The Current State of Cuse Basketball

From the desk of Steve D:

Inspired by what’s become a hot button topic in the CNY why area, I got that itch this morning to dust off my Manual Buzzer keyboard, to address coach Boehiem’s post game remarks, and general state of the SU team. The moderators on Syracuse.com have been kept busy the last twenty four hours, as a whopping 370 comments (many of which were deleted, and is now down around 330)have come in less than a day following an article regarding Jim’s comments following Syracuse’s 74-71 loss to Marquette Monday in Milwaukee. For any who may have missed it, Jim issued the following responses to questions from reporters about the issue of team leadership, and if he considered playing Dejuan Coleman:

            “"We're the same team we've been all year. I don't even understand that. ... You think because you come to Marquette and lose a two- or three-point game you need a new guy? I don't."

            “Our two best defensive players were in the game…You should try coaching, maybe, because that's what you think you are. Maybe you should try that."

Of course Jim would go on to vent about his frustration with the Big East, among other things, before finishing up the presser with this gem:

"any more coaches here? Want to ask another coaching question? I'd be happy to take it. I've only been doing this 37 years, I'm sure you've got more ideas of who we should play or we shouldn't play or who should lead? What do I know…go get your Pulitzer someplace else.”

I have to admit, I did not realize that this topic would become such a polarizing topic locally. The message board of syracuse.com-while usually being full of ignorant trolls-does give a decent snap shot as to how the community at large feels, especially when you get so many comments. Typically it has been a place where the fans have blindly defended Boeheim, regardless of whether his actions warranted questioning. That’s why what I’ve seen on the message boards, and social media have been so surprising. I’d say that the majority are bashing Jim for the above comments. Was Jim way off base with his comments? Were the questions raised by the reporters valid? I’ll start with the validity of the questions.

Michael Cohen of the Daily Orange-a university newspaper-asked Jim if he thought the 6-10, 250+ lb freshman center Dejuan Coleman, could have helped to offset the second half defensive rebounding problems that Syracuse had with Marquette big Davante Gardner, who torched the Orange. On the surface that seems like a valid question. Look deeper though, what is Cohen really doing here? That’s not a question, as much as it is a statement that Cohen himself thought Jim should have played DC. It would have to be, because otherwise it would be the dumbest question in the history of reporting. Taking that question at face value, is essentially either

a)implying that Jim thought Coleman could help the team, and decided not to play him anyways, or

b)Jim forgot that he had Coleman on the bench, and didn’t play him for that reason

Coleman’s question was worded poorly, and put Jim on the defense, a place that any reporter who’s been in a press conference with Jim before, like Cohen has, should know is not the place to put Jim. As far as the basketball side to Cohen’s question, contrary to what a lot of people think, Jim was right in not playing Coleman. Coleman was the team’s most suspect defender BEFORE knee surgery. A likely somewhat out of shape Coleman would have been inserted into a game in the second half, and had a very tall order ahead of him.

Those watching the game would notice that during Marquette’s key second half run, they placed Gardner out near the top of the circle, a good 18 feet from the basket. Being not only a skilled passer, but also excellent shooter, whoever was playing center of the zone has to respect his jumper. Is an out of shape Coleman really the guy you want defending that? Keita actually did a great job defending that initial shot. Gardner was able to crash hard on his shots, or whoever he made a quick pass to from the top of the key. The rebounds that SU missed were, in theory missed by the forwards-CJ and James-as Keita was hardly in position to box out Gardner on the move from the top of the key. Assuming that Coleman would have been a disaster defending Gardner out that far from the basket, would you have Coleman over James or CJ, far and away the two best offensive players on SU right now? No way.

To add to that, Jim sees Coleman every day in practice. He knows how he’s moving. How bad must Coleman look in practice to not get time over Rakheem and Baye? Think hard, do you really think throwing Coleman into that game helps SU’s chances at stopping Marquette’s run? If you think so, watch a game tape of the last time Coleman was thrust into a similar situation-overtime of the game at Villanova-and tell me if you still feel that way, because he was an absolute train wreck that day.

As to the question of leadership? It may be a valid question. It’s clear to everyone that Brandon Triche is not a leader, neither vocally or on the court. I’ve written him off. He WILL have a disappointing game in whatever round SU gets eliminated in the first two weekends of the tourney. Has Brandon ever put three consistent games together in his career against cupcakes, let alone four to six in a row that a run would require in the tournament. I posted this to my facebook, but here are the raw numbers the last nine games-the biggest games of the year-for a player in his FOURTH year of starting.

@Villanova-7-18 from the field…3/8 from 3

@Pitt-   4-14 from the field…0/5 from 3

Home ND- 2/9 from the field…0/5 from 3

Home St. Johns- 5/10 from the field…2/6 from 3

@ UCONN- 3/15 from the field…0/7 from 3

@SHU- 10/18 from the field…4/7 from 3

Home PC- 5/11 from the field…1/3 from 3

Home GU- 4/13 from the field…1/7 from 3

@Marquette- 4/10 from the field…0/3 from 3

Take out a blistering game against the laughably inept Seton Hall Pirates, and you have a player shooting 34% from the field, and 16% from 3 in the biggest stretch of your season. Almost hard to believe that those numbers are real. Beyond the raw numbers that speak for themselves, his lack of emotion and intensity set the tone for a team of guys who are mostly in new roles. Yes MCW has been equally dreadful, but the guy is still in his first year running a team, and has been handed a very limited, inconsistent group to work with. Beyond that,  I think most of the guys are fairly vocal on this team, but who wouldn’t have their mood dragged down just by looking and Brandon’s melancholy face all game.  Honestly he can’t graduate fast enough in my eyes.

Goodman’s question about leadership is a valid one to ask in regards to this team. How is Jim supposed to answer that question though? Jim did exactly what he needed to do, and don’t believe for a second that it wasn’t calculated. He took a potentially flammable question, that could have easily been a distraction to the players, and deflected the attention to himself. Instead of everyone in the media, and in town talking about how poorly the guys on the team are playing, the focus is on Jim, who couldn’t care less about what you, me, or people on Twitter are saying about him.

