The 2008-2009 season will be a very interesting season to watch play out. Coach Jim Boeheim has a killer schedule, an overabundance of talent at guard, and a team that could not close games last season.
Syracuse lost two players from last season’s team: leading scorer Donte’ Greene jumped to the NBA, and reserve guard Scoop Jardine will miss the season due to a stress fracture. But in return, Boeheim gets back two healthy junior guards in Eric Devendorf, perhaps the best player on the team, and sharp shooter Andy Rautins, the best shooter on the team. The Orange also get two highly rate freshman in Mookie Jones and Kris Joseph. That’s four talented guys joining the team.
More importantly, the rest of the team has aged and matured one more year, so Paul Harris is now a junior along with Arizne Onuaku. Kris Ongenaet is now a senior, and Jonny Flynn a sophomore. Syracuse went from a young team with no experience last year to a team with a lot of veteran players, particularly by today’s standards. When you have a senior, four juniors and a sophomore as your top six players, you have some experience.
Syracuse has a schedule that will test the mettle of the team. Eleven of Syracuse’s thirty one scheduled games are against pre-season top 25 teams; if they meet Kansas in the CBE Classic, that would be twelve games against top 25. Four of those games are against the #2, #3, #6 and #9 teams in the country. Six of those games are on the road, two are at neutral sites, and four are at home. They also play solid out of conference games against Richmond and Virginia. The schedule makers did not do Syracuse any favors.
Then they have the much talked about streak of 10 games from January 14th through February 22nd. That will cover 39 days in which Syracuse will play eight games against top 25 teams (four on the road, four at home). They’ll play four top 25 teams over a 12 day period to start that streak, and they’ll play four top 25 teams over the last 16 days to end that streak; they’ll face 4 top 10 teams in that same 39 game stretch. They get a ‘breather’, if you can call it that, with a road game at Providence, and a home game against West Virginia sandwiched in between.
Syracuse’s schedule breaks down this way. They have 13 out of conference games, three against top 25 teams, two against solid teams, and eight against teams they should beat. They have 18 conference games, with 9 against top 25 teams, and 9 against the rest of the league.
They cannot afford to lose any of the eight games they should win out-of-conference. Any losses there will negate any big wins elsewhere. Even with this difficult schedule, I think they need to win 20 games prior to the Big East tournament to lock in a bid. Anything less puts them on the bubble (other than a BET run), and we know how poorly that has turned out for Syracuse in recent years. If they can go 10-3 in the out-of-conference games (which means win one of the top 25 games, and one of the two against Richmond / Virginia), then they would need to go 10-8 in the Big East. To be taken serious in the post season, they’ll need to go at least 4-5 against the top 25 teams in the conference, giving, them the opportunity to go 6-3 against the rest of the conference. That would put the Orange at 20-11 going into the Big East tournament, with a 5-7 record against top 25 teams. That’s a lock for the NCAA.
A couple of big keys this year will be if Syracuse can win some of those top 25 games on the road; Memphis, Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Villanova and Pitt are all going to give them a chance. If Syracuse can win two of those games (and those teams don’t slump!), their resume will jump greatly come March.
The Orangemen can definitely do it. The big question hanging over this team, for me, is where the late game collapses last year more a function of the fatigue of the players, or a function of the mindset / caliber of the players on the court? If it was due to fatigue, then this year should be no problem. Boeheim is going to find it tough enough to find playing time for his trio of guards; rest won’t be a problem. If it was due to the mental makeup of the guys on the court last year, guys like Flynn and Harris, then it will be interesting. The advantage this year is that Devendorf and Rautins are around to step in, and we know they play with poise down the stretch.
All in all, it looks to be a very good year for the Orange. They likely won’t be going 25-6 in the regular season; but a 22-9 season would be outstanding for them, and 20-11 very good.
Let’s go Orange.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
2008-2009 - What's in Store
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Best Backcourts Ever
Syracuse has an overabundance of talent at the guard position entering the 2008-2009 season. The starting backcourt at the end of the 2006-2007 season has returned from a season off due to injury (Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins), and the backcourt from last season returns (Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris and Scoop Jardine). Jardine appears to be heading for a medical redshirt for this season, which will remove some of the clutter, and Harris will likely play his natural small forward position. A remaining backcourt of Flynn, Devendorf and Rautins is still an impressive trio.
How will this year’s backcourt compare to those of Syracuse’s past? The Orange have a long history of outstanding backcourts, and outstanding individuals in those backcourts. Back in October 2006, I had addressed my top five front courts of all time for Syracuse, but I must admit I held off on the backcourts because I found it quite challenging. As a general rule I tried to avoid considering a backcourt with one or two players from another season, but of course, rules are made to be broken. And if three players rotated through the backcourt, I counted them all. That having been said, here is my top 10 Syracuse backcourts, in reverse order:
At number 10 I have the 1978-1979 triumvirate of Hal Cohen, Marty Headd and Eddie Moss. This trio played together for two seasons, but I chose their first season together as their best effort. Eddie Moss was a good playmaker and a great defensive player, Cohen a solid playmaker with a nice jump shot and Headd a tremendous mid range jump shooter. This tri did not do a ton of scoring, but still had decent numbers with Cohen at 8.1 ppg, Headd 12.4 and Moss 6.6 ppg. But they did not need to score much when the front court was loaded with Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Dale Shackleford and Danny Schayes. This team would go to a 26-4 record.
At number 9 is the 1973-1974 duo of Dennis DuVal and Jimmy Lee. This team ran a ‘showtime’ style offense at coach Roy Danforth’s request, with DuVal putting the ‘flash’ on things, averaging 20.6 points a game with 3.4 assists. Lee was the perfect compliment, a clutch perimeter shooter with 13.7 ppg along with 4.1 assists; Lee was deadly at the free throw line making 81.3% of his charity shots. I would have ranked this duo higher, but Syracuse finished at 19-7, and the sum of the parts of the whole team did not seem to match that of the individuals.
At number 8 is the 1993-1994 backcourts of Adrian Autry and Lawrence Moten. This was one of my favorite backcourts to watch with the big (6’4”) steady Autry at the point, and the smooth all-around terrific play of ‘Poetry in ‘ Moten at the two guard. Both Autry and Moten could score (16.7 ppg and 20.5 ppg respectively), and both were decent rebounders. Moten’s perimeter shooting suffered that year, though he led the team in 3 point shots made, and Autry hit 37% of this perimeter shots. There was nothing dynamic about this duo, just good solid basketball, and they both racked up a few 30 point games that year.
