The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “Boeheim”

06 Nov 2012

Preseason ACC Basketball Rankings!

While there is plenty of football left to be played, basketball is ready to get started.  With that, here are the Confidential’s preseason ACC basketball rankings:

  1. Syracuse.  With apologies to North Carolina State, Duke, and North Carolina, Jim Boeheim has another great team.  And his best coaching jobs are when he has a young team that will listen to his advice.
  2. North Carolina State.  The Confidential is buying the hype.  If Florida State can win the ACC, why not the Wolfpack?  Looking forward to that early season tilt against Michigan too.
  3. Duke.  With the football team headed to a bowl game, fans have a reason to not pay full attention to the hoop squad.  But Dick Vitale will be smiling… Duke is loaded again.
  4. North Carolina.  Not many teams in college hoops have more talent than the Tar Heels.  #4 could be #1 if it all goes well.
  5. Florida State.  The Seminoles are looking to build off last season’s great finish.  These are good times to be a Florida State fan.
  6. Notre Dame.  If we are including Syracuse and Pitt, no reason not to include the Fighting Irish.  Mr. Brey has himself a decent squad again this year too.
  7. Miami.  Like Florida State, Miami is starting to take advantage of its ACC membership on the hardcourt.  Recruiting to Miami cannot be that hard, can it?
  8. Pittsburgh.  Last year has to be an anomaly, right?  Jamie Dixon is too good a coach to have two straight seasons without the Big Dance.
  9. Virginia.  Virginia’s unusual defensive schemes give offenses fits.  As the talent ramps up, this team will give many teams fits.
  10. Maryland.  The Terps have some talent and they certainly have a talented coaching staff.  Time to start winning more games.
  11. Virginia Tech.  The Hokies have a new coach, which could mean that they take a step back or a step forward from this projection.
  12. Georgia Tech. Things have to be better for the Yellow Jackets this year.  A new home arena should help juice the program up a bit.
  13. Clemson.  The Tigers are young.  But they have the depth to make some games very interesting this year.
  14. Boston College.  This team had to deal with youth last year.  This year will be a stepping stone to good things in 2013-2014.
  15. Wake Forest.  The Demon Deacons are very very young.  Going to be a long season, most likely.

So there it is.  Soon enough we’ll all find out whether the Confidential was on target.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Predictions, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
14 Dec 2011

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse Sued–Ironically

Is the lawsuit against Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University about the money or is it about justice?  Unfortunately, it may not matter because the lawsuit could very well be a setback for victims’ rights.

To be sure, the two victims/Plaintiffs have told us that the lawsuit is not about the money.  But, admit it, whenever you hear the words “it is not about the money,” the first thing that comes to mind is that “it must be about the money.”  When it is a free agent taking 5% more to move across the country, it is always accompanied by a statement that it is not about the money.  Instead, it is often portrayed as a “respect” issue.  Of course, the disrespect arose out of a lack of offered money or the timing of the offer.  If you have to say it is not about the money, people hearing that tend to think it is because it absolutely is about the money.

The Bernie Fine matter is not about free agency.  Instead, this lawsuit is based on Boeheim calling the accusers “liars” and stating that they were doing this for the money.  Surely, the irony in someone filing a civil lawsuit for monetary damages was lost on nobody, including the Confidential.  But if that irony is not enough, note that the two accusers/Plaintiffs claim that this lawsuit is about justice for other victims.  Mike Lang’s statement was as follows:

“Coming forward was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life, and I hope by doing this, I can help other victims have the courage to also come forward — not just in this case, but in any case in which they have been abused,” Lang said.

Stop and think about that for a moment.  It’s not about the money, it is about justice and encouraging other victims to come forward.

The problem is that, from a justice standpoint, Bernie Fine has already been fired.  Jim Boeheim was taken to task by the media for his non-sympathetic comments and ultimately had to apologize.  In apologizing, Boeheim actually cleared the way for other victims to come forward in this and all cases.  Boeheim and his wife are even going to focus on supporting victims.  By all accounts–short of Bernie Fine being convicted–these two accusers/Plaintiffs have already been quite vindicated.  Quite a step forward for both of them and other victims’ rights.

