tagreena's Blog

1. SU needs senior Scoop, not sophomore Scoop

Scoop Jardine had a horrible game in the first half. He couldn’t score, couldn’t pass and couldn’t find anyone to pass to. The fifth-year senior was making mistakes that he hadn’t made since his sophomore year. While Jardine finished with eight assists and three points, he was almost a non-factor in the first half, and a big reason why the Orange were down most of the game. Scoop is extremely vital for Syracuse’s success this year. When he plays well, the team plays well. When he doesn’t play well, the team struggles, as it did Wednesday night. Give him credit, he was able to turn it around in the second half and find guys  who could score, but his first half performance was something that Syracuse cannot continue to take lightly, as he is critical to the success of the team this season.

2. Kris Joseph is SU’s best player, not Dion Waiters

This may come as a shock to everyone, but Kris Joseph is a much better player than Dion Waiters. While Waiters is way more explosive than Joseph and can blow up at any point in the game, he cannot match the consistency and leadership ability that Joseph has had all season. Now, that’s not to say that Waiters may not develop into that type of player (depending on how long he remains on the team), but right now, Joseph should be “the guy” for Syracuse. Joseph finished the night with a career-high 29 points, while Waiters only had nine points. Joseph had six 3-pointers, while Waiters had one. Joseph averages 14 points per game, while Waiters averages 12 points per game. Although Waiters is only two points behind Joseph’s season average, he has been able to average so many points because of break-out performances, such as against Villanova and Pittsburgh. Both players are great for the Orange, but this season, Joseph is better because of his consistency and leadership ability.

3. Syracuse can’t rebound

Against Georgetown, Syracuse was outrebounded 52-35. This was such a pitiful performance on the boards, coach Boeheim almost refused to acknowledge this was his 880^th career win. He was so disappointed in his team’s performance on the boards he called the game a disaster despite the win. Many times during the game, Fab Melo or C.J. Fair were the only Orange players who went up for the ball. Yes, Waiters had five rebounds, but as a team, Syracuse did not go for the boards. This hurts them on two accounts: 1.) they allowed second chance opportunities, and 2.) they ended SU possessions. Going forward, this lack of rebounding ability by the Orange will haunt Boeheim’s dreams as he prepares for his upcoming games. 

Nike released new uniforms Monday morning in New York City for the nine programs that won NCAA National Championships with Nike gear. The Syracuse University men’s basketball team was among these schools selected to wear the new uniform, which was unveiled as part of the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum Series. The Orange will don the uniforms when they host USF on Feb. 22, 2012.

In addition to Syracuse, Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Connecticut were chosen, as well as the Baylor and Connecticut women's team.

According to Nike, the Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms are designed to be an intersection of sustainability and performance. Using laser perforations in the shorts, Nike says they have increased breathability as well as created a lightweight design. Both the shorts and jersey are five percent lighter than the previous Nike Hyper Elite uniform, Nike said. A bonded hem detailing on the shorts and the bonded back seam near the neckline of the jersey have also enhanced both comfort and style, according to Nike.

Not only are the new uniforms lightweight and breathable, but they are also designed for lower environment impact. According to Nike, the shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester and the jersey fabric is made from at least 96 percent recycled polyester.

“Nike is committed to producing top-of-the-line performance attire with reduced sacrifice to the environment,” said Phil Cook, Nike’s Brand Manager for Basketball. “With our Nike Hyper Elite Platinum design, Nike is maintaining its long-standing obligations to our fans to not only produce the best on-court looks but also a design that makes use of the resources we already have.”

For all of the uniforms, the dominant color is a silver-gray, a very atypical choice considering the majority of schools that will be wearing the uniforms have no gray in their school colors. However, Syracuse will still have orange in their uniforms, it just won’t be as prominent as usual. The numbers and school name are outlined by orange, and the sides of the jersey and shorts are orange. Also, a large watermark “S” is visible on the back of the jersey.

While the new uniforms are very stylish and sleek, the fact that they focus more on the gray than any other color will have Syracuse fans a little disappointed.  Either way, all of the programs participating will only wear the new uniforms for one game this season.

More pictures of the uniforms can be found here.

