sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Late National Letter of Intent Day!
One of the most exciting moments for a student-athlete is receiving a verbal scholarship offer. Years of hard work have led to this moment. However, nothing is official until you sign the National Letter of Intent (NLI.) Not every school uses the NLI—about 650 NCAA DI and DII schools—and it’s not mandatory to sign. The National Letter of Intent is not affiliated directly with the NCAA; it was created by the Collegiate Commissioners Association to protect both the college and student from either party backing out.
SU News
Orange Watch: Next 10 games will decide postseason path for Syracuse basketball - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: There were a lot of frustrating sighs among the Syracuse players in the postgame locker room scene (which was closed to the media for an agonizing 25 minute “cooling off” period) late Saturday night, following the failed comeback against Duke to drop the Orange record to 13-9, 6-5. Perhaps the most positive note from all being interviewed was that there was a week off to put the season back into perspective, before the final blitz of the ACC regular season.
It’s getting sort of warm again in the non-losing season streak seat, one 50 years in the making.
By that we mean that with 13 victories, SU needs to win just three more games to finish no worse than 16-16 (with a loss in the ACC Tourney opening round). Taking an objective look at the schedule there certainly appears to be more than three wins amongst a combination of home games with Wake Forest, N.C. State, and Georgia Tech, road games at Pittsburgh, and B.C., and a neutral court game in the tournament at Greensboro.
But certainly not much room for error, with acknowledgment of discounting a potential unexpected strong showing and upset win against teams Syracuse may the decided underdog. A 16-16 finish would also obviously leave zero margin if SU were to make the NIT and lose in the first-round and finish-off the half-century winning streak.
“We’re focusing on getting some rest, then the next game,” Marek Dolezaj succinctly summed up after his career-high 22-point performance wasn’t enough to win, but drew specific praise from Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski after his team’s 97-88 win. “A week off to let our injuries (heal), and work on our defensive and offensive (game plans).”
That, a little better shooting accuracy consistency from big guns Elijah Hughes, Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard, and spreading out the 15 fouls afforded to Dolezaj and his big man mates Bourama Sidibe and Quincey Guerrier. If only it were that simple.
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Buddy Boeheim’s ball-handling adds much-needed dimension to SU's offense (DO; Alvarez)
Buddy Boeheim dribbled a ball in his left hand with a sophomore season goal on his mind. He stood on a court in the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, a few feet away from the weight rooms.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore’s skillset had centered around his 3-point shooting. But in his follow-up campaign, he’s trying to become a threat inside the arc. The ‘Melo Center became a cradle for his development. Buddy constantly met with Orange assistant head coach Gerry McNamara throughout the offseason and upped his weight training.
“Trying to make plays off the dribble, that was really my main focus this summer,” Buddy said. “Just improve every day so I can do more than just shoot this year.”
The result? Buddy’s attempted more 2-pointers (72) in 11 conference games than he did in his entire freshman season (56). While partially expected with a minutes increase, the statistical leap is indicative of a new play style working. Buddy’s added the dribble-drive to his arsenal, supplementing his main threat. He’s shot 43% from inside the arc and has helped lift Syracuse (13-9, 6-5 Atlantic Coast) to 16th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric.
Buddy’s 3-point shooting sparks crowds and creates nicknames. Buddy Bullseye. His 38 ACC 3s have raised his points per game to 16.3. Yet it’s his driving that’s diversified his attack, forcing defenders to choose between defending the deep ball or a turnaround jumper from the paint.
After SU’s loss to Duke on Feb. 1, Buddy said defenders were pressing out and sticking to Orange shooters. Teams were testing Syracuse, and therefore Buddy, to beat them inside.
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https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article239945763.html (newsobserver.com; Wiseman)
Mike Krzyzewski left Boston happy and exasperated at the same time on Tuesday night.
His No. 7 Blue Devils, after trailing most of the game while unable to shoot straight, got things together enough over the final eight minutes to beat Boston College 63-55 at Conte Forum.
For that, Duke’s Hall of Fame coach was grateful.
The rest of it, though, left him wondering what needs to happen for his team to fully embrace what he’s teaching.
“They have a lot of adversity with me because they didn’t listen to me,” Krzyzewski said. “So they are in trouble with me. That’s the main adversity they have, because it’s stupid not to listen. It’s stupid not to listen. I’ve warned them for two days about it.”
The Blue Devils (19-3, 9-2 ACC) routed Boston College 88-49 back on Dec. 31 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, so it makes sense they might not fear Tuesday night’s rematch on Boston College’s home court.
Not that Krzyzewski didn’t warn the players, showing them video of how well the Eagles (11-12, 5-7 ACC) have played lately.
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BOZICH | ACC title trumps NCAA Tournament seed to Louisville, Mack (wdrb.com; Borzich)
The NCAA Tournament is three weeks of epic theater. It’s incredible, phenomenal, astounding stuff. It rarely fails to deliver.
But the growth of March Madness has carried a price: It has diminished the value of the game’s regular season.
That is why it was refreshing to hear Chris Mack’s answer Tuesday when he was asked if he is concerned about his team’s potential seed for the NCAA Tournament, especially considering the Tournament Selection Committee will share its ranking of the top 16 seeds Saturday.
“We don’t worry about that,” Mack said. “We certainly look at the conference standings. But we looked at them after one game.”
Louisville, for the record, has a 1 1/2-game lead on Duke and Florida State Atlantic Coast Conference regular season race. The Cards are 10-1, winners of eight straight, unbeaten since their Jan. 4 home-court stumble against Florida State.
“I think (losing to FSU) — it kind of woke us up a little bit,” U of L guard Ryan McMahon said. “Getting punched in the mouth like that can kind of wake you up and make you realize you’ve got to take everybody as an elite opponent that can knock you on your a** any day. Sorry. Excuse my language.”
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Other
CNN names Syracuse restaurant one of the world’s best new restaurants for 2020 (PS; Pucci)
A Syracuse restaurant is among the 20 best new restaurants in the world, according to a new CNN story.
The list, published Monday, named EthioEritrea Restaurant, which opened at 505 N. State St. in Syracuse in November, as one of its best new spots in the world.
The restaurant is owned by Tesfahiwot Okube, an Eritrean native who first cooked professionally at a cafe in the Ethiopian refugee camp he called home for seven years before coming to Syracuse.
“The ten-table restaurant, located in Syracuse, retains the family style feel of his former cafe,” the story reads. “Wicker baskets known as mesobs serve as communal serving dishes, and it’s a meal about far more than the food.”
The menu consists of traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes, many of which start with injera, a sourdough teff flour flatbread that is used as a utensil for the stews—or wots—and other dishes. Among the other specialties of the restaurant is the formal coffee ceremony, in which the coffee beans are roasted over an open flame, ground, mixed with water and spices in an earthen pot called a jebena and heated over coals, resulting in a uniquely bold, thick, spiced coffee.
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