Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Jordan vs. James


Normally, I only discuss Syracuse basketball, but I'll deviate today just for a topical opinion.  Like many fans, I’ve been fortunate enough to watch Michael Jordan and LeBron James both play in their primes.  They are both great players, and I really cannot tell you who is better. They are different style players in different eras; they are wired differently and approach the game differently on and off the court.

Detractors will point out that LeBron is only 3-6 in the NBA finals, while Jordan was 6-0.  LeBron’s teams have been the underdog in 7 of the 9 series they’ve played; Jordan’s teams were the favorite in all six finals.

LeBron carried teams to the finals that had no business being in the finals. At 22 years old he took the Cavaliers to their first NBA finals.  Jordan was injured most of his season when he was 22; his team was only 40-42 when he was 23.

LeBron played in two finals at age 22 and 26, before Jordan ever played in one.
Both players left a team and then returned to that same team.  We can see a clear impact each player had on his team, and what caliber player surrounded him. 

LeBron’s Cav’s were 61-21 in 2009-10.  He left the team for four years, and they went 19-63, 21-45, 24-58, and 33-49.  That was the worst record in the NBA for those four years, and they didn’t sniff the playoffs. LeBron returns and the team immediately goes to the NBA finals with a 53-29 record.
Jordan’s Bulls were 57-25 in 1992-93.  He left the team for two years, and they went 55-27, and 47-35. Note, in that second year, Jordan came back at the end of the season, the Bulls went 13-4; they were 34-31 without him.

Jordan’s teammates were good enough to make the playoffs with almost the identical record without him in 1993-94.  That’s not a knock on Jordan; that’s a comment on how good the teammates around him were.  They couldn’t produce in the playoffs without MJ; he was sorely missed for sure.  LeBron’s team was the worst in the NBA without him, and immediately went back to champion caliber upon his return.

Jordan’s teams won it all when he had great talent around him.  The fair knock on LeBron is that his ‘super team’ in Miami didn’t win it all every year; they only went 2-2 in the finals (though they did make the finals all four years).  Jordan never elevated a mediocre team to the finals.

LeBron has made the finals 8 years in a row, and is now 33 years old. Jordan, after three straight finals, walked away from the game at age 30, citing he was tired of the game.  Whether MJ walked away from the game on his own, or he was nudged out as a suspension for gambling is a matter of debate, but if you take MJ’s story at its face… he tired of it.  You can’t assume MJ would’ve won titles in those two years he walked away from the game, or for that matter, what if he had stayed… would he have been burned out before the second three peat era?

MJ played 41,011 minutes in his career; LeBron has 44,298 in his career, and is still going strong. 

Haters are always going to look for a way to tear down one or the other of the two players. Personally, I think Bill Russell, Kareem, and Wilt all deserve more consideration than they get. But I digress.  I just enjoy watching Jordan and James play.  Revel in their individual greatness, and the unique gifts to the game.

As a side note, Jordan probably played with better NBA talent his junior year at NC (Sam Perkins, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith), than LeBron played with when he went to the finals in 2007 (Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas)

Monday, June 11, 2018

Syracuse Opponents They Have A Losing Record Against


Syracuse has played 288 different teams in the history of the program.  They have a winning record against 235 of those teams, and a split record against 24.  There are only 29 teams that the Orange have a lifetime losing record against.  Five of those teams are non-collegiate programs that they will never play again:  Schenectady Company “E” (0-2), Crescent Athletic Club (1-2), St. John’s Military Academy (1-2), East Liverpool Athletic Club (0-1) and Williston Seminary (0-1).

That leaves 25 collegiate basketball programs that have winning records against the Orange. 16 of those teams have a one game margin over the Orange. Those include:

  •     Virginia (5-6)
  •      Maryland (4-5)
  •      Clemson (3-4)
  •      Oklahoma State (2-3)
  •      Wisconsin (2-3)
  •      Eastern Kentucky (1-2)
  •      Illinois (1-2)
  •      Iowa (1-2)
  •      Austin Peay (0-1)
  •      Baldwin-Wallace (0-1)
  •      Cleveland State (0-1)
  •      Denison (0-1)
  •      Mississippi (0-1)
  •      Oral Roberts (0-1)
  •      Tulsa (0-1)


Virginia and Clemson are current ACC conference foes, so the one game margin there will be up for play for the foreseeable future.

