injuries hounded him throughout his career. Rony Seikaly played a solid eleven seasons scoring 14.7 ppg, along with 9.5 rebounds a game. And John Wallace played 7 seasons, averaging 7.6 ppg.

Greene is going to join 6 current Orangemen who are in the NBA (or at least on the fringes of it). Carmelo Anthony is starring out in Denver, and barring injury, will easily be Syracuse’s second best NBA player ever, and possibly even the best (time will tell).

Jason Hart is going into his eighth season, now with the Utah Jazz. Etan Thomas as been a solid player for the Washington Wizards, and should be back from his injury this year. Hakim Warrick almost had Greene as a teammate down in Memphis; instead Warrick will need to battle a slew of new players brought in by draft day trades. Darryl Watkins and Demetris Nichols are both struggling to stay on NBA teams; Watkins played nine games last season, and Nichols played 14.

It will be interesting to see how Donte' Greene’s ends up. He is clearly not ready today, and NBA scouts took note as his stoke dropped as draft day approached and his workouts were not as impressive as other players. A few months ago I suggested that going professional was perhaps not a bad idea for Greene, since he risked having his stock plummet with another season at Syracuse if he did not learn to rebound or play defense. Considering that his stock dropped anyhow, I would have to recant that, and say that Greene would definitely have been better off staying at Syracuse one more year, and improved his overall draft position.

Donte', thank you for your time at Syracuse, and good luck in the NBA.

Impactful Orangemen

Syracuse has been blessed with several talented young men who have allowed Orange fans to enjoy many joyful moments over the years associated with the basketball program. Names like Dave Bing, Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas and Billy Owens are only a few of the names to have shined on the Hill.

There are some players, whether it was happenstance by being in the right place at the right time, or through their own presence, had a profound positive impact on Syracuse basketball, not only when they played, but over the years that followed.

The following is not a list of the ten best players in Syracuse basketball players (though it surely does contain some of the best), but rather those players who had a significant and lasting impact on the Orange basketball.

Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr starts out the list at number 10. The talented duo helped transform the Syracuse basketball program into a perennial top 10 program under rookie head coach Jim Boeheim. The Bouie & Louie Show drew national attention to the Syracuse program as the team went 100-18 over their four years. Post season success would not be obtained by the team, though four straight NCAA berths were secured. The arrival of the duo elevated Syracuse to a national program with an identity.

Art Powell was the leader of the Syracuse basketball team from 1904 through 1907, playing both center and guard. The Syracuse basketball program was fledgling before Powell arrived. Powell was immediately the star of the team. He had been highly an successful AAU player in Masden Park (Buffalo) for the Buffalo Germans before coming to Syracuse, and he convinced three of his teammates, George Kirchgasser, George Redlein and Max Riehl to come to Syracuse. These four players helped Syracuse build and sustain a successful basketball program in the early years.

At number eight is Vinnie Cohen. Cohen, more than any other player, was responsible for the successful integration of the Syracuse basketball program. Cohen wasn’t the first African American at Syracuse; Wilmeth Sidat-Singh was first, almost sixteen years earlier. But Syracuse did not have another African American player after Singh until the early 1950s. Cohen wasn’t even the first in his era, as Manny Breland and Ronnie Kilpatrick preceded him. However, Cohen was undoubtedly the star of the team his first year on the court (1954-1955), and would lead the Orangemen in scoring all three seasons. Cohen was a scholar athlete, eschewing opportunities to play professional basketball in order to obtain a law degree. He would elevate the Syracuse program from a 10-9 program (in 1954) to the school’s first NCAA bid and an elite eight appearance in the 1957 season. In a decade where Syracuse football was dominant, Cohen kept Syracuse basketball relevant and he proved that African American players were not only capable of playing on the team, but carrying it to the next level.

