SWC75
Bored Historian
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Here is my annual comparison of what I said in my basketball preview last fall and what actually transpired.
Then:
IS THIS THE RIGHT TEAM?
It has been our long desire to be considered one of the elite programs of college basketball. We seem to have the credentials We’re the fifth winningest major college program of all time with 1,946 wins and a .692 winning percentage, (both are fifth, behind Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke – and ahead of UCLA). We’ve had 46 consecutive winning seasons, the longest streak in the country and second longest of all time, (UCLA had 54). We are 8th with 36 NCAA tournament appearances and also 8th with 65 victories. But there is one statistic that we lag behind in and it’s the most important one of all, at least in the minds of college basketball fans. We’ve won 1 national championship. Actually that’s wrong, because the Helms Foundation retroactively awarded two Syracuse teams, (1918 and 1926) “national championships (they were awarded in 1942). But most fans either aren’t aware of such titles or don’t care: the NCAA basketball tournament, which began in 1939 is the popular idea of a national championship.
That one national championship sure was fun and it was the happy ending of a long stretch during which we were good enough to dream of it but never achieved the dream. I’d been following SU basketball since the Dave Bing Era, nearly 40 years before we finally won. I remember the best thing about it was just reminding myself that we finally won every five minutes. But that one title ties us with the following schools: Oregon, Wisconsin, Stanford, Wyoming, Utah, Holy Cross, CCNY, LaSalle, California, Ohio State, Loyola (Chicago), Texas-El Paso, (formerly Texas Western), Marquette, Georgetown, Michigan, UNLV, Arkansas, Arizona and Maryland. There are some good basketball schools in that group but we don’t really see ourselves as equals with them, (and there’s one we definitely don’t want to be equated with).
We are the last national championship winning school to have won their only championship on that occasion, (Florida had never won before 2006 but they won their second title the next year. Since we won, Connecticut won their second championship, North Carolina won their 4th, Florida won their two, Kansas won their third, North Carolina won #5, Duke won #4, Connecticut won #3, Kentucky #8, Louisville #3, Connecticut #4, Duke #5 and Villanova #2. That’s the neighborhood we see ourselves living in, (except we still see ourselves above last year’s champions, who have now passed us). The desire to win another national championship is now nearly as great as the desire to win the first one was in 2003. And then we’d like to win another and another, like the schools we think we are as good as have been doing. But the rules say you’ve got to win a second one before you can win a third one and you can only win one at a time. So we’d like to win one this year so we can begin climbing the ladder again.
Before you can win a national championship, you have to make it to the Final Four. We’ve done that 6 times. We went once a decade from the 1970’s to the 2000’s. This is the first decade in which we’ve gone to the Final Four twice. The problem is we did it with the wrong teams. Our 2010 team is one of my favorite Syracuse teams ever... And then it was over. I’ll always believe that our first national championship was the one we surrendered by missing those free throws against Indiana in 1987, our second one was the one we actually won in 2003 and our third was the one we didn’t win because we lost AO in 2010. …. Two years later we had a team that might have been even better…. We never got the shot. To have two national championship contenders in three years and to lose our starting center just before the tournament began each time was pretty tough to take…. The teams we sent to the Final Four were the 2013 and 2016 teams…. I posted that we’d gone to the Final Four twice –but with the wrong teams. Everybody knew what I was talking about. We should have been in the Final Four with the 2010 and 2012 teams. Instead we get there with the 2013 and 2016 teams, neither of which really had the personnel to win a national championship. Actually, that’s been our whole problem all along. Our 1975 Final Four team was unranked. There were no seedings at the time. Our 1987 team was ranked #10 and a #2 seed. Our 1996 was ranked #14 and seeded #4. Our 2003 team was ranked #12 and seeded #3. Our 2013 team was ranked #19 and seeded #4 our 2016 team was unranked and seeded #10. None of these teams were supposed to get to the Final Four. Our 1977, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2010 and 2012 teams were all ranked higher than any of our Final Four teams but never made it that far. That’s ten teams. We keep sending the wrong teams to the Final Four!... We’ve got another chance to send the right team to the Final Four this year, a team that combines the best features of the 2010 and 2012 teams. This could be “the right team”.
Now:
It wasn’t.
Then:
CENTERS
DaJuan Coleman, 6-9 258, senior
Last year we held our breath as he tried to play an entire season without re-injuring his knee and he made it. He managed to play in all 37 games and averaged 17.5 minutes per game. Here are his averages for the season, adjusted to 40 minutes so we can see what it might be if he played an entire game:
17.5M 11.2P 10.7R 0.9A 1.6S 2.0B = 26.4+ 3.5MFG 1.5MFT 2.5TO 6.3PF = 13.8- = 12.6NP 6.2OE 6.4FG
A guy who scored 11 points, had 11 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and two blocks would be considered to have a pretty good game.
He can score, although, like a lot of big men, he’s found that the moves that worked in high school don’t work as well in college. He can’t bull his way past everyone and he’s not taller than the guys guarding him, (I think he’s really 6-8, not 6-9). He has a tendency to hold the ball too low, which not that many guys who can do that in college ball any more. He’s a good rebounder and not a bad passer. In high school he was famous for his long outlet passes, although we haven’t seen much of that on this level. His big problem is the fouls: they only allow 5 of them and DaJuan commits 6.3 per 40 minutes. Then there’s his limited mobility: when he’s in the game, we are pretty much stuck in a half-court offense because he can’t get up and down the court.