Until yesterday.  In filing the lawsuit, the two accusers/Plaintiffs demonstrated that justice will not be served unless they get more publicity and cash damages in their pocket.  Again, like everyone else who professes that it is not about the money, the knee-jerk reaction is skepticism.  If Fine was still suspended, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  If Boeheim had not been criticized in the media or had not provided the sincere apologies, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  But Fine was fired.  Boeheim apologized.  The Onondaga County District Attorney called the two accusers/Plaintiffs credible just a few days earlier.  If there was ever a point for these two accusers/Plaintiffs to feel that Syracuse and the nation supported them, it was the point of time that existed on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Despite all of that, Tuesday, December 13, 2011, brought a lawsuit.  Not a lawsuit against Fine–the perpetrator of the crimes.  This is not the Goldmans suing OJ Simpson because the criminal proceedings failed to establish his guilt.  This is not even the situation with third accuser Zach Tomaselli, who is suing Fine and only Fine.  Instead, the two plaintiffs/accusers went after Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University.  The deeper pockets.

Most importantly–let’s go back to the purported basis for the lawsuits–protecting other victims.  What happens if another victim comes forward on Friday?  Now that the two accusers have become Plaintiffs, will the consensus be that this new victim is merely hopping on the litigation bandwagon?  After all, this victim did not come forward until after the lawsuit was filed.  If there is a new round of abuse in some other area of the country–those communities will have to grapple with the question of whether it is real or just a fabricated money grab. Will future alleged victims be criticized for not filing a lawsuit?  Will the failure to hire a Gloria Allred be seen as “proof” that these victims are not willing to have their theories tested in a court of law?  Will the rest of the nation determine that it is a minor scandal because the court system is not involved?  Will future victims reach a determination that coming forward only leads to litigation one way or another–a risk that ends up leading to more victims choosing to silently suffer?  The answers to these questions may very well end up being adverse to victims.

If the accusers/Plaintiffs REALLY wanted to help victims, they had every opportunity to do so without pursuing litigation.  A combined effort by Lang, Davis, the Boeheims, Syracuse law enforcement, and Syracuse University could have made a real difference in changing the culture.  A coalition like that would have changed the community and could have helped change things nationally.  However, that utopia was no match for the allure of publicity and cash.  So, instead of taking three steps forward, this issue will have taken two steps forward and then one step backward.  The two accusers/Plaintiffs have decided to leave it to other victims to victims to take it to the next level.  So much for helping other victims.  That is not merely irony, but disappointing.

What do you think?  Is this lawsuit really going to help other victims everywhere?

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
13 Dec 2011
5 Comments

Boeheim Was Right: It’s ALWAYS About the Money

When does Jim Boeheim get HIS apology?  Well, he gets at least one of them today.

Jim Boeheim was criticized by some members of the media, and certainly taken to task on this forum, for his pointed statements regarding Bernie Fine accusers Bobby Davis and Mike Lang.  Recall that Boeheim was forced to apologize for saying that it was all about the money. When Boeheim finally apologized for those statements, the sentiment was that Boeheim should not have interfered with the alleged victims’ pursuit of justice.  After all, saying it was about the money disregarded the possibility that these time-barred claims were being advanced solely to prevent future harm.  The heartfelt apologies by Boeheim certainly did the trick in removing the focus away from Boeheim.

But we were all wrong.  Or at least those who criticized Boeheim were wrong.  It turns out that the accusers were always after the money all along.  ESPN is now reporting as follows:

Two men who say they were sexually abused by a former assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University are announcing that they are suing the school.

Bobby Davis and Mike Lang say they were molested by former assistant coach Bernie Fine when they were children. He has denied the allegations. A third man also has accused Fine. The U.S. attorney’s office is investigating.

The two men have hired Gloria Allred to handle their case.

So, there it is.  Despite having an amazingly unique opportunity to advance the interests of those abused in all of society, and despite Syracuse University firing Bernie Fine, that is not enough for the accusers.  Instead, it is time to “cash in.”

As it turns out, Boeheim was right.  So the Confidential apologizes.  You were right.  You probably still should not have said it.

But you were right.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
28 Nov 2011
2 Comments

Bernie Fine Fired–Jim Boeheim Likely Safe

Bernie Fine has been fired, but Jim Boeheim’s job appears to be safe.  Although the Confidential previously opined that Jim Boeheim was taking a huge risk in going “all-in” with respect to the Bernie Fine molestation accusations, it now appears that there is stronger evidence against Bernie Fine AND that Jim Boeheim is nevertheless going to survive.  So much for the “all in” analogy.  At least, the Confidential beat the rest of the blogosphere with that analogy (prove us wrong).

