How do you fix the Syracuse Orange?
If hall-of-fame coach Jim Boeheim doesn#'t have the answer, then I certainly don't.
Their defense is soft. They don't crash the boards hard. Their bench isn't deep enough.
It's something new every game.
SU guts out a hard-fought victory on the road at Virginia, then turns right around and gets out-hustled and out-muscled by Rhode Island at the Carrier Dome.
I can't figure this team out. Not yet anyway.
So instead of analyzing the Orange's roller coaster of a season, I'm going to branch out and give you my thoughts on the early college basketball campaign.
- Despite losing Kevin Durant, Texas (9-0) is the best team I've seen thus far. The Longhorns have enough offense to outscore teams like Tennessee and play enough defense to lock down a talented UCLA club. It's still early, but Texas looks like a Final Four contender. Plus, D.J. Augustin (19 points, 7 assists per game) is playing better than anyone in the country.
- This season's freshman class is better than last year's. And that's scary, considering last year's class was highlighted by Durant, Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Brandan Wright - all of whom were lottery picks in the 2007 NBA Draft. But take a look at Kansas State's Michael Beasley. The 6-9 forward is averaging 25 points and 14.3 rebounds per game. He's eclipsed 20 rebounds twice in just nine games. Or how about Indiana's Eric Gordon, who is averaging 24.3 points per game and shooting a blistering 50 percent from 3-point range. Come June 2008, both Beasley and Gordon will more than likely be selected Nos. 1 and 2 in the NBA draft. In fact, according to nbadraft.net, the top seven picks in the upcoming draft are projected as freshman, including Syracuse's Donte Greene at No. 5.
- Why does ninth-ranked Pittsburgh not get criticized for its nonconference schedule? Syracuse leaves for Virginia and every ESPN analyst turns into a stand-up comedian. Everything is a joke when it comes to the Orange, and yet, the Panthers never leave home either. When they do, it's to play such powers as Duquesne, a team that's also located in Pittsburgh. The Panthers are not only the most overrated team in the country, but they also go unscathed by the national media. It's easy to start the season 9-0 when you're playing such national powers as Houston Baptist and Mississippi Valley State.
- West Virginia's Joe Alexander is the best player nobody's heard of. Though he doesn't quite have a position, Alexander does it all on the court. He shoots 50 percent from the floor, pulls down 7 rebounds per game and can even step out and knock down the 3. For the Syracuse fans out there, he's like Josh Pace with a better jumper. Alexander has also helped lead the Mountaineers to a 7-1 start. Not bad for a team that was projected to finish 12th in the Big East.
- For the third straight year, the most overrated player in the country is Marquette's Dominic James. The junior is a good basketball player, he's just not great. He's not even the best player on his team - that distinction goes to Jerel McNeal, who averages more points, rebounds and less turnovers than the higher-touted James. He is quick and can get to the hoop but against a zone, James is almost useless. Seriously, I want to challenge this guy in a 3-point contest. It's one thing to be a poor shooter, but it's another to keep firing despite connecting on only 30 percent of your 3s. James jacks up the long ball roughly four times per game. That's not a good game plan for the Golden Eagles.
- I know CBS only broadcasts one or two college basketball games per week, but why do we have to wait until March to hear Gus Johnson? Johnson does have other commitments - NFL and NBA - but you're telling me CBS can't fly him down to Chapel Hill on any given Saturday to call an early season Tar Heels game? Gus is the voice of college hoops. He's the best in the business and was born to do play-by-play during March Madness. But CBS isn't using him correctly. He's about fifth on their NFL totem pole and then last year, they limit Gus to just the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. It's like keeping Lebron James on the bench in the fourth quarter. If you're a coach you've got to have your best players on the floor and if you're a network, you've got to have your best men behind the mic. This actually makes me quite angry.
- Finally, all the recent commotion surrounding college football coaches has made me appreciate college basketball that much more. While Les Miles is flip-flopping and Bobby Petrino is signing yet another #&contract,#8 basketball coaches like Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and UConn's Jim Calhoun are continuing their effort to raise money for cancer research. Each year, the Jimmy V Classic is always one of my favorite events and ESPN does a great job continuing Valvano's dream. Coaches from around the country do their part, including Boeheim who won his own battle with cancer. To this date, Boeheim and Syracuse University have raised more money for cancer awareness than any other institution in the nation. I'm sick of all the egos and greed in sports, even at the college level. It's always refreshing to hear of the efforts put forth by so many in the sporting world to battle this terrible disease.