The Lee Brothers come in at number seven. Mike was an undersized forward with a solid shooting touch and outstanding hustle and determination on the court. Jimmy, two years his junior, was a sweet shooting guard, with a knack of hitting clutch jump shots. Both were fundamentally solid players with excellent free throw shooting and ball handling skills. Syracuse went 11-14, 9-16 and 12-12 before Mike Lee arrive. When Mike arrived for the 1970-1971 season, until Jimmy graduated in the 1974-1975 season, the Orange would go to the postseason every year, capping it with a strong underdog run to the NCAA Final Four in 1975. Syracuse had better players than the Lee’s when the arrived, and during their tenure, but the brothers the skill set and determination that help Roy Danforth build a solid program.

Vic Hanson is number six on the list. Hanson would turn Syracuse into the dominant team on the east coast, and would help launch the highly successful year of rookie head coach Lew Andreas. Syracuse went 8-12 and 8-10 the year before Hanson stepped on the varsity court; the Orange would go 15-2 his sophomore year, 19-1 his junior year, and 15-4 his senior year. Hanson’s junior year Syracuse was recognized as the #1 team in the nation by the Helms Foundation. Syracuse would maintain success after Hanson, and was a solid team throughout the 1930s. Hanson would coach basketball and football, and help recruit players for the Orange, remaining active with the program.

At number five comes the man who saved the Syracuse basketball program in the early 1990s. Syracuse was under scrutiny from the NCAA for rules violations, and the program was waiting for the punishment to be handed down. Syracuse recruiting was suffering as a result. Meanwhile, freshman Lawrence Moten came out of no where his freshman season to score 18.2 points a game. Moten was a fundamentally solid player, a quiet man who let his actions do his talking. He played with the confidence and maturity of a senior as a freshman, never forcing the action, and yet somehow always ending up with his 20 points at the end of the night. Syracuse would go on probation Moten’s sophomore year, but he the program never missed a beat as it continued to keep winning. A couple years after Moten left the Orange were back in the NCAA Final Four, and the impact of the NCAA probation was barely noticed.

Carmelo Anthony comes in at number 4. All Melo did was lead the Orangemen to their first NCAA National Championship in 2003, his lone season on the campus. Anthony averaged 22.2 points a game and 10.0 rebounds a game that season, and the team flowed offensively through him. He had a lot of help that championship season, particularly from Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, but Anthony was the icon and leader. The season prior to Anthony, the team had imploded upon itself, and Anthony helped wipe away memories of that season. His presence in the spotlight, and continued success in the NBA, has helped Syracuse continue to recruit top flight talent. The program hasn’t built on Anthony’s success, which is keeping him lower on this list… but the championship alone is a significant impact.

Dwayne ‘The Pearl’ Washington is number three on the list. The Pearl was a highly recruited guard out of Brooklyn, with name recognition prior to coming to Syracuse. He came to the Hill, and was as good as advertised. The Pearl dazzled fans with his style of play, and immediately helped the Orangemen become competitive in the Big East, at a time when legendary players like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Eddie Pinkney were leading other teams. Syracuse started to draw 30,000+ fans to the Carrier Dome to see the Pearl play, and Syracuse became one of the teams you had to watch on television. The Pearl brought exposure to the program that had never been seen before, and coach Jim Boeheim was able to recruit top talent such as Derrick Coleman, Stephen Thompson and Billy Owens as a result. The Pearl also helped an unknown guard Sherman Douglass learn the ropes during rough practice sessions, which delivered dividends for the Orange very shortly after the Pearl left.

Dave Bing is number two on the list. To say that the Syracuse basketball program was bad before Bing would be an understatement. Syracuse was 4-19, 2-22, and 8-13 before Dave Bing stepped on the varsity court, and Syracuse football was at its pinnacle of power. The basketball program could have faded into obscurity (if it in fact was not already there). As a freshman, more fans would flock to see the freshman team to watch Bing play than would watch the varsity. Bing would step on the court and take the Orange to the NIT Tournament his sophomore season, averaging 22.2 points a game and 8.2 rebounds. The team struggled early his junior season on the way to a disappointing 13-10 record, but would go to the NCAA Tournament his senior year with a 22-6 record, averaging a school record 28.4 points a game. The Orange barely missed averaging 100 points a game during the regular season, setting a new NCAA standard, this despite the fact that Bing was the only player who would end up in the NBA.

