SWC75
Bored Historian
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Casey Stengel was once asked the secret to his success with the Yankees. "Beacuse I never play a game without my man." The reporter didn't know who Casey's 'man' was but noticed that the one player who had played in all their games that year, either behind the plate or in the outfield, was Yogi Berra. Yogi was Casey's "man".
Jim Boeheim has insisted that fans shouldn't worry about who starts. They should jsut look at the minutes played. That's a pretty good way to rank the players on the team- which guys does the Hall of Fame want out there the most? Or, which guys does he least want to do without? Here are the current minutes per game of the "Syracuse Ten", (sorry Mookie):
Kris Joseph 29.0
CJ Fair 23.9
Fab Melo 23.0
Scoop Jardine (21.8- 262 mintues)
Brandon Triche 21.8- 261 minutes)
Dion Waiters 21.3
James Southerland 15.8
Michael Carter-Williams 13.4
Rakeem Christmas 12.8
Baye Moussa Keita 12.2
So Kris Joseph gets the "My Man" award for this season- so far. Of course, JB has proven he will go with the hot hand in individual games. But I don't think you'll see Kris on the bench in the alte going of a tough game, unless he's hurt or in foul trouble. He's our most versatile player. He can shoot from outside, drive to the basket, fill a lane on the fast break, handle the ball and pass it a bit, (he came in with the rep of a "point-forward"), help out with the rebounding and play good defense when the spirit moves him, (and it has this year). He's the sort of guy you'd want in there even when he isn't making his shots. I suspect he'll still be the leader at the end of the year.
Here's some past winners of the "My Man" award, (SU Athletics has the minutes per game numbers dating back to 1983-84: I'll call that year "1984" and the next "1985, etc.)
1984 Rafael Addison
1985 Rafael Addison
1986 Pearl Washington
1987 Sherman Douglas
1988 Sherman Douglas
1989 Sherman Douglas
1990 Billy Owens (Not Derrick Coleman)
1991 Billy Owens
1992 Dave Johnson
1993 Lawrence Moten
1994 Adrian Autry
1995 Lawrence Moten
1996 John Wallace
1997 Jason Hart
1998 Todd Burgan
1999 Ryan Blackwell
2000 Jason Hart
2001 Preston Shumpert
2002 Preston Shumpert
2003 Carmelo Anthony
2004 Hakim Warrick
2005 Hakim Warrick
2006 Gerry McNamara
2007 Demetris Nichols
2008 Paul Harris
2009 Jonny Flynn
2010 Wes Johnson
2011 Rick Jackson
There is a tendency here toward versatile forwards like Kris Joseph or top point guards in whose hands JB wanted the ball to be in as much as possible. You also have situations where there was a big gap between the starter and the reserve: the starter can be out there not just because of his good qualities but because of the drop-off to the man behind him. There are no centers on on the list: they tire more easily moving their big bodies up and down the court and draw more fouls in their attempts to block shots. Then sometimes, there's not much difference between the guy who leads the team in mintues per game and the guts who are second or third. Sometimes JB has more than one "man". But these were certainly the guys JB least wanted to do without over the years.
Jim Boeheim has insisted that fans shouldn't worry about who starts. They should jsut look at the minutes played. That's a pretty good way to rank the players on the team- which guys does the Hall of Fame want out there the most? Or, which guys does he least want to do without? Here are the current minutes per game of the "Syracuse Ten", (sorry Mookie):
Kris Joseph 29.0
CJ Fair 23.9
Fab Melo 23.0
Scoop Jardine (21.8- 262 mintues)
Brandon Triche 21.8- 261 minutes)
Dion Waiters 21.3
James Southerland 15.8
Michael Carter-Williams 13.4
Rakeem Christmas 12.8
Baye Moussa Keita 12.2
So Kris Joseph gets the "My Man" award for this season- so far. Of course, JB has proven he will go with the hot hand in individual games. But I don't think you'll see Kris on the bench in the alte going of a tough game, unless he's hurt or in foul trouble. He's our most versatile player. He can shoot from outside, drive to the basket, fill a lane on the fast break, handle the ball and pass it a bit, (he came in with the rep of a "point-forward"), help out with the rebounding and play good defense when the spirit moves him, (and it has this year). He's the sort of guy you'd want in there even when he isn't making his shots. I suspect he'll still be the leader at the end of the year.
Here's some past winners of the "My Man" award, (SU Athletics has the minutes per game numbers dating back to 1983-84: I'll call that year "1984" and the next "1985, etc.)
1984 Rafael Addison
1985 Rafael Addison
1986 Pearl Washington
1987 Sherman Douglas
1988 Sherman Douglas
1989 Sherman Douglas
1990 Billy Owens (Not Derrick Coleman)
1991 Billy Owens
1992 Dave Johnson
1993 Lawrence Moten
1994 Adrian Autry
1995 Lawrence Moten
1996 John Wallace
1997 Jason Hart
1998 Todd Burgan
1999 Ryan Blackwell
2000 Jason Hart
2001 Preston Shumpert
2002 Preston Shumpert
2003 Carmelo Anthony
2004 Hakim Warrick
2005 Hakim Warrick
2006 Gerry McNamara
2007 Demetris Nichols
2008 Paul Harris
2009 Jonny Flynn
2010 Wes Johnson
2011 Rick Jackson
There is a tendency here toward versatile forwards like Kris Joseph or top point guards in whose hands JB wanted the ball to be in as much as possible. You also have situations where there was a big gap between the starter and the reserve: the starter can be out there not just because of his good qualities but because of the drop-off to the man behind him. There are no centers on on the list: they tire more easily moving their big bodies up and down the court and draw more fouls in their attempts to block shots. Then sometimes, there's not much difference between the guy who leads the team in mintues per game and the guts who are second or third. Sometimes JB has more than one "man". But these were certainly the guys JB least wanted to do without over the years.