Did Syracuse really just win a game at the free throw line?

January 10, 2013 – 5:49 pm

I saw it with my eyes and still don’t believe it. What’s next, the government minting a trillion-dollar coin?

(Oh.)

I’ll take the road win, and I’ll take the strong interior play of Fair and Christmas which is what really carried the day. Those guys stepped up when they really needed to. CJ, nicely done as usual; more of that please, Rakeem. The other good news to come out of this game is that SU had what will be its worst jump-shooting performance of the season, and still managed to win in a surprisingly hostile Dunkin Donuts Arena.

The bad news is not the bad shooting — that sort of thing happens, it’s flukey and won’t last. The bad news is that they let Providence, hardly an offensive powerhouse, shoot 50% from deep and 42% overall. Syracuse’s defensive intensity was lacking in this one. I don’t know if they were subconsciously expecting the Friars to be as awful from the floor as South Florida was, or what. But it was a poor defensive effort. Also those two turnovers in the last 30 seconds were miserable. Otherwise, I’m not too broken up about this game. If SU shoots like they normally do, they win this one by 15 points.

By Josh | Posted in C J Fair, Defense, Providence, Rakeem Christmas, Rebounding, Shooting, Wins, syracuse | Comments (0)

Thank You Doug Marrone

January 6, 2013 – 1:11 pm

Dear Coach Marrone:

This is to say thank you for all that you have done for your, that is, OUR Syracuse football program. Thank you for cleaning up the steaming turdheap that was left behind by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Thank you for instilling discipline. Thank you for bringing quality back to the Dome. Thank you for two bowl wins in three years (both of which I was lucky enough to attend). Thank you for installing a pro-style system that convinced recruits to show up. Speaking of recruiting, thank you for re-establishing the Northeast connections that have been so historically important to the team, and that had been so neglected recently. Thank you for restoring potential, if not yet greatness, to the Syracuse football program. Thank you for making football season something to look forward to with excitement rather than dread, and something to look back on with pride rather than shame.

Unfortunately, there will be many out there on the internet who take issue (to put it mildly) with your decision to head west down the Thruway. Because you said when hired that coaching at Syracuse was your “dream job”, everyone assumed that you would never leave voluntarily. You have to understand, we’ve been spoiled by Jim Boeheim, and were sort of hoping you would turn into the football version of him: running a consistent winning program for years and years, always being very good, occasionally being outstanding. That fantasy is now dashed. But however we may fear for the future of the football team, no fair-minded fan should be angry at you for your decision. The chance to be an NFL head coach does not come along very often — there are only 32 of those jobs, and hundreds of men who would give their good arm to be able to have one of them. It is a no-brainer (from a professional standpoint) to take that job if it’s offered. And as for the personal aspect, that’s between you, your family, and your gut. Maybe you could turn down the job and be perfectly happy at Syracuse forever. Maybe not. None of us can tell you differently.

So, thank you and good luck in Buffalo. Come back and visit sometime. There will always be a spot for you in the true Orange fan’s heart.

By Josh | Posted in Football | Comments (3)

Coaching. We has it.

January 3, 2013 – 9:36 pm

There is a reason that Jim Boeheim has won more games than any other coach not named Krwzyzywrzyzski. It’s not that his schedules are loaded with puffery (they’re not, at least no more than your typical powerhouse program). It’s not that he’s able to routinely stack the roster with multiple McDonald’s All-Americans (there have been just 19 of them at SU in his 34 years on the bench). And it’s not that he’s just too stubborn to retire. It’s this:

The man is a brilliant coach. Full stop.

The latest example of this was the pair of adjustments he made midway through the first half of yesterday’s Big East opener vs. Rutgers. SU, led by Brandon Triche, started the game hot on offense, burying four of their first five 3-point shots and scooting out to a quick lead. But the lead was not particularly large, as Rutgers was knocking down threes of their own, mostly by Eli Carter, mostly from well behind the line. Then SU suddenly went cold, going over 4 minutes without a point. During that time, they took (and missed) seven jump shots, five of which were three-point attempts. They did not take any other shots or get to the free throw line. Meanwhile, Rutgers caught and then passed the Orange, taking a 20-18 lead into the under-8 timeout.

