#804 for Boeheim behind Balanced Scoring

The Orange moved to 5-0 with a hard earned victory over Cornell. Syracuse grabbed control of the game in the second half and made the final score one sided, but Cornell shot the lights out in the first half, and made the Orange work for this one. This was Jim Boeheim’s 804th career victory, tying him for 7th all time with Eddie Sutton.

The Orange have not yet played a game that has been close in the final two minutes, so there are many questions on how those types of games will go for Syracuse. Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf were the ‘go to’ guys in the past couple of years. There may not be ‘the guy’ to go to this year, at least not in the classical sense of the big scorer. I suspect as the season goes on that one of the guards will become the playmaker that you want the ball in the hands of, and he’ll make the right decision. And I think Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins, depending on the scenario will be the guys who end up taking those last minutes shots more often than not. But we will have to wait and see.

Syracuse has a statistical anomaly after the first five games. Five different players have led the Orange in scoring this season: Arinze Onuaku, Andy Rautins, Scoop Jardine, Wesley Johnson and Brandon Triche. This year’s team is a selfless team, as a few of the players have already stated, and so far the scoring indicates that. It will be interesting how that plays out over the course of the year.

When was the last time the Orangemen had 5 different players lead them in scoring in the first five games? If you go back to the 2003-2004 season, they had four players do it in the first five games: Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, Billy Edelin and Terrence Roberts.

You could go back to 1980-1981 where Tony Bruin, Leo Rautins, Erich Santifer, Danny Schayes and Marty Headd all led the team in scoring in the first five games. But I would not really count this one, as Headd and Rautins tied for the lead in scoring in one game, and Schayes led it two other games.

The last time that five different players led the team in scoring for each of the five games was 34 years ago back in 1976-1977, Jim Boeheim’s first year (and victories #1 through #4). Larry Kelley, Roosevelt Bouie, Dale Shackleford, Marty Byrnes and Ross Kindel all had a hand in leading the team in scoring. That team would end up 26-4. Noteworthy is that Louis Orr was on that team, and was not one of those five players.

Three other times in school history this pattern has emerged. In 1935-1936, Ollie Scott, Norm Leavitt, Jack Curran, Edgar Sonderman and Johnny Simonaitus each had the honor. The squad would finish the year 12-5.

In 1922-1923, the Orangemen struggled to find a consistent leader, and had six different players lead them in scoring in the first six games: George Fisher, George Noakes, Pete MacRae, Bernie Kates, Pep Fasce, and John Gallivan. This team struggled to 9-11. Ironically, they started out 5-0.

And back in 1918-1919, the Orangemen had Jimmy Kernan, Bob Marcus, John Barsha, Nick Paul and Danny Martin all take the honors in the first five games. That squad would finish 13-3. Ironically, the team’s second leading scorer Charley Dolley, would not take scoring honors until the 7th game of the season; Dolley was also the team’s clutch shooter that year winning three games with last minute baskets.

We'll have to wait and see if Syracuse can pull a sixth top scorer for the Columbia game this coming Friday. Perhaps Rick Jackson or Kris Joseph will get the honor.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Orange Win 2k Sports Classic

Wow. I would be lying if I told you I thought the Orange would be 4-0 at this point of this season. I would have been pleased with 3-1. The team lost its top three scorers from last season, including Jonny Flynn who basically controlled every aspect of the offense last year.

Syracuse easily beat Robert Morris and Albany. I had hope and optimism from those two games because the Orange not only beat those teams, but they beat them easily, something that Syracuse really has not done for the past decade. Even in the famous 2002-2003 season, the Orange won a lot of close games, and really never blew too many teams out of the building.

But this year’s Orangemen have taken this a step even further. The not only beat easily the teams they should beat, they took on #12 California and #4 North Carolina, and easily dismantled those teams. That’s the North Carolina Tar Heels, the defending national champion. Yes, the Tar Heels lost four starters from last year, but they still have a ton of talent, a Hall of Fame coach, and they were ranked #4. That was Syracuse 87, North Carolina 71.

