SOBs - Most Surprising Player of the Year

The 2007-2008 season for Syracuse was full of surprises, most of them in the negative. Injuries galore and several blown leads of immense proportion. There were some positives to the season, and a couple of surprising players. The SOB voters got together and tried to determine the most surprising player of the season.

Justin Thomas, the backup point guard (bet you didn’t even know we had one with Flynn playing every minute of every game, or close to it), received one vote.

“Justin Thomas. I didn't even know he was on the team until Josh Wright left for parts unknown.” – Matt, HoyaSuxa

Donte’ Greene also received one vote, which proves different strokes for different folks, as he also received a few votes for most disappointing player.

“"Donte' Greene. I was under the impression that he was going to come
in and score a lot down low and be a great rebounder who could shoot
the three if he had too. Turns out he was the complete opposite." – Jameson, CuseAdelphia

Greene’s classmate Jonny Flynn received a vote.

“Jonny Flynn. Yes, I know everyone knew he had talent. But how many talented players can then take a team that has been undermanned for most of the season and bring them within 1 win of going to the NCAA Tournament as a freshman? What "surprised" me is that for most of his game Flynn played a smart game and did what he knew he could do. If you notice, the games where Flynn tried to do "too much" are the games where SU either lost or was in a close game.” – A.E.M, Orange Squeeze

The runner up for the most surprising player of 2007-2008 went to the big guy in the middle, Arinze Onuaku, who received 3 votes.

“Arinze - while we expected him to be solid in the middle, he surpassed expectations” -- Three Idiots on Sports

“Arinze Onuaku. He did not play that much his freshman season (243 minutes), and missed all of last year with injury. I thought he was going to be a big body in the middle, someone to bang around, plug some holes, and give some fouls. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that he had developed a good inside game and some strong rebounding skills. He showed he could play with the best big men in the country. My knock on Onuaku was that he was inconsistent, and would disappear for entire games, which is hard to do when you’re 6’9”, 260 lbs.” – yours truly at OrangeHoops

“I can't go with Ongenaet because as a JuCo transfer who had averaged a double-double for both his freshmen and sophomore seasons, I expected him to be able to contribute. To me, he was a major disappointment for most of the year, until he finally showed up. So, the winner here has to be Arinze Onuaku. We all knew he was promising, but to go from nothing to 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, virtually overnight, is astounding. We haven't had a center put up those kinds of numbers in almost a decade. I thought it
would take him until next year to be this kind of contributor.” – Syracusan, Cuse Country

Well, with Onuaku the runner up, the winner is probably obvious to most Syracuse fans. The Belgian wonder, Kristof Ongenaet earns the honors.

“If someone other than Kristof! wins this, every other blogger who voted in this thing should be banned from writing for a month.” – Brent, The Axeman

“The Belgian Waffle plays some of the best defense on the team and is just the kind of scrappy, hard working player that the Syracuse fan base loves. While he was not the biggest offensive threat, he certainly kept us in a few games with his rebounding, shot blocking, and stealing. For a JUCO transfer, this kid is a welcome addition to the Orange.” – Brian, Orange44

“Kristof Ongenaet: Injuries forced the Orange to use Ongenaet, and he played with heart. He did have 147 rebounds, which was fourth on the team. As a role player, Ongenaet did his job the best he could." -- Howie, Sports Night With Howie Mansfield

“KRISTOF! - He was "deer-in-the-headlights" before New Year's but showed a nice blend of hustle, responsibility, game smarts and a feel for the big moment late in the year.” – Nick, Nick's 2 Cents

“K-Ong. Preseason he figured to be this year's version of Matt Gorman circa 2003. The first month or so, every time he got on the court he looked like he'd just been dropped off in a strange, exotic land without any knowledge of the local language, customs, or topography. But by the end of the year he'd become a real contributor and (dare
I say it) glue guy. If Donte' leaves, he's got to be the frontrunner to start at power forward next season." – Josh, Cuse Country

“I fully expected Kristof! To be the next Bill Celuck. At times, he can be. But Kristof brought something to the team I never expected…emotion. For his dunk against Marquette alone he may have won this award for me but that was a culmination of his effect on the team all season.” – Sean, TNIAAM

Now KO has set up some big expectations from Orange fans for next year. Perhaps even a starting gig? I’m personally hoping to see more of his coast-to-coast jams.

My thanks and apologies to the rest of the SOB group, for missing my turn in the action. Sometimes life gets in the way, and the fun times get disrupted.

Back to TNIAAM for the closing ceremonies.

Onuaku Shoots for a Few Records

Arinze Onuaku was the most surprising player for Syracuse in the 2007-2008 season. Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene came with high pedigrees, Paul Harris was a known quantity, and Kris Ongenaet was a solid role player. Onuaku was expected to provide a big body down low for solid defense and rebounding. He did both of those things, and also brought an added dimension of outstanding scoring ability.

Onuaku showed himself to be very light on his feet for a man listed at a very solid 260 pounds. He showed a soft shooting touch near the hoop, and made 62.8% of his field goals on the season for the Orange, making 186 of 296 attempts. This ranks him as the 4th best in Syracuse history for players with 100 or more attempts.

The top five now are:

Roosevelt Bouie 65.4% in 1979-1980 (189 field goals in 289 attempts)
Stephen Thompson 63.9% in 1988-1989 (297 field goals in 465 attempts)
Roosevelt Bouie 63.1% in 1978-1979 (176 field goals in 279 attempts)
Arinze Onuaku 62.8% in 2007-2008 (186 field goals in 296 attempts)
Etan Thomas 61.7% in 1998-1999 (148 field goals in 240 attempts)

That is a couple of nice centers to be in company with (Bouie and Thomas), and Stephen Thompson was one of the most dynamic scoring players in Syracuse history. Illustrious company. Onuaku had a chance to be #2 on the list shooting at 64.1% entering the last game of the season (177 field goals out of 276 attempts). Unfortunately a very poor night of missed easy shots against Massachusetts left Onuaku going 9-20 that night, dropping his percentage to 62.8%. Onuaku has a couple more seasons to go for the record, and he may well do it.

The career field goal percentage for players with 200 or more attempts is by Jeremy McNeil. McNeil did not shoot very often (only 251 attempts in his career) and was not a good shooter, but he knew how to dunk the ball when given the chance. McNeil made 68.5% of his career field goal attempts. Onuaku is currently second on that list with a career mark of 62.0%. Third on the list is Etan Thomas at 60% (495 field goals in 895 attempts), followed by Bill Smith at 59.6% and Bouie at 59.3%.

Unfortunately, Onuaku is also attempting to enter another well known and illustrious group at Syracuse, the worst free throw shooting list. He made a strong bid this year to break Terrence Roberts 2005-2006 record for worst single season free throw shooting. Roberts shot 42.1% that year (56 of 133). Onuaku had his chances but finished the year at 44.5% (73-164). Four more misses would have tied him with Roberts. Let us hope Onuaku never has another chance at that record.

Onuaku does however officially hold the worst career free throw shooting (minimum 200 attempts), taking that distinction from Terrence Roberts who set the mark just last year at 48% (176-367). Onuaku has currently made 85 free throws out of 191 attempts in his career for a 44.5% career effort. Onuaku does not have the minimum 200 attempts, but even if you assume he shot nine for nine to get him to 200 attempts (making him 94 for 200), he would have a lower percentage than Roberts.

Onuaku, welcome to that elite club along side Terrence Roberts, Stephen Thompson, Herman Harried, and Derek Brower. As previously mentioned, you have two more years to improve that shot, so let us hope you are just visiting the club, and not accepting a lifetime membership.

Farewell Donte

I am sad to see Donte' Greene declare early for the NBA draft, but I also believe it is the right move for him. I do not think Greene is ready to play in the NBA, but staying in college is more of a risk than a benefit to him at this point, and with the basic guarantee of millions on dollars it would be foolish for him to risk it.

The possibility of injury does exist at the college level, and Greene was well aware of this past season with teammates Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins both having devastating injuries, and Devan Brennan-McBride basically having his career ended due to shoulder problems. If that were the only risk, I think he should return to college. The number of Syracuse players who have had their career cut short by injury is very short (as a mentioned a few months back). Greene, however, faces more a more serious risk.