There are nine teams that have a two game or greater margin against he Orange. They are:

Bradley (1-3): The Braves are in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Orange have played them four times, always on a neutral court or in a tournament.  The two teams last met in 1982 when Bradley beat the Orangemen in the NIT.

Duke (5-7):  The Blue Devils are now a familiar foe in the ACC, and the Orange will see them at least once every year.  The Orange are 3-4 against Duke in ACC play, and last lost to them in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year.

Ohio State (2-5): The Buckeyes are part of the Big 10.  The Orange have played OSU twice in the NCAA tournament, both times with painful losses, twice on neutral courts, twice at OSU and once at home.  The Orange last played the Buckeyes in the 2012 Elite Eight with the Buckeyes winning 77-70.

City College of New York (5-8): The Beavers were a powerhouse NCAA program in the 1940s.  They were caught in a point shaving scandal in 1950-1951, and that destroyed the program. They dropped down to Division III and have remained there ever since.  Former Orangeman Tom Green is currently the head coach of the Beavers.  Syracuse last played CCNY in 1950, and that is unlikely to change.

New York University (9-12):  The Violets are now Division III and part of the UAA conference.  The Orange and Violets met frequently from 1940 to 1964.  The last time they met was in 1964, with NYU beating SU in the NIT tournament, despite Dave Bing’s 31 points. 

Kentucky (3-8):  The Wildcats are in the SEC, and are one of the blue bloods of college basketball. The Orange have met them sporadically over history, facing many of their famous coaches: Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith.  The two teams met in the 1996 NCAA Championship game with the Wildcats winning 76-67.  They last met in 2000 with the Orange beating the Wildcats in the 2nd round 52-50.

North Carolina (4-11):  The Tar Heels are now a conference rival in the ACC.  Despite the legendary status of the program, the Orange held their own and were 4-4 over the first eight games against the Tar Heels.  The Orangemen upset NC in the 1975 NCAA tournament and again in the 1987 NCAA tournament, both times advancing to the Final Four.  The two teams met in the Final Four in 2016, and North Carolina beat the underdog Orange.  The Tar Heels have won the last seven games in the series.

Louisville (9-18):  Louisville is now a conference rival in the ACC, and a former rival in the Big East.  Louisville has a winning record over the Orange, and has the distinction of the widest margin (9 games), and the most games giving the Orange a losing record (27 games played).  The Orange have won 6 of the past 11 games, so they are on an upswing.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Returning Starting Lineups


Tyus Battle has announced he will be returning to Syracuse for his junior season.  As a result, the Syracuse Orange will be returning their entire starting basketball lineup for the 2018-2019 season.  The Orange will suit up Battle, Frank Howard, Oshae Brissett, Marek Dolezaj, and Paschal Chukwu.  This is a very rare occurrence in Syracuse basketball history, having only occurred four previous times.

In 1999-2000, the entire starting lineup from the previous year returned, but Allen Griffin lost his starting position to Tony Bland, and did not start a single game for the season. The 1998-1999 starting lineup was Jason Hart, Allen Griffin, Damone Brown, Ryan Blackwell, and Etan Thomas.  The squad would improve from 21-12 (10-8 Big East) to 26-6 (13-3 Big East), and was the Big East regular season champion. The team would be ranked as high as #4 in the country in early February, before finishing the year at #16.  They would lose in the NCAA tournament to Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen.

The 1982-1983 squad saw Gene Waldron, Erich Santifer, Tony Bruin, Leo Rautins and Andre Hawkins all return from a 16-13 (7-7 Big East) team.  The previous season was one of the least successful teams in Jim Boeheim history. The 1982-1983 squad saw an improvement to 21-10 (9-7 Big East), including wins over #9 Houston, and #4 Villanova. The team would lose in the 2nd round of the NCAA to Ohio State.

