A Farewell with Redemption

The Big East Tournament has turned into a fond farewell for the Syracuse players and the fans.  The magic and aura of the madness in Madison Square Garden will dearly be missed, something we all are becoming more aware of each and every game Syracuse advances.  Tonight it will end. 

Fortunately for the Orange, the Tournament is going to bring a positive resolution for many involved.  The backdrop of the poor performance by the Orange over the past few weeks, only heightens what we can observe today.

First, congratulations to Trevor Cooney. We have been hearing about how well he plays in practice, but had yet seen that play in Big East action. Last night, was his coming out party with 10 points, including a couple of threes. More impressive was his hustle, solid defense, and rebounding. He could not have chosen a better stage.

Baye Keita did his Gerry McNamara impression, and calmly drained seven out of seven free throws.  He did a yeoman’s job of handling Georgetown’s big men, and had a team high 13 points.

James Southerland… what a way to shake off some shooting rust.  He has tied the Big East Tournament three point shooting record with his 16 treys, and he still has one game left to play. I am glad to see the senior get some glory in MSG; it allows us to forget his poor shooting down the stretch of the season.

And it was great to see Brandon Triche show some emotion, and get his game back on track. The senior has meant a lot to the Orange over four years, and it was so disappointing to see his season fall apart over the last few weeks. He has had the opportunity to make some treys in the tournament, and has made some excellent decisions in driving to the hoop.  That is the type of play that Triche has shown in the past when he leads this team; it fuels the Orange offense and allows it to fire on all cylinders.

C.J. Fair had a poor game shooting and uncharacteristically made some poor decisions, something he would surely like to forget. But his emphatic dunk in overtime that gave Syracuse the four point margin should erase all memories of that. That dunk will be remembered as one of the greatest in SU history.

It is tough leaving the Big East, and it was very disappointing to close out the regular season playing poorly. Losing to Georgetown in a non-competitive situation in the Dome really hurt. We have all become accustomed to fierce games between the two teams, and that loss was anti-climatic.

Last night’s game erases that memory. A 58-53 overtime win just added to the legacy of the series.  It is unfortunate it is the last meaningful game between the two schools.  Even if the Orange had lost last night, it would have been a fitting conclusion… a hard fought physical games, and something to appreciate. The fact that Syracuse won makes it far sweeter.

Finally, the man who is really getting his due is coach Jim Boeheim.  I hope no one doubts how much the Big East Conference has meant to Boeheim. He has stated that the past two years, but people may just take it for granted. Having the opportunity to play Georgetown last night was extra special for him; you could tell by his emotions down the stretch and post game.  Typically the only emotions you will see from Boeheim in a game are anger and stoicism.  Last night you could see that Boeheim really wanted to win the game; it was very special for him. He was displaying excitement about the players positive scoring in the last few minutes of the game and in overtime.  His moist eyes in the post game interviews revealed any more.  The Georgetown series is now officially over.

I’ve been blessed to be old enough to be able to watch all the Big East Tournaments since inception. This is meaningful to me.  Just think about how meaningful it is to Jim Boeheim? He lives and breaths college basketball, and loves the Big East. This isn’t just a hobby for him; it has been an integral part of his life, and he knows it is going away forever.  It has to make him feel very happy knowing that his team put on a good show during their last Big East Tournament.

I think that is all he wanted from this week. And I think Syracuse fans would all agree.

Super Bowl Trivia Answer

The question I posed on Friday, was can you name the two former Syracuse University basketball players who have played in the Super Bowl.

The answer is Donovan McNabb and John Mackey.

McNabb was the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. He was a member of the Syracuse basketball team his freshman and sophomore years (1995-1996 and 1996-1997).  McNabb has the rare distinction of being part of an NCAA Final Four team in basketball and a Super Bowl team; I believe Julius Peppers is the only other person to accomplish this feat.

Mackey was the starting tight end for the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V.  In Super Bowl V, Mackey caught a deflected pass from Johnny Unitas to go for a 75 yard touchdown, then a Super Bowl record, as the Colts went on to win the championship.

Super Bowl Quiz - Orange Hoops Style

The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens prepare to square off in Super Bowl XLVII this weekend.  Just to tie Syracuse University basketball into this, I have a trivia question.

Q:  Name the two former Syracuse University Basketball Players who have played in the Super Bowl.

Good luck. Answer will be later this weekend.

Boeheim Passes Knight

Congratulations to Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who won his 903rd game tonight against Rutgers, allowing him to pass Bobby Knight in the all-time win list.  Boeheim now stands at #2 all-time behind Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is at 940 and climbing.

I have always been a huge fan of Bobby Knight, regarding his coaching ability. Knight finished his career at 902-371, with 3 National Championships and 5 Final Fours. 

For some perspective, Boeheim's career record is now 903-302.  He has 69 fewer losses than Knight.

