Orangeyes Daily Articles for Monday for Basketball

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Welcome to National Watermelon Day!

• By weight, watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the U.S., followed by cantaloupe and honeydew.
• Watermelon is 92% water.
• The first recorded watermelon harvest occurred nearly 5,000 years ago in Egypt.
• Watermelon’s official name is Citrullus Lanatus of the botanical family Curcurbitaceae. It is cousins to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash.
• Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.

SU News

Syracuse Basketball: Orange should give 2023 PF G.G. Jackson first offer (itlh; Adler)

Syracuse basketball is showing interest in 2023 power forward G.G. Jackson, and the Orange could become the first team to offer this talented prospect.

G.G. Jackson, who is garnering interest from Syracuse basketball and a handful of other high-quality squads, is currently an under-rated 2023 high-school player. But that will quickly change, according to some recruiting analysts.

Per 247Sports’ Travis Branham, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward is receiving interest from a half-dozen crews, and they are the Orange, Mike Hopkins-led Washington, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference foes Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Empire State team Buffalo.

Jackson, a rising sophomore at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C., said to Branham that he’s “looking for that first offer to come in and get this thing rolling.”

A few days ago, the ‘Cuse offered athletic wing Elijah Fisher, a Canadian prospect who attends Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario, and is one of the best players throughout North America in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Now, Syracuse basketball should keep its positive momentum in this class moving forward and pledge an offer to Jackson. Branham notes that when 247Sports releases its individual rankings for high-school players in the 2023 class, Jackson “projects to be a four-star prospect.”

Although I don’t believe that Syracuse basketball has historically picked up a ton of commitments in the state of South Carolina, Orange redshirt sophomore forward Robert Braswell went to Blythewood High in Blythewood, S.C., which is a short drive to Columbia.
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Tough-to-read recruitment for Syracuse basketball target Micawber Etienne (itlh; Adler)

Syracuse basketball may prove in a solid position with 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne, but so are many other suitors.

Syracuse basketball has made 2021 four-star center Micawber Etienne a high-priority target in that recruiting cycle for some time now, and the Orange absolutely appears in the running for the top-50 prospect.

However, the 6-foot-10 Etienne, who recently transferred from Suffield Academy in Suffield, Conn., to the powerhouse prep-school program at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., has an abundance of impressive scholarship offers.

Among those other offers are from Kansas, Louisville, Ohio State, Connecticut, Miami, Georgetown, Seton Hall, UCLA, Iowa, Providence, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Xavier, St. John’s and Wake Forest.

In past media reports, Etienne has noted his strong relationship with Syracuse basketball assistant coach Gerry McNamara, he seems to speak with ‘Cuse 2022 commit Dior Johnson on a consistent basis, and Etienne acknowledges the appeal of suiting up in the hoops-talented Atlantic Coast Conference.

Yet with so many offers, national analyst Eric Bossi recently included Etienne in his article on “10 of the toughest-to-read recruitments” within the class of 2021.

Here is Bossi’s write-up on the Syracuse basketball target. “Etienne is a guy that I thought would have become even more desired during the summer. Then again, with seemingly a million offers, it is hard to be even more wanted than he is. Etienne is skilled and has great size and is one of the most personable kids in 2021. He genuinely sounds like he wants to go to any school you ask him about, and he has done a lot of visits. A bulk of his suitors are regional, so places like Syracuse, St. John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Providence and UConn that have hosted him unofficially could be in good shape. But, if he goes out of region, Illinois had him in for an official visit and could be one to watch.”
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Syracuse Basketball: Dion Waiters is back in action – and terrific (itlh; Queripel)

The NBA returns to action and so does former Syracuse basketball star, Dion Waiters. We have all the details on his debut with his new squad.

The NBA resumed on Thursday night, marking the restart for five former Syracuse basketball players, including Dion Waiters. Two games highlighted the reboot, including an exciting battle between in-town Los Angeles rivals the Lakers and the Clippers.

