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Freakin' ACC

Centerfield Nov 07 2013 07:22 AM

So the dead period between the last game of the Mets season and the beginning of Syracuse basketball ends tomorrow when this year's Orange take on perennial powerhouse Cornell. During the exhibition season, the Orange have beat all of Canada, and now turn their attention south of the border. I haven't watched a game yet, but early reports are that Tyler Ennis is the real deal, and will fill a lot of the void that Carter Williams left. I don't think he has as high a ceiling, but they say he's already a very solid player. CJ Fair is the ACC pre-season player of the year. I never thought of him much as a "go-to" guy, more of a solid role player, but we'll see what this year holds. I have high hopes for Jerami Grant. I think he has the talent to be the next big star. I hope that Coleman and Christmas won't suck. I hope Cooney remembers he was brought here to play "white guy who can shoot threes" role and figures out how to make more shots. I've given up sulking about the demise of the Big East and am looking forward to the move to the ACC. I've always felt that it was top heavy (Duke, Carolina, usually one more good team) but that the rest of the league was pretty weak. I guess we get to put that theory to the test this year. I'd like to see 23-27 wins. Finish 2nd in the ACC, reach the Elite 8 in the tournament. I think this team is capable of it.

Mets – Willets Point Nov 07 2013 07:44 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

...yeah, you know me!

Centerfield Nov 07 2013 08:45 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Dammit. Talk about a missed opportunity on thread title.

seawolf17 Nov 07 2013 09:24 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

And more importantly SEAWOLVES http://www.nycbuckets.com/2013/10/10000 ... rica-east/

soupcan Nov 07 2013 12:39 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I paid $6.95 to watch the SU-Ryerson exhibition game online on Tuesday night. That's how much I'm salivating for some Orange hoops. Considering SU beat the generic Canadian college by something like 40 pts. there isn't a lot to criticize but…. -Ennis looked capable but also looked like a freshman. -Cooney looked slightly improved. -Still waiting for Coleman to DOMINATE. C'mon big guy, now is the time. -C.J. looked like he can definitely deserve that pre-season player of the year hype. I think he had 18 pts and 10 rebounds. -Jerami looked goooood. Got fouled trying a tomahawk dunk and didn't convert but the effort was awesome. -Christmas looked like Christmas unfortunately. I tried focusing on the new guys, Patterson Gbniije, Johnson but they weren't really on the court long enough for me to really get a gauge. Everybody looked capable though. Johnson looked like the typical SU forward, tall and slender. Supposedly he will be quite the scorer. I'm excited! ACC Champs baby, another Final Four.

soupcan Nov 08 2013 07:39 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Revamped Syracuse Is Set for Opener By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: November 7, 2013 The sophomore center DaJuan Coleman, right, is one of three returning starters for Syracuse, which hosts Cornell on Friday. Jim Boeheim is more than ready to start his 38th season at Syracuse. So are his No. 8 Orange. Four exhibition games in August and two more in early November at the end of an extended preseason camp have everybody looking forward to Friday night’s season opener in the Carrier Dome against Cornell. “I think everybody is anxious to play and start the season,” Boeheim said. “We’ve had pretty good preparation up until this point. I think we’ll be ready to go Friday night.” With four freshmen and a new backcourt, the Orange have a lot to learn despite the extra practice time, which included a four-game trip to Canada in August. It showed in Tuesday night’s 81-46 exhibition win over Ryerson. “I think some of the younger players have not adjusted to coming off the bench and being ready to go,” said Boeheim, second in Division I with 920 victories. “We had a couple of freshmen in there. They both went to the same side on defense twice and gave up two wide-open 3s. I think some of those things are things that we need to think about.” The freshman Tyler Ennis takes over at point guard for Michael Carter-Williams, who left in the spring after his sophomore year and has made an immediate impact in the N.B.A. Trevor Cooney will slide into the other guard slot in place of the four-year starter Brandon Triche, who graduated. Ennis had 7 points, 5 assists and 4 steals against Ryerson. His value is immeasurable. “He’s important for our team,” Boeheim said. “I told him at halftime he has to be a little more aggressive offensively. When I tell him something, he does it. That’s a good trait to have. He’s a key guy. He’s a mature freshman. He’s still a freshman. He’s going to make mistakes. He understands the position as well as any other freshman.” Syracuse leads the series against Cornell, 87-31, and has a 33-game win streak against the Big Red. Cornell’s last victory in the series was a 94-82 triumph on Dec. 4, 1968, at Barton Hall in Ithaca. “Cornell is a disciplined team, but during the season opener we should be coming out hard and playing well,” Ennis said. “Coach wants me to be a vocal leader. I know I am a young guy, but the position calls for me to be a leader on the court.” It is safe to say Ennis will be under a microscope from the opening tip. He does not seem the least bit fazed. “I see a lot of confidence in his play,” said the 6-foot-8 senior forward C. J. Fair, the Orange’s leading scorer and rebounder last season. “He is a smart player and rarely makes the wrong decision. I’m having fun playing with him, and I’m eager to see how he grows as a point guard.” In their first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Orange return three starters from last year’s 30-10 team that made it to the Final Four: Fair, voted preseason A.C.C. player of the year; the 6-9 junior forward Rakeem Christmas; and the 6-9 sophomore center DaJuan Coleman. Add the 6-10 senior Baye Moussa Keita, and Syracuse has a core of big bodies and long arms to guard the lane in Boeheim’s 2-3 zone defense. Cornell is coming off a 13-18 season (5-9 Ivy League), and the fourth-year head coach Bill Courtney has had to replace four starters. The returning first-team All-Ivy forward Shonn Miller continues to recover from an injury that sidelined him in the preseason.

Frayed Knot Nov 08 2013 08:02 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

soupcan wrote: I paid $6.95 to watch the SU-Ryerson exhibition game online on Tuesday night. Did the people attending the game even pay that much?

Vic Sage Nov 08 2013 09:10 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Going to the Barclay tonight to see my nephew's team, UConn. He's a graduate assistant on their staff. I have no interest in college basketball, but it'll be funny seeing him in a suit holding a clipboard. Go [crossout:2zq69fsd]Seawolves![/crossout:2zq69fsd] Huskies!

seawolf17 Nov 08 2013 09:16 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Vic Sage wrote: Going to the Barclay tonight to see my nephew's team, UConn. He's a graduate assistant on their staff. I have no interest in college basketball, but it'll be funny seeing him in a suit holding a clipboard. Go [crossout]Seawolves![/crossout] Huskies! Seawolves at the Garden on December 7. I'll be there in some capacity, probably with the band.

soupcan Nov 08 2013 12:07 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Frayed Knot wrote: soupcan wrote: I paid $6.95 to watch the SU-Ryerson exhibition game online on Tuesday night. Did the people attending the game even pay that much? Sadly, probably not. Vic Sage wrote: Going to the Barclay tonight to see my nephew's team, UConn. He's a graduate assistant on their staff. I have no interest in college basketball, but it'll be funny seeing him in a suit holding a clipboard. Go Seawolves! Huskies! That game is against Maryland right? Big test for both of those teams right off the bat. Is UConn good enough to be ranked (18)? Should Maryland be ranked…?

Vic Sage Nov 08 2013 02:18 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

i'll let you know about UConn. Who are Seawolves playing on 12/7? That's Pearl Harbor day... i was going to make some sort of nautically themed joke about that, preferably one that was derogatory toward MSG in some way, but then thought better of it. You're welcome.

Centerfield Nov 08 2013 04:25 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

The game is on TV. Channel 196 for TWC customers. The channel is MSGPlUS2 (or something like that).

MFS62 Nov 08 2013 08:27 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Vic Sage wrote: i'll let you know about UConn. From what I've read, the strength of UCONN is in the back court. Let us know how good they look. Later

soupcan Nov 09 2013 06:54 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

So UConn beats MD by 1 pt. after MD fails to hit 2 shots in the last 14 seconds of the game. Sounds like an exciting game but are the two teams really good or not so much? Meanwhile the Orange tease Cornell by spotting them a 14 pt. lead in the 1st half before winning by 22. I pray to the 3 pt. shooting gods that this is the Trevor Cooney we will get all season long. The second coming of Gerry McNamara...? Jeremi Grant didn't play last night apparently serving a NCAA 1 game suspension for playing a summer league game. Hopefully that's the end of that story. Those that watched the SU game - what'd you think of Ennis? I thought everybody else looked improved from last year and the new guys all looked good. I thought Ennis was trying to hard and I wasn't overly impressed.