For everyone crying about Jim’s conduct in these press conferences, give it up. Have you watched a Gregg Popovich press conference, or in game interview lately? How about a vintage Phil Jackson press conference? When you are at the top of your profession, and have been doing something for 37 years, to me at least, you’re allowed to get cranky when some kid from a school newspaper starts questioning personnel decisions you made after a tough loss, or some fat slob in a Hawaiian shirt who hasn’t touched a basketball in ten years (if ever) asks a question that could splinter or divide your team. Jim’s cranky, but to me his honesty and candor are refreshing when compared to the majority of the candy coated, politically correct answers you see from 99% of College Basketball coaches.

Most important, despite the whining of local hack beat reporters Mike Waters and Bud Poloquin, Jim did what was right by the players. Should any of us really care what Jim said to a reporter who would trash Jim in a second if given the opportunity to sell a story? To me a fan, great job protecting your players Jim. Michael Cohen can go get a hug from Coach K if he needs one.

Cuse wrap up featuring the sports bigamist

Dan got the ball rolling, with a well thought out, interesting piece on his beloved Washington Nationals. I’m not sure to interpret this as him being (justifiably) disgusted by the end of the Red Sox 2011 season, which was graciously narrated to him by a humble, well spoken Steve DePaulis…or if Dan is higher on the Nats this year than the Sox. Either way, between his shameful love for both Syracuse and Ohio St basketball, and his Sox/Nats love triangle, I think that TLC is chomping at the bit for its newest reality show Dan McKeever Sports Bigamist. Each episode he will waffle back and forth between keeping his allegiance to his hometown roots, and getting caught up in the flash and bright lights of his new life. The first episode will show a well dressed, bearded Dan watching a heated intramural handball game at a prestigious High School in the DC area. During the game, he will talk about the thought process that goes into rooting for another team, when you already have a favorite team in that sport. In this episode he decides that he will become a huge fan of this DC area team, while always repping his own handball team White Chocolate, ultimately deciding that he will root for the DC team, unless somehow White Chocolate improbably found some of the old members (and brought some others back from the dead), reunited, and played the DC team, in which case Dan would “just root for a good game.” The season finale would be a dramatic one on one interview of his thought process during the Ohio St v. Syracuse Elite Eight game in 2012. Here’s a brief excerpt of the interview:

Mike Tirico: Dan, Syracuse fans have had a lot of disappointment over the years. Keith Smart, Richmond, the Moten timeout, Vermont, Texas A&M, The DeShaun Williams era, and perhaps worst of all, losing their starting center twice in three years the week before the tournament starts, and in each of those years Syracuse was arguably the best team in the country. Orange fans live in a miserable city, with some of the world’s worst weather, crime rates, and a lousy economy. Syracuse basketball is all these people have really. What do you say to them as you sit here wearing an Ohio St Final Four hoody, the very team that just dealt the death blow to your “favorite team.”

McKeever: I would say that WE TAKIN THE CHIP. LETS GO SULLY LETS GO!!! GO NATS!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel that is a proper segue to put the bow on this years’ edition of the Orange. In the big picture, I would call the regular season the perfect storm. Heading into this campaign, the Orange obviously had some talent. In my own opinion, I felt like it was a team that had five players who would be third or fourth options on great teams, and five guys who were either freshman or wild cards. Those I included in the first group were Scoop Jardine, Triche, Kris Josesph, CJ Fair, and Sutherland (who I was actually kind of high on). Those guys were all good college players, that each had their own flaws. The main issue I had with this group of five, was that the only one of the group that could consistently create his own offense, was also historically its worst decision maker-Scoop. The other four thrived in transition, yet seemed to settle for jump shots in the half court (or dribble off their feet ** KJ**, or go nowhere when they tried to dribble**Triche**) , when ironically, there were all streak shooters at best.

The other five guys included Dion, Fab, Christmas, Carter Williams, and Keita. Of this five, the only two I thought could be remotely useful this year were Dion, coming off his 18 point game against Marquette in the tourney last year, and Carter Williams, who had tons of hype out of High School. Before the season started, I would have bet my life that Dubroff would have been the Big East Defensive player of the year before Fab Melo would have been. Yet, as the season started, it became apparent early that Fab and Dion were not the same handicapped looking bums that we had all watched the year before. Them both turning into NBA quality players out of nowhere obviously changed the entire dynamic of this season and its expectations. Of great importance, Dion could create his own shot.

Other factors that helped the Orange, were developing a knack to win close games, and a surprisingly easy Big East schedule (at least compared to some years past) when their toughest road games turned out to be not so tough (thank you UCONN, NOVA, and Regular Season Lousiville for under achieving) and the teams at the top of the league were home games (Marquette, Geargetown). Being honest with ourselves, this was probably the easiest BE schedule that Syracuse has played in at least five years.

This is not to say that Cuse wasn’t an elite team, because for most of the year, they were either the best or second best team in the country. Fab Melo’s defensive evolution was the most important factor on this team’s success. He allowed the top of the zone to be ultra aggressive, and to stay out on shooters, knowing that Fab could erase any mistake that got by. Everything with this team revolved around the fact that it was the best defense in the country. Having the best transition game in the country only complimented this fact, since the zone caused multiple run outs each game. If the game was close at the end, the Orange had five capable guys on the floor, and one guy-in Dion-who could get his own shot off anytime he wanted to. Ultimately this was a talented team filled with surprising breakouts, a great defense that ignited its strength on offense, and some favorable breaks in the schedule. Our result was a team that entered the tourney 32-2.

Skipping over all of the fluff of the first three tournament games, there’s a few points I want to make about the Ohio St game.

