Career and Season Records from 2017-2018

Syracuse fielded a young squad in 2017-2018 with juniors Frank Howard and Paschal Chukwu, sophomore Tyus Battle, and freshmen Matthew Moyer and Oshae Brissett the starters.  Fellow freshman Marek Dolezaj, Bourama Sidibe and Howard Washington completed the bulk of the playing time.

A young squad is unlikely to have many players moving up significantly in the all-time career categories, but there were some things to note.

Tyus Battle

Tyus Battle became the 62^nd player to score 1,000 career points; how now has 1,097 points.  He is 55^th all-time. If he scored 700 points again next year he could move up to 13^th and surpass Rony Seikaly.  Frank Howard entered the top 100, and is now 93^rd all-time with 734 points.  Barring injury he should easily get to 1,000 points next season.

Ohae Brissett’s outstanding rebounding effort his freshman year put him well into the top 100 career rebounders at Syracuse. He is tied for 70^th all-time with Andy Rautins with 327 rebounds.  Paschal Chukwu is also in the top 100, with 281 career rebounds, placing him 85^th all-time.

Frank Howard has moved himself up the charts, and is now 18thall-time in assists with 351.  He needs only 88 assists to move all the way up to 8^th all-time.  Battle is also in the top 100, at 71^st on the list with 134 assists.

Battle is 17^th all-time in three point shots made with 137 made shots.  He should move up to around 5^th all-time next year.  Howard is 29^th with 87 shots made, and Brissett is 37^th with 55.  Considering any player who has ever made a three point shot makes the top 100 list, Geno Thorpe comes in 75^th (with 4), Adrian Autry Jr, Marek Dolezaj and Howard Washington are tied at 83^rd (with 2), and Matthew Moyer is tied at 92^nd (with 1).

Paschal Chukwu is 21^st all-time in blocked shots with 105.  Brissett is 56^th with 29, Dolezaj 58^th with 28, Bourama Sidibe 74^th with 20, Howard 76^th with 19, and Battle 81^st with 15.

Frank Howard is 38^th all-time in steals with 123.  Battle is 51^st with 98, Brissett 87^th with 43, Dolezaj 95^th with 30, and Chukwu 96^th with 29.

Battle is currently the 6th best career freethrow shooter with 82.6%.  Brissett is 18^th at 78.7%. 

The Orange also had several notable individual season accomplishments.

Battle’s 712 points and 19.2 ppg were the most since Hakim Warrick scored 726 with 21.4 ppg in 2004-2005. 

Brissett’s 327 rebounds were the most since Rick Jackson had 360 in 2010-2011. Brissett’s 8.8 rpg was topped by Rakem Christmas in 2014-2015 with 9.1

Chukwu’s 91 blocked shots were the most since Darryl Watkins had 112 in 2006-2007.  His 2.5 blocks per game was equaled by Rakem Christmas in 2014-2015.

Brissett’s 174 made free throws were a freshman record, and the most by any Orangeman since Jonny Flynn made 180 in 2008-2009.

Tyus Battle set a school record for minutes played with 1,443;  Howard has the 2^nd most all-time with 1,422 and Brissett is 4^th all-time with 1,411.  Jonny held the previous record with 1,418 in 2008-2009.

On the downside, Oshae Brissett led the Orange with a 33.1% three point shooting percentage. That was the lowest percentage ever for a team leader, breaking the mark set by Lawrence Moten back in 1992-1993 with 33.6%.  Brisstt's effort was the 60th best 3 point shooting season for Syracuse out of 74 players who qualified.  Howard was 63rd and Battle 64th.  

Tyus Battle is only the third Syracuse player to be named All-ACC First Team. The other two were Rakeem Christmas in 2015 and C.J. Fair in 2014.

A few oddities too about the 2017-2018 Orangemen. They were widely reported throughout the season to have the tallest team in the NCAA. The starting five:  Howard 6’4”, Battle 6’5”, Moyer 6’8”, Brissett 6’8”, and Chukwu 7’2”.  Reserves Dolezaj 6’9” and Sidibe 6’10” definitely helped that average.  The shortest regular player on the squad was Washington at 6’3”.

Coach Jim Boeheim won his 1,027 game as a head coach for Syracuse, and was involved in 1,218 wins for Syracuse basketball as a player, assistant coach and head coach.  He won his 50th ACC game.  He coached in his 33rd NCAA tournament.

Rivalries Come and Go

Rivalries can be transitory.  We tend to envision them lasting forever, but many are relevant only within a context of time.  Syracuse and Georgetown were a mighty rivalry.  From the 1979-1980 season to 2012-2013, when the original Big East conference disbanded, the two teams had a 36-36 record against each other.  The two teams were in the Big East for 34 seasons, and met each other 14 times in the Big East tournament, splitting the games 7-7.  Syracuse would win 9 regular season titles and 5 Big East tournament titles; Georgetown would win 10 regular season titles and 7 Big East tournament titles. 