Donte' Greene’s value is the big ‘P’: “Potential”. He has a 6’11” frame and a very nice shooting touch from the perimeter. That “potential” is going to earn him a lot of money in the NBA draft, as general managers and scouts imagine ‘what if’. Each year Greene plays in college, his potential decreases and his actual skills become more defined.

Greene showed flashes of being a great perimeter shooter. Early in the season, he was shooting about the 40% mark from the three point range. He has a quick release and loves to catch and shoot. He averaged 7.2 rebounds a game, and scored 17.7 points a game. Nothing earth shattering, but at the same time, numbers that showed he could play at the college level.

Greene had his weaknesses. He could not, or would not, play defense. He did not like to put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop, and he did not like to play near the basket. He could rebound, but for his size, you could expect more. If he came back his sophomore season, he could work on improving those weaknesses and his stock would increase.

But what if he couldn’t improve? It is possible that Greene does not have the aptitude to play defense, or the mental toughness to play in the paint. Another season of college ball might expose his inability to improve in those areas. He started his freshman season off by shooting very well from the perimeter, and finished by shooting very poorly. What if the second half of the season was more true to form that the first half? Greene could not afford to prove any of those assumptions.

My guess is that he could improve in all those areas, and that he has the ability to succeed. He will likely go on to a very solid NBA career. But he is smart to not risk it in college, not when the money is there waiting for him.

Some will argue that he needs to have the time to develop in college and that he will be leaving money on the table by leaving early. I disagree on both points. The NBA team that drafts him will make sure he gets plenty of time in practice to learn the game, and they will make him work hard for they will have a sizeable investment in him.

As for leaving money on the table, it may be true that his initial contract could be less than he could get if he stayed another year. But you need to factor in that if he stayed in college for 2008-2009, he would have $0 income, whereas he will earn at least a few million by going professional. Plus he will likely have a three year deal, meaning he would be a free agent after the 2010-2011 season. Assuming he would play until the same age in either scenario, he is picking up an additional year of salary, and becoming a free agent on year earlier.

It is a shame that he is leaving Syracuse early. He will just be a footnote in Syracuse basketball history, really nothing of tremendous significance. He did score 620 points, the second most ever in school history for a freshman. But you get the sense that was more a product of him being the top option on the team, rather than excellence. Greene did not give Syracuse fans any magic moments to remember. No 30 point games, no game winning 3 pointers, no playoff dramatics.

In fact, Greene’s team blew a large lead in the Big East tournament to Villanova, and failed to win a Big East tournament game. The team did not go to the NCAA tournament, lost more games than any Jim Boeheim coached team, ever. Lost more games than any Syracuse team since the 1968-1969 season. The team blew a 20 point lead in the NIT tournament to bow out in the quarter finals. No, there are no heroics for Greene in his college career.

He scored 17.7 points a game and had 7.2 rebounds a game. Solids numbers, but not record breakers. He’s unfortunate to be compared to Carmelo Anthony, as all future Syracuse freshman always will be. Anthony averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. Lawrence Moten, who came to Syracuse unheralded, averaged 18.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Greene did set the Syracuse freshman record for 3 point shots made with 90, breaking Gerry McNamara’s record of 85. But GMac had a knack of making very memorable shots, game breakers. McNamara made 35.7% of his shots, Greene 34.5%.

I’m sure that if Greene has a great NBA career (quite a possibility) fans will reminisce about how great he was to watch at SU. Revisionist history always prevails. I am willing to post right now, however, that it really was not that memorable. And that’s unfortunate.

The Last Blown Lead of the Year, Thankfully

Another Syracuse basketball season has come to a close. Though this one did not turn out as well as fans had expected, it was definitely a season with a lot of stories. In the next few days I will promise to recap the season milestones and other accomplishments. Today, however, I would like to vent about the Syracuse / UMass game last evening.

Syracuse pulled out to a big lead in the first half, despite being scoreless for the first 3 ½ minutes of the game. With the 17 point half time lead, I had a strong feeling the Orange were not going to hold that lead, and sure enough they did not. This despite the fact they extended the lead out to 22 points in the second half.

The announcers kept harping on how the fatigue was affecting Syracuse. And it is true the Orange were tired. I could see Arinze Onuaku struggling up and down the court, laboring to get off the floor after each time he fell. Donte’ Greene was tired, Paul Harris was leaning over, most of the Orange were tired. As a result, they stopped playing defense, and the Minutemen were able to easily penetrate in interior for easy baskets or kick it out for uncontested three point shots. If you were casually paying attention, as Sean McDonough and Fran Fraschilla must have been, it would have seemed obvious to you that Syracuse was fatigued because they went only 7 players deep while UMass went 10 deep.

I say hogwash to that. And I’ll give you three reasons.

First, Syracuse has been playing with 7 players since December. The seven players on the court are used to this amount of minutes in a game. In fact, for many of those games Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson barely played; the five starters often played an average of 37+ minutes between them.

Second, these are young guys, ages 18 to 21, with bodies that should recuperate fairly quickly. They have not played a basketball game since last Thursday, five days ago. They played at home then, and they played at home now, so they had no travel. UMass played on Friday night and had to travel to Syracuse, so they had one less day of travel plus travel.

It’s this third reason that really irks me. The five Syracuse starters played 162 of the 200 minutes of the game. The five UMass starters played 173 of the 200 minutes of the game. Two Syracuse reserves played 10+ minutes. Only one UMass reserve played more than 5 minutes. Which team went deeper into their lineup? Both teams played the same frenetic pace.

Think about that. The Orange had more rest than their opposition. Yes, the game was fast pace, a pace that UMass is more accustomed to playing than Syracuse. But UMass is also used to playing 8-10 guys a game. Syracuse plays only 7. In the second half, despite playing the entire game, Jonny Flynn was still running the court with relative ease. Where were his teammates? If Flynn’s not tired, why are his teammates?

I have to question the conditioning efforts the Syracuse players put into their season, with the exception of Flynn. I always believed it was an advantage for Syracuse to play a shorter bench in the regular season because come the post season, all teams shorten their benches. Syracuse players were used to the minutes, the opposition is not. Edge for Syracuse. Except not this year.

I do have to imagine there is some difficulty in maintaining a high level of game fitness when you have less than a full squad. Inter squad scrimmages would be tough to have, especially at a full court frenetic pace. However, I do not believe that effect would be significant.

Of course it was not all about being tired. Syracuse made a lot of poor decisions on the court down the stretch. Ill-advised passes, taking difficult shots too early in the possession, failing to hustle on defense. I’m sure part of the ‘fatigue’ was the fact that the Orange had a big lead, and watched it dwindle away. They were shocked that they were losing another large lead, and I’m sure that deflated their energy.

The Orange have a great group of talented young players, guys who are fun to watch (most of the time). I hope they learned a lot from this season for next year, and 2008-2009 could be a great one for the Orange. Especially with the incoming freshman and the return of Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins.

I just hope that the inability to hold leads is not something these guys have grown accustomed too. I think Devo won’t put up with it. You could see that Kristof Onganaet was not happy about the efforts, yet he’s not really in the leadership position.

Anyhow, enough complaints from here. There were plenty of good moments in 2007-2008, and I’ll choose to remember those from here on out. I just had to clear my head of the negative energy from last night’s loss.

Syracuse in the NIT

The Syracuse Orangemen has been to the NIT tournament twelve times, six times in the Jim Boeheim era, including the current edition of the Orange. Some of those teams felt rewarded for the trip to the NIT (rightfully so), while others felt the NIT was a poor consolation prize. All of the teams were good teams, but which was the best? The Orange were in the NIT in 1946, 1950, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1982, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2008.

To keep the semantics clear, I am referring to which team was the best overall team for the pre-NIT season. I am not referring which team performed the best in the NIT tournament, nor which team was playing the best when the NIT began. There would be different answers to each of those.