The 1933-1934 team returned Elmer Maister, Ronnie Phillips, Lou Alkoff, Johnny DeYoung and Skids Sanford. The 1932-1933 team was an impressive 14-2, and won their last 12 games of the season, including going undefeated against the Eastern basketball teams.  The 1933-1934 team would go 15-2, one win better, but did lose to Eastern foes Colgate (on the road) and Penn (on the road).  The season was deemed very successful, despite the 1932-1933 leading scorer Johnny DeYoung injuring his leg and missing playing time as a result. They would conclude their season with a very lopsided home win over Colgate.

Reindeer Five
The 1930-1931 team returned the famed Reindeer Five squad of Ev Katz, Dan Fogarty, Ken Beagle, Tuppy Hayman and Slim Elliott.  The 1929-1930 team went 18-2 with big road wins over Michigan State and Penn, and would go 15-1 against Eastern basketball team. The team was known for its speed on the court, balanced scoring, and did not have too many close games.  The 1939-1931 team would drop to 16-4, still an impressive record.  The highlight of the season was three consecutive road wins against Penn State, Penn and Colgate.

It makes sense that starting lineups rarely return intact.  Most teams have at least one senior in the starting lineup, which means graduation impacts the ability to return the squad.  Academic issues and transfers also come into play. In the modern era, early departure to the NBA definitely impacts the ability of a team to retain starters.  The 2008-2009 squad has no seniors in the starting lineup, but Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf both left school a year early to pursue pro careers.  Same thing with the 2007-2008 squad, as Donte’ Greene would leave after his freshman year.  The 2003-2004 squad lost Billy Edelin to academic issues mid-season, which prevented that squad from returning all its starters.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

The Orange Offense 2017-18

The Orange basketball team has some unusual statistical oddities occurring this season. This is being driven by the reliance on three guys to do virtually all of the scoring: Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett, and Frank Howard.

Hopefully Matthew Moyer continues to exploit the defensive coverage being given to him and he  keeps improving his value as a fourth scorer. A tip of the hat to Howard who recognizes that Moyer is getting weak coverage and giving him the ball in those situations.

The Orange have a three headed offensive attack right now with three guys averaged 15.4 ppg or more.  The 1993-94 team was the last team with three guys with 15+ ppg:  Lawrence Mote 21.5, Adrian Autry 16.7, and John Wallace 15.0.  The 2012-13 team, which made the Final Four had a leading scorer C.J. Fair with just 14.5 ppg, lower than all three scorers this year.  The 2011-12 team's leading scorer had 13.4 ppg (Kris Joseph), and 2010-11 had 14.3 ppg (again Joseph).

The downside is that the fourth leading scorer on this year's squad barely averaged 5.3 ppg (Pascal Chukwu).  I have to go back to 2004-05 to find a team where the fourth leading scorer was even remotely close to that low, and that was Terrence Roberts with 7.2 ppg.  Fourth leading scorer on the 2001-02 team was Hakim Warrick with 6.1 ppg.  Fourth leading scored on the 1989-90 team was Dave Johnson with 6.5 ppg.  You would have to go all the way back to 1948-1949 to find a Syracuse team where the fourth leading scorer averaged 5.4 ppg or less.

I'd expect Moyer and Marek Dolezaj's numbers to improve as the year moves on, and for them to end up in the 6-7 ppg range; I'd also expect our top three scorers numbers to start to dip as the others on the team start to score more.


But it is interesting from an historical perspective how unusual our point spread is right now.

Sunday, December 03, 2017

The Best Orangeman Basketball Player In My Lifetime

Who was the best basketball player ever to play for the Syracuse Orange?  I am not referring to their entire career, but rather their peak year, how good of a player did they become while an Orangeman?  I am not talking about potentially how good they could have been, but rather what they did show to us.

I am going to restrict this to players I saw play. Dave Bing who played his last game for the Orangemen a couple of months before I was born is therefore excluded.

