15-0

The 2010-2011 version of the Syracuse Orange have entered a very elite group of Syracuse teams that started out 15-0. This year’s team is only the fifth squad to accomplish that feat in the 111 year history of Syracuse basketball.

It will be interesting to see how good this squad becomes. They were definitely an overrated team early in the year (to quote a Hall of Fame coach we all are quite familiar with!), and they managed to stay unbeaten in spite of themselves. The team started to gel, and now has impressive runaway wins over Michigan State, and Big East foes Providence and Notre Dame.

This years squad is definitely a versatile group of players, with a deeper than usual bench filling in for different roles. Now that James Southerland has the confidence in his perimeter shot and has shown some spots of inspired defense, the missing pieces of the squad are starting to get filled in. I would still like to see Scoop Jardine pass the ball more often and be a little more careful with it, despite his nine assists the last game. Better defense from Dion Waiters would be great (though he is improving), and a good 20 minute effort in some game, any game, by Fab Melo would really inspire me. The fact that Kris Joseph is hitting his 3's is very encouraging for the long term progress of this team.

But they team is playing shutdown defense like they did last year, and quickly converting to their transition game for easy baskets. And the team is crashing the board very well, something that has not always been a trademark of Syracuse teams. I think the top squads like Pitt and UConn will give the Orange a real test because they are so familiar with our zone defense and don’t typically get rattled, but I do like how this team is playing.

15-0 is very tough, as evidenced by the exclusive five member club. Last year’s team, which I think was much better than this year’s team, only went 13-0 before losing their first game. And I thought last year’s team had an excellent chance of winning the National Championship before the Arinze Onuaku injury finally came to hurt them in the Butler game.

So, how have the other four 15-0 teams finished?

The 1999-2000 squad was the last team to start 15-0, and they started off the season 19-0, a school record for most wins to start a season. This wasn’t the best team in Syracuse history, but like this year’s squad, was an outstanding defensive team. Etan Thomas, two time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, anchored the middle of the defense. Add in Jason Hart to harass the opposing guards and Ryan Blackwell to guard the post players, and it was a tough team to score on. The team would end up 26-6, winning the Big East regular season championship, and losing in the Sweet Sixteen.

1986-1987 team unexpectedly started 15-0 behind an unknown point guard named Sherman Douglas. The team had lost Pearl Washington, Rafael Addison, and Wendell Alexis from the year before, so expectations were not high. This team finished 31-7, as the Big East regular season champions. Douglas, along with Rony Seikaly, Derek Coleman, Howard Triche and Greg Monroe would make an impressive run through the NCAA tournament, only to lose to in the National Championship game to the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 1925-1926 team was led by the Three Musketeers: All-American junior Vic Hanson, and his classmates Charlie Lee and Gotch Carr would start out 15-0. They would lose their first (and only game) on February 24th at Penn State 37-31. A few weeks later they would play the Nittany Lions again, easily beating them 29-12 to revenge the victory. The squad was awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their 19-1 season.

The 1917-1918 team was the first one to start out 15-0, and they went to 16-0 behind All-Americans Joe Schwarzer and Bob Marcus. The team was a dominant defensive presence, and would enter the last game of the season undefeated. In a very physical game, Penn would beat the Orangemen 17-16. Penn would score only 2 points from the floor, the rest from the free throw line, as Penn’s Sweeney went 15-16 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s Schwarzer, normally an excellent free throw shooter was only 5 of 13. The Orangemen were still awarded the National Championship by the Helms Foundation for their outstanding 16-1 record.

All five of these teams were outstanding defensive teams with strong rebounders and excellent guard play. Let’s see how far the 2010-2011 edition can go.

Pinstripe Bowl Champs 2010

Congratulations to the Syracuse Orange football team for beating Kansas State 36-34 and winning the Pinstripe Bowl, finishing the year at 8-5. Quite an amazing turnaround for the program, and recognition to Doug Marrone for the job well done.

Delone Carter ended his Orange career with a bang with 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ryan Nassib put together a solid effort with 240 yards and 3 touchdowns, no interceptions.

And junior Marcus Sales had his coming out party with 5 receptions for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns. This from a receiver who began the day with 242 yards receiving for the entire season with 1 touchdown (and only five tds for his career).

This will be a nice way to spend the winter, watching Syracuse hoops, and actually anticipating Syracuse football next fall.

Keep Grabbing the Boards

Rick Jackson pulled down another 17 rebounds last evening in the Orange’s win over Providence. Jackson now has 171 rebounds in the first 14 games this year, for an average of 12.2 rebounds per game.