I recall that Rakeem Christimas was another Mickey Dee who was disappointing for three years but started to have some big games late in his junior year and then played like an All-American his senior year. Rak didn’t have DaJuan’s knees but I have hopes that DC II, as he’s sometimes called, (no he’s not related to Derrick Coleman), can become a consistent contributor this season.
Now:
He played well early in the season but his knees started bothering him and by the time the conference season began, it was so bad that, according to Coach Boeheim, he had trouble getting on and off the team bus. He didn’t play after that, except for a couple of minutes on senior day. A sad ending to a once-promising career. People complain that our recruiting has fallen off. If this McDonald’s All-American had healthy knees, they might not be saying that.
Then:
Paschal Chukwu, 7-2 226, sophomore
I saw Chukwu last season standing next to Chinoso Obokoh, who was listed at 6-9. It seemed to me that the top of Obokoh’s head came up to about Chukwu’s chin. 7-2 is 5 inches taller than 6-9 so my perception wasn’t too far off. His arm span is to scale. He’s obviously not bulky but he didn’t really look skinny, either. I’ve only seen one film clip of his play from the one year he spent at Providence before transferring to SU. He looked athletic and quick. He blocked a shot, ran the length of the court and violently dunked in a follow shot. He looked like a great fish leaping out of the sea. Visions of such a player operating in the middle of Boeheim’s zone danced in my head. I recalled that we’d gone 30-1 with Fab Melo in the line-up in 2012 and I wondered if maybe we could have that type of team again with Chukwu.
…He’s very cerebral and is fascinated by the zone, which he says goes against a player’s normal tendencies. He still had a lot to learn at that point. The speed of the game at this level was also an adjustment. He’s building up his body thought diet and the weight room. I have a feeling that African players are simply not used to consuming large quantities of food because of the poverty in their countries and having to eat like an American athlete is still another adjustment. Playing against the bulky Coleman in practice has shown him that he has to get stronger so he can hold his ground in the paint against the type of players he will face.
Neither he or Coleman are 35-40 minute a game players so I suspect they will split the positon, which will be interesting because they are the exact opposite of each other: a somewhat short but strong college center with limited mobility but who can score and rebound in the paint vs. a thin skyscraper lacking in some basic skills but who is incredibly long and athletic and could make the zone an almost impossible defense to score against unless you go off from outside. I’m guessing we might even have a different sort of line-up with Coleman in the game than with Chukwu in the game. Coleman should be surrounded by jump-shooters and guards who can feed the post. Chukwu won’t clog the lane and should be surrounded by drivers and guys who can run the court. We’ve got both. We’ll be a different team, depending on who is playing center.
Now:
Chukwu could block shots but no clue how to play in Boeheim’s zone, to the eternal frustration of the coach. the same was true for the press JB wanted to use. Paschal always ran up toward where the ball was and left the basket unprotected. He couldn’t score and didn’t rebound much. Because he was always out of positon, he committed to many fouls. He was all arms and legs, something like a Daddy Longs Legs on a basketball court. He need to get much stronger and to learn the zone. Then he got hit in the eye by a stray ball. He tried to play with goggles but it wasn’t working. Eventually he was diagnosed with a detached retina. A couple of operations and his season was over.
He still has two years left here and I haven’t given up on the idea that he someday could be a dominating presence inside Boeheim’s zone. He’s got to recover, he’s got to get much stronger and he’s got to learn the defense. Even without that he was blocking two shots a game while playing only 12 minutes a game. And, like they say, you can’t teach 7-2.
Then:
Tyler Roberson, 6-8 226, senior
The starting forwards will be the “two Tylers”. (If Tyler Ennis had stayed for four years, this would be his senior year and we’d have three of them.) This Tyler is strong and, when he chooses to be, an aggressive rebounder. He works his game off of this one skill. He’s not much of a shooter and an average defender but when he gets the ball, he can score inside and becomes a double-double machine. He had seven of them, including 14 points and 20 rebounds in the win at Duke and 10 points and 18 rebounds in the NCAA victory over Dayton. On the flip side you’ll find 0 point 4 rebound and 4 point 2 rebound performances against Pittsburgh. That’s why Mike Hopkins keeps trying to find ways of motivating him to be “turned on Robie”. When he is, he’s a totally different player and we are a totally different team. Boeheim’s approach was to remind Roberson that he was at the end of his junior year now and that he expected Tyler to become one of the team’s leaders. It led to a big tournament.
Now:
It didn’t lead to much of anything this year. Tyler never had a game like the Duke or Dayton games. His offensive game never developed. Our defense was better with him in there but Taurean Thompson’s defense was a low bar to jump over. One of the great things about being a college sports fan is watching the players improve through their careers. One of the frustrating things is when they don’t.
Then:
Tyler Lydon, 6-9 223, sophomore
The NBA was hot after one of our freshman last year but it wasn’t Malachi Richardson, who jumped to the pros. It was Tyler Lydon, who didn’t. When I first heard of Lydon he was a skinny jump shooter who seemed like he might make a small forward but seemed to lack the bulk and skills to play inside, despite his height. Then came reports from summer and pre-season camp that current and past SU players who worked out with the team were highly impressed with his all-around game. He could shoot it but he could also drive to the basket, rebound and block shots... Sometimes he played on the perimeter, sometimes as a power forward, sometimes even at center, where he overtook Obokoh as the back-up center. Everything they had said about him over the summer had come true. There were predictions he’d join Richardson in declaring for the draft but fortunately, they didn’t come true. He looks to be the star of the team this year and a major all-American candidate.