The 1981-1982 Orangemen were the 12th best NIT team for Syracuse. The Orangemen were led by junior tri-captains Erich Santifer (17.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Leo Rautins (13.3 ppg, 5.2 apg, 5.9 rpg) and Tony ‘Red’ Bruin (14.0 ppg). Freshman Andre Hawkins shared the center position with sophomore Sean Kerins. Gene Waldron ran the point, though Rautins ran the offense from his power forward position. Ron Payton was a valuable sixth man with 10.7 ppg. Unfortunately, the Orangemen were in very competitive Big East conference, and lacked strong rebounders. The Orangemen finished the regular season 15-11, 7-7 in the Big East conference, and struggled down the stretch going 2-4 in the last six games. The Orangemen then lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament, dropping their record to 15-12. The Orangemen were grateful to be in the NIT that season, where they would beat St. Peters 84-75 in the first round before losing to Bradley 95-81 in the second round.

The 1980-1981 Orangemen were the 11th best NIT team. Senior center Danny Schayes led the team with 14.6 ppg and 8.3 rebounds. Senior Eddie Moss ran the offense and the defense, with 5.4 assists per game, and Marty Headd was the perimeter shooter averaging 11.9 ppg. A trio of talented sophomores were the remaining significant portions of the team: Erich Santifer (14.0 ppg), Leo Rautins (9.3 ppg) and Tony Bruin (11.8 ppg). The Orangemen went 15-11 during the regular season, 6-8 in the Big East conference, and struggled 1-4 in the last five regular season games. Headd would break his wrist in practice right before the Big East tournament, moving Bruin into the starting lineup. The Orangemen would make a strong run in the Big East tournament, winning the title in a dramatic triple overtime victory over Villanova, and running their record to 18-11. The Big East did not have an automatic berth that year, and the NCAA decided not to extend an invitation to Syracuse. Syracuse fans were very upset at the snub. The Orangemen were determined to prove the NCAA wrong. They would beat Marquette, Holy Cross, Michigan, and Purdue in the NIT to advance to the finals. Syracuse would play a tough game against Tulsa, eventually losing in the NIT Finals.

The 1970-1971 Orangemen were the 10th best NIT team. The team was lead by Big Bill Smith with 22.7 ppg and 14 rebounds. Junior Greg Kohls emerged as a tremendous outside scoring threat with 22.1 points per game. Senior Tom Green ran the offense, and two hustling but undersized forwards joined the squad: Mike Lee (13.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Mark Wadach (7.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg). The Orangemen would go 19-6 during the regular season, including going 9-1 down the stretch. The Orangemen had not been to the postseason since 1967, so fans were excited about the opportunity. Despite 27 points from Smith, the Orange would lose to Michigan 82-76 in the first round.

The 1949-1950 Orangemen were the 9th best team, finishing the regular season 17-8. They were lead by junior guard Jack Kiley with 16.3 ppg. Kiley was supported offensively by Dick Suprunowicz, Bob Savage and Ed Miller. Tom Huggins, Tom Jockle and Mike Stark rounded out the team. The NIT was a prestigious tournament at the time, and many top teams chose the NIT over the NCAA. Syracuse was honored to go to the NIT. They played highly favored Long Island University in the first round and surprisingly beat them 80-52 behind 21 points from Jack Kiley. In the second round the Orangemen faced Bradley, the #1 ranked team in the nation. The Orangemen would lose that game 78-66.

The 1996-1997 Orangemen were the 8th best team. They were lead by Senior Otis Hill who pounded the middle with 15.7 ppg and 6.1 ppg. Junior swingman Todd Burgan averaged 15.1 ppg; sharpshooters Jason Cipolla (13.2 ppg) and Marius Janulis (9.3 ppg) provided perimeter scoring, and freshman Jason Hart ran the offense with 5.8 apg. The Orangemen finished the regular season 18-11, with a 9-9 conference record. The beat Notre Dame 84-66 in the Big East tournament and lost to Villanova in the 2nd round 80-70, raising their record to 19-12, 6-4 in their last 10. The Orangemen and their fans were severely shocked when they were denied an NCAA bid. No Big East team had ever been denied an NCAA bid with 18+ regular season wins, and the Orangemen had been to the National Championship game the previous season. Yet the Orangemen found themselves going to the NIT. The Orangemen found it difficult to mentally prepare for the game and easily lost to Florida State 82-67.

The 1963-1964 team was the 7th best team. The Orangemen were led by the dynamic sophomore Dave Bing who electrified Syracuse fans with his 22.2 ppg and 8.2 rpg. West Point transfer Chuck Richards brought 22.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg from the center position. Juniors Richie Duffy and Phil Schoff contributed as did a quartet of sophomores: Norm Goldsmith, Sam Penceal, Jim Boeheim and Frank Nicoletti. The Syracuse program was on the rebound from the darkest period in the schools history, and fans were excited to get the post season. Dave Bing would play well in the first round scoring 31 points, though the Orange would fall short to New York University 77-68.

The 2001-2002 Orangemen were the 6th best team, and a very difficult team to rank. A very talented team that totally collapsed under the immense strain of internal personal issues. The Orangemen were led by talented sharpshooting senior Preston Shumpert with 20.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg. DeSean Williams added 15.9 ppg and 4.1 apg. Kueth Duany brought a solid 12.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Sophomores Hakim Warrick and James Thues were valuable members, and freshman Craig Forth plugged the middle. The Orangemen would start the season 14-2 and rise up to #7 in the polls in January. Then internal strife took over; too much in-fighting on the team. The Orangemen went 3-7 over their last ten games, and would lose in the first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova 78-64. The Orangemen were denied an NCAA berth despite having a 20-11 record and going 9-7 in the Big East. It was difficult to criticize the non-selection with the total collapse of the team. However, the Orangemen seemed to overcome their problems and played solid basketball in the NIT. They would beat St. Bonaventure, Butler and Richmond to advance to the NIT quarter finals. Shumpert was hot, with 36 points against Butler. The Orangemen would lose to South Carolina 66-59 in the quarter finals and then lose 65-54 to Temple in the consolation game.

I would rank the current Syracuse squad, 2007-2008 as the 5th best NIT team. The Orangemen had a lot of injury and personnel issues, forcing the squad to play with 7 players for most the season, virtually all of them first year players. Freshman Jonny Flynn and Donte’ Greene would lead the way, along with sophomores Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku, and junior college transfer Kris Onganaet. The Orange finished the regular season 18-12, and lost in the first round of the Big East tournament dropping their record to 18-13. Not much argument about being excluded from the NCAA tournament. The Orangemen had their opportunities to win the right games, and fell short. They are currently making a good run in the NIT, winning their first two. We’ll see how far they can go. They are definitely a talented team, one short on experience and depth, but high on skill and athletic ability.

The 2006-2007 Orangemen were the 4th best team. Led by seniors Demetris Nichols (18.9 ppg), Terrence Roberts (8.9 ppg), Darryl Watkins (8.1 ppg) and sophomore Eric Devendorf (14.8 ppg), the team finished the regular season 21-9, 10-6 in the Big East conference. The Orangemen would win their first game in the Big East and lose their second game, bringing their record to 22-10. To the shock of Syracuse fans (and many fans across the country) the Orangemen would be denied an NCAA bid, and would become constant talk for that season and the following season on the snub. The Orangemen would play well in the NIT, despite the fact that Terrence Roberts was struggling with an injured knee. They would beat South Alabama at the Carrier Dome before an NIT record crowd, and then beat San Diego State 80-64. They would lose their next game to Clemson74-70.

The third best team was the 1971-1972 team. This was Roy’s Runts, a collection of hustling players with skill and talent, but not much height. The backcourt was strong with senior Greg Kohls shooting out the lights with 26.7 points per game and flashy Dennis DuVal with 15.8 ppgs. Juniors Mike Lee (18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Mark Wadach (9.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg) played solid up front and undersized sophomore Bob Dooms played very well at center (7.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg). The team would finish the season 21-5, going 9-1 down the stretch. There were hopes for an NCAA bid, but the NIT became the option. Syracuse would win in the first round, but lose to a very talented and very tall Maryland team in the second round 71-65.