I do not mean which player had the greatest season ever for the Orangemen. That would clearly be Carmelo Anthony.  Anthony was the best player on the only Syracuse team to win the NCAA National Championship. 

I think John Wallace was clearly the most valuable player ever for the Orangemen. Wallace carried the Orangemen to the brink of the 1996 National Championship with no teammate named to any All Big East teams that year.

I think Lawrence Moten has the highest basketball IQ of any Orangemen I ever saw play. He was so smooth staying within the flow of the game, and would effortlessly and often quietly score 20 points.

I think Pearl Washington was the most significant player in Orangemen history. He brought recognition to Syracuse University at a National level, helping the Orange be a national power.

I can also state that my five all-time favorite Orangemen, chronologically, are Rafael Addison, Stephen Thompson, Lawrence Moten, Gerry McNamara, and Andy Rautins.

Who do I think were the five best players for the Orangemen?

Fifth:  John Wallace.  Wallace as a senior carried the Orangemen to the National Championship game, averaging 22.2 points per game (ppg), and 8.7 rebounds per game (rpg).  He shot 42% from three point range, the best on the team, even outshooting, percentage wise, the team’s three point specialist Marius Janulis (41.6% to John’s 42.1%).    He would lead the team in scoring by 9.5 ppg, and would score 30+ points five times, and led the team in scoring 30 of the 38 games played.  Wallace played strong defense, leading the team with 63 blocks, and also had 44 steals. He played exceptionally well in the NCAA tournament, leading the team in scoring all six games, including a great 30 point effort against Georgia, and a 29 point effort in the championship game. The Orangemen were only down by four points in the Championship game to a much more talented Kentucky team, when Wallace fouled out with about 2 minutes to go.

Rony Seikaly
Fourth:  Rony Seikaly.  Seikaly came to Syracuse as a raw recruit with a flabby body and poor basketball skills.  He developed into an outstanding collegiate center, with a nice turnaround jump shot, and great defensive skills. Seikaly really came into his own during the NCAA tournament his junior year.  Seikaly would have a dominating game against Florida’s highly touted Duane Schintzius, scoring 33.  Seikaly kept that playing level going as the Orangemen upset North Carolina and eventually got to the NCAA finals, before losing to Indiana.  Seikaly performed at that level most of his senior year averaging 16.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, along with 85 blocked shots.  He shot 57% from the floor, and was great at running the court both on offense and defense.  The team was loaded with scoring talent with Sherman Douglas, Matt Roe, Stephen Thompson and Derrick Coleman in the lineup, and yet Seikaly led the team in scoring primarily with his low post moves.  The Orangemen would win the Big East Championship but lose in the NCAA tournament to Rhode Island when Douglas was off his game due to illness. Seikaly scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds in that loss.

Carmelo Anthony
Third: Carmelo Anthony.  I know I’m going to take flak from several Orange fans for this selection, as they think he was number one.  Anthony was without a doubt one of the most gifted basketball players in SU history.   As a freshman, and his only season with Syracuse, he displayed a wide array of offensive skills. He was adept at scoring from the post, driving the lane, and pulling up from perimeter, making 34% of his three point shots. He displayed an A-Type personality and was eager to be the man with the ball, and did well in that position.  He would lead the team in scoring 24 of the 35 games they played, scoring 30+ points three times. The biggest performance of his career came in the Final Four where Anthony made 12 of 19 shots for 33 points, with extremely stellar play, to dominate Texas and lead the Orangemen to the championship game.  Anthony would score 20 points, with 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the Championship game, leading all scorers, as the Orangemen won their first National Championship.

Billy Owens
Second: Billy Owens.  Owens was simply dominating his junior year at Syracuse.  Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson had graduated, and Owens stepped up to fill the void scoring 23.2 ppg, with 11.6 rpg and 3.5 assists per game (apg).  He shot 39% from three point range, and 51% from the floor overall.  He was offensively a dominating player inside and outside.  Defensively he led the team with 78 steals, and led the team in scoring 21 of the 32 games played. In his career he had 8 games with 30+ points, and ten games with 15+ rebounds.    He led the team to a Big East regular season title, and a 26-4 record with a #6 ranking.  There were hopes that he could carry SU to a national title like Danny Manning had done with Kansas in 1988.   Inexplicably the team crashed in the post season, losing its first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova, despite 17 points and 22 rebounds from Owens.  They would then get upset by Richmond in the first round of the NCAA despite 22 points from Owens.