Now:
JB tried Lydon at small forward but it didn’t work: it too Tyler too far from the basket to do anything but take long jump shots. And at 6-9, he wasn’t ideal for guarding the perimeter. As Roberson faded, he got more time at forward but when both Coleman and Chukwu were laid low by their injuries, he became our -time center and a did a fine job, becoming an excellent rebounder and developing some inside moves. But he took outside shots less often and more reluctantly. In fact his reluctance to shoot the ball almost seemed to have become a phobia. When he missed from outside, he became useless because he couldn’t get close enough to rebound the ball. He’ll never be a center in the NBA and another year of playing power forward, his best college positon, would have helped but he finally heard the siren call of the NBA and moved on.
Then:
Taurean Thompson, 6-10 220, freshman
Taurean took a looooong time to decide which college he was coming to. His mother said he wanted to go someplace where he would “start immediately”. That wasn’t going to happen here with the two Tylers. Both the Tylers are likely to be gone next year and that’s Taurean’s big chance. He finally decided to come here just before the fall semester began and we’re glad to have him. He’s a tall, rangy ‘Syracuse’ type forward who could play power forward or center. We won’t need a big contribution form him this year but if he’s ready to contribute immediately he’ll get some playing time. One of his big roles will be to turn on Tyler Roberson when he’s turned off by giving him some competition and Boeheim as extra option.
“Taurean isn't your typical high school big man. His strength separates himself from most in the 2016 class and his ability to rebound puts him in an elite bunch…..His size will give him an edge on the floor from his first day on campus as a Syracuse University student. Coach Smith told CuseNation.com that Taurean has a tremendous work ethic and is as skilled as any big man that has come through Brewster Academy under his watch.”
“Thompson is a long, lean big man prospect with an athletic build. He is not an overly explosive athlete, but he is a quick jumper with good timing and instinct. On the high school circuit, this allows him to be an effective rebounder and shot blocker. He is particularly effective as an offensive rebounder, often crashing the glass and putting the ball back in the hoop before the defender has a chance to react. Offensively, Thompson has good touch around the rim and has strong hands to corral passes on the interior. In addition, Thompson can step out and shoot out to around 15-17 feet, which is a good asset for a big man prospect. In the long run, Thompson could be a nice inside-outside threat.”
Now:
Thompson got plenty of playing time with the injuries to the centers and the dismal senior year of Roberson. The big thing that limited it was his propensity to foul, which was, in turn, a product of his terrible defense, which was like a revolving door. But, offensively, he was as skilled a freshman big man as we have seen, with excellent moves in the paint and range out to 20 feet. He averaged 20.6 points per 40 minutes of play, the highest on the team, (Andrew White was 19.8). Towards the end of the season he showed signs of finally figuring out the zone as he played better defense, (5 steals in the last game vs. Mississippi), committed fewer fouls and also rebounded better. With that work ethic, we should see further improvement next year and he could develop into a star.
Then:
Matthew Moyer, 6-8 220, freshman
Moyer was player of the year in Ohio and the first of the newcomers to sign with Syracuse. My immediate reaction as that he was the guy who would “turn on Tyler” by giving Boeheim an option at Roberson’s spot. He’s not the only alternative anymore and he hurt his foot, developing, “"Grade 3 turf toe, which is the worst you can get," Moyer said Tuesday.”The sesamoid bone fractured and the ligament severed." Ugh. Nonetheless, he seems to have healed rapidly enough that he won’t need surgery. Still, he may have fallen behind others as an option and it’s not clear what contribution he will make this year.
Here is a scouting report prior to his injury: “Matt can stretch the floor, has a decent handle and can get by slower defenders from the perimeter. His 3-point shot is a work-in-progress, but he has the ability to get going and make defenders respect it. On the glass, Matt is a very good rebounder. He's a very versatile player, which will benefit everyone. He can play multiple positions, which will make him more valuable to Jim Boeheim.”
Now:
Nothing more to report since he never played. Essentially he’s become a part of our incoming recruiting class as he’ll have four years of eligibility left. I think he’d probably be its highest rated member. He was ranked as high at #19 in the country by the 247 site.
Then:
Franklin Howard, 6-5 205, sophomore
Howard rode the pines most of his freshman year, largely because he didn’t have much of a shot. But he was a creative passer, (sometimes a little too creative for Coach Boeheim), and he has good size at the top of the zone. He’s said to be working on his shot and might be able to score enough to fight off all the newcomers in the backcourt for significant playing time… He rebounded well for a guard and got a lot of assists, (JB called him our only true point guard). He had too many turnovers but still maintained a 2-1 ratio. He committed too many fouls. He played like a talented freshman in need of a jump shot.
Now:
Howard was unable to win the competition with John Gillon for the point guard spot. He shot the ball better than last year but not nearly as well as Gillon. He was taller and a better defensive player and could pass the ball well. But he lacked Gillon’s speed and couldn’t get to the basket the way he could.
But Howard was a sophomore and Gillon a 5th year senior. Like Chukwu he has two years to develop. The question is: will he? His stats were actually similar to Lazarus Sim’s as a senior and Howard is of similar size but not as a strong. He needs to develop quite a bit to become what Sims was, (there’s a lot not covered by the stats). And he could also fail to develop, like Roberson. Stay tuned.