Number 7 is the 1985-1986 backcourt of Pearl Washington and Rafael Addison. Jim Boeheim had moved the underrated Addison from forward to the backcourt to get Howard Triche into the starting lineup, giving Syracuse tremendous talent in the backcourt. The Pearl was spectacular in what would be his last season on the hill, scoring 17.3 ppg and averaging 7.8 assists, and continuing to prove that he one man press breaker. Addison had a solid season with 15 ppg, 4.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, but was hampered by a leg injury during the second half of the season, affecting both his and the team’s play.
Number 6 is the 1965-1966 backcourt of Dave Bing, Jim Boeheim and Sam Penceal. Coach Fred Lewis employed a three guard offense most the season with Bing playing more the small forward than guard position. However, this backcourt makes the list purely on his talent along. Penceal was an outstanding defensive player who was called up to stop the opposing team’s leading scorer (he did an outstanding job on Bill Bradley one year). Boeheim was a stead guard averaging 14.6 ppg, and making almost 57% of his shots. But Bing was the star, averaging a school record 28.4 ppg, along with 6.6 assists and 10.8 rebounds. This Syracuse squad was the first NCAA team to average 100 ppg for the regular season (their average dropped below that in the post season), as the Orangemen went on to a 22-6 record.
At number 5 was the 1971-1972 backcourt of Dennis DuVal and Greg Kohls. This was probably the most spectacular scoring backcourt of Syracuse history, with the flashy DuVal averaging 15.8 points a game driving to the hoop, and Kohls launching shots from all locations long and far, averaging an amazing 26.7 points a game (keeping in mind, there was no three point basket). Kohls was one of the greatest free throw shooters in Syracuse history, hitting 86.4% of his attempts that year (and he knew how to draw the foul getting 257 attempts). This was ‘Roys Runts’ where Syracuse had four starters 6’1” or shorter, and a center at 6’5”. Yet, they were able to go 22-6 in part to a scrappy team persona, and in part to this tremendous backcourt.
At number 4 was the 1930-1931 Reindeer Five backcourt of Ev Katz and Dan Fogarty. The duo played together for three seasons, and this was their third and final year. Katz was one of the leading scorers on the team, averaging nearly 10 points a game, and was tremendous as the one handed set shot. Fogarty was the best defensive player on the team and was counted upon to shut down the leading scorer of the other team, regardless of the position he played. Both were extremely fast players, and the Orangemen would go 16-4 that year (after going 11-4 and 18-2 in their first two years together).
Number 3 is the 1933-1934 backcourt of Elmer ‘Elky’ Maister and Ronnie Phillips. Maister and Phillips were considered by many to be the best backcourt in Syracuse for the first half of the century. The duo started together for three years, with Maister being the team’s defensive specialist and Phillips the team’s deadeye shooter. Phillips would lead the team in scoring their senior year at 8 ½ points a game, as the Orangemen would go 15-2, 12-0 at home.
At number 2 is the 2002-2003 trio of Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and Billy Edelin. McNamara was the surprise point guard because Edelin was suspended for the first semester. This trio provided coach Boeheim with a perfect compliment of tools. McNamara turned out to be very adept at the point, and was as clutch a three point shooter as ever that season, on his way to 13.3 ppg. McNamara was also the schools best free throw shooter ever, icing games down the stretch with his 90.9% charity shooting. Duany was the perfect zone defender with a long lanky 6’4” body and great athleticism, plus the experience of being a 23 year old senior. Duany also was a decent three point shooter and rebounder, providing valuable contributions in both areas. Edelin was a big point guard (6’4”) able to pass over the zone, and to dribble penetrate down to the low post for the easy layup or dish off for nice pass. The trio helped Syracuse to the National Championship that season, each with their clutch performances along the way.
The top backcourt of all time would have to be the 1986-1987 duo of Sherman Douglas and Greg Monroe. Monroe had come to Syracuse as a point guard, but spent his first three seasons as a backup to the Pearl. Douglas backed up the Pearl his freshman year. Both got the chance to start this season with the Pearl and Addison gone, and they did not disappoint. Douglas picked up where Washington left off, running the Syracuse offense on high octane, and introducing the alley-oop pass as a staple play in the Syracuse playbook. Douglas could seem to make an assist pass from anywhere on the court, and down the stretch he had no problems stepping up and being ‘the guy’ to take the crucial shots. Monroe provided the steady hand in the backcourt, providing more playmaking, and outstanding three point shooting. Monroe developed the technique of camping outside the three point line and waiting for Douglas to kick back a pass to him for an open three (which Monroe hit 43.9% of during the season). The duo would help the Orangemen win the Big East Regular Season title, and would help the team to within a basket of winning the 1987 National Championship.
How will this year’s backcourt compare to those of Syracuse’s past? The Orange have a long history of outstanding backcourts, and outstanding individuals in those backcourts. Back in October 2006, I had addressed my top five front courts of all time for Syracuse, but I must admit I held off on the backcourts because I found it quite challenging. As a general rule I tried to avoid considering a backcourt with one or two players from another season, but of course, rules are made to be broken. And if three players rotated through the backcourt, I counted them all. That having been said, here is my top 10 Syracuse backcourts, in reverse order:
At number 10 I have the 1978-1979 triumvirate of Hal Cohen, Marty Headd and Eddie Moss. This trio played together for two seasons, but I chose their first season together as their best effort. Eddie Moss was a good playmaker and a great defensive player, Cohen a solid playmaker with a nice jump shot and Headd a tremendous mid range jump shooter. This tri did not do a ton of scoring, but still had decent numbers with Cohen at 8.1 ppg, Headd 12.4 and Moss 6.6 ppg. But they did not need to score much when the front court was loaded with Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Dale Shackleford and Danny Schayes. This team would go to a 26-4 record.
