Orangeyes Daily Articles for Wednesday for Basketball

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Welcome to Thomas Jefferson Day!

Thomas Jefferson, a founding father of the United States, was born on April 13, 1743. He held many roles and did much during the formative years of the country, including being the main author of the Declaration of Independence and the country's third president. He wrote his own epitaph, highlighting what he most wanted to be remembered for: "HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA."

Thomas Jefferson Day is a legal observance, but it is not a public holiday. A joint resolution approved on August 16, 1937, authorized the President of the United States to proclaim April 13 as "Thomas Jefferson's Birthday" each year. The following year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Presidential Proclamation 2276 to designate the day. Subsequent presidents have made similar proclamations. In Alabama, Thomas Jefferson's birthday is officially celebrated on Presidents' Day, along with George Washington's.

Thomas Jefferson was born at the Shadwell plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia. His mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, was from a prominent Virginia family, and his father, Peter Jefferson, was a planter and surveyor. After graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1762, he began studying law. As there weren't official law schools at the time, Jefferson studied under a Virginia attorney. He began his work as a lawyer in 1767.

SU News

Syracuse Orange forward Jimmy Boeheim (0) and Syracuse Orange forward Cole Swider (21) after a Syracuse timeout. The Syracuse Orange take on the Pitt Panthers Jan. 11, 2022 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Cole Swider, Jimmy Boeheim are on rosters for Portsmouth Invitational, where pro scouts can see them play (PS; Ditota)

The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will be held this week in Virginia and former Syracuse basketball players Cole Swider and Jimmy Boeheim are on rosters.

Boeheim confirmed today that both forwards will be playing in the event, which allows graduated or soon-to-be-graduated college players a chance to audition for professional scouts and team executives.

Participants typically are not expected to be invited to the NBA’s Pre-Draft Combine, but over the years players who perform particularly well in Portsmouth have earned spots in the combine.

The PIT runs from Wednesday through Saturday at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. A tournament committee makes selections, sends invitations and creates a field of 64 players who have accepted those invitations. The player pool comes from seniors in Divisions I, II and III and from the NAIA ranks.

The event draws scouts from the NBA and abroad and will be live-streamed, too.

Boeheim will play for a team called Jani-King. His teammates include Paul Atkinson from Notre Dame, plus Nate Watson (Providence), Jamal Cain (Oakland), Quenton Jackson (Texas A&M), Coby McEwen (Weber State), Payton Willis (Minnesota) and R.J. Cole (UConn).

Swider will play for Sales Systems, Ltd. Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe is on his team, plus Josh Carlton (Houston), Gaige Prim (Missouri State), Justin Beam (Utah State), Ryan Turrell (Yeshiva), Alonzo Verge, Jr. (Nebraska) and Michael Flowers (Washington State).
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Syracuse Basketball: 4-star point guard commit balls out at all-star event (itlh; Adler)

Syracuse basketball 2022 four-star signee Quadir Copeland suited up in a showcase event this past weekend, and according to one media report, the 6-foot-6 point guard performed quite well.

Copeland played in the All-City Classic tournament that was held on April 9 at the Camp Curtin Academy in Harrisburg, Pa. This one-day event included some of the premier high-school and prep-school prospects from Pennsylvania.

Per an article from Nebiy Esayas of PennLive.com, in two contests Copeland tallied 22 points and 26 points. Former Orange recruiting target Chance Westry, a 2022 four-star guard, had 20 points and 16 points in the pair of games.

Westry, a native of Harrisburg, Pa., was a standout for the powerhouse AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz., as a senior during the 2021-22 stanza. He had the ‘Cuse in his top 10 before picking Auburn.

Syracuse basketball has a talented 2022 point guard in Quadir Copeland.​

Copeland selected the Orange last August over other finalists Maryland, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Miami, Penn State, DePaul and La Salle.

In 2021-22, he competed for the post-grad team at the juggernaut IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., alongside another ‘Cuse 2022 signee, four-star shooting guard/small forward Justin Taylor.

Prior to the IMG Academy, Copeland suited up for the Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J., as well as Gettysburg Area High School in Gettysburg, Pa.

With the recent addition of four-star combo guard Judah Mintz, who is a senior at the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., Syracuse basketball now has six members in its strong 2022 cycle.
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Reflecting on Syracuse men's basketball's unexpected losing season - akhbar helwa (akhbarhelwa.com; Admin)

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball program was a staple of consistency for over half a century, finishing at least .500 for 51 straight seasons. That run unexpectedly came to an abrupt end last season, when SU finished 15-16 (16-17 after the ACC Tournament).

