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.

Onuaku Shoots for a Few Records

Arinze Onuaku was the most surprising player for Syracuse in the 2007-2008 season. Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene came with high pedigrees, Paul Harris was a known quantity, and Kris Ongenaet was a solid role player. Onuaku was expected to provide a big body down low for solid defense and rebounding. He did both of those things, and also brought an added dimension of outstanding scoring ability.

Onuaku showed himself to be very light on his feet for a man listed at a very solid 260 pounds. He showed a soft shooting touch near the hoop, and made 62.8% of his field goals on the season for the Orange, making 186 of 296 attempts. This ranks him as the 4th best in Syracuse history for players with 100 or more attempts.

The top five now are:

Roosevelt Bouie 65.4% in 1979-1980 (189 field goals in 289 attempts)
Stephen Thompson 63.9% in 1988-1989 (297 field goals in 465 attempts)
Roosevelt Bouie 63.1% in 1978-1979 (176 field goals in 279 attempts)
Arinze Onuaku 62.8% in 2007-2008 (186 field goals in 296 attempts)
Etan Thomas 61.7% in 1998-1999 (148 field goals in 240 attempts)

That is a couple of nice centers to be in company with (Bouie and Thomas), and Stephen Thompson was one of the most dynamic scoring players in Syracuse history. Illustrious company. Onuaku had a chance to be #2 on the list shooting at 64.1% entering the last game of the season (177 field goals out of 276 attempts). Unfortunately a very poor night of missed easy shots against Massachusetts left Onuaku going 9-20 that night, dropping his percentage to 62.8%. Onuaku has a couple more seasons to go for the record, and he may well do it.

The career field goal percentage for players with 200 or more attempts is by Jeremy McNeil. McNeil did not shoot very often (only 251 attempts in his career) and was not a good shooter, but he knew how to dunk the ball when given the chance. McNeil made 68.5% of his career field goal attempts. Onuaku is currently second on that list with a career mark of 62.0%. Third on the list is Etan Thomas at 60% (495 field goals in 895 attempts), followed by Bill Smith at 59.6% and Bouie at 59.3%.

Unfortunately, Onuaku is also attempting to enter another well known and illustrious group at Syracuse, the worst free throw shooting list. He made a strong bid this year to break Terrence Roberts 2005-2006 record for worst single season free throw shooting. Roberts shot 42.1% that year (56 of 133). Onuaku had his chances but finished the year at 44.5% (73-164). Four more misses would have tied him with Roberts. Let us hope Onuaku never has another chance at that record.

Onuaku does however officially hold the worst career free throw shooting (minimum 200 attempts), taking that distinction from Terrence Roberts who set the mark just last year at 48% (176-367). Onuaku has currently made 85 free throws out of 191 attempts in his career for a 44.5% career effort. Onuaku does not have the minimum 200 attempts, but even if you assume he shot nine for nine to get him to 200 attempts (making him 94 for 200), he would have a lower percentage than Roberts.

Onuaku, welcome to that elite club along side Terrence Roberts, Stephen Thompson, Herman Harried, and Derek Brower. As previously mentioned, you have two more years to improve that shot, so let us hope you are just visiting the club, and not accepting a lifetime membership.

Farewell Donte

I am sad to see Donte' Greene declare early for the NBA draft, but I also believe it is the right move for him. I do not think Greene is ready to play in the NBA, but staying in college is more of a risk than a benefit to him at this point, and with the basic guarantee of millions on dollars it would be foolish for him to risk it.

The possibility of injury does exist at the college level, and Greene was well aware of this past season with teammates Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins both having devastating injuries, and Devan Brennan-McBride basically having his career ended due to shoulder problems. If that were the only risk, I think he should return to college. The number of Syracuse players who have had their career cut short by injury is very short (as a mentioned a few months back). Greene, however, faces more a more serious risk.

Donte' Greene’s value is the big ‘P’: “Potential”. He has a 6’11” frame and a very nice shooting touch from the perimeter. That “potential” is going to earn him a lot of money in the NBA draft, as general managers and scouts imagine ‘what if’. Each year Greene plays in college, his potential decreases and his actual skills become more defined.