If Keith Smart missed that jump shot against Syracuse in 1987, Bobby Knight would have finished his career with a 901-372 record, with 2 National Championships and 5 Final Fours.

Boeheim's resume, if Smart misses that jump shot (or if Derrick Coleman makes his free throw prior to that), would be 904-301, with 2 National Championships and 3 Final Fours. 

Knight is an unquestioned great basketball coach. Boeheim, without a free throw or jump shot he could not control, would have an equal/better resume. 

Just some perspective.

Syracuse Wins Pinstripe Bowl

Congratulations to the Syracuse Orange as they beat traditional rival West Virginia 38-14 in the Pinstripe Bowl.  Syracuse overpowered West Virginia's defense with its running game, and shot down WVU's Geno Smith.

 

Syracuse had 378 yards of rushing, led by Prince-Tyson Gulley and his 219 rushing yards, and 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving). Jerome Smith also had a big day with 158 yards rushing.

 

The Syracuse defense held WVU's high powered offense to only 14 points, and twice forced Smith into a safety.

 

The Orange get to keep the Schwarzewalder Trophy, which they may now have for a long time. It was fortunate the Orange got to meet the Mountaineers in the bowl this year, the 60th time the two teams have met.  With WVU now in the Big 12, and Syracuse moving to the ACC, it may be a long time until they can meet again, which is a terrible shame, and an indictment of the greed the colleges in the NCAA, and the lack of effort by the fans/alumni bases to care otherwise.

Boeheim Wins 900

Congratulations to Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim on this 900^th career win.  The coach will profess to not caring about the numbers, but 900 is quite an accomplishment.  Only two other coaches, Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski, have accomplished that feat in Division I Men’s basketball.

 

Boeheim’s record now stands at 900-304; he has won 74.8% of the games he has coached. He was 52-24 as a player at Syracuse, and 139-65 as an assistant basketball coach.  Syracuse has won 1091 games that Boeheim has been associated with, against 393 losses. 

He is the winningnest coach in Big East History (by far), at 353-185.  He is 547-119 in non-Big East games. 

Boeheim has coached in 261 games against top 25 teams, and has a 130-131 record in those games.  Has has a 69-79 record when coaching against teams ranked higher than Syracuse in the polls (that would include games where Syracuse was not ranked).  He has a 615-158 record against teams ranked lower than Syracuse in the polls (that would include games where the opponent was not ranked).

Boeheim has a 53-64 record against teams ranked in the top 10, and a record of 17-41 against teams in the top 5.

Syracuse University basketball has an all-time record of 1854-821.  Boeheim has accounted for 48.5% of those wins as a coach, and 58.8% as a player/coach.

The worst season in Boeheim’s career was 1981-1982, when Syracuse went 16-13.  Even in that season he went .500 in the Big East, going 9-9. 

Over the past four seasons, Jim Boeheim is 101-16, winning 86.3% of his games. He is 44-10 in the Big East those same four years.

29 players for Jim Boeheim have played in the NBA.

Boeheim has won one National Championship (2003), and been to four Final Fours.  He has won 9 Big East Season Championships, and 5 Big East Tournament Championships.

Special Treatment? Not QuiteThe Benefit You Think

I have seen a lot of chatter about Michael Carter-Williams getting special treatment with the alleged shoplifting incident at Lord & Taylor's, as reported by Mike Waters of the Post-Standard.  Most of the negative chatter is about how Carter-Williams is getting preferential treatment because he is a high profiled Syracuse athlete, implying that the average person would be getting different treatment in this situation.

 

I would agree that he is indeed getting special treatment, but not to his benefit.  The policy, as reported by Waters is: 

"Lord & Taylor’s store policy dictates how to deal with shoplifters, according to one source. In most cases, the police are not called. Instead, a person who admits to shoplifting must pay a civil fine. The fine is five times the value of the merchandise with a cap at $500. When the fine is paid, the accused is released. Shoplifters are not allowed to keep the merchandise."

The article further states that in most cases the police are never involved, nor even is mall security.

 

If Carter-Williams was the average Syracuse citizen, he would have paid the fine, the issue would be resolved, and the issue would have no public attention.  Instead, because he is a star athlete, and people recognized him at the mall, he is being persecuted by members of the public.  How is Carter-Williams benefiting in this situation from his celebrity?

I do not condone this alleged shoplifting action.  However it does seem to me that based on the facts presented in the article, he was treated by Lord & Taylor's as if he was the typical Syracuse citizen caught up in the same circumstance.  And that is the way it should be, regarding how it was handled from their end.  No special treatment.

The special treatment he is getting is from the media and the public because of his celebrity.  Mike Waters has to report on this, because ignoring the story would be irresponsible journalism. There is a story that is floating around the community regarding something that impacts Syracuse basketball, and if he has done his diligence and gotten the facts, he should report on them.