A Rule Change to Steal from TBT

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) has done an admirable job of creating a fun basketball tournament during mid-summer.   The Elam ending ensures a game winning basket for every game.  Boeheim's Army was fortunate enough to have six game winning baskets last summer on the way to its first TBT championship.

I am not, however, a fan of taking the Elam ending for college basketball. It is a great gimmick for TBT, but forcing a game winning shot for every game waters down the "game winning shot".  With an Elam ending you have no half court shot buzzer beaters; the Pearl shot never occurs, nor does the Ennis heroics over Pitt.  With an Elam ending, dramatic overtime victories do not  happen. No memorable six game overtime victory over UConn.  

The Elam ending is not the concept I want to steal from TBT.  I do want college basketball to take the concept of a team in the bonus getting one free throw and possession of the ball when fouled in a non-shooting act.  This greatly discourages an opposing team from fouling in order to stop the clock and get possession back. They would have to play good defense, and hope they can stop the opposing team cleanly.  They could foul on a shot attempt, but that gives the opposing team two free throws, and of course you always risk a team making the shot attempt and getting the plus one.

I would also add an addendum to the rule, and allow a team the option of one free throw and possession, OR two free throws and give up possession.  I assume the latter option would seldom be chosen, but it would eliminate the scenario of a team deliberating fouling a non-shooter with seconds left on the clock, to prevent a team from getting a shot off in a two point game. 

Teams would have a difficult time deliberately fouling themselves back into the game.  This would keep the pace of the ending of a game flowing freely, and I think greatly reduce the long drag a foul fest can have.

Congratulations to Boeheim's Army 2021 TBT Champions

Boeheim's Army, the team comprised of six Syracuse alumni and four guests, won the The Basketball Tournament (TBT) last night with a dramatic 69-67 win over Team 23.  Keifer Sykes hit the game winning three point shot in the Elam ending to give Boeheim's Army the win. Boeheim's Army beat out 63 other teams to win the $1 million prize.

The game was a fun, tight affair for most the night, with a lot of aggressive defense and some clutch shooting.  

It was truly a magical Syracuse affair as four members of the Boeheim family were in attendance:  Jim,  Juli, Jimmy Jr, and Buddy.  All three Syracuse assistant coaches were also there:  Adrian Autry, Gerry McNamara, and Allen Griffin.  Syracuse booster and Boeheim's Army chairman of operations Adam Weitsman pledged $1 million donation to local Syracuse charities in honor of the win.

Tyrese Rice led all of BA's scorers with 86 points and 18 assists.  Chris McCullough was right behind him with 81 points, and a team leading 42 rebounds.  D.J. Kennedy, the TBT's all-time leading scorer, and 5-time tournament champion, had 35 points and 42 rebounds.

Keifer Sykes was the hottest shooter for Boeheim's Army hitting 50% of his three point attempts in the tournament, with 11 baskets in 22 attempts.  Eric Devendorf also hit 50%, making 4 of 8.

C.J. Fair has the best +/- for BA in the tournament with a +38, despite playing in the third fewest minutes, and half of what the leaders played.

A special thanks for the memories to Eric Devendorf and Tyler Lydon, who both have announced that they are retiring from professional basketball after last night.

Below is the composite scoring for all of Boeheim's Army over the six game tournament.

Boeheim's Army Combined Stats after 5 games

 Boeheim's Army has made the TBT Championship game, to be played this Tuesday night against Team 23.  

Here are the total stats of the Boeheim Army's players after five games:

Statistics of Note From 2020-2021

The Orange Men's basketball team wrapped up its season last week with the Sweet Sixteen loss to the Houston Cougars.  The team finished the season 18-10, with a winning percentage of 64.5%.  This is the best won/loss percentage since the 2013-2014 season when the team went  28-6.

Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the program this year, the men's basketball team has made 11 of the past 12 NCAA tournaments.  The team has not bee seeded as high as fans are accustomed to, but it is not a case of the team not going to the dance.  In seven of those eleven appearances, the Orange have advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen.

The 2020-2021 team set the school record for the best team free throw shooting percentage, making 78.2% of their free throws.  This shattered the school record of 75.1% set in 1983-1984.

The team averaged 15 assists per game.  That is the third highest average per game in the past nine seasons.  

The team shot 35.0% from three point range.  That is the team's third highest percentage in the past ten seasons.