The 1966-1967 team was the 2nd best squad. A strong trio led the team: senior Rick Dean controlled the middle with 18.0 ppg and 9.1 rpg, junior Vaughn Harper grabbed all the rebounds with 14.3 rpg, along with 16.3 ppg, and junior George Hicker was the sharp shooter with 18.6 ppg. The backcourt was handled well by smooth shooting Richie Cornwall and good ball handler Steve Ludd. The Orangemen loved to run the ball, and they ran it will. The team was 19-2 and ranked #8 in the polls before they lost three of their last four games. Those losses dropped the Orange to 20-5, and cost the Orangemen an NCAA bid. The team faced a talented New Mexico team in the first round; the Lobos loved to slow the game down, providing an interesting contrast of styles. The Orangemen would lose that battle in a close lost 66-64.

The 1945-1946 team was the best Syracuse NIT team. This was a post war team, with a mix of freshmen and war veterans. The star of the team was veteran Bullet Billy Gabor, averaging 15.2 points per game. Freshman Royce Newell was second on the squad with 309 points and provided a strong center presence. Andy Mogish was the strong rebounding presence, and fellow war veterans Lew Spicer, Roy Peters and Larry Crandall provided depth. Freshman Mike Stark was the defensive spark. The team scored 106 points on 12/8/1945 against Oswego Teachers College to be the first Syracuse team to break the 100 point barrier. The Orangemen would outscore their opposition 1651 to 1044, an average margin of 23.3 ppg. Syracuse finished the regular season 23-3, and was honored to go to the NIT, the first post season bid in Syracuse basketball history. They would lose to Muhlenburg 47-41 in the first round.

What if?

The Orange ended up in the NIT tournament for the second year in a row, though this year there is no complaining about where they ended up. They did not take care of their business during the stretch run of the regular season, and took an early bow out of the Big East Tournament against another bubble team Villanova.

The loss to South Florida really hurt them, as did the three straight losses to Louisville, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh loss was a very painful one for the fans. I think the loss had even further implications for the Orange.

If Syracuse beats Pittsburgh that day, and everything else stays the same, the Orangemen go into the Big East Tournament with 20 wins, 10-8 in conference play. Pitt would have been 9-9. Syracuse’s first round match-up would have been against Cincinnati, while Pitt would have played Villanova. As well as Pitt is playing, that would’ve favored a win by Pitt. Since Villanova was the last at-large bid to make the tournament, they would have been on the outside looking in. It’s even quite possible that had Pitt lost that game to Villanova, Pitt wouldn’t have made the NCAA. They finished 21-9, 9-9 in conference play, but they were poor down the stretch and had a very weak out of conference record. If they bowed out in the first round of the Big East tournament, they definitely would have been bubble material.

With 20 wins, a 10-8 conference record, and a higher RPI, Syracuse would not have been as perilously close to being a bubble team. Villanova (or Pitt) losing, would have opened up a tournament position. Even if Syracuse lost to Cininnati in the first round, they may very well have earned a tournament bid.

Ahhh well. No reason to cry over spilled milk.

A close game to Robert Morris last night is not what the Orange wanted for the start of the NIT, but that’s what they got. The loss of Jonny Flynn for most of the game was paralyzing to the Orange offense, and shortened the short bench by one (again). It looks like Flynn may not play on Thursday (Donna Ditota indicated that earlier today), and playing Maryland with six players, and Scoop Jardine at the point for 40 minutes is scary. Not that Scoop can’t play the point; he can. But he’s going from spotting Flynn a few moments each game (even while Flynn staying on the court) to being the sole point guard for 40 minutes. That’s a lot for a guy who is not used to it.

Plus the loss of Flynn leaves the Orange with one reputable three point shooter in Dante’ Greene (I know Onganaet can shoot the three, but nobody’s too worried about it defensively). With Jardine playing the point, if I were Maryland, I would pack the paint. Scoop can’t drive, Harris won’t have any lanes, and Onuaku won’t be able to get open. I’d challenge Greene to beat me. Greene can do it, but we’ve seen him disappear from many games down the stretch run this year, and if I’m Maryland, I’m taking my chances on Greene not being able to carry the team with his perimeter shooting.

To further hamper the Orange lineup, reserve point guard Justin Thomas is unlikely to play. Apparently he too is injured (per Brent Axe).

It figures the Orange should have a couple more injuries for the post season. It seems only fitting for this injury hampered season. Hopefully it will be out of the Orange's system for years to come.

Controlling the Boards against the Hall

I would have thought the Orange had no realistic chance of making the NCAA at this point. I do not think they have enough quality wins on the schedule, and their performance down the stretch has not been impressive: they just snapped a 3 game losing streak. But I have seen some of the experts still have the Orange ‘on the bubble’, and a win against Marquette and a couple big wins in the Big East tournament ‘might’ put them in. I’m skeptical that will be enough, but we will see, and hope for the best.

Wednesday’s 85-73 win against Seton Hall had some unusual statistical anomalies, and they pretty much sum up Syracuse’s season to this point. Syracuse out rebounded the Pirates 54-29, a margin of +25. That’s outstanding at any level of play, and when these Orange players want to rebound, they can rebound with the best. Green, Ongenaet and Onuaku had 13, 11, and 14 rebounds respectively.

Yet, despite a +25 rebound edge, both teams had the exact same number of shot opportunities: 63 shots from the floor, and 26 from the free throw line. Syracuse was much better at converting from the floor (50.8% versus 36.5%), which was the difference in final scoring. It is not very often that you see two teams with the exact same number of scoring opportunities. And while I do not have access to the numbers, I am fairly confident that it never happens when one team out rebounds the other by +25.

How do you out rebound your opponent by 25, and take the exact same number of shots? One way is that you turn the ball over 22 times, as opposed to only 11 by your opponent. Sloppy play.

The Orange have some of the best talent in the country this year, and on any given night they can probably beat the best there is in the country. However, they are also capable of losing to the most mediocre team in the country. The team definitely hustles, they seemingly never give up, but they also have breakdowns in judgment and mental mistakes. They have not yet learned how to handle the pressure moments on both ends of the court; when to step up big on defense, and when to make the smart play on offense.

As much as Syracuse fans are suffering this year, I think that the games from this season are great learning opportunities for next year. If the whole team comes back, and you add in an Eric Devendorf (even at 50%) and Andy Rautins (who should be at 100%), it will be a veteran team by current NCAA standards, and loaded with talent.

The Big East tournament and post season this year (whichever tournament) should be fun to watch. But if this year’s team can learn from their mistakes, they should be a very tough team to handle next year.

Injuries - Just a Matter of Time

Syracuse was likely already out of the NCAA tournament (barring a miraculous run in the Big East tournament), but the loss against Pitt sealed that deal.

In a perverse way, this has been a fun season to watch with the constant ebb and flow of reduction of available scholarship players along with the growth and development of the young first year starters.

Syracuse has had an unusual number of injuries this season, with three players with season ending ailments: Eric Devendorf, Andy Rautins, and Devan Brennan-McBride. A good friend and I were talking the other night, and we could not recall there ever being an established player who Syracuse lost for the season in the Boeheim era due to injury.

Syracuse has missed players for chunks of the season. Tony Bruin missed a few games his junior and senior seasons. Leo Rautins would miss seven games his junior season due to a knee injury. Marty Headd would break his wrist in practice as the post season began his senior season. Etan Thomas missed a couple games his senior season.

There have been unestablished players who had career debilitating injuries. Brennan-McBride would fall into that category. Center Larry O’Neill would severely cut his arm in a window accident which he never fully recovered from. Herman ‘The Helicopter’ Harried would blow out his knee after his freshman year, and never be the high flying leaper again. Ethan Cole hurt his leg early his senior season and miss the rest of the year. Jeremy McNeil severely injured his knee six games into his freshman year (he had played only 40 minutes at that point). Arinze Onuaku missed his sophomore season after a summer knee injury (he had averaged 2.0 points per game his freshman year and played 243 minutes).

And there would be guys who had significant nagging injuries that slowed them down, but never took them out of the lineup. Raf Addison suffered through a leg injury his senior season, an injury that significantly hurt his impact and hampered the team. Gerry McNamara would play the end of his junior season and all of his senior season with a nagging groin injury which hampered his shooting. Terrence Roberts was hampered down the stretch his senior season with a sore knee.