Then:
John Gillon, 6-0 178, senior
At 6-0 he’s not ideal at the top of the zone, but his quickness may enable him to harass the other team’s point guard on the way up court…."He's really quick. He'll be the quickest guy on the team. If not, then I'll be really impressed with the speed of somebody else on the Syracuse roster. "He can shoot it from deep. That creates a problem. You don't want to just let him take the shot, but you have to respect his speed.'' And "The thing that jumps out to me is his speed and quickness. He's a jet. We couldn't keep him in front of us. I'm not saying he's Chris Paul, but he's fast. "He can get in the lane and bother you. He's a little bit smaller than most Syracuse guards, but for Gillon, it's all about his speed and quickness.''
And: "First of all, he's a shooter. He shoots it from deep. That was the first thing on our scouting report for him. You'll see him pull up from 22, 23, 24 feet, past the NBA line. "He plays hard. All of (Colorado State coach Larry) Eustachy's guys play hard. That's their mantra. "He can play the point, but he's really a combo guard. He can handle the ball. He basically shared the point guard duties for them.''
Now:
He was far from ideal at the top of the zone and he didn’t harass the other team’s point guard going down court because we don’t do that here. He certainly was quick and had deep range. When he went off, he went off, scoring 43 points on 9 of 10 shooting from three point range vs. NC State and scoring 26, including a 40 foot winner at the buzzer vs. Duke. He was as good a free throw shooter as we’ve ever had, once making 47 in a row. He was the prefect man to have in the game on those rare occasions when we were protecting a lead. He averaged a healthy 7.3 assists per 40 minutes compared to 2.8 turnovers, a solid 2 ½ to 1 ratio. He could get to the basket against anyone but with his size he had trouble finishing against the big men of the ACC. But his real problem was consistency. He failed to get to double digits in point 18 times, including three where he never scored a point. In one game he never attempted a shot. He was either Steph or a stiff. We’ll remember the good games but there should have been more of them.
Then:
Andrew White, 6-7 220, senior
…he is a superb, multi-threat scorer who can also help out on the boards. In a way, he’s the player we hoped Malachi Richardson could become if he had stayed.
He and Gillon will give us some of the firepower back we lost when we lost Gbinije, Cooney and Richardson and take some of the pressure off of Lydon to score and score from outside. One possible problem: White seems a natural forward but we have plenty of them and will need him in backcourt. He’ll supply plenty of height for the zone but will have to cover smaller men over a lot of space. And he’ll be farther from the basket than he is used to on offense. But I think he has the skills to adjust to that. One possible line-up could involve putting Lydon at power forward, White at small forward and some combination of Howard, Gillon and Battle in the backcourt. That could be a very potent line-up.
A scouting report: “White gives Syracuse a big time outside shooting threat, length, a natural scorer, quality athlete and positional versatility. The Nebraska transfer can play shooting guard or small forward, allowing the Orange to use a plethora of lineups depending on the situation. He also gives Syracuse another long athlete to place in the zone, and he has shown the ability to be a quality defender.”
I also think he’s got a special motivation: he went to Kansas to be a star player for a top team and his dreams were crushed. At Nebraska he was a star player but not for a top team. Now he’s at Syracuse to finally become what he believes he should be. I’m not suggesting he’ll have an attitude problem if he’s not treated like the star of the team, just that this is last chance to make his dreams come true. That could be a very good thing for Syracuse.
Now:
White became one of the best – and most consistent – players we’ve had here, as well as the most admired. He was well-spoken and consistent in his demeanor and seemed to be a fine leader as well as a spectacular scorer. His 40 point game against Georgia tech gave our two grad transfers two of the four 40 point games in the Boeheim Era. He was not a strong defender and wasn’t comfortable at the 2 guard position. His presence at small forward hurt us defensively and on the boards. But we wouldn’t have won 10 games without him. And Kansas sure could have used him.
Then:
Tyus Battle, 6-6 205, freshman
Tyus was our highest- rated recruit at 5 stars. He just missed the McDonald’s All-American team, (and would have been a cinch for it had he gone to Duke). He’s another tall guard. He’s supposed to be great at driving the ball and is working on his outside shot. He wasn’t a point guard in high school but wants to be one in college because that’s his like positon in the NBA if he makes it there, (and I sense that he doesn’t see that as a problem). There could be some friction if he doesn’t win the point guard job. In interviews he seems somewhat like White – a well-spoken mature guy, (even as a freshman) who believes that he and this team are capable of anything they put their minds to. I’ll take all of those guys we can get.
“Battle is a dynamic wing scorer with range out to the three-point line who can beat defenders off the dribble and guard multiple positions. He potentially could play multiple positions in Syracuse’s backcourt; he has the creative intuition to man the point, the athleticism and craft to drive and finish at the rim and the shooting stroke to stretch defenses. Battle said Syracuse views him “more as a combo guard—play the point a little bit, play the two a little bit.”
Now:
Battle never played the point, (and JB told off Brent Axe when he suggested he should). He was ‘2’ guard all the way and excellent one. His jump shot was wife he could get set it up better than anyone, (even White), off the dribble. He could get to the rack and finish better than anyone on the team. He was a decent ball handler and a good defender. He hit a trey at the buzzer to beat Clemson while battling the flu. He did not opt for the NBA and will come back next year as the team’s #1 player.
Overall: It was a frustrating but exciting season. We could score with anyone but had trouble stopping anyone, especially on the road. The more exciting games we have, the fewer games we are likely to win. You can compete with team with offense but you control them with defense and we were like a truck with no brakes all year. Each team is different: the 2010 team was different from 2011 which was different from 2012, etc. etc. The 2018 will be different form this one. If they can stop people we have a chance to get better, if a little duller.
