Depending on whether you are an ESPN insider, you may or may not be able to access Chad Ford’s latest Mock NBA Draft, found here: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/mock/?season=2014&version=4&source=Chad-Ford-Mock-Draft. Where do the ACC players project?
The Syracuse Orange closed out the regular season on Sunday with 74-58 win over the Florida State Seminoles. The win earned the Orange a 27-4 mark for the regular season, a record that, any other year, would have SU fans jumping for joy. This season, though, the fact that Jim Boeheim’s squad went only 2-4 over their last six has many of the Orange faithful’s panic-o-meter cranked up to 44.
Relax.
Yes, the Orange had their seasonal slide a bit later than usual. True, that slide included a couple of really bad losses to Boston College and Georgia Tech. And, of course, one fairly dominant win over the ‘Noles doesn’t erase the flaws shown by Syracuse late in the season. So, let’s take a moment to take the long view and grade the Orange as they prepare for the post season.
Read more…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.
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.
The Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers entered the ACC hoping to add to the top notch basketball reputation of the conference. Two weeks into conference play, Syracuse and Pitt were #1 and #2, at 17-0 and 16-1 overall, and 4-0 in conference, respectively. On Saturday, they faced off in the Carrier Dome to determine who would move forward as the #1 team. Despite being significantly tested, Syracuse defeated Pitt 59-54 to move to 18-0 (5-0) and take a solid lead atop the ACC.
The Confidential 