The Confidential’s primary concern was that Boeheim could face serious trouble for calling the accusers liars and suggesting that they were making the accusations for the money.  He was also extremely confident that Bernie Fine would be vindicated.  Well, so much for that.  The latest news is that Bernie Fine’s wife is on tape essentially admitting that Fine was very much capable of these acts.  Feel free to read the details elsewhere.  In addition, there is a now a third accuser too.  Not surprisingly, the University wasted little time in firing Fine, which Boeheim concurred with in a statement that he obviously did not write himself.

The upshot is that Boeheim was wrong about Bernie Fine.  Barring some sort of series of conspiracies, it would appear that Fine is going to have a permanent cloud over his name, which tarnishes Boeheim.  If Joe Paterno got fired for simply being morally deficient, where does calling the accusers of child sexual abuse liars out for money rank?  One would think that Boeheim would be in trouble.  As usual, there are commentators who got their name in the press today opining accordingly.

But, overall, it has been surprisingly quiet.  It does not appear that there is a groundswell of momentum against Boeheim.  The question is why?  The Confidential believes that there are five key points that aid Boeheim’s position:

  1. The Penn State matter involved an assistant coach observing the rape of a 10-year old, without anyone bothering to have the police notified.  Ever.  In contrast, the Syracuse matter involves allegations that nobody affiliated with Syracuse has ever witnessed.  Also, while the evidence is mounting against Fine, there is not one piece of evidence that is not questionable–be it the credibility of the accusers or the allegations that the tape of Mrs. Fine was doctored.  This is simply not open and shut.  Nobody knows if Fine can even be convicted due to statutes of limitation, much less whether he will be.  There may never be any trial.  While things have gotten worse, they are still far below the evidence in the Penn State matter.
  2. Boeheim’s harshest comments were very much a knee-jerk reaction to an accusation against him seeing one of the accusers in Bernie Fine’s hotel room in the 1980’s.  There was no sense that Boeheim would have seen any activity, and even the accused later clarified that Boeheim did not have knowledge.  In between, however, Boeheim’s harsh response also addressed this misleading statement by the accuser.  While the import of the allegations against Fine were the real news story, Boeheim had a legitimate right to respond to the one statement involving him.  Unfortunately, he got carried away and commented on things that he should have left to the school to address.  But because he had a fair reason to respond, going too far in his response is at least somewhat understandable.
  3. To his credit, Boeheim wisely backtracked from his harsh statements by at least allowing for the possibility of changing his mind if he was wrong.  He had used harsh words, but the totality of his words did leave an opening for him to be wrong.  Even if he never expected to be wrong, this was helpful in showing that he was not 100% dismissing the possibility that the allegations were true.  In retrospect, this may have been very important.
  4. The Syracuse University response has been outstanding.  Boeheim may not have lived up to what his bosses wanted in the first hours, but there is absolutely no indication that his bosses were beholden to him.  In a strange way, Boeheim’s harsh remarks demonstrated that he absolutely does not tell the administration what to do.  He was harsh, but the Chancellor has been very measured.  And then the decision to fire Fine was swift, appropriate, and agreed-upon by all.  Within hours of Syracuse University learning about the audio tape, Fine was done.  And, most importantly, Boeheim apologized.  The words were likely written by another, but he did what he needed to do.
  5. ESPN’s failure to release the tape earlier.  Had ESPN provided the tape originally, Boeheim’s response may have been very different.  Because ESPN didn’t show their entire hand, Boeheim probably deserves a mulligan on his “all in” approach.  Everyone was misled by the veracity of these allegations.  Nobody was 100% convinced it happened when first reported.  Even with the tapes, the holes in this story are such that reasonable doubt may always exist.  Because we all got fooled, Boeheim’s remarks go from a terminable offense (perhaps) to a regrettable statement.

In the end, it would appear that the Confidential’s concern that Boeheim was going too far will not be realized.  At least today.  Nobody knows what the news will bring tomorrow will bring.  This story gets weirder by the day.

The good news is that the news media did not choose to punish Jim Boeheim for merely his words.  This happens in society and Boeheim would not be the first to suffer a severe penalty for the wrong words.  Syracuse University would have been well within its rights to have a zero tolerance approach to insensitive statements.  But this was not so severe that he HAD to be fired.  And this country has always been quick to forgive the truly contrite–and with Boeheim being part of the decision to fire Fine AND issuing an apology–the healing process began before anyone could jump in to say he should be fired.