Bing would go on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career, and become a very successful businessman in Detroit. Bing would have further influence on the Syracuse program as he mentored a young Detroit kid named Derrick Coleman, and helped guide him to Syracuse. Bing would probably have made #1 on my list if the program had remained solid after his departure, but it dropped shortly afterwards until resurrection in the early 1970s.

The number one player on this list was Bing’s roommate at Syracuse. Jim Boeheim was a walk-on at Syracuse, eventually earning a scholarship, and teaming with Dave Bing in the backcourt. Boeheim’s impact of course, was not as a player. However, as a player he developed relationships with the school that would allow him to be the assistant basketball coach, helping to recruit for the Orange in the early 70s. When Roy Danforth stepped down, Boeheim jumped at the chance to be the head coach, and the university immediately saw dividends. Boeheim’s first recruit was Louis Orr, and the Orange rose to the #6 team in the nation in Boeheim’s rookie year. Thirty two seasons later, Boeheim has 771 wins, 3 Final Fours, 1 National Championship, 25 NCAA bids, 6 NIT bids, 5 Big East Championships, 13 appearances in the Big East Finals and 300 Big East wins. Boeheim took Syracuse to the national level, gaining tremendous exposure. He’s consistently recruited top players, had a keen eye for finding the great unknown players, and developed a reputation as the best zone defense coach in the country. The impact of Jim Boeheim on the program is undeniable, and Syracuse fans have been blessed that he has always considered Syracuse his dream job.

Orange Basketball Schedule - One Man's Preference

If I were czar of Men’s NCAA basketball day, and I could make changes that would be irreversible, one of things I would address is setting up the basketball schedule for the Syracuse Orange. I am going to assume 30 games as the regular season schedule.

There are three things I would want to accomplish with my schedule. First, playing a schedule that would be rich in tradition for Syracuse and its fans. Second, playing teams that geographically will help the Orange in recruiting on an ongoing basis. Third, playing teams that routinely would help Syracuse with the ever-so-popular RPI. And fourth, playing teams that would permanently prevent the media from hyping how ‘Syracuse never leaves New York state’.

As I mentioned several months back, I have no problem with Syracuse playing the in-state teams. In fact, I think there is an obligation of sorts. Keep in mind that the national media carries a bias. They want to have games between big name teams on every night of the season, from the very first tip off through the national championship. It builds for better ratings, and frankly, it makes the job easier for the ‘talking heads’ as there are fewer teams they have to truly study up on. But I digress.

As NCAA czar, I am not going to kick any teams out of the Big East conference. I think those types of actions are bush league. All teams contribute, all deserve to belong. However, a balanced schedule of any format is not really possible with 16 teams, not if you want any type of non-conference schedule. So I’m setting Syracuse up with a 20 game conference schedule, where they will play five teams twice a year, and the other ten teams once each season. I am not going to rotate this schedule; it would be permanent. So every season, Syracuse would have the same five teams for home-and-home, and they would alternate the home/away with the other ten.

The five home-and-home teams are Georgetown, Pittsburgh, St. Johns, UConn, and Villanova. The Hoyas and Huskies are hated rivals, and Syracuse has to play them at home each season. Enough said there. Syracuse needs to play at least one game a year in Madison Square Garden during the regular season, so you’ve got to have a home-and-home with the Red Storm to get that. Syracuse needs one road game in Philadelphia each year, so that gives you Nova on the home and home. And Syracuse has been playing Pittsburgh since both teams started playing hoops (a total of 96 times with the Orange holding a 61-35 lead over Pitt to date). Plus exposure in Western Pennsylvania helps with the Midwest.

That leaves one game a year with Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette, South Florida, and West Virginia. Notre Dame and WVU are the only two I briefly considered for home-and-home, but I could find no reason for one of them over the other five. This brings Syracuse up to 20 games.