It was after this timeout that visible changes took place in the way Syracuse was operating on both ends of the floor. On offense, they took only one more long jumper in the entire remainder of the half, and that was Southerland spotting up for three wide open on a fast break with 2 minutes left. Otherwise, they worked the ball in close for layups and short jumpers, and drew some fouls (and made the resulting free throws). Some of the layups were of the transition variety, but even when they were going against a set defense they ran plays designed to get close shots. That this happened is not an accident. This is known as Coaching.

On defense, the 2-3 zone was tweaked and adjusted to compensate for RU’s hot outside shooting. The guards moved way out on the perimeter and defended Carter and his cronies anywhere inside 30 feet. The wing forwards crept up to help out too, when the ball went to the “foul line extended” area. This left the center and the other forward to defend the paint, basically inviting Rutgers to pass the ball down low. And they did — but then couldn’t do anything with it. The Knights’ frontcourt players are not particularly skilled with the ball, and much of the time they turned it over or took a bad shot. At best they passed it back out to the guards, but since the SU guards had stopped collapsing below the three-point line on entry passes, the RU guards could not get clean looks at the basket. That this happened is not an accident. This too is known as Coaching.

Boeheim is a master strategist. He doesn’t design innovative offensive sets, but he knows what fundamental basic thing his team can do against whatever defense you are playing. And on the defensive end, he adjusts the zone to take away what you do best, and make your less-talented players beat him. If they can.

Now, sometimes they do. Longtime readers of this blog (and there are a few of you, bless your hearts) are aware of what we call the Levance Fields Effect. In January 2007, soon after we started out blog, Mr. Fields — an unknown sophomore with relatively pedestrian stats — came out of nowhere to score 24 for Pitt as they beat SU in the Dome. We noticed that this kind of thing seems to happen to Syracuse a lot: some random bench dude who averages 5 points a game just going off against them (see also: Kuric, Kyle). So we call it the Levance Fields Effect. It’s only later in life that I’ve realized that this is, in a sense, by design. Boeheim is going to game-plan to counter your strength. He’ll do his best to limit your star players and make the rest of the team beat you. If your weaker link can step up and have a big game, congratulations, you may actually win. But as steeped in the game (particularly the college game) as he is, Boeheim knows that most of the time your weaker link is just that: weak. And most of the time, he’s going to win with this strategy. And he does. It’s simple enough for college players (of varying ability levels) to execute, yet refined enough to be maddeningly effective.

I hope he’s imparted these lessons to Mike Hopkins, or at least that Hop has absorbed them through osmosis in his many years under JB’s tutelage. Because when Jim does finally step away from the sidelines, we’re going to lose one of the game’s all-time geniuses.

By Josh | Posted in Big East, Brandon Triche, Conference Games, Jim Boeheim, Mike Hopkins, Rutgers, Schedule, Wins, Zone defense, syracuse | Comments (1)

Slumpbuster

January 1, 2013 – 4:22 pm

There is nothing quite like a visit from Central Connecticut State to cure what ails you. After two consecutive poor outings (and you can include the last eight minutes of the Detroit game in there as well) it was refreshing to see things go right for the Orange. Shots going in, from everywhere. Coleman and Christmas actually using their physical advantage over a smaller team. Rebounds galore. And even shooting over 60% from the foul line (hey, I’ll take it). I’m not too thrilled with the turnovers, it seems MCW in particular is still trying to be too fancy. Granted, when it works, he gets dunks for his boys. But you have to assume it will work much less often now that we are entering Big East play, and I’m worried that it’ll be a hard habit to break. But other than that, it feels good to wash the taste of the last couple of games out of one’s mouth and finish off 2012 on a positive note.

Look, anytime Baye Keita only has to play 10 minutes, you know things have gone well.

Looking back on the nonconference slate, I’m not sure what to expect this edition of the Orange going forward. They could end up being as awesome as their current top ten ranking indicates, but they still have holes to fix. Those holes can only be fixed by playing quality opponents and giving guys the opportunity to step up their games. I understand why JB scheduled a softer-than-usual slate this season (the True Road Game notwithstanding). Losing four of the top six players from last season, you need to take it a little easier in December to build up confidence, chemistry, and so forth. But I’m eager to see how they react against constant stiffer competition, game in and game out. Should be entertaining to say the least.

PS. Did you know that, as of this writing, all three of SU’s small forwards are shooting over 40% on three-pointers, but all three of their guards are shooting below 31%? Look it up.

