Orangeyes Daily Articles for Thursday for Basketball

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Welcome to National Cheesecake Day!
In the United States, there are two big contenders for the cheesecake crown, one being New York style cheesecake, which is very heavy and rich and features cream cheese, heavy cream, and many other fattening ingredients.

The other popular cheesecake is Philadelphia style, which is generally considered to be creamier and also lighter than the New York style cheesecake, but certainly does not skimp on the fattening ingredients.

Cheesecake can also be flavored in a huge variety of ways. Chocolate or strawberry remain the popular national favorites followed by (surprise!) pumpkin cheesecake, which is usually enjoyed as a perfect combination of America's favorite winter holiday desserts - pumpkin pie and cheesecake.

SU News

If an SU athlete opts out this season due to Covid-19, will they remain on scholarship? (Mike's Mailbox) (PS; Waters)

The coronavirus pandemic has dominated the sports headlines since the middle of March.

It continues to impact sports. On the pro level, the Miami Marlins had to cancel multiple games this week after an outbreak of Covid-19 in their clubhouse.

On the college level, schools are still hoping to salvage their fall sports seasons, and that’s where we start with this week’s Mike’s Mailbox.

Q: If a Syracuse athlete wants to opt out of playing this year due to the coronavirus, will they remain on scholarship and will they lose a year of eligibility?

Jen M.

Mike: Most of the professional sports leagues have allowed players to opt out of playing this season, although in some cases the leagues have withheld the players’ money unless they had an approved medical reason.

At the college level, I have seen very few public statements from the NCAA, conferences or schools about how they plan to deal with athletes who wish to opt out of the upcoming season due to coronavirus concerns.

Syracuse University will honor the scholarship of any athlete who feels the need to opt out of playing this season because of the coronavirus.

This is similar to a recent announcement from the Southeastern Conference. Schools in the SEC will allow student-athletes in fall sports to remain on scholarship if they chose not to play this fall.
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Syracuse basketball class of 2022 recruiting reset (247sports.com; McAllister)

Syracuse basketball is off to a very strong start in the 2022 recruiting class. They have a verbal commitment from five star point guard Dior Johnson, who is ranked as the third best player overall in the class and the number one point guard. Even with such an elite prospect committed, Syracuse is not done. They are heavily involved with several other elite prospects. Here is a look at each player they have offered and where they stand with each.

FOUR STAR PG JJ STARLING

Starling has transferred from Baldwinsville High School to La Lumiere Prep. That will allow him to play against better competition. The downside here is that he is now much further away from Syracuse during the season. That makes it more difficult to attend games, take unofficial visits, etc. Still, Syracuse is involved and speaks with Starling regularly. He has visited in the past and has grown up watching Syracuse basketball. Still, I've always had the gut feeling he would end up elsewhere. Already having an elite point guard committed might be too much to overcome. If Dior were to reclassify to the 2021 class, that could change things.

FIVE STAR SG ZION CRUZ

Cruz is headed to Oak Hill starting this season and will team up with Dior Johnson there. That only helps Syracuse as they have a relationship with the Oak Hill program (Carmelo Anthony went there, and Syracuse has recruited several Oak Hill players over the years) and Cruz will have Johnson in his ear about joining forces in Central New York. He has also been very high on Syracuse in Instagram story posts. That said, would he come to Syracuse if they get Chance Westry and/or Roddy Gayle before he is ready to make a decision? It is hard to see that many wings coming to Syracuse in one class. But Syracuse is very much involved and remain a very strong option for him. It could be a race between Cruz and Westry for a spot in the class.

FOUR STAR SG CHANCE WESTRY

Syracuse is heavily involved here and may be one of, if not the, favorite. Syracuse remains in constant communication and has recruited him extremely hard. There was some buzz after Dior Johnson committed that Westry might not be far behind. While it did not materialize then, it does not change where Syracuse stands with him. When things open back up and visits are allowed again, do not be surprised if Syracuse tries to get him on campus right away.
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New Syracuse basketball target Elijah Fisher is an “athletic slasher” (itlh; Adler)

Syracuse basketball has gotten into the mix for Elijah Fisher, but competition for the elite 2023 player will only continue to intensify.