Six SU players scored in double-figures as the No. 1 Syracuse (16-0, 3-0) pulled away in the second half to defeat Providence (11-5, 0-3) by a score of 87-73 Wednesday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.  It was the seventh straight game the Orange won by a double-digit margin, also marking SU’s sixteenth straight victory and third straight against Big East opponents.

Brandon Triche led the Orange in scoring with 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Kris Joseph also had a solid game, tallying 13 points, while reserves C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters contributed with 12 and 13 points, respectively. Fab Melo (11 points) and Scoop Jardine (10 points) rounded out the balanced scoring effort.           

One of the key stats of the night came from Jardine, who helped the offense flow in more ways than one. The fifth-year senior guard not only had double-digit points, but Jardine also had 11 assists to give him a double-double for the night.

In the first half, the game was a little closer than the Orange would have liked, as Syracuse only led 36-34 at halftime. However, a 9-0 SU run capped off by two Triche 3-pointers allowed the Orange to pull away from the Friars.

Throughout the entire season, SU coach Jim Boeheim boasted of his team’s incredible depth. In most games this year, the Orange proved this to be true, as their bench consistently performed better than the opposing team’s. Tonight was no exception as SU solidified itself as one of the deepest teams in college basketball this year. The Orange bench outscored the Friar’s by a margin of 35-1.

In the paint, the Orange was also dominant. Syracuse held a 43-28 point advantage in the paint.

The Friars were led by Gerard Coleman and Vincent Council, who scored 17 points a piece for Providence. LaDontae Henton also added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Syracuse returns to the Carrier Dome this Saturday Jan. 7 to play No. 20 Marquette. It will mark the first time the two teams have met since the Golden Eagles knocked the Orange out of the 2011 NCAA basketball tournament. The game is set to tip off at 4:00 p.m.

Bucknell’s Joe Willman hit an early jumper to give his team a two-point lead over No. 1 Syracuse (12-0) Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. But that was the only lead the Bison (7-5) would see for the rest of the game as the Orange rolled to an easy 80-61 victory. Three SU starters scored in double digits to help the Orange cruise to their twelfth straight win of the season.

Willman’s tally broke a scoreless stalemate, but Syracuse freshman Rakeem Christmas quickly answered, scoring the first seven points for the Orange. Christmas finished the night with a career-high 10 points.

From then on, the Orange kept pouring on the points and the Bison were never able to recover. Every time Bucknell made a shot, Syracuse answered with a few baskets of their own. With 8:43 left in the first half, senior captain Kris Joseph capped off an 8-0 SU run to put the Orange up 21-8. Joseph finished the night with a game-high 17 points, reaching the double-digit mark for the ninth time this season.

The Orange’s largest lead came when Joseph hit two free throws to give the Orange a 47-24 lead with about 17 minutes left in the game. Bucknell would go on to trail by 13 points or more for the rest of the night and would eventually fall to the number one team in the nation.

The rest of the SU starters also had very good nights. Fifth-year senior Scoop Jardine was the third Orange player to score double-digit points, finishing with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Jardine also tallied four assists and three steals. Sophomore center Fab Melo also had a solid night on the boards, matching a career-high with nine rebounds to go along with eight points.  Junior guard Brandon Triche had six points off of two three-point conversions.

Freshman guard Michael Carter-Williams saw extended minutes in the second-half, leading to a career night for him in points with six points. He also added four assists and three rebounds to his performance.

“It was good to get Michael Carter-Williams an opportunity to make some good plays as well,” SU coach Jim Boeheim said after the game.

While the Orange dominated the offensive side of the ball, Boeheim was concerned about his usually stout defensive unit.

“Our defense wasn’t as active as it has been,” Boeheim said. “We didn’t force many turnovers and that’s how we get going on offense.”

The Orange, who lead the nation in steals, finished with 10 on the night, but only accumulated nine fast-break points.

However, Syracuse’s ability to make shots allowed them to defeat a much weaker Bucknell team. The Orange shot 53 percent from the floor on 23 of 53 shooting. Syracuse also had a decent night from behind the arc, making 47 percent of their shots on 8 of 17 shooting.

Syracuse plays host to Tulane (11-1) Thursday Dec. 22 at the Carrier Dome at 7:00 p.m.