Greene showed flashes of being a great perimeter shooter. Early in the season, he was shooting about the 40% mark from the three point range. He has a quick release and loves to catch and shoot. He averaged 7.2 rebounds a game, and scored 17.7 points a game. Nothing earth shattering, but at the same time, numbers that showed he could play at the college level.

Greene had his weaknesses. He could not, or would not, play defense. He did not like to put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, and he did not like to play near the basket. He could rebound, but for his size, you could expect more. If he came back his sophomore season, he could work on improving those weaknesses and his stock would increase.

But what if he couldn’t improve? It is possible that Greene does not have the aptitude to play defense, or the mental toughness to play in the paint. Another season of college ball might expose his inability to improve in those areas. He started his freshman season off by shooting very well from the perimeter, and finished by shooting very poorly. What if the second half of the season was more true to form that the first half? Greene could not afford to prove any of those assumptions.

My guess is that he could improve in all those areas, and that he has the ability to succeed. He will likely go on to a very solid NBA career. But he is smart to not risk it in college, not when the money is there waiting for him.

Some will argue that he needs to have the time to develop in college and that he will be leaving money on the table by leaving early. I disagree on both points. The NBA team that drafts him will make sure he gets plenty of time in practice to learn the game, and they will make him work hard for they will have a sizeable investment in him.

As for leaving money on the table, it may be true that his initial contract could be less than he could get if he stayed another year. But you need to factor in that if he stayed in college for 2008-2009, he would have $0 income, whereas he will earn at least a few million by going professional. Plus he will likely have a three year deal, meaning he would be a free agent after the 2010-2011 season. Assuming he would play until the same age in either scenario, he is picking up an additional year of salary, and becoming a free agent on year earlier.

It is a shame that he is leaving Syracuse early. He will just be a footnote in Syracuse basketball history, really nothing of tremendous significance. He did score 620 points, the second most ever in school history for a freshman. But you get the sense that was more a product of him being the top option on the team, rather than excellence. Greene did not give Syracuse fans any magic moments to remember. No 30 point games, no game winning 3 pointers, no playoff dramatics.

In fact, Greene’s team blew a large lead in the Big East tournament to Villanova, and failed to win a Big East tournament game. The team did not go to the NCAA tournament, lost more games than any Jim Boeheim coached team, ever. Lost more games than any Syracuse team since the 1968-1969 season. The team blew a 20 point lead in the NIT tournament to bow out in the quarter finals. No, there are no heroics for Greene in his college career.

He scored 17.7 points a game and had 7.2 rebounds a game. Solids numbers, but not record breakers. He’s unfortunate to be compared to Carmelo Anthony, as all future Syracuse freshman always will be. Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. Lawrence Moten, who came to Syracuse unheralded, averaged 18.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Greene did set the Syracuse freshman record for 3 point shots made with 90, breaking Gerry McNamara’s record of 85. But GMac had a knack of making very memorable shots, game breakers. McNamara made 35.7% of his shots, Greene 34.5%.

I’m sure that if Greene has a great NBA career (quite a possibility) fans will reminisce about how great he was to watch at SU. Revisionist history always prevails. I am willing to post right now, however, that it really was not that memorable. And that’s unfortunate.

The Last Blown Lead of the Year, Thankfully

Another Syracuse basketball season has come to a close. Though this one did not turn out as well as fans had expected, it was definitely a season with a lot of stories. In the next few days I will promise to recap the season milestones and other accomplishments. Today, however, I would like to vent about the Syracuse / UMass game last evening.

Syracuse pulled out to a big lead in the first half, despite being scoreless for the first 3 ½ minutes of the game. With the 17 point half time lead, I had a strong feeling the Orange were not going to hold that lead, and sure enough they did not. This despite the fact they extended the lead out to 22 points in the second half.