Bad officiating was a factor, NOT the reason that Syracuse lost

Make no mistake about it, this was about as poorly an officiated game as I’ve ever seen, aside from an intramural game from 2005 where J Mills and I combined for nine fouls in the first half of a game before I got T’d up, thrown out, and suspended for the next game. The best analysis of the game came from Gerry McNamara, who summed things up well declaring “we thought that Aaron craft was allowed to play defense one way, while everyone else on the floor was held to a different standard.” Amazingly spot on, from someone who’s offered about as many memorable quotes to date as my daughter Juliet has. He was right though. How in a game where four Syracuse players had at least four fouls, was Aaron Craft allowed to do his ADD defense on the Syracuse guards without picking up a foul for the first 30 minutes of the game? Almost comically, he was whistled for five fouls over the next seven minutes despite not changing a single thing in the way that he played defense over the first thirty minutes. By the time he picked those cheapies up it was too late for Syracuse anyways.

Syracuse plays zone, and I can only think of a handful of times all year where anyone on the team has been in foul trouble, let alone the whole team. Other gripes I have include but are not limited to:

-The rare double whammy of Triche having a ridiculously bad block charge call go against him to wipe a three point play off the board (the defender was moving AND in the restricted circle), which was compounded when the ref T’d Jimmy B up for reacting how every coach in America reacts about ten times a game when the refs blow a call.

-The foul called Against Keita where Sullinger falls backwards untouched, and got his shot blocked. Probably the most important call of the game to go against Syracuse. Not only was it an indefensibly bad call, but it came at a huge spot in the game when Cuse had all the momentum, and would have started a fast break the other way as Sully laid his fat self on the hardwood.

Those two calls were the most egregious that stick out, and obviously changed this game. Thing is Syracuse was down 1 with the ball with five minutes left, so that’s not WHY Syracuse lost. Syracuse lost for three reasons

1) They were without the Big East defensive player of the year
2) Their top two scorers played terrible games
3) They didn’t take advantage of Sullinger’s foul trouble


In regards to point number one, just imagine if OSU didn’t have Aaron Craft on Saturday. That’s pretty much what you take away from Syracuse when you lose Fab. Mckeever and I were emailing before the game last Friday, and said that anyone who thinks that Syracuse is better off without Fab Melo (as many fans said after Cuse won the first three games of the tourney) doesn’t know basketball. When we look back on the 2011-12 Orange, Fab Melo was the single most important player on that team. When Fab went down, Cuse’s ceiling went from ‘National Champs’ to ‘miraculously make the Final Four’ and they almost did. It’s like Johns said to me right after we found out Fab was ineligible, “ it just sucks that we’ll never know what could have been.” You can’t put it any better than that. Fab’s absence allowed Sulliinger to pretty much do what he wanted, despite Keita and Rakheem giving everything they had. A recent scouts take on Sullinger was that the one thing he struggles with is legitimate size. It would have been very interesting to see how that matchup would have played out.

Not to be forgotten is that Syracuse blew about 10-15 great looks/layups that they normally make. The two main culprits were Joseph and Waiters, who each missed layups that they haven’t missed all year. You can’t state how hard it is to watch your best players have games like that, when it wasn’t really the defense that forced them into it. They truly just missed shots. That’s got to be hard for the players and coaches to live with.

Watching the game with a good chunk of my family, we all agreed at halftime the game was over. Cuse caught the break of all breaks on Sullinger’s second foul. For Cuse to win that game minus Fab, they needed to be at least plus five over that fourteen minute stretch where Sullinger wasn’t on the floor. Instead it was dead even, and fat boy got to rest the whole first half. Devastating, and Boehiem stated after the game that the aforementioned stretch was what cost them the game.

Just like 2010 after the Butler game, the feeling right now for any Syracuse fan is unsettling. Once again, everything seemed to go wrong at the wrong time. When I think about the 2009-10 team, I only have two memories. One was ballroom dancing in the upper levels of the Dome during the record setting game against Villanova, and the other is watching an Arinze-less Syracuse team lose to a far less talented Butler team in the Jazz’s mostly empty arena, knowing that Duke won the title that year, and that we were so much better than Duke that year. It’s slightly different this season, because it would have taken at least an A- game out of Syracuse to beat Kentucky this year. The principle is the same though, our starting center cost we the fans a chance to make our miserable lives in Central New York about 10% better with a trip to New Orleans. On the bright side, at least Dan has a team to cheer on this weekend.

*I’m predicting 98 wins and a division title for the Yankees this season

A Message to Indiana State, Xavier, and Marquette, and the rest of the East Region

Good to see you again, Buzz Peterson, but the 'Cuse has something to say to you and these Musketeers and Sycamores:

I, of course, must question the commitment to this message of Mr. MacIntosh, known for such a hardcore allegiance to THEE Ohio State University that he wrote a piece defending Vernon Gholston's right to earn millions playing crappy defense in the NFL. Seriously?

Anyways, be on the lookout, dear readers, for the Manual Buzzer podcasts that will be taking place possibly before the first weekend, but definitely on the horizon for summarizing the action each weekend of the tournament. We will also be running a Bracket Challenge for the Buzzer, with absolutely no prize but pride and the ability to make fun of us mercilessly for how terrible our picks are. This is my favorite time of the year, but each Madness seems to take eight years off my life. I guess that's why I love it. You never know if you're going to get the coveted victory or the heartbreaking loss, but the experience is always damn fun.

The Orange Roller Coaster

Right now, every game is a toss-up for Syracuse basketball, but these past two games have been quite encouraging despite the fact that they were split with their opponents.

For the Louisville game, it was good to see some fight in an arena where 'Cuse has been prone to lose any sort of fight. Down 20 in the second half, they fought back and played damn well. If it had not been for some terrible officiating. Of course, that is what you get anytime Ed Hightower referees a Big East game. Look, if you get put in a photoshop that looks like this:

you're probably not making the calls that well.

I will be boycotting all Yum! products for the forseeable future, and I encourage you to as well, as they put their name on that arena that took full advantage of some terrible homerist calls to avoid an epic collapse. And the boycott must be by all Syracuse fans. That means no Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Wing Street, Long John Silver's, A&W Restaurants (nor the root beer itself), and the Skynet of it all, KFC. Eat Kennedy Fried Chicken, Crown Fried Chicken, any other Fried Chicken, but none of these restaurants. Let's make the Louisville economy collapse. That was a rant that I do not apologize for. THE MANUAL BUZZER WILL NOT GO ON LATE NIGHT BELL RUNS FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

The West Virginia game showed that fight to be real, and a 4-point halftime deficit turned into an 11 point win. But still, Casey Mitchell dropped 23 in 26 minutes. Boeheim put some of the blame on Waiters being a little lackadaisical in his spot at the top of the zone, and that is reasonable, but open 3's are still coming a bit too often. West Virginia hit on 11 of 22, most of which came in the first half. Still, that will put SU in a hole.