Edgy MD Nov 09 2013 11:35 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Did you see this article by my favorite sportswriter Dave McKenna, about Syracuse and (especially) Maryland trying today to make good on a 76-year-old sin?

soupcan Nov 09 2013 04:21 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I saw that article. A Syracuse-centric site linked it earlier this week. Sidat-Singh's story is compelling and any SU alum worth his salt knows all about him and his athletic legacy at SU. His retired basketball jersey hangs from the rafters at the Carrier Dome. I knew he died young and was a Tuskegee Airman. I did not however know the story of that particular game against Maryland that he did not play in until this week. Nice job by Maryland to honor him at today's game.

HahnSolo Nov 12 2013 08:19 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Fordham makes the trip up to the Dome to get their asses handed to them tonight. A bright note for my Rams, who have not had many in the last 40 years: Freshman Jon Severe from Christ the King (last year's NYS Mr. Basketball) looks like the real deal, dropping 28 in his first career game during a win over St. Francis (PA) on Friday night.

Vic Sage Nov 12 2013 08:41 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

yes, that UConn/MD game at the Barclay Center went down to the last 0.2 seconds, with the Huskies hanging on for a 1-point win. Exciting indeed. Maryland has alot of big beef upfront, but they are not as quick and skilled as the Husky backcourt of Shabazz Napier and Michael Boatright. The Huskies got off to a strong start and maintained a 10-15 point lead thru most of the game. Napier got in foul trouble and then fouled out towards the end, and Maryland nearly came all the way back. But when he was on the court, it wasn't that close a game. The Huskies also have a very good German player, Giffey, who plays like a short Nowitzki, a strong 6-6 SF who plays tenacious D, passes well and can hit a 3. But they don't have enough size to be a serious final-4 contender this year. About the Barclays -- my first visit. It's about 5 blocks from the place my wife and i lived on the fringes of Park Slope, before we were married. There are all kinds of big mall-type stores down there now, surrounding the arena. But it's still kind of a dicey area, and not a place you may want to spend alot of pre- and/or post-game time. It's convenient to all mass transit, but doesn't seem like a place you can easily drive to or park. The arena itself looks a little like an airplane hangar on the inside and, on the outside, like a rusty whale dropped from a hover carrier. But its nice enough i suppose. We were in good seats, but the seats above the luxurybox/press level seem as remote as the old blue section in the Garden. The food kiosks had some variety [i went to the Boomer & Carton stand, where i got a Bochegaloupe Burger -- a big cheeseburger topped with chicken fingers and french fries!], but there was no place to get a shake (shake shack, where are you?). The biggest disappointment was seeing a kiosk from L&B Spumoni Gardens -- a Brooklyn landmark pizza place -- that DID NOT SERVE SPUMONI! wtf? Call it the L&B Pizza Stand then! Anyway, i hope it helps to revitalize the area, but that rarely happens so i won't hold my breath on that point.

MFS62 Nov 12 2013 08:52 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

The pre-season mags had talked about the UCONN back court. Didn't know about the German player. Thanks. Later

Elster88 Nov 12 2013 10:12 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Watching what should be a good doubleheader being absolutely ruined by foul calls. Apparently there is a new emphasis on hand check fouls but this seems like more than that. Sloppy play too,

Frayed Knot Nov 13 2013 07:17 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

What we've heard for at least a year now from many of the college hoops poobahs is that the game had become so hack-tastic in recent seasons that it more closely resembled a hockey game and resulted in the lowest scores since the days when you could still by a new Edsel ... or something like that. So the idea with this new "strategy" is that if you cut down on the hand-checks and so on the game will adjust to more open and higher-scoring affairs - even if it'll probably be a while before the coaches and players all get on board. Is this the right move? ... Beats me, you guys who watch the sport are going to be a better judge of that than me. But when you've got guys like Jay Bilas--essentially a college basketball lifer being paid by ESPN to promote college basketball on ESPN where that sport provides such a huge chunk of their November to April programming--saying, at seemingly every opportunity last year, "Gee the product this season really stinks!", I guess they figured it was time to try something.

Centerfield Nov 18 2013 12:22 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

The 3-0 Orange take on St. Francis tonight. I watched the Colgate game and was pretty unimpressed. The defense is nowhere near as good as it has been in recent years. This is especially jarring considering how great last year's team was. I think we are really going to understand how great Triche and MCW were defensively. Plus no one can shoot. Three pointers or free-throws. Hopefully they can turn it around. Michael Gbnijdxrlfwe is better than I thought he'd be though. I'm having trouble feeling like the ACC has anything to do with us. The letters on the court and jerseys look foreign. Plus I'm also still very happy to see UNC lose like they did this weekend.

batmagadanleadoff Nov 18 2013 12:32 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: I'm having trouble feeling like the ACC has anything to do with us. The letters on the court and jerseys look foreign. I see your point. But when you start to reminisce about SU-Georgetown with your kid 10 years from now, he's gonna think you're really old.

soupcan Nov 18 2013 12:48 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: The 3-0 Orange take on St. Francis tonight. I watched the Colgate game and was pretty unimpressed. The defense is nowhere near as good as it has been in recent years. This is especially jarring considering how great last year's team was. I think we are really going to understand how great Triche and MCW were defensively. Plus no one can shoot. Three pointers or free-throws. Hopefully they can turn it around. Michael Gbnijdxrlfwe is better than I thought he'd be though. I'm having trouble feeling like the ACC has anything to do with us. The letters on the court and jerseys look foreign. Plus I'm also still very happy to see UNC lose like they did this weekend. 'Less than impressed' - yeah, me too. Keep in mind though that in that Colgate game, if SU hit 60% of their FTAs they would’ve won going away (by 25 points) and we probably would've felt much better about that game. They shot 43% from the line on Saturday and last year the season average was just over 68%. Year before – 70%. I’m thinking (hoping) that the FT% will go up and the comfortable blowouts will make us feel better real soon. This IS Syracuse Basketball though so FTs will always be a bugaboo. Cooney showed us against Cornell what he is capable of. Ennis hit 4 of 6 treys against Colgate. I agree with you about Mr. Mxyzptlk and Grant has looked really good. We knew we'd lose something on D after MCW left. The thing that I'd like to see - and I'm a tad bit curious why we haven't - is a stronger scoring presence inside. Coleman and Christmas at this point should be able to dominate down there. How about feeding them?

soupcan Nov 19 2013 09:03 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Well that was fun. With the line being 18.5 in favor of Syracuse, the Orange score the last 10 points of the game to edge St. Francis 56-50. Tense up until the last 30 seconds of the game. CJ Fair had arguably the worst game of his career and the SFU Terriers controlled everything about this game. They made Syracuse play their game, controlled the tempo and kept the scoring just where they wanted it. With Fair struggling, SU could not consistently find a second scoring threat. The smaller Terriers surprisingly controlled the paint and it just looked like the Orange were not prepared for the Terriers taking it to them in the middle. Fortunately, in the end the good guys won and all is right with the world. I'm hoping that this team learns from this, gets more aggressive down-low and recognizes that when teams focus on and double-up on Fair that somebody needs to step up. Coleman and Grant had good games and hit clutch free throws at the end. Minnesota up next on 11/25 in Maui.

soupcan Nov 25 2013 08:48 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Apparently the rule in Maui is if it's less than 8 stitches it's not a foul. Final: Syracuse 75, Minnesota 67 The Orange advance to play Cal tomorrow at 7:00pm

soupcan Nov 27 2013 11:13 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

My bad - CJ had 8 stitches so the rule must be 'less than 9'. So the final last night was #8 Syracuse 92 - California 81. Ennis came up HUGE with 28 points, Cooney had 23 with 5 treys and Grant had 19. Most impressive was that, as a team, the Orange hit 22-23 from the line. What? Yup. In their last two games the previously free-throw challenged Syracuse hoops team has hit 44-50. As a 30 year fan of this team, I find this statistic so incredibly unbelievable that I just don't know what else I can say about it. Championship game of the Maui Invitational is tonight against the 18th ranked Baylor Bears at 10:00 on ESPN. Syracuse has won this tournament the previous two times they've played in it ('90 & '98) and as a result are 8-0 in the history of the tourney heading into tonight's game.

Centerfield Dec 04 2013 08:19 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Ha. Suck it Indiana.

Methead Dec 04 2013 09:43 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

This backcourt has come together a lot faster than I imagined. Ennis isn't as big or flashy as MCW, but he doesn't make 3 boneheaded mistakes a game either. If Cooney continues to play like this, and Fair and Grant do what they do... Cuse will be OK. Just need to get something, anything from the center position.

soupcan Dec 04 2013 06:09 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I went up to Syracuse for the game last night with my nephew (IU '10). All the articles about the game prior to tip-off referenced the fact that since the loss to IU in the '87 Final, Syracuse is 6-0 against the Hoosiers. The guy sitting on the other side of me at the game was also an Indiana alum from '02. After the game he says to me 'I think I hate Syracuse more than Duke. You guys always beat us.' I said 'yeah but wouldn't you have traded all those losses for the win in '87 anyway?' He said 'Dude, I was 6 in 1987...' Ha!

soupcan Dec 09 2013 11:14 AM Re: Freakin' ACC Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Dec 09 2013 02:34 PM

The SUNY Binghamton Bearcats came into the Dome on Saturday, took an 11-3 lead to start the game but quickly succumbed to the Orange. Ultimately losing 93-65. Cooney dropped 17 pts on them while hitting 5-9 from beyond the arc. 'Cooney is now shooting 48.4% on the season from three (31-64) and already has more triples this season than he did all of last year (28) in nearly half as many attempts as last year (105).' Boo-ya! 9-0 Syracuse is #3 in the USA Today/Coaches poll this week and possibly #2 in the AP - which as of this writing is not yet out. OE: Yup - #2.