The announcers kept harping on how the fatigue was affecting Syracuse. And it is true the Orange were tired. I could see Arinze Onuaku struggling up and down the court, laboring to get off the floor after each time he fell. Donte’ Greene was tired, Paul Harris was leaning over, most of the Orange were tired. As a result, they stopped playing defense, and the Minutemen were able to easily penetrate in interior for easy baskets or kick it out for uncontested three point shots. If you were casually paying attention, as Sean McDonough and Fran Fraschilla must have been, it would have seemed obvious to you that Syracuse was fatigued because they went only 7 players deep while UMass went 10 deep.

I say hogwash to that. And I’ll give you three reasons.

First, Syracuse has been playing with 7 players since December. The seven players on the court are used to this amount of minutes in a game. In fact, for many of those games Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson barely played; the five starters often played an average of 37+ minutes between them.

Second, these are young guys, ages 18 to 21, with bodies that should recuperate fairly quickly. They have not played a basketball game since last Thursday, five days ago. They played at home then, and they played at home now, so they had no travel. UMass played on Friday night and had to travel to Syracuse, so they had one less day of travel plus travel.

It’s this third reason that really irks me. The five Syracuse starters played 162 of the 200 minutes of the game. The five UMass starters played 173 of the 200 minutes of the game. Two Syracuse reserves played 10+ minutes. Only one UMass reserve played more than 5 minutes. Which team went deeper into their lineup? Both teams played the same frenetic pace.

Think about that. The Orange had more rest than their opposition. Yes, the game was fast pace, a pace that UMass is more accustomed to playing than Syracuse. But UMass is also used to playing 8-10 guys a game. Syracuse plays only 7. In the second half, despite playing the entire game, Jonny Flynn was still running the court with relative ease. Where were his teammates? If Flynn’s not tired, why are his teammates?

I have to question the conditioning efforts the Syracuse players put into their season, with the exception of Flynn. I always believed it was an advantage for Syracuse to play a shorter bench in the regular season because come the post season, all teams shorten their benches. Syracuse players were used to the minutes, the opposition is not. Edge for Syracuse. Except not this year.

I do have to imagine there is some difficulty in maintaining a high level of game fitness when you have less than a full squad. Inter squad scrimmages would be tough to have, especially at a full court frenetic pace. However, I do not believe that effect would be significant.

Of course it was not all about being tired. Syracuse made a lot of poor decisions on the court down the stretch. Ill-advised passes, taking difficult shots too early in the possession, failing to hustle on defense. I’m sure part of the ‘fatigue’ was the fact that the Orange had a big lead, and watched it dwindle away. They were shocked that they were losing another large lead, and I’m sure that deflated their energy.

The Orange have a great group of talented young players, guys who are fun to watch (most of the time). I hope they learned a lot from this season for next year, and 2008-2009 could be a great one for the Orange. Especially with the incoming freshman and the return of Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins.

I just hope that the inability to hold leads is not something these guys have grown accustomed too. I think Devo won’t put up with it. You could see that Kristof Onganaet was not happy about the efforts, yet he’s not really in the leadership position.

Anyhow, enough complaints from here. There were plenty of good moments in 2007-2008, and I’ll choose to remember those from here on out. I just had to clear my head of the negative energy from last night’s loss.

Syracuse in the NIT

The Syracuse Orangemen has been to the NIT tournament twelve times, six times in the Jim Boeheim era, including the current edition of the Orange. Some of those teams felt rewarded for the trip to the NIT (rightfully so), while others felt the NIT was a poor consolation prize. All of the teams were good teams, but which was the best? The Orange were in the NIT in 1946, 1950, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1982, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2008.

To keep the semantics clear, I am referring to which team was the best overall team for the pre-NIT season. I am not referring which team performed the best in the NIT tournament, nor which team was playing the best when the NIT began. There would be different answers to each of those.

The 1981-1982 Orangemen were the 12th best NIT team for Syracuse. The Orangemen were led by junior tri-captains Erich Santifer (17.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Leo Rautins (13.3 ppg, 5.2 apg, 5.9 rpg) and Tony ‘Red’ Bruin (14.0 ppg). Freshman Andre Hawkins shared the center position with sophomore Sean Kerins. Gene Waldron ran the point, though Rautins ran the offense from his power forward position. Ron Payton was a valuable sixth man with 10.7 ppg. Unfortunately, the Orangemen were in very competitive Big East conference, and lacked strong rebounders. The Orangemen finished the regular season 15-11, 7-7 in the Big East conference, and struggled down the stretch going 2-4 in the last six games. The Orangemen then lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament, dropping their record to 15-12. The Orangemen were grateful to be in the NIT that season, where they would beat St. Peters 84-75 in the first round before losing to Bradley 95-81 in the second round.

