Orangeyes Daily Articles for Wednesday for Basketball

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Welcome to National Croc Day!

Crocs came onto the casual footwear scene in 2002, after being created in Boulder, Colorado, as a form of a boat shoe. Known for bringing comfort and style together, their coziness can be attributed to Croslite, a proprietary closed-cell foam resin. Over a billion Crocs are sold in over 90 countries each year. There are over 120 styles available for men, women, and children, with the signature shoe being the Classic Clog.

A fan of the shoes created National Croc Day and consumers picked up on it, eventually bringing it to the attention of Crocs, Inc., in 2017. The following year, Crocs released a limited edition gold-foiled Classic Clog on the day, which sold out within hours. In 2019, they partnered with Pizzaslime, a "premier streetwear brand," to create a glow-in-the-dark Classic Clog for the day. On National Croc Day, everyone is to wear Crocs. People show them off on social media, and National Croc Day parties are held. Crocs are so esteemed that the whole month of October has been dubbed Croctober.

SU News

Jaquan Carlos transferred to Syracuse after ranking 14th in the country in assists as a junior last year at Hofstra. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com Dennis Nett

Meet Jaquan Carlos: Hofstra transfer comes in to run the Syracuse offense (PS; Ditota)

Name: Jaquan Carlos
Class: Senior
Jersey number: 5
Height: 6-0
Height: 180
Previous school: Hofstra

2023-24 stats: 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.3 apg, .413 field goals, .344 3-pointers, .892 free throws

Career stats: 6.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, .381 field goals, .316 3-pointers, .848 free throws

Adrian Autry: “JC is a pass-first point guard. He can push the ball up the court without getting out of control. He’s got great court vision. He gets guys the ball when and where they need it. He sees the floor and controls the tempo. And when he needs to score, he can do that, too.’’

Jaquan Carlos’ impact: “Everybody wants to be on his team.’’

That’s how Syracuse coach Adrian Autry responded when asked about Jaquan Carlos earlier this fall. It might be the biggest compliment one can pay to a point guard.

Autry’s comment was in the context of the Orange’s preseason workouts. The Syracuse players were quickly finding out that Carlos, the transfer from Hofstra, got them shots, made them better and helped them win.

“Everybody loves playing with JC,’’ Autry said.

Carlos, a Brooklyn native, spent the first three years of his college career at Hofstra before transferring to Syracuse. Last season, he scored 10.4 points per game, but he gained more notice for his passing.

He finished the season ranked 14th in the country at 6.3 assists per game. The last Syracuse player with a higher assists per game average was Michael Carter-Williams, who dished out 7.3 assists per game in the 2012-13 season.

Carlos didn’t just rack up big assists numbers while slinging the ball all over the court. He limited his mistakes. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.39-to-1 would have ranked fourth in the ACC behind Virginia’s Reece Beekman, Duke’s Tyrese Proctor and NC State’s Michael O’Connell.

“He’s an exceptional passer,’’ Autry said.

It’s ironic that Carlos now has the reputation of being a pass-first point guard. As a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, he twice scored more than 90 points in a game. He made 10 3-pointers in one game.

At Hofstra, Carlos altered his approach to the game. The prolific scorer became a playmaker for others.

Autry says Carlos reminds him of former Orange guard Tyler Ennis. Carlos, said Autry, will help create open looks for Syracuse’s scoring threats like Chris Bell and JJ Starling.

“He’ll get the ball to those guys … right when they need it,’’ Autry said. “When they’re ready to shoot. Whether it’s in transition, whether it’s a break-down. He’s an exceptional pastor.

“Really the whole team benefits from it.’’
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(youtube; podcast; Axe)
On the latest episode of Syracuse Sports presented by Crouse Health, Brent Axe previews Syracuse football's big game with No. 19 Pittsburgh on Thursday night. It's the biggest SU-Pitt game in years and could set up SU to return to the Top 25 rankings and stay in contention for the ACC Championship game. Brent tells you what the keys to the game are and what he thinks could hold SU back from a win if it does lose.

Brent also plays back the best things he heard at Syracuse basketball media day. You'll hear SU players Jaquan Carlos, Eddie Lampkin, Lucas Taylor and JJ Starling discuss how thgey certainly noticed their projection to finish 11th in the ACC, the goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament and how'll they accomplish it plus one player's exciting projection of Donnie Freeman's NBA future.

Syracuse enters 2nd season under Adrian Autry, seeking to end 3-year NCAA Tournament drought (romesentinel.com; AP)

The Syracuse men’s basketball team is looking to avoid a three-year playoff drought unlike any since 1968-70.

In the team’s first year under the leadership of head coach Adrian Autry, the Orange had its first 20-win regular season since 2013-14. But, the team missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth for the third straight year. The last time Syracuse went three straight seasons without playing in either the NCAA tournament or the NIT was from 1968-70.

The Orange were 20-12, and 11-9 in the ACC.

To end the postseason woes, the team will have to do it with a radically different roster. Eight players are gone from last year’s team, including starting point guard and leading scorer Judah Mintz, and seven others opted for the transfer portal.