Centerfield Dec 09 2013 12:35 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I'm taking the family to MSG this Sunday at noon to watch the 'Cuse manhandle St. John's.

soupcan Dec 09 2013 12:38 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Good on you, make sure the St. John's faithful remember that they asked for it... 'We Want 'Cuse!'

Centerfield Dec 15 2013 07:54 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

What a great game at the Garden today. The family had a great time. Big, big Syracuse contingent on hand. In fact, other than the student section, and what I'm guessing was the season ticket holder section, just about the entire arena was decked out in orange. Lots of "Let's go Orange" chants throughout the game. The game itself was a little frustrating, Cooney couldn't get going, and the defense was a lot more porous than it's been in recent games, but whatever. For most of the game, I forgot that this was a non-conference game. It felt like an old-fashioned Big East knockdown type of game. Good stuff. The highlight of the game was definitely Jerami Grant's two-handed stuff of Jakarr Sampson's dunk attempt. The whole arena just exploded. Impossible to stay in your seat for that one. Get that weakass shit outta here.

Methead Dec 16 2013 10:06 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Yeah, they were all over Cooney. Smart plan... he just couldn't figure out how to get open. Grant is a freakin' monster. He had a pretty sweet dunk earlier in the game too.

soupcan Dec 18 2013 09:14 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: The highlight of the game was definitely Jerami Grant's two-handed stuff of Jakarr Sampson's dunk attempt. The whole arena just exploded. Impossible to stay in your seat for that one. Get that weakass shit outta here. 'Into Grant's Tomb…!' [youtube]pjlCgQB-rGk[/youtube]

Centerfield Jan 06 2014 08:25 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

We are bad fans. Big win over Villanova, and then an ugly win (but still a win) in their first ACC game and none of us says a word. Former Big East Teams: 3-0 in ACC play. Duke and UNC: 0-2. Obviously won't stay that way but it's nice to enjoy it while it lasts. I've figured out where my allegiances are. I want the former Big East teams to come in and dominate the ACC. This year, Syracuse, Pitt and ND. Next year Louisville. Someday, Georgetown, UConn, St. John's, Villanova, Providence and Seton Hall.

soupcan Jan 08 2014 09:21 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Let's reverse this 'bad-fans-not-posting' thing. Last night: Syracuse 72, Va. Tech. 52. The line was 12 &1/2 I believe so the Orange covered nicely and removed any queasy feelings that remained after the measly 4 point victory over Miami on Saturday. #2 in the country, one of 5 remaining unbeaten teams at 15-0, and as of yesterday the only team in the top 5 to have victories over 2 of the top ten teams (Baylor & 'Nova). Although with Michigan State beating Ohio State and Iowa State beating Baylor last night I'm not sure thats true today. While watching the game last night, as Jeremy Grant was shooting free throws, I heard the student section chanting what I thought sounded like 'LOVE-LY SHOO-OOHS'. and I thought 'lovely shoes'? WTF? Then this picture was pointed out to me: Okay I get it. Even so…pretty lame chant.

Fman99 Jan 08 2014 10:45 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

I've been watching too, though I missed the first half of the weekend game to take a nap, I watched last night's game in its entirety. Good stuff, good to see them open it up in the second half and pull away from an inferior opponent. Lots of good seats available at VT's arena, also. I know it's winter break on campus, but still.

Centerfield Jan 11 2014 07:57 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Shoulda switched to the ACC years ago. JB would have 2000 wins.

Fman99 Jan 11 2014 08:38 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

SU played well enough and UNC is a mess this year. I was able to delay my nap until about the 7:30 mark in the second half, at which point Syracuse was up 15 or so. Onward and upward. Thanks again to Soupcan, who was in town for the game. Second trip to my neighborhood this season without a pop in or a drive by. BOOOO

soupcan Jan 13 2014 07:48 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Fman99 wrote: Thanks again to Soupcan, who was in town for the game. Second trip to my neighborhood this season without a pop in or a drive by. BOOOO Yeah I was there. A long-time planned drunken journey with several other 50 year-old frat brothers. You wouldn't have wanted a part of that Fman, trust me. It was messy. I will be back again on Saturday for the Pittsburgh game. Didn't plan it that way it just worked out that I'm taking my kid on a college tour this weekend so we're just passing through. Hobart on Friday afternoon, SU on Saturday morning, then the game, then straight out to Ithaca where were staying with family. I'll tell you - driving back and forth 4+ hours to Syracuse 3 time in 6 weeks ain't exactly my idea of rest and relaxation. I do owe you a pop-in/drive-by. Duly noted. As we were watching the UNC game it was exciting to be beating them but then the newness wore off and it became pretty apparent that the Tarheels are just not very good. One of my friends said "30 years ago if you told me that Syracuse would be favored by 7 over UNC, that we'd be ranked #2 and they wouldn't even be top 25, I never would've believed it." True dat. And all that being said - 30,000+ in the Dome is always a great time. 16-0, #2. Keep rolling…!

Centerfield Jan 13 2014 03:12 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Of course, Saturday was just a prelude to when the real competition in the ACC visits the Dome. UNC may have the history, but the real test for this team still awaits. Of course I'm talking about Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Centerfield Jan 13 2014 06:58 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

And there is talk of a new sports arena in Syracuse. Would be pretty cool to get a new venue with the students right on top of the court.

Elster88 Jan 13 2014 08:44 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Syracuse is going to dominate the ACC this year. They picked a good year to go. I haven't seen Pitt yet, maybe they will challenge them. None of the traditional ACC teams are any good. It breaks my heart that the Big East broke up.

Elster88 Jan 13 2014 08:45 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: Shoulda switched to the ACC years ago. JB would have 2000 wins. LOL. Agreed.

Centerfield Jan 14 2014 07:21 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Elster88 wrote: It breaks my heart that the Big East broke up. I keep thinking that this is just an experiment and that next year, everyone will say "Just kidding. We just wanted to show that Syracuse and Pitt would finish 1 and 2 in your overrated league. We're now going back to normal." Nice win over BC. It was ugly but that's the type of game you have to grind through. Nice to see they have it in them. I had forgotten how much I hated BC during those Jared Dudley years. I think he may have been my least favorite player during that era.

soupcan Jan 14 2014 07:22 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: And there is talk of a new sports arena in Syracuse. Would be pretty cool to get a new venue with the students right on top of the court. I'm torn about this news. The Dome essentially 'made' Syracuse basketball what it is today - a perennial national power. I'd hate to give that up but it is 30 years old. I read that they are looking into a dual-purpose facility which would seat 40,000. Good for hoops but low-capacity for the football team and its aspirations. And if its not on-campus, that also takes away. The City wants it but if it doesn't benefit the University then why should they partner up? I've got a lot of faith in the AD, Dr. Gross, so I'm not too concerned. During his tenure at SU he's shown a great understanding of what is best for the athletic department in terms of growth, exposure and money. Whatever the City and University decide to do, if he's involved, I'm okay with it.

soupcan Jan 14 2014 07:49 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Centerfield wrote: Elster88 wrote: It breaks my heart that the Big East broke up. I keep thinking that this is just an experiment and that next year, everyone will say "Just kidding. We just wanted to show that Syracuse and Pitt would finish 1 and 2 in your overrated league. We're now going back to normal." Nice win over BC. It was ugly but that's the type of game you have to grind through. Nice to see they have it in them. I had forgotten how much I hated BC during those Jared Dudley years. I think he may have been my least favorite player during that era. I miss the Big East too. Getting to play and beat Duke and UNC regularly will be nice but Clemson? UVA? NC State? Wake Forest? Georgia Tech? Ugh. Southern schools that I don't even care about. At least the ACC has some Big East flavor to it with BC & Pitt. Notre Dame, Va. Tech, Miami and next year Louisville - were in the Big East at some point so there's that but still… That BC game was interesting. I wasn't really concerned at any point but the way those threes were dropping had me a bit tense. Cooney was crazy with those steals and dunks.

Fman99 Jan 14 2014 07:57 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Yep, Cooney looked good last night. I had to crash out at halftime as I wasn't feeling well but even though it was close at the time, I was not doubting that they'd pull it out against an inferior opponent.

