sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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SU News
Christmas Shutting Down Opponents as Offense Continues to Emerge (PS; Klinger)
Editor’s note: Two beat writers were assigned to make a case for which player they would rather have for one game — one for Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas, one for Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.
I’m trying to remember the last time Rakeem Christmas actually lost a defensive post matchup.
You know, that time when an opposing team’s big man controlled the paint against him. It’s almost as hard to remember as it is to do — mostly because it hasn’t happened yet. And that’s why if you give me one game and a head coaching job, I’d take Christmas over Jahlil Okafor.
This is a today question, by the way. Okafor’s a lockdown lottery pick for the NBA Draft. Christmas is trying to get drafted. When the two are both retired from basketball, I expect that Okafor will have a more decorated pro career. But that’s not when this game is being played.
Instead, it’s happening in a season when Christmas doesn’t lose on defense. And that’s really what this boils down to.
Both he and Okafor have demonstrated that they’re too dynamic to be contained. They both average 18 points per game, they’re both going to get a lot of touches and they’re going to explode past their defenders to the rim or arc shots in over them.
...
Okafor's Personality Stands Out On and Off the Floor (DO; Schneidman)
Jahlil Okafor’s younger relatives will text and call him, telling the 6-foot-11 freshman that they saw him on TV, in Sports Illustrated or that their friends are talking about him.
For Okafor, it’s not about the NBA mock drafts that project him to go No. 1 overall, the constant praise from national media or even those hailing the 19-year-old as the best player in the country.
“For me the best part is having little brothers and little cousins that look up to me and them being able to see that,” Okafor said to The Daily Orange via Duke Athletics. “It makes them happy and it makes me feel good about myself.”
This season, Okafor is averaging 18 points and 9.1 rebounds, among the best numbers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, for a No. 4 Duke (21-3, 8-3 ACC) team that will visit the Carrier Dome for a matchup with Syracuse (16-8, 7-4) at 6 p.m. on Saturday. But for the freshman phenom, there’s a lot more than what’s visible on the court.
...
Duke's Okafor Like No Other College Big Man (DO; D'Abbraccio)
Editor’s note: Two beat writers were assigned to make a case for which player they would rather have for one game — one for Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas, one for Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.
Don’t get me wrong — Rakeem Christmas is having a hell of a season.
He’s enjoyed a relatively unprecedented spike in production for a Syracuse big man. A year after being the Orange’s fourth scoring option — and I use the word option cautiously — he’s in the conversation with the country’s best post players.
I’d gladly have his production on my team. But I wouldn’t pass on Jahlil Okafor first.
The 6-foot-11, 270-pound Duke freshman is in line for a ton of accolades this season and will probably be the first player to emerge from the green room at the NBA Draft. Christmas’ draft potential won’t even land him in the arena that day. In the long term, this isn’t much of a debate. On a one-day rental, though, it’s closer — but I’m still taking Okafor.
...
Plumlee Uses Duke Basketball To Prepare for Military Career (DO; Grossman)
Marshall Plumlee began having last-second thoughts about his college commitment.
Following a trip to a U.S. Army base in Germany with his all-star team as a junior in high school, Plumlee thought he wanted to take a different path in his life.
“‘Dad, I think maybe I made a mistake, maybe I committed to the wrong school,’” his father, Perky Plumlee recalls him saying. “’I think maybe I should’ve gone to West Point instead of Duke.’”
Plumlee spoke with Lt. Gen. Robert Brown on his visit to Germany, a former basketball player under then-West Point head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Brown explained to Plumlee that he could pursue a career in both basketball and the armed forces.
The 7-foot junior now doubles as a second-year ROTC student at Duke and the backup center for the Blue Devils, averaging just over two points per game. In January, Plumlee was sworn into the U.S. Army, where he will serve in the reserves upon his graduation in 2016.
...
SU Hoops: Do Free Throws Matter? Not Really... (sujuiceonline.com; Stechschulte)
We need to talk about something, even though it does not matter.
