sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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In French, Mardi means Tuesday, and gras means fat, so it makes sense that Mardi Gras is often called Fat Tuesday. It is also called Carnival—a name that is also used to refer to the whole period between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday—as well as various other names in different countries. It takes place on the day before Ash Wednesday—when Lent begins—although, in many places where it is widely celebrated, it is a week-long festival. Mardi Gras is held all around the world, particularly in cities with large Roman Catholic populations. Its epicenter is New Orleans, where most non-essential businesses are shut down and locals and pilgrims come together for parades, music, food, and drink. Revelers wear costumes, dress in purple, gold, and green, and wear beads they catch at parades. Large Mardi Gras festivals are also held in Brazil and Venice, and celebrations of the holiday commonly take place in Mississippi, Alabama, Canada, Germany, and Denmark.
SU News
Louisville basketball shorthanded for Wednesday’s game (BRL; Owens)
Another long pause appears to be in the books for Louisville basketball after a 16-day layoff from game action. Despite the fact that head coach Chris Mack is still not with the team as he recovers from Covid, all systems seem to be a “go” for Wednesday night’s matchup against Syracuse.
Assistant coach Dino Gaudio spoke to the media on Monday to address the state of the program and the status of the matchup with Syracuse.
While the game remains on, Gaudio says that the team will be without two scholarship players for the matchup.
While Gaudio would not comment on the identity of the two players, there will be reasonable suspicion to assume who the two are as the players go through warm-ups at the Yum! Center.
We can already rule out two of the culprits.
This is awesome news to receive. Syracuse is still fighting for an NCAA tournament berth and it won’t be an easy performance for the team coming off of over two weeks paused from game action. Carlik Jones and David Johnson have paced this team all season. They should provide the juice to at least compete with the Orange on Wednesday.
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Benny Williams Enjoying Senior Season, Preparing for Syracuse (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse basketball signee Benny Williams is one of the best prospects in the entire 2021 class. The versatile forward is playing for IMG Academy's post grad team, which is currently ranked #1 in the nation. This is Williams' first season with IMG, and he believes his game has benefited.
"I've, for sure, gotten better since the season started," Williams said. "Just putting a lot more work in my body and on my game. I think I can create shots for myself and create shots for my teammates. That's why I'm so valuable on the court. As far as the team goes, we're not satisfied. We have a goal to be the best prep team ever and to definitely win the national championship."
Williams knows that in order to be ready to play for the Orange next season, he has to continue to work on getting better.
"Really focusing on my body," Williams said. "Eating right, giving the proper time in the weight room. Ball handling for sure. I definitely want to play on the wing, like I do now, at Syracuse. Definitely got to keep my ball handling up."
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Recruiting post-NCAA sanctions, evaluating center prospects, guard play: Syracuse mailbag (theathletic; $; Gutierrez)
As we embark on the season’s final weeks, here we go with another mailbag. Questions and answers on all things Syracuse as the quest for an NCAA Tournament bid carries onward with a trip to Louisville on Wednesday.
One thing I wanted to highlight is the scholarship reductions following the NCAA investigation. Some say, “Well the scholarship reductions are over, we are now at the full amount, so that excuse shouldn’t hold any longer.” But if you map it out, the program is still feeling its effects: docked two scholarships in the 2016-17 academic year, two in the 2017-18 academic year, and one in the 2018-19 academic year. — Kyle M.
Coach Jim Boeheim said the NCAA investigation in 2015 and ensuing scholarship reductions is a lead reason for the program’s dip in the regular-season record over the last six years. He also said that when it was announced in 2015 that he would be retiring in 2018, recruiting took a considerable hit.
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Dolezaj’s development as an all-around center sparks SU’s offense (DO; Crane)
Marek Dolezaj shoved Rich Kelly back, creating a glimmer of space, and called for the ball. In the early minutes of the second half of Syracuse’s game on Saturday, the Orange had built a six-point lead against an undermanned Boston College team, and Dolezaj returned to hover by his spot near the foul line and high post.
After receiving a pass from Buddy Boeheim, Dolezaj squared up Kelly and spun his way toward the basket, floating his shot off the backboard to extend SU’s lead to 43-35. That same move, that same look from the high post, had led to so many other Syracuse baskets throughout the 2020-21 season, floating crosscourt passes to guards on the opposite wings or initiating post-ups for Quincy Guerrier on the blocks.