Then:
IS THIS THE RIGHT TEAM?
It has been our long desire to be considered one of the elite programs of college basketball. We seem to have the credentials We’re the fifth winningest major college program of all time with 1,946 wins and a .692 winning percentage, (both are fifth, behind Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke – and ahead of UCLA). We’ve had 46 consecutive winning seasons, the longest streak in the country and second longest of all time, (UCLA had 54). We are 8th with 36 NCAA tournament appearances and also 8th with 65 victories. But there is one statistic that we lag behind in and it’s the most important one of all, at least in the minds of college basketball fans. We’ve won 1 national championship. Actually that’s wrong, because the Helms Foundation retroactively awarded two Syracuse teams, (1918 and 1926) “national championships (they were awarded in 1942). But most fans either aren’t aware of such titles or don’t care: the NCAA basketball tournament, which began in 1939 is the popular idea of a national championship.
That one national championship sure was fun and it was the happy ending of a long stretch during which we were good enough to dream of it but never achieved the dream. I’d been following SU basketball since the Dave Bing Era, nearly 40 years before we finally won. I remember the best thing about it was just reminding myself that we finally won every five minutes. But that one title ties us with the following schools: Oregon, Wisconsin, Stanford, Wyoming, Utah, Holy Cross, CCNY, LaSalle, California, Ohio State, Loyola (Chicago), Texas-El Paso, (formerly Texas Western), Marquette, Georgetown, Michigan, UNLV, Arkansas, Arizona and Maryland. There are some good basketball schools in that group but we don’t really see ourselves as equals with them, (and there’s one we definitely don’t want to be equated with).
We are the last national championship winning school to have won their only championship on that occasion, (Florida had never won before 2006 but they won their second title the next year. Since we won, Connecticut won their second championship, North Carolina won their 4th, Florida won their two, Kansas won their third, North Carolina won #5, Duke won #4, Connecticut won #3, Kentucky #8, Louisville #3, Connecticut #4, Duke #5 and Villanova #2. That’s the neighborhood we see ourselves living in, (except we still see ourselves above last year’s champions, who have now passed us). The desire to win another national championship is now nearly as great as the desire to win the first one was in 2003. And then we’d like to win another and another, like the schools we think we are as good as have been doing. But the rules say you’ve got to win a second one before you can win a third one and you can only win one at a time. So we’d like to win one this year so we can begin climbing the ladder again.
Before you can win a national championship, you have to make it to the Final Four. We’ve done that 6 times. We went once a decade from the 1970’s to the 2000’s. This is the first decade in which we’ve gone to the Final Four twice. The problem is we did it with the wrong teams. Our 2010 team is one of my favorite Syracuse teams ever... And then it was over. I’ll always believe that our first national championship was the one we surrendered by missing those free throws against Indiana in 1987, our second one was the one we actually won in 2003 and our third was the one we didn’t win because we lost AO in 2010. …. Two years later we had a team that might have been even better…. We never got the shot. To have two national championship contenders in three years and to lose our starting center just before the tournament began each time was pretty tough to take…. The teams we sent to the Final Four were the 2013 and 2016 teams…. I posted that we’d gone to the Final Four twice –but with the wrong teams. Everybody knew what I was talking about. We should have been in the Final Four with the 2010 and 2012 teams. Instead we get there with the 2013 and 2016 teams, neither of which really had the personnel to win a national championship. Actually, that’s been our whole problem all along. Our 1975 Final Four team was unranked. There were no seedings at the time. Our 1987 team was ranked #10 and a #2 seed. Our 1996 was ranked #14 and seeded #4. Our 2003 team was ranked #12 and seeded #3. Our 2013 team was ranked #19 and seeded #4 our 2016 team was unranked and seeded #10. None of these teams were supposed to get to the Final Four. Our 1977, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2010 and 2012 teams were all ranked higher than any of our Final Four teams but never made it that far. That’s ten teams. We keep sending the wrong teams to the Final Four!... We’ve got another chance to send the right team to the Final Four this year, a team that combines the best features of the 2010 and 2012 teams. This could be “the right team”.
Now:
It wasn’t.
Then:
CENTERS
DaJuan Coleman, 6-9 258, senior
Last year we held our breath as he tried to play an entire season without re-injuring his knee and he made it. He managed to play in all 37 games and averaged 17.5 minutes per game. Here are his averages for the season, adjusted to 40 minutes so we can see what it might be if he played an entire game:
17.5M 11.2P 10.7R 0.9A 1.6S 2.0B = 26.4+ 3.5MFG 1.5MFT 2.5TO 6.3PF = 13.8- = 12.6NP 6.2OE 6.4FG
A guy who scored 11 points, had 11 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and two blocks would be considered to have a pretty good game.
He can score, although, like a lot of big men, he’s found that the moves that worked in high school don’t work as well in college. He can’t bull his way past everyone and he’s not taller than the guys guarding him, (I think he’s really 6-8, not 6-9). He has a tendency to hold the ball too low, which not that many guys who can do that in college ball any more. He’s a good rebounder and not a bad passer. In high school he was famous for his long outlet passes, although we haven’t seen much of that on this level. His big problem is the fouls: they only allow 5 of them and DaJuan commits 6.3 per 40 minutes. Then there’s his limited mobility: when he’s in the game, we are pretty much stuck in a half-court offense because he can’t get up and down the court.