The 1980-1981 Orangemen were the 11th best NIT team. Senior center Danny Schayes led the team with 14.6 ppg and 8.3 rebounds. Senior Eddie Moss ran the offense and the defense, with 5.4 assists per game, and Marty Headd was the perimeter shooter averaging 11.9 ppg. A trio of talented sophomores were the remaining significant portions of the team: Erich Santifer (14.0 ppg), Leo Rautins (9.3 ppg) and Tony Bruin (11.8 ppg). The Orangemen went 15-11 during the regular season, 6-8 in the Big East conference, and struggled 1-4 in the last five regular season games. Headd would break his wrist in practice right before the Big East tournament, moving Bruin into the starting lineup. The Orangemen would make a strong run in the Big East tournament, winning the title in a dramatic triple overtime victory over Villanova, and running their record to 18-11. The Big East did not have an automatic berth that year, and the NCAA decided not to extend an invitation to Syracuse. Syracuse fans were very upset at the snub. The Orangemen were determined to prove the NCAA wrong. They would beat Marquette, Holy Cross, Michigan, and Purdue in the NIT to advance to the finals. Syracuse would play a tough game against Tulsa, eventually losing in the NIT Finals.

The 1970-1971 Orangemen were the 10th best NIT team. The team was lead by Big Bill Smith with 22.7 ppg and 14 rebounds. Junior Greg Kohls emerged as a tremendous outside scoring threat with 22.1 points per game. Senior Tom Green ran the offense, and two hustling but undersized forwards joined the squad: Mike Lee (13.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Mark Wadach (7.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg). The Orangemen would go 19-6 during the regular season, including going 9-1 down the stretch. The Orangemen had not been to the postseason since 1967, so fans were excited about the opportunity. Despite 27 points from Smith, the Orange would lose to Michigan 82-76 in the first round.

The 1949-1950 Orangemen were the 9th best team, finishing the regular season 17-8. They were lead by junior guard Jack Kiley with 16.3 ppg. Kiley was supported offensively by Dick Suprunowicz, Bob Savage and Ed Miller. Tom Huggins, Tom Jockle and Mike Stark rounded out the team. The NIT was a prestigious tournament at the time, and many top teams chose the NIT over the NCAA. Syracuse was honored to go to the NIT. They played highly favored Long Island University in the first round and surprisingly beat them 80-52 behind 21 points from Jack Kiley. In the second round the Orangemen faced Bradley, the #1 ranked team in the nation. The Orangemen would lose that game 78-66.

The 1996-1997 Orangemen were the 8th best team. They were lead by Senior Otis Hill who pounded the middle with 15.7 ppg and 6.1 ppg. Junior swingman Todd Burgan averaged 15.1 ppg; sharpshooters Jason Cipolla (13.2 ppg) and Marius Janulis (9.3 ppg) provided perimeter scoring, and freshman Jason Hart ran the offense with 5.8 apg. The Orangemen finished the regular season 18-11, with a 9-9 conference record. The beat Notre Dame 84-66 in the Big East tournament and lost to Villanova in the 2nd round 80-70, raising their record to 19-12, 6-4 in their last 10. The Orangemen and their fans were severely shocked when they were denied an NCAA bid. No Big East team had ever been denied an NCAA bid with 18+ regular season wins, and the Orangemen had been to the National Championship game the previous season. Yet the Orangemen found themselves going to the NIT. The Orangemen found it difficult to mentally prepare for the game and easily lost to Florida State 82-67.

