SYRACUSE - Good thing the Syracuse Orange have a lot of young legs, even if there aren't as many as coach Jim Boeheim might like.
With 10 games remaining in the regular season, Boeheim has only seven available scholarship players at his disposal in the wake of Sunday's announcement that freshman guard Scoop Jardine has been suspended indefinitely for violating university policy.
“It's obvious we've never been close to this, we've never lost more than a player in a year,” Boeheim said. “We're as shorthanded as you'd ever want to be. We should be getting used to that.”
The Orange (14-7, 4-4 Big East) already had lost junior guards Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf to season-ending knee injuries and sophomore center Devin Brennan-McBride to a chronic shoulder malady, and senior guard Josh Wright left the team in December.
That left Boeheim with three freshmen, two sophomores, a junior college transfer and a walk-on for Sunday's game against Providence. And they all played in the Orange's 71-64 victory, including walk-on Justin Thomas.
“I'll get a lot more playing time, so my learning curve will go right up,” said Kristof Ongenaet, a 6-foot-8 native of Belgium who transferred after two seasons at Cuesta College. “We're just getting used to it right now. We just have to be a little more cautious about the fouls. I think if we're smart we can get pretty far.”
Boeheim has started freshman forward Donte Greene and freshman guard Jonny Flynn in all 21 games, and if they're feeling wear and tear it isn't showing. Flynn has played every minute of the past two games, one of which was an overtime loss a week ago at archrival Georgetown, and Greene has sat for only four minutes. Both are averaging more than 34 minutes and are 1-2 on the team in scoring.
“It's a lot of adversity hitting us,” said Flynn, who's averaging 15 points and 5.2 assists. “You get a little tired here and there. Hopefully, we can last the rest of the season.”
The absence of Jardine, who had started 10 straight games since Devendorf went down with his injury in December, forced Boeheim to use Ongenaet and freshman forward Rick Jackson much more than usual, and both made solid contributions.
Jackson recorded seven points and pulled down eight rebounds in 17 minutes. Ongenaet, who made his first career start, played with his usual reckless abandon in a season-high 24 minutes. He gave the Orange a quick boost by scoring the first basket of the game on a pretty reverse layup and broke a 50-all tie with another reverse layup with just over 6 minutes remaining. Ongenaet finished with six points, eight rebounds, one block, two steals, four fouls, and set several screens, the most important on Greene's tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2:32 left.
“Kristof is a high-energy guy,” Flynn said. “There were a lot of rebounds he didn't get, but he always got a hand on the ball. He had a hand on every shooter.”
Center Arinze Onuaku had his hands in several faces, too. The Orange's 6-foot-9, 258-pound center also contributed mightily to the cause, logging 39 minutes after playing 41 last Monday against the Hoyas. Onuaku finished with eight points, 14 rebounds and five of Syracuse's 22 turnovers and had big icebags on both knees in the locker room afterward.
“This team has competed as hard as they can all year long and for a young team, that's pretty good,” Boeheim said. “They haven't always played well, but they're competing as hard as they can, and that's all you can ask for.”
And if somebody isn't feeling well before a game, he'd better keep it to himself. Sophomore swingman Paul Harris was ailing before the Providence game and received his usual earful from Boeheim.
“I told him he could feel bad tomorrow,” Boeheim said with a smirk. “Today is not a good day to feel bad.”
Harris played 37 minutes, scored 14 points (10 from the free-throw line), grabbed five rebounds, and then went to bed.
“This is a talented team,” said Greene, who's averaging 18.6 points. “Just about every guy who steps on the floor can score at will every time. The lack of players is definitely not an excuse.”
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
“It's obvious we've never been close to this, we've never lost more than a player in a year,” Boeheim said. “We're as shorthanded as you'd ever want to be. We should be getting used to that.”
The Orange (14-7, 4-4 Big East) already had lost junior guards Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf to season-ending knee injuries and sophomore center Devin Brennan-McBride to a chronic shoulder malady, and senior guard Josh Wright left the team in December.
That left Boeheim with three freshmen, two sophomores, a junior college transfer and a walk-on for Sunday's game against Providence. And they all played in the Orange's 71-64 victory, including walk-on Justin Thomas.
“I'll get a lot more playing time, so my learning curve will go right up,” said Kristof Ongenaet, a 6-foot-8 native of Belgium who transferred after two seasons at Cuesta College. “We're just getting used to it right now. We just have to be a little more cautious about the fouls. I think if we're smart we can get pretty far.”
Boeheim has started freshman forward Donte Greene and freshman guard Jonny Flynn in all 21 games, and if they're feeling wear and tear it isn't showing. Flynn has played every minute of the past two games, one of which was an overtime loss a week ago at archrival Georgetown, and Greene has sat for only four minutes. Both are averaging more than 34 minutes and are 1-2 on the team in scoring.
“It's a lot of adversity hitting us,” said Flynn, who's averaging 15 points and 5.2 assists. “You get a little tired here and there. Hopefully, we can last the rest of the season.”
The absence of Jardine, who had started 10 straight games since Devendorf went down with his injury in December, forced Boeheim to use Ongenaet and freshman forward Rick Jackson much more than usual, and both made solid contributions.
Jackson recorded seven points and pulled down eight rebounds in 17 minutes. Ongenaet, who made his first career start, played with his usual reckless abandon in a season-high 24 minutes. He gave the Orange a quick boost by scoring the first basket of the game on a pretty reverse layup and broke a 50-all tie with another reverse layup with just over 6 minutes remaining. Ongenaet finished with six points, eight rebounds, one block, two steals, four fouls, and set several screens, the most important on Greene's tie-breaking 3-pointer with 2:32 left.
“Kristof is a high-energy guy,” Flynn said. “There were a lot of rebounds he didn't get, but he always got a hand on the ball. He had a hand on every shooter.”
Center Arinze Onuaku had his hands in several faces, too. The Orange's 6-foot-9, 258-pound center also contributed mightily to the cause, logging 39 minutes after playing 41 last Monday against the Hoyas. Onuaku finished with eight points, 14 rebounds and five of Syracuse's 22 turnovers and had big icebags on both knees in the locker room afterward.
“This team has competed as hard as they can all year long and for a young team, that's pretty good,” Boeheim said. “They haven't always played well, but they're competing as hard as they can, and that's all you can ask for.”
And if somebody isn't feeling well before a game, he'd better keep it to himself. Sophomore swingman Paul Harris was ailing before the Providence game and received his usual earful from Boeheim.
“I told him he could feel bad tomorrow,” Boeheim said with a smirk. “Today is not a good day to feel bad.”
Harris played 37 minutes, scored 14 points (10 from the free-throw line), grabbed five rebounds, and then went to bed.
“This is a talented team,” said Greene, who's averaging 18.6 points. “Just about every guy who steps on the floor can score at will every time. The lack of players is definitely not an excuse.”
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
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