sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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One of the most exciting moments for a student-athlete is receiving a verbal scholarship offer. Years of hard work have led to this moment. However, nothing is official until you sign the National Letter of Intent (NLI.) Not every school uses the NLI—about 650 NCAA D1 and D2 schools. It’s not mandatory to sign, but every year more than 48,000 student-athletes do. The National Letter of Intent is not affiliated directly with the NCAA; it was created by the Collegiate Commissioners Association to protect both the college and student from either party backing out.
SU News
Syracuse basketball at North Carolina State: What to know (PS; $; Waters)
On Wednesday, a Syracuse team coming off one of its better performances of the season will run into a North Carolina State squad that just experienced its worst loss of the season.
Syracuse (10-11 overall, 4-6 ACC) ran past Wake Forest, 94-72, on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. The Orange scored 55 points in the second half.
North Carolina State, on the other hand, got blasted by archrival North Carolina, 100-80, at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill on Saturday. The Wolfpack (10-12, 3-8) had the game get away from them early, falling behind by 25 points at halftime.
Syracuse will be in search of its first road win since a 63-60 win at Florida State on Dec. 4. N.C. State is 7-5 at the PNC Arena this season. Overall, the Wolfpack has lost four of its last five games.
Although Syracuse and N.C. State have both struggled this season, the game will feature to potential All-ACC players in Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim, who averaged 27.5 points in SU’s last two games to earn ACC Player of the Week honors; and N.C. State’s Dereon Seabron.
The SU-N.C. State game is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. Here are five key things to watch for:
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Syracuse Basketball: Preview for matchup against NC State Wolfpack (bustingbrackets.com; Nutting)
Syracuse Basketball has a big matchup against NC State. What are the keys to victory for the Orange?
Syracuse Basketball (10-11) will travel to North Carolina to take on the NC State Wolfpack (10-12) at 9 pm eastern time on ESPN2. Syracuse, coming off a 94-72 victory in the Dome against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last Saturday, will look to get back on the winning track as they face a tough ACC schedule for the rest of the season. Here is the game breakdown for the Orange in this upcoming match-up against NC State.Players to Watch
Buddy Boeheim will be one of the main players to watch in this game. After coming off a 30-point, 7-assist performance against Wake Forest, he will look to keep up his impressive performance in both his scoring ability and unselfish play on the offensive side of the ball.
Cole Swider and Joseph Girard III will both play a factor for the Orange from behind the three-point arc, as both players will need to be locked in from deep and force the mistake by NC State to open the painted area for Jesse Edwards and Jimmy Boeheim to attack the rim and create the big plays down the stretch. The Orange overall will need to rely on these players to create opportunities, play tough defensive on the other end of the court, and finish strong in late-game situations.
Keys to the Game
Believe in the zone. The Orange 2-3 zone defense will have to keep NC State’s big men, Jericole Hellems and Ebenezer Dowuona, from attacking the painted area and getting any easy buckets down low.Keep shooters from getting hot. Syracuse will need to keep an eye out for Terquavion Smith, who has been leading the Wolfpack in scoring this season. They need to keep him from getting hot from long range and make sure to force him to make the mistake.
Close out games in the 2nd half. The Orange have allowed teams to make comebacks in the 2nd half of games through most of the season. Syracuse needs to keep the lead and finish out ball games with better defensive possessions and scoring drives in closing moments.
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Opponent Preview: What to know about NC State (DO; Fernandez)
Syracuse is coming off perhaps its most convincing victory of the season, a 22-point win over Wake Forest in the Carrier Dome. The Orange paired an all-around strong offensive performance, led by Buddy Boeheim’s season-high 30 points, with a consistent second-half defensively to lift themselves to a much-needed conference win.
With the WF victory, SU snapped a two-game losing streak, the latter of which came at the hands of Pittsburgh in perhaps the Orange’s worst loss of the season. Now, Syracuse will face the Wolfpack, who’ve lost four of their last five games. The Wolfpack allowed a season-high 100 points in their most recent contest, a 20-point loss to North Carolina.
