Boeheim & Bilas Watching Syracuse

Jim Boeheim and Jay Bilas sat down to watch Syracuse play, and ESPN taped the event to show in pieces over the next week or so.

Here is a link to the first video related to the game.  ESPN Video

My thanks to SBNation / TNIAAM for finding this gem.

Myth of Hopkins Rotation Depth

A common theme I have seen on Syracuse basketball forums this year is that Mike Hopkins is going to his bench more often than Jim Boeheim; in particular, that Boeheim never pulls Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney to play others. 

The evidence from those proponents of this idea point to the reduced minutes that Cooney and Gbinije have had under Hopkins in the weaker non-conference games.  It is true that both players see reduced playing time for those games.  Cooney played 36 minutes against Colgate, 34 against Cornell, 28 for Montana State, and 36 for Texas Southern.  Truly, Cooney's minutes were down in those games.

However, that is not a matter of Hopkins deciding to go deeper than Boeheim does; rather it is an indication of who the opponents are.  Boeheim, contrary to the opinions of some, also historically goes deeper into his benches against the easier non-conference opponents. Consider Conney's numbers from 2014-2015: Kennesaw St (33), Hampton (36), Loyola (27), Holy Cross (33), LA Tech (40), Colgate (29), Long Beach State (40) and Cornell (35).  Boeheim actually used less of Cooney than Hopkins did in those same types of games.  

Meanwhile, Gbinije had 39, 39, 33 and 40 in those same four non-conference games this year (Colgate, Cornell, Montana State and Texas Southern).  Silent G had no reduced playing time, except for the Montana State game.  

The images of how Jim Boeheim coaches are imprinted on fans memories, particularly those who dislike him or his style.  It is absolutely true that Boeheim goes to a shorter bench in the tighter games.  However, that is not a true statement for Boeheim regarding the easier non-conference games.  He routinely rotates and tests out players in those games.  Now he may not test out the players that you as a fan may want to see more of, but considering he sees those players each and every day in practice, I trust that Mr. Boeheim (and Mr. Hopkins) have a far better understanding of the players' abilities than you or I.

Data from Cooney and Gbinije is from ESPN.com.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56997/trevor-cooney

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56115/michael-gbinije

Hopkins Dilemma

Syracuse assistant head coach Mike Hopkins is in the middle of his head coaching assignment. He has guided the Orange to a 3-2 record during the first five games of head coach Jim Boeheim's 9 game suspension.

Hopkins has been put into a very difficult situation, one that I think he has handled well so far.  The are four obstacles that he faces, and two of them really are no resolvable; he just needs to do the best he can.

First, Hopkins was given very little notice regarding the transition to being head coach.  Hopkins and Jim Boeheim were preparing for a January transition; instead the NCAA sprung the news on the two of them about 48 hours before the Georgetown game.  At that point, Hopkins and Boeheim were working off a plan to have 30 days to prepare for the situation, and with the busy week in the Bahamas for the Battle for Atlantis, along with the Wisconsin and Georgetown games, I am sure it was something the two of them were planning to really look into once the holiday season got closer.  

Second, Jim Boeheim is allowed to have no contact with anyone associated with the Syracuse basketball program.  Unfortunately that means that Hopkins does not have access to his mentor for guidance.  He does not get to talk to the man who has guided his basketball life as a player and a coach for the past 25+ years.  He doesn't get the opportunity to share the happy moments nor commiserate over the problems with the man who has been there for his basketball career.  

Third, Hopkins has to run another coaches system.  Fortunately for Hopkins, he is extremely familiar with Boeheim's system.  He is very familiar with what Boeheim would want to be done, what work needs to be done with each player, and what Boeheim's hopes were for the players as the season progressed.  Those are pluses for Hopkins. But, he must try to adhere to that system as much as he can because after nine games, Hopkins has to turn the team back over to Boeheim.  Hopkins cannot introduce new theories to the team, or try to change how the team operates.  He must stay the course that Jim Boeheim had set for the team.  

The fourth obstacle may be the biggest.  Hopkins has to be the head coach for 9 games and a month of time.  He must behave as the head coach.  BUT, after the suspension is done, he must return to being the assistant head coach.  The relationship of the head coach to the players is different than the relationship of the assistant coaches to the players.  The head coach runs the show, his instructions are absolute, and the players must toe the line that has been set.

The assistant coach helps the head coach carry out his plan. But the assistant is also a buffer between the head coach and the players.  Assistants get to buddy up with the players, they are the avenue for the players to vent their frustrations.  They are the individuals who work with the players one-on-one every day.  It is a different relationship.

Hopkins cannot jump fully into the head coach mode, as he has to return to that assistant coach mode. He cannot change his relationship with the players on a short term basis; that would lead to dysfunction later in the season. He cannot really define himself as the head coach.

I think Hopkins has done well with the hand he has been dealt. This team is an inconsistent squad. The Georgetown game was destined to be a problem because of how the NCAA rolled out the suspension.  The St. John's game was an embarrassment; however, we all knew there was the chance this team could lay an egg on any given game day.  That game really has been the only game under Hopkins watch that was played poorly and ended poorly.  

The one thing we do know is different is how Hopkins handles the press conferences.  That was inevitable.  Boeheim is a one-of-a-kind in the press conferences, with curmudgeon style, wry and dry humor, sarcasms, and cynicism with the media.  Hopkins is significantly lighter in his tone, and appears more open.  Of course, he doesn't have 40 years of baggage with him either.

Good luck to Hopkins.  It will be interesting to see what his true coaching style is in a few years.

Syracuse Offensive Rebounding 2002-2015

Maybe Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim does know a thing or two about coaching.  Ken Pomeroy did an analysis of which NCAA coaches have the best offensive rebounding teams. Pomeroy looked  the 177 head coaches with 10+ years of coaching experience since 2002, and these were the results:

 1 Jim Calhoun   40.0%
 2 Jamie Dixon   39.4%
 3 Roy Williams  39.3%
 4 Rick Barnes   38.3%
 5 John Calipari 38.6%
 6 Blaine Taylor 38.1%
 7 Bob Huggins   37.7%
 8 Jim Boeheim   37.3%
 9 Mick Cronin   37.3%
10 Tubby Smith   37.1%

Boeheim's teams are the 8th best in the country (out of 177) at offensive rebounding.  Clearly there is a correlation between winning basketball games and offensive rebounding as there are several notable coaches on that top 10 list.