But never in the Boeheim era had an established player been disabled and knocked out for the entire season (such as Rautins) or injured and unable to play again for the bulk of the season (Devendorf). Both scenarios happened this same year for Coach Boeheim.

Let’s hope it takes another 32 years for injuries to have such a significant impact on the Orangemen.

One Big Win in a Season of Excitement

They are a very young team, and a very talented group of individuals. They seem to be able to play with any team in the country, and yet can also be extremely erratic and lose games that they have no business losing.

The 2007-08 edition of Syracuse basketball has definitely been entertaining, to say the least. A few days ago they had their most disappointing loss of the season to South Florida, basically ending any realistic change they Orange had to make the NCAA.

Today, they had probably their biggest win in two seasons, beating bitter rival #8-ranked Georgetown 77-70 before the Carrier Dome’s 64th crowd of 30,000-plus fans. Everything the Orange did not due on Wednesday, they did today. They played with intensity the whole game, protected the ball on offense, and were aggressive for the ball on defense. They played tough inside, and started the game quickly. They made all the clutch shots down the stretch.

Make no mistake, the Orange still have a long road ahead of them. I felt a couple of days ago, they needed to go 5-2 down the stretch… unless they had a win at Georgetown, where a 4-3 stretch effort may help them. Well, they beat Georgetown, and they are 1-1 so far in those seven games. Picking up three more wins is going to be very difficult. Syracuse has the talent to do it, but I still haven’t seen the consistency of effort and execution to suggest they can.

But hey, for a few days, Syracuse fans can feel very good about the Orange. They took one of the best teams in the country and beat them solidly. And the big win today should do wonders for their morale. Hopefully they can get some momentum and keep it up for a few games. A loss today would have been devastating, giving them three straight and absolutely ending any chance for NCAA post season action.

The Big East Tournament will be rough for Syracuse. They go only seven players deep… on a good night. There’s very little chance they can play four games in four nights and win them all. Jonny Flynn would be required to play 160 minutes in four days. You think the Orange are tired now?

The Big East season has been a grind on Syracuse. Donte’ Greene is shooting only 37% from the floor, and 31% from 3 point range in Big East play. This was after he shot 47% from the floor in non-conference play, and 39% from three point range. I know Greene probably thinks he is ready for the NBA, but in my opinion he’s got a lot of development to do. He could develop while sitting on the bench in the NBA for a few seasons, or take another year at Syracuse and learn more fundamentals, become a stronger defender and rebounder, and more consistent in his play.

I know it’s probably one of the best kept secrets in college basketball, but does anyone realize that Syracuse can shoot free throws? We do have Arinze Onuaku who is trying to become the next Terrence Roberts at the charity stripe. But the four guys who typically handle the ball during crunch time all shoot 70% or better from the free throw line. Flynn is a solid 78%, Jardine 77%, Harris a decent 71% and Greene 75%. None of them are Gerry McNamara… but then again, very few college players ever shoot free throws like GMac.

Good luck to the Orange in Louisville on Monday!

Work Remains To Be Done

It is the home stretch of the Big East basketball season, with Syracuse having seven conference games left. They currently are 16-8 overall, 6-5 in the conference, tied for 7th place. They are clearly on the NCAA ‘bubble’ right now, and need to build that resume for the selection committee.

I had stated earlier this year before the conference play began that I believed the Orange had to go 11-7 in conference play, 21-10 going into the conference tournament, and go at least 1-1 at Madison Square Garden to make the NCAA tournament.

That included a 6-4 start in the Big East, and a 5-3 finish. So how is Syracuse faring?

The Orange did start out 6-4 in conference play, and split with Villanova, something I thought they needed to do. They lost one game, Cincinnati, that I thought they had to win, and this is looking to be their worst loss on their schedule. They helped a little by beating both South Florida and Providence. If they could have pulled out the victory over Georgetown, they would have that ever important ‘signature win’. Now they still have to hunt for it.

I still think they need to finish 5-3 down the stretch, and that is going to be a very tough task. The are already 0-1, with the loss to UConn last Wednesday. Tonight’s win at South Florida is a ‘must win’, as is Seton Hall on March 5th. They are likely the two easiest conference games remaining on their schedule, and both are road games. Conference road games have been extremely difficult this season for Syracuse (2-3), and Big East teams in general have had a tough time on the road. So these are not going to be easy games. But Syracuse needs five more wins, these are the two most likely candidates, and a couple of road wins should definitely improve the perception of the team.

The other three wins are going to be tough to find, among the remaining five games. All five are higher in the Big East standings than Syracuse (Georgetown 1st, Notre Dame 2nd, Louisville 3rd, Pittsburgh 5th, Marquette 6th). That’s a tough group to pull five wins out of. They will get some signature wins out of that group, and no bad losses. If they can beat Georgetown (at home) next weekend, they may need only one more win out of this group. If they don’t beat Georgetown, I think they need three.

If Syracuse enters the Big East tournament with a 10-8 record in conference (4-4 down the stretch) and a 20-11 overall record, I think they will need to go 2-1 in the tournament to earn a Big East bid… unless they get a win over the Hoyas next weekend or if they meet them in the tournament and get a win there.

Here’s some other numbers to consider:

Syracuse’s current RPI is #46; that RPI will likely go up, even with losses down the stretch, as their level of competition increases. Their strength of schedule (SOS) is currently #12, something in their favor. But as I’ve always felt, you not only need to schedule tough games, but you’ve got to win them too.

The Orange are 1-6 versus teams in the top 50 RPI. That’s not a good sign for the NCAA committee. They haven’t shown they can play with the top teams yet.

Syracuse is 11-0 versus teams with RPI indexes 100+, so they have no bad losses from the RPI perspective. Cincinnati is the worst loss of the year at 73. Villanova is the second worse loss with a 64; that 64 always diminishes the value of the Syracuse ‘big win’ last weekend against the Wildcats. Virginia, a big road win early in the season, particularly because it was an out of conference big name win, has been diminished with Virginia being ranked 140, 11-12 overall. The biggest non-conference win for the Orange is St. Josephs (41)… ironically one of those teams Jim Boeheim gets criticized for scheduling.

None of the teams ahead of Syracuse has a worse record against the top 50 RPI. Then again, several teams ahead of Syracuse have bad losses (five have 2 losses against teams with 100+ RPI, and 11 have one loss against that group). These facts further stress the importance of Syracuse winning their two ‘must win’ games, and getting a few signature wins under their belt.

By the end of the regular season, Syracuse will have 12 games against the top 50 RPI teams, which will definitely be one of the highest totals in the NCAA. The Big East tournament could add a few more. If other teams slip down the stretch, the Orange could sneak in with one (or possibly two) fewer wins than I believe are needed. But that is depending on other teams determining Syracuse’s destiny, and that’s not something I’m comfortable with.

The good thing is the Orange can control their destiny. A strong finish will easily secure their place in the NCAA tournament.

Let’s go Orange!

Milestones Revisited

The Orange have played 23 games this season, roughly ¾ of their regular season schedule of 31 games. Earlier this season, I had mentioned possible milestones for players this year. We can check in and see how the Orange players are doing. At this point the Orange seem certain to have at least one Big East tournament game, and to make either the NIT or NCAA tournaments. For our purposes here, we’ll assume they’ll have four post season games, giving them 35 for the year.

Donte’ Greene is leading the freshman field in scoring, with 422 points, and 18.3 points per game. His 422 points is already the 7th best Syracuse freshman total ever, six points behind Eric Devendorf’s freshman campaign. Greene is on pace for 642 points, which would put him in second, well ahead of Lawrence Moten’s 583 points, but also well behind Carmelo Anthony’s 778 pts.

Jonny Flynn has 350 points, 15.2 ppg, to put him 8th on the all time list (right behind Greene, and 78 behind Devendorf. Flynn is on pace for 532 points, which would place him fourth on the list, ahead of Billy Owens’ 494 points, and trailing Moten.

Greene’s 18.3 points per game is currently the second best freshman average, barely ahead of Moten’s 18.2 points, and trailing Anthony’s 22.2 ppg. Greene would need to score at a pace of about 29.6 ppg in order to bring his average up to Anthony’s so that record seems safe.