Here’s everything to know about NC State (10-12, 3-8 Atlantic Coast) ahead of its game against SU:
All-time series
Syracuse leads, 10-6.Last time they played
The Orange won all three games against the Wolfpack last season, the most recent of which came in the second round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. They scored their most-ever points (89) in an ACC Tournament game behind 20 first-half points for Buddy Boeheim and a 16-3 run to open the second half.“Our offense has been there all year,” head coach Jim Boeheim said after that game. “We’re a very good offensive team. When we make shots, we’re really good. Today, we made shots.”
Syracuse advanced to play No. 1 seed Virginia in the next round of the ACC Tournament where it was eliminated. But the win over NC State was enough to boost SU into an NCAA Tournament bid and No. 11 seed.
KenPom odds
KenPom gives NC State a 52% chance of winning with a projected score of 79-78.
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Beat writers agree on Syracuse victory over NC State (DO; Staff)
Syracuse will travel to Raleigh to face NC State on Wednesday night after one of its most convincing performances of the season, a 22-point win over Wake Forest. Buddy Boeheim scored a season-high 30 points, and Cole Swider shot 8-for-11, scoring 18.
Here’s what our beat writers think will happen when Syracuse (10-11, 4-6 Atlantic Coast) plays the Wolfpack (10-12, 3-8 ACC) at 9 p.m. on Wednesday:
Andrew Crane (13-8)
Not last call yet
Syracuse 85, NC State 78
Even though NC State has the 38th-best offense in terms of adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom, it still sits two games under .500 and 14th in the ACC. And that’s largely due to its defense, which just allowed North Carolina to pour in 100 and ranks as the worst and second-worst in the conference for overall and 3-point field goal percentage defense, respectively. The Wake Forest game on Saturday demonstrated that the Orange can win these types of games — when two efficient offenses and two underachieving defenses match up — and I think a similar scenario will emerge on Wednesday in Raleigh. Terquavion Smith will likely find more success against this year’s version of the 2-3 zone than Dereon Seabron because of his 3-point threat. But look for a balanced Syracuse offense to once again help the defense sneak by and complete its first set of back-to-back wins since late December.
Roshan Fernandez (11-10)
Which Syracuse will it be?
Syracuse 80, NC State 77
Conference play hasn’t been kind to the Wolfpack, who’ve lost four of their last five games, including a performance where they allowed 100 points to North Carolina and lost by 20. NC State is two games under .500 and sits second-to-last at 3-8 in ACC play. The Wolfpack’s offense has been fueling them thus far, but their defense — much like Syracuse’s — has been the problem. They rank 232nd in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, the conference’s worst and just four spots below Syracuse. The Orange haven’t been consistent from game-to-game this season, though. They followed up a season-worst performance against Pittsburgh with a season-best performance against Wake Forest. It’s very hard to predict what Syracuse team will show up on a given day, but I think this team has the right pieces to beat a struggling NC State team by relying on 3-point shooting and strong offense.
Gaurav Shetty (11-10)
Smokin’ that Wolfpack
Syracuse 83, NC State 74
Syracuse’s defense was by no means spectacular in Saturday’s win over Wake Forest, but it did exactly what it needed to secure the victory. The forced turnovers and the challenged shots that held Wake’s second-half shooting to 42.1%. Again, nothing elite, but if you look on the other end of the court, the Orange put up 94 points, so that’s all the defense needed to do. Up next, is NC State, who is quite similar to Syracuse. Both teams are better at offense than defense, and under .500. Ultimately, I think Syracuse’s offense is significantly better than NC State’s. Swider just had his best game of the season against Wake, while Buddy was just named ACC Player of the Week, so with the way the offense is playing, I’d back the Orange to find themselves back at .500.
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Boeheim discusses rebounding, other coaches talk SU zone in weekly ACC call (DO; Crane)
With just over eight minutes left in the first half, Benny Williams craned his arm back to catch Alondes Williams’ missed floater, before turning to find Joe Girard III to kickstart Syracuse’s transition offense. The Orange’s point guard then carried possession across mid-court, crossed over and penetrated toward the right corner before swimming around Carter Whitt’s outstretched hands for a corner jumper that cut SU’s deficit to 22-20.