Rockin' Doc Jan 14 2014 09:49 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Syracuse has a very good team this season and they are clearly the class of the ACC this season. North Carolina and Duke are clearly not as good this year as in years past. I really don't see anyone in the ACC to challenge Syracuse for the top spot this season. However, I do believe that the success of the Orange has led some of you to believe it will always be this easy. It would not have been so easy in the past and it will not be so in the future. I can understand missing the traditional rivalries from the Big East. I have never liked Maryland, but I still hate to see the Turtles leaving for the Big 10. Unfortunately, the BCS and TV money has completely changed the college landscape so that the traditional conference alignments are only a memory now.

soupcan Jan 15 2014 11:01 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Doc - I'm pretty sure CF had his tongue firmly planted in cheek when he insinuated that the ACC is a pushover league. Most Syracuse fans I know are well aware (and surprised) that is just a down year for the league (personally I never thought that Duke had down years) and that Pitt & Syracuse just happened to have exceptional teams at the right time. By the same token however, Syracuse was the most consistently successful team over the 34 year life of the Big East (that includes UConn, Georgetown, Villanova and Pittsburgh). Its no surprise that they are doing well and Duke & UNC fans shouldn't kid themselves into thinking that Syracuse is one of those teams that are only good once every three to four years. In those 34 Big East seasons, the Orange averaged 25 wins a year. The Orange are a tough out, year-in and year-out and will be competing for conference championships every year. Pittsburgh also puts a solid team on the floor every year and going into Pitt and winning is next to impossible. As good as Syracuse has been, Pitt has been also. The only thing they lack are the trophies. Regular season they are as difficult an opponent as you'll face. Again - every year.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 17 2014 12:06 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

[fimg=322]http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/espn-grantland/img/grantland-logo.png?m=1386721972g[/fimg] Bow Down to Your New ACC Powerhouse: Syracuse January 15, 2014 by Ben Detrick When Syracuse announced it was jilting the Big East in favor of the sexy Atlantic Coast Conference, the proper response was to mourn the loss of its sacred basketball rivalries with Georgetown and UConn. But behind the woeful jeremiads bubbled an urge to see how the Orange stacked up against Duke and North Carolina, two teams with obnoxiously overwrought legacies, endless hype, and annually heralded recruiting classes. So far? After opening with a 17-0 record, including last weekend’s obliteration of the Tar Heels, second-ranked Syracuse is looking like the real powerhouse in the ACC. Maybe it is. In the last two NCAA tournaments, Syracuse has advanced to the Final Four (2013) and the Elite Eight (2012). And in the last five NBA drafts, the Orange have farmed out a trio of top-six selections (Jonny Flynn, Wes Johnson, Dion Waiters) plus Michael Carter-Williams, the 11th pick in this year’s draft, who is cruising toward the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. After passing Bobby Knight last season, zone-master Jim Boeheim is second in all-time men’s Division 1 wins, trailing only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. Yes, Syracuse has far fewer championship banners than the time-honored czars of the ACC, but the Orange are just as relevant in 2014. It’s always difficult to gauge the quality of the Orange until late in the season. The team customarily amasses an impressive early record by trouncing cupcakes, and it has already feasted on frosting like Cornell, Colgate, and Binghamton. As the schedule has toughened up, Syracuse added victories over Baylor (currently no. 12), Villanova (no. 6), and bold-faced names in Indiana and North Carolina. But it’s worth mentioning that only six of the team’s 17 wins have taken place away from the Dome. Syracuse has a legitimate senior star in leading scorer and ACC Preseason Player of the Year C.J. Fair, a couple underclassmen with high-level professional talent, and a seasoned frontcourt that is simply big as shit. In a year when all attention has been lavished on freshman one-and-dones, the Orange’s well-constructed, veteran squad is both a luxury and a rarity. And, of course, there’s that zone defense. A rudimentary 2-3 is the refuge of lazy-ass pickup squads or junior varsity scrubs, but the Boeheim Mutation combines quick adaptability with personnel who were born to be instruments of suffocation. Boeheim has become so adept at recruiting the cogs for his system that it’s almost cheating. The team’s mantis-like forwards, Fair and Jerami Grant, are spry enough to close out on 3-point shooters near the break while still providing weak-side rim protection. The center is anchored by Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita, a 13.5-foot platoon of sentinels who are each responsible for roughly eight boards, two blocks, five fouls, and a couple of passes clanging off their cement-block hands per 40 minutes on the hardwood. When the zone is at maximum viscosity — which is more or less always — victims are engulfed in traps on the sideline and in the short corner, opposing bigs are forced to quickly shovel precise interior passes, and shot clocks dwindle without the possibility of a governor’s pardon. As anyone who witnessed the Hoosier meltdown against the Orange during last season’s NCAA tournament can attest, it’s a nasty riddle to solve. This season’s team doesn’t have the same elastic perimeter length at the guard position as previous classes, but it’s still fifth in the nation in steals. And while Villanova and Boston College proved this Syracuse defense is more vulnerable to the 3 than usual, not too many teams can drain them all night. Thanks to the draft and graduation, the Orange lost three of their top four scorers —Carter-Williams, James Southerland, and Brandon Triche — and entered the season with a barren backcourt. The only notable returning guard is sophomore Trevor Cooney, who played 11 minutes a game and shot 32 percent from the field last year. Now inhabiting the cherished Gritty White Gunner role popularized by Gerry “The God of Scranton” McNamara and Eric Devendorf, he’s flinging up nine 3-point attempts and scoring more than 18 points per 40 minutes. Cooney is very streaky, as evidenced by his 4-for-17 performance against the Tar Heels, but is inevitably involved when Cuse rips off a double-digit, foe-disemboweling scoring jag. Still, because of the lack of depth or experience in the backcourt, no player has been as important as freshman point guard Tyler Ennis. Preternaturally polished, he’s already being mentioned as a potential first-round pick (some draft seers predict he could go as high as the lottery). Ennis is a bit like Andre Miller: persistent at getting to the cup, a tough rebounder for only standing 6-foot-2, the bearer of stoic poise. Without many teammates able to create their own shots, his stingy 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover rate is what gives the Syracuse offense a semblance of intelligent design in the half court. No, the Orange offense isn’t an elegant orchestra of ball movement. Outside of Ennis’s distribution and drives, it mostly consists of Cooney hoisting 3s and Fair jab-stepping a few times before lobbing up his beloved midrange jumpers. But it doesn’t really matter, since the team generally gets as many attempts at the basket as it desires. The front line — especially Grant, the team’s leading rebounder and arguably the most brain-warping athletic freakazoid in this year’s NCAA (sorry Andrew Wiggins!) — is relentless at pounding the offensive glass. After racking up 14 offensive rebounds against Boston College and 17 against North Carolina, Syracuse has now taken nearly 130 more field goal attempts and nearly 110 more free throw attempts than its opponents. There’s wiggle room for an occasional squandered possession here. It’s early, and significant tests are on the horizon. This weekend, Syracuse squares off against no. 22 Pitt, a fellow Big East refugee who is also undefeated in conference play. And no. 23 Duke invades the Carrier Dome on February 1. But for the moment, Syracuse is the newborn king of the ACC. http://grantland.com/the-triangle/bow-d ... -syracuse/

Rockin' Doc Jan 17 2014 08:54 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Soup..sorry if I seemed a little touchy. I can appreciate fans enjoying it when their team is playing well and on a roll. I believe that Syracuse is one of the elite basketball programs in the country. Jim Boeheim has built a powerhouse program that probably does not garner the respect that it deserves nationally. Syracuse fields a good team virtually every year, they are particularly loaded this year. Pittsburgh is a tough team, but I personally don't view them as being amid the elite (top 8-10 programs in the country) on a year in, year out basis. Louisville will make the league even tougher next year. Duke and UNC have down years like any other program, it is just that, like other elite programs, their down years aren't quite as lean and they tend not to last very long. This edition of UNC is about as bad as any (except maybe 2009-2010 team) during Roy Williams' tenure. Duke is a very talented, but flawed team this year. They have tremendous talent (likely NBA lottery picks) on the wings, they are very at the guard position, but like a donut they have no center. Duke must shoot well to win, because they are a very poor rebounding team and they are, in my opinion, one of the worst defensive teams during Mike Krzyzewski's tenure as coach.

Ashie62 Jan 18 2014 03:35 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Syracuse and Pitt in an ACC game...wow...

Centerfield Jan 18 2014 09:25 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Wow. That is a fucking game. Love how the announcers, then JB all agreed this was a Big East battle. Coach compared Ennis to Pearl and Sherman Douglas. That is some praise.