During that time span, these are the notable offensive rebounders for the Orange:

Player	Season	Off. Reb
Rakeem Christmas	2014-2015	97
C.J. Fair	2012-2013	84
Fab Melo	2011-2012	80
Rick Jackson	2010-2011	120
Rick Jackson	2009-2010	94
Arinze Onuaku	2008-2009	108
Paul Harris	2008-2009	89
Arinze Onuaku	2007-2008	114
Paul Harris	2007-2008	99
Darryl Watkins	2006-2007	96
Terrence Roberts	2006-2007	95
Terrence Roberts	2005-2006	104
Darryl Watkins	2005-2006	97
Hakim Warrick	2004-2005	106
Hakim Warrick	2003-2004	98
Hakim Warrick	2002-2003	112
Carmelo Anthony	2002-2003	101

I knew Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were outstanding offensive rebounders, and I've always thought Paul Harris, despite all his other faults, was an outstanding offensive rebounder.  I did not really realize how good Hakim Warrick was.

Response to NCAA Violations

It has been a week since the NCAA handed down its sanctions on the Syracuse basketball team. During that time I have been spending a lot of time with fellow Syracuse fans on various message boards discussing the penalties.  I wanted to let time pass before I commented here on those sanctions.

To recap, these are the sanctions as they currently stand

• Syracuse has to give up 12 scholarships overs the next four seasons.
• Coach Jim Boeheim has to be suspended for the first 9 ACC games for the 2015-2016 season.
•  The university has to pay back significant money it earned from the Big East participation in the NCAA tournament
•  Syracuse has to vacate 108 wins from its record book.
• Syracuse self-imposed a ban on the ACC & NCAA post-season this year.
• Limited and reduced recruiting visits

Syracuse has been found guilty primarily of three things:

•  Ignoring its own University based drug policy and having athletes who had violated those policies remain eligible to play, and failure to contact the players’ families.
•   Altering the grade of Fab Melo so that he would retain eligibility to play.
•  Five football and basketball players receiving a total of $8000 from the Oneida YMCA.

These are indeed violations and there needs to be a punishment of form for these violations.  I agree with that.

And these violations did occur.  Syracuse University does not dispute that they occurred. In fact, Syracuse University reported all of these violations to the NCAA shortly after each had occurred. 

The NCAA, after an eight year investigation, found little evidence of any other wrongdoing by the University. It took the NCAA eight years to confirm what Syracuse told them.

My stance is that Syracuse University and coach Jim Boeheim are being significantly punished by excessive sanctions.  The investigation feels more like a vendetta than an actual investigation.

Academic Fraud

Coach Jim Boeheim recognized that he needed help in making sure that the players remained academically eligible to play for the basketball team. He hired a Director of Basketball Operations named Stan Kissel.  Kissel’s responsibility was to make sure the players were getting the proper tutoring, and that they were remaining eligible to play. 

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from knowing the specific academics for players on their teams.  All they are permitted to know is if a player is eligible to play or not.  This is important to remember.

In January of 2012 it was announced that Melo was no longer academically eligible to play.  This is a huge mistake by Kissel, as it was his job to be on top of situations like this.  Dr. Darryl Gross, 

Syracuse’s Athletic Director, called a meeting with several administrators and staff to see what could be done to get Melo’s grade issue resolved.  Jim Boeheim was not invited to this meeting. This is important to remember.

It was determined that a professor from a previous semester would be willing to give Melo a better grade if he successfully completed a paper.  This is where the fraud comes into play as Kissel and his receptionist did the paper for Melo, and submitted it.  Melo’s grade was raised, and he was eligible to play.

Later in the semester, the University found out what happened, suspended Melo for the remainder of the season, and reported it to the NCAA.  This suspension of Melo likely cost Syracuse a Final Four berth and a very good shot at the NCAA championship.  Kissel and the receptionist were both terminated from the University.

The NCAA has punished Jim Boeheim for this action.  How can they?  He recognized there could be a problem so he hired personnel to monitor the situations. He was not privy to any of the actions that took place to get Melo’s grade changed. The NCAA, through their investigation could find no evidence that Boeheim knew anything.  The NCAA rules prohibit Boeheim from knowing anything about the specifics of the grade.

So NOW they want to hold him accountable for it?  He’s supposed to be accountable for something he is not allowed to know?

Darryl Gross has some questions he needs to answer, and his employment should be in question.  The individuals who actually did the fraud were dismissed.   The university already sacrificed the 2012 post season for this.

There should have been scholarship reduction implications related to this.  The games were already sacrificed.

Drug Policy

The NCAA, amazingly enough, has no drug policy. The rule is that if a University has a drug policy, then the University must enforce its drug policy. Syracuse has one, and they failed to enforce it. Apparently a few players over the years failed their drug tests due to marijuana usage, and they should have been suspended. They were not.

Furthermore, those players’ families should have been contacted by Boeheim. They were not.

This is a black eye for the University, but hardly a major one.

YMCA Boosters

The YMCA apparently paid $8000 to five football and basketball players. This is an action that took place outside of Syracuse University, and one that the University really did not have a way of knowing about.  The YMCA is disputing this occurred. There is really nothing Syracuse can say about it because it is something outside their control.  $8000 is worthy of a penalty, but hardly earth shattering.

Scholarship Reduction

The NCAA is requiring Syracuse to eliminate 12 scholarships over four years, three for each year. Syracuse is allowed to push that penalty back one year to accommodate the incoming class, which Syracuse will do. Syracuse will have 13 scholarship players in 2015-2016.

Twelve scholarships is a very large number, and four years is a long period of time.  The NCAA makes a big issue that they are for the student athletes and they would never remove a scholarship from an existing player.  However, the mathematics of the situation state that Syracuse could indeed be forced to take a scholarship away from an existing player. 

Syracuse has 13 scholarship players in 2015-2016. Two players are scheduled to graduate (Michael Gbinije & Trevor Cooney).  That leaves Syracuse with 11 players on scholarship for the 2016-2017 season, which is one over the limit.  It is likely that someone from Syracuse could jump early for the NBA, or could transfer which would fix the situation. But what if nobody does?  Does the NCAA really want Syracuse to remove the scholarship from a player?

My guess is the NCAA plans to reduce the scholarship reductions from 3 to 2, and possibly from four years to three years. They wanted to make headlines with their over-the-top sanctions, and they wanted to have room to negotiate down.

They got their headlines.

The shame is that most fans across the country do not know the details of the situation. So Jim Boeheim is labeled a cheater.  There is no evidence he cheated.  The university did make some mistakes and so there are some things the university should be stained with. 

But the University did NOT have any recruiting violations.  NONE.   That is major cheating.

There was NOT systemic academic fraud. There was a major case involving a big name player, and there are some other issues with tutors and mentor semantics, that may lead to other minor issues. 

There was NO systemic paying of players, and the players who were paid were given a small sum by a booster that the University had no way of preventing.

Look, the NCAA took its sweet time over eight years covering everything with a fine tooth comb. The things we are certain about is that there were NO other issues out there. The NCAA surely would have found them. 

