Inspired!

Wow! What a game. If you could not stay up to 1:40 am EDT last evening, you missed one of the greatest games in basketball history. Six overtimes.

The final score was 127-117 Syracuse over Connecticut. But the Orange never led in any of the previous five overtime periods. Syracuse showed early in the season in the Florida and Kansas games that they would not fold under pressure, and they have kept that true to form this entire season. What a welcome change from the past few years.

I have been harsh on Jonny Flynn's playmaking this season, and I believe rightfully so. But in the last few games, I have seen Flynn develop from being a great player to being a great point guard. He is now dishing the ball off to his teammates, allowing them to take the better shots, and keeping everyone involved. He is elevating his play, and that is bringing the team with him.

So many highlights from last night. Arinze Onuaku... you know all Orange fans were burying their faces in their hands when he went to the line with 30 seconds to go in regulation and he had to make two. And the big guy came through with two free throws.

Devendorf's last second shot for the win... nothing but net. I think the officials made the correct call in taking away the basket due to time expiring... but it could not have possibly been any closer. I do have an objection with the officials not calling charging on Thabeet for plowing over Jonny Flynn on the pick on the inbounds (though I can understand them not wanting to make that call at the end of the game).

Andy Rautins hitting a clutch 3 to tie the game with 12 seconds to go in the 3rd overtime period. It must be something in the Rautin gene pool that allows heroics in third period overtimes (reference: Leo's tip in winning basket in the 1981 Villanova triple overtime win). And Andy's three point shot to start the 6th overtime period basically ended the game.

Flynn's 34 points and 11 assists are strong numbers, but 67 minutes and 16-16 from the free throw line are the numbers that really jump out.

Paul Harris... what an up and down night for Paul. 56 minutes, 29 points, 13-14 from the free throw line. Here's the huge stat: 22 rebounds. Some of those 22 rebounds were his own missed shots (of which he had many at point blank in overtime), but still a great effort from Harris.

For a few minutes of overtime, Syracuse had to play against UConn and Thabeet without any center or power forward on the team. Onuaku, Onganaet and Jackson had all fouled out. I was concerned that was the end for the Orange, but they still hung in there.

You've got to wonder what was going through Justin Thomas's mind when Devendorf fouled out and Thomas, a walk-on, had to go onto the court. He played 18 minutes all season, plus three more against Seton Hall Wednesday night. He ended up playing 7 minutes, every one of them crucial, against the #4 team in the country, last night. I'm guessing Jake Presutti was praying that neither Rautins or Harris would pick up their next foul, their fifth, or he would have been on the court too.

Who knows what the Orange will be able to do tonight. They are young men, but the emotional drain has got to be significant. The big men actually should not be too physically tired. Jackson played only 29 minutes, Onganaet 28 minutes, and Onuaku 28 minutes. But the guards will definitely be the ones to watch.

I think the win last night easily moves the Orange into a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament, regardless of how they do this evening. We'll see.

GO ORANGE!

Thoughts on Wrapping up the Regular Season

I am very happy with how the Orange finished out their regular season. They held tough with a good Villanova team, and then they won the final four games of the regular season to finish 23-8. The last four games were really promising. They beat St. Johns, Rutgers and Cincinnati, which in itself would not impress anyone. However, it is the way they beat those teams that was so rewarding.

The Orange played solid defense in those three games, and they ended up playing hard until the end of each of the games, putting all the games in the blow out category. That is what good teams are supposed to do; bury the teams weaker than them, instead of letting them hang around.

The win against Marquette, a top twenty team, on the road, to end the season was an especially nice touch. It is very nice being in that comfortable position knowing that the Orange are virtually guaranteed an NCAA berth, and now they are just playing for the seeding position. A welcome change from the past two seasons.
Syracuse had only one ‘bad’ loss all year and that was to Cleveland State. That game is not going to hurt them as it is probably considered more of a fluke with the half court shot beating them. The Georgetown loss does not look good now, but they were a top 10 team at the time. Syracuse beat every other team they should beat this season. I had written in the preseason if they went 22-9 with their schedule I would find that very impressive, and then ended 23-8. So no complaints here.

Jonny Flynn made the Big East Second Team, and I have no problem with that position. The Big East got smart and went back to a reasonable First Team, Second Team and Third Team selection, instead of the incredibly bloated ten man teams the past three years. Flynn is the best basketball player at Syracuse, and definitely one of the best guards in the league. He is not a great point guard, as I have written a few times this season, but he is absolutely a great player.