In the Orange’s 94-72 victory over the Demon Deacons, SU was outrebounded 31-30 — the third game in a row it lost the rebounding battle — but found ways to recover extra possessions by turning Wake Forest over 12 more times than Wake Forest did to Syracuse. The Orange have outrebounded their opponent in six out of the nine games since the new year, and in the three that they haven’t, they’ve won the turnover battle to help mitigate the lost rebounds.
“If you’re getting beat one or two or three rebounds in a game but your turnover margin’s better, then it’s really just not an issue,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said during Monday’s weekly Atlantic Coast Conference conference call. “Not as big an issue as people make it to be.”
Boeheim said after the Orange’s win against Clemson on Jan. 18, where SU outrebounded the Tigers by 13, that “everybody said we’d get outrebounded every game the whole year.” Historically, that aspect of the game has served as a weak spot for Syracuse (10-11, 4-6 ACC) given how difficult the 2-3 zone makes it to rebound. The Orange were also outrebounded in six of their first 10 games to open the 2021-22 season — including a season-worst differential of 21 against Villanova on Dec. 7. But the Tigers played small, aiming to attack the zone with shooting and penetration instead of size, and that paired with a quickness to the ball that SU couldn’t put together earlier in the season.
“That’s as good as we’re going to rebound, without a doubt,” Boeheim said postgame.
On Monday, Boeheim said the rebounding has improved this season with taller players — SU’s average height of 78.9 inches ranks fifth in the country, according to KenPom. Per KenPom, the Orange still rank 313th in defensive rebounding percentage, slightly up from 339th, 331st and 335th the previous three seasons. Their offensive rebounding percentage, at 31.2% and 98th nationally, is the best it’s been across the last four seasons, too.
But, Boeheim cautioned, “too much is made out of the rebounding anyway,” given how slim the margins might be from game to game, especially when SU can find other ways to make up those possessions elsewhere.
Here are some other notes from the Zoom call with North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts and Louisville interim head coach Mike Pegues:
NC State’s preparation for SU zone, ‘elite’ offense
On paper, the 2-3 zone is an “easy scout when you think about what the team’s gonna do on defense,” Keatts said. But in reality, when trying to figure out how to consistently score against Syracuse’s zone, that’s when the challenges arise. That’s what makes it a “tough scout,” he added.
Sometimes, NC State will need to hit its shots. Other times, it’ll need to penetrate inside, or dish the ball to the corner — “you gotta mix it up,” Keatts said.
“You have to try to score in different ways,” Keatts said, “but it’s always tough.”
The last time NC State and Syracuse faced each other, the 2-3 zone held NC State to 36% shooting and forced 12 turnovers. But offensively, the Orange torched the Wolfpack with 89 points to open the ACC tournament — carried by Buddy Boeheim’s 27 points and SU’s 57% shooting clip from the field. SU reached similar marks last weekend against Wake Forest, when it exploded for 94 points and shot 57.1% overall after totaling just 112 points in its previous two games combined.
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Syracuse Basketball: Top-10 guard would bolster already strong 2022 class (itlh.com; Adler)
Syracuse basketball boasts a five-member 2022 class that covers all positions, and these high-school prospects, I believe, will possess strong chemistry together in their time on the Hill.
I say that, because some of these recruits have already suited up alongside one another in prep-school or AAU competition. Now, it’s true that the Orange’s 2022 cycle isn’t as highly rated on a national scale as maybe it once was, but whatever. It remains a really, really good class.
And word broke over the weekend that ‘Cuse coaches may not be done in 2022. As first reported by Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater and also SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, there is mutual interest between the Orange and 2022 four-star guard Judah Mintz.
The 6-foot-3 Mintz, who hails from Washington, D.C., and is a senior at the Mouth of Wilson, Va.-based Oak Hill Academy, de-committed from Pittsburgh last November.
Mintz is reportedly eyeing an official visit to the Hill. However, a potential commitment to the ‘Cuse is far from a guarantee, as Mintz is visiting other schools as well, which we detailed in a piece earlier this week.
Syracuse basketball would get a huge boost if elite guard Judah Mintz committed.
Mintz is deemed a top-10 shooting guard or a top-10 combo guard, depending on the recruiting service you examine. ESPN rates him No. 35 overall in the 2022 class.
If Mintz did happen to pledge to the Orange, he would prove the highest-rated commit for the ‘Cuse in this cycle. At present, that distinction belongs to four-star small forward Chris Bunch, who is No. 55 nationally, according to 247Sports.