How good is Jackson’s rebounding this year? The last Orangeman to have 10+ rpg was Carmelo Anthony in 2002-2003 when the fab frosh had 349 rebounds in 35 games for a 10.0 rpg average. Prior to Anthony, was Billy Owens in 1990-1991. [Click here for list of Syracuse rebounding leaders]

Jon Cincebox holds the Syracuse record for the best rebounds per game with an impressive 16.4 in the 1957-1958 season. Cincebox had 345 rebounds in 21 games that year. He would return his senior year for 365 rebounds in 23 games for a 15.9 average.

Cincebox’s rebounding average will likely never be challenged by a player in the ‘modern’ era unless the nature of the game changes. In the 1950s the shooting percentage was a lot lower, so there were a lot more rebounds to get. Teams also tended to have a couple of big guys do all the rebounding, so the rebounds were not being shared around as much.

Derrick Coleman holds the Syracuse record for most rebounds in a season with 422 in his junior season, 1988-1989, for 11.1 rpg. He would have 12.1 rpg his senior year, but the Orangemen would only have 33 games that year, so his total was a little lower at 398 rebounds.

As I’ve commented in previous articles, Coleman’s rebounding efforts are really impressive when you consider that he spent his entire career having to fight for rebounds with the likes of great rebounders such as Rony Seikaly, Stephen Thompson and Billy Owens.

Jackson is finally playing hard and focused each and every game. I criticized him the past two years for his inconsistent play, but that has not been the case this year. His off season dedication is paying off, as is the 25 lb weight loss.

Jackson has a good chance at the Syracuse single rebounding record set by Coleman. Syracuse has 31 scheduled games this year, and we can safely assume they will have at least four post season games (two Big East, two NCAA), so at least 35 games. Jackson’s current pace of 12.2 would give him a total of 427 rebounds, just breaking Coleman’s mark. If Syracuse were to make any post season run in the Big East Tournament or NCAA, they may have 38-39 games, which would require Jackson to average only 10.9 rpg for the season, and only a 10.0 rpg for the remaining games of the season.

The Big East will be tougher for Jackson, but if he remains focused and healthy, he has a good shot at it.

AP Top 10 Ranking Streaks

Syracuse is in the midst of a streak of 44 straight games where they have been ranked in the top 10 of the AP’s Polls. Mike Waters brought this up in his Q&A this week, and it is the longest streak in Syracuse basketball history, by far. Syracuse entered the top 10 on November 24, 2009 and are still there, currently at number 5.

The Orange have had 12 streaks in their history where they have been in the top 10 for 10 or more games in a row, all of them occurring in the Jim Boeheim era.

The first streak occurred in the 1978-1979 season, starting on February 7, 1979 and ending March 16, 1979, the end of the season. That was the Louie & Bouie era, and it would cover 10 games.

The next season the Orangemen would start its first long streak covering 26 games from December 15, 1979 through the end of the season, March 14, 1980. This was Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr’s senior season and the team finished 26-4.

It would be a dry spell for a few years until the Orangemen hit the top 10 again, and Pearl Washington was a big reason for it. The Pearl, Rafael Addison and Wendell Alexis started the 1985 season (November 23) in the top 10 and remained there for 17 games until January 25th, 1986.

The top 10 would be home to the Orangemen for the next few seasons, with Sherman Douglas, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly, Stevie Thompson and Billy Owens leading the way.

They would be in the top 10 for 13 straight games from December 26, 1986 to January 31st, 1987. They would then go 26 straight games from March 1987 through January 18,1988.

Later in 1988, they would start another 20 game streak from March 17th to January 16th, 1989. A couple weeks later they would start the teams second longest streak ever with 29 games from February 11, 1989 through January 20, 1990. And finally, the last long streak of that era would be Billy Owens junior year where the Orangemen spent the last 29 games of the year (December 1, 1990 through March 14,1991) in the top 10.

It was quite a run for the Orangemen, but the threat of probation, and then finally probation itself, would derail the Orangemen for a few season.

Lawrence Moten and John Wallace would bring the Orangemen back to the top 10 with a 12 game stay from January 3, 1995 through February 12, 1995. The Orangemen would lose in overtime to Arkansas in the NCAA tournament that year. Ironically, the following season the Orangemen would never crack the top 10, yet would play for the National Championship against Kentucky (a close game they would eventually lose).