Luckily, there is Brandon Triche to overcome this deficit. Triche is turning into an absolute star this season. As Kris Joseph has faded as of late, maybe still feeling some after-effects from the concussion, Triche has gone on a tear in the past 2, dropping 21 on Louisville and 20 last night on West Virginia. The different role from last year (moving to the 2 from the 1) has given him the chance to show he has one of the best jumpers on the team. He should continue to showcase it without issues if he keeps getting screens and kickouts. If Kris can get his game going, maybe with more of a post-up on smaller guards, and Scoop moves back to the slash and kick-out game, this team will be dangerous.

And finally, my favorite player on this team, CJ Fair. CJ is the new Josh Pace, or as Steve puts it, Josh Pace 2.0. He is amazing at getting those floaters in the lane, but he is also picking up the garbage for the team. Broken zones are saved when he swats away open lay-ups, as we saw against Georgetown last week. Having him in with Rick gives great rebounding, even as Baye's length is not there. CJ is already developing into a fan favorite, and if he develops his jumper, add NBA prospect to that list.

So what is the outlook the rest of the way? Rutgers in the Dome should be a win if they play them as tough as they've played their past two opponents. Then, the two game road trip of Catholicism will be quite a challenge. Villanova, sick of not having played a true home game against Syracuse in the past few years, as the Wells Fargo Center usually ends up half and half Nova and 'Cuse, has a Big Monday shot at the 'Cuse in the Pavilion. Georgetown has them coming to visit the Verizon Center, and despite the fact that they restricted ticket sales to Syracuse fans, Syracuse fans have found a loophole that doesn't require them to donate $25 to Georgetown. Expect Syracuse to hang around in both of these games, and I think they take at least one. Finally, DePaul for Rick Jackson's senior day? Rick Jackson isn't going to let them lose. 'Cuse will have one bye for the Big East Tournament if they do finish 11-7, and it should put them in prime position for a tourney run this year.

A Reaction, Albeit Belated, to the First Syracuse Loss of the Year

First off, any team with Rapelisberger in attendance and Dick Vitale gently massaging its balls on the mic is the equivalent of the O'Doyles in Billy Madison. And we all know what their hubris did to them:

That's right, they end up driving over the remains of Chris Farley's lunch and taking a ridiculous u-turn that sends them over a cliff. Pitt is good, and Pitt is in the driver's seat, but they beat a team without its best player who has said he was concussed while Syracuse says nothing officially.

Rick got roughed up a bit with more focus on him, and the other bigs need to get their heads in the game. James Southerland cannot take significant minutes and only grab one rebound. And Scoop needs to start taking care of the ball just a little bit more. A 4-13 shooting night plus 0-2 from the charity stripe is not good. He did improve his assist-turnover ratio to 4-2 after going 13-12 in the previous 2 games, but all of those dumb shots are the equivalent of a turnover.

CJ Fair and Dion Waiters were great for the audience they played in front of. CJ had his best game, albeit not the best shooting performance from the line. But he consistently went for the tin despite Pitt's intimidation down low. Waiters handled with confidence against tough Pitt guards. But for all his playing time, it made Triche disappear for a long stretch. If Triche isn't getting in the rotation, he loses some of the swag he needs to have games like he did against Cincinnati, St. John's, and Seton Hall.

And you know what? Better to lose in the middle of January than in March. This team can learn a lot, and Kris will definitely help solidify this group when he comes back.

Wake Up with a 'Cuse Win

The Garden was popping last night, and it wasn't for St. John's despite the fact that their campus is about 12 miles away compared to Syracuse being 193 (source: Google Maps, and I'm not checking MapQuest.). Syracuse got off to a slow start on offense, putting in only 2 points in the first 6 1/2 minutes. This is not behavior coming of a national title contender, but boy did they reverse course, going 0n a 10-0 run to end the first half to take 35-24 lead into the locker room. The zone employed by the Red Storm was effective in keeping the ball away from Rick in the first half, but it also freed up the guards and wings, who combined to shoot 9-20 from 3. Everytime St. John's thought that they had that opposite side cutter, the zone collapsed perfectly and the Orange were fastbreaking the other way on the regular.

Now, last night I pondered whether we were seeing a return to prominence from St. John's basketball. While some may give the definitive answer "no," I still think we have to wait a little bit to make this judgement. Judge Lavin by what he does with his recruiting class next year, and appreciate what he has been able to get out of these players that he didn't choose for this year. But Lavin made a huge strategic blunder last night going into the 2nd half. Lavin kept the press going that had slowed down SU getting its offense set, but instead of keeping his matchup zone going, he switched to a pressing man. This allowed for three things that let the Orange offense get into its groove. First: Scoop could operate as his normal self, bullying weaker guards and using exquisite crosses to easily get into the lane to make opportunities for others or get in lay-ups. Second, it freed up Rick to operate down low against the weaker St. John's bigs, and when there was a collapse, he got the ball to the open man (he finished with 3 assists). Third, his team wasn't ready to play man defense. While the man on the ball was generally focused on his job (albeit with quite a bit of handchecking), off-ball defenders were looking right at the ball the whole time. This freed up Scoop for a wide open lay-up underneath on an assist from Jackson inside the free-throw semicircle. It also helped Kris get 2 wide open backdoor dunks, an unacceptable outcome for any defense. While this was a good win, it was partially the product of some crappy strategy on St. John's part.