It is #FreeThrowsMatter.
No, really.
I understand free throws have value in basketball. A made free throw is worth a point and points are used to determine the winner of a basketball game, specifically that the team that scores the most points is the winning team.
I understand “free” is in the title of “free throw” and players who decline something “free” that is given to them are not helping their team. Because “free”.
I also understand that using this hashtag is the essential equivalent of trolling a basketball team. After all, it is only used when said team loses and, in said loss, said team follows the following path: If (number of missed free throws) > (margin of loss), then #FreeThrowsMatter.
...
Chris McCullough's Knee Surgery Goes Well; Full Recovery Expected (PS; Ditota)
Chris McCullough, the 6-foot-10 Syracuse basketball freshman, had knee surgery this morning to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"It went well," his uncle, Andre McCullough said by text message.
Chris McCullough injured the knee in a Jan. 11 game against Florida State in the Carrier Dome. He postponed surgery a couple weeks ago, when the swelling had not subsided enough to allow the procedure.
McCullough's surgery was performed in Manhattan by Dr. Answorth Allen, who also serves as the team orthopedist for the New York Knicks. McCullough had been looking forward to surgery so he could start the rigorous process of rehab and be ready for the 2015-16 basketball season.
...
Tales From the Crowd: Syracuse v. Boston College (TNIAAM; Nelson)
Schedule be damned. It turns out that the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team is playing two home games this week.
Circumstances required my dropping off the face of the sports world for a while. I was sad. Then, gifted with tickets to see my own Syracuse Orange play at nearby(ish) Boston College, the sky turned bright blue and there was no snow for an entire 8-hour span. It was glorious, even if it wasn't home.
Or was it?
Cut to the end of last night's 70-56 victory over the Boston College Eagles, and you would have thought you were in Syracuse, NY instead of Chestnut Hill, Mass. During the final 90 seconds, those clad in orange erupted in a bleacher-shaking "Let's Go Orange" chant that filled Conte Forum, making the whole place feel like the Dome.
Truth be told, though, anytime a singular fan shouted anything during the contest, it filled Conte Forum. Phrases like "it's more quiet than a library in here" and "BC should be embarrassed" could be heard throughout the arena.
At tip off, just about everyone did the stand-and-clap (sorry, not sorry) because just about everyone was for Syracuse. Even better, I started recognizing BC fans when cameras filmed the crowd during time outs. Not enough Eagles there to avoid repeats, I suppose.
Orange fans such as myself were done with snacks and our first beer (Just kidding. There's no beer here. It's still weird.) before any Eagles had landed. The "home" team's fans didn't start really showing up until midway through the first half, which, coincidentally, was exactly when Michael Gbinije did. He hit his first three-point shot at the 10:55 mark, and never let off the gas.
...
Former Players
MCW Leading by Example (philly.com; Cooney)
IT DIDN'T take long for Michael Carter-Williams to make an impression on his coach, his teammates and the NBA last season. In fact, it took all of about 48 minutes.
In his first NBA game, the rookie out of Syracuse posted the mind-boggling line of 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals and seven rebounds in the team's 2013 season-opener against the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.
The rookie of the year talk started right after that game and came to fruition after a season in which he started all 70 games he played, totalled 16 double-doubles and two triple-doubles and averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds.
More than numbers, though, the signature moment of MCW's rookie campaign came just before the trade deadline. The writing was on the wall that general manager Sam Hinkie was going to be dumping salary, so it came as no surprise when Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen were dealt at the trade deadline. Brett Brown knew it was coming, as was the departure of veteran Thaddeus Young, who was traded in the offseason to Minnesota. So the coach had a talk with his lead guard and told him that it was time for him to become more of a leader. Brown needed the 6-6, 185-pounder to take the youngest team in the league by the throat and lead by example as well as by words.
...