At number 9 is the 1973-1974 duo of Dennis DuVal and Jimmy Lee. This team ran a ‘showtime’ style offense at coach Roy Danforth’s request, with DuVal putting the ‘flash’ on things, averaging 20.6 points a game with 3.4 assists. Lee was the perfect compliment, a clutch perimeter shooter with 13.7 ppg along with 4.1 assists; Lee was deadly at the free throw line making 81.3% of his charity shots. I would have ranked this duo higher, but Syracuse finished at 19-7, and the sum of the parts of the whole team did not seem to match that of the individuals.
At number 8 is the 1993-1994 backcourts of Adrian Autry and Lawrence Moten. This was one of my favorite backcourts to watch with the big (6’4”) steady Autry at the point, and the smooth all-around terrific play of ‘Poetry in ‘ Moten at the two guard. Both Autry and Moten could score (16.7 ppg and 20.5 ppg respectively), and both were decent rebounders. Moten’s perimeter shooting suffered that year, though he led the team in 3 point shots made, and Autry hit 37% of this perimeter shots. There was nothing dynamic about this duo, just good solid basketball, and they both racked up a few 30 point games that year.
Number 7 is the 1985-1986 backcourt of Pearl Washington and Rafael Addison. Jim Boeheim had moved the underrated Addison from forward to the backcourt to get Howard Triche into the starting lineup, giving Syracuse tremendous talent in the backcourt. The Pearl was spectacular in what would be his last season on the hill, scoring 17.3 ppg and averaging 7.8 assists, and continuing to prove that he one man press breaker. Addison had a solid season with 15 ppg, 4.2 assists, and 5.6 rebounds, but was hampered by a leg injury during the second half of the season, affecting both his and the team’s play.
Number 6 is the 1965-1966 backcourt of Dave Bing, Jim Boeheim and Sam Penceal. Coach Fred Lewis employed a three guard offense most the season with Bing playing more the small forward than guard position. However, this backcourt makes the list purely on his talent along. Penceal was an outstanding defensive player who was called up to stop the opposing team’s leading scorer (he did an outstanding job on Bill Bradley one year). Boeheim was a stead guard averaging 14.6 ppg, and making almost 57% of his shots. But Bing was the star, averaging a school record 28.4 ppg, along with 6.6 assists and 10.8 rebounds. This Syracuse squad was the first NCAA team to average 100 ppg for the regular season (their average dropped below that in the post season), as the Orangemen went on to a 22-6 record.
At number 5 was the 1971-1972 backcourt of Dennis DuVal and Greg Kohls. This was probably the most spectacular scoring backcourt of Syracuse history, with the flashy DuVal averaging 15.8 points a game driving to the hoop, and Kohls launching shots from all locations long and far, averaging an amazing 26.7 points a game (keeping in mind, there was no three point basket). Kohls was one of the greatest free throw shooters in Syracuse history, hitting 86.4% of his attempts that year (and he knew how to draw the foul getting 257 attempts). This was ‘Roys Runts’ where Syracuse had four starters 6’1” or shorter, and a center at 6’5”. Yet, they were able to go 22-6 in part to a scrappy team persona, and in part to this tremendous backcourt.
At number 4 was the 1930-1931 Reindeer Five backcourt of Ev Katz and Dan Fogarty. The duo played together for three seasons, and this was their third and final year. Katz was one of the leading scorers on the team, averaging nearly 10 points a game, and was tremendous as the one handed set shot. Fogarty was the best defensive player on the team and was counted upon to shut down the leading scorer of the other team, regardless of the position he played. Both were extremely fast players, and the Orangemen would go 16-4 that year (after going 11-4 and 18-2 in their first two years together).
Number 3 is the 1933-1934 backcourt of Elmer ‘Elky’ Maister and Ronnie Phillips. Maister and Phillips were considered by many to be the best backcourt in Syracuse for the first half of the century. The duo started together for three years, with Maister being the team’s defensive specialist and Phillips the team’s deadeye shooter. Phillips would lead the team in scoring their senior year at 8 ½ points a game, as the Orangemen would go 15-2, 12-0 at home.
At number 2 is the 2002-2003 trio of Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany and Billy Edelin. McNamara was the surprise point guard because Edelin was suspended for the first semester. This trio provided coach Boeheim with a perfect compliment of tools. McNamara turned out to be very adept at the point, and was as clutch a three point shooter as ever that season, on his way to 13.3 ppg. McNamara was also the schools best free throw shooter ever, icing games down the stretch with his 90.9% charity shooting. Duany was the perfect zone defender with a long lanky 6’4” body and great athleticism, plus the experience of being a 23 year old senior. Duany also was a decent three point shooter and rebounder, providing valuable contributions in both areas. Edelin was a big point guard (6’4”) able to pass over the zone, and to dribble penetrate down to the low post for the easy layup or dish off for nice pass. The trio helped Syracuse to the National Championship that season, each with their clutch performances along the way.
The top backcourt of all time would have to be the 1986-1987 duo of Sherman Douglas and Greg Monroe. Monroe had come to Syracuse as a point guard, but spent his first three seasons as a backup to the Pearl. Douglas backed up the Pearl his freshman year. Both got the chance to start this season with the Pearl and Addison gone, and they did not disappoint. Douglas picked up where Washington left off, running the Syracuse offense on high octane, and introducing the alley-oop pass as a staple play in the Syracuse playbook. Douglas could seem to make an assist pass from anywhere on the court, and down the stretch he had no problems stepping up and being ‘the guy’ to take the crucial shots. Monroe provided the steady hand in the backcourt, providing more playmaking, and outstanding three point shooting. Monroe developed the technique of camping outside the three point line and waiting for Douglas to kick back a pass to him for an open three (which Monroe hit 43.9% of during the season). The duo would help the Orangemen win the Big East Regular Season title, and would help the team to within a basket of winning the 1987 National Championship.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Breaking that Glass Ceiling
When Mike Jones played his first basketball game for Syracuse back in November 2006, he become the first player named Jones to play basketball for the Orangemen. Though his stay at Syracuse was short lived as he quit Syracuse at the December break, Mike Jones seems to have broken the name barrier. Two season’s later, Mookie Jones joins the Orangemen (and I’m hoping will have a much longer stay on the Hill).
There is a strange trend on Syracuse’s basketball team this year, regarding the players names. The Orangemen do have an Ongenaet and an Onuaku on the roster to confuse some of the national broadcasters. A Devendorf, Jardine, and Presutti to spice things up.
