It's Only One

After just one game, we’ve learned quite a bit from the Syracuse Orange. Most importantly, they are a championship caliber team.

By Jonathan Edwards

There’s only been one game, albeit a very strong one, for the Orange this year. They played a quality team in San Diego State and handled them all game long. There was never a point in the game where the Aztecs struck fear into the ‘Cuse. For the first time in probably most of the players’ careers, the weather was also a factor. It affected SDSU much more with their offense based on the 3-point shot.

Guards: Brandon Triche is the leader of this team, and he played like it. He was very active on both ends of the court, and came up with big buckets when the Orange needed them most.

AP Photo/ Gregory Bull

It’s easy to see the talent of Michael Carter-Williams, and he made some extremely good plays that led to a team-high 17 points. The big thing weakness of MCW is that he needs to slow his game down. He plays at a very fast pace, and he looked completely out of control at times on Sunday, finishing with 5 turnovers. When the game slows down for him, he will as well, and will become one of the top guards in the nation.

Trevor Cooney, still coming off an impromptu tonsil surgery, only got four minutes and did not attempt a shot.

Wings: CJ Fair is the best player on this Syracuse team. He had quite a day, tying Carter-Williams with 17 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. His jump shot has improved immensely from last year, and he has no problem showing it off. He’s still long enough to get his shot off down low in the post. His length also helps him on the defensive end where he was a pest all game long, grabbing two steals.

James Southerland had a very productive game off the bench, finishing with 6 points and 6 rebounds. He got 25 minutes of playing time, proving that Coach Boeheim is not shy about quickly turning to his bench. He didn’t quite have the stroke falling, but found ways to influence the game by playing good D and crashing the boards.

Freshman Jerami Grant showed off his phenomenal athleticism in his 6 minutes of play. He jumps through the roof, and with a couple more minutes of play, could have some highlight reel plays.

Bigs: The most impressive performance was Baye Moussa Keita. His added muscle is clearly evident, and he looks more comfortable out there. As usual, he wasn’t much of a factor on the offensive end, but was great on the boards, grabbing 8.

Rakeem Christmas played well, and gave the play of the game with his highlight reel finish of an alley-oop on the feed from Fair. He didn’t get much look on the offensive end, but I think that will change as the season goes on. He was very physical inside, and pulled down a solid 6 rebounds.

Top recruit DaJuan Coleman only got 9 minutes of playing time. He is truly a man among boys, though. He’s not afraid to look for his shot, and has some solid moves down low. Only one of his three shots dropped this game, but he is going to be a dynamic player.

All in all, this was a very good performance straight down the roster. Syracuse gets a good win on the road early in the season, which should go a ways with the selection committee later in the year. They get a chance for another good out of conference road win when they take on Arkansas at the end of the month. Next up for the Orange is Wagner on Sunday afternoon.