Orangeyes Daily Articles for Friday - for Basketball | Syracusefan.com

Orangeyes Daily Articles for Friday for Basketball

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Michigan State's Javon Bess Says Matthew Moyer is Really Skilled (PS; Ditota)

Michigan State guard Javon Bess, in Syracuse this week for the NCAA Tournament, brought with him details about former Gahanna Lincoln High School teammate Matthew Moyer.

Moyer, a Class of 2016 forward from Ohio, has given Syracuse a verbal commitment to play basketball for the Orange. Moyer transferred to Gahanna Lincoln during Bess' senior year, when Moyer was a sophomore. Bess described Moyer as "real athletic and a real energy guy."

"He plays hard and he's really skilled," Bess said.

The Michigan State freshman said he'd talked with Moyer while Moyer was deciding on a college team. He counseled Moyer, he said, to take his time with the process, to make sure he considered all his options. Moyer told Bess he was satisfied with Syracuse.

"Seeing that (Syracuse) runs zone, he's long and I feel like this was a real good fit for him," Bess said.

Bess will not play here. He broke his foot before the season and tried to return to basketball too soon, he said. The foot never healed properly, necessitating a second surgery two weeks ago. Bess is wearing a boot on the foot and is getting around these days with the aid of a scooter.

He's sold on Moyer's college choice and on the young future Syracuse player in general.

"His parents raised a good kid," Bess said. "He's in the orchestra, plays basketball, gets good grades. Good kid."
...


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After Syracuse, Which Are the Most ' Attractive' Basketball Programs in New York? (PS; Poliquin)

They may not be the best teams in the nation, but the four clubs that have descended upon our town for the NCAA Tournament's East Regional do have their gravitas.

Louisville … Michigan State … North Carolina State … Oklahoma.

All but the Sooners have won multiple national titles. All, including the Sooners, have had their share of legendary players and decorated coaches. One of them will move on to yet another Final Four, the 26th for this bunch.

And so, their collective presence inspired this thought: After Syracuse and its celebrated Orange, which of the Division I schools in the state of New York would be considered the most attractive (and, yes, that's a fairly nebulous word) in the here and now? Who within our borders would be our answer to the Cardinals and Spartans and Wolfpack and Sooners?


Of course, as there are 21 such schools other than SU, this is an eye-of-the-beholder kind of thing with absolutely nothing approaching a "correct" answer. Still, I'll attempt to offer one.

But before providing my list, the alphabetical roll call: Albany, Army, Binghamton, Buffalo, Canisius, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Fordham, Hofstra, Iona, Long Island, Manhattan, Marist, Niagara, St. Bonaventure, St. Francis, St. John's, Siena, Stony Brook and Wagner.

OK, ready? Here goes a New York Top 5 (after the Orange) of sorts:

(1) St. John's: Sure, the facilities fall a bit short of the Taj Mahal, but the Red Storm does call New York City home, it does play in Madison Square Garden and it has been to 29 NCAA Tournaments. And names such as Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, Bill Wennington, Mark Jackson and Ron Artest can still inspire knees to bend.

(2) Buffalo: This is mostly a nod to Bobby Hurley who coached the Bulls to within four points of Kentucky at the half earlier this season and is now about to earn $550,000 a year under his new contract. This program, with its national roster, is suddenly intriguing. And it has the added oomph of playing in a big-league town.

(3) Siena: Sure, the Saints have been down for a few years. But in his five seasons running the show, Fran McCaffery went 112-51. And in his three campaigns on the job, Paul Hewitt went 66-27. Meanwhile, Siena has gone to the NCAA Tournament six times since 1989 and defeated Stanford, Vanderbilt and Ohio State upon arrival. So, there is some there there in Loudonville.

...

NCAA

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Arizona, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Notre Dame Advance (sbnation.com)

The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are headed to their first Elite Eight since 1979. Demetrius Jackson's 20 points and Jerian Grant's 11 assists led Notre Dame's offense to a 81-70 win over the No. 7Wichita State Shockers on Thursday in the Midwest Region.

The Fighting Irish stunned Wichita State early, holding the Shockers to five points in the game's first six minutes, at which point Notre Dame lead, 18-5. But Notre Dame's lead would never grow any larger than 13 points in the first half, and Wichita State started chipping away. The Shockers looked much more like the team that many believed deserved better than a No. 7 seed.

Wichita State even took its first lead at 38-37 with 16:41 to play on a Darius Carter jumper, but Notre Dame answered. It answered loud. Jackson made back-to-back threes, and Pat Connaughton added another a few possessions later. Before the Shockers knew it, they were down, 50-42. It didn't stop there. Notre Dame made 17 of its first 22 shots in the second half.
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East Regional Players Discuss Adjustments Playing in Carrier Dome (DO; D'Abbraccio)

Not only will the East regional teams be playing on a bigger stage, they’ll be playing in a bigger arena than some players have ever stepped foot in before.