I would have the Orange play in one pre-season tournament each year, with a guaranteed two games. We could rotate the preseason NIT, Great Alaska Shootout, Maui Invitational and Coaches vs. Cancer. If the Orange did well, they may pick up an additional two or three games, but the two guaranteed are what matter. So we’re at 22 games.

I would schedule one game a season against both Colgate and Cornell. Colgate and Syracuse used to have a bitter rivalry with many close games, and they have met each other 160 times. The Orange have had the upper hand for 40+ years now, and hold a 115-45 lead. If you’re going to have some easy games (and you are), they might as well mean something. Same with Cornell. Syracuse and Cornell have a long series with 115 games, Syracuse leading 84-31, and there was even some fighting during the Derrick Coleman era. So we’re at 24 games.

I’d have two more games each year against two of the following four teams: Niagara, Canisius, St. Bonaventure and Buffalo. If Syracuse wants to throw in Albany, Binghamton, and other New York schools, I’m not going to argue it. I just want two more New York schools into the preseason schedule. Niagara with 81 games and Canisius with 67 are the most common opponents of Syracuse, but any would do. That gets us to 26 games.

I’d have Syracuse play one of the following three Big 10 teams each season: Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan. I think Ohio State and Michigan bring a consistently competitive program and the opportunity to get exposure in Ohio and Michigan that could help Syracuse. Penn State is a long time rivalry that should be restarted in some format, though I’m not willing to commit to it on a regular basis, particularly since it helps Penn State far more than Syracuse. But Penn State is Big 10, so this rotation of three gives Syracuse a non-conference Big 10 game.

I would rotate playing Southern California (USC) and UCLA. A road trip to Los Angeles every other season would not be too trying on the Orange, and it would help revitalize a dormant West Coast pipeline (that current assistant Mike Hopkins should be able to take advantage of). Plus it gives the Orange a Pac 10 game. That gets us to 28 games.

The last two games I would have permanently on the schedule as a rotating home/away series. I would want Boston College on the schedule every year. They used to be a great rivalry for the Orange, and it’s time to bury the hatchet from the ACC defection. Plus the BC game now counts as a non-conference games against a big name conference. The second game would be having Maryland on the schedule every season. It’s hard to believe that Syracuse has only played the Terrapins seven times. Maryland is in a hot bed of Syracuse recruiting for the past 25 years, and it is such a logical team for the Orange to play (honestly, Maryland should have been a Big East school many years back... it would’ve helped football and basketball). Plus Maryland is an ACC team, so that helps the non-conference schedule.

So there’s my schedule. You end up with 20 Big East Conference games, 2 ACC games, 1 Big 10 game, 1 Pac 10 game, and four second tier New York State teams. Plus you get two more games in a preseason tournament which will garner more exposure, and with a little success in those tournaments get you games against other top flight teams. With the exception of the years the Penn State gets into the rotation, you have 4 games against solid major college schools each non-conference season (not counting those tournament games). There are no games against the so-called mid-majors… Syracuse won’t get burned by any of them having a bad season, or by any of them pulling the upset.

I would have liked to have had a rotation with the other four Big 5 schools of Philadelphia (Drexel, St. Josephs, Temple and LaSalle); and I would have liked one game against the MAC. But the bloated Big East took up my remaining slots, and I was not going to drop a Big East team.

The weakness in my schedule is that it will force the Orange to leave the Dome for a few non-conference games, which will hurt the financial status of the program. The four games against the major conference teams would all be home/away series, so two of those games each season would be away instead of home. The four NY state games would be home… so Syracuse would get six home games, and four road games in its non-conference schedule each year. I know coach Jim Boeheim would prefer more of a 8-2 ratio there, and so would I, but in order to rotate the major conference teams, the Orange are going to have to play some games on the road.