I recall that Rakeem Christimas was another Mickey Dee who was disappointing for three years but started to have some big games late in his junior year and then played like an All-American his senior year. Rak didn’t have DaJuan’s knees but I have hopes that DC II, as he’s sometimes called, (no he’s not related to Derrick Coleman), can become a consistent contributor this season.
Now:
He played well early in the season but his knees started bothering him and by the time the conference season began, it was so bad that, according to Coach Boeheim, he had trouble getting on and off the team bus. He didn’t play after that, except for a couple of minutes on senior day. A sad ending to a once-promising career. People complain that our recruiting has fallen off. If this McDonald’s All-American had healthy knees, they might not be saying that.
Then:
Paschal Chukwu, 7-2 226, sophomore
I saw Chukwu last season standing next to Chinoso Obokoh, who was listed at 6-9. It seemed to me that the top of Obokoh’s head came up to about Chukwu’s chin. 7-2 is 5 inches taller than 6-9 so my perception wasn’t too far off. His arm span is to scale. He’s obviously not bulky but he didn’t really look skinny, either. I’ve only seen one film clip of his play from the one year he spent at Providence before transferring to SU. He looked athletic and quick. He blocked a shot, ran the length of the court and violently dunked in a follow shot. He looked like a great fish leaping out of the sea. Visions of such a player operating in the middle of Boeheim’s zone danced in my head. I recalled that we’d gone 30-1 with Fab Melo in the line-up in 2012 and I wondered if maybe we could have that type of team again with Chukwu.
…He’s very cerebral and is fascinated by the zone, which he says goes against a player’s normal tendencies. He still had a lot to learn at that point. The speed of the game at this level was also an adjustment. He’s building up his body thought diet and the weight room. I have a feeling that African players are simply not used to consuming large quantities of food because of the poverty in their countries and having to eat like an American athlete is still another adjustment. Playing against the bulky Coleman in practice has shown him that he has to get stronger so he can hold his ground in the paint against the type of players he will face.
Neither he or Coleman are 35-40 minute a game players so I suspect they will split the positon, which will be interesting because they are the exact opposite of each other: a somewhat short but strong college center with limited mobility but who can score and rebound in the paint vs. a thin skyscraper lacking in some basic skills but who is incredibly long and athletic and could make the zone an almost impossible defense to score against unless you go off from outside. I’m guessing we might even have a different sort of line-up with Coleman in the game than with Chukwu in the game. Coleman should be surrounded by jump-shooters and guards who can feed the post. Chukwu won’t clog the lane and should be surrounded by drivers and guys who can run the court. We’ve got both. We’ll be a different team, depending on who is playing center.
Now:
Chukwu could block shots but no clue how to play in Boeheim’s zone, to the eternal frustration of the coach. the same was true for the press JB wanted to use. Paschal always ran up toward where the ball was and left the basket unprotected. He couldn’t score and didn’t rebound much. Because he was always out of positon, he committed to many fouls. He was all arms and legs, something like a Daddy Longs Legs on a basketball court. He need to get much stronger and to learn the zone. Then he got hit in the eye by a stray ball. He tried to play with goggles but it wasn’t working. Eventually he was diagnosed with a detached retina. A couple of operations and his season was over.
He still has two years left here and I haven’t given up on the idea that he someday could be a dominating presence inside Boeheim’s zone. He’s got to recover, he’s got to get much stronger and he’s got to learn the defense. Even without that he was blocking two shots a game while playing only 12 minutes a game. And, like they say, you can’t teach 7-2.
Then:
Tyler Roberson, 6-8 226, senior
The starting forwards will be the “two Tylers”. (If Tyler Ennis had stayed for four years, this would be his senior year and we’d have three of them.) This Tyler is strong and, when he chooses to be, an aggressive rebounder. He works his game off of this one skill. He’s not much of a shooter and an average defender but when he gets the ball, he can score inside and becomes a double-double machine. He had seven of them, including 14 points and 20 rebounds in the win at Duke and 10 points and 18 rebounds in the NCAA victory over Dayton. On the flip side you’ll find 0 point 4 rebound and 4 point 2 rebound performances against Pittsburgh. That’s why Mike Hopkins keeps trying to find ways of motivating him to be “turned on Robie”. When he is, he’s a totally different player and we are a totally different team. Boeheim’s approach was to remind Roberson that he was at the end of his junior year now and that he expected Tyler to become one of the team’s leaders. It led to a big tournament.
Now:
It didn’t lead to much of anything this year. Tyler never had a game like the Duke or Dayton games. His offensive game never developed. Our defense was better with him in there but Taurean Thompson’s defense was a low bar to jump over. One of the great things about being a college sports fan is watching the players improve through their careers. One of the frustrating things is when they don’t.
Then:
Tyler Lydon, 6-9 223, sophomore
The NBA was hot after one of our freshman last year but it wasn’t Malachi Richardson, who jumped to the pros. It was Tyler Lydon, who didn’t. When I first heard of Lydon he was a skinny jump shooter who seemed like he might make a small forward but seemed to lack the bulk and skills to play inside, despite his height. Then came reports from summer and pre-season camp that current and past SU players who worked out with the team were highly impressed with his all-around game. He could shoot it but he could also drive to the basket, rebound and block shots... Sometimes he played on the perimeter, sometimes as a power forward, sometimes even at center, where he overtook Obokoh as the back-up center. Everything they had said about him over the summer had come true. There were predictions he’d join Richardson in declaring for the draft but fortunately, they didn’t come true. He looks to be the star of the team this year and a major all-American candidate.