The 1963-1964 team was the 7th best team. The Orangemen were led by the dynamic sophomore Dave Bing who electrified Syracuse fans with his 22.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg. West Point transfer Chuck Richards brought 22.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg from the center position. Juniors Richie Duffy and Phil Schoff contributed as did a quartet of sophomores: Norm Goldsmith, Sam Penceal, Jim Boeheim and Frank Nicoletti. The Syracuse program was on the rebound from the darkest period in the schools history, and fans were excited to get the post season. Dave Bing would play well in the first round scoring 31 points, though the Orange would fall short to New York University 77-68.

The 2001-2002 Orangemen were the 6th best team, and a very difficult team to rank. A very talented team that totally collapsed under the immense strain of internal personal issues. The Orangemen were led by talented sharpshooting senior Preston Shumpert with 20.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg. DeSean Williams added 15.9 ppg and 4.1 apg. Kueth Duany brought a solid 12.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Sophomores Hakim Warrick and James Thues were valuable members, and freshman Craig Forth plugged the middle. The Orangemen would start the season 14-2 and rise up to #7 in the polls in January. Then internal strife took over; too much in-fighting on the team. The Orangemen went 3-7 over their last ten games, and would lose in the first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova 78-64. The Orangemen were denied an NCAA berth despite having a 20-11 record and going 9-7 in the Big East. It was difficult to criticize the non-selection with the total collapse of the team. However, the Orangemen seemed to overcome their problems and played solid basketball in the NIT. They would beat St. Bonaventure, Butler and Richmond to advance to the NIT quarter finals. Shumpert was hot, with 36 points against Butler. The Orangemen would lose to South Carolina 66-59 in the quarter finals and then lose 65-54 to Temple in the consolation game.

I would rank the current Syracuse squad, 2007-2008 as the 5th best NIT team. The Orangemen had a lot of injury and personnel issues, forcing the squad to play with 7 players for most the season, virtually all of them first year players. Freshman Jonny Flynn and Donte’ Greene would lead the way, along with sophomores Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku, and junior college transfer Kris Onganaet. The Orange finished the regular season 18-12, and lost in the first round of the Big East tournament dropping their record to 18-13. Not much argument about being excluded from the NCAA tournament. The Orangemen had their opportunities to win the right games, and fell short. They are currently making a good run in the NIT, winning their first two. We’ll see how far they can go. They are definitely a talented team, one short on experience and depth, but high on skill and athletic ability.

The 2006-2007 Orangemen were the 4th best team. Led by seniors Demetris Nichols (18.9 ppg), Terrence Roberts (8.9 ppg), Darryl Watkins (8.1 ppg) and sophomore Eric Devendorf (14.8 ppg), the team finished the regular season 21-9, 10-6 in the Big East conference. The Orangemen would win their first game in the Big East and lose their second game, bringing their record to 22-10. To the shock of Syracuse fans (and many fans across the country) the Orangemen would be denied an NCAA bid, and would become constant talk for that season and the following season on the snub. The Orangemen would play well in the NIT, despite the fact that Terrence Roberts was struggling with an injured knee. They would beat South Alabama at the Carrier Dome before an NIT record crowd, and then beat San Diego State 80-64. They would lose their next game to Clemson74-70.

The third best team was the 1971-1972 team. This was Roy’s Runts, a collection of hustling players with skill and talent, but not much height. The backcourt was strong with senior Greg Kohls shooting out the lights with 26.7 points per game and flashy Dennis DuVal with 15.8 ppgs. Juniors Mike Lee (18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Mark Wadach (9.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) played solid up front and undersized sophomore Bob Dooms played very well at center (7.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg). The team would finish the season 21-5, going 9-1 down the stretch. There were hopes for an NCAA bid, but the NIT became the option. Syracuse would win in the first round, but lose to a very talented and very tall Maryland team in the second round 71-65.

