January 23, 2006
frustration in pittsburgh
The score of this game may as well been 35-5. When one team gets 35 free throw attempts and the other (undersized) squad finishes the game with all of 5 attempts, something is seriously wrong with the officiating. Pittsburgh is one of the most physical teams in the country, and I find it very hard to believe that they only fouled the Syracuse players 3 times on their way to the hoop. If you didn't notice while watching the game, our man Jim Burr was the director of this exhibit of fair and balanced game calling. This guy needs his job title changed from "Big East Conference Referee" to "Chairman of the Visually Impaired Haters of Syracuse Basketball."
With that said, though, SU still deserved to lose this game considering the way they played tonight. Yes, they were probably tired after a one-day turnaround coming off the Villanova loss, but they could have shown a great deal more basketball sense this evening. Darryl Watkins needs to be benched, if only until he proves he can play on at least the same level as Billy Celuck. At this point, I'd gladly give up Watkins' final years of eligibility to regain half of a season with Craiggers or Big Smooth Dave Siock manning the interior of this defense.
Ridiculous statistic: In six Big East games this season, Darryl Watkins - a starter, mind you - has a total of 20 points and 28 personal fouls while averaging just under 21 minutes per contest. Jeremy McNeil couldn't do that if thug trainin' John Chaney was his coach, let alone Jimmy B. and Bernie Fine! Darryl must sit, and nobody should be allowed to refer to him as "Mookie" until he proves he actually deserves to have a nickname. Only good players should have nicknames, and right now the starting center on this team isn't even mediocre.
The Orange did manage to mount another semi-exciting comeback tonight, though. Surprisingly enough, it started immediately after Stonehands sat down and Stormin' Gorman entered the contest, bringing some extraordinary energy along with him. Terrence Roberts was moved to the center postion during the last 13 minutes of the game, and to everyone's surprise he was somehow able to keep his 6'9" body planted on the ground and his hands in the air when a Panther drove the lane (he actually did this despite Watkins yelling at him from the bench to jump and hack at every headfake offered his way). Syracuse went on a 7-0 spurt and managed to narrow the gap and give a little glimmer hope to Orange fans at home just before Krauser and the Panthers shut the door.
Carl Krauser torched the Orange again, hitting for 32 points, dishing 4 assists and grabbing 6 boards in his last regular season game against the Cuse. Apparently, the SU players didn't get their pre-game OrangeJuice this afternoon, which is too bad because they would have known to lookout for him. Krauser controlled the entire game (from the 2-guard spot this time) by running the floor in transition, dribbling through the zone, or stopping short to swish a 30 footer just after crossing half court. If Syracuse tried to stop him, it wasn't showing - he didn't have nearly as much difficulty in getting his shots as McNamara did, not to mention finding his way to the line 14 times courtesy of Mr. Burr (I think 6 of those tries came after SU started fouling to stop the clock, though). I know the zone is the best use of the talent the Cuse has, but it just doesn't seem to work against Jamie Dixon's Panthers. Then again, the man-to-man didn't work tonight either, so who knows what the solution is. Hopefully Boeheim and his coaching staff will be able to find it before the Orange ends up playing Pitt during the Big East tournament.
After tonight I'm very unsure about Syracuse's prospects for the season. I know the past 3 games have been as difficult - if not more so - than any other schedule in the nation, but it didn't look like the team came ready to play them. Other Top-10 programs like Florida or Gonzaga probably would have struggled to 1-2 or possibly 0-3 if they had to play the same stretch, but I doubt they would have looked as flustered as SU did. The Orange simply haven't been able to effectively execute the offense, and the defense hasn't shut down the opposition enough to keep it close. They need to get this turned around against Seton Hall and Rutgers - that February 8 date in Hartford is coming soon, and right now it doesn't look too promising.
With that said, though, SU still deserved to lose this game considering the way they played tonight. Yes, they were probably tired after a one-day turnaround coming off the Villanova loss, but they could have shown a great deal more basketball sense this evening. Darryl Watkins needs to be benched, if only until he proves he can play on at least the same level as Billy Celuck. At this point, I'd gladly give up Watkins' final years of eligibility to regain half of a season with Craiggers or Big Smooth Dave Siock manning the interior of this defense.
Ridiculous statistic: In six Big East games this season, Darryl Watkins - a starter, mind you - has a total of 20 points and 28 personal fouls while averaging just under 21 minutes per contest. Jeremy McNeil couldn't do that if thug trainin' John Chaney was his coach, let alone Jimmy B. and Bernie Fine! Darryl must sit, and nobody should be allowed to refer to him as "Mookie" until he proves he actually deserves to have a nickname. Only good players should have nicknames, and right now the starting center on this team isn't even mediocre.
The Orange did manage to mount another semi-exciting comeback tonight, though. Surprisingly enough, it started immediately after Stonehands sat down and Stormin' Gorman entered the contest, bringing some extraordinary energy along with him. Terrence Roberts was moved to the center postion during the last 13 minutes of the game, and to everyone's surprise he was somehow able to keep his 6'9" body planted on the ground and his hands in the air when a Panther drove the lane (he actually did this despite Watkins yelling at him from the bench to jump and hack at every headfake offered his way). Syracuse went on a 7-0 spurt and managed to narrow the gap and give a little glimmer hope to Orange fans at home just before Krauser and the Panthers shut the door.
Carl Krauser torched the Orange again, hitting for 32 points, dishing 4 assists and grabbing 6 boards in his last regular season game against the Cuse. Apparently, the SU players didn't get their pre-game OrangeJuice this afternoon, which is too bad because they would have known to lookout for him. Krauser controlled the entire game (from the 2-guard spot this time) by running the floor in transition, dribbling through the zone, or stopping short to swish a 30 footer just after crossing half court. If Syracuse tried to stop him, it wasn't showing - he didn't have nearly as much difficulty in getting his shots as McNamara did, not to mention finding his way to the line 14 times courtesy of Mr. Burr (I think 6 of those tries came after SU started fouling to stop the clock, though). I know the zone is the best use of the talent the Cuse has, but it just doesn't seem to work against Jamie Dixon's Panthers. Then again, the man-to-man didn't work tonight either, so who knows what the solution is. Hopefully Boeheim and his coaching staff will be able to find it before the Orange ends up playing Pitt during the Big East tournament.
After tonight I'm very unsure about Syracuse's prospects for the season. I know the past 3 games have been as difficult - if not more so - than any other schedule in the nation, but it didn't look like the team came ready to play them. Other Top-10 programs like Florida or Gonzaga probably would have struggled to 1-2 or possibly 0-3 if they had to play the same stretch, but I doubt they would have looked as flustered as SU did. The Orange simply haven't been able to effectively execute the offense, and the defense hasn't shut down the opposition enough to keep it close. They need to get this turned around against Seton Hall and Rutgers - that February 8 date in Hartford is coming soon, and right now it doesn't look too promising.
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The end of this SU hoops season may have just happened. The upside is that the beginning may have just started. For the rest of the season the Orange rate to end on an upswing. Sure, Watkins, Roberts and Nichols will not instill fear into any of the remaining teams on the schedule. But let's enjoy the final games of an end of an era and the beginning of another.... G-mac turning it over to Devo and.......HARRIS!
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