Flynn’s 15.2 points per game is currently the fourth best freshman average, well behind Moten’s 18.2 ppg, and solidly ahead of Pearl Washington’s 14.4 ppg. Flynn seems likely to finish at 4th.

Flynn has 113 assists on the season, averaging 4.9 per game. He is currently seventh on the all time freshman list, trailing Owens by 6. Flynn is on pace for 171 assists, which would allow him to finish third, behind Jason Hart’s 184 and Pearl's 199. Flynn would need to increase his pace to 7.25 assists per game to challenge the Pearl’s record. Considering that Flynn’s pace has been decreasing as the season progresses, this is unlikely.

Greene has an outside shot at getting into the top 10 freshman assists. He has 43 on the season, on pace for 65. He would need 77 to catch Anthony for tenth on the list, meaning he would need to average 2.8 per game down the stretch. It is possible, though unlikely, that the Orange’s top scorer would start dishing out the ball more.

Greene currently has 172 rebounds, 20 behind Moten’s 192 for tenth place. He is on pace for 262 rebounds, which would put him at fourth, one behind Owens 263 for third, and six ahead of Dale Shackleford for fifth. Third through sixth on the list is tight, so Greene will likely fall in that range when the season is done; he is not going to catch Derrick Coleman’s 333 for third, unless he becomes extremely committed to rebounding and the Orange play more than four post season games.

Paul Harris has 202 rebounds after 23 games, and on pace for 307. For his career he now has 450 rebounds, which is good for 42nd on the all time Syracuse rebounding list. Harris is on pace to finish the season with 555 career rebounds, which would place him 32nd on the all time list. Harris is well off of Coleman’s pace as DC has 717 rebounds after his sophomore season. If Harris finishes the season with 307, that would be the fifteenth best season in school history, and the second best sophomore season (Coleman had 384).

Arinze Onuaku has 190 rebounds this season, 270 for his career. He is currently 64th all time, and looks like he will finish the season with about 369 career rebounds, which would place him around 50th.

Greene is challenging the freshman record for three point field goal percentage. Devendorf holds the record at 37.593% (50-133); Greene is currently at 37.575% (62-165), barely trailing Devo. This record is Greene’s for the taking, though Greene has been struggling in Big East competition to get clean shots from that range.

Greene has 62 three point field goals this season, and is on pace for 94. The freshman record is 85 by Gerry McNamara, the school record is 107 by McNamara. 94 would put Greene fifth on the all time single season list. His current 62 is the 20th best ever.

Rick Jackson is currently shooting 57.6% from the floor (42 of 73). If he gets at least 27 more shots and keeps that pace he’ll pass Louis Orr for the best freshman field goal percentage (56.5%). Jackson is on pace for 111 shots, so he should get enough shots; hopefully he keeps making them at this record percentage.

The best single season field goal percentage for any Syracuse player is 65.4% by Roosevelt Bouie in 1979-1980. Onuaku is currently well ahead of that at 67.2% (123 of 183). The competition continues to get tougher, and Onuaku is facing more and more double teams down low, though that has more of an effect of not letting him get shots, as opposed to reducing his shooting percentage.

Coach Jim Boeheim has 764 career wins; he is in a battle with Jim Calhoun for 10th all time. Boeheim has a conference record 297 Big East wins; he needs three more to hit 300. Syracuse has eight conference games left, though the schedule is grueling down the stretch. It seems like that Syracuse will get the three wins Boeheim needs, though it could be tough, especially with the seven man lineup the Orange have.

When Terrence Roberts graduated last season, I had hoped there would not be any player to challenge the records for worst free throw shooters. Unfortunately Onuaku wants to give it a shot. Roberts shot 56 of 133 from the charity stripe his junior year to go 42.1%. Onuaku is currently at a 45.7% clip, with 53 of 116. It would seem Onuaku will not get the record, but he is in the neighborhood. Onuaku does not yet have the required 200 career attempts, but his current pace will allow him to break Roberts' career record of 48.0%. Onuaku is currently 65 for 143 for his career, or 45.5%. As I've stated before, if you are the worst free through shooter at a school with a legacy of poor free throw shooters, you are pretty poor.

Time to Refocus

Jonny Flynn came to Syracuse with a reputation of being a great playmaker and a great scorer, but most of all a guy who was unselfish and would work the ball to his teammates to make the team better.

Flynn has not disappointed in many areas. The offense is often running in high gear, and over the whole season Flynn is shooting well (47.5% from the floor, 35.5% from three point range), making his free throws (77.5%), and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8 (not bad, not great).

His debut as an Orangeman was spectacular, hitting 10 of 13 shots, including six of seven from three point range, for a 28 point, 9 assist effort against Siena. He then reverted to being a true point guard taking no more than seven shots over the next four games.

However, I think a disturbing trend has started with Flynn, especially in recent Big East play. In his first seven conference games, Flynn has taken 101 shots, averaging nearly 14 ½ per game. He is scoring at a 16.7 points per game clip, his field goal shooting has dropped to 38.6%, and he is averaging 3.6 assists per game.

There are many factors at play here, so I do not necessarily want to point fingers only at Flynn. Eric Devendorf and Josh Wright leaving the team nearly coincided with the beginning of conference play. That definitely has required Flynn to generate more of the offense himself. Tougher competition on a routine basis is sure to make a difference. And a scoring slump by Donte’ Greene hurts too.

But, Flynn has not had more than 4 assists in his last five games (4, 1, 4, 4, and 2). He has had as many turnovers as assists during that time period (15). The last three games, Flynn has scored an average of 23.7 points per game, taking 57 shots (19.0 per game).

Why bring up how many points he scored as a negative? First, Flynn is supposed to make his teammates better. A point guard who does all the scoring is often a bad sign. He should step up and score when needed, but not lead the team by that large of a margin on a regular basis.

Flynn has scored 20+ points seven times this season. The Orangemen are 2-5 in those games. You could spin that positively by saying Flynn is stepping up big in the tougher games when his teammates are struggling. I think it may be more that Flynn is having problems getting the balls to his teammates in these tougher games, and is instead falling back on the easier position of taking the shots himself.

Arinze Onuaku is playing outstanding basketball since conference play has started. He has shot 39 of 58 from the floor, or 67%. He’s averaging 9.1 rebounds a game in conference games, four times with 10+. Onuaku was 5-7 against Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert, including 13 rebounds and 5 assists. He has only 10 turnovers in the seven games. He has 26 offensive rebounds.

Averaging 3.7 offensive rebounds a game is decent. However, consider Onuaku is averaging 8.2 shots a game, that means he is getting roughly 4 ½ shots a game from the regular offense (the rest are his put backs on offensive rebounds).

In the loss to Cincinnati Onuaku only had 2 shots. Despite his outstanding success in scoring from the low post, he only took 2, 9, and 7 shots in three of the losses (he did get 12 shots in the WVU game). In those same three games he had offensive rebound totals of 1, 4 and 6. That means he took 1, 5, and 1 shot in each of those games from the regular offensive scheme.

Syracuse has to do a much better job of getting Onuaku the ball in the low post. The responsibility starts with the floor general which is Flynn.

Again, I am not blaming the losses on Flynn. I am however concerned that his focus is on the wrong part of the game. He is only a freshman and has a lot of the game to learn; that is one of the values of playing college basketball for 3-4 seasons. You experience things and you learn and grow.

Donte’ Greene is struggling from the floor himself, and that does put pressure on Flynn. In the four conference losses, Greene is 24 of 56 (42.8%) and his perimeter shooting has struggled with 9 of 29 (31%). I think some stronger playmaking from Flynn may ease some of the defensive pressure off of Greene, and help him get back into the flow.

Hopefully the next two games against Providence and DePaul will let the Orange work some of these issues out. They definitely need to start winning. The team has a lot of talent, but they need a player to lead them on the court, and lacking a veteran elsewhere on the court, that job falls on the freshman point guard Jonny Flynn.

