sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to New Year's Eve!
New Year's Eve takes place on the last day of the Gregorian calendar. The first New Year's Eve festivities date back approximately 4,000 years, to the time of ancient Babylon; Babylonians celebrated the new year during the first new moon after the vernal equinox, in late March. During antiquity, the first days of the new year were celebrated at different times around the world, and the day was usually tied to an agricultural or astronomical event. For example, Egyptians celebrated their new year as the Nile flooded, and the Chinese New Year has long begun with the second new moon after the winter solstice.
In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar consulted with prominent astronomers and mathematicians, and introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the Gregorian calendar. He made January 1 the first day of the year, partly to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings. At the time, the new year was celebrated by offering sacrifices to Janus, decorating homes with laurel branches, the attendance of parties, and the exchanging of gifts. During the Middle Ages, Christian leaders in Europe changed the date of New Year's celebrations to coincide with religious holidays such as Christmas and the Feast of Annunciation. In 1582, New Year's was reestablished to follow the Gregorian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII.
SU News
Syracuse guard JJ Starling, shown shooting a shot prior to SU's game against Maryland a week ago, has missed six games since breaking his left hand on Dec. 2. (N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com) N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com
Syracuse guard JJ Starling takes first steps toward return from injury: ‘He’s doing some activities’ (PS; Waters)
Four weeks ago, JJ Starling sat on the visiting team’s bench as his Syracuse teammates went through pre-game warmups ahead of the Orange’s matchup with Tennessee in Knoxville.
Starling was not in uniform. His left hand, which he had broke the day before, was heavily wrapped.
Since then, Starling, SU’s leading scorer at 19.8 points, has missed six games. The Orange has gone 2-4 without the 6-foot-4 junior.
Syracuse officials have never given an official timeline for Starling’s return or offered specifics on his injury. In general, a player with a broken hand, without complications, can return to action in four to six weeks.
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Leonardo Eriman I Asst. Video Editor
Previewing SU's matchup against Wake Forest (DO; Wolf)
Syracuse will play its final game of 2024 when it takes on Wake Forest in the JMA Wireless Dome Tuesday. The Orange capped their 11-game nonconference slate with a win over Bucknell, following their abysmal 27-point loss to Maryland on Dec. 21. Against the Bison, Eddie Lampkin Jr. led Syracuse with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Donnie Freeman added 15 points.
Syracuse’s battle with WF will be its second Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season after it opened conference play on Dec. 7 with a 69-64 loss to Notre Dame. The matchup with the Demon Deacons will be SU’s first home ACC contest.
It’s the first of 19 straight ACC games for the Orange, as they look to piece together their season after an inconsistent first 12 games. So far, they’ve lost all five games against Power Four schools, but beating Wake could provide some positives heading into the new year.
Here’s everything to know about Wake Forest (9-4, 1-1 ACC) before it takes on Syracuse (6-6, 0-1 ACC):
All-time series
Syracuse leads 11-4.Last time they played …
On Feb. 3, 2024, Syracuse was flat-out embarrassed on the road, getting blown out 99-70. The defeat was SU’s worst of the season, as Wake Forest never trailed. The Orange allowed the Demon Deacons to shoot 66% from the field and finish 12-of-19 from beyond the arc. The loss was so bad it prompted an apology from head coach Adrian Autry postgame.J.J. Starling led Syracuse with 15 points with Judah Mintz (13), Quadir Copeland (11) and Justin Taylor (10) all finishing in double figures. Still, the Orange shot just 40% as a team and trailed by double digits for the final 26:34.
KenPom Odds
Syracuse has a 57% chance to win, with a projected score of 73-71....
Beat writers split on if Syracuse defeats Wake Forest (DO; Staff)
Syracuse closed out its nonconference schedule with a 12-point win over Bucknell following an embarrassing blowout loss to Maryland. SU never found consistency during nonconference play and went 0-5 against Power Four programs. Now, it gets into its full Atlantic Coast Conference slate. The game Tuesday is the first of 19 straight ACC games for the Orange to close out the year.
The last time Syracuse faced Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons defeated Syracuse 99-70 in Winston-Salem, where WF shot 66% from the field. Despite that result, Syracuse has never lost to Wake Forest at home, winning all four matchups at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (6-6, 0-1 ACC) will fare against Wake Forest (9-4, 1-1 ACC):
Zak Wolf (11-1)
Down with the Deacons
Syracuse 70, Wake Forest 66
The only blemish on my record came from the Georgetown game, where I jumped back and forth about who to pick. I chose Syracuse and was wrong. I’m trusting the Orange once again in this one. Similar to Syracuse, Wake Forest doesn’t have much firepower. The Demon Deacons are uber reliant on leading scorer Hunter Sallis, and outside of him, there aren’t many players who should strike fear into the Orange.
Sallis averages 17.8 points per game but is one of two players who average double figures for Wake Forest, alongside Cameron Hildreth at 12.6. Sallis is going to get his points, but I think Syracuse can keep the rest quiet. WF doesn’t shoot the ball well, hitting just 26.5% of its 3s this season, and shouldn’t provide the Orange with much of a threat from the outside.
