The Confidential

Future ACC Member Syracuse Off to HOT Basketball Start

Syracuse basketball is off to a sizzling hot start in 2011-2012.  Although it is unknown when Syracuse will formally join the ACC, it is clear that it is good for most of the ACC that it is not this year.  While North Carolina has gotten an abundance of attention, including here, this Syracuse team is looking to be quite special in its own regard.  While North Carolina has an outstanding quartet of players, Syracuse is as deep as it has ever been.  Game three for Syracuse was more of the same, as the Orange rolled over Albany 98-74.

Here is the most impressive stat about the win over Albany.  Syracuse’s starting five scored 49 points.  Syracuse’s first five of the bench scored 49 points.

The preseason expectations were that veterans Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche, and Scoop Jardine would be the key to the season.  Against Albany, Joseph did by scoring 19 points in 25 minutes.  But Syracuse got a combined 13 points in 35 minutes from its starting backcourt and still ran away with this game. This is not a fluke either.  Although there is no serious debate about who should be starting for Syracuse right now, the bottom line is that James Southerland, CJ Fair, and Dion Waiters would be starting for many teams across college basketball.  In fact, going into the Albany game, these were three of Syracuse’s five best scorers on the season.  These three may not be starting games, but they are going to be finishing a lot of them.

Of course, what should really excite Syracuse fans is that this kind of depth is conducive to the team playing smarter basketball than the past several seasons.  When you go 6 or 7 deep, there is no room to take out a key player for a “teaching moment.”  In past seasons, careless play would get a stare from Jim Boeheim.  Not a fun thing to endure, but something that can be avoided by playing focused defense and hoping that he would forget about it by the next timeout.  This year, a careless play will land anyone on the bench.  There is no room for mental mistakes anymore.

And what must really have Syracuse fans ecstatic is that this kind of depth will allow Syracuse to play some full court press defense.  Against Albany, Syracuse did this for a large chunk of the first half.  This both dictated tempo and tired down Albany. If Syracuse can use that against some of the more methodical teams on its schedule, this will be a great weapon for Boeheim.  The season is still very young, but it is apparent that this Syracuse team is for real.

The question for ACC fans is this.  How great would it have been to have Syracuse, Pitt, Duke, and North Carolina all mixing it up this year?