But the rest of the roster is about as commonplace in regards to last names as you can get:
Jackson
Thomas
Johnson
Harris
Flynn
Joseph
Williams
The Orange have two legacy names in Rautins (Andy son of Leo) and Drew (Kevin son of Bill), making them common in the Orange world.
For those counting at home, in this history of Syracuse basketball there have been three Jacksons, three Thomases, three Johnsons, three Harrises, two Flynns, one Joseph, six Williams, two Jones, two Drews, two Rautins, one Ongenaet, one Onuaku, one Devendorf, one Jardine, and one Presutti.
The Williams (DeShaun, Eric, Jimmy, Mike, Sean, and ?) lead the way, with the Starks (John, Lou, Lou, Mike and Pat) and Lees (Charlie, Jimmy, David, Matt, and Mike) right behind with five.
There is a strange trend on Syracuse’s basketball team this year, regarding the players names. The Orangemen do have an Ongenaet and an Onuaku on the roster to confuse some of the national broadcasters. A Devendorf, Jardine, and Presutti to spice things up.
But the rest of the roster is about as commonplace in regards to last names as you can get:
Jackson
Thomas
Johnson
Harris
Flynn
Joseph
Williams
The Orange have two legacy names in Rautins (Andy son of Leo) and Drew (Kevin son of Bill), making them common in the Orange world.
For those counting at home, in this history of Syracuse basketball there have been three Jacksons, three Thomases, three Johnsons, three Harrises, two Flynns, one Joseph, six Williams, two Jones, two Drews, two Rautins, one Ongenaet, one Onuaku, one Devendorf, one Jardine, and one Presutti.
The Williams (DeShaun, Eric, Jimmy, Mike, Sean, and ?) lead the way, with the Starks (John, Lou, Lou, Mike and Pat) and Lees (Charlie, Jimmy, David, Matt, and Mike) right behind with five.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
2008 Orange Hoops Hall of Fame Inductee
In 2007, OrangeHoops inducted its charter class into the OrangeHoops Hall of Fame: Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Vic Hanson, and Pearl Washington. A year has passed, and now it is time for the 2008 inductee. I won’t bother you with all the rules for eligibility (you can catch up on them here).
2008 does have 5 new eligible candidates: Mike Hopkins, Conrad MacRae, Glenn Sekunda, Dave Siock, and Michael Edwards. None, based on their current resumes, would warrant consideration for this year’s vote.
I think this year’s viable top candidates come down to the following seven, listed chronologically: Lew Castle, Joe Schwarzer, Billy Gabor, Vinnie Cohen, Roosevelt Bouie, Rony Seikaly and Billy Owens.
Castle was a two time All-American at Syracuse, and was captain and leading scorer of Syracuse’s only undefeated team, the 1913-1914 squad that went 12-0.
Schwarzer was a two time All-American, and was captain and leading scorer of the 1917-1918 squad that went 16-1 and was retroactively named the National Champions by the Helms Foundation.
Gabor was a two time All-American, was a prolific scorer, becoming the first Syracuse player to score 1,000 points and led Syracuse to their first post-season tournament in 1945-1946 with the NIT Tournament.
Cohen was an All-American, the first Syracuse player to average 20+ points a game in a season, and led the team to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1956-1957.
Bouie was a two time All-American, a standout defensive player who led Syracuse to a 100-18 record in his four years.
Seikaly was an All-American, a standout defensive player whose outstanding play in the 1987 NCAA tournament took Syracuse to the brink of its first tournament championship.
Owens was a two time All-American, an outstanding all around player who carried Syracuse to a Big East regular season championship in 1990-1991 and three NCAA tournaments.
Strong arguments could be made for each player. However, the 2008 Orange Hoops Hall of Fame inductee is Billy Owens.
Owens came to Syracuse as an outstanding all-around player having won four basketball state championships in Pennsylvania. His unselfish play helped him easily fit into the loaded Syracuse team his freshman year, alongside stars Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson. Despite deferring to the upper classmen, Owens still managed 13 points a game that season and 6.9 rebounds.
With the graduation of Douglas, Owens would take on a more prominent role with the team his sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 18.2 points a game. Owens helped take the pressure off of freshman point guard Michael Edwards, and much of the offense was funneled through Owens, who had 4.6 assists to go with his leading scoring and 8.4 rebounds a game.
Syracuse lost both Thompson and Douglas, and Owens would be the central player for Syracuse his junior season. He would not disappoint anyone with 23.2 points a game, becoming the first player under coach Jim Boeheim to score 20+ points a game. He added 11.6 rebounds a game and 3.5 assists. Owens carried the Syracuse team for most the season, allowing classmate Dave Johnson to be open and to blossom as a scoring threat. Syracuse would finish the regular season at 26-4, ranked #6 in the country, and still impressed the NCAA committee enough to get a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, despite a huge upset loss in the first round of the Big East tournament. Unfortunately, Owens and the Orangemen were snake bitten, as they were upset by Richmond in the first round of the tournament.
Owens would be the third pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and would play 10 seasons, though injuries his first couple of seasons would hamper him throughout his NBA career.
2008 does have 5 new eligible candidates: Mike Hopkins, Conrad MacRae, Glenn Sekunda, Dave Siock, and Michael Edwards. None, based on their current resumes, would warrant consideration for this year’s vote.
I think this year’s viable top candidates come down to the following seven, listed chronologically: Lew Castle, Joe Schwarzer, Billy Gabor, Vinnie Cohen, Roosevelt Bouie, Rony Seikaly and Billy Owens.
Castle was a two time All-American at Syracuse, and was captain and leading scorer of Syracuse’s only undefeated team, the 1913-1914 squad that went 12-0.
Schwarzer was a two time All-American, and was captain and leading scorer of the 1917-1918 squad that went 16-1 and was retroactively named the National Champions by the Helms Foundation.
Gabor was a two time All-American, was a prolific scorer, becoming the first Syracuse player to score 1,000 points and led Syracuse to their first post-season tournament in 1945-1946 with the NIT Tournament.
Cohen was an All-American, the first Syracuse player to average 20+ points a game in a season, and led the team to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1956-1957.
Bouie was a two time All-American, a standout defensive player who led Syracuse to a 100-18 record in his four years.