I have no idea how good this Syracuse team is, but it is clearly not the #6 team in the Big East. Wesley Johnson is one of those rare situations where he is better than advertised. Johnson had 25 points and 8 rebounds against a big Tar Heel front line. He was 10-17 from the floor and 4-8 from three point range.

Andy Rautins has clearly grabbed the leadership of this team, and his teammates are behind him. Rautins defense in the zone has been simply superb this year. He had seven steals this evening, to go along with his seven rebounds and seven assists. Oh yeah, he did make a few threes going 3-8. Rautins is showing all the poise, guile and maturity of a fifth year senior, and that time on the Canadian National Team is surely helping him. And those passes Rautins is throwing? I hope his teammates are icing down their hands because he is blistering them.

Scoop Jardine is making us almost want to say “Johnny who?”. Jardine is not the scorer Flynn was, but he surely is showing he can run an offense. And he is backing up Brandon Triche. I’ll be really excited to see what happens when these two actually learn how to run this team.

Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku are just eating up the inside. And unlike the past two seasons, their teammates are getting the ball inside to them.

Of course the real success to this team is their defense, which has been outstanding. Extremely active, very active. They have long bodies on the court, but it’s the mental attitude that is making the difference. These guys really buy into the Jim Boeheim defense, and are giving a clinic on how to run it.

We can temper our expectations with a few realities. The team is flat awful at free throw shooting. If another team can get them into a close game, it will be tough for the Orange to pull it out. It some aspects it reminds me of the Orangemen in the Coleman-Douglas-Owens era. Those guys would run most opponents off the court; when they lost a game it was a close one where the free throws did matter.

The Orangemen are also making a lot of turnovers, though they did well against California. Part of that is being overly aggressive, and part is being youthful at some positions. Those types of turnovers can hurt you down the road. This is something that can be corrected (unlike the free throws which will be an albatross this year).

It is going to be a long season. One with many ups and downs as the team learns. But right now they are definitely on an up. Hard to believe this is the same squad who played LeMoyne a few weeks ago. Time for the Orange fans to really enjoy this.

I know I am eager to see what this team can do over the long haul. Let’s go Orange!

Let's Play Two

“Let’s play two”, was what the legendary Ernie Banks was attributed to saying. The Orange faithful can all remember back to the memorable 6 Overtime game against UConn on March 12th, 2009 at the Big East Tournament. It surely seemed like Syracuse played two that day. And technically, they did as when the game ended at 1:40 am EDT, they went to bed, woke up and played West Virginia that night (and of course, that game went into overtime too). I doubt we’ll ever see another team play 195 minutes of basketball in the Big East tournament, even if they expand to another round.

The other thing we are likely never to see again is a scheduled doubleheader of basketball. Who would be crazy enough to do that? Well, former Syracuse coach and athletic director Lew Andreas did just that to kick off the 1948-1949 season. Syracuse played the University of Toronto on the afternoon of December 4th, 1948 at the Syracuse Coliseum, and later that evening came back and played the Ithaca College. Syracuse would win both games easily, beating Toronto 81-41, and Ithaca 76-34. Jack Kiley and Ed Stickel would lead the scoring for the day, both having a combined 25 points for each game.

Of course, Syracuse did have some advantages in those games, especially when compared to the Syracuse/UConn 6OT game. First of all, the competition was far less intense, as the final scores indicated. Second of all, there was a couple of hours break between the two games. And third, and most importantly, was how deep Andreas went into his bench for each game.

In terms of playing his reserve players, Andreas was the anti-Boeheim. 19 different Orangemen would play against Toronto in the first game, 17 players would play in the second game. Coach Andreas was notorious for making wholesale substitutions during his coaching career on the hill, and often had a First Team, Second Team, Third Team, that he would send in as a whole group. In some games, he would start his second team, and then bring his first team in.

The 19 players that Andreas played in the Ithaca game were not a school record. On January 14, 1939, Syracuse played Fordham at Archbold Gymnasium. The Orangemen routed the Rams 57-22. Andreas would play 21 different players that day; the local news that day questioned if that was possibly a collegiate record (I don’t know the answer to that even now).