Despite what Jim Boeheim called one of Dolezaj’s “worst offensive halves,” the senior center finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes, continuing his development at a position he was thrust into full-time after Bourama Sidibe left Syracuse’s season-opener with an injury five minutes in. While playing as an all-around center, he’s lifted his points per game average from 4.1 two seasons ago to 10.8 and already is approaching his assists output from last season with at least five games left for Syracuse — starting with Wednesday’s game at Louisville.
And while Boeheim admitted that Dolezaj is severely undersized at times, especially defensively, he has ignited a Syracuse offense and helped it rank the 37th-most efficient in the country, per KenPom.
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Syracuse basketball five-star commit Benny Williams is ‘opening up eyes’ (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball 2021 five-star commit Benny Williams is having a strong senior year to date for the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he transferred to, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, from the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md.
The 6-foot-8 forward, as we’ve detailed on more than one occasion, has reached five-star status according to both the 247Sports Composite and , the latter of which ranks him No. 15 nationally in the 2021 cycle.
In a recent evaluation from 247Sports director of basketball scouting Jerry Meyer on Williams, Meyer had this to say about the future Orange player.
Syracuse basketball 2021 commit Benny Williams is honing his craft all the time.
Chad Myers, Williams’ head coach at the IMG Academy, recently spoke with Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com, and he has a lot of positive things to say about Williams....
Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim candid on recruiting, recent records (itlh; Adler)
Love him or not, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is always frank and upfront in his comments about the Orange program.
During a recent segment of his weekly radio show on TK99, Boeheim spoke about a range of things, including ‘Cuse recruiting efforts and how the team has fared in recent years, namely since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference from the Big East Conference starting with the 2013-14 campaign.
In recent years, an abundance of Syracuse basketball fanatics has lamented about the squad’s recruiting misses, and what they consider as a dearth of top-flight talent coming to the Hill of late. This train of thought is understandable.
Equally understandable is that some Orange fans are frustrated that, save for 2013-14, the ‘Cuse has proven sub-par during its regular seasons as part of the ACC, although the team has made several nice runs in March Madness, such as advancing to the Final Four in 2016 and the Sweet 16 in 2018.
Boeheim didn’t sugarcoat either topic, and I give him credit for that. Let’s delve into what he had to say, as reported in an article by Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com.
Boeheim said in part, “We always want to get better players. Sometimes you just don’t get the best player or the guy you really want. That happens. It happens to everybody at some point. But when you do get your players, you coach them the best you can.”
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Syracuse Can’t Afford a Loss to Louisville – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Bonaparte)
If you recall, Syracuse was supposed to battle Louisville back on Wednesday, February 3rd. That game was postponed as Cardinals Head Coach, Chris Mack, tested positive for COVID-19. The first game Mack’s team will play coming out of that COVID pause is opposing Syracuse on the 17th. Here are a couple ways to look at the game from SU’s perspective:
A Win is Huge:
Many teams this season have felt the effects of a COVID pause. Not being able to be on the court practicing near the end of the regular season can really set a team back. Just take a look at Clemson. The Tigers were 9-1 and strong after a January 5th win over NC State, then COVID hit. Clemson was ranked 19th in the country when it was taken off the court. When Brad Brownwell’s squad returned, they just weren’t the same. The Tigers suffered three straight losses, all of which were of around 20 points or more. A team that was once ranked top 20 in the country couldn’t hang with conference opponents. Louisville has suffered a similar adversity. In a time where the Orange really need it, they could get lucky. It’s no secret SU hasn’t set the ACC on fire this season, so with an opportunity for a quad 1 win on Wednesday in the KFC Yum Center, the Orange will look to take advantage of the Cardinals lack of practice.
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Listen to Locked On Syracuse - Daily Podcast On Syracuse Orange Football & Basketball on TuneIn (tunein.com; podcast; Leonard & Aki)
One of Syracuse's recent opponents may be headed towards a COVID pause. Could this potentially doom SU's slim tourney hopes? Plus, some other news from around the Syracuse stratosphere. Also, the guys break into Matthew Gutierrez's mailbag from The Athletic and dissect the Orange's ongoing problem with recruiting centers and the importance of getting consistency from all three guards. How many wins is Kadary Richmond worth? Tyler Aki and Tim Leonard discuss it all and more on the Tuesday...