Seikaly was an All-American, a standout defensive player whose outstanding play in the 1987 NCAA tournament took Syracuse to the brink of its first tournament championship.
Owens was a two time All-American, an outstanding all around player who carried Syracuse to a Big East regular season championship in 1990-1991 and three NCAA tournaments.
Strong arguments could be made for each player. However, the 2008 Orange Hoops Hall of Fame inductee is Billy Owens.
Owens came to Syracuse as an outstanding all-around player having won four basketball state championships in Pennsylvania. His unselfish play helped him easily fit into the loaded Syracuse team his freshman year, alongside stars Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson. Despite deferring to the upper classmen, Owens still managed 13 points a game that season and 6.9 rebounds.
With the graduation of Douglas, Owens would take on a more prominent role with the team his sophomore season, leading the team in scoring with 18.2 points a game. Owens helped take the pressure off of freshman point guard Michael Edwards, and much of the offense was funneled through Owens, who had 4.6 assists to go with his leading scoring and 8.4 rebounds a game.
Syracuse lost both Thompson and Douglas, and Owens would be the central player for Syracuse his junior season. He would not disappoint anyone with 23.2 points a game, becoming the first player under coach Jim Boeheim to score 20+ points a game. He added 11.6 rebounds a game and 3.5 assists. Owens carried the Syracuse team for most the season, allowing classmate Dave Johnson to be open and to blossom as a scoring threat. Syracuse would finish the regular season at 26-4, ranked #6 in the country, and still impressed the NCAA committee enough to get a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament, despite a huge upset loss in the first round of the Big East tournament. Unfortunately, Owens and the Orangemen were snake bitten, as they were upset by Richmond in the first round of the tournament.
Owens would be the third pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and would play 10 seasons, though injuries his first couple of seasons would hamper him throughout his NBA career.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
2000 Point Club
How difficult is it to score 2,000 career points in collegiate basketball? Statistically speaking, it's very difficult. Of the nearly 700 athletes who have played basketball for the Syracuse Orangemen, only six have accomplished it, or about 0.9%.
Those six are familiar to all Syracuse fans: Lawrence Moten, Derrick Coleman, John Wallace, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Sherman Douglas.
There are a combination of factors that are needed to reach 2,000 career points.
First, you have to play enough games. Dave Bing averaged 24.8 points a game for his career, yet he only played in 76 games. Teams only played about 25 games a year in Bing’s era, and more importantly, freshman could not play, so he had only three years of eligibility.
I think there are 5 players at Syracuse who didn’t play four years of varsity basketball, and I think would have scored 2,000 points with the extra season(s). Bing only needed 117 points from a freshman season, and barring injury, he clearly would have scored that many.
Billy Owens skipped his senior season, where he needed only 160 points to scored 2,000. Again, barring injury, Owens would have easily broken that barrier.
Pearl Washington needed 516 more points, when he skipped his senior season. He was the ‘go to’ guy on offense, and scored 554 points his junior season, so its only natural to assume that barring any minor injuries, he would’ve progressed and gotten to 2,000 points.
Carmelo Anthony, if he could have stayed through his junior season, likely would have reached 2,000 points during that season. He scored 778 points his freshman season, and barring injury, seems a lock to have done it. Of course, Melo was never going to stay for three seasons. Two possibly (the championship nixed that), but three was never going to happen.
Donte’ Greene, like Anthony, easily would have scored 2000+ points if he had stayed. In Greene’s case, four years may have been necessary. But with 620 points his freshman year, barring injury, he would have accomplished the feat. Then again, Greene was never staying four seasons, and anything more than two was very unlikely.
The extra season would not have helped all the guys barred from playing their freshman year. Dennis DuVal averaged 18.6 points a game for his career, and needed ‘only’ 496 points in a freshman season to get to 2,000. But considering DuVal only had 442 points his sophomore season, its logical to assume he would not have gotten the necessary points. Vinnie Cohen and Bill Smith, also big time scorers, also would never have scored enough points as a freshman to reach that level.
The second factor important to reaching 2,000 points is to be a prominent scorer early in your career. The number of games alone won’t get you there. Ask Craig Forth, who started all of the 136 games of his career, and did not even break 1,000 points (643 total to be exact). Even dominant scorers like Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Erich Santifer played in several games, but they did not put up big enough numbers early in their career to catch up to the level at the end.
Now here’s the thing I find most interesting about the six players who did all score 2,000 points. They are grouped into pairs of three, where each pair spent the majority of their careers together (three seasons overlapping in each case): Douglas and Coleman, Moten and Wallace, and Warrick and McNamara.
Douglas and Coleman took Jim Boeheim to his first national championship game, and gave Syracuse three exciting years as one of the top teams in the country. They came within a basket of winning the national championship in 1987, and would go 87-24 during their three seasons together. Their Big East action would see them go 33-15, with the Big East regular season title in 1987, and the Big East Tournament title in 1988. Considering that Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Billy Owens all came close to 2,000 points, and this era clearly had the best collection of Syracuse players ever.
Moten and Wallace played together from 1993-1995. This era started with Syracuse being banned from post season play for recruiting violations, and this duo helped keep the Syracuse program from dying, and actually resurrected it back to prominence (Wallace would lead the Orange to the championship game the year after Moten left). The Orangemen went 63-26 during their time together, 35-19 in Big East play.
The final duo was McNamara and Warrick. Of course, this duo was highly recognizable for their significant contributions in the 2003 National Championship game. GMac had his 6 three point shots in the first half to give Syracuse a big first half lead, and Hak sealed the deal with the block that will remain in Orange Fans memories forever. The duo would go 80-20 in their career, 45-11 in Big East action, including a Big East Championship in 2005. Of course, they had Melo in 2003, and he was the key player on the championship team. However, as I have always contended, Melo alone did not win that team. Having a couple of players talented enough to score 2,000 career points on that same roster was another key component.
Of the current team, there are three players on track for 2,000 career points. Eric Devendorf is over half way there with two more years to go. Jonny Flynn only needs to duplicate his freshman effort each season for four years to get to the mark. Paul Harris would need to step up his pace, but with 808 points after two years, he would have to average 596 points for two seasons… not unreasonable. Of course, getting all these seasons from these players may be unlikely. But you never know. And it does seem that the members of the 2000 club come in pairs.