But the best news is that Boeheim is now in a position to advocate from a position of strength for all of us to be a bit more careful when assuming that allegations are false.  Although we can think of motives to lie and reasons to disbelieve, Boeheim can go on the speaking circuit and advocate that we all be a little more sensitive.  Kind of like Michael Vick and the pro-dog promos.  Not all incredible stories are false.  Not all people who report abuse are doing it because they plan to sue.  If he can share that message going forward, this is a great opportunity for meaningful change to happen.  And that’s something that the accusers and Boeheim should be able to agree on as a silver lining of this very strange situation.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,
22 Nov 2011
1 Comment

Latest on Syracuse’s Bernie Fine

The Confidential opined that Jim Boeheim may have been making a mistake in putting his neck on the line for Bernie Fine.   The premise of that was NOT that Jim Boeheim was a bad boss or a bad friend.  Quite the contrary, his support for Bernie Fine makes him an outstanding boss and friend.  He’s the guy you want in an alley with you.  He’s the guy you want in your foxhole.

The problem is that his public announcements went beyond merely responding to the one fact regarding him and, instead, interjected himself into the story.  He called the accusers liars.  No real gray area there.

To extricate himself would require some sort of “proof” that these allegations against Fine were false.  Proving a negative is always difficult.  Proving a negative from 20 years ago is more so.  Proving a negative in the absence of a venue is next to impossible.  At present, the only venue is the venue of public opinion.  Fortunately for Syracuse and Boeheim, the public seems generally tired from all the awful news that arose out of the Penn State scandal.  And the Syracuse situation comes nowhere near the Penn State situation.  But that does not make this issue a “clean” one.

Quite the contrary.  Right now, the Syracuse Police Department is in a battle with the District Attorney to see who can deflect attention away from its own possible failings quick enough.  The District Attorney is up in arms that he was never alerted about this years ago.  The District Attorney wants the police records–even to the point of obtaining a subpoena.  This does not sound like a team environment.  The Syracuse Police Department may or may not be behind a leak that one of the accuser’s ex-girlfriends reported this incident to the District Attorney’s right-hand man.  The call was never returned.  All one can say is, be careful what you wish for, Mr. District Attorney.

Frankly, for all we know, nobody ever called anyone!  But, in their zeal to cover their own butts, the Syracuse law enforcement team has decided that the best way to CYA is by shifting the blame onto its partner in stopping crime.  Good luck with that.  Meanwhile, the accusers, Bernie Fine, Jim Boeheim, and Syracuse University, all sit in the middle of this unexpected battle.  It’s kind of hard for anyone to strengthen and support their position when “law and order” are so busy trying to disappear from the scene of this accident (that may or may not have occurred).

For the accusers, this mess adds to their position.  Competing claims of incompetence by law enforcement officials bolster the claim that nobody took the accusations seriously enough.  More importantly, this debacle is keeping the issue in the news.  If this is about notoriety, mission accomplished.

This, of course, is the opposite of what Fine, Boeheim, and Syracuse want.  Their preference would be for this to shift out of the limelight for somewhere between “a while” and “forever.”

Look… nobody knows the truth.  For all the character witnesses supporting Fine, he may have done some or all of the things alleged.  For all the knee-jerk desire to assume that a human being would not have invented these serious allegations, this is a sick world sometimes.  Worse yet, there is nowhere for anyone to find “hope.”  Whoever is telling the truth, we are not going to like the result.

But, at this stage, determining what “the truth” is seems like wishful thinking.  There are too many questions to be investigated and resolved, and there is an emerging concern that there is little reason to have faith in those doing the investigating.  The bottom line is that this is not going anywhere fast.  Jim Boeheim valiantly stood up for his colleague and friend.  Hopefully, he has a chair nearby.  This may not ending anytime soon.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,
17 Nov 2011
3 Comments

Syracuse Assistant B-Ball Coach Fine Being Investigated for Molestation

Longtime Syracuse University Assistant Basketball Coach Bernie Fine has been placed on administrative leave based on an investigation into possible child molestation.  On the heels of a major scandal at Penn State (as well as an issue at The Citadel), this report hits close to home, as Syracuse University is set to join the ACC in the near future.