To recap, the games would be:

Non-Conference

• Colgate (home)
• Cornell (home)
• Rotation of first of Niagara, Canisius, Buffalo, St. Bonaventure (home)
• Rotation of second of Niagara, Canisius, Buffalo, St. Bonaventure (home)
• Maryland: ACC (alternating home/away)
• Boston College: ACC (alternating home/away)
• Rotation of Big 10: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State (alternating home/away)
• Rotation of Pac 10: UCLA, USC (alternating home/away)
• Pre-season tourney game #1
• Pre-season tourney game #2

Conference Games

• Georgetown (home)
• Georgetown (away)
• UConn (home)
• UConn (away)
• Pitt (home)
• Pitt (away)
• St. Johns (home)
• St. Johns (away)
• Villanova (home)
• Villanova (away)
• West Virginia (alternating home/away)
• Rutgers (alternating home/away)
• Seton Hall (alternating home/away)
• Providence (alternating home/away)
• Notre Dame (alternating home/away)
• Marquette (alternating home/away)
• DePaul (alternating home/away)
• Louisville (alternating home/away)
• Cincinnati (alternating home/away)
• South Florida (alternating home/away)

Syracuse Lacrosse Wins #10!

Though this blog covers Syracuse basketball, there needs to be an acknowledgment of the Syracuse Orange Lacrosse team winning its 10th National Championship today 13-10 over Johns Hopkins. For those not familiar with lacrosse, Syracuse meeting Johns Hopkins in the finals is similar to Kansas vs UCLA in the college hoops, or the Yankees / Dodgers in the World Series, or the Celtics / Lakers in the NBA Finals. It doesn't get more legendary than that.

Only seven colleges have won the Division I National Championship in Lacrosse:

1. Syracuse - 10
2. Johns Hopkins - 9
3. Princeton - 6
4. North Carolina - 4
5. Virginia - 4
6. Cornell - 3
7. Maryland - 2

If you cared to know, the most Division II championships go to:

1. Adelphi - 7
2. NYIT - 4
3. LeMoyne - 3
4. Hobart - 2
5. Limestone - 2
6. Towson State - 1
7. UMBC - 1
8. C.W. Post - 1
9. Roanoke - 1
10. Cortland - 1
11. Springfield - 1

And the most Division III championships of all time:

1. Hobart - 13
2. Salisbury - 8
3. Nazareth - 3
4. Middlebury - 3
5. Cortland - 1
6. Washington (MD) - 1

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Syracuse Top Freshman - Revised

In September I posed the question, who was the greatest freshman basketball player in Syracuse basketball history? At the time I gave the nod to Carmelo Anthony, barely edging out Billy Owens. My top ten were:

1. Carmelo Anthony
2. Billy Owens
3. Lawrence Moten
4. Pearl Washington
5. Derrick Coleman
6. Gerry McNamara
7. Dale Shackleford
8. Roosevelt Bouie
9. Eric Devendorf
10. Adrian Autry

The past season, 2007-2008, could be called the ‘Year of the Freshman’ for Syracuse because of the impact four freshman had on the time and their overall playing time. Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine were valuable backups. Jonny Flynn and Donte´ Greene were starters all year and definitely among the top players on the team. Where do Flynn and Greene rank in the all-time Orange freshman?

Jonny Flynn is a tough call. He played a solid point guard position all season long, starting out with 28 points in his freshman debut, and finishing the year with 15.7 points per game, 5.3 assists a game, and 2.7 rebounds a game. He shot nearly 78% from the free throw line, 35% from three point range with 56 three point shots made. Statistically, he’s definitely in the top 10 for SU freshman.

Flynn had a 1.9 assist to turnover ratio, with 2.7 turnovers a game. Those are not great ball handling numbers, but I’m nitpicking a little here. Statistics only tell part of the game. Flynn played virtually every minute of every Big East game because of injuries on the Orange squad, and really no one to back him up. He showed the ability to defer to his teammates as a playmaker first, and take the big shots when they were needed.

Flynn showed patience on the court. It was clear in many games that he wanted to speed up the tempo, run the fast break, only to find that he had no teammates running down the court with him. More often than not, Flynn would make the wise choice and pull up, waiting for his teammates to support him. Flynn’s freshman season was definitely better than Shackleford, Bouie, Devendorf and Autry, and he wasn’t as good as Anthony, Owens, Moten, or the Pearl. So where does he fall in the Coleman / McNamara ranking?