No. 8 seed North Carolina State and fourth-seeded Louisville, the teams squaring off in the 7:37 p.m. Sweet 16 showdown in the Carrier Dome on Friday, hold the slight advantage of having played on Syracuse’s floor within the last two years. Third-seeded Oklahoma and No. 7 seed Michigan State don’t.

But while some players say the depth perception in the spacious Carrier Dome isn’t anything to worry about, others acknowledge there are adjustments to be made.

Oklahoma sophomore guard Frank Booker: “The basket, there’s nothing behind it. It takes a little more focus on the rim to be able to make more shots.”

N.C. State sophomore forward Kyle Washington: “You’ve just got to focus on the rim. You can’t focus on all the people around and the depth perception of the Dome and stuff like that. You can’t be worried about that. It is there, but you’ve just got to have confidence.”

MSU freshman guard Lourawls Nairn Jr.: “Shooting on a full-court rim for the first time is kind of hard, but I think once we focus in, you just have to make shots.”
...

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Terry Rozier Matures After Troubled Childhood, Excels as Top Scorer for Louisville (DO; Mettus)

Every night, a 6-year-old Terry Rozier slept in a tote bag filled with his clothes, refusing to unpack because he wanted to go home.

He hated his grandmother. He hated living with her and he wanted to be back with his mother.

“It was like somebody took my heart, it was so hard for both of us,” Gina Tucker, his mother, said.

Rozier was born in Youngstown, Ohio, but his mother had to give his custody to her mother when he was 6 because his criminal father’s enemies made threats on Rozier’s life.

Rozier grew up in a dangerous area, misbehaved as child and lacked a male influence in his life, but persevered through it all. Now, he’s the leading scorer for a fourth-seeded Louisville (26-8, 12-6 Atlantic Coast) that’s facing No. 8 seed North Carolina State (22-13, 10-8) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at 7:37 p.m. in the Carrier Dome on Friday.

“I’m a tough kid,” Rozier said. “I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been through a lot.”
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Gallery: Carrier Dome Hosts Team Practices in Advance of East Regional Games (DO; Gaewski)

Other

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Oklahoma Basketball's Trey Slate Wants Cupcakes; Strong Heart's Cafe Delivers (PS; Fleming)

During Thursday's media session at the Carrier Dome, Oklahoma's Trey Slate toldsyracuse.com's Chris Carlson that he was looking for some delicious cupcakes in Syracuse.

After reading the story, Syracuse's Strong Hearts Cafe tweeted at Slate that it has the cupcakes Slate so desires.

Strong Hearts Cafe @StrongHearts315
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Hey @treyslate . We read on @syracusedotcom you were looking for good cupcakes. Well, we dont have good cupcakes. We have AWESOME cupcakes.

5:54 PM - 26 Mar 2015

After a back-and-forth of do they deliver, do they not deliver, Slate eventually found his way to Strong Hearts to get the tasty treats.

Strong Hearts Cafe @StrongHearts315
Hey @treyslate . We read on @syracusedotcom you were looking for good cupcakes. Well, we dont have good cupcakes. We have AWESOME cupcakes.

Trey Slate @treyslate
Follow

@StrongHearts315 @syracusedotcom I'm coming your way then! I'm expecting greatness!

5:55 PM - 26 Mar 2015
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Last edited:
The Self-Imposed Tournament Challenge Update: http://.com/the-og-self-imposed-challenge-update/

If this were golf, Hoov50 would be destroying everyone.
 
The Self-Imposed Tournament Challenge Update: http://.com/the-og-self-imposed-challenge-update/

If this were golf, Hoov50 would be destroying everyone.

Wow, I am really lighting it up! I filled out and the maximum 10 brackets on ESPN and since there was no money involved in any of the groups I entered I just randomly entered them into groups. This was my bracket of upsets and it appears to have gone terrible wrong!

Just to save myself from complete embarrassment, here are all my brackets. See not all of them were made by blind, drunk small dogs.

My 2015 Brackets
Champ Bracket Name Status Group(s) PPR Points Rank PCT

Adam H's Guesses
In ProgressLive Scoring
720 690 1049286 90.9

hoov50 2 In ProgressLive Scoring
960 530 9048877 21.8

hoov50 3 In ProgressLive Scoring
960 640 3435035 70.3

hoov50 4 In ProgressLive Scoring
640 550 8310311 28.2

hoov50 5 In ProgressLive Scoring
880 440 10771802 6.9

hoov50 6 In ProgressLive Scoring
800 500 9864707 14.8

hoov50 7 In ProgressLive Scoring
880 580 6911732 40.3

hoov50 can guess with the best In ProgressLive Scoring
240 310 11343585 2.0

hoov50 9 In ProgressLive Scoring
800 500 9864707 14.8

hoov50 10 In ProgressLive Scoring
880 660 2210012 80.9

On a side note I take great offense from this comment "because he apparently let a blind, drunk, chihuahua make his picks for him this year." A blind, drunk chihuahua would be doing much better than me!

Also interestingly enough the only two brackets I named of the ten I am in the 90.9 percentile in one and the 2.0 percentile in the other.
 

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