This year’s NBA season has been one to go down in history after COVID-19 led to a shutdown and an unprecedented schedule set in a bubble in Orlando, Fla. With the ups and downs this season, the league is ready to finish off the year. And at the top of the standings in 2020 have been the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the season was put on pause, Dion Waiters was signed by LA after he was released following a tumultuous start to the season with Miami. But despite being added, Waiters had not seen action with the purple and gold before the shutdown. Those familiar with Waiters are aware of the off-court issues this season that have kept him from suiting up. But now it’s time to focus on his production on the floor once again. On Thursday night, he suited up for just his fourth game of the season, and he performed admirably.

While he came off the bench, he provided a needed scoring threat.

Dion Waiters’ stats on July 30, 2020:

• 21 minutes
• 11 points
• 3 rebounds
• 2 assists

One main reason Waiters could be a factor down the stretch is the team’s loss of Avery Bradley. Bradley opted out of the restart, so the team signed JR Smith and previously signed Waiters to fill his spot. However, at that time they might not have realized how valuable having Dion on the roster would be. His ability to score off the bench is something the Lakers were missing and could be pivotal heading towards a title chance this season.

For Syracuse basketball fans wanting to see Waiters, the Lakers’ next game is Saturday night against the Raptors at 8:30 pm EST.
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The way-too-early college basketball preseason top 25 (nbcsports.com; Dauster)

Today, we are unveiling the NBC Sports college basketball preseason top 25.

As always, there are plenty of caveats here.

For starters, we are still in the process of figuring out who will and will not be returning to school and where the myriad transfers are going to end up this year.

Given the impact that the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the way recruiting and the predraft process will work, it is hard to know how and where these guys will end up, which is why every college basketball preseason top 25 published right now is going to have plenty of assumptions, projections and moving parts.

So with that in mind, here is the current iteration of NBC Sports college basketball preseason top 25:

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PRESEASON TOP 25

1. VILLANOVA

• GONE: Saddiq Bey
• COMING BACK: Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels, Bryan Antoine, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Cole Swider, Brandon Slater, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree
• WAIT AND SEE: None
• NEW FACES: Caleb Daniels, Eric Dixon
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Bryan Antoine, Jermaine Samuels, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

With the exception of Saddiq Bey, Villanova returns everyone from a team that won a share of the Big East regular season title last season while adding Tulane transfer Caleb Daniels (16.9 ppg) and a healthy Bryan Antoine. There is enough talent on this roster that I think they are the clear No. 1 team in the country right now. And while Bey was their best player, I don’t think that they will have much trouble replacing him. Villanova has a roster full of talented wings and perimeter weapons. Bey was the best of the bunch, but Antoine’s healthy, Daniels is really good and the likes of Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels and Cole Swider return as well. Throw in Jeremiah Robinsin-Earl and this roster is loaded.

2. BAYLOR

• GONE: Freddie Gillespie, Devonte Bandoo
• COMING BACK: MaCio Teague, Davion Mitchell, Mark Vital, Tristan Clark, Matthew Mayer, Jordan Turner, Flo Thamba
• WAIT AND SEE: Jared Butler
• NEW FACES: Adam Flagler, L.J. Cryer, Dain Dainja, Zach Loveday, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Jared Butler, MaCio Teague, Davion Mitchell, Mark Vital, Tristan Clark

The Bears should get all three of their guards back, assuming Jared Butler opts to return to school, and with Mark Vital slated to return, they’ll once again have two of the best defenders in college basketball on the roster (Davion Mitchell). They’re coming off of a 26-4 season, and there are plenty of bench options at Scott Drew’s disposal — Matthew Mayer, Jordan Turner, Adam Flagler — but the big question is going to be at the five. Which Tristan Clark are we going to get next season?