Christmas Shutting Down Opponents as Offense Continues to Emerge (PS; Klinger)
Editor’s note: Two beat writers were assigned to make a case for which player they would rather have for one game — one for Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas, one for Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.
I’m trying to remember the last time Rakeem Christmas actually lost a defensive post matchup.
You know, that time when an opposing team’s big man controlled the paint against him. It’s almost as hard to remember as it is to do — mostly because it hasn’t happened yet. And that’s why if you give me one game and a head coaching job, I’d take Christmas over Jahlil Okafor.
This is a today question, by the way. Okafor’s a lockdown lottery pick for the NBA Draft. Christmas is trying to get drafted. When the two are both retired from basketball, I expect that Okafor will have a more decorated pro career. But that’s not when this game is being played.
Instead, it’s happening in a season when Christmas doesn’t lose on defense. And that’s really what this boils down to.
Both he and Okafor have demonstrated that they’re too dynamic to be contained. They both average 18 points per game, they’re both going to get a lot of touches and they’re going to explode past their defenders to the rim or arc shots in over them.
...
Okafor's Personality Stands Out On and Off the Floor (DO; Schneidman)
Jahlil Okafor’s younger relatives will text and call him, telling the 6-foot-11 freshman that they saw him on TV, in Sports Illustrated or that their friends are talking about him.
For Okafor, it’s not about the NBA mock drafts that project him to go No. 1 overall, the constant praise from national media or even those hailing the 19-year-old as the best player in the country.
“For me the best part is having little brothers and little cousins that look up to me and them being able to see that,” Okafor said to The Daily Orange via Duke Athletics. “It makes them happy and it makes me feel good about myself.”
This season, Okafor is averaging 18 points and 9.1 rebounds, among the best numbers in the Atlantic Coast Conference, for a No. 4 Duke (21-3, 8-3 ACC) team that will visit the Carrier Dome for a matchup with Syracuse (16-8, 7-4) at 6 p.m. on Saturday. But for the freshman phenom, there’s a lot more than what’s visible on the court.
...
Duke's Okafor Like No Other College Big Man (DO; D'Abbraccio)
Editor’s note: Two beat writers were assigned to make a case for which player they would rather have for one game — one for Syracuse’s Rakeem Christmas, one for Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.
Don’t get me wrong — Rakeem Christmas is having a hell of a season.
He’s enjoyed a relatively unprecedented spike in production for a Syracuse big man. A year after being the Orange’s fourth scoring option — and I use the word option cautiously — he’s in the conversation with the country’s best post players.
I’d gladly have his production on my team. But I wouldn’t pass on Jahlil Okafor first.
The 6-foot-11, 270-pound Duke freshman is in line for a ton of accolades this season and will probably be the first player to emerge from the green room at the NBA Draft. Christmas’ draft potential won’t even land him in the arena that day. In the long term, this isn’t much of a debate. On a one-day rental, though, it’s closer — but I’m still taking Okafor.
...
Plumlee Uses Duke Basketball To Prepare for Military Career (DO; Grossman)
Marshall Plumlee began having last-second thoughts about his college commitment.
Following a trip to a U.S. Army base in Germany with his all-star team as a junior in high school, Plumlee thought he wanted to take a different path in his life.
“‘Dad, I think maybe I made a mistake, maybe I committed to the wrong school,’” his father, Perky Plumlee recalls him saying. “’I think maybe I should’ve gone to West Point instead of Duke.’”
Plumlee spoke with Lt. Gen. Robert Brown on his visit to Germany, a former basketball player under then-West Point head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Brown explained to Plumlee that he could pursue a career in both basketball and the armed forces.
The 7-foot junior now doubles as a second-year ROTC student at Duke and the backup center for the Blue Devils, averaging just over two points per game. In January, Plumlee was sworn into the U.S. Army, where he will serve in the reserves upon his graduation in 2016.
...
SU Hoops: Do Free Throws Matter? Not Really... (sujuiceonline.com; Stechschulte)
We need to talk about something, even though it does not matter.