The happiest moment for me in the Marquette game was the three point shot by Rautins to seal the win in overtime. Why? That play showed me a maturing process for Jonny Flynn as a point guard. Flynn drove the lane and drew the defenders. 99% of the time this season, Flynn was going to force that shot. Instead he did the correct move and he dished the ball out to Rautins who was wide open because his defender had slipped down to cover Flynn. If Flynn is going to start playing like a point guard and making those smart decisions, then the Orange become a far tougher team to beat.

As good as Flynn and Eric Devendorf are, the fate of Syracuse falls into the hands of Andy Rautins and Paul Harris. Rautins is probably the most ‘valuable’ player on the team this season. He shot 40% from three point range in the games Syracuse won and 30% in the eight they lost. When Syracuse gets Rautins involved in the offense, it opens up the rest of the court, making it easier for Flynn, Devendorf, and Harris all to get to the basket. And Rautins has shown he is very adept at passing that ball to the cutting player or to the open player down in the post. As offense flows through Rautins, the team plays more ‘team ball’, and less one-on-one.

Harris’ rebounding is the other crucial factor for the Orange. When Harris shows up to play and works to get his rebounds, the Orange are a tough team to beat. They are 9-2 when Harris had double digit rebounds, 14-6 when he does not. Rebounding is mostly a motivational issue, and I do not know why Harris has a tough time staying motivated for rebounding on a regular basis. But I do know that when he does, the opposition gets limited shot opportunities and the Orange play well.

Syracuse’s free throw shooting as a team is actually very comforting. Throw out Arinze Onuaku’s numbers, and Syracuse shoots 70% as a team. Flynn shoots 79% from the charity strip, Devendorf 81% and Harris 73%. Rautins is only 68%, but he has had limited free throw opportunities this season.

Onuaku is of course a well documented poor free throw shooter. He shot 30% from the line for the regular season, and an astonishing 17% (10-60) in Big East play.
Rautins is on the flip side for conference play. Rautins hit 100% of his free throws in Big East play. But despite playing 469 minutes in conference play, Rautins only took five free throw attempts during that time. That’s one free throw every 93.8 minutes of play. That is probably reflective on the fact that he took only 28 shots inside the three point arc in conference play, and the Big East lets the players play tough inside. But still, an amazing number to me.

I do not know how far the Orange can go this post season. I think winning the Big East Tournament would be far tougher than making the Final Four. To win the Big East Tournament, Syracuse would likely have to beat along the way Louisville, Connecticut and Pittsburgh. There are very few teams that good in the country, and Syracuse would be very unlikely to face three teams of that caliber in the NCAA tournament.

I don’t think the Orange have what it takes to win the NCAA tournament. Their inside game is not strong enough to face some of the other top teams. However, the Orange have shown a strong ability to win the close games, and they did beat Kansas and Memphis in hostile environments. I know if I were another team, I would not want to draw Syracuse as an opponent in the tournament. Syracuse is a very experienced team with their top 7 players consisting of one senior, 3 fourth year juniors, another junior, and two sophomores. In today’s college basketball, that is a lot of experience.

Three To Go

A win over Villanova the other night would have been huge; instead Syracuse left some work still to be done. The win over St. John's definitely help. Syracuse continues their trend of beating the teams they should beat, and losing to those that are better. Logic tells me that based on their resume, Syracuse should be 'safe' from the bubble position, assuming they don't collapse down the stretch. But I have no faith in the NCAA selection committee.

A win against Marquette on the road became a little bit easier with the injury last night to Dominic James. It will still be a tough win to get, and if the Orange can win that game, that should 'seal the deal' for post season action (a win against a top rate team on the road to close out the year).

Syracuse is currently at #22 in the RPI and #11 in the strength of schedule (SOS), using CBSSportsline's RPI. Those numbers won't likely change much over the next three games, and the Big East tournament should help to bolster the SOS.

West Virginia is sitting a little prettier at #17 in the RPI and #9 in the SOS. The strange thing is that Syracuse fans feel like we may be in jeopardy of making the NCAA, and my West Virginia fans feel the same way about the Mountaineers.

Meanwhile, look at these four programs:

UCLA 20-7, but a #35 RPI and #46 SOS, #22 in the AP

Gonzaga 20-5, but a # 42 RPI and #89 SOS, #17 in the AP

Texas 19-8 but #41 RPI and #38 SOS, #25 in the AP
Arizona 18-9 but #46 RPI and #36 SOS
Florida 21-7 but #43 RPI and #95 SOS

These schools are normally the 'darlings' of the NCAA selection committee and with sportswriters (hence the high AP ranking). The RPI and SOS numbers above all position those teams as bubble teams. Do you think that their fans think they are on the bubble? I'm guessing they are feeling somewhat comfortable right now.