The self-imposed post season ban for this year seems like it was justified for ‘lack of institutional control’.  A restriction of one or two scholarships made some sense, for a two or three year period.

I would not be surprised to see many of the sanctions reduced / eliminated. Then again, I would not be surprised if they remain close to where they currently are.  

The NCAA is inconsistent, tyrannical, and a joke of an organization. It fails to accomplish what it needs to accomplish.  If it has finished its original investigation in 2-3 years, many of these issues may NEVER have occurred.  And taken in the context of small intervals of time, none of the violations in themselves are significant.  Stretch out a time period long enough, pile enough items into the basket, and you can make is sound far worse than it was.

They got their pound of flesh.

Here is the lesson that Syracuse University learned, as did all the other universities out there. Do NOT self-report your issues, and do not cooperate fully with the NCAA.  Despite the fact that Syracuse systemically reported issues as they occurred, AS THEY SHOULD HAVE, they were punished for it as if they had not.  They would be far better off not saying anything and hoping the NCAA never came across it.  Like all the other schools that have skeletons in their closet that they have not yet reported (and now never will).

A Year Ago Today

Coach Boeheim, thank you for the memory.

Shaking Away Preconceptions

I think sometimes we as fans let our preconceptions of what a player or coach does cloud the reality of what we see.  There is a common perception among Orange fans that Jim Boeheim always plays a tight rotation of 7 players, and he is unwilling to change.  

Statistically, that is not true.  And surprisingly, we only have to go back two and three seasons to see contrary situations.

Using a guideline of players who played 10+ minutes a game, and who played in virtually all of the games they were eligible to play in (where they were not limited by injury of suspension), here is a breakdown from 1989-1990 to 2013-2014 of the number of players in Boeheim's 'rotation' (data from OrangeHoops)

2013-2014: 7

2012-2013: 9

2011-2012: 9

2010-2011: 8

2009-2010: 7

2008-2009: 8

2007-2008: 7

2006-2007: 7

2005-2006: 7

2004-2005: 8

2003-2004: 9

2002-2003: 8

2001-2002: 8

2000-2001: 7

1999-2000: 8

1998-1999: 8

1997-1998: 7

1996-1997: 7

1995-1996: 7

1994-1995: 8

1993-1994: 7

1992-1993: 8

1991-1992: 7

1990-1991: 7

1989-1990: 7

Over those 25 seasons, Boeheim did employ a seven man rotation thirteen times.  But, that means twelve times he employed a larger rotation.  Nine times he had an eight man rotation, and three times he had a nine man rotation. In 2012-2013 and 2011-2012 he had the nine man rotations... very recent indeed!

I do no think there is any doubt that Boeheim likes to play his primary five as much as he can.  And clearly a seven or eight man rotation is his norm.  He does however adjust to the talent he has.

Boeheim appears to be unwilling to play a player who has not proven himself in practice. He does not appear to be a coach who wants to play a guy 'just to give him experience'. Instead, he always works to put his team in the best position to win for that game.

It is true that Boeheim's bench will shrink during truly big games.  I would submit however, that is true for most if not all coaches. You play your best players when you need to play your best players.

In 1995-1996 Syracuse played a tight bench all season, and Kentucky, who was the dominant favorite that season was touted for the incredible depth of the team and how masterful Rick Pitino was for playing so deep into his bench.  And Kentucky did play 10 deep all season long; no player on that team averaged more than 27 minutes a game.

In the championship game, Syracuse played seven deep as they had done all year. But look at what Rick Pitino did.  Pitino, who is a great coach, went only eight players deep, and four of his starters played 27 or more minutes. Tony Delk played 37 minutes and Anthony Epps 34.

Part of that was because it was a real big game for Kentucky, and Pitino wanted his best players on the court (i.e. just like Boeheim). And part of that was that the game pace and tempo, which was dictated by Syracuse, not Kentucky, allowed Pitino the opportunity to keep his starters in the game longer.  However, read that last point again.  Pitino, in one game because of tempo, kept his starters in longer.  Boeheim plays with that tempo all 35+ games all year.  And by the way, which set of players do you think were less fatigued in that game? The guys who averaged 35-38 minutes a game all year, or the guys who averaged 22-27 minutes a game?  My money is on the guys who are used to playing those minutes.  

But I digress.  

The original point was that Boeheim never plays more than seven deep (which is false), and Boeheim won't change or adapt (which is also false). When Boeheim has the talent, he plays the talent, and when he has a small set of talented players, the rotation is smaller.

An interesting side note: back in 1977-1978, during the Louie 'n Bouie era, Syracuse went 11 players deep (10 if you don't want to count Marty Headd as a regular), and 12 players on the team had enough quality time per game they played to average 3.4 ppg or more.

It's Going To Be a Rough Year

Here's where the 2013-2014 Syracuse Orange are, summed up fairly well by a man who should know:

"This isn't like the last six years. We're going to struggle to win a game. We're going to struggle to win a game, any game that we play. This game is not going to beat anybody that's any good if they don't play better. That means all 18 games in the ACC. I don't care if somebody thinks, oh, they're not that good. They're good enough. Trust me. We have to play a lot better, we have to get better and we have to figure that out and we'll see. Again, I don't know, I wouldn't want to be overly-confident about that right now because we're not talking about the difficult things we'd like to try to do. We're trying to get the basic essentials down and that's not good at this stage."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim at the Louisiana Tech post game press conference, December 14th, 2014.

The Orange and Blue Devils: The Coach Perspective

Not sure what else can be said about the end of last night's Syracuse / Duke game , or the game in general.  Instead, I thought it best to hear it from Jim Boeheim and Mike Kryzyzewski, two of the greatest coaches in college basketball today.

I transcribed portions of both of their post game press conferences from last evening.  Enjoy.

Jim Boeheim:  

I thought we played as well defensively as we played all year long and I thought the game was extremely well officiated, as well as any game we have had all year, and … don’t laugh, I do make jokes but that’s not a joke… I thought it was tremendously well officiated, three great officials.  The first half Michael Gbinije was in the same position, got in front, and the new rule is it’s a block. That is the new rule, it has been explained 100 times.  C.J. [Fair] got into his motion, I saw the replay, and the guy was moving.  That’s it. It’s as simple as that. It’s a new rule. It’s a block… and I wanted to see if I still had it in me to go out there.  I did, I got out there pretty good. I thought I was quick.  I stayed down, and I didn’t get injured, so all those things are good.   But that was the play,that was the game.  That was the game decider right there.  I would have been happy with a no call, let the players make / finish the game and see what happens, but it was a great game.  A tremendously well officiated game.  I just disagree with that last call there. That’s all.

Jeez, I’ve only been thrown out only once in my life and that was an exhibition game. I just thought that was the worst call of the year, that’s all.  I just hated to see the game decided on that call. 