Methead Jan 20 2014 07:03 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I'm starting to believe this team could be for real. Win @Pitt and @Duke and I'll be convinced. Dajuan Coleman needs knee surgery (again) and will miss the rest of the year... not sure how much of an impact that will have. I think Rak has shown a lot of improvement recently, and Keita is always dependable in there... but I liked having 3 centers, just for depth. Jerami Grant is a fucking freak, by the way. Love that kid.

soupcan Jan 21 2014 06:07 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I don't kid myself into thinking the Orange are going undefeated. Too many tough road games ahead of them. The thing to bet on is which of the away games at Miami (1/25), Duke (2/1), Pitt (2/12), UVA (3/1), or FSU (3/9) will be the first. If I had to pick I'd say Pitt for the obvious reason (they have a lot if success against SU and as I said in my earlier post, they are almost impossible to beat at The Pete). Miami played the Orange really well at the Dome and they've been playing great since then. Playing at Cameron will be really tough. UVA has shown themselves to be a very good team (their 38 pt. effort against Wisconsin gives me a little pause though) and that FSU game is the last regular season game and the Seminoles aren't bad.

soupcan Jan 25 2014 03:05 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Cross Miami off that possible loss list. #2 Syracuse 64, Miami 52. 19-0. Wake Forest up next on Wednesday night.

Fman99 Jan 25 2014 06:55 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Missed 100% of this game due to a 'Lia Sophia' jewelry party being held in my home today. IN MY HOME! Fboy and I instead hit the slopes for a few hours of snow tubing. Man, that is some fun times.

soupcan Jan 30 2014 07:44 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

The Orange end Wake Forest's 13-game home win streak, beating them 67-57. Ugly, ugly game. Syracuse shot 36% from the field and Wake shot 34%. Both teams missed more than their fair share of FTs and both teams had key players in foul trouble early. So the 'Cuse is now 20-0 / 7-0 tying the best record to start a season in school history. Does the record fall on Saturday at the Dome against the hated Duke Blue Devils…? Saturday at 6:30 on ESPN.

Centerfield Jan 30 2014 10:08 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Duke has really come together the past few weeks. Syracuse has struggled against Miami, BC and Wake Forest. Meanwhile, Duke went into Pittsburgh and won by 15. Rankings aside, this is going to be a tough matchup for Syracuse. I am guessing that Coach K is not going to be befuddled by the zone.

Elster88 Feb 01 2014 05:53 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Great game going on right now. Grant is a beast. Also, there was just a horrible bad call by the ref, which corresponded with a TV timeout. Grant put on a very charming smile, put his arm around the ref and explained to him what he did wrong. Very Michael Jordan-ish and much preferred to the whiny response college kids usually use when a ref makes an atrocious call. The ref smiled back by the way.

Elster88 Feb 01 2014 05:56 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

soupcan wrote: By the same token however, Syracuse was the most consistently successful team over the 34 year life of the Big East (that includes UConn, Georgetown, Villanova and Pittsburgh). Its no surprise that they are doing well and Duke & UNC fans shouldn't kid themselves into thinking that Syracuse is one of those teams that are only good once every three to four years. In those 34 Big East seasons, the Orange averaged 25 wins a year. I want to play this game. My guess would be Syracuse has a better winning percentage, but the UConn has more BE regular season and tournament championships. And of course we all know about the national championships. I think I'll look up the numbers. The 25 wins a year are a nice story but 15 of those come against Binghamton and Albany.

Elster88 Feb 01 2014 06:01 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Also a shit Georgetown team just convincingly beat an 8-and-1-in-the-Big-Ten Michigan State on a neutral floor. I miss my league.

Ashie62 Feb 01 2014 06:45 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

This SU-Duke game is one of the best non-tournament games I have seen..

Ashie62 Feb 01 2014 06:47 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Elster88 wrote: Also a shit Georgetown team just convincingly beat an 8-and-1-in-the-Big-Ten Michigan State on a neutral floor. I miss my league. Uconn can win the AAC in hoops easily...Football not so much...

Fman99 Feb 01 2014 07:09 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

What a game, holy cow.

Centerfield Feb 01 2014 07:11 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Wow. Just wow.

Rockin' Doc Feb 01 2014 07:22 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Great game. I hate my guys lost, but a great game. Congratulations to Syracuse on a big win. Awesome game.

Centerfield Feb 01 2014 07:27 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Just an amazing game. I wonder if Georgetown and UNC feel like bitter ex-wives.

Elster88 Feb 01 2014 08:07 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Great game. Duke had to nail a lot of threes. I still think they're overmatched against Syracuse.

Rockin' Doc Feb 01 2014 11:46 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Arizona falls at California 60-58. Syracuse will be #1 come Monday. Congratulations on a great win today and a solid season thus far.

Methead Feb 02 2014 12:26 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

That game was some solid entertainment. I set my goddamn DVR to record an extra hour, but for some reason it didn't do it, so I missed the OT. Even so, awesome game.

soupcan Feb 02 2014 07:24 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Elster88 wrote: soupcan wrote: By the same token however, Syracuse was the most consistently successful team over the 34 year life of the Big East (that includes UConn, Georgetown, Villanova and Pittsburgh). Its no surprise that they are doing well and Duke & UNC fans shouldn't kid themselves into thinking that Syracuse is one of those teams that are only good once every three to four years. In those 34 Big East seasons, the Orange averaged 25 wins a year. I want to play this game. My guess would be Syracuse has a better winning percentage, but the UConn has more BE regular season and tournament championships. And of course we all know about the national championships. I think I'll look up the numbers. The 25 wins a year are a nice story but 15 of those come against Binghamton and Albany. My point was that in the four decades of the 'original' Big East, Syracuse was the only school that contended for/won a regular season or tournament championship in all four of those decades. Syracuse had 8 reg. season titles and 5 tourney titles. UConn had 8 & 7. From '82-'83 to '86-'87 UConn didn't win more than 13 games a year. In the same time frame Syracuse didn't win less than 21 games a year. In total from '79-'80 to '12-'13 (lifespan of the conference) UConn won 754 games, Syracuse won 846. Most successful team in terms of conference tourneys and NCs? UConn. Most consistently successful team in terms of wins over the four decade history? Syracuse. And Binghamton, Albany? Please. Like UConn didn't play Harvard, Fairfield & Quinnipiac more than a few times? As to the Syracuse-Duke tilt - much fun! I'd still rather be playing Georgetown, Villanova & UConn, but UNC, Duke, Pitt & Louisville next year, ain't too shabby.

soupcan Feb 03 2014 10:47 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

This week's AP poll has the good guys at #1. 1. Syracuse (unanimous #1, gets all 65 first place votes) 2. Arizona (loses and only drops to #2) 3. Florida 4. Wichita State 5. San Diego State 6. Villanova 7. Cincinnati 8. Kansas 9. Michigan State 10. Michigan 11. Duke (goes up 6 spots despite the loss to SU) 12. Creighton 13. Saint Louis 14. Louisville 15. Texas 16. Iowa State 17. Iowa 18. Kentucky 19. Oklahoma State 20. UVA 21. Oklahoma 22. UConn (back in the top 25) 23. Gonzaga 24. Memphis 25. Pittsburgh The ACC and the AAC both have 4 teams in top 25. Big Ten has 3

Ashie62 Feb 03 2014 10:50 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Cincy is my surprise tea here. Congrats SU fans!

soupcan Feb 03 2014 08:42 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

22-0 after beating Notre Dame tonight 61-55. Cooney showed up. Tied the SU record with 9 treys & had a career high 33 pts.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 03 2014 08:52 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

soupcan wrote: The ACC and the AAC both have 4 teams in top 25. Big Ten has 3 And last year's Big East has six teams in this week's top 25.

soupcan Feb 04 2014 06:56 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

batmagadanleadoff wrote: soupcan wrote: The ACC and the AAC both have 4 teams in top 25. Big Ten has 3 And last year's Big East has six teams in this week's top 25. Yup. What a great conference that was. Sigh.

soupcan Feb 10 2014 07:56 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Syracuse 57, Clemson 44. 23-0, 10-0, still ranked #1. Now the fun starts - 8 games left, 5 on the road against Pitt, Duke, Maryland, Virginia & Florida State. Home games left are Boston College, NC State & Georgia Tech. I'd love for them to go 6-2 including winning any 3 of those road games. The important one though is going to be @Virginia. The Cavs are one game behind the Orange in the standings at 10-1 and I don't see them losing again with their schedule (Maryland, @Clemson, @Va. Tech, Notre Dame, Miami, Syracuse, @Maryland). Now that I've written that all out however, I think that game at Clemson might be tough for UVA. The Tigers showed Syracuse a really good 'D' last night and Virginia will be playing them at Clemson. Virginia's shown to have difficulties against teams that play good defense this year, (scored only 38 points against Wisconsin) so maybe...

batmagadanleadoff Feb 10 2014 09:26 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