Comparing Coleman and Flynn is very difficult as they played different positions and had vastly different responsibilities. Coleman had to play stellar inside defense, provide as much rebounding as possible, and provide some inside scoring presence. Flynn had to run the team, and because of lack of teammates, provide more scoring. Coleman was clearly surrounded by better players than Flynn, and has more experienced players around him. Having said that Coleman was instrumental in Syracuse winning the Big East regular season title, and coming within a basket of the national championship. Flynn, though not necessarily his fault, was pressed to get Syracuse to .500 in the Big East season, and the Orange were NIT bound. I have to go with Coleman over Flynn in this case.

Flynn compared to McNamara is a more straight forward. Flynn was a point guard asked to take on some of the perimeter shooting requirements because of injuries. McNamara was a shooting guard asked to play the point guard position because of the suspension of Billy Edelin. Both were asked to play with a freshman forward with aspirations of going to the NBA after one season, and both were asked to take on significant responsibilities and burdens for the team.

Flynn was a better playmaker, better ball handler. McNamara a better shooter, particularly from the free throw line. McNamara understood Boeheim’s zone defense better, and was more adept at creating turnovers from that scheme than Flynn. The two players actually played surprisingly similar minutes (35.3/g for McNamara, 35.5/g for Flynn). I’m going to give the edge to McNamara here on the basis that he had more big plays, more game winning moments than Flynn. McNamara seemed to always put the Orange in the position to win games (admittedly Anthony had a lot to do with that). McNamara’s team had a reputation of repeatedly coming from behind to win games. Flynn’s team had a reputation for repeatedly blowing large leads.

So that puts Flynn as # 7 on my all time Syracuse freshman list.

Where does Donte´ Greene belong? I think most would agree that Flynn was the better freshman player than Greene. I know that’s a position I’ve consistently written in this blog. Greene did have an outstanding freshman season. He scored 17.7 points a game, and averaged 7.2 rebounds a game. He shot 90 three point shots, a school record for freshman, breaking McNamara’s record. He had moments in games where he would dominate the court for a short period of time.

Greene’s weaknesses are pretty well known by Syracuse fans. He played poor defense on a regular basis. He did not like to play inside and take advantage of his height, instead preferring to take the perimeter shot. He refused to fake the perimeter shot and drive to the hoop. He often took ill advised shots that he rushed to get off, despite plenty of time for the offense to operate. He turned the ball over a lot (91 times) for a player who was not the primary ball handler. Basically, he was a very talented freshman who made a lot of freshman mistakes.

I think Greene falls somewhere around Roosevelt Bouie. Bouie was a raw freshman talent, with a strong defensive reputation and limited offensive skills. Bouie didn’t disappoint anyone with his defense as he proved he was a strong intimidator inside, and a solid rebounder. Bouie didn’t have the great offensive skills but still scored 10 points a game by showing he could run with the fast break, and take advantage of the dunks near the hoop. As flashy as Greene’s offensive numbers were, I would take Bouie’s freshman defense over Greene’s offense, and Bouie was not a liability on offense where Greene was on defense. Greene was more polished than Bouie, but he also had bigger holes in his game.

So my top ten, with the two new freshman on it, is now:

1. Anthony
2. Owens
3. Moten
4. Washington
5. Coleman
6. McNamara
7. Flynn
8. Shackleford
9. Bouie
10. Greene

Eric Devendorf and Red Autry had solid freshman seasons, but it’s an impressive list of freshman ahead of them. What's your opinion? Feel free to leave a comment or vote in the ranking at Rankopedia.com.

SOBs - Most Surprising Player of the Year

The 2007-2008 season for Syracuse was full of surprises, most of them in the negative. Injuries galore and several blown leads of immense proportion. There were some positives to the season, and a couple of surprising players. The SOB voters got together and tried to determine the most surprising player of the season.

Justin Thomas, the backup point guard (bet you didn’t even know we had one with Flynn playing every minute of every game, or close to it), received one vote.