You’re going to lose tight games, it’ s part of the nature of the game.  If you are in tight games … we were down six, we weren’t ahead.  We had a six point deficit and made a great move to get back into the game.

There’s not much difference between great games in this league or that league.  Both teams went at it as hard as they could, you know the whole game.  It was a tremendous basketball game just like the one in Syracuse was.  This was just a different game. But it was a great game… if in the beginning of the year I could’ve split with Mike[Kryzyzewski] I probably would have taken it without any hesitation.  But once we won in Syracuse I might not have… it’s great, two great games… games lived up to everything.   People will remember this one for 30 years ‘cuz the old coach went out there a little bit. Got a little excited.  So, they’ll always remember you for something.  Down here I think those fans will remember Jim Boeheim, down here, after that.

Mike Kryzyzewski:

Another great game.  Different from the first one because it seemed like both teams were scoring easy up at Syracuse and today it was really difficult to score.  I don’t know how either team could play any harder.  What a great environment.  I want to thank our fans, the whole … their celebration of basketball  up there [Syracuse] and our celebration of basketball here [Duke] was phenomenal.  It’s what makes our sport so good.  I mean I love the NBA to death but this is something they can’t do.  And we should always recognize that… the thing at Syracuse and here… that’s our product.  That’s our product. Genuiness, purity,  and my guys to fight like they did today, that’s their fourth game in eight days, coming after one of our worst halves of the season at North Carolina, and they played great there… I’m not knocking them.  They made us look bad.  

But to come back and play with this level of intensity was spectacular.  Just absolutely spectacular.  Our defense was really good; their defense adjusted.  What they did in their zone when we flashed , they stayed with shooters, and so up there when we flashed they collapsed a little bit and you  could kick out and you have a shot. They stayed with shooters today, and so that’s why we , what turned out to be a good move, putting Rodney [Hood] there, and what that did was then he could run offense in there a little bit, not great, but better, and Rodney, that part of the game was amazing.

The Orange Beat Duke

The Orange are at 21-0, uncharted waters for the Syracuse basketball squad. They should also move up to #1 in the nation come Monday night, following #1 Arizona’s loss to California on Saturday night. 

The Syracuse / Duke game at the Dome on Saturday night was college basketball at its finest. Two well coached teams playing in front of an extremely hyped NCAA record crowd, in a tight well-played game. The two winningest coaches in men’s Division I history, with teams with collegiate All Americans, McDonald’s All-Americans, and highly touted freshman. Both teams committed only eight turnovers each in the game, and only a combined two in the second half. There was well executed offense and well executed defense. Add in a dash of the game being the first game between Syracuse and Duke in ACC conference play, and throw in a dramatic three point basket to send the game into overtime, and you have a great game. 

Both teams played very well. Here’s some of the numbers for Duke: 15 of 36 from three point range (41%); 18 offensive rebounds; 20 assists and only 8 turnovers; 89 total points; the opponent was held to only 3 three point field goals. If you told Mike Krzyzewski his Blue Devils would post those numbers, I am sure he would have felt his team won the game. And Syracuse Jim Boeheim would have been concerned about those numbers. 

Syracuse, however, had some impressive numbers of its own. The Orange shot 57% from the floor, had only 8 turnovers, a +5 rebound margin, only 8 turnovers, 9 blocked shots, and an impressive 26 – 32 from the free throw line. Those types of numbers will win most games. It was an interesting game. Krzyzewski’s game plan seemed to recognize that the Blue Devils would not be able to beat the Orange on the inside, and he was committed to working the three point offense. Duke ran that offense well, though it was surprising they did not challenge the Orange more inside. Then again, when you successful from the perimeter, and unsuccessful inside, it is alluring to keep going outside. I think Amile Jefferson was outstanding at cleaning up Duke’s perimeter misses, especially in the first half. Duke did struggle inside when it did try to run its offense there. A tip of the hat to the Orange who were smothering inside on their defense. Whenever Duke thought they had an open opportunity, the Orange (primarily Rakeem Christmas) were there to block or alter the shot. 

Defensively, Duke had problems all day with the Orange inside. Jabari Parker and Amile Jefferson both picked up 4 fouls costing them valuable playing time in the second half, and both ultimately fouled out. And when Jefferson or Parker were not on the court, C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant had a field day. Krzyzewski was stuck in a hard place; Jabari Parker likely faced the toughest front court he’s seen, and struggled with it. In three weeks, the rematch should be interesting, as both teams do have areas they can improve upon, and they have adjustments they can make. 

The Orange are playing at a very high level right now. The win against Duke was a combination of all five starters playing well, and the bench contributing enough to let most the starters get some rest. C.J. Fair had a career high 28 points, and proved he was worthy of Naismith consideration. When the Orange needed him to score, he scored. He recognized and took advantage of the defensive mismatches when he saw them. A brilliant game. 

Jerami Grant just continued to keep his stock rising. He had an outstanding day on the boards, with a total of 12 rebounds, and Duke was hard pressed to stop the long limbed explosive leaper. They fouled him several times, and Grant made them pay for every single foul by making 10 out of 10 free throw attempts. I was concerned when he picked up his third foul early in the second half, but he played smart and did not pick up another. 

Rakeem Christmas was a difference maker in the game. He showed up and was aggressive on both ends of the court. Defensively he shut down the Blue Devils with 6 blocked shots and two steals. On the offensive end of the court he made 2 out of 4 shots, and had four offensive rebounds. Baye Keita and Christmas, the two headed monster, had 9 points, 6 blocked shots and 16 rebounds in 45 minutes of play. That type of contribution from our center position will go a long way in winning games. 

Trevor Cooney was shadowed all night and had a tough time getting open for three point attempts. No problem for Cooney as he mixed up his game and drove the lane for layups, and pulled up for mid range jumpers. Twice in the game he had a chance for a three and twice he nailed it. Cooney also is displaying more confidence with his ball handling and provided Ennis relief on the full court presses from Duke. 

Tyler Ennis played like Ennis does every game. Flawlessly running the offense with 9 assists and only 2 turnovers. He threw Duke for a loop when he decided to score himself, rather than work the ball, and I am sure that helped to loosen the defense up on the inside for the rest of the game. 

Michael Gbinije had 12 minutes of solid basketball where he provided some good defense and three assists. Tyler Roberson had five minutes of time in the first half where he presented himself well. He had a nice drive along the baseline which drew the defense to him, and finished off a fast break with an impressive dunk.

You know it was a great game when Jim Boeheim flashed a big smile after Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon drained the 3 point shot as time expired, sending the game into overtime.  It was an epic game and Boeheim realized it. He had coached 1,255 games at Syracuse, and he knew this one was a special one.

On To the Final Four!