To put 21 players into perspective, Jim Boeheim has only played 20 different players the past two seasons combined, and 25 different players the past three seasons combined.

Anyhow, let’s play two!

Veterans Day 2009

On this Veterans day, I would like to once again thank all those who have served our country, putting their lives on the line to do those tasks that need to be done.The Orange basketball team has had its share of veterans over the decades. And has been tradition at OrangeHoops, I would like to recognize those former basketball Orangemen who did serve. I acknowledge this is not a complete list; only those I know of (each year I add a few more). I imagine more Orangemen were in the service that I am omitting; if so, please post a recognition here! Also please feel free to recognize any other veterans in the comments.

In World War I, the following served:

Albert Ackley
Bradley Barnard
Meyer Bloom
Jim Casey
Ed Cronauer
John Cronauer
Charles Fasce
Russ Finsterwald
Ken Harris
Ted Huntley
Bernie Kates
Ken Lavin
Nathan Malefski
Danny Martin
Walter ‘Dutch’ Notman
Walter Peters
Elias Raff
Billy Rafter
Horace Ruffin
Courtland Sanney

In World War II, the following served:

Jim Ackerson
John Balinsky
Dick Casey
Larry Crandall
Wilbur Crisp
Dan DiPace
Les Dye
Alton Elliott
John Emerich
Bob Felasco
Paul Ferris
Billy Gabor
Ed Glacken
Joe Glacken
Marc Guley
Lew Hayman
Bill Hennemuth
Tom Huggins
George Jarvis
Jim Konstanty
Stan Kruse (Kruszewski)
Guy Luciano
Saul Mariaschin
Tom McTiernan
Francis Miller
Joe Minsavage
Andy Mogish
Roy Peters
Hank Piro
Phil Rakov
John Schroeder
Bill Schubert
Bob Shaddock
Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
Red Stanton
Mike Stark
Joe Sylvestri
Charles Taggart
Ray Tice

In Korea the following served:

Reaves Baysinger, Jr

In Vietnam, the following served:

Reaves Baysinger, Jr
George Crofoot
Rick Dean

The following were veterans who served but were fortunate to miss a war era:

Art Barr
Mel Besdin
Rudy Cosentino
Roy Danforth
Ronnie Kilpatrick
George Koesters
Jack Malone

Four of the aforementioned players deserve special note, as they sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Wilmeth Sidat-Singh was a member of the Tuskegee Airman, and was killed in a training accident when his plane crashed into Lake Michigan in 1943.

Charles Taggart was a member of the US Navy serving aboard the USS Frederick C. Davis, and was killed when his ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat on April 24, 1945. Taggart and 115 crew members perished.

John Cronauer was killed in World War I in 1918.

Joe Minsavage was killed in World War II on June 19, 1943 when his ship was attacked and he was lost at sea.

Win #800

Congratulations to Jim Boeheim on his career win #800. It was an inevitable win for a coach who routinely wins twenty games a year. If the win did not come against the Great Danes of Albany (it did 75-43), it was going to happen. It seems like only yesterday that Boeheim won game #700; in fact it was a lopsided win over Providence at the Dome on February 26, 2005, with Hakim Warrick leading the way with 36 points.

Syracuse University has now won 1756 games, fifth all time for NCAA Division I basketball (only Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Duke have more). Jim Boeheim hasn’t coached all those games, it just seems that way. He has however won 45.5% of the games the Orange have won. As a player, Syracuse was 52-24, as varsity assistant coach, Syracuse was 139-65. So all combined, he has been involved with 991 wins for Syracuse basketball. Think about the magnitude of that number… 991. He has been involved with 56% of the wins for Syracuse basketball.

The 2008-09 season should be an interesting one to watch. It would have been a different season had Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris all stayed. There is no doubt about that. A team with a ton of experience and talent, a rare combination in today’s NCAA. And definitely a team that could have challenged for the NCAA tournament, even though it had some weaknesses. However, I think this year’s team, as currently comprised will be an NCAA tournament team, one that will be much better in March than it is in November. It is a young team in some aspects, but it is a team with some fifth year seniors (Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku), and a some great potential in young players.