Now:
JB tried Lydon at small forward but it didn’t work: it too Tyler too far from the basket to do anything but take long jump shots. And at 6-9, he wasn’t ideal for guarding the perimeter. As Roberson faded, he got more time at forward but when both Coleman and Chukwu were laid low by their injuries, he became our -time center and a did a fine job, becoming an excellent rebounder and developing some inside moves. But he took outside shots less often and more reluctantly. In fact his reluctance to shoot the ball almost seemed to have become a phobia. When he missed from outside, he became useless because he couldn’t get close enough to rebound the ball. He’ll never be a center in the NBA and another year of playing power forward, his best college positon, would have helped but he finally heard the siren call of the NBA and moved on.
Then:
Taurean Thompson, 6-10 220, freshman
Taurean took a looooong time to decide which college he was coming to. His mother said he wanted to go someplace where he would “start immediately”. That wasn’t going to happen here with the two Tylers. Both the Tylers are likely to be gone next year and that’s Taurean’s big chance. He finally decided to come here just before the fall semester began and we’re glad to have him. He’s a tall, rangy ‘Syracuse’ type forward who could play power forward or center. We won’t need a big contribution form him this year but if he’s ready to contribute immediately he’ll get some playing time. One of his big roles will be to turn on Tyler Roberson when he’s turned off by giving him some competition and Boeheim as extra option.
“Taurean isn't your typical high school big man. His strength separates himself from most in the 2016 class and his ability to rebound puts him in an elite bunch…..His size will give him an edge on the floor from his first day on campus as a Syracuse University student. Coach Smith told CuseNation.com that Taurean has a tremendous work ethic and is as skilled as any big man that has come through Brewster Academy under his watch.”
“Thompson is a long, lean big man prospect with an athletic build. He is not an overly explosive athlete, but he is a quick jumper with good timing and instinct. On the high school circuit, this allows him to be an effective rebounder and shot blocker. He is particularly effective as an offensive rebounder, often crashing the glass and putting the ball back in the hoop before the defender has a chance to react. Offensively, Thompson has good touch around the rim and has strong hands to corral passes on the interior. In addition, Thompson can step out and shoot out to around 15-17 feet, which is a good asset for a big man prospect. In the long run, Thompson could be a nice inside-outside threat.”
Now:
Thompson got plenty of playing time with the injuries to the centers and the dismal senior year of Roberson. The big thing that limited it was his propensity to foul, which was, in turn, a product of his terrible defense, which was like a revolving door. But, offensively, he was as skilled a freshman big man as we have seen, with excellent moves in the paint and range out to 20 feet. He averaged 20.6 points per 40 minutes of play, the highest on the team, (Andrew White was 19.8). Towards the end of the season he showed signs of finally figuring out the zone as he played better defense, (5 steals in the last game vs. Mississippi), committed fewer fouls and also rebounded better. With that work ethic, we should see further improvement next year and he could develop into a star.
Then:
Matthew Moyer, 6-8 220, freshman
Moyer was player of the year in Ohio and the first of the newcomers to sign with Syracuse. My immediate reaction as that he was the guy who would “turn on Tyler” by giving Boeheim an option at Roberson’s spot. He’s not the only alternative anymore and he hurt his foot, developing, “"Grade 3 turf toe, which is the worst you can get," Moyer said Tuesday.”The sesamoid bone fractured and the ligament severed." Ugh. Nonetheless, he seems to have healed rapidly enough that he won’t need surgery. Still, he may have fallen behind others as an option and it’s not clear what contribution he will make this year.
Here is a scouting report prior to his injury: “Matt can stretch the floor, has a decent handle and can get by slower defenders from the perimeter. His 3-point shot is a work-in-progress, but he has the ability to get going and make defenders respect it. On the glass, Matt is a very good rebounder. He's a very versatile player, which will benefit everyone. He can play multiple positions, which will make him more valuable to Jim Boeheim.”
Now:
Nothing more to report since he never played. Essentially he’s become a part of our incoming recruiting class as he’ll have four years of eligibility left. I think he’d probably be its highest rated member. He was ranked as high at #19 in the country by the 247 site.
Then:
Franklin Howard, 6-5 205, sophomore
Howard rode the pines most of his freshman year, largely because he didn’t have much of a shot. But he was a creative passer, (sometimes a little too creative for Coach Boeheim), and he has good size at the top of the zone. He’s said to be working on his shot and might be able to score enough to fight off all the newcomers in the backcourt for significant playing time… He rebounded well for a guard and got a lot of assists, (JB called him our only true point guard). He had too many turnovers but still maintained a 2-1 ratio. He committed too many fouls. He played like a talented freshman in need of a jump shot.
Now:
Howard was unable to win the competition with John Gillon for the point guard spot. He shot the ball better than last year but not nearly as well as Gillon. He was taller and a better defensive player and could pass the ball well. But he lacked Gillon’s speed and couldn’t get to the basket the way he could.
But Howard was a sophomore and Gillon a 5th year senior. Like Chukwu he has two years to develop. The question is: will he? His stats were actually similar to Lazarus Sim’s as a senior and Howard is of similar size but not as a strong. He needs to develop quite a bit to become what Sims was, (there’s a lot not covered by the stats). And he could also fail to develop, like Roberson. Stay tuned.
