Christmas is an absolute warrior

[Halfmooncuse]

All 45 minutes and a career high 35 points

"Wouldn't have won 10 fing games without him!"

 

[pearl31]

at the risk of blasphemy and/or some kind of jinx... this is starting to feel a little like what JW did in '96, kind of a similar supporting cast too

 

[supp]

Mitoglou gave us the Marco Lokar treatment but I think Christmas scored almost as many points on him. Soft as shite.

 

[rrlbees]

To rejack the thread, I remember that game, DNic had about a five minute span where he was just out of control draining shots from all over the place. The dome was going ape ...

I remember that game. He had a few 3's where he didn't seem like he was even looking at the basket.

And Rak is in beast mode.

 

[Ghost]

In addition to those 35 points Rak called 35 fouls on their big men!

He's doing it all!

Never doubted he had game for a second...and it's finally shining through.

 

[SUintheVille]

Rak the ultimate warrior...

or king kong...

 

[OttoMets]

21 field goal attempts is the most for a Syracuse big man in well over a decade. Onuaku had 20 once and I'm sure Watkins, Forth, and Thomas never sniffed that number. I'll look it up in the morning; probably the most attempts since Otis Hill scored over 30 against Alabama in 1997.

Anyway, there's a lesson here. When a starter on your team makes 60% of his shots, give him lots of shots.

I'm sorry we never thought of this before.

 

[orangefan13]

35 points for a big man on top of it is very, very, very, very rare these days.

 

[longtimefan]

I think Roberson steps up. Now is the time. I think KJ2 and RP will have limited contributions on offense. I think BJ needs 20 pounds from the weight room to be able to compete effectively. That only leaves Roberson. We are still going to be in for a thrill ride every game Rak gets into foul trouble and Obokoh gets lots of minutes!

Joseph's offensive contributions were decent tonight, but his defensive lapses were finally too much for JB to abide.

I hope Joseph can tighten his D, because I just don't like having Patterson out there late in a close game.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Joseph's offensive contributions were decent tonight, but his defensive lapses were finally too much for JB to abide.

I hope Joseph can tighten his D, because I just don't like having Patterson out there late in a close game.

Yeah coach put the cement shoes on him for good when he completely ignored the 7 foot overseas dude who was 8-8 and practically posed for a selfie with him while draining another 3.

 

[two3zone]

Really tough that we lost Chris, especially after this battle tonight. That's how the cookie crumbles, as they say. I'm sure he was rooting like crazy from the sidelines. Anyway- roberson's activity on the glass is as good as I've ever seen. A knack for the ball.

He has the Rodman look on the glass, I love it

 

[two3zone]

Capable of playing well, yes. But if you sat in your living room at the end of the year last year saying "never fear, Rak will be going off for 35 against conference foes next year" then I need you to pick a portfolio for me STAT!

Nobody can predict a 35 outing for anybody in CBB but I'm just going to say that nobody improves that much in 7 months.

 

[weedsportwarriors]

He could have had more if the refs would have called a few more fouls when he was getting beat up on many of those shots.

 

[NineOneSeven]

He could have had more if the refs would have called a few more fouls when he was getting beat up on many of those shots.

Agreed. I hate complaining about reffing, but he absolutely got pushed a few more times on his shots, many of them he made anyway

 

[Macky44]

All season Rak has received ZERO respect from refs. Kid gets fouled constantly and it's never called. I swear they treat him like a freshman still when it comes to getting calls/respect on the court. I also hate complaining about refs, i have to say though that this season seems frustrating to me. I feel like our entire team is fighting against the refs every time out there..we aren't getting the calls we deserve..and the calls on the other end against us have been just awful.

 

[OttoMets]

21 field goal attempts is the most for a Syracuse big man in well over a decade. Onuaku had 20 once and I'm sure Watkins, Forth, and Thomas never sniffed that number. I'll look it up in the morning; probably the most attempts since Otis Hill scored over 30 against Alabama in 1997.

...

Christmas's 21 attempts from the floor indeed represent the most shots for a big man since Hill's 14-23 against Alabama on 11 January 1997.

Better still, before last night no Syracuse center scored 35 or more points since Bill Smith scored 47 (school record, I think) against Lafayette on 14 January 1971. Yes, 43 years.

So the second week of January is a good time to be a Syracuse center. And it's great to see excellent post play once again.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Christmas was ridiculous last night. Roberson's man didn't even guard him at times because he knew he wouldnt shoot, and tried to help out on Rak. That Wake team held Okafor to 12 last week by sending multiple defenders at him. Christmas just planted those extra defenders right in the paint and dominated. The best Syracuse performance by a big man I remember seeing.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Many of us knew that Rak was capable of this last.

Bulls@.
No one EVER thought this.
All we had were the usuals saying JB should do something different, because that's what SU fans do.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Bulls@. . .
No one EVER thought this.
All we had were the usuals saying JB should do something different, because that's what SU fans do.

I've been saying it for awhile. Ask anyone. I got flayed for being one of the anti-BMK crowd last year.

 

[OttoMets]

I've been saying it for awhile. Ask anyone. I got flayed for being one of the anti-BMK crowd last year.

Broken record again; the archives show my posts from 2011-2012 claiming that Christmas will put up John Wallace numbers.

There were a few of us on that bandwagon, maybe half a dozen and not as extreme as I.

Gratified to see him do so well.

 

[orange2win]

Mike Waters ‏@MikeWatersSYR
Rakeem Christmas' 35 points vs Wake were most for Syracuse player since Demetris Nichols had 37 vs. St. John's in 2006-07 season.

You mean the most in the Dome.

Others have done since then on the road (Southerland, Flynn)

 

[Lawrinson14]

Rak the ultimate warrior...

View attachment 33677

or king kong...

View attachment 33678

Just posting here for future reference. please ignore.

 

[Henny & Coke]

Agree on Roberson. When we were hanging on by a finger nail, that guy was dominating the glass. I was shocked when they said he only had 9 boards. Seemed like another 17'er.

Agree. This may be because when Roberson cannot get to a rebound himself, he has good sense to tip it back out to a Syracuse player instead of conceding it to the opponent - plays where he does not get official credit for the rebound, but we all know he made it happen. I've seen him do this a few times each game, and it's a big time, heads-up play. Really, really impressed with his rebounding.

 

[longtimefan]

Many of us knew that Rak was capable of this last year but looking over his shoulder all the time waiting for BMK to come in really killed him. He knows he's the guy this year and has said -it. So much fun to see.

I don't think there were too many of you. Rak only averaged 12 ppg as a HS senior.

 

[longtimefan]

Nobody can predict a 35 outing for anybody in CBB but I'm just going to say that nobody improves that much in 7 months.

I think the improvement occurred over the past 1-2 years. Just wished they had gone to him more late last season. Remember though, they did run a play for him in the BC/abomination-uniform game last year. His game-winning hook shot rolled off the rim at the buzzer.