Derrick Coleman
First:  Derrick Coleman.  Derrick Coleman was a tremendously gifted 6’10” forward who could dominate players inside and also score from the perimeter, in an era where big men did not do that.  Coleman was the greatest rebounder in SU and NCAA history, with a NCAA record 1,537 rebounds. He averaged 12.1 rpg his senior year, despite having to share rebounds with Billy Owens, Stephen Thompson and LeRon Ellis.  He scored 17.9 ppg, essentially splitting the scoring duties with prolific scorers Owens (18.2 ppg) and Thompson (17.8 ppg).  He shot 37% from three point range and 55% from the floor.  Coleman had 51 steals and led the team with 67 blocks.  The Orangemen would win the Big East regular season title despite having no real point guard play. They would reach a #4 ranking in the country, before losing in the Big East Finals to UConn, and then losing to Minnesota in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.  Coleman would be recognized for his stellar season by being the Big East Player of the Year, making the AP All American First team, and being drafted #1 overall in the NBA draft.

I know many want to argue Anthony over Coleman.  They are of course, different style players.  Anthony was definitely a better player as a freshman than Coleman was, though Coleman was the Big East Rookie of the Year, and he did pull down 19 rebounds in the National Championship game.  But we are not comparing a freshman Anthony to a freshman Coleman. We are comparing a freshman Anthony to a senior Coleman.

Consider that Coleman had four collegiate seasons to master his game, Anthony just one.    He was a 22 year old 6’10”, 225 lb senior when he completed his senior year.    Melo was a 6’8”, 195 lb forward, 18 years old when he completed his freshman year.

Coleman was recognized as the top player in the country and his conference.  Anthony didn’t win the Big East Player of the Year (Troy Bell did), and was not an AP First Team All-American. I know some politics come into that, but Anthony did not make enough impression to overcome those politics. 

Coleman played in an era where all talented players stayed 3-4 years in college.  Guys like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Michael Jordan, Ralph Sampson, Billy Owens, Danny Manning, etc. all perfected their games in college. And Coleman had to play against players like that routinely. And he was able to succeed against them. Today, all those guys, including Coleman, would have been in the NBA after their freshman/sophomore years.

Anthony had his talented opposition to play against too. But those talented upper classmen that would have given him a battle were gone, already earning their millions in the NBA.  There are guys who develop and by their fourth year are outstanding college players, guys like our own Michael Gbinije and Rakeem Christmas.  But Coleman’s era had those guys too… plus the superstars in college. 
Freshman on average are better today than they were 20 years ago. But they aren’t better than 21-22 year NBA superstars staying in college because that was the norm. 

Anthony was a tremendous offensive threat, and fantastic at handling the ball, driving to the hoop.  Coleman could handle the ball, but that wasn’t his forte. But Coleman was much more dominating near the hoop than Anthony.  He was bigger, stronger, and had a freakish arm length.

Coleman was the better defensive player. He played center his junior year and had 127 blocks, a school record until Etan Thomas broke it 9 years later.  Anthony did his part in the zone defense, but he has never been known for his defensive prowess.

Anthony’s 2003 squad reached a peak ranking of #11, and started the year unranked. Coleman’s team got as high as #4.

Coleman’s biggest issue was that at times he was indifferent on the court, specifically against lesser opponents and earlier in this career. Anthony’s type A-personality never let him give up.  Coleman often played with a snarl, whereas Anthony always with a smile.  Coleman could be nasty on the court, whereas Anthony was more a quiet assassin and let his skills do the talking.  D.C. gave coach Jim Boeheim a lot of headaches; I doubt Melo ever game coach one.