Syracuse is going to the Final Four after a dominating performance over Big East foe Marquette! Unbelievable, and rewarding to the Syracuse players, coaches and fans.  I was convinced Syracuse was going to win the National Title in 2010-2011 until Arinze Onuaku got hurt.  I was convinced Syracuse was going to the Final Four in 2012-2013 until Fab Melo departed.  Both those teams had stifling defenses and offensive firepower.

This year’s team has a suffocating defense, but a wildly inconsistent offense. They have however, played well and efficient enough to score the points they needed, and they have won their four tournament games with relative ease. When James Southerland hit the time clock desperation 3 pointer with about two minutes to go in the game last night, I knew the game was over.  Just sweet.

Some random thoughts about the Orange:

• As is well documented, this is Syracuse's fifth Final Four; the fourth under Jim Boeheim. Boeheim is 3-0 in the Final Four, and he has made a Final Four in four different decades. If you count his tenure as an assistant coach, he has made a Final Four in five different decades.
• Since February 23rd, 2013, Syracuse has played 12 basketball games.  9 of those have been against Top 25 teams, four against Top 5 teams. This team is battle tested.
• Since the start of the Big East Tournament, Syracuse has played 8 games, five against Top 25 teams, 3 against Top 5 teams.  The Orange are 7-1 in that stretch.
• The past four games have seen four different Orangemen lead the team in scoring: Triche (Montana), Fair (California), Carter-Williams (Indiana) and Southerland (Marquette).
• There were a lot of former Syracuse players in attendence at the Verizon center including Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, Herman Harried, Leo Rautins and Lawrence Moten.  Of course, alumni Boeheim, Mike Hopkins, Adrian Autry and Gerry McNamara were in attendence at the bench.  Is it just me, or does Syracuse have more former alumni routinely show up for games than any other program?  I think that is a testament to the loyalty between the Coach and his players.
• This is Syracuse's 6th 30 win season.  Syracuse finished the season ranked 16th, which is the lowest rank for a Syracuse 30 win team.
• Syracuse's previous Final Four teams finished the regular season ranked as follows:
• 1974-1975: unranked (not seeded)
• 1986-1987: 10th (2 seed)
• 1995-1996: 15th (4 seed)
• 2002-2003: 11th (3 seed)
• 2012-2013: 16th (4 seed)
• Boeheim is 121-25 the past four years (and still going). Simply amazing.

Let's Go ORANGE!

A Farewell with Redemption

The Big East Tournament has turned into a fond farewell for the Syracuse players and the fans.  The magic and aura of the madness in Madison Square Garden will dearly be missed, something we all are becoming more aware of each and every game Syracuse advances.  Tonight it will end. 

Fortunately for the Orange, the Tournament is going to bring a positive resolution for many involved.  The backdrop of the poor performance by the Orange over the past few weeks, only heightens what we can observe today.

First, congratulations to Trevor Cooney. We have been hearing about how well he plays in practice, but had yet seen that play in Big East action. Last night, was his coming out party with 10 points, including a couple of threes. More impressive was his hustle, solid defense, and rebounding. He could not have chosen a better stage.

Baye Keita did his Gerry McNamara impression, and calmly drained seven out of seven free throws.  He did a yeoman’s job of handling Georgetown’s big men, and had a team high 13 points.

James Southerland… what a way to shake off some shooting rust.  He has tied the Big East Tournament three point shooting record with his 16 treys, and he still has one game left to play. I am glad to see the senior get some glory in MSG; it allows us to forget his poor shooting down the stretch of the season.

And it was great to see Brandon Triche show some emotion, and get his game back on track. The senior has meant a lot to the Orange over four years, and it was so disappointing to see his season fall apart over the last few weeks. He has had the opportunity to make some treys in the tournament, and has made some excellent decisions in driving to the hoop.  That is the type of play that Triche has shown in the past when he leads this team; it fuels the Orange offense and allows it to fire on all cylinders.

C.J. Fair had a poor game shooting and uncharacteristically made some poor decisions, something he would surely like to forget. But his emphatic dunk in overtime that gave Syracuse the four point margin should erase all memories of that. That dunk will be remembered as one of the greatest in SU history.

It is tough leaving the Big East, and it was very disappointing to close out the regular season playing poorly. Losing to Georgetown in a non-competitive situation in the Dome really hurt. We have all become accustomed to fierce games between the two teams, and that loss was anti-climatic.

Last night’s game erases that memory. A 58-53 overtime win just added to the legacy of the series.  It is unfortunate it is the last meaningful game between the two schools.  Even if the Orange had lost last night, it would have been a fitting conclusion… a hard fought physical games, and something to appreciate. The fact that Syracuse won makes it far sweeter.

Finally, the man who is really getting his due is coach Jim Boeheim.  I hope no one doubts how much the Big East Conference has meant to Boeheim. He has stated that the past two years, but people may just take it for granted. Having the opportunity to play Georgetown last night was extra special for him; you could tell by his emotions down the stretch and post game.  Typically the only emotions you will see from Boeheim in a game are anger and stoicism.  Last night you could see that Boeheim really wanted to win the game; it was very special for him. He was displaying excitement about the players positive scoring in the last few minutes of the game and in overtime.  His moist eyes in the post game interviews revealed any more.  The Georgetown series is now officially over.

I’ve been blessed to be old enough to be able to watch all the Big East Tournaments since inception. This is meaningful to me.  Just think about how meaningful it is to Jim Boeheim? He lives and breaths college basketball, and loves the Big East. This isn’t just a hobby for him; it has been an integral part of his life, and he knows it is going away forever.  It has to make him feel very happy knowing that his team put on a good show during their last Big East Tournament.

I think that is all he wanted from this week. And I think Syracuse fans would all agree.

Boeheim Passes Knight

Congratulations to Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who won his 903rd game tonight against Rutgers, allowing him to pass Bobby Knight in the all-time win list.  Boeheim now stands at #2 all-time behind Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is at 940 and climbing.

I have always been a huge fan of Bobby Knight, regarding his coaching ability. Knight finished his career at 902-371, with 3 National Championships and 5 Final Fours. 

For some perspective, Boeheim's career record is now 903-302.  He has 69 fewer losses than Knight.

If Keith Smart missed that jump shot against Syracuse in 1987, Bobby Knight would have finished his career with a 901-372 record, with 2 National Championships and 5 Final Fours.

Boeheim's resume, if Smart misses that jump shot (or if Derrick Coleman makes his free throw prior to that), would be 904-301, with 2 National Championships and 3 Final Fours. 

Knight is an unquestioned great basketball coach. Boeheim, without a free throw or jump shot he could not control, would have an equal/better resume. 

Just some perspective.