Players to watch​

Donnie Freeman (freshman , 6-9). The five-star recruit out of IMG Academy could be a first-round NBA draft pick.

J.J. Starling (junior G, 6-4, 13.3 ppg). Starling discovered his shooting touch in the second half of last season, and has a chance to be one of the ACC’s top off-guards.

Chris Bell (junior, , 6-7, 12.0 ppg). Bell is the team’s best 3-point shooter.

Departures and arrivals​

In addition to Mintz (18.8 ppg), key losses include Malik Brown (9.5 ppg), who transferred to Duke, and Quadir Copeland (9.6 ppg), now at McNeese State. Brown was an All-ACC defensive team selection who averaged more than seven rebounds a game. Copeland was a sparkplug who brought energy off the bench.

Syracuse added four transfers, none bigger than Eddie Lampkin and Jaquan Carlos. Lampkin (senior C, 6-11, 10.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg), a Colorado transfer, is expected to start and give the Orange a post presence and inside scoring. Carlos (senior PG, 6-0, 10.4 ppg, 6.3 apg) is a pass-first guard who was a full-time starter his last two years at Hofstra.

Freshman SG Elijah Moore is a legitimate 3-point threat and could push for playing time. Junior Chance Westry missed last season with a knee injury.

Top games​

After the Nov. 4 opener vs. Le Moyne, top games include home matchups vs. Duke (Feb. 5) and North Carolina (Feb. 15). Key early games include Texas (Nov. 21), Tennessee (Dec. 3) and Maryland (Dec. 21). A winter trip out West includes games against first-year ACC opponents Cal and Stanford (Jan. 29, Feb. 1).

Facts and figures​

The Orange’s 11 ACC wins last season were the most since their first ACC season, 2013-14 … Syracuse finished 97th in the country in scoring and 198th in 3-point percentage and 276th in scoring defense. … Moore once scored 67 points in a game.

Syracuse men’s basketball: recapping Jon Rothstein’s Orange observations (TNIAAM; Wall)

You know the Syracuse Orange basketball season is close when CBS Sports college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein hits the 315 for a practice.

Some of you will never forget when Rothstein gave us Kaleb Joseph: Bloodshooter, so what did he have to say about the 24-25 Orange?

x.com

twitter.com

You knew someone was getting the “Palpable Buzz” moniker but did you have Jaquan Carlos as your selection? Carlos gives the Orange what feels like their first true point guard in a few years.

With Syracuse retooling the roster, it will be interesting to see how this frontcourt will perform. Lampkin gives the Orange a post scorer while Freeman’s athleticism should match up well against opponents.

Well now you’ve got our attention. Majstorovic getting this endorsement already has Orange fans talking about Marek 2.0. It’s probably better if you try and remember first year Marek and not Senior Marek when ramping up your expectations, but we know how much we all miss our Slender Slovak.
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Former Syracuse player Cole Swider signs with NBA team one day after being waived by another (PS; Waters)

After spending the NBA’s preseason with the Indiana Pacers, Cole Swider will begin the season with the Detroit Pistons.

Swider, the former Syracuse basketball forward, had signed a non-guaranteed contract with Indiana late in the summer. The contract brought Swider to the Pacers’ training camp. He played well during the preseason, averaging 7.8 points per game, raising the possibility that the team might sign him to a roster spot.

However, Indiana waived Swider after its final preseason game on Friday.

The Detroit Pistons, a division rival of the Pacers, swooped in a day later, signing Swider to a two-way contract.

Coincidentally, Detroit opens up the 2024-25 season with a home game on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers. Swider, however, is not likely to be on the Pistons’ active roster for the game as he appears headed to the club’s G-League affiliate to start the start the season. Detroit’s G-League affiliate is the Motor City Cruise.

Swider played at Syracuse during the 2021-22 season after beginning his college career at Villanova. Swider averaged 13.9 points and made 41.1% of his 3-point attempts for the Orange.

He has spent the last two years with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat, dividing his time between the NBA and the G-League.

Over the last two seasons in the G-League, playing for the South Bay Lakers and the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Swider averaged 19.8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He shot 51.1% from the field and 46.1% from beyond the arc.

The NBA allows teams to sign players to two-way deals to bolster their roster while not paying a full-time contract. Two-way contracts are for players with less than four years of NBA experience. Teams can have no more than three players on two-way deals.

For the 2024-25 season, a two-way contract pays half the NBA minimum salary, which means a salary of roughly $580,000.

Syracuse Orange News: 5-star hoops target to visit ACC foe, soccer player's big honor (itlh; Adler)

In this latest dose of Syracuse Orange sports news, we begin with Jordan Smith Jr., a five-star shooting guard in the 2026 class who is being prioritized by several suitors, including Syracuse basketball.

The 6-foot-3 Smith, a top-10 national prospect in the junior cycle, received a scholarship offer from the 'Cuse staff in early May of 2023. He took an unofficial visit to the Hill last month.