[fimg=444]http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/espn-grantland/img/grantland-logo.png?m=1386721972g[/fimg] [fimg=555]http://espngrantland.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/grant_g_roberson_tyler.jpg?w=1003[/fimg] Tyler Roberson #21 of the Syracuse Orange dunks the ball against Marshall Plumlee #40 of the Duke Blue Devils during the first half at the Carrier Dome on February 1, 2014 in Syracuse, New York. College Basketball Titus’s Top 12 NCAA Power Rankings During maybe the saddest week of the most savage winter in recent memory, Syracuse-Duke and college basketball save the day by Mark Titus on February 5, 2014 3. Duke Every time I’ve watched a Syracuse home game this season, the commentators have mentioned that Syracuse is now in the ACC, that Duke is coming to the Carrier Dome in February, that Syracuse bookstores have been selling “Beat Duke” T-shirts, and that Syracuse planned to shatter the on-campus attendance record against the Blue Devils. As somebody with zero ties to either program, I couldn’t help but think this was overkill. I get it — the two winningest coaches squaring off makes for an intriguing story line, Syracuse and Duke are both great programs, and both schools have been fighting for years over who gets to claim living legend Greg Paulus. But it’s not like these were the two best teams in the country or each team had seven future NBA players or something. It was just a normal February game between two good teams that was being hyped because Syracuse fans had an inexplicable hard-on for Duke. Yet somehow, the most-hyped early-February game in the history of college basketball still didn’t have enough hype. I don’t even know where to begin with this game. If Jabari Parker doesn’t battle foul trouble, Duke wins. If the refs don’t screw Duke in the final minutes with one terrible call after the other, Duke wins. If Rodney Hood completes the dunk that has bumped Victor Oladipo’s miss against Michigan and Greg Oden’s miss against Georgetown on my list of favorite all-time missed dunks, Duke wins.5 [5. Duke got screwed on all sorts of huge calls in that game, but Hood’s missed dunk wasn’t one of them. I’ve watched the play 50 times and still can’t figure out what the gripe is about. The only reason so many people are complaining is because Duke got hosed on all those calls leading up to this play.] If Duke has a big guy who can catch the ball in the high post, turn and face, and knock down a wide-open 10-footer, Duke wins. If Duke realizes earlier in the game that getting Parker the ball in the high post with room to operate is a nightmare situation for Syracuse, Duke wins. I can’t applaud Duke enough for Saturday’s performance. It was given every reason in the world to roll over and quit, and the Blue Devils just refused. People say there’s no such thing as a good loss. Well, this was a good loss. Duke played an undefeated team on the road in front of more than 35,000 people; it dealt with foul trouble all game; it was completely outmatched in the paint; it fell victim to questionable calls; and it still had a shot to win at the buzzer. That’s something to be proud of. Jay Bilas mentioned after the game that the effort Duke put forth on Saturday was good enough to beat any team in the country except Syracuse at home. He was right. If the Blue Devils play that well the rest of the season, they’ll be cutting down nets in April. [***] 1. Syracuse Here’s a scary thought: In the last five days, three different Syracuse players have registered career-high scoring totals — C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant notched career bests of 28 and 24 points against Duke, respectively, and Trevor Cooney hit nine 3s against Notre Dame on Monday en route to 33 points. During that same span, Tyler Ennis tied his personal-best mark for assists (nine against Duke), Grant tied his career-high for rebounds (12 against Duke), and Rakeem Christmas blocked a career-high number of shots (six against Duke). In other words, every one of Syracuse’s starters is playing as well as he ever has right now, which is pretty terrifying for the rest of the country, considering the Orange won 20 games in a row before they started setting all these career records. As Syracuse adds more and more wins to the best start in school history, the conversation about where this Orange team ranks among Cuse’s best all-time teams will pick up. Since I did something similar with Arizona earlier in the season and it was a huge success (read: Arizona fans bombarded me with tweets and emails telling me how wrong I was), I figured I’d try it again with Syracuse. Here are my power rankings of the best Syracuse teams ever. Year Record (Conf. Record) NCAA Tournament Finish Notable Players 2012 34-3 (17-1) Elite Eight Kris Joseph, Dion Waiters, Brandon Triche, Scoop Jardine, C.J. Fair, Fab Melo, James Southerland 1987 31-7 (12-4) Runner-up Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, Greg Monroe, Derrick Coleman, Howard Triche, Stephen Thompson 2003 30-5 (13-3) Champions Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, Kueth Duany 1989 30-8 (10-6) Elite Eight Douglas, Thompson, Coleman, Billy Owens 1990 26-7 (12-4) Sweet 16 Thompson, Coleman, Owens 2013 30-10 (11-7) Final Four Fair, Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche, Southerland 2010 30-5 (15-3) Sweet 16 Wes Johnson, Andy Rautins, Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson, Joseph, Jardine 1996 29-9 (12-6) Runner-up John Wallace 1980 26-4 (5-1) Sweet 16 Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Marty Headd, Eddie Moss 2000 26-6 (13-3) Sweet 16 Etan Thomas, Jason Hart, Preston Shumpert, Damone Brown, Ryan Blackwell 1994 23-7 (13-5) Sweet 16 Lawrence Moten, Adrian Autry, Wallace, Luke Jackson Unless this team goes 38-2 or better and wins a national championship, I’ll likely always think of 2012 as the best all-time Syracuse team. Cuse fans remember all too well, but the rest of you might forget that Fab Melo’s ineligibility submarined a season that should’ve been historically great. The Orange started 20-0, lost at Notre Dame in their very first game after Melo’s suspension, and then got Melo back and won 11 straight before losing by three to Cincinnati in the Big East tournament. That was their only loss of the season in which they had their full roster. Melo was suspended again after that game and sat out the entire NCAA tournament, and the Orange clawed their way to the Elite Eight before losing to Ohio State.7 [7. By “clawed their way,” I mean this was the Syracuse team that got some help from the refs down the stretch and barely survived 16-seed UNC-Asheville in the first round. ] As an Ohio State fan, Melo’s absence made me very happy, but as a college basketball fan I will forever be upset that Melo and Kendall Marshall robbed us of what should have been a phenomenal Final Four. Anyway, as of right now, I’d probably put this year’s Orange at no. 4 on my list, just because the ending to their story has yet to be written. The 1987 team was loaded with talent and was one legendary shot away from a national title,8 [8. You’re never going to believe this, but Billy Packer was confused in this clip, too. Steve Alford had hit seven 3s for Indiana, so Jim Boeheim had Sherman Douglas face-guard Alford for the final possession. Packer noticed this and said Syracuse was playing man-to-man, even though it was a clearly a box-and-1.] so it’s going to take a lot for the 2014 squad to supplant them. The 2003 team, as beloved as they are by Orange fans, was really just loaded with Carmelo Anthony and guys who played well around him. Sure, they won 30 games and a national title, but they also lost to Rutgers. Assuming the 2014 team loses only one or two games until the tournament starts, wins the ACC by a significant margin, and advances to at least the Final Four, I don’t think 2003’s sentimental value would be enough to trump a season that monumental. Then again, Jabari Parker is Carmelo 2.0 and Duke could potentially play Syracuse three more times this season, so maybe we should wait to see how the first rematch goes before we draw conclusions on 2003 vs. 2014. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing how wrong I am from every Syracuse fan on the planet. http://grantland.com/features/tituss-to ... ankings-3/

Centerfield Feb 10 2014 09:45 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

It's funny how someone other than members of this board remembers that 2003 loss to Freakin' Rutgers.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 10 2014 09:58 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

I'm glad that Titus wrote that the 2002-03 NCAA title team isn't the best SU team of all time, mainly 'cause I always thought so, myself. I always thought that the 1986-87 squad was the best, and that, in general, the Sherman Douglas-Derrick Coleman teams represented the best SU basketball ever played. I also agree with Titus's ranking the Melo team higher than Team Carmelo. The 2011-12 team (with Melo) was the only SU squad that I thought had a real chance to win the tournament before the tournament even started.

soupcan Feb 12 2014 07:07 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I'm glad that Titus wrote that the 2002-03 NCAA title team isn't the best SU team of all time, mainly 'cause I always thought so, myself. I always thought that the 1986-87 squad was the best, and that, in general, the Sherman Douglas-Derrick Coleman teams represented the best SU basketball ever played. I also agree with Titus's ranking the Melo team higher than Team Carmelo. The 2011-12 team (with Melo) was the only SU squad that I thought had a real chance to win the tournament before the tournament even started. I think any knowledgable fan would agree with you that the '03 champs were not the best SU team ever. I love the '86-'87 team but I agree with Titus about the 2011-12 team (with Fab playing) being the best. It's definitely debatable but I'd say that we are currently in the midst of experiencing the best era of Syracuse hoops. From 1986-87 thru 1990-91 (6 seasons), they won 139 games, 3 Big East reg. season championships, 1 Sweet Sixteen, 1 Elite 8, 1 Final Four. In 1991-92, they went 22-10 and were Big East Tourney champs. 2008-09 thru 2012-13 (6 seasons), they won 149 games, 2 Big East. reg. season championships, 2 Sweet Sixteens, 1 Elite 8 and 1 Final Four. So far this year they are 23-0.