Their defense is soft. They don't crash the boards hard. Their bench isn't deep enough.
It's something new every game.
SU guts out a hard-fought victory on the road at Virginia, then turns right around and gets out-hustled and out-muscled by Rhode Island at the Carrier Dome.
I can't figure this team out. Not yet anyway.
So instead of analyzing the Orange's roller coaster of a season, I'm going to branch out and give you my thoughts on the early college basketball campaign.
- Despite losing Kevin Durant, Texas (9-0) is the best team I've seen thus far. The Longhorns have enough offense to outscore teams like Tennessee and play enough defense to lock down a talented UCLA club. It's still early, but Texas looks like a Final Four contender. Plus, D.J. Augustin (19 points, 7 assists per game) is playing better than anyone in the country.
- This season's freshman class is better than last year's. And that's scary, considering last year's class was highlighted by Durant, Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Brandan Wright - all of whom were lottery picks in the 2007 NBA Draft. But take a look at Kansas State's Michael Beasley. The 6-9 forward is averaging 25 points and 14.3 rebounds per game. He's eclipsed 20 rebounds twice in just nine games. Or how about Indiana's Eric Gordon, who is averaging 24.3 points per game and shooting a blistering 50 percent from 3-point range. Come June 2008, both Beasley and Gordon will more than likely be selected Nos. 1 and 2 in the NBA draft. In fact, according to nbadraft.net, the top seven picks in the upcoming draft are projected as freshman, including Syracuse's Donte Greene at No. 5.
- Why does ninth-ranked Pittsburgh not get criticized for its nonconference schedule? Syracuse leaves for Virginia and every ESPN analyst turns into a stand-up comedian. Everything is a joke when it comes to the Orange, and yet, the Panthers never leave home either. When they do, it's to play such powers as Duquesne, a team that's also located in Pittsburgh. The Panthers are not only the most overrated team in the country, but they also go unscathed by the national media. It's easy to start the season 9-0 when you're playing such national powers as Houston Baptist and Mississippi Valley State.
- West Virginia's Joe Alexander is the best player nobody's heard of. Though he doesn't quite have a position, Alexander does it all on the court. He shoots 50 percent from the floor, pulls down 7 rebounds per game and can even step out and knock down the 3. For the Syracuse fans out there, he's like Josh Pace with a better jumper. Alexander has also helped lead the Mountaineers to a 7-1 start. Not bad for a team that was projected to finish 12th in the Big East.
- For the third straight year, the most overrated player in the country is Marquette's Dominic James. The junior is a good basketball player, he's just not great. He's not even the best player on his team - that distinction goes to Jerel McNeal, who averages more points, rebounds and less turnovers than the higher-touted James. He is quick and can get to the hoop but against a zone, James is almost useless. Seriously, I want to challenge this guy in a 3-point contest. It's one thing to be a poor shooter, but it's another to keep firing despite connecting on only 30 percent of your 3s. James jacks up the long ball roughly four times per game. That's not a good game plan for the Golden Eagles.
- I know CBS only broadcasts one or two college basketball games per week, but why do we have to wait until March to hear Gus Johnson? Johnson does have other commitments - NFL and NBA - but you're telling me CBS can't fly him down to Chapel Hill on any given Saturday to call an early season Tar Heels game? Gus is the voice of college hoops. He's the best in the business and was born to do play-by-play during March Madness. But CBS isn't using him correctly. He's about fifth on their NFL totem pole and then last year, they limit Gus to just the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. It's like keeping Lebron James on the bench in the fourth quarter. If you're a coach you've got to have your best players on the floor and if you're a network, you've got to have your best men behind the mic. This actually makes me quite angry.
- Finally, all the recent commotion surrounding college football coaches has made me appreciate college basketball that much more. While Les Miles is flip-flopping and Bobby Petrino is signing yet another #&contract,#8 basketball coaches like Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and UConn's Jim Calhoun are continuing their effort to raise money for cancer research. Each year, the Jimmy V Classic is always one of my favorite events and ESPN does a great job continuing Valvano's dream. Coaches from around the country do their part, including Boeheim who won his own battle with cancer. To this date, Boeheim and Syracuse University have raised more money for cancer awareness than any other institution in the nation. I'm sick of all the egos and greed in sports, even at the college level. It's always refreshing to hear of the efforts put forth by so many in the sporting world to battle this terrible disease.
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