Smith is an All-American at the powerhouse St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., and was a standout this spring and summer for the 17U squad of the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover in Nike's EYBL league. Syracuse basketball coaches have strong ties to both St. Paul VI and Team Takeover.

Per his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Smith plans to take his first official visit, to Louisville, on October 25. His bio on indicated that Smith is eyeing an unofficial visit to Duke in early November.

According to some recent media reports, those college teams recruiting Smith the hardest these days include Syracuse basketball, Louisville, Georgetown, Duke and Arkansas.

More Syracuse Orange sports news to digest.​

Syracuse men's soccer player is lauded
Per SU Athletics, freshman defender Chimere Omeze has been named to TopDrawerSoccer's midseason top 100 freshmen list, checking in at No. 27 overall. The 6-foot-1, 173-pound Omeze, who is from Brampton, Ontario, has registered three goals so far in the team's fall season.

In the Orange's most recent game, Syracuse men's soccer lost at Virginia, 3-0, this past Saturday night. Up next, the 'Cuse (6-5-3, 1-3-2 in the ACC) will travel to Clemson this Friday, with the kick-off scheduled for 8 pm and television coverage on the ACC Network.
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Syracuse Men's Basketball on Instagram: "Home in the Dome "

867 likes, 10 comments - cuse_mbb on October 22, 2024: "Home in the Dome ".

www.instagram.com

Syracuse Men's Basketball on Instagram: "One big #CuseFamily "

1,026 likes, 2 comments - cuse_mbb on October 22, 2024: "One big #CuseFamily ".

www.instagram.com

Other

Timberwolf Capital Partners plans to turn the 82-room Mayflower Hotel at 1030 E. Genesee St., Syracuse, into 52 one- and two-bedroom apartments.Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com

Another iconic Syracuse hotel to close and become apartments (PS; $; Moriarty)

For the second time in less than a month, Syracuse is losing hotel rooms in favor of apartments.

The new owner of the Mayflower Hotel at 1030 E. Genesee St. has filed plans with the city to convert its 82 rooms into 52 one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The historic hotel opened in the 1920s as an apartment building but has operated as an extended-stay hotel for decades. It was purchased by Timberwolf Capital Partners, of Jackson, Wyoming, for $7.4 million in April.

Scholar Syracuse, its former owner, continues to operate the Collegian Hotel, the former Genesee Grande, next to the Mayflower.

Timberwolf said the apartments will have 82 on-site parking spaces. No major changes are planned to the building’s exterior. A covered walkway between the Mayflower and the Collegian Hotel will remain.

The Syracuse Planning Commission voted 4-0 Monday night to approve Timberwolf’s plan.

The documents filed with the city didn’t specify when the hotel is closing.

The company has not disclosed rents. Under a new city zoning law, it will be required to make six of the 52 apartments affordable for tenants whose incomes fall within 80% of the median income of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Just a few blocks from the Mayflower, the Crowne Plaza at 701 E. Genesee St. closed Oct. 2 in advance of a buyer, Buxton Development Group, of Charleston, South Carolina, converting it into 287 apartments.

In addition, Syracuse University is converting the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center into a 400-bed dormitory.

Timberwolf specializes in developing multifamily, mixed use and student housing. The company recently built a 282-unit, $98 million apartment building, The Coda on Crouse, across the street from the Mayflower. Its rents range from $1,595 to $2,395 a tenant.
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Can national chain Wingstop win over Buffalo? Foodies say ‘good luck’ (PS; House)

A national wing franchise is planning to open up shop in the birthplace of Buffalo chicken wings.

Western New Yorkers, naturally, have some spicy thoughts — most of which can be summed up by two words: “Good luck.”

Wingstop is planning to open at 2310 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, Buffalo Business First reported Monday. It will mark the fast-growing national chain’s first shop in Buffalo.

The proposal to bring the chain to Buffalo comes from franchisees who have opened three Wingstop sites in the Rochester area during the past year, Buffalo Business First reported. No timeline was immediately announced.

Wingstop is not new to the wing industry: The restaurant got its start in Texas in 1994. The chain has 2,214 eateries across the world and opened 255 new restaurants in 2023 alone, according to its website.

But will Buffalo, the city where America’s favorite food was created, welcome the national chain?

Reactions on Reddit have been lukewarm, at best.

“Lmao good luck,” one commenter wrote when reacting to the news on Buffalo’s subreddit.

“Well it looks like Bar Bill really has to step up its game if it wants to compete against the super high quality, not-ever-soggy, mediocrity that comes from a national wing chain!” wrote another in a comment dripping with sarcasm.

The first batch of Buffalo chicken wings was created in 1964 at Anchor Bar.

Decades later, Western New York remains the place to get stellar chicken wings — an opinion that has been endorsed by chefs like Alton Brown. The City of Good Neighbors even boasts a Buffalo Wing Trail, which guides foodies to some of the area’s best wings, ranging from Elmo‘s Bar & Restaurant to Glen Park Tavern. (Class stops like Anchor Bar and Duff’s Famous Wings are, of course, also on the trail.)
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