Let’s go Orange.

The Best to Transfer to the Orange

The 2009-2010 basketball season is soon upon us. The Albany game on November 11th is quickly approaching. This should be a very interesting season, and despite losing four significant players in Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf and Kris Onganaet. There was a lot of talent still remaining on the team, and the incoming freshmen are highly taugted. But the most interesting player for this upcoming season may be Wesley Johnson.

Johnson was a strong player as a freshman and sophomore at Iowa State, averaging 12.3 points a game and 6.1 rebounds. He has been described as a fantastic rebounder in practice, and based on his both is resume and his build, I do not see a reason to doubt that he can indeed rebound. The Big 12 is a highly reputable conference, and those were decent numbers for a young player in that conference.

We will not know what to expect until the games actually begin. How well does Johnson transition from the Big 12 to the Big East will remain to be seen, as does how he gels with his new teammates (whom he has been fortunate to be practicing with during his redshirt transfer year).

There really have been seven notably successful transfers to Syracuse since 1940, and if Johnson can fall into the upper half of this group, Syracuse will be in good shape. For purposes of discussion, I excluded transfers pre-1940; college transfer and eligibility rules were different a while back, and it just made a mess to evaluate them.

#7 of the best transfers for Syracuse is Michael Lloyd. Lloyd scored 1,871 points in two years of junior college at San Jacinto College, and he did not disappoint at Syracuse. He replaced the graduating Adrian Autry, and Lloyd helped Syracuse to a 12-6 Big East record, 20-10 overall. Lloyd would play only one year because of an academic disqualification of his San Jacinto credits. But he helped guide a team with Lawrence Moten and John Wallace.

#6 is Fred Saunders. Saunders came to Syracuse from Southwest Louisiana, and would only be eligible for the second semester of his senior year. Saunders was an NBA style forward, capable of running the court well and a strong rebounder. Syracuse started the 1973-74 season at 7-3, but would finish 12-4 after Saunders joined the lineup. Saunders ‘only’ averaged 9.8 points a game; but scoring wasn’t what the Orangemen needed. His 9.8 rebounds helped Rudy Hackett up front and the Orange would make the NCAA tournament with their strong finish.

#5 is LeRon Ellis. Ellis had an outstanding sophomore season for the University of Kentucky, averaging 16 ppg and 5.5 rebounds. Kentucky was nailed with recruiting violations and the NCAA allowed any player who was not part of the scandal to transfer and play immediately at any other school, so Syracuse was the beneficiary of Ellis’ transfer.

Ellis may be better than I am crediting him for. He did end up being a first round NBA pick. But while Ellis was a physically gifted player with a nice soft shot, he was not a strong inside presence, and was ‘soft’ by Big East standards. He did allow Derrick Coleman to move back to the forward position, and Ellis did have to split time with Rich Manning his first year (Manning would transfer). Ellis improved a lot his senior year, both in scoring and rebounding. And he provided some crucial senior leadership in 1991 as the lone scholarship senior.

#4 is Jason Cipolla, the junior college transfer from Tallahassee Community College. Cipolla was a New York kid, a tough player on the court who provided some critical perimeter shooting on the 1996 Final Four team. He’d split a lot of time that year with Marius Janulis, and the duo were a three point shooting monster. Cipolla would be part of a ‘smaller’ Syracuse team in 1997, a team that had more three point shooters than is the Orange norm. He would score 13 points a game and make 85% of his free throws.

3 Ryan Blackwell 30 g, 118 pts, 3.9 ppg

#3 is Ryan Blackwell, who transferred to Syracuse from Illinois. Blackwell was unhappy with his playing time at Illinois, averaging 3.9 ppg. He made an immediate impact at Syracuse, helping to upgrade the strength on the front line and doing yeoman’s work as a rebounder. He would average 7.8 rebounds a game in his three years at Syracuse; while not outstanding numbers, they are very respectable. Add in his 11.8 points a game, along with is solid defense, and two NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances, and his impact is noticeable.