The 1966-1967 team was the 2nd best squad. A strong trio led the team: senior Rick Dean controlled the middle with 18.0 ppg and 9.1 rpg, junior Vaughn Harper grabbed all the rebounds with 14.3 rpg, along with 16.3 ppg, and junior George Hicker was the sharp shooter with 18.6 ppg. The backcourt was handled well by smooth shooting Richie Cornwall and good ball handler Steve Ludd. The Orangemen loved to run the ball, and they ran it will. The team was 19-2 and ranked #8 in the polls before they lost three of their last four games. Those losses dropped the Orange to 20-5, and cost the Orangemen an NCAA bid. The team faced a talented New Mexico team in the first round; the Lobos loved to slow the game down, providing an interesting contrast of styles. The Orangemen would lose that battle in a close lost 66-64.

The 1945-1946 team was the best Syracuse NIT team. This was a post war team, with a mix of freshmen and war veterans. The star of the team was veteran Bullet Billy Gabor, averaging 15.2 points per game. Freshman Royce Newell was second on the squad with 309 points and provided a strong center presence. Andy Mogish was the strong rebounding presence, and fellow war veterans Lew Spicer, Roy Peters and Larry Crandall provided depth. Freshman Mike Stark was the defensive spark. The team scored 106 points on 12/8/1945 against Oswego Teachers College to be the first Syracuse team to break the 100 point barrier. The Orangemen would outscore their opposition 1651 to 1044, an average margin of 23.3 ppg. Syracuse finished the regular season 23-3, and was honored to go to the NIT, the first post season bid in Syracuse basketball history. They would lose to Muhlenburg 47-41 in the first round.

What if?

The Orange ended up in the NIT tournament for the second year in a row, though this year there is no complaining about where they ended up. They did not take care of their business during the stretch run of the regular season, and took an early bow out of the Big East Tournament against another bubble team Villanova.

The loss to South Florida really hurt them, as did the three straight losses to Louisville, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh loss was a very painful one for the fans. I think the loss had even further implications for the Orange.

If Syracuse beats Pittsburgh that day, and everything else stays the same, the Orangemen go into the Big East Tournament with 20 wins, 10-8 in conference play. Pitt would have been 9-9. Syracuse’s first round match-up would have been against Cincinnati, while Pitt would have played Villanova. As well as Pitt is playing, that would’ve favored a win by Pitt. Since Villanova was the last at-large bid to make the tournament, they would have been on the outside looking in. It’s even quite possible that had Pitt lost that game to Villanova, Pitt wouldn’t have made the NCAA. They finished 21-9, 9-9 in conference play, but they were poor down the stretch and had a very weak out of conference record. If they bowed out in the first round of the Big East tournament, they definitely would have been bubble material.

With 20 wins, a 10-8 conference record, and a higher RPI, Syracuse would not have been as perilously close to being a bubble team. Villanova (or Pitt) losing, would have opened up a tournament position. Even if Syracuse lost to Cininnati in the first round, they may very well have earned a tournament bid.

Ahhh well. No reason to cry over spilled milk.

A close game to Robert Morris last night is not what the Orange wanted for the start of the NIT, but that’s what they got. The loss of Jonny Flynn for most of the game was paralyzing to the Orange offense, and shortened the short bench by one (again). It looks like Flynn may not play on Thursday (Donna Ditota indicated that earlier today), and playing Maryland with six players, and Scoop Jardine at the point for 40 minutes is scary. Not that Scoop can’t play the point; he can. But he’s going from spotting Flynn a few moments each game (even while Flynn staying on the court) to being the sole point guard for 40 minutes. That’s a lot for a guy who is not used to it.

Plus the loss of Flynn leaves the Orange with one reputable three point shooter in Dante’ Greene (I know Onganaet can shoot the three, but nobody’s too worried about it defensively). With Jardine playing the point, if I were Maryland, I would pack the paint. Scoop can’t drive, Harris won’t have any lanes, and Onuaku won’t be able to get open. I’d challenge Greene to beat me. Greene can do it, but we’ve seen him disappear from many games down the stretch run this year, and if I’m Maryland, I’m taking my chances on Greene not being able to carry the team with his perimeter shooting.

To further hamper the Orange lineup, reserve point guard Justin Thomas is unlikely to play. Apparently he too is injured (per Brent Axe).

It figures the Orange should have a couple more injuries for the post season. It seems only fitting for this injury hampered season. Hopefully it will be out of the Orange's system for years to come.