“Justin Thomas. I didn't even know he was on the team until Josh Wright left for parts unknown.” – Matt, HoyaSuxa

Donte’ Greene also received one vote, which proves different strokes for different folks, as he also received a few votes for most disappointing player.

“"Donte' Greene. I was under the impression that he was going to come
in and score a lot down low and be a great rebounder who could shoot
the three if he had too. Turns out he was the complete opposite." – Jameson, CuseAdelphia

Greene’s classmate Jonny Flynn received a vote.

“Jonny Flynn. Yes, I know everyone knew he had talent. But how many talented players can then take a team that has been undermanned for most of the season and bring them within 1 win of going to the NCAA Tournament as a freshman? What "surprised" me is that for most of his game Flynn played a smart game and did what he knew he could do. If you notice, the games where Flynn tried to do "too much" are the games where SU either lost or was in a close game.” – A.E.M, Orange Squeeze

The runner up for the most surprising player of 2007-2008 went to the big guy in the middle, Arinze Onuaku, who received 3 votes.

“Arinze - while we expected him to be solid in the middle, he surpassed expectations” -- Three Idiots on Sports

“Arinze Onuaku. He did not play that much his freshman season (243 minutes), and missed all of last year with injury. I thought he was going to be a big body in the middle, someone to bang around, plug some holes, and give some fouls. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that he had developed a good inside game and some strong rebounding skills. He showed he could play with the best big men in the country. My knock on Onuaku was that he was inconsistent, and would disappear for entire games, which is hard to do when you’re 6’9”, 260 lbs.” – yours truly at OrangeHoops

“I can't go with Ongenaet because as a JuCo transfer who had averaged a double-double for both his freshmen and sophomore seasons, I expected him to be able to contribute. To me, he was a major disappointment for most of the year, until he finally showed up. So, the winner here has to be Arinze Onuaku. We all knew he was promising, but to go from nothing to 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, virtually overnight, is astounding. We haven't had a center put up those kinds of numbers in almost a decade. I thought it
would take him until next year to be this kind of contributor.” – Syracusan, Cuse Country

Well, with Onuaku the runner up, the winner is probably obvious to most Syracuse fans. The Belgian wonder, Kristof Ongenaet earns the honors.

“If someone other than Kristof! wins this, every other blogger who voted in this thing should be banned from writing for a month.” – Brent, The Axeman

“The Belgian Waffle plays some of the best defense on the team and is just the kind of scrappy, hard working player that the Syracuse fan base loves. While he was not the biggest offensive threat, he certainly kept us in a few games with his rebounding, shot blocking, and stealing. For a JUCO transfer, this kid is a welcome addition to the Orange.” – Brian, Orange44

“Kristof Ongenaet: Injuries forced the Orange to use Ongenaet, and he played with heart. He did have 147 rebounds, which was fourth on the team. As a role player, Ongenaet did his job the best he could." -- Howie, Sports Night With Howie Mansfield

“KRISTOF! - He was "deer-in-the-headlights" before New Year's but showed a nice blend of hustle, responsibility, game smarts and a feel for the big moment late in the year.” – Nick, Nick's 2 Cents

“K-Ong. Preseason he figured to be this year's version of Matt Gorman circa 2003. The first month or so, every time he got on the court he looked like he'd just been dropped off in a strange, exotic land without any knowledge of the local language, customs, or topography. But by the end of the year he'd become a real contributor and (dare
I say it) glue guy. If Donte' leaves, he's got to be the frontrunner to start at power forward next season." – Josh, Cuse Country

“I fully expected Kristof! To be the next Bill Celuck. At times, he can be. But Kristof brought something to the team I never expected…emotion. For his dunk against Marquette alone he may have won this award for me but that was a culmination of his effect on the team all season.” – Sean, TNIAAM

Now KO has set up some big expectations from Orange fans for next year. Perhaps even a starting gig? I’m personally hoping to see more of his coast-to-coast jams.

My thanks and apologies to the rest of the SOB group, for missing my turn in the action. Sometimes life gets in the way, and the fun times get disrupted.

Back to TNIAAM for the closing ceremonies.