Highlights from the Garden
-One St. John's fan impressed us with his combination of a lack of height, a surplus of scarf length, and maybe a few too many beers. He tried to insult Boeheim, to which many kindly asked him to "kiss the ring." For some reason, he also decided to see this one out, and with 3 minutes left started calling for Boeheim to bring in subs. In the words of Omar Little, "Come at the king, you best not miss." Overall, the St. John's cheering section was a joke. I'm fairly certain Syracuse fans made up about 75% of the crowd. It's understandable to have a Wednesday night game in the Garen to get the revenue of the Syracuse alums, but it also alienates a huge chunk of your student fans who won't always be able to make the trip.
-The St. John's dance team may be overfunded. They had 2 wardrobe changes for the night so that they could give the crowd two terrible dance routines, one of which included a sequin leather jacket with a huge St. John's patch. When they were in regular uniform, they essentially just stood in place.
-Danny Schayes was in attendace, and by God, he was wearing an ugly shirt. He also made himself the most visible seven footer in the world with this jacket, which he walked through New York wearing:

Yeah, that's NBA ball jacket.
-Jim Burr was kind of tolerable tonight. He made a couple bad calls, but not on the level I remember seeing from him in the Dome growing up. The true officiating enemy is Gene Steratore, who seemed to love hearing the love from the home crowd that was outnumbered at the Garden.

In other news, Brittfarv's sister is a gourmet...of meth. (h/t Deadspin)

And Duke lost to unranked Florida State, so I'm extremely happy. Even if Dick Vitale tries to justify it to the world.

Good Mownin'...Just breathe:

Syracuse-St. John's Pre-Game

I'm not going to get hammered before I go to this game. I may have a beer, but that's about it. Being a blogger makes you look for the opportunities to get drunk on someone else's dime. I'm excited to head back to the Garden, and this will be my first time seeing the 'Cuse play in New York City. I will not be doing the doubleheader with the Johnnies women's game afterwards, since UConn's meaningless winning streak is now over.
But am I hyped to see Syracuse fans dominate the Garden.
Of course, George Vescey is drinking Lavin's Kool-Aid, and it seems like the cyanide hasn't started to take effect, as the Johnnies started their Big East season with 3 wins against West Virginia, Providence, and Georgetown, before falling to Notre Dame on Saturday. The Red Storm has 10 seniors, and Lavin is already starting the reloading with commitments from 4 top 25 swingmen according to Rivals. So is St. John's really back? This year might be a good sign, but next year will be the one that counts. Lavin will need that team to perform before big-time recruits start putting St. John's on their whittled-down lists of schools.
Syracuse may be undefeated, but the Orange may want to get their heads back in the game at the Garden. Seton Hall, even without Jeremy Hazell, was close enough on Saturday that I was scared. Even if they are slowing it down, without a real outside threat (the Pirates shot 3-26 on 3-pointers). The zone is again not going to need much extension, as St. John's shoots on 30.8% from outside. But 'Cuse needs to show some signs of life. The offense looked lost against Seton Hall, and with a tough stretch ahead against Cincinnati, Pitt, and Villanova, it's high time for Syracuse to get its shit together. And what better place than where they essentially hold a home-court advantage in the Garden. There will be tweets tonight (@themanualbuzzer), so follow along with the game on ESPNU. Good night, and go Orange!

Georgetown=Ivory Coast

Daddy said I COULD HAVE THE WHOLE SLEEVE OF OREOS!

I know this analogy is pretty outlandish, but bear with me here. In the Ivory Coast, outgoing president (well, president who lost the election) Laurent Gbagbo refuses to relinquish power to the rightful winner, Alassane Ouatarra, even blockading the road to his hotel so he can stay in the presidential palace. After stalling through five years of ineffective and downright crappy rule, he continues to stall the country's politics from moving forward. This is has led to appeals from national team captain and the undisputed best Ivorian footballer of all time, Didier Drogba, to ask both sides to stop the violence that has claimed hundreds of lives. Gbagbo can't accept these results for obvious reasons: he likes power.
And so do the Georgetown Hoyas. They love having a home court advantage in DC at the Verizon Center, which is also the home of the Washington Wizards (who really suck at using that home court advantage). And they will go to any measure to hold onto it, even when the 'Cuse rolls into town. So what's the best way to do that? Blockade Orange fans from buying tickets to the game and restricting purchases to Georgetown students and alumni. For only this game. One can overcome this barrier by donating $25 per purchase, all so Madeleine Albright can make it rain at the clubs. This is probably due to the 'Cuse alumni presence, but how vain can you be? Any other team coming to visit the Hoyas have a chance to bring a crowd with them. And with Georgetown's recent two-game slide at the hands of the Johnnies and Notre Dame, for whom Rick Jackson delayed Thanksgiving so he could give them 6 stuffings (one of them was Indian style and reminded me of Vindaloo), they need all the home court they can get, especially because Kris Joseph thinks it could get rowdy (around 8:15).
Georgetown's downfall will be its delusions, and it gets no more delusional than trying to shut out everyone who isn't a yes man. Take it down a notch, and stop making 'Cuse fans donate money to your already loaded school so they can enjoy seeing your team get whooped near home in front of Obama.

A few observations from the Richmond game and the parts of the UNC-UK game I could stomach

Syracuse-Richmond
-Arinze looked solid as hell. I don't care who it was against, he didn't even miss a free throw (he took one). His touch looks amazing.
-Devendorf didn't show much ill effect from the ACL, including his own personal 8 point burst near the middle of the 2nd half.
-Andy, however, just never looked comfortable out there and had an ofer from he field.
-I guess Mookie is considered a project? Hopefully he continues to get minutes in blowouts, or he stole someone's ID.
-I felt like Devo dropped acid for those 2 consecutive travels.
-Jonny, why can't you dunk ON people? You always can dunk with space, but when there's someone under you, you hit the back rim. So, Nancy Kerrigan asks:

Must be something really hard in the rim (of the color black?).
-So many instances of the Boeheim face that one could not count them on just the hands, they would need toes and maybe even ears.
-This morning on Anthony Gargano's show on WIP, the kings of sports talk in Philadelphia, they couldn't stop talking about how dumb McNabb was for not knowing there were ties in the NFL, as well as how Jim Boeheim declared he did not know about NFL ties, which led them to call Boeheim dumb too. My question for Mr. Gargano is not a question. It is a statement in bold: JIM BOEHEIM IS A FUCKING COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACH YOU FUCKING RUSTY TROMBONIST. SINCE WHEN DOES HE NEED TO KNOW THE FUCKING NFL RULEBOOK? MAYBE HE DOESN'T EVEN WATCH THE NFL YOU FREQUENT RECIPIENT OF CLEVELAND STEAMERS. I HOPE YOU GET RAPED BY A NARWHAL. THE HORN OF A NARWHAL YOU SHITBRAIN.