Those six are familiar to all Syracuse fans: Lawrence Moten, Derrick Coleman, John Wallace, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Sherman Douglas.
There are a combination of factors that are needed to reach 2,000 career points.
First, you have to play enough games. Dave Bing averaged 24.8 points a game for his career, yet he only played in 76 games. Teams only played about 25 games a year in Bing’s era, and more importantly, freshman could not play, so he had only three years of eligibility.
I think there are 5 players at Syracuse who didn’t play four years of varsity basketball, and I think would have scored 2,000 points with the extra season(s). Bing only needed 117 points from a freshman season, and barring injury, he clearly would have scored that many.
Billy Owens skipped his senior season, where he needed only 160 points to scored 2,000. Again, barring injury, Owens would have easily broken that barrier.
Pearl Washington needed 516 more points, when he skipped his senior season. He was the ‘go to’ guy on offense, and scored 554 points his junior season, so its only natural to assume that barring any minor injuries, he would’ve progressed and gotten to 2,000 points.
Carmelo Anthony, if he could have stayed through his junior season, likely would have reached 2,000 points during that season. He scored 778 points his freshman season, and barring injury, seems a lock to have done it. Of course, Melo was never going to stay for three seasons. Two possibly (the championship nixed that), but three was never going to happen.
Donte’ Greene, like Anthony, easily would have scored 2000+ points if he had stayed. In Greene’s case, four years may have been necessary. But with 620 points his freshman year, barring injury, he would have accomplished the feat. Then again, Greene was never staying four seasons, and anything more than two was very unlikely.
The extra season would not have helped all the guys barred from playing their freshman year. Dennis DuVal averaged 18.6 points a game for his career, and needed ‘only’ 496 points in a freshman season to get to 2,000. But considering DuVal only had 442 points his sophomore season, its logical to assume he would not have gotten the necessary points. Vinnie Cohen and Bill Smith, also big time scorers, also would never have scored enough points as a freshman to reach that level.
The second factor important to reaching 2,000 points is to be a prominent scorer early in your career. The number of games alone won’t get you there. Ask Craig Forth, who started all of the 136 games of his career, and did not even break 1,000 points (643 total to be exact). Even dominant scorers like Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Erich Santifer played in several games, but they did not put up big enough numbers early in their career to catch up to the level at the end.
Now here’s the thing I find most interesting about the six players who did all score 2,000 points. They are grouped into pairs of three, where each pair spent the majority of their careers together (three seasons overlapping in each case): Douglas and Coleman, Moten and Wallace, and Warrick and McNamara.
Douglas and Coleman took Jim Boeheim to his first national championship game, and gave Syracuse three exciting years as one of the top teams in the country. They came within a basket of winning the national championship in 1987, and would go 87-24 during their three seasons together. Their Big East action would see them go 33-15, with the Big East regular season title in 1987, and the Big East Tournament title in 1988. Considering that Stephen Thompson, Rony Seikaly, and Billy Owens all came close to 2,000 points, and this era clearly had the best collection of Syracuse players ever.
Moten and Wallace played together from 1993-1995. This era started with Syracuse being banned from post season play for recruiting violations, and this duo helped keep the Syracuse program from dying, and actually resurrected it back to prominence (Wallace would lead the Orange to the championship game the year after Moten left). The Orangemen went 63-26 during their time together, 35-19 in Big East play.
The final duo was McNamara and Warrick. Of course, this duo was highly recognizable for their significant contributions in the 2003 National Championship game. GMac had his 6 three point shots in the first half to give Syracuse a big first half lead, and Hak sealed the deal with the block that will remain in Orange Fans memories forever. The duo would go 80-20 in their career, 45-11 in Big East action, including a Big East Championship in 2005. Of course, they had Melo in 2003, and he was the key player on the championship team. However, as I have always contended, Melo alone did not win that team. Having a couple of players talented enough to score 2,000 career points on that same roster was another key component.
Of the current team, there are three players on track for 2,000 career points. Eric Devendorf is over half way there with two more years to go. Jonny Flynn only needs to duplicate his freshman effort each season for four years to get to the mark. Paul Harris would need to step up his pace, but with 808 points after two years, he would have to average 596 points for two seasons… not unreasonable. Of course, getting all these seasons from these players may be unlikely. But you never know. And it does seem that the members of the 2000 club come in pairs.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Winning the Big Games
There are a lot of ‘knee jerk’ comments by fans and commentators that tend to irk me over time, and more often than not they are just extensions of an unfounded myth, as opposed to fact. One comment that always irks me is a label applied to coaches with impressive records but a label the ‘coach can’t win the big games’, and the comment is meant to imply the coach chokes in the big games.
Marv Levy, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, wears such a label unjustly. You’ll hear the comment that Levy cannot win the big games based purely on the fact that his teams went 0-4 in the Super Bowl. But those aren’t the only ‘big’ games that Levy coached. What about the four AFC Championship games in each of those seasons? He went 4-0 in those games, and I’d say those were pretty big games. And there were several regular season games of significance that Levy’s teams had to win in order to position themselves for the playoffs. There were a lot of big games a coach has to win in order to get to that ultimate championship.
Now, the phrase that Levy ‘cannot win the biggest game or the Super Bowl’ would be a more accurate statement. That phrase would factually be correct, but also has different implications.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has often been a victim of the “he can’t win the big game’ comment. The facts indicate otherwise.
As all Syracuse fans know, the Orangemen won the National Championship in 2003, the biggest game for college basketball. Boeheim did not need to win that game to remove that label, though it did quiet a lot of detractors. The fact he had made it to three National Championship games in itself means he won a lot of ‘big games’ along the way.
The two losses Boeheim suffered in the championship games were highly competitive. Syracuse was both a Keith Smart missed basket or a Derrick Coleman made free throw of winning the 1987 championship. In 1996, Kentucky was heavily favored, and Syracuse was within four points of the game with just over two minutes to play. John Wallace fouled out at that point, and Kentucky pulled away, but the game was highly competitive despite predictions otherwise.
Jim Boeheim is 3-0 in Final Four games. Those are very high pressured games, with huge implications. They do not get much bigger, and he is 3-0 in those games. And those games were not even close, winning 77-63 over Providence in 1987, 77-69 over Mississippi State in 1996, and 95-84 over Texas in 2003.