PPS. Tune in later this week for some Pinstripe Bowl tastiness.

By Josh | Posted in Baye Moussa Keita, Central Connecticut, DaJuan Coleman, Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Christmas, Wins, syracuse | Comments (1)

Bring it on

December 29, 2012 – 3:18 am

OK so I never got to write about the Temple game. I was home for the holidays and what with all the eating, family time, and eating I just never got around to it. What is there to say? They played like poop and lost. Hopefully they don’t play like poop again this year, but they probably will at some point, but whatever.

12 hours from now I will be firmly planted in Yankee Stadium along with most of the Cuse Country staff, crew, and hangers-on. Look for a full report in this space at some point in the next couple of days, hopefully with crappy cell phone pictures to boot. Last time we rode the subway with Donnie McPherson, and of course the game was tremendous from an excitement standpoint, and just a pile of fun overall. Here’s hoping for more of the same. GO ORANGE!

By Josh | Posted in Bowl games, Football, Former Orangemen, West Virginia University, syracuse | Comments (0)

All your development are belong to SU (Pro Update Dec 2012)

December 22, 2012 – 9:32 am

It’s back! Your one-stop to learn all there is to know about former SU basketball players who are currently playing professionally somewhere or other. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the flexibility to put one of these together, so it’s a bit longer than usual. Plenty of content to peruse while you wait for today’s noon tipoff vs. Temple.

To kick things off, here’s a little trivia. Do you know how many SU alums have played this year in the NBA’s D-League?

Read More »

By Josh | Posted in Andy Rautins, Arinze Onuaku, Carmelo Anthony, Damone Brown, Demetris Nichols, Dion Waiters, Donte Greene, Elvir Ovcina, Eric Devendorf, Fabricio de Melo, Former Orangemen, Hakim Warrick, Jonny Flynn, Kris Joseph, Kristof Ongenaet, Mookie Watkins, Paul Harris, Preston Shumpert, Rick Jackson, Ryan Blackwell, Wesley Johnson, syracuse | Comments (1)

Some things that there are not 900 of

December 18, 2012 – 2:18 pm
  • Varsity lettermen in SU men’s basketball history (642)
  • Points scored by Marius Janulis in his SU career (889)
  • Assists by Jason Hart in his SU career (709)
  • Wins by Syracuse football since the beginning of time (686)
  • Calories in a Big Mac (550)
  • 3-pt attempts by Andy Rautins in his SU career (754)
  • Years since the Magna Carta was issued (797)
  • Points & rebounds combined by Donte Greene in his lone SU season (871)
  • Current and former ESPN on-air personalities (approx. 350, per Wikipedia)
  • miles from Syracuse to Atlanta, site of this year’s Final Four (783)

Congrats Coach. Here’s to 900 more. (The less said about win #900 itself, the better.)

Facts and figures from orangehoops.org, the SU basketball media guide, and assorted internet searches.

By Josh | Posted in Jim Boeheim, Wins, syracuse | Comments (0)

Georgetown’s ticket problem

December 14, 2012 – 2:45 pm

Syracuse has a game against #6 Louisville on Saturday, March 3 at noon. As of this moment, the ticket availability looks like this:

The light blue sections, 314 for instance, have only single seats available, according to Ticketmaster. If you want to go with a friend, you’re sitting behind the curtain. (And yes, I know there is no curtain anymore, but it’s a common Syracuse expression.)

#15 Georgetown has a game against #6 Louisville on Saturday, January 26 at noon. As of this moment, they have sent out a LivingSocial discount deal for half-price tickets to this game, because they haven’t hardly sold squat.

OK I will grant that they have sold out their lower bowl for this game, well done, pat yourselves on the back (or hire someone to pat it for you). But the upper deck is awfully empty. (It’s obvious that 424-427 are being held as overflow student section seating, but that does not mean they’re filled. In fact, even at 2011’s “sold out” SU game there were chunks of empty student seats in that area.) So the LivingSocial deal is this: upper-level tickets are discounted to $15, while ‘club-level’ seats are $35 (down from $70). These are quite a bit cheaper than what folks are trying to get on StubHub for this game. Sorry, scalpers! You have vastly overestimated the desire of Georgetown fans to actually attend a game in person.