UNC-UK
-I bet His Airness suggested the non-button-down with the pinstripe suit for Psycho T to wear on the bench, except Hansbrough forgot the gold chain around the neck. Tyler should instead listen to another former Carolina player: Rasheed Wallace, who sits on the bench in uniform even if he is hurt.
-Patrick Patterson and Deon Thompson are 2 of the better big men in the country. The difference between the two? The guards on Patrick Patterson's team all play like they had their hands chopped off.
-When Dick Vitale starts verbally masturbating to players on Duke or UNC, it makes me write text messages that read like so:

"I want to punch Dick Vitale in the ovaries, then punch Tyler Hansbrough in the fallopian tube, and then bang EA."

Yeah, I'm fucking serious about this. emancipateusfromdickvitale.com coming soon?

That is all for now. I'll be back on Sunday with some power rankings, where I will take these and update them for this week and hopefully for every week the rest of the season. Until then, watch out for the Joe Biden experience...coming soon!

College Basketball is LIFE

And life this past week was watching Barack Obama soundly defeat John McCain in the US Presidential election. Why do I mention this? Because of its similarity to the 1990 NCAA Final, where UNLV absolutely destroyed Duke (unique style/black soundly destroys regular Republican attack/white campaign) and represented an affirmation that there was a more appealing style of basketball that involved watching Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner get their asses dunked on. Krzyzewski was like McCain at the time, having built up prestige but never making it to the top (but he didn't have a rivalry with his father and grandfather). Tark was taking on the NCAA and its monopolistic practices while chewing on a towel (and his parents were Armenian immigrants).
But now, back to the semi-sloth life I plan to live under an Obama presidency. There is nothing I love more than sitting around on a weekend and watching college basketball from noon until 1AM, but things done changed this year. I hate being obtrusive, but with no cable where I'm currently living (and probably none where I will be next semester), I have to burden someone, whether it be a restaurant or a person who actually has cable, in order to practice this comfort activity.
And fuck it I will NOT stop doing this. Not with the amazing talent and not with the prospects of my Syracuse Orange(men) (FINALLY NOT OVERRATED!) this year. College basketball looks like it will be real good this year. Everyone is talking about UNC this year, but come on, we talk about UNC every year. They didn't lose anyone but Quentin Thomas last year who was a steady replacement for the injured Ty Lawson, who should be healthier, which will make things even easier for Roy Williams. And damn, he is going to start feeling pressure. Connecting the prestige of UNC to the skill and daft recruiting of Roy Williams leads to preseason national championship predictions every year. No Hansbrough for an unspecified amount of time as well as Marcus Ginyard set to miss some time will have its effects, but the Tar Heels still have that Tar Heel talent and Williams' excellent secondary break strategy that Ty Lawson will use to easily destroy teams. Could they get trapped with that Extra Super Tuesday matchup with Kentucky? Yes. But the Heels should still be a 1 seed in the tournament, and here are my other three 1 seeds:
Louisville: Rick Pitino got off to a bad start in his return to the Big East with the Cardinals in 2005-06, the year after the Final Four. But Pitino has made excellence strides with this team, with the late run in 2007 to get into the tournament, and have parlayed that momentum to a near Final Four appearance last year and a very strong team right now. Earl Clark is going to play like a top 5 pick this year. Terrence Williams is tenacious on defense and is a great contributor. Jerry Smith, Edgar Sosa, and Preston Knowles will be improved as all Pitino-coached players do between seasons, and will help Williams keep up the intensity of Pitino's signature pressure defense . The distraction that is Derrick Caracter has left the building. At one time, Caracter was THE center prospect in high school, until Greg Oden destroyed him in an ABCD game, leading to a downfall that included him declaring for the NBA Draft last season...before the NCAA Tournament. The front court will be pretty inexperienced, especially without the amazing passing of David Padgett, who looked like Brian Brohm threading the needle on backdoor passes to the tune of 2 assists per game. Terence Jennings and Samardo Samuels are going to need to step in immediately with no other big men on the roster, and they will need to play consistently, and well, for the Cardinals to have the regular season I'm expecting of them.
Connecticut: I can't stress how much I hate UConn and Georgetown, but when Syracuse (a subject I will return to later) gets eliminated or mistakenly left out of the tournament, you have to cheer for one of these teams. And UConn is the one you can also put your money on. AJ Price may be really old and did commit a misdemeanor when he stole those laptops, but he can still play and was an amazing point guard for this team last year, and probably could have gone farther in the tournament if he hadn't torn his ACL in the 1st round game against San Diego. Hasheem Thabeet will just keep getting better and will join Clark in the top 5 next year, mostly due to being 7'3" and having a gigantic wing span, but also an improved inside game that will make him tough to deal with. And don't forget his relative touch on free throws (69.8% last year) that makes him even more valuable.
The Huskies look exactly like UNC last year, with no seniors on the roster to lose, but they did add some players, although CJ Miles is gone. Kemba Walker and Scotty Haralson will provide depth at guard that will help Jim Calhoun avoid the tragedy (well, satisfying ending for me) to the UConn season last year.
Michigan State: Drew Neitzel was a consistent presence last year, but playing to his style made the Spartans boring. Their lack of true punch led them to be eliminated by Pitt in the 2nd round. Raymar Morgan will be the featured member of this team, with his size and ability to step outside and penchant for great defense. Marquise Gray and Goran Suton further solidify the frontcourt. Kalin Lucas will be a great pacekeeper for this team, and they will destroy the Big Ten with ease. And this.
#2 seeds:
Duke: Like Andre Nickatina does you, I hate Duke with a passion. But Krzyzewski has a nasty squad fielded this year. Nolan Smith will probably take over for Duke's all-time underperformer (well, second to Chris Carrawell) Greg Paulus at the point. Lance Thomas, Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Gerald Henderson (most of all) will be nasty as usual. You know Coach K reloaded with another amazing recruiting class, led by big Miles Plumlee, who will probaly be platooning with Thomas unless Zoubek magically starts to improve his game, meaning that he will be platooning with both Zoubek and Thomas.