Boeheim was won 5 Big East tournament championships, and has appeared in 13 of them overall. He has lost 8 tournament championships, but clearly he had to win some big games to get to the finals. His Syracuse teams have gone 42-24 in the Big East tournament, winning 64% of their games.
He does not win all his games against cupcake teams. Syracuse is 300-168 in Big East regular season play, winning 64% of his games. That’s his record year-in year-out against one of the most competitive conferences in the country.
He is 49-20 in national post season play, going 39-24 in the NCAA, and 10-6 in the NIT. He’s had his heartbreakers with losses to Richmond and Vermont in the first round. But those don’t count as big games; and if they do, then you have to count all the first round wins he has had as big game too, and he’s had far more first round victories than losses.
Boeheim is 380-66 in non-conference play. This includes championships and strong showings in tournaments like the pre-season NIT, Coaches vs. Cancer, Great Alaska Shootout and Maui Invitational.
Now Jim Boeheim gets to add an Olympic Gold Medal to his resume, for his participation as an assistant coach in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the ‘Redeem Team’.
Boeheim does win his share of easy non-conference games (as any respectable coach should win), and he has had his share of upsets and disappointing finishes. When you coach 1,049 games you are going to have memorable upsets and losses. And when you are favored more often than not, you will have more opportunities for upset losses than upset wins. But, to be favored that often, you have to have won a lot of big games, and Boeheim has done that.
He’s not a flawless coach. He does make mistakes, and some losses occur we would rather not see. But to say he cannot win the ‘big games’ is a fallacy.
Marv Levy, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, wears such a label unjustly. You’ll hear the comment that Levy cannot win the big games based purely on the fact that his teams went 0-4 in the Super Bowl. But those aren’t the only ‘big’ games that Levy coached. What about the four AFC Championship games in each of those seasons? He went 4-0 in those games, and I’d say those were pretty big games. And there were several regular season games of significance that Levy’s teams had to win in order to position themselves for the playoffs. There were a lot of big games a coach has to win in order to get to that ultimate championship.
Now, the phrase that Levy ‘cannot win the biggest game or the Super Bowl’ would be a more accurate statement. That phrase would factually be correct, but also has different implications.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has often been a victim of the “he can’t win the big game’ comment. The facts indicate otherwise.
As all Syracuse fans know, the Orangemen won the National Championship in 2003, the biggest game for college basketball. Boeheim did not need to win that game to remove that label, though it did quiet a lot of detractors. The fact he had made it to three National Championship games in itself means he won a lot of ‘big games’ along the way.
The two losses Boeheim suffered in the championship games were highly competitive. Syracuse was both a Keith Smart missed basket or a Derrick Coleman made free throw of winning the 1987 championship. In 1996, Kentucky was heavily favored, and Syracuse was within four points of the game with just over two minutes to play. John Wallace fouled out at that point, and Kentucky pulled away, but the game was highly competitive despite predictions otherwise.
Jim Boeheim is 3-0 in Final Four games. Those are very high pressured games, with huge implications. They do not get much bigger, and he is 3-0 in those games. And those games were not even close, winning 77-63 over Providence in 1987, 77-69 over Mississippi State in 1996, and 95-84 over Texas in 2003.
Boeheim was won 5 Big East tournament championships, and has appeared in 13 of them overall. He has lost 8 tournament championships, but clearly he had to win some big games to get to the finals. His Syracuse teams have gone 42-24 in the Big East tournament, winning 64% of their games.
He does not win all his games against cupcake teams. Syracuse is 300-168 in Big East regular season play, winning 64% of his games. That’s his record year-in year-out against one of the most competitive conferences in the country.
He is 49-20 in national post season play, going 39-24 in the NCAA, and 10-6 in the NIT. He’s had his heartbreakers with losses to Richmond and Vermont in the first round. But those don’t count as big games; and if they do, then you have to count all the first round wins he has had as big game too, and he’s had far more first round victories than losses.
Boeheim is 380-66 in non-conference play. This includes championships and strong showings in tournaments like the pre-season NIT, Coaches vs. Cancer, Great Alaska Shootout and Maui Invitational.
Now Jim Boeheim gets to add an Olympic Gold Medal to his resume, for his participation as an assistant coach in the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the ‘Redeem Team’.
Boeheim does win his share of easy non-conference games (as any respectable coach should win), and he has had his share of upsets and disappointing finishes. When you coach 1,049 games you are going to have memorable upsets and losses. And when you are favored more often than not, you will have more opportunities for upset losses than upset wins. But, to be favored that often, you have to have won a lot of big games, and Boeheim has done that.
He’s not a flawless coach. He does make mistakes, and some losses occur we would rather not see. But to say he cannot win the ‘big games’ is a fallacy.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Greene goes 28th
Congratulations to Donte' Greene for being selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft last Thursday, by the Memphis Grizzlies. His time in Memphis was very short, as he ended up being traded to the Houston Rockets overnight.
Greene was probably somewhat disappointed as he did not end up being a lottery selection, as was originally projected by many back mid season. Yet, being a first round pick is going to put some nice change in his pocket, so I don’t think he will be too disappointed.
Greene is the 15th former Orangemen to be selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft, the 51st Orangemen ever drafted, and the first Orangeman drafted in the first round since Hakim Warrick was the 19th pick in 2005 by the same Memphis Grizzlies. With the assumption that Greene does make the NBA roster and play next year for Houston (or any other NBA team), he will be the 36th former Syracuse player to play in the NBA.
The first were Bob Shaddock and Lew Spicer in 1947; Shaddock would play a mere two games with the Syracuse Nationals, and Spicer four with the Providence Steamrollers. The first Syracuse player to be a regular in the NBA was Bullet Billy Gabor in 1949. Gabor would make an impact in the NBA being named to the all rookie team his first season, make the NBA All-Star team in 1953, and win the NBA Championship with the Nationals in 1955.
The greatest Syracuse player in NBA history is Hall of Famer Dave Bing, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 1966 draft by the Detroit Pistons. Bing would score 18,327 points in his 12 year NBA career, averaging 20.3 ppg and 6.0 assists per game, and play in seven NBA All-Star games.