3. GONZAGA

• GONE: Filip Petrusev, Admon Gilder, Ryan Wooldridge, Killian Tillie
• COMING BACK: Joel Ayayi, Drew Timme, Anton Watson, Martynas Arlauskas, Pavel Zakharov
• WAIT AND SEE: Jalen Suggs, Corey Kispert
• NEW FACES: Oumar Ballo, Aaron Cook, Julian Strawther, Dominick Harris
• PROJECTED STARTERS: Jalen Suggs, Joel Ayayi, Corey Kispert, Drew Timme, Oumar Ballo

The Zags should once again be a powerhouse next season, but they are still waiting on a couple of draft decisions. Their star freshman guard is Jalen Suggs, who would be a perfect fit next to Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert on Gonzaga’s perimeter if both return to school. As much as I like Ayayi as a player, I’m not sure he’s going to be drafted this year. Kispert doesn’t have much else that he can prove at the college level and has a real chance to be a early-to-mid second round pick. Gonzaga’s frontcourt is going to be absolutely loaded even without Filip Petrusev because Drew Timme and Oumar Ballo both have WCC Player of the Year upside. Throw in a healthy Anton Watson, and the Zags should be loaded again.
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Men's Basketball Returns to Campus - Duke University (goduke.com)

After the abrupt end to the 2019-20 season that saw both the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duke men's basketball team returned to campus Sunday to begin preparation for the 2020-21 campaign.

The players reported to the Washington Duke Inn where they underwent COVID-19 screening and checked in their rooms to begin a mandatory quarantine period. The team will meet with coaches and staff tonight via Zoom, and have other virtual meetings throughout the week with Duke Athletics staff to review academics, compliance, nutrition, behavioral health and other areas.

"It's exciting," said junior forward Joey Baker. "Obviously things are different and there are different guidelines we have to follow to keep everyone safe. But it's just great to be back around and see all the guys that I haven't seen in five months, meet the new teammates and hopefully get back to work pretty soon."

Later this week, the team is scheduled to begin individual medical testing to include MRI screening, biomechanical assessments and VO2 max testing, with combine testing set for the end of the week.

The Blue Devils welcome seven returnees and will introduce seven newcomers to the fold for the upcoming season – the program's 116th all-time and the 41st under Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Sophomore forward Matthew Hurt (9.7 ppg, .393 three-point pct.), sophomore forward Wendell Moore Jr. (7.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg), Baker (5.0 ppg, .394 three-point pct.) and senior guard Jordan Goldwire (4.7 ppg, 2.3 apg) lead the list of returnees, while the incoming freshman class was ranked No. 2 nationally by ESPN.com.

Duke finished 25-6 in the abbreviated 2019-20 season and was ranked No. 11 in the final AP Poll and No. 8 in the final USA Today Coaches poll. The Blue Devils have been ranked in 83 consecutive AP Polls, the second-longest active streak in the nation.
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Other

3 CNY restaurants have a century of experience. Then the pandemic hit that changed everything (PS; Pucci)

It’s March 17 and the Brewster Inn, for decades a destination for fine dining dinners and leisurely Sunday brunches along Cazenovia Lake, is delivering family-sized portions of chicken tenders and meatloaf into waiting car windows.

The March 16 shut down of dining rooms across New York due to the coronavirus pandemic forced all restaurants to reevaluate, if not fundamentally change, the way they served customers.

The Brewster Inn, which opened as a restaurant in 1988, and other longtime restaurants in Central New York and beyond, had to ditch the formula that brought them success for decades and adapt in order to both feed their customers and keep their staff and the public safe.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard caught up with the owners and managers at the Inn Between, Joey’s and the Brewster Inn recently to discuss how the restaurants survived and how things have changed.

The Inn Between

The Inn Between, an 1880s farmhouse named for its location on Route 5 between Camillus and Elbridge, is a throwback. In a review, former Post-Standard restaurant critic Yolanda Wright described the crudités that start each meal at the Inn Between as “old-fashioned.”

That was in 1998. Dinners at the Inn Between still start with crisp raw vegetables and dip, slices of homemade date nut bread and green salads with honey poppyseed dressing, just as they have for decades.

For months now, those meals, however, were exclusively being packed to go.

“Nothing like this has happened before,” said chef/owner Chris Cesta, who has led the kitchen at the Inn Between for more than 40 years.
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