sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to National Christmas Lights Day!
Christmas lights—lights that are hung up on Christmas trees inside, and outside on buildings, trees, and other things—are celebrated today. They were invented in the early 1880s by Edward H. Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison. On December 22, 1882, he lit his Christmas tree with 80 incandescent light bulbs, at his home in New York City. Prior to this time, candles were the only way to illuminate trees, and it still took many years before electric lights became the main way trees were lit, and before outside Christmas lights became popular. Lights originally were put on trees by Christians, and they symbolized Christ as being the light of the world.
SU News
Syracuse basketball vs. No. 2 Kansas: 10 things to watch for (PS; Waters)
It will be a battle to two undefeated teams when unranked Syracuse (6-0) takes on No. 2 Kansas (6-0) in the HoopHall Invitational on Saturday in Miami.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim's Orange will face a ranked opponent for the first time this season.
Game time is at 5:30 p.m. The game will be on ESPN.
The starting lineups
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has employed the same starting lineup for each of the Orange's six games this season.
The Orange's starting five consists of guards Frank Howard and Tyus Battle, forwards Oshae Brissett and center Paschal Chukwu.
Four Kansas players have started every game this season, while guard Malik Newman has started five. Kansas coach Bill Self's starting lineup figures to be Newman with guards Devonte Graham and Lagerald Vick, forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) and center Udoka Azubuike.
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How does Syracuse basketball look through six games compared to last year? - The Juice Online (the juice; Stechschulte)
Following Monday night’s tight victory over Maryland to move to 6-0, it is pretty fair to think that this year’s Syracuse basketball team is a pleasant surprise. The team entered the season with lower-than-usual expectations due to a collective lack of experience and concerns about who would provide offense, but has shown to be an aggressive, scrappy team in pretty sharp contrast to last year’s squad.
Last year’s team went as far as its offense could carry it, which would turn out to be not particularly far, as its defense was often leaky and sometimes worse. This young bunch has been pretty strong on defense and aggressive on the boards, mixing in some offense along the way.
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How Azubuike could ease his coach’s mind — and help KU avoid a ‘formula for disaster’ (kansascity.com; Newell)
Kansas center Udoka Azubuike is seven feet tall with good athleticism. He’s 70 pounds heavier and four inches taller than anyone else in Kansas’ current rotation.
So how, exactly, is he only the team’s fourth-best defensive rebounder?
KU coach Bill Self has a theory.
“You can talk technique, you can talk a lot of things,” Self said. “The bottom line, the guys that go after the ball get the majority of the rebounds.”
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Boeheim known for zone, but ‘they beat us playing man-to-man,’ KU’s Bill Self recalls (kansascity.com; Bedore)
Most, but not all of Jim Boeheim’s 909 victories in 42 seasons at Syracuse, have been made possible because of the Orange’s simple, yet effective 2-3 zone defense.
“They beat us playing man-to-man,” KU coach Bill Self said Thursday, recalling his only head-to-head matchup against fellow Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Boeheim.
Self’s Jayhawks fell to the Orange 89-81 in overtime in the championship game of the 2008 CBE Classic at the Sprint Center.
“They actually went man when we got up 12,” Self added, acknowledging it was that defense that sparked Syracuse to its Jonny Flynn-led victory.
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Let’s Get Prepared. Tell Me About Syracuse. (skwout.com Kansas message board)
A few things stick out for me:
1. They play at an extremely slow pace. Syracuse is rated near the bottom of the country in offensive tempo stats.
2. They are one of the best, if not the very best, offensive rebounding teams in the country. I'm sure we'll force them into misses, but it will be interesting to see how well we clear the glass. Will we need to play bigger to counter that? Maybe.
3. Same thing for blocks. Syracuse is an elite shot blocking team primarily because of Chukwu's presence.
4. They also do a great job of defending two point shots and getting steals. It's hard to say how much of that is the zone or Chukwu. My guess is that the top of the zone can be more aggressive because they know Chukwu will clean up mistakes.
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Orange Watch: The one opponent that will forever be linked with Syracuse basketball - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: Certainly you might instantly think of Georgetown as the one all time rivalry connection to the modern era of Syracuse hoops during the 42 year Jim Boeheim run, and with good reason. There were so many famous games played among the 86 contests between SU and GU during the Big East days, and there’s still the heated competition during the current ACC era with the ‘Cuse still looking to beat the Hoyas for the first time in three tries in a couple of weeks (Dec. 16) in Washington. But first is the latest installment in what will be game six in the all time series against No. 2 ranked Kansas Saturday in Miami (5:30 p.m. ET / ESPN) to wrap up the Hoophall Invitational, with the Jayhawks eternally associated as the team Syracuse defeated to finally win a national championship in 2003.
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Isaac Rubenstein welcomes visitors to the new tap room at Middle Ages Brewing Co. in Syracuse.