#2 is the seldom mentioned, perhaps obscure, Chuck Richards. Richards transferred from West Point to Syracuse. At 6’9”, 220 lbs he provided the big man that Fred Lewis needed for his Orangemen. The Orangemen went from 8-13 to 17-8 and the NIT Tournament in Richards first year on the hill. A large part of that of course was the arrival of a great sophomore class led by the legendary Dave Bing, who had 22.2 ppg and 8.2 rebounds. But Richards took advantage of teams focusing on Bing, and scored 22 points a game himself, along with 9.5 rebounds. Hard to knock those numbers, regardless of the situation. Richards’ numbers would decrease his senior year as a result of injuries and the presence of other players taking possessions away, but he still had a respectable 14.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

#1 in my opinion, is no contest. The best transfer at Syracuse has been Leo Rautins. Rautins played for Minnesota his freshman year, and put up solid numbers of 8.3 ppg, to go along with 106 assists and 110 rebounds. He was second in the Big 10 with assists, as a freshman, to some sophomore named Magic Johnson. As a sophomore Rautins showed his versatility, helping run the Syracuse offense, scoring 9.4 ppg with 3.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds. He would cap off his sophomore season with the dramatic tip in basket in triple overtime to allow Syracuse to beat Villanova and win the Big East Championship.

Rautins would help lead Syracuse to a Second Big East Championship in 1982. He would lead the team in assists and rebounds, and averaged 13.3 ppg. His senior year he continued to improve, increasing his scoring to 14.2 ppg, along with 6.2 apg, and 7.3 rpg. He shot 75% from the free throw line, 52% from the floor, and he’d finish his collegiate career with three triple doubles. Rautins would also be a first round NBA pick.

High Schools of Note to the Syracuse Landscape

You sometimes hear that a college has a “pipeline” with a particular high school, a school where they seem to get a lot of their top talent from. I do not think those situations are as prominent as some may suggest, at least not in the past few decades, though there are clearly situations where a school as obtained two or three good players in a short period of time from one high school.

I’ve started working recently on my OrangeHoops website, putting together a listing of all the high schools and prep schools that Syracuse players have attended. It’s by no means a complete list, and admittedly, since I am short of all the data, there could be some significant contributing schools that I am missing. Nevertheless, I do have some opinions on which schools have helped Syracuse basketball the most over its 110 year history.

Top of mind will be Jamesville-Dewitt High School, who already sent Danny Schayes and Andy Rautins to the Orangemen. With Brandon Triche joining the Orange this year, it will be interesting to see how he does; if he has an outstanding collegiate career, J-D will definitely move up my list. I think it is interesting that the three most significant Orangemen basketball players from J-D are all related to notable Syracuse basketball players. Danny was the son of NBA Legend Dolph Schayes of the Syracuse Nationals, Andy of course the son of Leo Rautins, and Brandon the nephew of former Syracuse captain Howard Triche.

Now when ranking the impact the schools have had on Syracuse, it is both a combination of the greatness of the players and how many players. Towson Catholic gave Syracuse Carmelo Anthony and Donte Greene, but that is only two players, both who only played one year at Syracuse. Admittedly, two of the best freshman seasons on the hill ever, but not enough to make the top 5.

Dunbar High School (Baltimore) gave us some players in the 1980s & 90s, Masten Park (Buffalo) basically formed the team in the early 1900s, Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) has sprinkled in some players over the years, and Lansingburg (Troy, NY) gave the Orange some solid players in the 1920s. Tiny Norwich was a big impact on the Orange in the first quarter century, and the Manlius Military Academy had its moments before it closed down.

However, these are my top five:

Binghamton Central (Binghamton, NY). Binghamton gave Syracuse a four sport letterman in Joe Vavra in the 1930s; he would be more successful in boxing than in the other sports, but nevertheless was a valuable member of the basketball team. It was when Bullet Billy Gabor stepped on the court in 1942 that Binghamton Central became important; Gabor was the first thousand point man for Syracuse. In the 1950s two more BC guys came, Ted Parke, and Jon Cincebox. Cincebox is from a statistical perspective the best rebounder Syracuse has ever had (based on rebounds per game).