The two teams have played three times since Syracuse left the Big East, and they will play a fourth time this coming December.  But the game has lost some luster; it is played in the non-conference schedule and the game has no significance is overall standings. 

It may be hard for fans to realize it, but Colgate used to be the biggest rival for Syracuse in all sports.  The rivalry was fierce; there were instances of brawls on the court and field.  Often the basketball game was the last one of the season to give it the honor to close out the year.  From the early 1900s to probably the mid 1930s, it was the top game.  The series still had competitive games through the 1960s. Today the Orangemen and Raiders have met more times than any other SU opponent, with 170 games.  But the two teams have gone different directions, and other than being a annual game at the Dome early each season, the game has little significance.

Which brings me back to the transitory nature of rivals such as Georgetown.  Big East fans would of course point to the Orangemen and Hoyas as one of the top rivalries in the conference, if not the top. But the two teams were hardly rivals prior to the Big East.  They had played 17 times prior to the conference being formed, and most of those games where from 1937 to 1943.  The last scheduled game was in 1967; they met in 1974 in an early season tournament, and in 1979 in the ECAC playoffs.  The Big East built their rivalry, and frankly with the Big East gone, the rivalry will dissipate.

Surprisingly, the Orangemen did not have a rivalry with most of the original Big East teams prior to the formation of the conference.  Of the original 9 teams in the Big East (*note I count Pitt and Villanova as originals even though they didn’t join the first season), only three were rivals of the Orangemen.

Syracuse had played the Pitt Panthers 44 times from 1914 to 1979, and they played the Panthers basically every year from 1952 to 1979.  The 113 games against Pitt is third all-time on the Syracuse opponent list.  Surprisingly, Pitt isn’t really viewed as a big time rival, despite the long time history and meaningful games they played later in the Big East conference.

 

Syracuse and St. John’s played each other 29 times from 1912 to 1979, and played each year from 1969 to 1979.  In the 50s and 60s St. John’s routinely beat the Orangemen, but the tables were turned in the 70s as the Orangmen routinely beat the Redmen.

Connecticut is the third team from the Big East who was a rival prior to conference play.  It wasn’t an early rival as the two teams did not meet until 1956.  But from 1956 to 1979 they played 21 times, almost every season.  Syracuse led the series 17-4 before conference play.  UConn was not a contender in the early years of the Big East, and so UConn did not get the same prestige to Orange fans as Georgetown, St. John’s or Villanova.  But once Jim Calhoun arrived in 1987, things started to heat up.

As mentioned earlier, the rest of the teams in the Big East were relatively newcomers to the Orangemen.  Georgetown was only 17 games, and very few recent, as previously discussed.

Syracuse and Boston College played 12 times, all between 1959 and 1978.  

The Orangemen only met the Seton Hall Pirates three times, in 1948, 1949 and 1951.  The two squads had not met in 29 years prior to the conference play. 

Syracuse and Villanova only played three times, in 1946, 1966 and 1979, the latter two both being tournaments. 

Syracuse and Providence had played only twice, in 1969 and 1974.

So it is not like Syracuse had big rivalries prior to the Big East for most the schools. The nature of the conference, and the routine playing built those rivalries.

Who were the most common Orangemen foes prior to conference play?  We had already discussed Pitt, UConn and St. Johns, as well as Colgate.

These were the other top teams the Orangemen had played:

Penn State 103 games from 1902 to 1979 (we’ve only played twice since)

Cornell 96 games from 1901 to 1979

Niagara 77 games from 1910 to 1979 (four times since)

Rochester 64 games from 1902 to 1974 (none since)

Canisius 53 games from 1945 to 1979 (seventeen times since)

Penn 46 games from 1902 to 1979 (once since)

Fordham 39 games from 1928 to 1979 (only five times since)

St. Lawrence 34 games from 1901 to 1947 (none since)

Buffalo 29 games, from 1918 to 1979 (four times since)

Army, 30 games from 1912 to 1974 (no games since)

LaSalle 28 games, from 1954 to 1978 (three games since)

Princeton 28 games, from 1905 to 1964 (six games since)

West Virginia 26 games, every year from 1961 to 1979

Temple 26 games, from 1942 to 1979 (four times since)

Manhattan 25 games from 1913 to 1979 (five times since)

Holy Cross 23 games, from 1949 to 1973 (four times since)

Dartmouth 22 games, from 1904 to 1956 (none since)

NYU 21 games, from 1910 to 1964 (none since)

Rutgers 20 games, every year from 1971 to 1979

Some of these teams dropped off the schedule as they de-emphasized basketball, or moved to a different level.  Others simply became a logistics problem once the Big East conference began. 