Some will argue that Melo’s team won the championship and Coleman’s did not.  But do a flashback to both championship games the guys played in. Coleman missed a front end of a one-and-one in the final minute, and Keith Smart made a jump shot over Howard Triche resulting in the loss for Syracuse.  Anthony missed a front end of a one-and-one in the final minute, and Michael Lee’s jump shot is blocked by Hakim Warrick giving the win to Syracuse.  If Triche block’s Smart’s shot, and Lee makes his shot, the results are swapped. Do you still consider Melo better than D.C. in that scenario?  And your change in position is based on four players other than Melo and D.C. doing something?

I think if Melo stays in college for three years, definitely four, there is no comparison here.  Melo at 22 was a much better basketball player than D.C. was at 22.  But that Melo was not at Syracuse; he was in the NBA playing for Denver. And having watched both players play, Melo at 18 was not better than D.C. at 22.


It was tough to think through these selections.  Without out a doubt Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Carmelo Anthony, Rony Seikaly and John Wallace were great college players.  And no slight was intended to Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas, Lawrence Moten, Wesley Johnson or Hakim Warrick.

Your thoughts?

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Early Evaluation for 2017-2018



The Orange have played six games, and are sitting at 6-0.  It is still early in the season, but we do have a bod of work we can evaluate.
So what do I think of the Orange so far?
I think we will be a competitive team this year, which is all I really can ask for. We may get to our 20+ wins, and to the NCAA tournament, which would be a welcome return.
This team is unlikely to ever be proficient at making 3’s. There aren’t any pure shooters on the squad. But it is a team with a lot of athleticism, a lot of hustle, and a strong ability to drive to the hoop.
You can win a lot of games playing solid defense, crashing the boards and diving for loose balls. Jamie Dixon made a career at Pitt by coaching teams to do just that. Dixon never had an offense you would care for.
The exciting thing is that a few of our weaknesses and concerns from the summer currently are not being displayed. Our point guard play from Frank Howard has been solid through seven games; so much so, that Howard Washington has barely played, and Geno Thorpe hasn’t even backed up the point position.
We thought we had a black hole at center, and instead we have not one, but two centers playing the position well.  
We thought we wouldn’t have a solid #2 scorer, but Howard is providing that element right now. Oshae Brissett is showing that he will be #3. People thought that we would need Thorpe to be #2, and he has been a non factor.
We thought Marek Dolezaj would be a project for future years, and possibly even redshirt. Instead the kid is a key/vital element on the team.
We thought we would be playing a lot of three guard offense; that has barely been displayed.
Bottom line… there’s a lot we didn’t know about this team. It’s young, its inexperienced. We are looking at a small sample size. Yet, they keep checking the boxes off as the proceed game to game.
Go Orange!

Friday, November 17, 2017

1000 Wins At One School

Most Syracuse fans are like me, and they probably bristle anytime talks about the career win total for Jim Boeheim. I know I only recognize what Boeheim has actually occurred, which is 1,006 wins, as opposed to unjustly punitive and excessive NCAA 'official count' after wins were vacated. All in all, I can roll with it... because I know what the true number is.
Yet, the celebrations that the national media wanted to make when Mike Krzyzewski became the first men's coach to win 1,000 games for one school really rubbed more wrong.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2017/11/11/mike-krzyzewski-1000-wins-with-duke-blue-devils/855818001/
I'm a big fan of Coach K, and I have a ton or respect for him. He's a heck of a coach, and deserves all the accolades he gets. But I'm pretty sure that the main reason that Coach K dismissed this acknowledgement is that in deference to his friend Boeheim, Coach K knows he isn't the first to reach this milestone.
My mood on this might have been tempered if any of the articles had footnoted Boeheim, but he was totally left out of the picture. I get that the NCAA has its protocols, its rules and its record books. What I don't get is why ESPN, CBSSports, USAToday, ignore the 'truth' and bend over to the NCAA.... there is no law/rule indicating they have to goose step with the NCAA. These sites/publications are reporting the news... report it. Don't whitewash it.
So, I'll go on record and congratulate Coach K on being the second Division I men's basketball coach to win 1,000 games at one school. Well done young man.