Buddy Boeheim led the team with 17.8 points per game.  That may not seem high considering the previous four seasons had scoring leaders average more (Andrew White, Tyus Battle twice, and Elijah Hughes).   But consider that no Orange player averaged that amount of points for the nine seasons from 2007-2008 through 2015-2016.  That included Donte' Greene, Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson, Kris Joseph (twice), C.J. Fair (twice), Rakeem Christmas, and Michael Gbinije as scoring leaders.

Alan Griffin's free throw percentage of 89.7% is the highest since Gerry McNamara in 2005-2006.

Alan Griffin is the first small forward to lead the team in blocked shots.  He had more this year than Bourama Sidibe did last year.

 Buddy Boeheim's 14 three point field goals in the NCAA tournament were the third most ever by an  Orange player in the tournament.  Gerry McNamara's 18 in 2003 is tops.

Back to Back 30+ games

Buddy Boeheim just put together back to back 30+ point games.  The last time that happened for Syracuse was in 2005. Hakim Warrick had 35 against St. John’s and then 36 against Providence.

And unless I missed one, the previous time to that was Billy Owens who had back-to-backs in 1991. Rudy Hackett did it in 1975, Dennis DuVal in 1973, Greg Kohls in 1972.

Dave Bing did four in a row in 1966. He also had two in a row two other times that season, as well as one time in 1965.

Pete Chudy had 3 in a row in 1961, and early in the year he had 2 in a row.

Vinnie Cohen back-to-back in 1957, the first Orangeman to do back-to-back 30+ games.

Hopefully I didn’t miss any… with my tired eyes.

Of course none of them did it in the post season, like Mr. Boeheim did tonight.

Looking Forward to the Syracuse - San Diego State Game

I’m glad I get to see this year’s team continue to play. I’ve enjoyed the season, watching the players develop and grow, and to get to know the team’s personality as well as that of the individual players.  It was nice to see Buddy Boeheim get his shooting stroke back.  For a player like Marek Dolezaj the NCAA tournament gives him the opportunity to showcase what he brings to the table, a guy who always puts the "team first".

It would be great to see either Alan Griffin or Joe Girard get their shot back, and for Quincy Guerrier to be explosive for the whole game.  Hopefully Kadary Richmond's knee is comfortable enough for him to display some of his defensive wizardry.  And I hope both Robert Braswell and Jesse Edwards get some moments to shine.

The NCAA tournament is designed to give heartbreak to 67 out of 68 teams. I think we all know that, but we all don’t accept that. The key to me is for the Orange to play well, represent themselves well, and see where things fall.

Hopefully the Orange picked up no rust with their week off, and they can remember the game flow nuances that help them on both ends of the court.  

I have no idea how tonight's game will go.  This season has shown that anybody can beat anyone by any margin on a given night.  I hope the Orange bring their 'A' game tonight.  That is all I can ask.

Go Orange!

Perspective on Regular Season Games

I am a big fan of regular season games.  I enjoy the ebbs and flows of the season, and watching the team develop and mature, find its identity.  Every Syracuse team has its own identity.  There are commonalities among them, as it has been the same head coach for the past forty five years, but the players are different, the leaders are different, and the styles are varied.

The current season has been frustrating at times, but it has also had some highlight memories that I'll remember fondly.  The Orange still have three (or four) regular season games to go, and hopefully some more fond memories will arise.

I saw Syracuse trail Buffalo by sixteen points in the second half.  They put on a full court press, and Alan Griffin made a game saving block on a Bulls' layup as time expired to send the game into overtime. Syracuse would go on to win 107-96.

The Orange set a school record 16 three point shots made against Boston College in a 101-63 victory against the Eagles.  The 38 point margin is the largest winning margin by Syracuse in ACC play.  

Yesterday afternoon I saw the Orange erase a twenty point second half deficit to beat Notre Dame 75-67.  The Orange utilized a full court press to disrupt an efficient Fighting Irish offense, and Buddy Boeheim scored 20 of his 29 points in the second half to lead Syracuse.  Quincy Guerrier had ten of his fourteen rebounds in the second half, and Marek Dolezaj had another one of his well rounded games.

There are memories like these for every season. The conference tournaments bring their share of fond memories, as does the NCAA tournament.  They are all relevant to me and all cherished.