Orangeyes Daily Articles for Tuesday for Basketball

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Welcome to National Cheese Day!

This is a day to celebrate cheese, which comes from the milk of cows, goats, sheep and buffalo. Its age, temperature, spices, and seasonings affect its flavor and texture. Cheese is good on its own, but it also goes well with souffles, soups, and pastas, and can be paired with many foods. It many times is also paired with white or red wine.
While it cannot be definitively said why National Cheese Day is celebrated on June 4, rumor has it that a shepherd discovered Roquefort cheese on June 4, 1070. Apparently he had left bread and cheese in a cave a few days or months before and the mold had overtaken the cheese and transformed it when he returned. Could this be why we celebrate cheese on this day?

National Cheese Day is being observed today! It has always been observed annually on June 4th.

SU News

Syracuse’s Oshae Brissett works out with Boston Celtics with eye on growing Canadian basketball (PS; Karalis)

Former Syracuse basketball star Oshae Brissett sat there after his pre-draft workout wearing Boston Celtics green, but he’s bleeding Toronto Raptors purple.

“I haven’t missed any games,” he said, happy to talk about the Raps run to the NBA Finals. “Last night we went to dinner, actually, and a couple of the guys, we watched it. I’m just as excited as anyone.”

Brissett, who grew up just outside of Toronto, is chasing his own NBA dream. The 6′8″ wing won’t be found in many mock drafts yet, which is why he’s making the workout rounds. The whole point of workouts like this is to impress teams with something they might not have seen in his game film.

If he does find his way into the second round, he could be part of a record-breaking Canadian draft class headlined by Duke’s RJ Barrett (the most in a single draft was four in 2014).

“Knowing that it makes you want to keep on going harder,” he said. "I want to be part of that group and let younger kids know they can make it just like we did. Guys now are starting to realize it’s not impossible to try to get to the NBA and stay in the NBA. There’s a lot of guys right now that are doing it and doing it well. So, I just keep pushing.”

Brissett was one of a record 133 Canadian players who suited up for Division I teams this past NCAA season, and even if he’s not drafted, he’ll be part of a growing group of Canadians playing overseas or in the G-League hoping to take a different route to the NBA. It’s a route that he hopes will also let him represent his country on the court.
“For sure, some day," he said. "It feels different putting on that Canadian jersey.”
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Syracuse Basketball: NBA teams honing in on Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett (itlh.com; Esden Jr)

Former Syracuse basketball standouts Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett have garnered some serious NBA interest. Here are all the juicy details.

There are still several weeks before the 2019 NBA Draft takes place, but several teams are doing their homework on a few former Syracuse basketball players.

Tyus Battle spent three years on the hill with the Orange before forgoing his senior season to chase his professional dreams.

While his former running mate Oshae Brissett decided two years was enough with the Orange before keeping his name in the 2019 NBA Draft pool.

The latest NBA mock drafts don’t contain the names of either former member of the Orange. Although a former Syracuse commit Darius Bazley finds himself in the backend of the first round per ESPN.

But despite what the “experts” say or predict, it’s all about what the NBA teams think. For instance, VP of Player Personnel Walt Perrin for the Utah Jazz recently shared his thoughts on Oshae Brissett and how he performed in his workout with the team:
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Audio Vault (espnsyracuse.com; radio; Axe)

Brent opens the podcast talking about Oshae Brissett and Tyus Battle’s road to the NBA and the uphill battle they face. Later, he goes around the sports world in H0T Takes, including Roger Goodell’s comments about the Buffalo Bills’ stadium situation.

Ranking Syracuse Basketball’s Top 10 Players Since 2000 (Part 1) – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Shults)

With the offseason upon us, it seems like a good time to appreciate SU’s best players since the turn of the millenium. These rankings will take into consideration the longevity of a players career in Orange, as well as how successful the team was during the players tenure. Pure talent and dominance will also be taken into account. This article will look at players ranked 10-6, then another article on Friday will examine the top 5.