The issues that plagued the Orange are pretty clear: a lack of depth, lackluster defense, and an inability to close out games. Even with them, Syracuse was only one more win from keeping the streak alive. Here are some of the notable games that ultimately got away:

November 20 vs Colgate, 100-85

On paper, this looked like a gimme game for the Orange. Instead, the Raiders marched into the Dome and could not miss all night, shooting over 45% overall and nearly 42% from distance. The 15-point loss was the first sign of Syracuse’s struggles to come.

December 11 at Georgetown 79-75

This one hurts the most in my eyes. I’ve said before that being a program’s only Power 5 win is flat out embarrassing. Combined with the game being against an old Big East foe, having a group of SU students in attendanceand blowing a 10-point halftime lead, this is the one loss that is simply inexcusable.

Jan 8 at Wake Forest77-74 (OT)

While this wasn’t as draining of a loss as other games, it was the definition of losing a lead last-minute. After 39 minutes of neck and neck basketball, the Orange held a two-point lead. All they had to do was in-bound the ball and hit free throws to get a big road win. When that failed, it was on the defense to prevent a Demon Deacons’ basket in the final ten seconds. However, the zone defense completely broke and allowed Dallas Walton to throw down this dunk to tie things up. SU would lose in OT.
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Larry Costello inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame (eaglenewsonline.com; Klaiber)

Despite a consensus that the recognition is long overdue, family members and friends of Larry Costello are delighted all the same that the Minoa native has been selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

A coveted yet just-out-of-reach achievement during his lifetime, the prestigious induction is arriving about two decades after Costello’s death from cancer at the age of 70.

“It’s wonderful to appreciate someone who’s been gone for 21 years, but it would’ve been even better if he was still here,” said his oldest daughter, Lesley Kirby. “I know he’s smiling down from Heaven though, and it makes me very proud.”

The local star earned attention as a three-sport athlete at Minoa High School before the district merged with East Syracuse. He continued on to Niagara University, where he led the freshman basketball team to a 23-0 record and two NIT tournament bids.

Drafted to the NBA in 1954, Costello would end up with the Syracuse Nationals, a franchise that later had its name changed to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Positioned as a combo guard, he fulfilled an integral role alongside fellow hall of famers Wilt Chamberlain, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer and Chet Walker as part of Philadelphia’s title-winning 1966-67 roster, a team considered by numerous sports analysts to be one of the top few ever assembled on the hardwood.

Though his ripped Achilles tendon proved to be the downfall of his professional playing career, Costello couldn’t stay away from the court for long; he soon took on the head coaching position for the expansion Milwaukee Bucks, and within three years they swept their way to their first NBA championship ring, owing much to his guidance and the talents of such names as Oscar Robertson and Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

Additionally, the Bucks racked up three 60-win seasons in a row with Costello as coach, immediately followed by one boasting 59 victories.

Recalling her father’s dedicated video room and the hours he would spend running through tapes to pick apart offensive and defensive strategies, Kirby said he always expected his lineups to bring their A game to every practice and every contest.

That standard carried over to his time spent coaching at the Division I level too, as noted by D.J. Carstensen, who played under his watch at Utica College in the 1980s.

“There was never a game that we weren’t prepared for,” Carstensen said, remembering the super-sized, handwritten playbook those Pioneer squads depended upon. “He was demanding, but he was also the hardest-working, most committed person to the game of basketball that I’ve ever been around.”
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Other

Amynthas species, also called Asian jumping worm Photo: Marie Johnston/ UW–Madison Arboretum

Meet NY’s newest invasive species, the ‘Asian jumping worm,’ coming soon to a garden near you (PS; Featherstone)

Worms aren’t the most dynamic critters. They wiggle and writhe, creep and crawl. But one worm spreading across Upstate New York can actually launch itself into the air—and wreck your garden, too.

They’re called Asian jumping worms—a.k.a. crazy worms, snake worms, Alabama jumpers—and they may be hatching in your garden right now.

“They’re widespread from Long Island all the way to Ontario, Canada,” said Andrea Davalos, assistant professor of biology at the State University of New York-Cortland, and a member of the Jumping Worm Outreach, Research & Management (JWORM) collaborative.

But their colonies are “very patchy,” Davalos added. One area might contain no jumping worms, while a nearby patch could be infested with them, she said. Up to 30 jumping worms can live in a 2.6-square-foot plot.
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