The Orangemen would have another dry spell, until December 22, 1999 when the defensive minded team of Etan Thomas, Jason Hart and Ryan Blackwell would lead them on a 17 game streak. The streak ended February 19, 2010.

The Orangemen would not make the top ten consistently again until 2004. Keep in mind, that the would include the 2002-2003 Orangemen, who would win the NCAA Championship, but never rise any higher than 12 in the AP polls.

From November 11, 2004 to February 19, 2005, Hakim Warrik and Gerry McNamara led the Orange to a 27 game streak in the top 10.

Which brings us back to the current SU squad at 44 games and counting. I don’t think the Orange are better than all the squads mentioned above, but their streak is quite impressive. And they have definitely been playing some of the best defense in Syracuse basketball history the past couple of seasons.

Tonight against Providence is the start of the Big East season for the Orange. Each and every game will be a battle, and it will be interesting to see how this squad responds each game.

Ho Hum. 10-0 (again)

Syracuse is now 10-0 this season, joining an elite group of Syracuse teams that have started out 10-0 or better. This year’s team is now the 17th team to accomplish the feat. For those of us with short memories, last season’s team also started out 10-0; in fact they would go 13-0 before losing their first game, on their way to a 30-5 season.

This team has a long ways to go to equal the best start in school history. The 1999-2000 squad started out 19-0. Perfection has occurred only once on the Hill, with the 1913-1914 squad going 12-0.

This year’s team is terribly flawed with an inconsistent, if not weak, perimeter game and generally poor free throw shooting. It relies on four freshman in key roles. These factors can spell a loss when the Orange face a hot shooting opponent.

The one thing this team has is an outstanding defense, carrying over from last season. I have seen some fans mention they think this year’s team defense is the best ever for Syracuse. I think that is a very short term memory; last year’s defense was outstanding, and was ‘Shut it Down’. But, having a defense this year that you may be tempted to compare to last year’s defense is quite a lot of praise in itself. Great defense stops the opposition from scoring, and provides high percentage shots on offense, something this year’s team greatly needs.

Until the past two games, this year’s team had a very difficult time separating itself from any of its opponents, regardless of the level of competition. But they have won them all, and that is what matters. The last two games have been spectacular defensive efforts. They pulled away from a highly rated Michigan State team early in the game, and pretty much kept the Spartans down the whole game. And then they had an outstanding defensive effort against a weak Colgate team for the most lopsided win in the Boeheim era. Now the MSU game is slightly tarnished by the fact that the Spartans almost lost to Oakland a few nights later, but make no mistake that MSU is very good.

Syracuse has three more non-conference games before the Big East season begins. They could lose any of those three, but they will be favored to win each. So they have a very good chance to be 13-0. They start Big East action on December 28th versus Providence; at that point, each game will be a dog fight. To go 19-0, the Orange would have to beat Providence, #23 Notre Dame, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Cincinnati, and #8 Pitt at the Pederson Center. 20-0 would require a win against #11 Villanova.

I’m fairly certain 19-0 will not occur. But where will that first loss come?

By the way, for those of you not paying attention, Jim Boeheim is currently 45-5 for his last two seasons, including 9-2 versus top 25 teams, and 7-0 against top 10 teams. Too bad he doesn't ever play anyone.

Getting to Know the Horned Frogs

Texas Christian University (TCU) is now officially entering the Big East, effective July 2012. Football is the reason, and the only reason, that TCU is being added to the conference, and short term the decision is wise, though I think long term other solutions may have been more prudent. Whether or not the Big East could have lasted until ‘long term’ came into fruition is a debate for another day, another time.

What does TCU bring to the table for Big East basketball? The TCU Horned Frogs have been playing basketball since 1908-1909, and have an overall record of 1091-1250 (entering the 2010-2011 season). Football clearly has been a focus for TCU over the years, not basketball. It is in Texas, so that focus is not a surprise. The Big East did have to make a move to bolster its football presence, and it was inevitable that whatever team they brought it was likely going to not include a solid basketball program.

TCU has been to the NCAA tournament seven times and only twice in the last 25 years: 1952, 1953, 1959, 1968, 1971, 1987 and 1998. They have not had a winning record since the 2004-2005 season when they went 21-14. Their record in each of the past nine seasons has been:

2001-02: 16-15
2002-03: 9-19
2003-04: 12-17
2005-06: 21-14
2005-06: 6-25
2006-07: 13-17
2007-08: 14-16
2008-09: 14-17
2009-10: 13-19

Current coach Jim Christian is now entering this third year with the program. Syracuse is 4-0 all time against TCU.