I expect SU to pack the paint and grind this one out. I doubt this is going to be a pretty game for either team. Both these teams are in the bottom half of the ACC in scoring and are the two worst 3-point shooting teams in the conference. With how bad both teams are on the perimeter, I trust Syracuse’s frontcourt more to get this one done.
Aiden Stepansky (12-0)
Happy New Year
Syracuse 68, Wake Forest 72
By way of Kyle Cuffe Jr.’s idea, Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry separated the basketball season into three sections during his Bucknell postgame press conference: nonconference, conference and postseason. SU’s victory over the Bison closed a poor first chapter. While the Orange have already begun conference play, the real start of the second chapter begins against the Demon Deacons.
SU will capture conference wins at some point as J.J. Starling’s return approaches. However, I see Syracuse starting ACC play 0-2. Wake Forest has similar struggles to SU, ranking as the only team in the ACC with a worse 3-point percentage. The Orange have compounded these shooting woes with poor defense. Wake Forest, on the other hand, has used defense to overcome them.
Like Zak, I see SU packing the paint defensively. But this doesn’t solve Syracuse’s problem of scoring themselves. The Demon Deacons are holding teams to just 44.4% from 2-point range, the 28th-best metric in the country. This will force Syracuse to create on the perimeter, which I still don’t trust to happen consistently enough so long as Starling sits on the bench with a wrap on his hand.
It will be close and come down to the wire, but the Orange will come up just short to ring in the new year.
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Sallis leads Wake Forest against Syracuse after 26-point game (yahoo.com; AP)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 ACC) at Syracuse Orange (6-6, 0-1 ACC)
Syracuse, New York; Tuesday, 2 p.m. EST
BETMGM LINE: Demon Deacons -2; over/under is 144
BOTTOM LINE: Wake Forest plays Syracuse after Hunter Sallis scored 26 points in Wake Forest's 73-62 loss to the Clemson Tigers.
The Orange have gone 6-1 in home games. Syracuse allows 78.8 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.5 points per game.
The Demon Deacons are 1-1 against ACC opponents. Wake Forest scores 67.5 points while outscoring opponents by 2.6 points per game.
Syracuse makes 46.6% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.1 percentage points higher than Wake Forest has allowed to its opponents (38.5%). Wake Forest averages 67.5 points per game, 11.3 fewer points than the 78.8 Syracuse allows to opponents.
The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Donnie Freeman is scoring 13.7 points per game with 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Orange.
Sallis is averaging 17.8 points, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals for the Demon Deacons.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orange: 4-6, averaging 76.8 points, 32.7 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 79.1 points per game.
Demon Deacons: 6-4, averaging 66.2 points, 29.9 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
(youtube; radio; Syracuse Sporta Talk)
Syracuse Big Man, and #12 overall pick from the 2000 draft class Etan Thomas joins Steve & Paulie to discuss Syracuse Men's basketball's win over Bucknell, discusses the season, chats about Coach Autry's coaching on the season, and more
Six former Florida State basketball players suing coach Leonard Hamilton over failed NIL payments (PS; AP)
Six former Florida State basketball players sued Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton on Monday, alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation.
The plaintiffs — Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley — filed suit in Leon County circuit court. Their attorney, Fort Lauderdale-based Darren Heitner, shared the 20-page complaint with The Associated Press. Yahoo Sports first reported the case.
The former players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners.” The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a Feb. 17 game against Duke. They ended up playing — the Seminoles lost 76-67 — amid a guarantee from Hamilton that they would be paid but never were, according to the suit.
No attorney for Hamilton was listed in the lawsuit. FSU hosts Syracuse on Saturday.
Other
Onondaga County’s newest Starbucks opens (PS; $; Doran)
A new Starbucks has opened on the main street in the village of Manlius.
The national chain coffee shop opened Dec. 27 at 406 Fayette St.
The Starbucks is part of a larger development planned at that location, known as the Fayette Street Planned Unit Development.
A WellNow Urgent Care was slated to go in the development, but Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said that looks unlikely as now.
The developer is looking for another urgent care provider to move into the space, Whorrall said.
Starbucks operates numerous other locations in the area.
BUZZ: Richard Gere remembers ‘the only cool kids’ in North Syracuse (PS; Herbert)
Richard Gere remembers the “cool kids” in North Syracuse, and apparently doesn’t think of himself as one of them.
The 75-year-old actor spoke about his childhood during an interview on the Italian talk show “Che tempo che fa” in Milan. The Daily Mail reports the award-winning star was promoting his new film, “Oh, Canada,” which is currently in select theaters.
“I love Italy, if I could I would be Italian,” Gere reportedly told the show. “I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. The only cool kids were Italians, very elegant, wonderful shoes, they had this way of moving... We all wanted to be Italian!”
Gere, a descendant of Mayflower pilgrims, was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Central New York, graduating from North Syracuse High School in 1967. He went to UMass-Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship before turning to a career in acting.
“Oh, Canada,” also starring Uma Thurman, Jacob Elordi and Michael Imperioli, tells the story of draft dodgers who fled to Canada to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. The film is directed by Paul Schrader, who previously collaborated with Gere on “American Gigolo.”
Gere said that he wished his father could have seen the film. Homer Gere, who spent most of his life in North Syracuse, died at age 100 last year.
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