November 17, 2005
pregame warmups
There's just under 3 hours 'til gametime and before I head to Taps with a few friends to watch the Orange play the Red Raiders I have some expectations I need to express before finding out just how good this team really is. At this point we're still able to look at SU and think of them as a Top 20, Sweet Sixteen sort of squad - not great, but better than most. We already know the basketball team won't go 1-10 this year, and we can look forward to some victory celebrations to offset what should only be a handful of mournful defeats. Syracuse has the athletes and the experience to be pretty good this year, and after tonight we'll be better able to predict the degree of excellence they could potentially achieve.
Five questions that we might be able to answer after this evening, but probably won't:
1. Is McCroskey the next Tony Bland?
I think I've somehow managed to overlook the similarities here: when Bland was a freshman, he looked like he had true potential to be one of the top players on the team throughout his career - he hustled, he could score and, like McCroskey, Boeheim seemed to like him. He liked Bland so much, actually, that he put him in the starting lineup in 1999, the beginning of his sophomore season. Tony started all 32 games that year - an accomplishment that usually means Jimmy B. thinks you have some real ability and a future on the team. As the season wore on, though, Tony Bland became less of a leader and more of a ghost - he just stopped playing all together. Boeheim let him keep his starting position, but gradually reduced his playing time while Bland's successor, DeShaun Williams, got to see more action (Williams actually played his best games as a backup, also managing to somehow keep his fist out of Preston Shumpert's eyesocket for an entire season). By the time the 2000 NCAA Tournamnet arrived, Bland was scoring 3.3 pts/game in only 13 minutes per contest. Basically, by the end of the season the Orangemen's starting shooting guard would play the opening 5 minutes of each half - and that was it. I was always curious as to why Boeheim kept him in the starting lineup - the coach maintained that Tony had earned the spot, but after the DeShaun-Preston power struggle that developed over the following 2 seasons I'm starting to think that Jimmy just didn't want to give Williams a motive to attack teammates. Bland was gone the following year, transferring to San Diego State and playing like Boeheim apparently knew he could. Will Louie also lose his playing time to the up and coming freshman? I'm thinking yes.
2. Will Terrence Roberts continue to score and rebound now that the opposition is stronger?
Roberts was great against Bethune-Cookman and Cornell, but still has yet to play against anyone taller or stronger than he is. He's currently shooting at 82% - something that he can't possibly maintain against stiffer competition. Although Tech is known more for their guardplay than their big men, they should be able to compete much more effectively with SU's post players. If Roberts can have a 15 pt/10 reb. night, I think SU will win the game.
3. Can Syracuse shoot?
They better, or they're in for a long season. So far this year they've relied on steady defense to win, as no one seems to be able to drain anything past 15 feet. This could be a product of the tournament's extended 3 point line, an experiment that most coaches have agreed is much more detrimental than helpful to their teams' early season development, as everyone but Cornell has been having problems shooting treys this week and last. SU needs McNamara, Nichols, and Devendorf to shoot well or the team will end up just as lost as they were against Cornell. If they can hit the outside shot, it'll make Roberts and Watkins more effective inside and they'll win more games as a result.
4. Who's better: Boeheim or Knight?
Who cares. This is only the 4th time they've met in the last 20 years and the first since the Maui Invitational in 1998. You can expect to see some excessive coverage on this question tonight, including one too many slow-motion shots of Keith Smart rearing back and suckerpunching me square in the gut. What kind of person does that to a 7 year-old? Is there any justice? I'd much rather watch replays of Sherm Douglas hiking a basketball 40 feet downcourt to start a fastbreak as #1 SU stomped Indiana to open the '87-'88 season.
5. Can SU win two tournaments in Madison Square Garden again?
They did last year...but that was last year. This time we might have to be content with just getting to play in one of the championship games. Texas Tech is going to be a tough matchup, but I do believe Syracuse will get to the final game - my guess is that it'll be against Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators, if only to create even more references to the '87 Final Four. Media heaven!
Enjoy the game - hopefully we'll see some solid defense, strong rebounding, a few G-Mac 3s, and a SportsCenter-worthy Devendorf crossover. If so, Cuse wins.
Five questions that we might be able to answer after this evening, but probably won't:
1. Is McCroskey the next Tony Bland?
I think I've somehow managed to overlook the similarities here: when Bland was a freshman, he looked like he had true potential to be one of the top players on the team throughout his career - he hustled, he could score and, like McCroskey, Boeheim seemed to like him. He liked Bland so much, actually, that he put him in the starting lineup in 1999, the beginning of his sophomore season. Tony started all 32 games that year - an accomplishment that usually means Jimmy B. thinks you have some real ability and a future on the team. As the season wore on, though, Tony Bland became less of a leader and more of a ghost - he just stopped playing all together. Boeheim let him keep his starting position, but gradually reduced his playing time while Bland's successor, DeShaun Williams, got to see more action (Williams actually played his best games as a backup, also managing to somehow keep his fist out of Preston Shumpert's eyesocket for an entire season). By the time the 2000 NCAA Tournamnet arrived, Bland was scoring 3.3 pts/game in only 13 minutes per contest. Basically, by the end of the season the Orangemen's starting shooting guard would play the opening 5 minutes of each half - and that was it. I was always curious as to why Boeheim kept him in the starting lineup - the coach maintained that Tony had earned the spot, but after the DeShaun-Preston power struggle that developed over the following 2 seasons I'm starting to think that Jimmy just didn't want to give Williams a motive to attack teammates. Bland was gone the following year, transferring to San Diego State and playing like Boeheim apparently knew he could. Will Louie also lose his playing time to the up and coming freshman? I'm thinking yes.
2. Will Terrence Roberts continue to score and rebound now that the opposition is stronger?
Roberts was great against Bethune-Cookman and Cornell, but still has yet to play against anyone taller or stronger than he is. He's currently shooting at 82% - something that he can't possibly maintain against stiffer competition. Although Tech is known more for their guardplay than their big men, they should be able to compete much more effectively with SU's post players. If Roberts can have a 15 pt/10 reb. night, I think SU will win the game.
3. Can Syracuse shoot?
They better, or they're in for a long season. So far this year they've relied on steady defense to win, as no one seems to be able to drain anything past 15 feet. This could be a product of the tournament's extended 3 point line, an experiment that most coaches have agreed is much more detrimental than helpful to their teams' early season development, as everyone but Cornell has been having problems shooting treys this week and last. SU needs McNamara, Nichols, and Devendorf to shoot well or the team will end up just as lost as they were against Cornell. If they can hit the outside shot, it'll make Roberts and Watkins more effective inside and they'll win more games as a result.
4. Who's better: Boeheim or Knight?
Who cares. This is only the 4th time they've met in the last 20 years and the first since the Maui Invitational in 1998. You can expect to see some excessive coverage on this question tonight, including one too many slow-motion shots of Keith Smart rearing back and suckerpunching me square in the gut. What kind of person does that to a 7 year-old? Is there any justice? I'd much rather watch replays of Sherm Douglas hiking a basketball 40 feet downcourt to start a fastbreak as #1 SU stomped Indiana to open the '87-'88 season.
5. Can SU win two tournaments in Madison Square Garden again?
They did last year...but that was last year. This time we might have to be content with just getting to play in one of the championship games. Texas Tech is going to be a tough matchup, but I do believe Syracuse will get to the final game - my guess is that it'll be against Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators, if only to create even more references to the '87 Final Four. Media heaven!
Enjoy the game - hopefully we'll see some solid defense, strong rebounding, a few G-Mac 3s, and a SportsCenter-worthy Devendorf crossover. If so, Cuse wins.