Starting from Scratch

Syracuse is now 13-7 on the season, 3-4 in the Big East. The Orangemen are talented but youthful and inexperienced, and that is showing on the court. The loss of an upperclassman on the court is slowing down the development of the squad, the need to leadership and guidance apparent in the Orange’s recent losses.

We should not be surprised by what we are seeing on the court. The Orange does have five new starters on the court, and only go eight scholarship players deep (and really, Sean Williams was never counted on for this season, so it’s realistically seven).

History has shown mixed results for the Orangemen when a season has five new starters in the lineup. It has happened five times before: 1939-1940, 1944-1945, 1945-1946, 1961-1962, and 1968-1969.

The fall of 1939 saw the Orangemen with a new starting five after the graduation of five seniors from the previous year’s squad that went 14-4. This included losing the team’s top five scorers. The fall of 1939 would see juniors Stan Kruse and Paul Kartluke in the backcourt, senior Dick Jensen and forward, and sophomores Dud Thorne and Gene Berger at forward and center. The Orangemen would struggle that season, going 10-8. Kartluke emerged as a star, leading the team with 14.4 points a game, threatening Vic Hanson’s season scoring record, and breaking Hanson’s single game scoring record with 27 points against St. Lawrence. The Orangemen struggled early that season starting out 3-5, before finishing a stronger 7-3.

The fall of 1944 saw Syracuse resume their basketball program, after suspending it one season as a result of World War II. None of the starters from the previous season played (1942-1943) were back, and Syracuse fielded a team of first year players, freshman and sophomores in college. The team could best be described as rag tag, as players continued to return to college as their service ended. Doc Acocella, who would become a star at wide receiver and shortstop, was one of the guards, while Bill Hennemuth occupied the other starting guard position. Bill Dickie was one of the forwards. Gangly ‘Long John’ Ludka, all 6’11” of him was the starting center. Ludka was extremely awkward on the court, more of an oddity than a player. Freshman Francis Miller was the best player on the team, leading the team with 156 points. The team would struggle all season long finishing at 7-12.

The fall of 1945 continued to see the program rebuilding as young men returned from the war and completed their military service. None of the starters from the previous year would be on the team in 1945, with exception of Ludka. Hennemuth and Miller both would leave school for a year of military service. Acocella would focus on football and baseball, and Ludka would lose his starting position to a more talented Royce Newell.

Several veterans had returned, with Billy Gabor now a sophomore. Gabor had led the Orangemen in scoring before he went off to war. Lew Spicer, Roy Peters and Andy Mogish were men who had seen the war, and were ‘old’ college players, in their early twenties. Royce Newell was the lone freshman in the bunch. The combination of players proved to be very successful for Coach Lew Andreas as the Orangemen went 23-4 and made the first post season appearance in school history, going to the NIT tournament. Gabor would lead all scorers with 15.4 per game, and fellow freshman Ed Stickel would provide a lot of scoring from the bench. The combination of maturity of the war veterans with the talent of these two players made a tough squad for the Orangemen.

The 1961-1962 squad was an unexpected turnover in the starting five. Three players from the 1960-1961 starting five had graduated, including the team’s leading scorer and rebounder Pete Chudy (20.8 ppg, 8.0 rebounds per game). Starting point guard Billy Conners and center Loren James were both expected to return. However both participated in YMCA games in the off season, and were ruled ineligible to play in 1961-1962. The team was struggling at 4-19 with the talent they had that year, and none of it was returning.

Sophomore Carl Vernick would be the star of the team averaging 16.5 points a game. Seniors Steve Dodge and Fred Machemer would also start, after having been role players the past few seasons. Junior Herb Foster would play forward, and undersized 6’5” Manny Klutchkowski was at center. The Orangemen were short on height and short on talent, and a 2-22 season ensued, the worst year ever on the Hill. Syracuse lost their first 22 games, before winning the last two to put some wins into their record. Coach Marc Guley announced his resignation in February, effective the end of the season.

The last time Syracuse had a complete change in the starting lineup was 1968-1969, a talented squad that somehow only went 11-14. Syracuse graduated three valuable players from the previous season. Gone was the steady ball handling and outstanding free throw shooter of Rich Cornwall, the dependable perimeter shooting of George Hicker and the outstanding rebounding and inside play of Vaughn Harper. Star sophomore guard Ernie Austin would be academically ineligible the first semester, and injured for part of the second semester. And center Wayne Ward had been arrested (and later convicted) of robbery. Making things more difficult was the resignation of head coach Fred Lewis.

In the fall of 1968 Roy Danforth would be the new head coach. Big Bill Smith (6’11”) would join the team and be the dominant player he had shown he was on the freshman team, scoring 19.0 points a game along with 11.6 rebounds. Senior Bob Kouwe, who had often missed playing time in the past for injuries, played the whole season and provided solid scoring. The back court was junior John Suder and junior college transfer Gerry McFadden, and fellow junior Bill Case was the other forward. The team would struggle to find consistency all season, and would end a disappointing 9-16.

The 2007-2008 Orangemen do have a lot of history to fight against; five new starters with Jonny Flynn, Scoop Jardine, Paul Harris, Donte’ Greene and Arinze Onuaku. Not only is it a new starting five, but a very young squad with three freshman, and Onuaku had no playing time last season due to injury (and limited playing time his freshman year). Harris is the only player with noteworthy experience, as the sixth man last year.

The Orange has shown the inconsistency that could be expected. They are absolutely a talented team. Success for this season will depend on how much they can grow as a unit. History shows us that a turnover in the starting five is not a good thing. Four of the teams struggled, and were worse than the previous season. The 1946-1947 team is the exception, but that was a rare combination of factors as mentioned earlier. To use that squad as a blueprint for building another squad would be very difficult.

I think the Orange will do fine this year, but they are currently two games behind the pace that I believe they would need to get an NCAA tournament bid. They need to start putting some big wins on their resume, along with just some wins in general.

It could be worse

Syracuse has only 8 scholarship players right now plus two walk-ons, after Mike Williams left the team. Now Syracuse never wants to be in a position where they are required to have Jake Presutti, Justin Thomas, and Sean Williams on the court to win a game. I'm not trying to be highly critical of these three, but there is a reason why Presutti and Thomas were walk-ons at Syracuse, and Williams was going to be a healthy redshirt.

It could be worse. The Arizona Wildcat womans' team was able to have only six players available for a game at Oregon on Saturday, January 5th. The game went double overtime, and when the game finally ended, there were only two Wildcat players who had not fouled out. (See link at ESPN).

The amazing thing is Arizona had only four players left at the end of regulation. They were able to play to a tie with Oregon in the first OT despite missing one player. They had an 87-83 lead in the second OT, before they were down to two players. They inevitably loss the game with only two players left for the last 1:01 minutes.

Fast Start

The Orange are off to a nice 2-0 start in the Big East with wins over St. Johns and South Florida. These were games that Syracuse was expected to win, but no win is easy within conference play.

A solid effort from all five starters today, and a good mix of zone defense and man-to-man defense from the team. Free throw shooting as a unit continues to scare me, though the primary ball handlers Flynn and Greene have been doing well. Some balanced scoring with 8 guys in double digit scoring in two games is another positive sign, though with a shallow bench and a high scoring style of play, the starters are going to get plenty of opportunities to score.

Donte’ Greene is off to a fast start scoring in conference play with 43 points. 8 fouls in 66 minutes of play has me concerned (a 12 fouls in his last 94 minutes), along with 7 turnovers. On a team short on reserves, Syracuse needs Greene on the court as much as possible.

Arinze Onuaku has been a very pleasant surprise in the early going of conference play. 18 of 25 from the floor for 39 points, and 25 rebounds. Very nice start big guy. Syracuse has not had a dominant big center since Etan Thomas in 1999-2000.

Paul Harris has shown a nice mix of skills, with 7 assists in the St. Johns game, and 13 rebounds and 20 points in the South Florida game.

Jonny Flynn has 13 assists and 5 turnovers in the first two games. A very strong start for the freshman point guard. His backcourt mate Scoops Jardine looks like he is getting adjusted to his starting role and is providing some excellent support. 12 assists and 1 turnover in his first two Big East games; that is outstanding. Throw in nine rebounds and five steals, and Jardine is becoming a huge asset to the Orange.