Wesley Johnson (2010)
Johnson only played a year in Orange after transferring from Iowa State, but he lit up the Carrier Dome immediately. He averaged 16.5 points per game to go along with 8.5 rebounds on his way to becoming Big East Player Of The Year. He was also first team All-American before becoming the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Johnson always seemed to be in the right place at the right time for a 30 win SU squad that went to the Sweet Sixteen. Johnson was a high-flying menace that also paired as a deadly three-point shooter.

Michael Gbinije (2014-2016)
Gbinije was a veteran leader on the memorable 2016 squads run to the Final Four. That season he averaged 17.5 points, and over four assists per game. In his SU career he scored over 1100 points after transferring from Duke. As an upperclassman, he became a sniper from deep, hitting over 39 percent of his threes. While he became Syracuse’s go-to offensive option by the end of his career, his skills lied primarily on the defensive end. Gbinije could guard point guards to small forwards, and excelled in the 2-3 zone.

Tyus Battle (2017-2019)
It’s strange to be looking at Battle’s career as history, but with his declaration to the NBA Draft, it’s time to look back at his contributions in Orange. During his sophomore and junior year, he was SU’s go-to scorer who consistently put the team on his back and got big buckets when needed. He was Mr. Reliable. If you went to the Carrier Dome, you were certain to see some poor defender get crossed over as Battle drove to the hoop for an easy lay-in. Or maybe he’d pull up for a contested mid-range shot in drill it in the defenders face. In 2018 he averaged over 19 points a game while leading an Orange team that barely squeaked into March Madness all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. By the end of his career, he scored over 1600 points, finishing 16th all-time on SU’s scoring list.

Rakeem Christmas (2012-2015)
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Getting You Ready for Boeheim’s Army 2019 – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Raucci)

They took right up against the noon deadline on Saturday, but a year after advancing to the Elite Eight of The Basketball Tournament, Boeheim’s Army officially has its eight-man roster for the $2 million winner-take-all event all squared away and locked in.

Although it’s one player smaller and has a few big switches in the role player department, the core of last year’s Elite Eight roster will be back for GM Kevin Belbey and head coach Ryan Blackwell along with a couple of fun additions and a surprising newcomer with very few ties to Syracuse. Here’s how Boeheim’s Army stacks up for the 2019 TBT.

THE GUARDS
23 Eric Devendorf

This might be the least surprising thing to happen for anything related to Syracuse basketball in the last couple of years. Year in and year out, Devendorf is the leader, heart and soul, and quite often best player that Boeheim’s Army brings to TBT. As he showed throughout his career at Syracuse, he can still knock down any open jumper that stares him in the face and he’s dangerous off the dribble. He is the emotional leader of this BA squad and SU fans should be happy he’ll be back this summer.

20 Brandon Triche

Talk about a guy that has exploded over the last few weeks thanks to his stellar play overseas. Triche was named the regular season MVP and Foreign Player of the Year of the Serie A2 Basket league in Italy after leading the league in scoring and assists at 24.5 ppg and 7.2 apg . Since then, he’s gone on to lead Orlandina Basket to three consecutive 3-0 sweeps in its first three playoff series and was named the MVP of the semifinal series after averaging 30 points and 12.7 apg. Triche and Orlandina will play in the league championship series in the coming weeks and if he can continue doing what he’s doing overseas in TBT, then Boeheim’s Army is going to have the benefit of having one of the hottest players in the tournament coming in.

4 John Gillon

Back for his third year in TBT, Gillon is of course best known for the shot heard ‘round the world against Duke in his lone season with Syracuse in 2016-17, but he also impressed in his second season in TBT last year. The former SU point guard averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game in last year’s run to the Elite Eight, including a game-high 32 on 6-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc in a win over South Jamaica Kings. Quick and lightning fast in transition, Gillon also brings his precision back to Boeheim’s Army as they try to make another run at the $2 million prize.
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