Once upon a time, we had some fun with Syracuse’s Mount Rushmore (as we did with all the school Mount Rushmores). The final Syracuse Mount Rushmore: Jim Boeheim, Jim Brown, Ben Schwartzwalder, and Ernie Davis. You can go there to read the reasons why those four were chosen. But if Syracuse was to create a “most-hated” Mount Rushmore, who would be on it?
If you ignore the absolutely embarrassing performance by the refs, and the reality of what last night’s loss means to Florida State (likely, no NCAA Tournament, barring a run in Greensboro), the end of the UNC-FSU game was a good thing for the ACC. Sure, the game was exciting, seeing the Seminoles lead 21-6 at one point before the Tar Heels stormed back, but that’s not why it will have a significant place in history. No, last night’s game was important because Roy Williams set a major conference record, joining the 300 Club of the ACC.
This author has been following basketball since well before Al Gore’s Internet became mainstream. Well before. Before cable TV even. In fact, his first real memories of basketball just so happen to coincide with Jim Boeheim’s first season as coach. Having watched 35+ seasons of Syracuse basketball, this author is nowhere near convinced that the current edition of Syracuse basketball is made of players that should be 25-0 at this point. Nah, this team is a team that should be a 22 or 23 win team right now… good enough to be a national title contender, but flawed enough to be vulnerable just about every night. The sum of its parts, however, is that it is the first of those teams to go 25-0. And it deserves to be 25-0. Here is why.
The game time has moved from 3pm to 7pm for weather-related reasons. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/preview?gameId=400502855
Note this for your TV viewing pleasure (or lack thereof). For television options, check here: http://www.theacc.com/#!/GameCenter/52685b9be4b0f86829b3c7f1
Between the Mike and Mike Show and the coaches running the no-huddle systems taking the airwaves, there is ample criticism of a new rule being considered in college football. Specifically, the NCAA rules committee has recommended a rule change that will allow defensive units to substitute within the first 10 seconds of the 40-second play clock, excluding the final two minutes of each half, by precluding the offense from running a play during that period. The talking heads and coaches impacted hate the rule. The Confidential says “not so fast.” Let’s think this through before making a knee-jerk reaction to a knee-jerk rule.
Syracuse has had many good freshman players. Pearl Washington helped convert Syracuse from a regional power into a national power. Derrick Coleman took Syracuse to the Championship Game. Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara won a national title. Make way Syracuse fans… Tyler Ennis is in that elite company now. In fact, the ACC should be taking notice.
The UNC-Duke game, originally scheduled for 9:10pm tonight on ESPN and the ACC Network, has been postponed. Just a few hours before tip-off, the word came out at 5:40pm that the bus that was supposed to pick up the Duke team to take them to the Chapel Hill campus was unable to make it as scheduled. And now, less than an hour after that, officials have announced that the game will be played a week from tomorrow, Thursday, February 20th. The time is still TBD.
2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour= LIVES CHANGED
This past Saturday, almost 8,000 participants gathered at the NC State bell tower for the 10th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge. Like last year, I was fortunate enough to compete in the event, which has challengers run 2.5 miles, eat 12 doughnuts and then run 2.5 miles again all in under an hour. And while I’m happy to say that I improved on my time and didn’t get even sick, the real reason I’m proud to have been a part of this event is because of what it accomplished.
With the Syracuse Orange having recently ascended to their third #1 ranking in five years, a lot of the talk has been if Jim Boeheim’s squad is the team to beat. The notion has been phrased different ways; “the national title Syracuse’s to lose”, “The title is there for the taking”, but all boil down to the idea that Syracuse is really, really good and deserve their share of time at #1. The fact that Syracuse’s selection was the first unanimous one since Duke in the 2010-11 season lends weight to that argument and, of course, a 23-0 record doesn’t hurt either.
Yet, looking back at that Orange this season, another phrase comes to mind when I think of this particular squad: a team of destiny.
Now, what do I mean when I say that? Do I mean that I literally believe some cosmic entity has preordained the Orange to win a national title? Well…no, of course not. What I mean is that whatever it’s taken for Syracuse to win, that’s exactly what has happened.
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