UCLA: Ben Howland adores every round of the tournament except for ones after the Round of 16. He took the Bruins to the Final Four two of the past three years, and to the Elite Eight last year, each time being eliminated by a championship game participant. Ben may have trouble getting this team to the Sweet 16 this year, especially since the 2 most talented players from last year's team were lottery picks (Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook) and the most powerful player (Luc Richard Mbah a Moute: he is a fucking prince!) was picked by the Bucks in the 2nd round. Jrue Holiday and Malcolm Lee will lead a solid freshman class, and Darren Collison and Josh Shipp are back. The post will not be as strong this year, as Alfred Aboya is not the offensive player (in scoring or in passing) that Love was. And Nikola Dragovic assaulted his ex-girlfriend!
Pittsburgh: I find it funny when a team falls victim to Jeremy McNeil. And the year that Syracuse won the national title, Pitt, at the Dome and by default about to become the #1 team in the country with a win (Arizona lost earlier that week to Stanford), Jeremy McNeil pulled the rug out from under them by hitting both ends of a one-and-one (Carmelo said after the game: "He never could do it in practice, and then we always gotta run.") and then tipping in a miss to put Syracuse up by 2 with less than a second left. Probably the most ridiculous celebration that side of the Hakim throwing the ball in the air against Notre Dame with way too much time on the clock later that year. Now, things are different. Still, Syracuse has been ranked #1, and Pitt, still never. Sam Young and Levance "Broken Legs" Fields are back, along with local hero DeJuan Blair. Jamie Dixon has by far his best recruiting class ever coming in led by Nasir Robinson.
Oklahoma: If I were to play against Blake Griffin, I'd shit myself too. Jeff Capel also has some real solid guards in Austin Johnson and and Kyle Crocker, whose mom made brownies for the team before their first game. Willie Warren is a welcome addition to the back court depth. But fuck, Blake Griffin is a fucking force. Sorry for cussin'.
#3 Seeds
Texas: I wasn't a firm believer in DJ Augustin last year, and now that he is with the Bobcats, I still am not. Damion James started playing really well, finally getting the chance to be out of the shadow cast by Kevin Durant (not doing so well himself in Oklahoma City). Dexter Pittman and Connor Atchley are solid up front. AJ Abrams is still there, and Justin Mason may be able to put together his freshman year (great shooting numbers and mediocre assist and turnover numbers) with last year (mediocre shooting and improved assist and turnover numbers). From among Harrison Smith, freshman Varez Ward, and Dogus Balbay, someone must improve or their back court will be weak like Syracuse last year (more on that later).
Kentucky: Billy Gillespie is about to work a miracle, and might get himself some Ashley Judd poon as payment. He did have a tough year last year but managed to beat Tennessee and get a tournament bid. This year? I bet Patrick Patterson is way healthier and he is definitely a dark horse first-team All-American pick, but I think he will have that solid year. Jodie Meeks in the back court and Perry Stevenson in the front court need to step up in order that Kentucky can play up to their potential.
Gonzaga: By far my favorite mid-major for being the birthplace of the Morristache. Austin Daye is what Pat Calathes could never be: a 6'10" guard who can dominate games. Josh Heytvelt is back, and no word whether he will get any magic mushrooms references from announcers is the Zags go far in the Dance. Jeremy Pargo, Matt Bouldin, and Micah Downs will handle well, and Mark Few also brought in a good class of freshmen that will make this team even more dangerous with their depth.
Purdue: A team with a nasty streak is the best way to classify the Boilermakers under Matt Painter. Gene Keady taught him how to play Purdue basketball, and his teams sure play it better than any of Keady's ever did. The core of E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, Keaton Grant, and Chris Kramer. Scott Martin would be on this list, but he transferred to Notre Dame for undisclosed reasons. But Purdue still returns 7 players who averaged more than 15 minutes per game and I think they will improve on their second round appearance in the tournament, as long as Keady didn't teach Painter how to choke.
#4 Seeds
Memphis: A lot was lost last year, including what seemed like a sure national title, but also the amazing Derrick Rose, who returned to Chicago to suit up for the Bulls, and the maniacal Joey Dorsey, who might actually make me shit my pants more than Blake Griffin if I were to guard him. Calipari brought in Tyreke Evans and Wesley Witherspoon to help make up for the loss, and Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier, Shawn Taggart, Robert Dozier, Willie Kemp, and Andre Allen will be more than ready to increase their output to fill the void. And Pierre Henderson-Niles? Well, PETA had some choice words that may have led him to devour a few PETA members.
Davidson: I'll be the first to say that this ranking may end up being too high. Stephen Curry may be the best player in the country this year. I think he may have been the best last year, but Tyler Hansbrough just makes all hose sportswriters ejaculate with all his grit and being white. Stephen will have a but of a tougher year this year, especially without the dude feeding him the ball as Jason Richards, last year's national assists leader, graduated. The bulk of last year's team is gone, so Andrew Lovedale, Stephen Rossi and Zach from Saved by the Bell (Amirite? AMIRITE?!?!?) will have to step up, as well as the coach's son, Brendan.
Arizona State: Geez, it's been a while. Herb Sendek built up a team at NC State, and now one from Tempe is about to rise. James Harden could end up being a first-team All-American if the Sun Devils live up to expectations this year. Jeff Pendergraph wants to earn his own honors in his senior year, and Harden's fellow sophomore Ty Abbott will also be key to a good season.
Florida: Billy Donovan got a tough break when Jai Lucas asked to transfer because he wanted time at point guard, a position filled easily by Nick Calathes, who was solid last year. Billy did lock out his team last year, and if that doesn't make them angry about playing in the fucking NIT, I don't know what will. Eloy Vargas and Kenneth Kadji lead a group of 6 freshmen to add to 5 sophomores and only one junior and one senior. Give Billy a year to get back to the Final Four, because this group can definitely do it.
Meaningless Preseason Award Tour with Mohammed my man, going to each and every place with a mic in my hand:
Player of the Year: Hansbrough will win it, but I think Blake Griffin may just do so much at Oklahoma and Hansbrough may be out indefinitely for so long that Griffin will take it.
Coach of the Year: Vast improvement is the hallmark of this one, so I'm giving it to Billy Donovan, who may next make his players go kill an alligator to eat if they end up in the NIT again this year.
Freshman of the Year: USC lost a lot last year. OJ Mayo is with the Grizz in the League, and Davon Jefferson is with the Heat...the Maccabi Haifa Heat. USC is left with a team devoid of a scorer until Master P shows up and offers Demar DeRozan as long as his son, Lil Romeo, also gets a spot on the team. Now, no other team showed interest in Miller, who might not even be good enough to play in the Ivy League. Actually, I'm 100% sure Lil Romeo would not be able to compete in the Ivy League. But Demar DeRozan should be dominant in the PAC-10, and will probably be way more efficient than OJ ever was.