We'll see how this all shakes out. There is a lot of basketball left to be played, but time is short.

Where The Orange Stand

The overtime win against Georgetown yesterday was another classic Syracuse/Georgetown game, going down to the wire with a lot of dramatic action and heroic efforts. The win was crucial for the Orange stopping a slide that saw Syracuse losing six of their last seven games. While the win against the tumbling Hoyas is not as impressive as it would have been a month ago, it is still a big win.

Syracuse is now 19-7 for the season, 7-6 within the Big East conference with five games to go. The strong out of conference schedule and the success against that schedule is looming as extremely important for the Orange right now. But the NCAA selection committee looks at how you do in your last ten games, and that, with other factors, is going to become very important right now.

Syracuse is above .500 in the Big East, but they are 0-5 against the six teams ahead of them in the standings, and 7-1 against the nine teams below them. That pretty much says the Orange are situated in the conference rankings right where they belong. Being the 7th team from a conference is not an ideal situation to be in, though with the depth of the Big East, it is a good position right now. However, the last five games are going to be very important.

Syracuse is currently 2-5 in road games. Their last five games are against Villanova, @ St. Johns, Cincinnati, Rutgers, and @ Marquette. Two of those teams are ahead of Syracuse in the standings: Villanova and Marquette. Syracuse cannot afford to lose to any of the three teams below them: St. Johns, Cincinnati and Rutgers. If they won those three and lost to Villanova and Marquette, they would be 22-9 going into the Big East tournament, 10-8 in the conference, 5-5 in their last 10 games, and 3-6 on the road. I’d be afraid of those last two numbers, and I think it would require them to win at least a couple of games in the Big East tournament to show they are NCAA tourney worthy, enough to get them off that bubble. In this scenario, one and done, or one win and then out in the Big East tournament, could leave the Orange on the bubble… and I know from past history I do not want to be there.

However, a win at Marquette on March 7th would be huge, as it would be a quality road win against a top 20 team to close out the regular season, it would make them 4-5 on the road, and 6-4 in their last 10. That would put them in the NCAA tourney regardless of how they perform in the Big East tournament. Likewise a win against Villanova, instead of Marquette, would also be important and improve the resume greatly.

Winning the last five would be great for Syracuse, and it is well within their reach. That would take them to 24-7 going into the Big East tournament, 12-6 in the conference,7-3 in their last ten games, and 4-5 on the road. They are going to have to play some defense, get some offensive cohesion, and improve their teamwork.

The Georgetown game saw Johnny Flynn join the 1,000 point club for Syracuse, becoming the 51st player to reach that level. Paul Harris reached that mark earlier this year, now at 1,123 points, 43rd all time. Eric Devendorf is ten points from becoming the 20th player to reach 1,500 career points. The game also saw Arinze Onuaku pass Carmelo Anthony on the all time scoring list (though it took Arinze three seasons to accomplish what Melo did in one).

As reported in earlier blogs, Onuaku is toying with some Syracuse records. He is the all time worst free throw shooter in Syracuse history, and with his 33% shooting this year (33 of 99), he is securing that position. His career total is now 118 for 290, 40.7%, keeping him well ahead (or behind) of Terrence Roberts (48%). Onuaku is on the verge of shattering the single season free throw shooting record, with his 33% shooting. The previous mark, for someone with over 100 shots, is 42.1% by Terrence Roberts who went 56 of 133 in the 2005-2006 season.

On the positive side, Onuaku is still on pace to set the single season field goal accuracy. He is 127 of 188 from the field, at 67.6%, ahead of Roosevelt Bouie’s 65.4% in 1979-1980.

Other items of note: Devendorf is now 7th all time in three point field goals. Flynn is at 19th, and Andy Rautins is 10th all time.

Flynn is now 14th all time in assists. Devendorf is just behind him at 15th.

Let’s hope there is a lot to cheer for in the last five conference games this year.

Where The Orange Stand

The overtime win against Georgetown yesterday was another classic Syracuse/Georgetown game, going down to the wire with a lot of dramatic action and heroic efforts. The win was crucial for the Orange stopping a slide that saw Syracuse losing six of their last seven games. While the win against the tumbling Hoyas is not as impressive as it would have been a month ago, it is still a big win.

Syracuse is now 19-7 for the season, 7-6 within the Big East conference with five games to go. The strong out of conference schedule and the success against that schedule is looming as extremely important for the Orange right now. But the NCAA selection committee looks at how you do in your last ten games, and that, with other factors, is going to become very important right now.