Methead Feb 12 2014 01:51 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

This is most definitely a golden era of Cuse hoops. Expecting a loss tonight, but I'll be on the edge of my seat the whole time.

soupcan Feb 12 2014 01:54 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Methead wrote: This is most definitely a golden era of Cuse hoops. Expecting a loss tonight, but I'll be on the edge of my seat the whole time. I agree with you but I've said it before - of the teams I root for, the Syracuse basketball team wins that big game much more often than not, so I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they pull out the unexpected win tonight.

Fman99 Feb 12 2014 07:30 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

soupcan wrote: Methead wrote: This is most definitely a golden era of Cuse hoops. Expecting a loss tonight, but I'll be on the edge of my seat the whole time. I agree with you but I've said it before - of the teams I root for, the Syracuse basketball team wins that big game much more often than not, so I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they pull out the unexpected win tonight. Well you called it! What a finish, good golly. We jumped up and scared the shit out of the cat.

soupcan Feb 12 2014 08:04 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Fman99 wrote: We jumped up and scared the shit out of the cat. Yeah I scared the shit out of my dog too! Great finish! Ennis the Menace!

Centerfield Feb 12 2014 08:05 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I heart Tyler Ennis.

Methead Feb 12 2014 09:10 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Man, they had no business winning that one. Wow.

HahnSolo Feb 13 2014 09:01 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Let's not sidestep the real story from this season: what the Hell is up with Jamie Dixon's hair?

Frayed Knot Feb 13 2014 10:45 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

What was with that whole post-game nonsense? (I happened to stumble on the channel for the last 45 seconds or so of the game -- IOW, fifteen minutes of viewing) I understand the desire to make sure that everything is legit whoever there's a game-winning bucket. But the ball had clearly left the guy's hands prior to the clock running out to the point where it was falling through the hoop at that time, certainly nothing that required two or three minutes of detective work. Unfortunately, I think this is the ultimate outcome once you start to depend on replay and despite all the promises that its use will remain limited and only for obviously incorrect calls. In this case there's a dramatic moment which is then followed, not by a raucous celebration, but rather by several minutes of sitting around waiting for the refs to confirm what was obvious to everyone in the building, at which point a lot of the air had gone out of the moment.

soupcan Feb 14 2014 06:45 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Amusing review of the last moments of the SU-Pitt game from Grantland.

Frayed Knot Feb 14 2014 08:14 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

From the article: "I’m convinced college basketball teams get so many timeouts that it becomes impossible for coaches to resist the urge to use them in any and every situation." I've long thought this was the case, a situation that isn't helped by the fact that every time something bad happens after a coach doesn't call a time out that he gets ripped for not calling one even if there's no specific purpose for it except to look as if he's doing something. In short, most coaches would much rather over-coach than under-coach (pro coaches too). I'm convinced that most of these guys would rather lose a game 52-51 than win one 93-92 because in the latter case they'd be accused of not doing anything except rolling the ball out and letting their players play without restrictions. John Feinstein recently penned an article on how many time-outs, both team called and TV dictated, there are in an average college b-ball game (an amount that only increases as you get to post-season tourney time); I forget the exact numbers but it's ridiculous and goes a long way towards explaining how 40 minute games regularly run over their two-hour allotted broadcast times. Yeah, college hoops games are still short compared to most other American sports, but there's still a ton of dead time. Like I said, I just happened to stumble across the channel carrying this game when there was 45 seconds left and was parked there for some 15 minutes waiting for it to end - and that's not even including the 2-3 minute discussion at the end while the refs and off-court officials conferred to decide whether or not it actually ended.

soupcan Feb 15 2014 09:29 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Tip time changed for today's game from 3:00 to 7:00 due to NC State having 'travel-related issues'. Supposedly still going to be shown on WLNY.

Methead Feb 17 2014 07:54 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I really like the retro unis they'll be sporting on Wednesday. It's gonna look like the late '80s on the court (but with longer shorts). I hope Boeheim wears a hairpiece.

soupcan Feb 19 2014 07:26 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

They may even wear the orange shorts which would be so cool that my head will explode. By the by, they beat NC State pretty much because the Wolfpack decided not to win. Still undefeated at 25-0, 12-0 and still #1 heading into tonight's contest against Boston College.

Centerfield Feb 19 2014 07:46 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

It has to be orange shorts. I don't see how it's even a question.

soupcan Feb 19 2014 09:49 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Freakin' Boston College...

Centerfield Feb 23 2014 06:29 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Absolute bullshit. The new rules say you have to be in position before the offensive player starts his upward motion. It's been a block all year. It was a block when Parker rammed into Gbinije earlier in the game. And even if it were close, you don't call that in that situation. No question that the crowd affected that call. The Christmas dunk in the earlier sequence should have been an and 1 to tie the game. Grant was hacked all game long and didn't get calls. Even Bilas and Vitale commented on that. People will criticize Boeheim for getting ejected, but I think it's the right move. The game was effectively over with that call. I think Boeheim wanted everyone to know he isn't going to lie down for that bullshit. Good for him.

Methead Feb 23 2014 08:43 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Obvious bullshit call... but I really want these guys to shoot better than 35% one of these days and take the refs out of the equation.

soupcan Feb 24 2014 01:43 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Methead wrote: Obvious bullshit call... but I really want these guys to shoot better than 35% one of these days and take the refs out of the equation. Agreed on both counts. 'The Call' couldve gone either way really, but in Cameron, Duke's gonna get it. Forget the fact that it was the last 10 seconds of the game and there should have been no whistle either way. Shame for the game to be decided like that. Maryland tonight at 7:00 on ESPN.

HahnSolo Feb 24 2014 02:14 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

They called a block on Syracuse earlier in the second half that led to a 3-point play opportunity. Don't remember who the foul was on, though. I thought that was a worse call. But on both Duke got the home cooking.

Centerfield Feb 25 2014 07:44 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

I think it's time to get on Boeheim here. You keep hearing about this sputtering offense and how shots are not falling. Anyone watching these games can see that the reason they're not falling is many times, these are not good shots. It's been evident lately, looking at the offensive schemes we've went up against. The elite coaches all seem to have set offenses designed to get players optimum shots. Duke has incredible ball movement. The zone seems like it's always scrambling to catch up against them. Pittsburgh put on a passing clinic, and ran better offensive sets with less talented players. I was watching Michigan State earlier this year. They don't have the athletes Syracuse has, but they have a definite plan of attack on offense. The extent of Boeheim's offense seems to be run a guy off a curl, then let him go one-on-one. There is no inside-out, no cutting, no pick and roll plays. I really think this is what has hurt this team in the tournament. When that time comes, people get tight. It's a lot to ask of a kid to go one-on-one and make a play over and over. As great as he is defensively, he needs to come up with some set offense.

soupcan Feb 25 2014 12:47 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I don't mean to be a Boeheim apologist but I'm not sure I agree. Yes, Boeheim's style is more 'let the kids play' rather than have a plethora of set plays, but if you have watched the games - and I know you have - the 'shots not falling' thing is real. How many lay-ups does Ennis miss a game? 2? 3? Lay-ups. At least 2 last night and I'm guessing his average per game is 2+. Cooney is supposed the 3 point guy. In the past 4 games he has gone 2-10, 2-6, 0-3, 3-10. That's about 19.5% from a guy that should be shooting closer to 30%. And as you have been watching like me, you know that on a lot of those attempts he was WIDE open. Missed at least 2-3 like that last night. If Grant played the second half last night, maybe he chips in 5-10 points. When Fair's shot off his elbow is working and Grant's mid-range is dropping, these guys are fine. I see all of them getting open enough times each game for the shots they can make, unfortunately the team just hasn't been consistent with those shots. As good as Pitt may have passed they lost both games to SU. The Orange are 1-1 against Duke and could've been 2-0 had a break or two gone their way.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 25 2014 01:46 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Boeheim agrees with Centerfield: About Last Night: Orange Avoid Getting Turtled In case you were busy pouring one out for Ray Fosse only to later discover that he’s still alive, here’s what you missed in sports on Monday: • Syracuse rebounded from back-to-back losses with a narrow 57-55 win over the Maryland Terrapins. Syracuse’s offense stalled down the stretch, as the Orange scored only six points in the final 5:45 of the game, an output Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim blamed on himself. “I’m all about that 2-3 zone,” Boeheim explained after the game, “so when I accidentally called it on the offensive end, our players slipped into it all too comfortably. I mean, we weren’t even trying to get shots. Just rotating to the ball and D-ing guys up. That we scored six points is actually pretty astonishing in retrospect, as we were essentially defending ourselves.” Boeheim then added, “We’ll have to drill that defense a little more because of those slipups.” http://grantland.com/the-triangle/about ... g-turtled/