Notable athletes who are alumni of TCU include: Sammy Baugh, Jamie Dixon (Pitt’s current basketball coach), Bob Lilly, Mike Renfro, and LaDainian Tomlinson. TCU has had 8 All-Americans play basketball for their program: Ad Dietzel (1931), Wallace Myers (1934), George McLeod (1952), Dick O’Neal (1955, 1956, 1957), H.E. Kirchner (1959), Kurt Thomas (1995), Lee Nailon (1998) and Mike Jones (1998).

If you would like more information about TCU’s basketball program, here’s a link to their program guide.

2010-2011 Milestones

Syracuse has a younger team in 2010-2011 than in the past few years, but that does not mean the squad does not have a chance to reach some significant milestones.

Jim Boeheim entered the season with 828 wins and #6 all-time on the Division I All-Time Win list. He’s moved up to #5 passing Jim Phelan’s 830 wins. He won’t be moving any higher up this list this year with Mike Krzyzewski active and at #4 with 868 (start of year), Adolph Rupp at #3 with 876, Dean Smith at #2 with 879, and Bob Knight at #1 with 902. Krzyzewski, on the other hand, it going to move up to #2 this year, easily passing Rupp & Smith.

I show the university currently having 1788 wins. 12 more will give the institution 1800.

Entering this season, Rick Jackson has 786 points, needing 214 to hit the 1000 point plateau. He should pass that around mid-season, and finish around #33 all-time at Syracuse.

Jackson has 570 career rebounds, plus 42 already this season, moving him up to 612, #28 all-time. If he averages just 10 rebounds a game this year, he should move to #8 passing Billy Owens. If he stayed at his current pace of 14 rpg (which he won’t), he would finish around #3 all-time.

Scoop Jardine has 499 career points. He needs 501 to reach 1,000 which is not out of reach. If he scored around 14.4 points a game this year, he would get there. Kris Joseph is in the same situation with 495 career points, needing 504 this year.

Jardine started the year with 233 assists and is currently at 253 putting him at #33 on the all-time list. He could finish the year somewhere around 480 assists all-time, putting him at #7 all-time. Two solid back-to-back seasons would give him a shot at being #2, surpassing Jason Hart. Sherman Douglas’ record of 960 should be safe.

Brandon Triche has 32 three point field goals after his freshman year. If keeps his current pace of 70 for this year, he will be #15 all-time at Syracuse. If he averaged 70 a year for the next three years, he would finish around #3 all-time at Syracuse. The Syracuse single season mark is 107 set by Gerry McNamara.

Four freshman have the potential to see significant playing time, so some freshman records should be observed. I do not think any of these will be broken, but they could. Blocked shots is something that Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita both do well, and both could move into the freshman top 10:

Freshman blocks:
91 Roosevelt Bouie
68 Derrick Coleman
65 Craig Forth
64 Jeremy McNeil
59 Rony Seikaly
57 Donte Greene
48 Etan Thomas
44 Rick Jackson
42 Otis Hill
39 John Wallace

Most points by a freshman is 778 by Carmelo Anthony, and that is not going to be broken this year.

The SU record for most fouls by a freshman is a 120 set by Derrick Coleman. Melo could take a run at that one. The all-time Syracuse record for fouls was by Otis Hill who as a junior had 134 fouls. That may also be possible.

The SU record for foul disqualifications for a freshman is 11 set by Rony Seikaly (this is also the all-class record). Melo already has 2 this year, so he could make a good run at that mark (hopefully not).

The freshman assist record is 199 by Pearl Washington. With none of the freshman taking on the role of point guard, and Syracuse two deep with Jardine and Triche, that is not going to be broken.

The freshman rebound record is 349 by Carmelo Anthony. That would require about 10 rebounds a game. If Keita had enough playing time and enough big 15 rebound games, he could challenge it, but I think he’ll play about 20 minutes a game, and be luck to average 5-6 rebounds a game.

The Syracuse all-time season field goal percentage is 66.8% set by Arinze Onuaku last year. There are guys on this team who in theory could challenge that mark: Jackson, Melo or Keita if they get enough chances. But my guess is no one will come close.

The SU record for rebounds in a season is 422 set by Derrick Coleman. If Jackson remains committed to rebounding, he could take a run at it. Jackson is averaging 14 rebounds a game right now, which would obliterate the record; however, that number is unrealistically high, with his 22 rebound performance skewing that. Nevertheless, an average of about 12.1 rebounds a game would give him a shot at the season record.