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Wallingford native Arthur Cordes, a walk-on with the Syracuse men’s basketball team, knocks down a 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday against Wake Forest at the Carrier Dome. Photo courtesy Syracuse University
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Walk-on from Wallingford gets in the scorebook at Syracuse (myrecordjournal.com; Krofssik)
Wallingford’s Arthur Cordes made the shot of his life on Saturday.
The Syracuse walk-on scored his first collegiate points with a 3-pointer at the final buzzer in a 94-72 ACC victory over Wake Forrest.
He did it at the Carrier Dome, in front of a crowd of 23,194. He was passed the ball from the top of the key and knocked it in.
After the ball went through the net, the buzzer went off and Cordes was mobbed by his teammates.
“It was a really cool moment for me,” Cordes said. “As a walk-on, you can’t ask for much more than that. It’s a lot of work with practices and classes and it was cool to see the results. It was fun to celebrate with my teammates.”
It was the first shot Cordes had taken this season.
“My teammate got an offensive rebound and made a good pass," Cordes said. “I didn’t think about it and let it fly. If I thought about it too much it probably wouldn’t have gone in, but my mind was clear and it happened really fast.”
The 20-year-old is a Sheehan grad. Though undeclared at Syracuse, he plans on majoring in International Relations.
The 6-foot-3 sophomore played two minutes earlier this season against Brown. He pulled down a rebound in that game.
Cordes joined the Orange last season as a walk-on, though the walk-ons weren’t allowed to travel with the team because of the pandemic.
Virginia Cavaliers 67, Boston College 55 [Men's Basketball Live Updates] - Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More (SI; Newton)
Follow along with score updates and live analysis for the Virginia Cavaliers (12-9, 6-5 ACC) vs. Boston College Eagles (9-11, 4-6 ACC) men's basketball game on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Click here for a full recap of the game: Virginia Downs Boston College 67-55 Behind Balanced Scoring Effort
Final. Boston College 55, Virginia 67
Kihei Clark breaks the Boston College press and is fouled, making both free throws. Kadin Shedrick rejects Galloway's layup attempt off the backboard and then Clark is fouled again. Clark makes both free throws once again. Virginia defeats Boston College 67-55.Boston College 55, Virginia 63 | 38.8 remaining
After review, the officials upgrade Zackery's foul to a flagrant and Shedrick goes one of two at the free throw line. Kihei Clark turns the ball over and then Reece Beekman unwisely fouls Brevin Galloway in the back court. Galloway makes both to cut the lead to eight. Jayden Gardner grabs multiple offensive rebounds and ultimately scores the bucket plus a foul on Karnik, who exits the game with his fifth foul. Quite a punctuating play there by Gardner, who leads Virginia with 17 points tonight.
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NBA Draft 2022: 5 ACC basketball players improving their draft stock (bustingbrackets.com; Anderson)
ACC basketball has seen its fair share of parity in 2021-22 as Miami basketball is the current conference leader in the standings. That doesn’t mean players aren’t doing their part to raise their stock in the 2022 NBA Draft as we take a look at five prospects on the rise in this year’s class.
7-foot sophomore Mark Williams, Center, Duke
7-foot sophomore Mark Williams has stepped up a ton, especially in conference play for the Blue Devils. In the month of January, he poured in 12.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 3.6 bpg while shooting 69.8 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line. He’s a big man prospect that’s starting to have his way on both ends of the floor and should certainly have pro scouts salivating with his development as a mobile big man.He’s proven he can defend multiple positions on the floor and has made opponents pay when they attempt to score on him in the paint. He’s been quite the frontcourt presence with freshman sensation Paolo Banchero in the Duke basketball lineup. He’s a prospect who could find himself in NBA Lottery projections with his ability to defend and score.
Williams is one player in the Duke basketball rotation that’s raised his profile this season, averaging 9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, and 3.3 bpg through 19 contests so far as the Blue Devils approach the back half of their conference schedule.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him leave early for the 2022 NBA Draft after the type of seeing he’s had. The league has a need for a new breed of big men and a prospect of his stature that can also handle the ball and develop a jumper on the perimeter makes him a long-term commodity.