It is #FreeThrowsMatter.
No, really.
I understand free throws have value in basketball. A made free throw is worth a point and points are used to determine the winner of a basketball game, specifically that the team that scores the most points is the winning team.
I understand “free” is in the title of “free throw” and players who decline something “free” that is given to them are not helping their team. Because “free”.
I also understand that using this hashtag is the essential equivalent of trolling a basketball team. After all, it is only used when said team loses and, in said loss, said team follows the following path: If (number of missed free throws) > (margin of loss), then #FreeThrowsMatter.
...
Chris McCullough's Knee Surgery Goes Well; Full Recovery Expected (PS; Ditota)
Chris McCullough, the 6-foot-10 Syracuse basketball freshman, had knee surgery this morning to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
"It went well," his uncle, Andre McCullough said by text message.
Chris McCullough injured the knee in a Jan. 11 game against Florida State in the Carrier Dome. He postponed surgery a couple weeks ago, when the swelling had not subsided enough to allow the procedure.
McCullough's surgery was performed in Manhattan by Dr. Answorth Allen, who also serves as the team orthopedist for the New York Knicks. McCullough had been looking forward to surgery so he could start the rigorous process of rehab and be ready for the 2015-16 basketball season.
...
Tales From the Crowd: Syracuse v. Boston College (TNIAAM; Nelson)
Schedule be damned. It turns out that the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team is playing two home games this week.
Circumstances required my dropping off the face of the sports world for a while. I was sad. Then, gifted with tickets to see my own Syracuse Orange play at nearby(ish) Boston College, the sky turned bright blue and there was no snow for an entire 8-hour span. It was glorious, even if it wasn't home.
Or was it?
Cut to the end of last night's 70-56 victory over the Boston College Eagles, and you would have thought you were in Syracuse, NY instead of Chestnut Hill, Mass. During the final 90 seconds, those clad in orange erupted in a bleacher-shaking "Let's Go Orange" chant that filled Conte Forum, making the whole place feel like the Dome.
Truth be told, though, anytime a singular fan shouted anything during the contest, it filled Conte Forum. Phrases like "it's more quiet than a library in here" and "BC should be embarrassed" could be heard throughout the arena.
At tip off, just about everyone did the stand-and-clap (sorry, not sorry) because just about everyone was for Syracuse. Even better, I started recognizing BC fans when cameras filmed the crowd during time outs. Not enough Eagles there to avoid repeats, I suppose.
Orange fans such as myself were done with snacks and our first beer (Just kidding. There's no beer here. It's still weird.) before any Eagles had landed. The "home" team's fans didn't start really showing up until midway through the first half, which, coincidentally, was exactly when Michael Gbinije did. He hit his first three-point shot at the 10:55 mark, and never let off the gas.
...
Former Players
MCW Leading by Example (philly.com; Cooney)
IT DIDN'T take long for Michael Carter-Williams to make an impression on his coach, his teammates and the NBA last season. In fact, it took all of about 48 minutes.
In his first NBA game, the rookie out of Syracuse posted the mind-boggling line of 22 points, 12 assists, nine steals and seven rebounds in the team's 2013 season-opener against the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.
The rookie of the year talk started right after that game and came to fruition after a season in which he started all 70 games he played, totalled 16 double-doubles and two triple-doubles and averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds.
More than numbers, though, the signature moment of MCW's rookie campaign came just before the trade deadline. The writing was on the wall that general manager Sam Hinkie was going to be dumping salary, so it came as no surprise when Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen were dealt at the trade deadline. Brett Brown knew it was coming, as was the departure of veteran Thaddeus Young, who was traded in the offseason to Minnesota. So the coach had a talk with his lead guard and told him that it was time for him to become more of a leader. Brown needed the 6-6, 185-pounder to take the youngest team in the league by the throat and lead by example as well as by words.
...
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