The bench, all two of them, are struggling. Rick Jackson is struggling to get into the offensive flow. He showed tremendous ability earlier in the season, so a little more seasoning here should help. Kris Ongenet seems overwhelmed at his point by the more rugged play in the Big East. In his first 18 minutes of conference play he has picked up 8 personal fouls (earning a disqualification in the South Florida game with 5 fouls in 12 minutes), and he has only 1 rebound.

There is going to become a moment in the Big East season where Jackson and Ongenet are going to be counted on for some valuable productive minutes, so it is important for Syracuse to get these two guys going. Greene is walking a fine line with his foul trouble right now, and sooner or later, every player gets into some foul trouble.

It is only two games, and games against opponents that Syracuse should have beaten. It is however pleasing to see the Orange have done what they should have done; that does not always happen. Their first conference road game is at Cincinnati this Wednesday. This is another game the Orange should win, but you can ask Louisville how that goes. The Cardinals lost at home to Cincinnati in the Big East opener on January 1st, 58-57. So this will be another good test for the young Orangemen.

Go Orange!

The Big East Begins - What It Will Take

Syracuse has completed its Out of Conference season at 10-3. It was not a great non-conference season, but it was not a bad one either. They did put themselves into a better position this year than at the same time last year for post season consideration.

The Orange are currently 10-3, with an RPI ranking of 15, and a Strength of Schedule ranking of 4 (hard to believe isn’t it). With roughly 60% of the season left, I wouldn’t focus too hard on those numbers, as they could change significantly as those teams play their conference games. However, it does at least give us an idea where the team is.

The three losses were against three teams in the top 25 of the RPI (Ohio State, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island). There’s nothing good about those losses, and two were on our home court, which does hurt a little. However, being losses to top 25 RPI teams does not hurt you come selection time; it just does not hurt. What will hurt is if any of those three teams start to fall apart; so Orange fans, make sure you cheer these three teams on!

The Orange have no impressive wins at this point. Virginia is the best win at #67 in the RPI. Two things about that win: the Cavaliers RPI will likely go up as the enter ACC conference play, and it was a road victory for the Orange, which will help. If Virginia does fairly well in the ACC this season, this could be a big win for the Orange come selection time. The second best win (so far) is Washington at #70. Again, their RPI will likely go up as they enter PAC TEN conference play, though not as much as Virginia. Washington was a win on a neutral court, so that will help.

The Orange won all the other games they should have won, so there are no ‘dings’ on their record.

So what do they need to do to lock themselves into a NCAA bid? I’ve run through the conference schedule and I’m showing the Orange are going to need to be 11-7 in conference play, 21-10 entering the Big East tournament, plus go at least two rounds in the BET… so 22-11 by seasons end. I do not think 20 or 21 wins is going to do it for them, unless it’s the right 20 wins.

The Big East schedule will break down into two parts for the Orange. The NCAA considers how you performed in your last 10 games, and I think Syracuse will need to be at least 6-4 in those games, two of which would be the Big East Tournament (where I’m saying they need to be 1-1). So they will need to finish out 5-3 in the Big East Conference. They’ll need to start out winning 6 of their first 10.

The Big East currently has 4 teams in the AP and the ESPN/USA Today polls. They are Georgetown (7,7), Marquette (10, 11), Pittsburgh (13, 13) and Villanova (17,16). West Virginia just dropped out of both polls, and Louisville and Notre Dame received some votes in both. Note that Syracuse is receiving no votes right now, so they are well off the radar of the voters at this point. That is something to consider; perception is reality.

In terms of RPI positioning, there are four teams in the Big East (other than Syracuse) with top 25 RPI. Those are Marquette (5), Pittsburgh (7), Georgetown (18) and West Virginia (23). Syracuse plays South Florida, Georgetown and Villanova each twice this year, so two shots at the Hoyas and Wildcats help.

Also, if Syracuse loses a game that I label a ‘must win’ because of its ease, then I believe they must win one of the tough games I indicate they could lose. You’ve got to wipe those bad losses off the resume by adding a good win.

Syracuse’s Big East schedule is weaker up front, stronger down the stretch. This does help a young Syracuse team which needs to mature, and get inaugurated into the Big East. It also means if they struggle earlier, they can still come on strong at the end and pick up a lot of impressive victories. The Orange’s first ten games are against St. Johns, South Florida, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Rutgers, Villanova, Georgetown, Providence, DePaul and Villanova (2nd time).

The only thing I do not like about the early schedule is having Villanova twice. I would have liked the Orange to have played them later in the season for the second game, so a more experienced team could have faced the Wildcats. But you’ve got to play the hand dealt, right?

Of the first ten games, four are ‘must wins’. The four easiest Big East games they should have are Cincinnati (4-7, away), St. Johns (6-5, home), DePaul (4-7, away) and Rutgers (7-5, home). That’s four wins.

I think they need to split with Villanova. Nova’s preseason schedule does not help the Orange. They played nobody, and their SOS is only 160th, yet they are ranked in both polls. Nova is a good team, a dangerous team, but their RPI (right now) will play havoc on the Orange, especially if Syracuse loses to them twice. A win against Nova is impressive. That makes five wins.

The Orange then need to win one of the following games: South Florida (h), West Virginia (a), Georgetown (a), and Providence (h). Georgetown, on January 18th, a veteran team with lots of talent, would be a very difficult win for the Orange at this point in the season. So I think a win over WVU, Providence or South Florida is more likely. If the Orange can’t split with Villanova, then they need to win two of those three games. That brings the Orange to six wins. Their season record would be 16-7 at that point.

The second part of the Big East schedule is the eight game closing stretch. There are some tough games in that bunch, with Seton Hall and South Florida the easiest of the group. The schedule goes UConn (h), South Florida (a), Georgetown (h), Louisville (a), Notre Dame (h), Pittsburgh (a), Seton Hall (a), and Marquette (h). At this point in the season, the Orange will need to do two things: finish strong (a criteria for the NCAA), and get some big wins (another criteria for the NCAA), and the schedule is set for it. The Orange will be more experienced by that point, so that should help.

I think Syracuse will need to win five of those eight games. That’s a lot to ask. But, keep in mind, that prior to entering this eight game stretch, Nova is possibly the only ‘big’ win on their resume (if they’ve pulled it off). So they need those wins. I think the Orange will need to beat Seton Hall and South Florida (both road games against solid but average teams). So they then need three wins against UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Marquette.

Pitt is going to be an unfair game for the Orangemen. The Panther’s playmaker (and heart) Levance Fields is out for 8-12 weeks because of a broken foot. So Pitt will likely struggle for a few weeks, and that will drop their ranking. Fields will be coming back right about a week before Syracuse plays them, and Pitt will likely get a big boost for his return, and perhaps return to their top 10 form (though their record and RPI won’t reflect it). Plus Syracuse plays Pitt down at the Pederson Center, never an easy place to play. So it will be a game that may look easier on paper than it actually is.

If the Orange pull off the 5-3 record in the last eight, then they be poised well for the Big East Tournament. The Orange will be 11-7 in regular conference play, 21-10 overall. If they win one, lose one in the Big East, they would then be 22-11.

At that point the Orange will have finished the season 6-4 in their last 10, have big wins against 4 good teams, and no bad losses on the season. I think that is a guaranteed bid to the NCAA tournament.

The Orange could make it with less, but they are risking bubble status, and the performance of how other teams do this season. If Syracuse were to go 5-5 in their first 10 Big East games, and then finish out 6-2 that would obviously work (and in fact, be much better… but that’s a tougher accomplishment). I think a 7-3 start in Big East play, with a 3-5 finish would be disastrous.

Obviously a deep run in the Big East Tournament always helps, and it eliminates the mistakes and lost opportunities made during the regular season. But I’m not going to forecast what the Orange need to do to make the NCAA by assuming they’ll make a BET run. The Orange may get some extra consideration this year from (1) the NCAA feeling they need to compensate for last year’s decision and (2) Syracuse putting a road game on their out-of-conference schedule. However, I would not count on any sympathy from an organization that has shown itself to be highly unreasonable year after year.