Springarn High School (Washington, DC). This is the exception to the rule, but what an exception. Only three players to Syracuse, but when two of them are Dave Bing and Sherman Douglas, arguably the two best guards Syracuse has ever had, it’s tough to overlook the school. Add in Gerry McFadden who transferred to Syracuse in the late 1960s, and you have three starters from this D.C. school.

The top three schools are miles ahead of the rest, and were difficult to sort through. At number three I have Mont Pleasant High School (Schenectady, NY). This school was indeed a pipeline for the Orangemen, starting in the 1930s and going into the late 1950s. John Gorecki, Paul Podbielski, Don MacNaughton, Stan Kruse, Chris Koray, Roy Peters, Dick Suprunowicz, Bill Manikis, Jack Larnad, Larry Loudis, Bruce Kollath, and Chaundu Carey all came from Mont Pleasant. While this school was not producing superstar players for the Orange, it was producing solid everyday players, the type of players who start for two or three seasons, or do the dirty work of a sixth or seventh man.

Number two is Central High School, of Syracuse, now long closed. In the 1920s Central was the pipeline for Syracuse University, and was one of the best basketball programs in New York State. Central did not have a basketball team until shortly before 1920. Syracuse basketball players George Noakes and Herman Brickman, though both alumni of Central, likely played basketball for the Syracuse YMCA rather than at Central. But basketball was becoming a popular sport, and individuals such as Dave Brodsky championed to have the programs at their high schools.

That would lead to players such as Brodsky, Gordon Mahley and Phil Rakov playing together in high school, and then together for the Orangemen. More importantly, a young man named Vic Hanson also played basketball with them at Central. Hanson, of course, would lead Syracuse to the 1927 Helms Foundation National Championship, along with earning himself recognition in the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Brodsky, upon graduation at Syracuse, would go back to Central and coach the basketball team for several years. He would win several district championships and some state championships while there. All which would lead to Brodsky as being recognized as the “father of Syracuse high school basketball”. Along the way, talented players such as Ken Beagle, Ronnie Phillips, George Armstrong and Warren Stevens would play for him. Later players such as Adam Markowski, the wonderfully talented Manny Breland, and crew legend Bill Sanford would attend Central.

Which brings us to the top high school for Syracuse basketball. Surprisingly, it is not a Syracuse area high school, though it is a New York school. Brooklyn Boys & Girls School (formerly Brooklyn Boys) has been the source of more impact players than any other high school for Syracuse basketball. In the mid 1910’s, Syracuse saw the arrival of Charley Dolley and John Barsha. Dolley was a great shooter, and developed a reputation at Syracuse for his game winning shots. Barsha was an outstanding defensive player, and a critical part of the 1918 Syracuse Helms Foundation National Champions. Barsha would also earn All-American status in football. Fellow gridiron star Herm Sawyer would also play hoops.

In the 1950’s Brooklyn Boys & Girls would send the talented Vinnie Cohen to the Hill. Cohen would lead Syracuse to its first NCAA berth, and a final position in the Elite eight, along with being the first Syracuse player to average twenty points a game in a season. The 1960s saw Sam Penceal arrive with his strong defensive play (good enough to shut down the multi-talented Bill Bradley). Later in the decade, Vaughn Harper brought his tremendous leaping ability and rebounding skills to the Orangemen. And last, but certainly not least, in 1983 Boy & Girls sent the much publicized Pearl Washington to the Dome, where the Pearl electrified the crowds, and helped make 30k-plus crowds a true ‘happening’ in the Carrier Dome.

Who knows? Perhaps the success of Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris will revitalize the Buffalo connection. Or Kris Joseph will help the Baltimore/D.C. pipeline, or the Canadian express line. But the schools above, definitely helped sculpt the landscape of Syracuse basketball.