Danny Schayes played more games than any former Orangemen in NBA history with 1,138 games over 18 seasons. Schayes started for a few seasons, but really found a solid role as a reserve center, with his ability to play smart basketball, make the free throws and jump shots, and grab rebounds as needed.
Derrick Coleman is the only Orangemen drafted number 1 overall in the NBA draft, going to the New Jersey Nets in 1990. Now Coleman was a bust as a number one pick; he never reached the stardom predicted for him, and he had the talent and ability to be a great NBA player. That is not to say Coleman was a bust in the NBA. He did have a solid fifteen year career, averaging 16.5 ppg and 9.3 rebounds a game. Those aren’t bad numbers, and he was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1991, and on the All-Star team in 1994. They’re just not the numbers expected from the number one overall pick.
Other Orangemen have gone on to productive NBA careers. Sherman Douglas played 12 years, averaging 11.0 ppg and 5.9 assists per game, showing that he could master the alley-oop pass in the professional leagues as well as he did at college.
Louis Orr played 8 seasons averaging 9.8 ppg, Billy Owens played 11 seasons averaging 11.7 ppg, though injuries hounded him throughout his career. Rony Seikaly played a solid eleven seasons scoring 14.7 ppg, along with 9.5 rebounds a game. And John Wallace played 7 seasons, averaging 7.6 ppg.
Greene is going to join 6 current Orangemen who are in the NBA (or at least on the fringes of it). Carmelo Anthony is starring out in Denver, and barring injury, will easily be Syracuse’s second best NBA player ever, and possibly even the best (time will tell).
Jason Hart is going into his eighth season, now with the Utah Jazz. Etan Thomas as been a solid player for the Washington Wizards, and should be back from his injury this year. Hakim Warrick almost had Greene as a teammate down in Memphis; instead Warrick will need to battle a slew of new players brought in by draft day trades. Darryl Watkins and Demetris Nichols are both struggling to stay on NBA teams; Watkins played nine games last season, and Nichols played 14.
It will be interesting to see how Donte' Greene’s ends up. He is clearly not ready today, and NBA scouts took note as his stoke dropped as draft day approached and his workouts were not as impressive as other players. A few months ago I suggested that going professional was perhaps not a bad idea for Greene, since he risked having his stock plummet with another season at Syracuse if he did not learn to rebound or play defense. Considering that his stock dropped anyhow, I would have to recant that, and say that Greene would definitely have been better off staying at Syracuse one more year, and improved his overall draft position.
Donte', thank you for your time at Syracuse, and good luck in the NBA.
Greene was probably somewhat disappointed as he did not end up being a lottery selection, as was originally projected by many back mid season. Yet, being a first round pick is going to put some nice change in his pocket, so I don’t think he will be too disappointed.
Greene is the 15th former Orangemen to be selected in the 1st round of the NBA draft, the 51st Orangemen ever drafted, and the first Orangeman drafted in the first round since Hakim Warrick was the 19th pick in 2005 by the same Memphis Grizzlies. With the assumption that Greene does make the NBA roster and play next year for Houston (or any other NBA team), he will be the 36th former Syracuse player to play in the NBA.
The first were Bob Shaddock and Lew Spicer in 1947; Shaddock would play a mere two games with the Syracuse Nationals, and Spicer four with the Providence Steamrollers. The first Syracuse player to be a regular in the NBA was Bullet Billy Gabor in 1949. Gabor would make an impact in the NBA being named to the all rookie team his first season, make the NBA All-Star team in 1953, and win the NBA Championship with the Nationals in 1955.
The greatest Syracuse player in NBA history is Hall of Famer Dave Bing, who was the 2nd overall pick in the 1966 draft by the Detroit Pistons. Bing would score 18,327 points in his 12 year NBA career, averaging 20.3 ppg and 6.0 assists per game, and play in seven NBA All-Star games.
Danny Schayes played more games than any former Orangemen in NBA history with 1,138 games over 18 seasons. Schayes started for a few seasons, but really found a solid role as a reserve center, with his ability to play smart basketball, make the free throws and jump shots, and grab rebounds as needed.
Derrick Coleman is the only Orangemen drafted number 1 overall in the NBA draft, going to the New Jersey Nets in 1990. Now Coleman was a bust as a number one pick; he never reached the stardom predicted for him, and he had the talent and ability to be a great NBA player. That is not to say Coleman was a bust in the NBA. He did have a solid fifteen year career, averaging 16.5 ppg and 9.3 rebounds a game. Those aren’t bad numbers, and he was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1991, and on the All-Star team in 1994. They’re just not the numbers expected from the number one overall pick.
Other Orangemen have gone on to productive NBA careers. Sherman Douglas played 12 years, averaging 11.0 ppg and 5.9 assists per game, showing that he could master the alley-oop pass in the professional leagues as well as he did at college.
Louis Orr played 8 seasons averaging 9.8 ppg, Billy Owens played 11 seasons averaging 11.7 ppg, though injuries hounded him throughout his career. Rony Seikaly played a solid eleven seasons scoring 14.7 ppg, along with 9.5 rebounds a game. And John Wallace played 7 seasons, averaging 7.6 ppg.
Greene is going to join 6 current Orangemen who are in the NBA (or at least on the fringes of it). Carmelo Anthony is starring out in Denver, and barring injury, will easily be Syracuse’s second best NBA player ever, and possibly even the best (time will tell).
Jason Hart is going into his eighth season, now with the Utah Jazz. Etan Thomas as been a solid player for the Washington Wizards, and should be back from his injury this year. Hakim Warrick almost had Greene as a teammate down in Memphis; instead Warrick will need to battle a slew of new players brought in by draft day trades. Darryl Watkins and Demetris Nichols are both struggling to stay on NBA teams; Watkins played nine games last season, and Nichols played 14.
It will be interesting to see how Donte' Greene’s ends up. He is clearly not ready today, and NBA scouts took note as his stoke dropped as draft day approached and his workouts were not as impressive as other players. A few months ago I suggested that going professional was perhaps not a bad idea for Greene, since he risked having his stock plummet with another season at Syracuse if he did not learn to rebound or play defense. Considering that his stock dropped anyhow, I would have to recant that, and say that Greene would definitely have been better off staying at Syracuse one more year, and improved his overall draft position.
Donte', thank you for your time at Syracuse, and good luck in the NBA.
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