While the Penn State and Syracuse situations share the common bond of accusations of molestation against a person associated with the program, it should be noted that there are substantial differences between what is known about the situation at Syracuse and the situation at Penn State.  As the New York Times has reported, Syracuse University conducted its own investigation into these allegations in 2005:

In a statement, the university said that “an adult male” came to them in 2005 and the university started its own four-month investigation into the allegations. The statement said that the university’s legal counsel spoke with people who “the complainant said would support his claims” and that “all of those identified by the complainant denied any wrongful conduct” by Fine. The statement also said that Fine “vehemently denied the allegations.”

In other words, Syracuse investigated after the police declined to investigate.  So this is not a matter of Syracuse not informing the police.  By the time it got to Syracuse, it was post-police.  And Syracuse still investigated.  Syracuse was apparently unable to corroborate the information that the alleged victim said would be corroborated.  The alleged victim suggested that certain witnesses be interviewed and those witnesses did not confirm the accusations.

Significantly, in order for this matter to rise to the level of Penn State, it would require an assistant coach to witness an incident and report it to Jim Boeheim, who would have to then pass the matter upstream and lose interest.  This certainly is not alleged to have happened at Syracuse.  And there is no sense that Jim Boeheim or anyone at Syracuse University was ever presented with enough to conclude that the report was credible. Most importantly, the report is not grand jury findings, but the version of events provided by a 39-year old victim, not under oath at the time.  No third party has deemed them credible yet.

And these are just some of the differences.  Under the circumstances, while there might be a rush to judgment to criticize Syracuse, there should be an equally compelling rush to judgment to not criticize Syracuse.

At least at this early juncture.  There is certainly more to come.

In fact, the Confidential certainly does not want to suggest that the alleged victim is not being truthful.  Only the victim and Fine know for sure.  All that can be hoped for is that any investigation that takes place uncovers the truth–whether it is the alleged victim’s allegations or Fine’s denials.  In the wake of the Penn State situation, it is understandable that this might be the environment that would persuade a victim to feel more comfortable coming forward.  Perhaps the alleged victim is hoping for same.  But nobody really knows.  And in the absence of numerous allegations by victims, as in the Sandusky situation, it is harder to rush to judgment for any side.

Nevertheless, the Confidential does take issue with Jim Boeheim opining on this issue.  He should probably let his University leaders do most of the talking here.  He cannot be objective when it comes to his long-time assistant.  And, from a strategic standpoint, does he really want to go “all in” by taking a position.  A more reasoned approach would have been to at least hedge his bets somewhat.  You never really know anyone.  He may be confident that Fine is innocent.  But can he be 100% sure?   According to ESPN, Boeheim responded strongly to the alleged victim’s statement that Boeheim might have seen him:

“He makes the point that he was around and traveling with the team,” Boeheim said. “Not that I know of. I never saw him. He is quoted — (that) I saw him in the room. I have never been in Bernie Fine’s room in my life. That is an outright lie.”

Yep, that’s going “all in.”  He better be right.

Finally, the Confidential was strong in its criticism of Penn State in opinions such as this, this, and this.   The Confidential will be equally critical if facts come out demonstrating that this is closer to the Penn State situation than it seems right now.  Needless to say, this will be newsworthy for quite some time.  A major university, and its various departments, cannot support child molesters.  They also cannot cover-up instances of child molestation.  But the current “facts” just do not come anywhere close to suggesting that anything of that sort has occurred at Syracuse.

What do you think?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , ,
15 Nov 2011
1 Comment

Coach K Gets #903!

The Confidential is very proud to recognize the Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the all-time leader in coaching wins at the Division I level.  Tonight, he and the Blue Devils were able to beat a game Michigan State Spartans squad 74-69.  In the process, Coach K moved out of a tie with his former coach, Bob Knight, and into sole possession of first on the all-time wins list.

While there will be no shortage of stories on this feat, sometimes it is the numbers that are most overwhelming.  Consider the top 25 in all-time coaching wins at the Division I level:

  1. Coach K, 903 (and counting)
  2. Knight, 902
  3. Dean Smith, 879
  4. Adolph Rupp, 876
  5. Jim Boeheim, 856 (and counting)
  6. Jim Calhoun, 855 (and counting)
  7. Jim Phelan, 830
  8. Eddie Sutton, 804
  9. Lefty Driesell, 786
  10. Lute Olson, 780
  11. Lou Henson, 779
  12. Henry Iba, 764
  13. Edgar Diddle, 759
  14. Phog Allen, 746
  15. Jerry Tarkanian, 729
  16. Norm Stewart, 728
  17. Ray Meyer, 724
  18. Don Haskins, 719
  19. Bob Huggins, 691 (and counting)
  20. Denny Crum, 675
  21. Gary Williams, 668
  22. John Wooden, 664
  23. Roy Williams, 643 (and counting)
  24. Billy Tubbs, 641
  25. Hugh Durham, 633

Just look at those names.  And yet the most amazing thing about this list is the number of coaches who have arenas named after them.  These are coaching icons.  And all of them are looking up to Coach K tonight.