This is, of course, far from the first time the Hoyas have had trouble filling their seats against top opposition. Two years ago, for instance, we chronicled the last-minute marketing they did for the game against #5 Pitt when most of the upper deck was still unsold just hours before the game. It is clear now that unless the opponent is Syracuse or Duke, Hoya fans will gladly stay home. That’s their prerogative, of course. But in that case, I don’t want to hear any bull from them about being “better fans” than Cuse fans. That’s demonstrably, mathematically false.

By Josh | Posted in Georgetown, syracuse | Comments (0)

It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye

December 8, 2012 – 11:21 pm

But nobody lost an eye tonight, therefore it was indeed all fun and games.

Credit to Monmouth for coming out strong early and keeping the game close, giving SU a few haymakers of their own to start with. They are quick and looked well-prepared to handle the press (most of the time) and were not afraid to take it to the Orange. That said, if you want to try to run with Syracuse you better bring a jetpack.

The only player to have a bad game in this one was Griffin Hoffmann, who missed a three and a pair of free throws in the final minute. You aren’t going to get a better chance to score than that, Griffo. Everybody else was great. Jerami Grant was the only regular not to reach double-figures in some stat or another. Other than the foul shooting there is nothing criticizable about this game. This is exactly what you want from a mid-December contest, especially the third one of the week. A runaway laugher with lots of scoring for everyone to enjoy, keeping Boeheim on schedule to earn his 900th win at home, before the MSG game against Temple.

I had no idea until looking at the box score that Brandon Triche was the leading scorer. And he had 8 assists. And MCW is becoming drool-worthy. And Rakeem Christmas was a force, as he ought to be against small teams. And DaJuan Coleman had a long stretch of good minutes and looked more comfortable in this game than he has all season. And CJ Fair and James Southerland each had highlight plays but also some plain old workmanlike plays to get their jobs done. And Grant showed that he might be the most athletic guy on the roster, he has a little bit of Hakim Warrick in him. And Keita had ten rebounds and made a hook shot. And Cooney, it appears, has officially found his long-range stroke.

Really it’s hard to say much about this sort of game. But it’s certainly positive that the game went like it did, becoming the third straight blowout win for this squad. There are seasons where SU struggles in some of the early games, even though they still win them… but only by 10-15 points. Not 50. As fans we would have excuses at the ready: “It’s hard to get motivated for these kinds of games.” “They turned it on when they needed to.” “[Opponent] is actually a pretty decent team.” (If you need more examples, go swing over to your favorite Georgetown blog. I’m sure they’ll be saying these sorts of things about their 6-point win this afternoon over Towson where the halftime score was 17-15.) But most of the time, seasons when SU has not blown out their December opponents have been seasons when SU has not been all that good the rest of the year either. So while throttling Monmouth isn’t necessarily a sign of amazing things to come, it’s at least the absence of a sign of bad things to come.

That’s something, right?

By Josh | Posted in Baye Moussa Keita, Brandon Triche, C J Fair, DaJuan Coleman, James Southerland, Jerami Grant, Jim Boeheim, Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Christmas, Trevor Cooney, Walk-ons, Wins, syracuse | Comments (1)

The 49ers

December 7, 2012 – 12:00 am

In the second half of Monday’s game against Eastern Michigan, Syracuse rode their full court press to a whopping 49 points. Tonight, in came the 49ers of Long Beach State. And in the first half, SU once again poured in 49 points, this time on the strength of a welcome barrage of three-pointers and 50% shooting overall. They coasted in the 2nd half to an easy win, pushing their regular season nonconference winning streak to… 49 games.

Whoa.

Not a lot of deep thoughts to say about this game, as it was a pretty straightforward domination. Everyone played well. Michael Carter-Williams continues to grow into his role as floor leader. CJ Fair was aggressive right from the opening tip, making things happen rather than waiting for opportunities to find him (as he sometimes does). Five different guys hit a 3, and none of them was named Southerland. Love that SU crushed Long Beach on the backboards; it shows that they brought effort and energy to the contest (which doesn’t always happen in these early-season matchups). Long Beach has a couple decent players but really this one was a laugher from the get-go. Good thing too, because there’s another game Saturday. I feel so spoiled right now.

By Josh | Posted in C J Fair, Long Beach State, Michael Carter-Williams, Rebounding, Wins, syracuse | Comments (0)