Then:
John Gillon, 6-0 178, senior
At 6-0 he’s not ideal at the top of the zone, but his quickness may enable him to harass the other team’s point guard on the way up court…."He's really quick. He'll be the quickest guy on the team. If not, then I'll be really impressed with the speed of somebody else on the Syracuse roster. "He can shoot it from deep. That creates a problem. You don't want to just let him take the shot, but you have to respect his speed.'' And "The thing that jumps out to me is his speed and quickness. He's a jet. We couldn't keep him in front of us. I'm not saying he's Chris Paul, but he's fast. "He can get in the lane and bother you. He's a little bit smaller than most Syracuse guards, but for Gillon, it's all about his speed and quickness.''
And: "First of all, he's a shooter. He shoots it from deep. That was the first thing on our scouting report for him. You'll see him pull up from 22, 23, 24 feet, past the NBA line. "He plays hard. All of (Colorado State coach Larry) Eustachy's guys play hard. That's their mantra. "He can play the point, but he's really a combo guard. He can handle the ball. He basically shared the point guard duties for them.''
Now:
He was far from ideal at the top of the zone and he didn’t harass the other team’s point guard going down court because we don’t do that here. He certainly was quick and had deep range. When he went off, he went off, scoring 43 points on 9 of 10 shooting from three point range vs. NC State and scoring 26, including a 40 foot winner at the buzzer vs. Duke. He was as good a free throw shooter as we’ve ever had, once making 47 in a row. He was the prefect man to have in the game on those rare occasions when we were protecting a lead. He averaged a healthy 7.3 assists per 40 minutes compared to 2.8 turnovers, a solid 2 ½ to 1 ratio. He could get to the basket against anyone but with his size he had trouble finishing against the big men of the ACC. But his real problem was consistency. He failed to get to double digits in point 18 times, including three where he never scored a point. In one game he never attempted a shot. He was either Steph or a stiff. We’ll remember the good games but there should have been more of them.
Then:
Andrew White, 6-7 220, senior
…he is a superb, multi-threat scorer who can also help out on the boards. In a way, he’s the player we hoped Malachi Richardson could become if he had stayed.
He and Gillon will give us some of the firepower back we lost when we lost Gbinije, Cooney and Richardson and take some of the pressure off of Lydon to score and score from outside. One possible problem: White seems a natural forward but we have plenty of them and will need him in backcourt. He’ll supply plenty of height for the zone but will have to cover smaller men over a lot of space. And he’ll be farther from the basket than he is used to on offense. But I think he has the skills to adjust to that. One possible line-up could involve putting Lydon at power forward, White at small forward and some combination of Howard, Gillon and Battle in the backcourt. That could be a very potent line-up.
A scouting report: “White gives Syracuse a big time outside shooting threat, length, a natural scorer, quality athlete and positional versatility. The Nebraska transfer can play shooting guard or small forward, allowing the Orange to use a plethora of lineups depending on the situation. He also gives Syracuse another long athlete to place in the zone, and he has shown the ability to be a quality defender.”
I also think he’s got a special motivation: he went to Kansas to be a star player for a top team and his dreams were crushed. At Nebraska he was a star player but not for a top team. Now he’s at Syracuse to finally become what he believes he should be. I’m not suggesting he’ll have an attitude problem if he’s not treated like the star of the team, just that this is last chance to make his dreams come true. That could be a very good thing for Syracuse.
Now:
White became one of the best – and most consistent – players we’ve had here, as well as the most admired. He was well-spoken and consistent in his demeanor and seemed to be a fine leader as well as a spectacular scorer. His 40 point game against Georgia tech gave our two grad transfers two of the four 40 point games in the Boeheim Era. He was not a strong defender and wasn’t comfortable at the 2 guard position. His presence at small forward hurt us defensively and on the boards. But we wouldn’t have won 10 games without him. And Kansas sure could have used him.
Then:
Tyus Battle, 6-6 205, freshman
Tyus was our highest- rated recruit at 5 stars. He just missed the McDonald’s All-American team, (and would have been a cinch for it had he gone to Duke). He’s another tall guard. He’s supposed to be great at driving the ball and is working on his outside shot. He wasn’t a point guard in high school but wants to be one in college because that’s his like positon in the NBA if he makes it there, (and I sense that he doesn’t see that as a problem). There could be some friction if he doesn’t win the point guard job. In interviews he seems somewhat like White – a well-spoken mature guy, (even as a freshman) who believes that he and this team are capable of anything they put their minds to. I’ll take all of those guys we can get.
“Battle is a dynamic wing scorer with range out to the three-point line who can beat defenders off the dribble and guard multiple positions. He potentially could play multiple positions in Syracuse’s backcourt; he has the creative intuition to man the point, the athleticism and craft to drive and finish at the rim and the shooting stroke to stretch defenses. Battle said Syracuse views him “more as a combo guard—play the point a little bit, play the two a little bit.”
Now:
Battle never played the point, (and JB told off Brent Axe when he suggested he should). He was ‘2’ guard all the way and excellent one. His jump shot was wife he could get set it up better than anyone, (even White), off the dribble. He could get to the rack and finish better than anyone on the team. He was a decent ball handler and a good defender. He hit a trey at the buzzer to beat Clemson while battling the flu. He did not opt for the NBA and will come back next year as the team’s #1 player.
Overall: It was a frustrating but exciting season. We could score with anyone but had trouble stopping anyone, especially on the road. The more exciting games we have, the fewer games we are likely to win. You can compete with team with offense but you control them with defense and we were like a truck with no brakes all year. Each team is different: the 2010 team was different from 2011 which was different from 2012, etc. etc. The 2018 will be different form this one. If they can stop people we have a chance to get better, if a little duller.