Boeheim Wins 900

Congratulations to Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim on this 900^th career win.  The coach will profess to not caring about the numbers, but 900 is quite an accomplishment.  Only two other coaches, Bobby Knight and Mike Krzyzewski, have accomplished that feat in Division I Men’s basketball.

 

Boeheim’s record now stands at 900-304; he has won 74.8% of the games he has coached. He was 52-24 as a player at Syracuse, and 139-65 as an assistant basketball coach.  Syracuse has won 1091 games that Boeheim has been associated with, against 393 losses. 

He is the winningnest coach in Big East History (by far), at 353-185.  He is 547-119 in non-Big East games. 

Boeheim has coached in 261 games against top 25 teams, and has a 130-131 record in those games.  Has has a 69-79 record when coaching against teams ranked higher than Syracuse in the polls (that would include games where Syracuse was not ranked).  He has a 615-158 record against teams ranked lower than Syracuse in the polls (that would include games where the opponent was not ranked).

Boeheim has a 53-64 record against teams ranked in the top 10, and a record of 17-41 against teams in the top 5.

Syracuse University basketball has an all-time record of 1854-821.  Boeheim has accounted for 48.5% of those wins as a coach, and 58.8% as a player/coach.

The worst season in Boeheim’s career was 1981-1982, when Syracuse went 16-13.  Even in that season he went .500 in the Big East, going 9-9. 

Over the past four seasons, Jim Boeheim is 101-16, winning 86.3% of his games. He is 44-10 in the Big East those same four years.

29 players for Jim Boeheim have played in the NBA.

Boeheim has won one National Championship (2003), and been to four Final Fours.  He has won 9 Big East Season Championships, and 5 Big East Tournament Championships.

A New Carrier Classic

The 2012-2013 Syracuse Basketball season kicked off with some fanfare as the Orange took on the #20 ranked San Diego State Aztecs in the ‘Battle of the Midway’, upon the USS Midway in the Carrier Classic.  Of course, when I hear Carrier Classic, I still have images of Syracuse beating Michigan State and Magic Johnson, or GeneWaldron bombing Iona with 40 points.  But a new era, a new age, and the Orange were able to participate in this new memorable series.

Memorable will be what the game will go down as, even if it was not a well-played game.  An outdoor game with a strong breeze off the bay and strong sunlight in the eyes of the players can wreck some havoc on the games plans of both teams.  The fact that neither team could shoot a perimeter shot on the right side of the court (from the viewing audience) brought some interesting strategy into the game.  One has to wonder why Steve Fisher never instructed his players to stop taking the three point shots, as they finished a horrendous 1 of 18.  Jim Boeheim and the Orange figured it out fairly quickly, only taking four three point shots, all in the first half, and then abandoning that for the rest of the game.

There is not a lot you can take away from this game in terms of how the Orange will play for this season, as the game put limits on what teams could or could not do.  However, there were a few things I observed that made me smile for this upcoming year.

Syracuse was definitely the bigger team with the better inside game. The Orange, however, played the second half of the game shooting into the bad side of the court, where they took no perimeter shots.  Yet, they were consistently able to drive to the hoop from their half court set, despite the fact that the Aztecs knew that was the only offensive play the Orange would be able to run.  Brandon Triche did this two or three times; no one should doubt his athletic ability to get to the hoop.  I am not sure how Boeheim is going to get Trevor Cooney playing time with Michael Carter-Williams and Triche in the backcourt.  Then again, Boeheim was masterfully able to accomplish the four guard rotation last year.

DaJuan Coleman is HUGE.  He looked like a man-child on the court next to the rest of the players.  He will definitely clog up some space in the middle.  I liked the fact that Baye Keita was displaying the aggressive and active form he had most of his freshman season.  Valuable minutes from him will critical at times this upcoming year.

C.J. Fair did a lot of everything, which we all have come to take for granted. I think he pressed a little bit too much in the first half with taking too much of the offense upon himself, but it is a good sign he is asserting himself.  Rakeem Christmas was a defensive force with 5 blocked shots, and pulled down 6 rebounds (I would’ve liked more boards). 

The Orange jumped out to a 17-4 lead, and never let San Diego State back into the game.  They made the free throws when they had to make the free throws. They made the defensive stops when they had to, and they countered with strong offensive play whenever the Aztecs threatened. Those are good signs.

I look forward to the rest of this new season. Go Orange!

You Cannot Play Them All

Jim Boeheim cannot win praise from his detractors, regardless of what he does.   You would think Syracuse was mired in an underperforming season with a record of 20-10 instead of being 33-2, ranked #2 in the country with a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.  Fans love to second guess head coaches, and Syracuse fans are no different.

Historically Boeheim has gone only 7-8 players deep on his roster, preferring to keep his top talent on the court as much as possible.  This season, he has gone 10 players deep most of the season and yet he still gets criticized for not giving some players more playing time.

I like Brandon Triche’s game a lot. He is likely the team’s best three point shooter  and clearly their best free throw shooter.  He is the best rebounding guard on the team, and while not flashy, he is a solid point guard, and he is a three year starter with tons of experience.  Yet he sits a lot, and that is quite reasonable considering the best offensive talent on this team is the backcourt players.  You have to find time for Scoop Jardine and for Dion Waiters; Boeheim does an excellent job of getting them all playing time. 

A faction of the fan base criticize Boeheim because he does not play Michael Carter-Williams more.  MCW plays in most games, about 3-7 minutes of time.  Considering there are three talented guards ahead of him in terms of experience, and current talent level, I think it says a world about how good Boeheim thinks he is by getting him that time.  He is getting some seasoning and experience, and being handled well by being put into situations he can succeed, and being held from situations where he can fail.  I think it will be invaluable for him come next season; and if the need arose this season, he would play more.  My guess is MCW will be a start for Syracuse and in the NBA someday.  Right now, that is not his role.

Other fans question why Boeheim doesn’t play to his strength and run a three guard offense. That is looking at only half the picture.  A three guard offense would definitely help the offense; there is no doubt about it.  However, what is the greatest strength of this team? It’s zone defense, a defense so good that a lot of fans in forums call it the best Syracuse defense they have ever seen.  Syracuse cannot play that zone with three guards; that would require Triche or Waiters to play the wing and guard a forward, which could be disastrous.  Do you really want to take away the best asset of the team, their zone defense, in order to get more playing time for a guard?  And going to man-to-man is not the solution; the team does not practice that well enough to effectively use it and Boeheim and his staff recruit players ideal for zone defense, not for man-to-man.

I have seen many fans question why Trevor Cooney was redshirted, when the team could clearly use his three point shooting.  Boeheim cannot currently find enough time for a talented Michael Carter-Williams on the court, and you want him to find time for Cooney?  Furthermore, we do not even know how good Cooney is with defense or ball handling at this point in his career.  I do not know how you would find reasonable playing time for him, and having him lose a season as the fifth guard makes no sense.