Boeheim featured in old recordings of Scranton Miners' games (video) (PS; $; video; Waters)
The reel-to-reel tape recordings were part of an estate sale.
Borys Krawczeniuk, who lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and earned his master’s degree at Syracuse University, knew immediately that he had stumbled upon a real find.
Among what Krawczeniuk described as a “treasure trove” of radio recordings were several broadcasts of Scranton Miners games.
Krawczeniuk, who graduated from SU in 1983, remembered that before Jim Boeheim became the head coach of the Syracuse University basketball team, he had spent several years playing for the Miners in the old Eastern Basketball League.
Krawczeniuk bought the tapes. He listened to the recordings. In one game, Boeheim led the Miners to a 125-118 victory over the Wilkes-Barre Barons on Feb. 4, 1968.
A Google search for the Scranton Miners and Boeheim took him to a Syracuse.com story I had written about Boeheim’s playing days with the Miners.
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Has Mike Hopkins Ruined His Chances to be the Next Syracuse Head Coach? – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; May)
Hey Syracuse fans, remember Mike Hopkins? Hop was an assistant coach for Syracuse Men’s Basketball from 1995-2017. He was the one that filled in for Boeheim during the 2015-2016 season and was given the “Coach-In-Waiting” title. Now, Hopkins is the head coach at Washington and in his fourth season there. Remember him? Okay, good.
Before Hopkins took the Washington job, many believed he was going to be the next head coach at SU. He was first in line once Jim Boeheim retired, but that was taking too long, so he decided to start anew on the west coast. Even to this day, people still think he will come back and be the next HC, but here’s the question– does Syracuse even want him back at this point?
Hopkins began pretty darn well at Washington. Through his first two seasons, the Huskies went 48-22 and won an NCAA Tournament game. Plus, Hop brought in a top-10 recruiting class in 2019. However, in the last two years, Washington is just 18-31 overall and 7-23 in the Pac-12. To add insult to injury, the Huskies are only 3-16 this season. That’s just not good enough.
So, now we go back to the question at hand– does Syracuse even want Hopkins back at this point? Would he be a good choice for Boeheim’s successor?
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Noles News: 24 straight at home (tomahawknation.com; Marchant)
Florida State embarrassed No. 7 Virginia 81-60 last night, and have now won an incredible 24 straight home games against ACC competition. Hear what FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton had to say after the game.
You don’t get to a streak like that without some award-winning play:
...ACC Weekly Honors
Atlantic & Coastal: A show about ACC football & basketball: How many ACC teams will make the NCAA Tournament? on Apple Podcasts (apple.com; podcast; A & C)
Andy and Brendan are joined by The Athletic's Eamonn Brennan to discuss the ACC and their postseason potential. How many programs will make the NCAA Tournament? Sweet 16? Is UNC a bubble team?
Other
Escape From the Orange Zone: A special beer release for Syracuse breweries (PS; $; Cazentre)
They busted out, and they brought some beer to celebrate with.
Seven craft breweries located in the city of Syracuse collaborated recently on a limited release beer that marks the end of the state orange zone restrictions that had shut down their indoor tasting rooms from November to January.
The beer, a red New England-style (hazy) IPA, is called Escape From the Orange Zone. It’s 6% alcohol, brewed with Paradigm, Gemini, and Emerald Spire hops grown locally at Chimney Bluffs Hoppery in Wayne County. It’s also fairly malty for an NEIPA.
“We’ve taken everything 2020 threw at us and thrown it back!,” Rockney Roberts, a partner at Willow Rock Brewing and the coordinator of the collaboration, wrote in an email. The beer was brewed at Willow Rock, 115 Game Road behind Danzer’s restaurant off Ainsley Drive.
Escape From the Orange Zone debuted Saturday and is or will be available at the seven participating breweries: Willow Rock, Eastwood Brewing, Middle Ages, Buried Acorn, Stout Beard, Anything But Beer, and Talking Cursive. It’s only available for a limited time.
The collaboration brew was initially conceived before Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted the orange zone restrictions last month, Roberts said. But the beer and the name work as a liquid sigh of relief that the tasting rooms are open again.
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