Syracuse is above .500 in the Big East, but they are 0-5 against the six teams ahead of them in the standings, and 7-1 against the nine teams below them. That pretty much says the Orange are situated in the conference rankings right where they belong. Being the 7th team from a conference is not an ideal situation to be in, though with the depth of the Big East, it is a good position right now. However, the last five games are going to be very important.

Syracuse is currently 2-5 in road games. Their last five games are against Villanova, @ St. Johns, Cincinnati, Rutgers, and @ Marquette. Two of those teams are ahead of Syracuse in the standings: Villanova and Marquette. Syracuse cannot afford to lose to any of the three teams below them: St. Johns, Cincinnati and Rutgers. If they won those three and lost to Villanova and Marquette, they would be 22-9 going into the Big East tournament, 10-8 in the conference, 5-5 in their last 10 games, and 3-6 on the road. I’d be afraid of those last two numbers, and I think it would require them to win at least a couple of games in the Big East tournament to show they are NCAA tourney worthy, enough to get them off that bubble. In this scenario, one and done, or one win and then out in the Big East tournament, could leave the Orange on the bubble… and I know from past history I do not want to be there.

However, a win at Marquette on March 7th would be huge, as it would be a quality road win against a top 20 team to close out the regular season, it would make them 4-5 on the road, and 6-4 in their last 10. That would put them in the NCAA tourney regardless of how they perform in the Big East tournament. Likewise a win against Villanova, instead of Marquette, would also be important and improve the resume greatly.

Winning the last five would be great for Syracuse, and it is well within their reach. That would take them to 24-7 going into the Big East tournament, 12-6 in the conference,7-3 in their last ten games, and 4-5 on the road. They are going to have to play some defense, get some offensive cohesion, and improve their teamwork.

The Georgetown game saw Johnny Flynn join the 1,000 point club for Syracuse, becoming the 51st player to reach that level. Paul Harris reached that mark earlier this year, now at 1,123 points, 43rd all time. Eric Devendorf is ten points from becoming the 20th player to reach 1,500 career points. The game also saw Arinze Onuaku pass Carmelo Anthony on the all time scoring list (though it took Arinze three seasons to accomplish what Melo did in one).

As reported in earlier blogs, Onuaku is toying with some Syracuse records. He is the all time worst free throw shooter in Syracuse history, and with his 33% shooting this year (33 of 99), he is securing that position. His career total is now 118 for 290, 40.7%, keeping him well ahead (or behind) of Terrence Roberts (48%). Onuaku is on the verge of shattering the single season free throw shooting record, with his 33% shooting. The previous mark, for someone with over 100 shots, is 42.1% by Terrence Roberts who went 56 of 133 in the 2005-2006 season.

On the positive side, Onuaku is still on pace to set the single season field goal accuracy. He is 127 of 188 from the field, at 67.6%, ahead of Roosevelt Bouie’s 65.4% in 1979-1980.

Other items of note: Devendorf is now 7th all time in three point field goals. Flynn is at 19th, and Andy Rautins is 10th all time.

Flynn is now 14th all time in assists. Devendorf is just behind him at 15th.

Let’s hope there is a lot to cheer for in the last five conference games this year.

The Sidat-Singh Legacy

It has been an historic week for the United States in terms of racial equality with the inauguration of Barack Obama as President. In honor of this historic event, and in celebration of Martin Luther King, I thought a quick history of African-Americans in Syracuse basketball would be appropriate.

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh was the first African-American player for Syracuse basketball. Sidat-Singh would start the first three games of his sophomore season, and would be a regular player for coach Lew Andreas his first two seasons (Andreas used very deep rotations). Sidat-Singh would lead the Orangemen in scoring his senior season and was a standout defensive player.

Sidat-Singh would make an even greater impact on the football field, playing both half back and quarterback.

There were other African-American players in college basketball before and during that era, but few. Some of the notable players were Paul Robeson who starred at Rutgers in the 1920s, Cumberland Posey at Penn State in the 1910s, and Wilbur Wood at Nebraska. George Gregory of Columbia University had been named an All-American in 1931.

During that era Syracuse University never publicly acknowledged that Sidat-Singh was African-American. Sidat-Singh’s birth name was William Web. However, his father died when he was a child, and his mother remarried an Indian doctor Samuel Sidat-Singh. He adopted Wilmeth, and legally changed his name. Syracuse University, and the local media, took advantage of the Indian name to consistently refer to Sidat-Singh as an Indian, not an African-American.

On of the first articles mentioning Sidat-Singh was on April 14, 1936 in the Syracuse Herald, which said “Sidat-Singh, the East Indian, didn’t go out for the frosh eleven last fall but is in spring practice”

Later that year on December 12th, in previewing the St. Lawrence basketball game the Syracuse Herald stated “Bill Thompson… will see considerable action and may start in place of Sidat-Singh, the Hindu”.