Syracuse basketball is entering the recruiting fray for stellar 2023 prospect Elijah Fisher, who a season ago proved one of the premier freshmen across all of North America.

The 6-foot-7 shooting guard/small forward, a rising sophomore who attends Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario, if he selected the Orange he would become the latest Canadian stand-out to don a ‘Cuse uniform.

However, Fisher’s recruitment is extremely early on, and he already boasts an impressive cadre of scholarship offers. He disclosed his new offer from Syracuse basketball via his Instagram page.

The Orange’s offer to Fisher also apparently represents the first one doled out by the ‘Cuse in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Syracuse basketball has one commitment each in the 2021 and 2022 classes, and the Orange remains in heavy pursuit of numerous four- and five-star prospects in each of those cycles.
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Top Men's Basketball Assistants: ACC - Stadium (watchstadium; Goodman)

In this series, we’ll be giving props to some of the best assistants in college basketball.

For each conference, I polled at least 20 coaches (primarily assistants) and asked for them to name the top assistant coaches in their respective league. Is it a perfect way of determining the elite assistants? Maybe not, but it seems far more accurate than any other method.

I’ve also made sure to include some info on each coach that’s recognized — as well as quotes from both their boss and another assistant in the league.

Jason Williford, Virginia | The Richmond native played for the Cavaliers in the early 1990s, then played overseas for a few years before getting into coaching. He started as an assistant high school coach at his alma mater, John Marshall High, and had a five-year stint at Boston University and a four-year stretch at American. He’s spent the last dozen years at Virginia — where the program has achieved unparalleled success.

“Jason Williford is the complete package. He played the game at a high level and really thinks the game well as a coach with very good in-game instincts. He knows how to push players and still encourage them at the same time, too. He’s done a terrific job recruiting and then developing many of our top players at UVA over the years. Best of all, he’s as loyal and trustworthy of a coach as you’ll find. It’s only a matter of time before he goes from associate head coach to leading his own program.” – Virginia coach Tony Bennett

“Great evaluator, terrific communicator and can really, really coach. He can do — and does it all. Tony Bennett obviously deserves a lot of credit for Virginia’s success, but Jason Williford has been a huge reason for it, also.” – ACC assistant

Stan Jones, Florida State | Jones has been at Florida State for nearly two decades, and has been integral to the program’s success. He began his coaching career in the 1980s at First Christian Academy in Memphis and then left for Jackson Academy in Mississippi. Jones was an assistant at Miami from 1995-2000 under Leonard Hamilton, went with Hamilton to the Washington Wizards in 2001 and then spent one season at Mississippi State before re-joining Hamilton in Tallahassee in 2002.

“Stan Jones is the longest tenured assistant coach in the ACC. His ability to teach and coach the game is unparalleled among coaches across the nation. His relationships with our guys and his ability to develop them into high-level, as well as high-IQ, players continues to be one of the incredibly important building blocks of our program. Stan is a trusted member of [our] staff who has helped build our program into a two-time ACC champion and a consistent national championship contender.” – Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton
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Other

Coronavirus under control in CNY, but travel, college reopenings could threaten that (PS; Coin)

Central New York has a good handle on the novel coronavirus, experts agree: Less than 1% of tests are coming back positive, active cases have plunged to their lowest level since March, and deaths have dropped to a few a week.

But as the region’s long, hot summer slides into August, experts are nervous about the virus coming back and reseeding the region, through Central New Yorkers who travel to other states or through tens of thousands of college students who begin returning to town next week.

“Right now it’s under control because our community has been hyper-vigilant,” said Brian Leydet, a professor of epidemiology and infectious disease at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “But I think that’s going to change when you have an influx of these young people.”

Central New Yorkers have taken the virus seriously and abided by measures like social distancing and mask-wearing, said Dr. Kathryn Anderson, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Upstate Medical University. Anderson, who will soon return from a road trip to visit family in the Upper Midwest, said that’s not true in other parts of the country.

“We had the early warning from New York City of what could happen in the rest of our state, and we took some early measures,” Anderson said. “Now we’re seeing what’s happening in the rest of the country, and I hope it’s a reminder that what we’ve been doing works and that we need to keep it up.”
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