Rakeem Christmas is the interesting player in the mix. I know some fans are looking at Christmas’ Kansas State effort of 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots as evidence that Boeheim should have played him a lot more.  Those numbers are huge, and should not be taken lightly.  I do think Christmas is far more comfortable at center than forward.  I also think Christmas is a better rebounder than Melo, in fact, much better, and likely a better offensive player.  Christmas has been playing organized basketball for years, where as Melo only a few season, and I think Christmas is more comfortable with the ball in his hands. He is by no means an offensive juggernaut.   Christmas is okay at defense in the center position, but does not have the dominating shot blocking, the body size, nor the zone understanding that Melo does.   So there is a loss of defense without Melo, which would be expected as Melo was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

I think Boeheim and his staff want Christmas to develop into a power forward, a role Christmas is not comfortable with now.  I think Christmas is likely failing his defensive assignments as a forward, and is not the offensive threat that Joseph, Fair or Southerland is, so he is the fourth forward behind  three other veteran forwards.  I would like to see a couple more minutes out of Christmas each game, and he does have a very quick hook from Boeheim.  However, in a best case scenario, Christmas was not going to get too many more playing minutes at the forward position. 

Southerland needed the playing time to open up the Syracuse perimeter game, and he has developed his rebounding and defensive skills.  Fans love C.J. Fair, and Fair usually brings that spark to the table, along with adding in all the statistics stuffing needing to help the team.  Kris Joseph is the best scoring forward on the team, and the most experienced player on the team. 

You could have played Christmas instead of Baye Keita at center, but remember they want to develop Christmas a forward which will help him in his pursuit of a professional career, and Keita can only play center.  Keita needs to develop too, and Syracuse needed Melo on the court as much as they could.

I think minor changes could have been made at various points in the season, but they would have been minor, and with no impact on the season results.  Remember, Syracuse is 33-2. 

Some tidbits of information:

Rakeem Christmas has now started five games at center, and he has had rebound totals of 9, 1, 7, 7 and 11.  Fab Melo averages only 5.8 rebounds a game.  Of course, shot blockers are often out of rebounding position, so you trade off one ability for another.

James Southerland has scored 43 points in the four post season games, shooting 8 of 17 from three point range, and chipping in 24 rebounds, and 8 blocks. 

Where as C.J. Fair disappeared to? The man was a stat sheet stuffer all season.  In the postseason run, Fair is 2-17 from the field, including misses from point blank range, and open 10 foot jumpers.  He has 17 rebounds, but 11 came against UNC Asheville; only 6 in the other three games combined.   This has coincided with him starting, but that cannot be the reason as he did not suffer when he started three games during Melo’s first suspension.

Triche found his shooting touch as the regular season ended, but he has struggled in the post season. He is 1 of 10 from three point range, and surprisingly 4 of 10 from the free throw line.

Dion Waiters struggled for much of the season at the free throw line, but has shot 16 of 18 from the charity stripe in the post season.   He has also made 25 of 45 shots during that time frame, and has had only three turnovers.

Scoop Jardine has made seven of his eight free throw attempts in the post season, and has 17 assists the past three games. However, he has also had 14 turnovers the past three games, which has to stop.

Kris Joseph, who has logged more playing time than any other Syracuse player this post season, has continued his month long shooting problems. Joseph is 8 for 31 in the post season from the field, including 2 for 13 from three point range.  He was held reboundless against Cincinnati and had only one rebound against Kansas State yesterday. 

30-1! A Season for the Ages

The Orange wrapped up the regular season in style, sweeping the Louisville Cardinals with a 58-49 victory at the Carrier Dome.  Fittingly, in a season where the team really plays as a team, senior point guard Scoop Jardine was held scoreless, and was happy about it.

 

Syracuse is 30-1, establishing a new benchmark for wins in a regular season, besting their record of 28 set two years ago. The school record for total wins in a season is 31, set in 1986-1987, and the team should pass that mark with their post season activity.  Their one loss in the regular season is the fewest ever since post season activity began, and regardless of how their season ends, they will finish the year with their fewest losses since at least 1934-1935 when the team went 15-2.

 

The Orange finished 19-0 at home, only their second undefeated season in the Carrier Dome. The previous effort was from the 2002-2003 national championship team.

 

The games also marked the 71^st time the Carrier Dome has had a crowd in excess of 30,000 fans.  Syracuse has now run their record to 48-23 in those games, including winning 11 of the last 14 big crowd games.

 

The Big East Tournament looms ahead, and the Orange are fortunate to get the double round bye. We will not know the Orange opponent until the end of day Wednesday. It will certainly be a team that is playing well, and playing for its post season life.  It will be another tough game.

Syracuse completed this season 5-0 against top 25 teams. The Big East was down compared to the past few seasons, and Syracuse has played its fewest top 25 ranked teams since the 2001-2002 season. However, the postseason action will certainly bump that number up a few places.  And though the number of ranked Big East teams was not as high as it has been the past few years, that does not mean the Big East was an easy schedule. Far from it.

 

First of all, comparing any league to the level the Big East played the past few seasons is a ridiculous standard. Secondly, ask talented teams like Pitt, Villanova and UConn about how difficult they thought this schedule was. If you are not ready to play each and every game, you will end up on the losing side of the ledger.

 

The Orange are 30-1.  That is absolutely remarkable; I do not care who you play. That record is a testament to the players and to the Syracuse coaching staff.  It speaks well of the leadership of the team leaders Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph. And it speaks well of the character of their teammates who bought into what they were selling.

 

The Big East post season accolades should be very interesting.  Several factors will come into play with Syracuse players getting consideration: (1) how much do the coaches recognize the top players focusing on the team effort instead of personal glory; (2) how much weight does the 17-1 conference record carry; (3) how much will the deep play of Syracuse and the lack of ‘go to’ players split the votes for Syracuse players?  And of course, in an eighteen team league, it’s tough to get any recognition with that much competition.

 

I think Jim Boeheim should win the Big East Coach of the Year. The Orange were expected to finish tied atop the Big East, but they greatly exceeded anyone’s expectations on how they did it. If you throw in the backdrop of the Bernie Fine situation, and the short term Fab Melo suspension, you have a coach who won the conference, overcome obstacles, and overachieved. What more can you ask? I know Buzz Williams (Marquette) and Mike Brey (Notre Dame) had outstanding seasons, each with their own story, but Boeheim should win it. He won’t. It will be Brey or Williams.

 

Syracuse’s zone defense has been the story throughout college basketball all season, and Fab Melo’s importance to that defense was undeniable, as evidenced by the impact on the team when he was missing for three games.  I think the team sacrificed individual offensive glory for the team defense, and I think coaches recognize that. I think Melo does win the Big East defensive player of the year.