It was apparent to those who actually saw Sidat-Singh that he was African-American. He was forbidden to play in the Maryland and Navy football games his junior season because those schools prohibited black athletes playing on their grounds.

Syracuse University would not have another African-American basketball player until Ronnie Kilpatrick in 1951. By then Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier in major league baseball, and doors were beginning to open.

Kilpatrick was a highly recruited player out of Rochester, New York. He would play on the varsity his freshman year, and was noted to be an outstanding rebounder. At 6’4”, he was a strong force inside. His junior season Kilpatrick was leading the Orangemen in scoring with 16.1 ppg when he was suspended and then dropped from the team for disciplinary reasons (unknown).

Manny Breland would join the team in 1953, and a year later Vinnie Cohen and the legendary football star Jim Brown would join the team. Cohen and Brown would lead the team in scoring with 15.8 and 15.1 points respectively. There were Jim Crow ‘laws’ at the time that prohibited teams from starting three black players, so Brown was the sixth man for most the season.

Breland would miss the 1955-1956 season because of tuberculosis, and Cohen and Brown would both start, Cohen again leading the team in scoring with 18.2 ppg, and Brown with 11.3 ppg.

Breland was able to return to the team for the 1956-1957 season, and it would be a very successful one for the Orangemen as they went to their first NCAA tournament, losing in the tournaments Elite Eight round. Cohen became the first Syracuse player to average 20+ points a game with 24.2 ppg. Jim Brown did not play that season, his senior year, because he refused to be a reserve because of the Jim Crow rules. Many of the Orangemen of that era feel that if Brown had been on the team, they could’ve won the national championship.

Syracuse not have any star African-American players again until the 1960-1961 season when a couple of football stars helped out the struggling basketball team. Ernie Davis and John Mackey both helped out the team in the second half of the season. Davis was an outstanding high school basketball player (he held the New York State single game scoring record at the time), and he averaged 10.2 ppg, and 9.6 rebounds a game in the 9 games he played.

In 1962 Syracuse had a new head coach, Fred Lewis, and he was a strong recruiter. He brought in Dave Bing, who brought high visibility to the 1962-1963 freshman team. Bing would join the varsity in 1963-1964, bringing three outstanding seasons, and would set the standard for all future Orangemen to follow (along with a Hall of Fame NBA career).

In 1973-1974, Syracuse had four regular African American starters for the first time, with Dennis DuVal, Fred Saunders, Rudy Hackett, and Bob Dooms joining Jimmy Lee. Ironically, only a few years earlier, the 1970-1971 Orangemen had the last ‘all white’ starting lineup with Lee’s brother Mike, Tommy Green, Greg Kohls, Mark Wadach and Bill Smith.

Syracuse’s first all African-American regular starting lineup occurring in 1989-1990, with Michael Edwards, Stephen Thompson, Billy Owens, Derrick Coleman and LeRon Ellis.

I tend to think of the 1989-1990 as a mere footnote, because there was never any hoopla about the starting five all being African-American. And that is the way it should be. Nineteen years later, and all anyone cares about is how well the player plays.

Rautins on Fire

In case you've been pulling a Rip Van Winkle the past few games, you are fairly aware of the recent hot shooting that Andy Rautins has been displaying. His 29 point, 9-16 from three point range against Coppin State pulled the headlines, but he's followed it up with a 7-10 effort against Seton Hall, and then earlier tonight a 4-8 effort against South Florida.

Rautins is a 'apparent' streaky shooter, like many perimeter shooters. But we should not take this recent streak too lightly. Not only has Rautins made 20-34 three point attempts (59%), but he has been the leading scorer for Syracuse for each of the last three games, averaging 23 points a game. His outstanding effort in the Seton Hall game likely didn't make a difference, but the monstrous effort in the Coppin State was absolutely needed, and Syracuse needed all of Rautins shots tonight in the low scoring South Florida game.

These may be some of the 'easier' defenses that Syracuse (and Rautins) will see this year, but take into consideration that his teammates are not hitting their shots, especially from the perimeter, that Eric Devendorf was suspended for a couple of games, and that Jonny Flynn hurt his hip and has struggled recently, and we could have been looking at some ugly losses on the team resume.

Rautins is now 44 for 108 on the season, or 40.7% from three point range. Based on his season average (and we are almost at the midway point), Rautins is on pace for about 104 three point baskets this year. The Syracuse record is for a season is 107 by Gerry McNamara, so Rautins has a shot at it. I think his pace will slow down as Devo gets back into form, and Flynn picks up his pace, but it would be great if Rautins could keep his shooting going.