Well, all but one of them were looking up to Coach K last week too.  But tonight, even Bob Knight must look up.

It is also interesting how many of those names Coach K had to battle with, such as the legendary games against Dean Smith (#3) and Roy Williams (#23) of North Carolina.  The games against Lefty Driesell (#9) and Gary Williams (#21) in Duke-Maryland matchups.  The March games against Jerry Tarkanian (#15) and the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV.  A lot of those 903 wins were big wins.

But The Confidential is still most impressed by a different statistic.  As the head coach of Army, Coach K was 73-59, including a 9-17 season in 1979-1980.  Duke still hired him for the 1980-1981 season.  And, after three seasons at Duke, Coach K’s record was still a disappointing 38-47.  That means that after his eight first seasons as a coach, his overall record was 111-106.  That’s a career-ending record in today’s game.  With a fully functioning blogosphere, Coach K might not have survived at Army, much less Duke.

As we know, Duke stuck with him.  802 more wins later, it can be called a “good” decision.  Which is an understatement along the lines of calling the Pacific Ocean “moist.”  It was a great decision!

Today’s win is an amazing accomplishment.  Congratulations to Coach K, his family, and Duke nation!

UPDATE: Here is a great link for more information on the early years at Duke for Coach K: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/16131537/coach-ks-path-to-greatness-cleared-by-patient-ad-butters

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , ,
15 Nov 2011
1 Comment

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?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , ,
15 Nov 2011
1 Comment

ACC is One of Three Conferences Without a Loss in 2011-2012

So far during this early basketball season, the Atlantic Coast Conference is undefeated!  While it obviously is just a matter of time before this streak ends, it is notable and pride evoking that the current ACC schools are an impressive 18-0.  Add in the undefeated starts by Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and the league record swells to 22-0!

With more than 30 basketball conferences, you might think that a lot of conferences are in the ACC’s position this early in the season.  You would be wrong. With the first few days of the season completed, the ACC is one of just three conferences whose teams have yet to lose.

The Big 12 is undefeated at 14-0.  However, new member West Virginia has suffered a loss.  So, if we are looking at future membership, the Big 12 would be eliminated.  #2 Kentucky plays #12 Kansas tonight, so this is a streak that may end very soon.  The Midwestern Conference is the only other conference that is undefeated.  It’s 8 teams are a combined 13-0. San Diego State plays #11 today, so this is another streak that may be over very soon.

To be fair, if we are not counting West Virginia as a Big East school, that means the Big East would be undefeated at 23-0 (excluding West Virginia, Syracuse, and Pitt).  Given that most observers believe that the Big East and the ACC volley back and forth as the best basketball conference, none of this is surprising.

As for keeping that streak going, there are several important games today:

  • Duke hosts Michigan State.  As you already know, Mike Krzyzewski is searching for win #903 tonight.  As is always the case, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo likes to beat up his team in November.  Following the Carrier Classic with a game at Duke is certainly a great way to do that.  Unlike most seasons, however, Michigan State follows this game up with a series of games against directional schools.  In any event, the big picture is Coach K and his pursuit of the all-time record for wins.  Should be an outstanding environment and a great game.
  • Miami hosts Rutgers in a game between 1-0 schools.  With Jim Larranaga looking to put Miami on the map, and Rutgers’ Mike Rice looking to do for basketball what Greg Schiano has done for football, do not overlook this game.  These two teams could be March participants soon, even if not this year.
  • Virginia Tech’s annual effort to be a bubble team can take a step in the right direction by holding off Isaiah Thomas and Florida International.
  • Syracuse hosts Albany as Jim Boeheim tries to keep within 50 of Coach K on the win front.

While it is of no lasting consequence, it would be a nice feather in the cap for the ACC to be that last undefeated conference.

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , , , ,

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