 

If Melo is going to win the defensive player of the year, he has got to be a lock on the Most Improved Player.  The improvement in his game from last season to this season is well documented, and well known.  I would be shocked if he does not get this recognition.

 

The Big East Sixth man award will be interesting. First of all C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters will split the votes between one another. I personally do not consider Fair a sixth man.  He does not start the game, but he does replace Rakeem Christmas very early in the game, and he keeps that position for the rest of the game.  It is not as if Boeheim uses Fair to give Joseph a breather at any point.  Rather he uses Southerland to give Joseph and Fair a breather.  Fair is really a starter who just does not happen to start. Waiters on the other hand is a sixth man. He splits time at both the point and shooting guard positions, and may partner with either Triche or Jardine on the court. He often plays more minutes than either of them, but not always. I would vote for Waiters as the Sixth Man, and I think he will win it; but the split vote and a perception that he is not really a sixth man could hurt him.

 

The All Big East Team selections are the biggest mystery to me.  I would suspect that Joseph, Jardine and Waiters will all make selections to one of the teams, and I would hope Jardine and Joseph make first team. Melo might squeak in on the third team. We’ll have to see when results are released this week.

 

However the post season accolades go, it has been a great regular season, and now it’s time to gear up for some post season fun!

 

Let’s Go Orange!

What About 27-1?

The Orange are 27-1, reaching lofty heights that no other Syracuse team has ever reached during the regular season, in the post season era.  There are other teams that had fantastic regular seasons, most notably and recently the 2009-2010 squad that went 28-3 before post season action.

For perspective the 2002-2003 National Championship team went ‘only’ 23-4 during the regular season, and did not win either the Big East Season title or Big East Tournament.  The 1999-2000 team went 24-4 winning the Big East Season title behind Jason Hart and Etan Thomas.

Syracuse went 26-4 in 1990-1991 behind Billy Owens winning the Big East Regular season title. The 1988-1989 Orangemen, perhaps the most talented team Syracuse ever had with Sherman Douglas, Stephen Thompson, Billy Owens and Derrick Coleman went a mere 25-6 in the regular season.  The 1986-1987 squad that came within a shot of the National Title was 24-5 winning the Big East Season title.

The Pearl and Raf Addison lead the Orangemen to 23-4 in 1985-1986 earning the Big East Season Title.  In the first year of the Big East, Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr led Syracuse to a 24-2 record and the first Big East Season Title.  They were 25-3 in 1978-1979, and 25-3 in 1976-1977.

You would then have to go to the post-War team of 1945-1946 that went 23-3 and got the Orangemen their first post season action in NIT, to find a squad with an impressive in-season record.  Those Orangemen were led by Billy Gabor, Royce Newell and Ed Stickel.

The question becomes how important is the regular season accomplishments compared to the post season? I may find myself in the minority, but the regular season means a lot to me.  I find that I enjoy sports in the day-to-day; each game has meaning, each has potential moments that I may remember forever.  You play to win the games; accolades and titles are just outputs of winning. 

Regardless of how the season plays out, this is a successful year for me. I am enjoying the team, they are winning beyond my expectations. They have been ranked #1 or #2 for most of the year, and along the way gotten ‘some monkeys off their back’ with wins over Pitt and Louisville, and rivalry wins against the Hoyas and Huskies.  The Orange make the nightly highlights with every game they play.  Jim Boeheim is now the #3 winningest coach in NCAA history, and Kris Joseph is the winningest player in SU history.  They are positioning themselves for nice seeds in both post season tournaments. 

Assuming the Orange don’t lose five straight games, this is a very successful season.  I have no need to for them to reach the Final Four for this to be a success.  I want the Final Four, I dream for the Final Four, but there are a lot of hurdles in getting there. Many great teams from many schools have failed to get there.  The NCAA tournament is is a one-and-done deal, and the wrong match up, a cold shooting hand or a hot shooting opponent, a few bad calls or bounces, a key injury or two… all of these things come into play in the post season.  It does not disqualify how well the team did that year, nor how good they were.

Post season action is the gravy to the meal; it makes everything better and it is exciting as heck.  My thanks to Jim Boeheim and the Orange for a great season so far.

A Historic Night

Monday was an historic night for the Orange as the team beat Pitt 71-63.  The biggest historical note was the Orange going 20-0, establishing the school mark for the most consecutive wins to start the season.

Not to be lost in the excitement of the evening was coach Jim Boeheim winning his 876^th career game, tying him with legendary coach Adolph Rupp for 4^th all-time in wins.  Three more wins and Boeheim will tie Dean Smith for 3^rd all-time wins.  Boeheim also extended his own NCAA record for 20 wins seasons, with now his 34^th such season in 36 years. 

The 20 consecutive wins this season is also the longest single season winning streak in Syracuse history.  It is, however, only the third longest winning streak in school history as the Orangemen won 23 consecutive games from February 3, 1917 to March 9, 1918, spanning two seasons, and 21 consecutive games from 2/21/1913 to 2/4/1915, spanning three seasons.  The Orangemen went undefeated in the 1913-1914 season going 12-0.

Syracuse also remained #1 in the polls on Monday, thus making it six straight weeks at #1, tying the Syracuse school record.

Not to get lost in the evening, was the fact that Scoop Jardine had a 10 assist night and Fab Melo had a 10 rebound effort.  Outstanding for both. 

Syracuse had also lost 5 straight games to Pitt, and had not beaten the Panthers at home since 2003.  That’s hard to believe, but true.

I have to admit that I was afraid that Pitt would snap Syracuse’s win streak. The Panthers are always a tough team, and I know they entered the game with five straight losses, but that could have made them even more dangerous as they are desperate to win.  Pitt is always a great rebounding team (which they are this year) and was always a great defensive team (which they are not this year). 

I am excited to see how many in a row the Orange can win. I think a loss is inevitable, but it is a fun ride for now.  I disagree with those who say that the streak does not mean anything.  I think as a sports fan you need to enjoy the present, what is in front of you.  Do not worry about the future, and don't worry about the ancient past.  Live for the moment, and enjoy what you are seeing and experiencing today. 

Syracuse is playing excellent basketball, and setting some historic marks.  Nothing that happens next week or next month will impact how you feel today.  Each game is a story unto itself, an experience that you may enjoy or hate. Sports is about the journey to the finish, and the journey is just as important as the finish. 

Syracuse basketball gave me many fond moments from the 1980s, and they never won a National Championship that decade.  My feelings are not tarnished by that.  There was some heartache of course; there is inevitably some heartache with every season that doesn't end in 2003 or 1914.  But there are many many fond memories and enjoyable seasons out there that did not end with the Orange winning it all.

Go Orange.