If Syracuse were to have joined a Basketball-Only conference in 1979-1980 that was composed of our top ‘rivals’ at that time, and keeping a marketing perspective in mind, thus avoiding smaller schools in small cities and nearby proximity to Syracuse, the basketball conference probably would have looked like this:

Syracuse

Pitt

UConn

West Virginia

Penn State

Temple

Rutgers

St. Johns

Obviously the Big East conference built the rivalries we now know.  But rivals come and go.  The ACC currently has some very long-standing rivalries; as it should, it is a well established conference and many of the incumbent teams have long histories with each other. It will take quite a while for the Orangemen to be a true rival with those schools, though I think Virginia may start getting a feeling of a rivalry based on recent games.

Oshae Brissett's Freshman Year

Oshae Brissett had quite an impact on the Orange his freshman season.  He was the 2017 All-Canadian High School Player of the Year, but even with that distinction, he was not that heralded, nationally, when he came to Syracuse.

Super frosh Oshae Brissett

He showed early on that he had a nose for the ball pulling 10+ rebounds in five of the first eight games.  He would have season high 25 point games in a win over Buffalo and a loss to North Carolina State. In the NCAA tournament he would lead the Orange with 23 point and 10 rebounds in the First Four victory over Arizona State.

Brissett would lead the Orange in rebounds, 3 pt %, and led the ACC conference in free throw attempts. He was second on the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game.

I think some of his accomplishments went unnoticed, at least from a historical context. The Orange players had to be ironmen in 2017-2018 due to a reduced roster. Brissett would play 1,411 minutes, for a 38.1 minutes per game average.  Both are by far records for a Syracuse freshman.  The previous records were 1,274 minutes with a 36.4 mpg average, both set by Carmelo Anthony back in 2002-2003.

Brissett made 174 free throws, the most ever by a Syracuse freshman, again eclipsing the mark of 167 set by Anthony.  His 221 free throw attempts were second only to Anthony’s 238. 

Carmelo /Anthony

Brissett’s 327 rebounds were third most ever by a Syracuse freshman, trailing Anthony’s 349 and Derrick Coleman’s 333.  His 8.8 rpg average was tied for second best, again trailing Anthony, and tying Coleman.

Brissett scored the fourth most points ever by a Syracuse freshman with 553. He trailed Anthony’s  His 14.9 points per game is fifth all-time, trailing Anthony 22.2, Moten 18.2, Greene 17.7 and Jonny Flynn 15.7.    He scored more points per game as a freshman than stellar freshman Pearl Washington (14.4), Gerry McNamara (13.3), Billy Owens (13.0), Derrick Coleman (11.9), and Tyler Ennis (12.9).

778, Donte Greene with 620, and Lawrence Moten with 583.

His 37 games played trailed only Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens' 38 games.

Brissett was not the best freshman ever at Syracuse.  Carmelo Anthony rightfully earns that designation. Some of the other aforementioned freshman also had better seasons than Brissett. But it is notable that Brissett did have an excellent freshman year, and he can be mentioned with some of the greatest freshman to play for the Orange.

Father and Son Duos for Syracuse Basketball

Happy Father’s Day!  In honor of the day, I wanted to recognize the father/son combinations that have played and/or coached for Syracuse basketball.  This fall, Jim and Buddy Boeheim will become the seventh such combination for the Orange.  Below are the father/son combination in chronological order.

The Baysingers (Reaves ‘Ribs’ and Reaves Jr).  The Baysingers were the first father/son combination in Syracuse basketball history.  Ribs was a solid reserve on the 1921-1922 team playing both center and guard, and starting a handful of games.  He would play only his sophomore year.  He was a star on the football field at both guard and end, as well as an outfielder on the baseball team for three years.  Reaves Jr was a reserve center on the Syracuse basketball team for one season. He was a gifted football player like his father, and played quarterback for the football team in 1944.  Reaves Jr would enroll in the Naval Academy as a result of World War II, and would end up a star quarterback for the Navy football team.

The Suprunowicz (Dick and Bill). Dick was a defensive stalwart on the Syracuse basketball team for three seasons, helping guide the Orangemen to their first NIT appearance in 1950.  Dick would score 526 points in his career with 6.7 ppg.  Bill was a reserve guard on the basketball team for three seasons, from 1972 to 1974. He would score 30 points in 20 games.

Vinnie Cohen

The Cohens (Vinnie and Vinnie Jr).  Vinnie Cohen was the best Syracuse basketball player of the 1950’s, a star forward for three seasons.  He would lead the Orangemen to their first NCAA berth in 1957, taking the team to the Elite Eight.  Cohen would be the first Orangemen to score 20+ ppg, with 24.2 ppg, and had a career average of 19.7 ppg.  Vinne Jr. was a walk-on for the basketball team for two seasons, scoring six points in nine games.