First Team All-Americans:
C: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
F: Tyler Hansbrough, UNC
F: Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
G: Stephen Curry, Davidson
G: Ty Lawson, UNC

Second Team All-Americans:
C: Hasheem Thabeet, UConn
F: Earl Clark, Louisville
F: Sam Young, Pittsburgh
G: Gerald Henderson, Duke
G: James Harden, Arizona State

Freshman All-Americans:
C: BJ Mullens, Ohio State
F: Al-Farouqq Aminu, Wake Forest
F: Demar DeRozan, USC
G: Scotty Hopson, Tennessee
G: Jrue Holiday, UCLA

Teams for which I have a rooting interest, analyzed:
Syracuse: I fucking love Jonny Flynn. I could give a shit if Donte Greene is getting time in the League (he barely is, but probably will when the Kings miss the playoffs and stop caring), because Jonny Flynn is going to do big things at Syracuse. 5.3 assists last year? With Rautins and Devendorf back, that number will rise. He shot 46% (I am pissed about that, he should have been shooting more with his much more accurate jumper than Donte was) and 35% from 3. Jonny is the barometer on this team, and he will lead them however far they go.
Arinze is fucking solid inside, and hopefully his free-throw touch will be better. And if Rick Jackson can actually make shots in the post (the moves were great, the touch was not)? The inside will be solid. Maybe even Sean Williams will be solid too. Paul Harris will continue to be a bull on the boards and might not be as stupid as he was last year, which includes cooling it with the 3's. Devo and Rautins will make it way easier for everyone if they are on mark, which is highly likely. Mookie Jones and Kris Joseph will be solid additions to the team to replace Donte. I am very excited. Bring on Florida, bring on Memphis, bring on the Big East, and let's see what this team can do.
Penn: That transition year was weird last year. Ibby Jaaber seemed fine without a transition year. So did Mark Zoller. Now, Glen Miller builds. WTF???!?!?!?!? Kevin Egee (cheated on an astronomy exam, off of yours truly) and Brennan Votel are the leaders, although their experience doesn't seem that useful. Darren Smith returns from a year spent being injured. Will he be better? Will this dude from the Bahamas be any good? The sophomores should be ready, as Tyler Bernadini took home the Big 5 Freshman of the Year award last year, and Harrison Gaines looks poised to be the floor general of this offense. There was much turmoil in the starting lineup last year, so if Miller can settle on a 5, the Quakers will be solid. Just wait until after the 1st game (lol UNC).
In one week, Extra Super Tuesday begins, and by golly, I will have a change of pants available. Or a catheter installed.

Hakim Warrick is Human Quaaludes

And I'm sure Quaaludes wish they had as much length and tremendous upside potential as Hak (Jay Bilas during a long night at Duke was once quoted as saying that the 'ludes that Danny Ferry scored for him were "getting a piece of my paint...SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT") Now that my distant cousin, Pappy Chalmers, has relieved the Jayhawk of that championship drought with that clutch as hell three, Dana O'Neil over at the WWL found that it was time to bring up a demon that no longer matters to Lawrence: Mr. Michael Lee, who fell victim to this. So, I'm guessing this made you feel sort of sad, no?

"For two, maybe two and a half weeks, I just shut down totally," Lee recalled. "I didn't want to talk to anybody because I knew how much it was on everybody's mind. I didn't go out unless I absolutely had to, like to go to class or something. I just hid in my room."

Sounds like when Chris Squire dropped acid for the last time. Also, does anyone remember a John Wallace/Jason Cipolla/Lazarus Sims/JB Reafsnyder flashback article like this in 2003? Probably not, because the Orangemen were completely counted out of that one. And there wasn't any huge fuck-up that defined the game. Unless Cipolla was seduced by a cougar a la Eugene Robinson at Super Bowl XXXIII.

Paul Harris needs some protection

If one player is victimized by refs for being physically imnposing, it has to be Paul. He might need to play some Nintendo DS to improve his basketball IQ, but Paul doesn't get any breaks from the refs. Last year it was the out-of-the-blue technical fouls that were commonplace, but he hasn't been called for one yet. But officials still treat him differently. Two instances in today's 'Cuse victory over the Washington Huskies made me know this is some truth:
1.) Watching Quincy Pondexter proceed to push Paul Harris out of bounds to get a defensive rebound. Not box out, literally turn and push.
2.) A phantom offensive foul call where Harris jump-stopped into a banked jumper and a flop by Justin Dentmon were enough to warrant the call.
So Tim Higgins, Ted Valentine, and whoever else officiates in the Big East, give Paul a chance. He isn't the Juggernaut running through walls and sending people hundreds of feet when he runs into them because mutants don't exist. He just happens to be a little stronger than the guys he's going up against, but he isn't going to kill anyone.