6-foot-10 junior Armando Bacot, Center/Power Forward, UNC Tar Heels
After testing the NBA Draft waters last season, UNC basketball’s Armando Bacot seems to have taken what he’s learned and applied it on the hardwood. Bacot is averaging a double-double in 2021-22 with a career-high 12.1 rpg along with 16.3 ppg and 1.4 bpg, also career-high as the Tar Heels are fourth in ACC basketball following their 100-80 victory over the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday.He finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds to record his 16th double-double of the season through 21 games in UNC basketball’s win over NC State. He’s posted double figures in rebounds in 10 consecutive games for the Tar Heels as he’s shown his growth and development around the rim and paint area.
Bacot has shown off a much-improved body and quicker step on the block with the Tar Heels. He registered a total of 18 double-doubles from 2019-21. This season, he’s on pace to finish with a lot more than that total with the tone he’s set.
As a result, he could find himself in the 2022 NBA Draft lottery with his ability to rebound in bunches and make his presence felt inside on offense. He hasn’t developed his outside game entirely just yet, but he has managed to shoot 1-of-5 from behind the arc in 2021-22, which is also something to observe down the road.
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Troll Hanlon
Giannis Antetokounmpo Just Broke His Silence On Where He Would Have Played College Basketball, Claiming He Would Have Bizarrely Committed to Syracuse (sportscasting.com; Hanlon)
Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2013 NBA Draft. Antetokounmpo was an undistinguishable teenager who had only played second-division basketball in Greece.
Not much was known then about the man who would become The Greek Freak. Had Antetokounmpo come stateside to play in college, though, basketball fans would have been able to see his uncommon skills on full display.
But what school would Giannis have played for? Surely he would have ended up at Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, or another recognizable blueblood program.
That wouldn’t have been the case, the Athens native claims. Instead, he would have made an uncommon decision and committed to Syracuse University.
Syracuse is a mid-level college basketball program
The Orange finished the 2020-21 season eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Thus far, in 2021-22 (as of Feb. 1), they’re ninth with an overall record of 10-11.
Under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, the program has been relevant across the country for decades — just not relevant enough to be considered one of the top teams in the NCAA.
Boeheim’s last 30-win season came in the 2012-13 campaign when it reached the Final Four.
The program’s only national title was in 2003 when a freshman by the name of Carmelo Anthony carried his team to a win over Kansas in the championship game.
It’s been hit-or-miss since then. Syracuse has made two Final Fours and also an Elite Eight, but the Orange have also made three first-round exits and missed the tournament entirely four times.
Other
Eric Allyn and Meg O'Connell
Onondaga Community College gets $1M gift to support student volunteerism (PS; Mulder)
Onondaga Community College has received a $1 million donation to set up a program to support student volunteerism and community service.
Eric Allyn made the donation in honor of his wife, Meg O’Connell, OCC’s former interim president and chair of the school’s board of trustees.
The money will be used to create the “Meg O’Connell Center for Social Justice and Community Impact.”
The center will support students in volunteer and service-learning opportunities. OCC said students will use their undergraduate experience to support local efforts, gain work experience and use their expertise to improve the community.
The program will support 20 students annually. Students will receive stipends to help offset lost wages while they volunteer or perform service-learning. OCC said 80% of its students work 30 hours a week or more.
Eric Allyn is the great-grandson of William Noah Allyn, who co-founded Welch Allyn Inc., a Skaneateles-based medical device maker, in 1915. The Allyn family sold the company in 2015 to Chicago-based Hillrom for $2.05 billion. Hillrom was recently acquired by Baxter International for $10.5 billion.
The Allyn family has a philanthropic foundation which supports efforts to address poverty and related issues in Central New York.
O’Connell is executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation and leader of the Syracuse Urban Partnership which constructed and operates the Salt City Market at 484 South Salina Street in Syracuse. She’s involved in many civic organizations and community projects, including Blueprint 15, a plan to transform more than 1,000 units of public housing in Syracuse into a neighborhood.
“With this generous gift from my husband of 35 wonderful years, OCC will be able to continue to provide opportunities for its students to become the future leaders of our community – and I couldn’t be more honored and proud to be a part of it,” O’Connell said in a prepared statement.
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