The Danforths (Roy and Mike). Roy was the Syracuse head coach from 1969 to 1976, with a 148-70 record. He led the team to its first Final Four in 1975, along with 3 other NCAA berths, and 2 NIT berths.  He brought an entertaining style of basketball to Manley Field House, and helped build a winning program, before heading off to be the basketball coach at Tulane.   Mike was a reserve on the 1975-1976 team playing in seven games and scoring two points.  He would transfer to Tulane when his father became the coach there.

Leo Rautins

The Rautins (Leo and Andy).  The Rautins were probably the best father/son combination at Syracuse University.  Leo was a versatile forward for the Orangemen from 1981 to 1983, scoring 1,031 points. He was an exceptionally skill passer for a forward, averaging 12.1 ppg, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He would be drafted in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft.  Leo had three triple doubles at Syracuse.  Andy was a prolific three point shooting guard for the Orange from 2006 to 2010, and was an exceptional passing shooting guard.  He would score 1,121 points, averaging 8.8 ppg, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists.  Andy was drafted in the 2^nd round of the 2010 NBA draft.  Andy is the only son on this list to outscore his father.

The Autrys (Adrian ‘Red’ and Adrian Jr).  Red was a star starting point guard for Syracuse for four seasons, averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.2 assists.  He helped guide the Orangemen to a Big East Tournament Championship (1991), a Big East Regular Season Championship (1992), and three NCAA tournaments.  He has been an assistant coach for Syracuse since the 2011-2012 season, and in March of 2017 was named the Associate Head Coach.  His son Adrian Jr has been a walk-on player the past three seasons, and has scored 10 points in 19 career games.  Red is  the first father to coach basketball to his son at Syracuse.

The Boeheims (Jim and Buddy).  Jim is the 2^nd winningest coach of all-time in men’s Division I basketball, with a record of 1027-371.  He has led the Orange to one National Championship, five Final Fours, and 33 NCAA tournaments.  He was also a solid guard for the Orangemen for three seasons in the 1960s, scoring 745 career points with a 9.8 ppg average.  Buddy is a freshman for the upcoming season, and has a reputation as being a terrific perimeter shooter.

Jim Boeheim has ties to many of the other individuals on this list.  He was the head coach for Vinnie Cohen Jr, Leo  & Andy Rautins, Red Autry & Adrian Autry Jr.  He was an assistant coach under Roy Danforth, and for Mike Danforth and Bill Suprunowicz.

Orange Scoring Troubles Historic for 2017-2018

The Syracuse Orange basketball team struggled mightily to score the past season, especially from the supporting positions.  I had written about the struggles earlier in the season, focusing on the fact that the team was centered around only three scorers.  I had expected the team to expand beyond those three as the season progressed, and while there was some development, there was not much.  Injuries played a part of that, as did departures from the team.

 

Marek Dolezaj

We did see Marek Dolezaj improve during the tail end of the season and into the NCAA tournament. This is a hopeful stepping stone for him in 2018-2019. Dolezaj scored a career high 20 points in a home win against Wake Forest. In the NCAA tournament, he scored 17 against TCU and 13 against Duke. 

Dolezaj was the fourth best scorer for the Orange in the 2018-2019 season, but he averaged only 5.8 points per game.  He was accurate in his shooting, making 54% of his shots.  The fifth leading scorer was Paschal Chukwu, and he scored 5.4 ppg on 66% shooting. The problem was not their accuracy, but the ability to put them into positions where they could or would take shots.

As I indicated back in December, it has been quite a long time since the fourth leading scorer on the Orange scored that few points per game. 

“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.”

Of note, the 1963-1964 squad’s fourth leading scorer averaged 6.6 ppg, and it’s fifth leading scorer was a sophomore named Jim Boeheim, who averaged 5.2 ppg.  That team was lead by Dave Bing with 22.2 ppg and Chuck Richards with 22.0 ppg, so while there was not depth in scoring, the top one-two punch of Bing and Richards was quite potent.

The 1961-1962 team was probably the worst team in Syracuse basketball history, taking part in 27 consecutive losses and completing the season 2-22.  The fourth leading scorer on that team was Bob Murray, and he managed 6.3 ppg, better than Dolezaj’s 5.8 ppg.

No, we still have to go back to the 1948-1949 team to find a case where the fourth leading scorer put up less than Syracuse had in 2017-2018.

The return of the entire starting lineup from last season will almost certainly rectify that by itself. Natural improvement of each player will make a difference. Add in the incoming freshman class, and we should definitely see more scoring from the fourth and fifth players on offense. 

The odds of the Orange getting historically low production from that position on offense is highly unlikely to occur again.

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)

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 2^nd 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.

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 2^nd 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.

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.

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?

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!

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.