Methead Feb 25 2014 02:27 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

My biggest problem with the game last night was that once again, in the final minutes, they concentrated on running out the clock. That's fine if you can get a good shot after 30 seconds, but they were settling for threes and missing them.

soupcan Mar 04 2014 10:36 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Okay so 7 in the latest poll after losing 3 of their last 4, to BC, Duke & UVA. The Orange sit today at 26-3, 13-3 with Georgia Tech coming into the Dome tonight at 7:00. As bad as losing 3 out of 4 sounds, the game against Duke was tight until the end and in the game against UVA, Syracuse was without Grant for the entire second half. BC I have no explanation for. Hoping they win tonight and on Saturday @ Florida State. If so they'll finish 28-3, 15-3 and be the #2 seed in the ACC tournament. If they can do that and go into the ACC tourney healthy (see Grant), then I'd be very excited for a possible re-match against UVA in the title game. I still think this team can do serious damage in March. They are getting the looks they need but the shots just. Are. Not. Falling. If that turns around we can see a dominant Syracuse team. They need Ennis to NOT miss lay-ups, they need Cooney to shoot a reasonable percentage from 3, they need Christmas to make those baby hooks fall and they simply need Grant healthy.

Fman99 Mar 04 2014 07:35 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Ugh. How lost are they with Grant on the bench and Cooney not hitting his shots. Ennis and Fair by themselves do not an offense make.

batmagadanleadoff Mar 05 2014 06:22 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

[fimg=222]http://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/vip/espn-grantland/img/grantland-logo.png[/fimg] Grantland's Top 12 NCAA rankings. Here's Syracuse's writeup after topping the poll just two week's ago: http://grantland.com/features/titus-top ... t-for-unc/

Ashie62 Mar 05 2014 06:38 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Seven man rotation caught up to them... three seed...

Methead Mar 06 2014 10:54 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

soupcan wrote: I still think this team can do serious damage in March. They are getting the looks they need but the shots just. Are. Not. Falling. If that turns around we can see a dominant Syracuse team. They need Ennis to NOT miss lay-ups, they need Cooney to shoot a reasonable percentage from 3, they need Christmas to make those baby hooks fall and they simply need Grant healthy. Agreed with all of that. It's gotten to the point where I'm surprised when a shot goes in.

TransMonk Mar 09 2014 12:25 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

A thriller between Maryland and Virginia today. I'm glad the overrated Cavaliers lost. As a Wisconsin fan, all of these whispers about Virginia having a shot at a #1 seed were making me angry.

Ashie62 Mar 09 2014 02:44 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

TransMonk wrote: A thriller between Maryland and Virginia today. I'm glad the overrated Cavaliers lost. As a Wisconsin fan, all of these whispers about Virginia having a shot at a #1 seed were making me angry. What happened to Wisky GB today.... yikes

soupcan Mar 09 2014 04:50 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Syracuse 74, Florida State 58. Different team with Grant on the floor.

TransMonk Mar 09 2014 09:27 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Then 'Sconnie loses to Nebraska. Dang.

Rockin' Doc Mar 10 2014 08:11 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Parity rules this season. There are numerous good teams around the country, but no dominant ones.

Frayed Knot Mar 10 2014 10:02 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

'It's a wide-open tournament this year with at least eight to ten teams that could win it all' -- Every hoops talking head, every year.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 11 2014 10:29 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Blue Hens qualify for only the 3rd time ever by knocking off Willets Point U in the conference finals.

MFS62 Mar 12 2014 06:39 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

Is there a Cameron Outdoor Arena? Later

Rockin' Doc Mar 12 2014 08:00 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

MFS62 wrote: Is there a Cameron Outdoor Arena? That would be Wallace Wade Stadium where the football team plays, which is adjacent to Cameron Indoor Stadium. The name may be a little peculiar, but Cameron Indoor Stadium is a venerable sports landmark and one of the best places in which to experience a college basketball game. At the time of it's dedication (1940) it was one of the largest indoor sports arenas in the country; now it is one of the smallest.

MFS62 Mar 12 2014 09:35 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Rockin' Doc wrote: MFS62 wrote: Is there a Cameron Outdoor Arena? That would be Wallace Wade Stadium where the football team plays, which is adjacent to Cameron Indoor Stadium. The name may be a little peculiar, but Cameron Indoor Stadium is a venerable sports landmark and one of the best places in which to experience a college basketball game. At the time of it's dedication (1940) it was one of the largest indoor sports arenas in the country; now it is one of the smallest. So, the word "Indoor" is unnecessary. They don't have to distinguish it from a smillarly named outdoor one. I thought so, but was never sure. Later

Rockin' Doc Mar 13 2014 06:21 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Yeah, the "Indoor" is pretty unnecessary. From it's design and construction (when it was originally called Duke Indoor Stadium) the unnecessary indoor has been a part of the name. I have never heard why.

Edgy MD Mar 13 2014 06:25 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

A lot of forum alma maters this year. Too bad William and Mary won't do. We should get some action happening.

Frayed Knot Mar 13 2014 06:29 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

I suspect the origin [of the name of 'Cameron Indoor Stadium] might be in your [R-Doc] answer about the relative size of the place when it was first built. The word 'Stadium' may have been used to distinguish it from the smaller college arenas of that time which often had less grandiose names like 'Fieldhouse' or simply 'gym'. They then tacked on the word 'indoor' onto it so as to not make it seem like it was the football facility. Or maybe it was none of that and I'm just speculating wildly with no facts whatsoever.

MFS62 Mar 13 2014 07:04 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Frayed Knot wrote: I suspect the origin [of the name of 'Cameron Indoor Stadium] might be in your [R-Doc] answer about the relative size of the place when it was first built. The word 'Stadium' may have been used to distinguish it from the smaller college arenas of that time which often had less grandiose names like 'Fieldhouse' or simply 'gym'. They then tacked on the word 'indoor' onto it so as to not make it seem like it was the football facility. Or maybe it was none of that and I'm just speculating wildly with no facts whatsoever. Y'know, that sounds like one of those things that, if you say it with conviction, the person you say it to will take it as fact. Later

Rockin' Doc Mar 16 2014 01:23 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

Congratulations to UVA on winning the ACC Tournament. They take both the regular season and Conference tournament titles, yet I think most people don't give them the respect they deserve. Virginia is definitely better than any of us gave them credit for being back in January. They aren't flashy, but they play great team defense and they take care of the ball on offense. They're rather offensively challenged, but don't beat themselves. North Carolina came to life once they stopped waiting for the reinstatement of their best player (P.J. Hairston) after his summer of lawlessness. Once "Roy" made Marcus Paige the focal point of the offense and convinced his team to play defense, the Tar Heels became a vastly better team. Duke still struggles defensively, but they have done a much better job of rebounding since February. Duke still has tremendous offensive players on the wings, but they still rely too much on the three point shot. They are capable of beating anyone in the country, but one bad shooting night and they are toast. Pittsburgh is a tough, defensive minded team, but extremely challenged offensively. Syracuse plays solid defense and they have some very talented offensive players in Fair, Ennis, and Grant, but they lack depth and despite their talent often seem to struggle offensively. I don't expect to see any other ACC teams to make the NCAA Tournament. I think that Syracuse, Duke, UNC and Virginia are capable of making a deep run in the tournament if they play well and draw favorable match ups, However, I wouldn't be overly surprised to see any of them lose in the second round and fail to make the Sweet 16. Best of luck to all the ACC teams moving forward.

batmagadanleadoff Mar 23 2014 11:27 AM Re: Freakin' ACC

I can't remember the last time I saw such an ugly uninspired offensive effort from a top 25 team in a tournament game. It wasn't just that they weren't hitting shots. It looked like the other three starters were just standing around waiting for Ennis or Fair to do their iso playground thing. [fimg=844:1zvw3uu9]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1730978.1395558031!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/article-backpage-0323.jpg[/fimg:1zvw3uu9]

batmagadanleadoff Mar 23 2014 02:06 PM Re: Freakin' ACC

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I can't remember the last time I saw such an ugly uninspired offensive effort from a top 25 team in a tournament game. It wasn't just that they weren't hitting shots. It looked like the other three starters were just standing around waiting for Ennis or Fair to do their iso playground thing. [fimg=844]http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1730978.1395558031!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/article-backpage-0323.jpg[/fimg] What a lost opportunity. They avoided Ohio State (6) in the round of 32 and wouldn't have had to face Kansas (2) in the Sweet Sixteen.