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Posted: Saturday October 26, 2002 8:32 PM Updated: Tuesday October 29, 2002 10:41 PM Syracuse Orangemen
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis TEAM PREVIEW
Jim Boeheim answered before the question was finished. "By far, this is the youngest," he said of the 2002-03 Orangemen in his usual calm tone. But by no means is the dean of Big East coaches upset about Syracuse’s youth movement, which was forced by a litany of developments over 18 months that includes transfers, suspensions and graduation. In fact, Boeheim might have to try not to get excited too soon about his team. That’s because while the Orange might be greener than ever before, they are also awfully talented and could eventually restore Syracuse to the Top 10 status it enjoyed during the late 1980s and early 1990s. "I think in college basketball today there are going to be more young teams than veteran teams," Boeheim said. "That’s just the way it is. It’s a young group but it’s a talented group and I think these guys are motivated. It’s the most young guys we’ve had and they’ve played the most in the fall [together] of any group we’ve ever had."
Out of nine scholarship players, Syracuse will have just two upperclassmen and only one, swingman Kueth Duany, a lanky 6-foot-6 senior who started every game last year, is expected to part of Boeheim’s rotation. The only starters who return -- 7-0, 270-pound center Craig Forth and 6-8, 205-pound forward Hakim Warrick -- are just sophomores. Gone are sharp-shooting All-Big East forward Preston Shumpert and the backcourt of DeShaun Williams and James Thues, who transferred to Iona and Detroit Mercy, respectively, for different reasons. The Orangemen welcome their second straight strong recruiting class and this year’s is a good one and probably Syracuse’s best in a long time. "Ten, 12 years," Boeheim said. Remember the days of blue-chippers Pearl Washington, Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens? Now you understand why Boeheim is quietly excited. Forth, Warrick and sneaky-effective swingman Josh Pace were the three from last year’s class that panned out. The other, forward Mark Konecny, transferred to Central Florida after five games because of academic reasons, then was dismissed from that program in April for breaking unspecified team rules. He tried to re-establish contact with SU, but it never got further than a phone call. The four-freshman class is the best collection and most diversely talented group in Boeheim’s 26 seasons. Two of them, slick point guard Billy Edelin and 6-8, 220-pound power forward Carmelo Anthony, are expected to start. They were both Parade All-Americans who played at national power Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. The other duo, versatile guard Gerry McNamara and 6-9, 235-pound forward Matt Gorman, should also see plenty of action. Anthony and McNamara made early commitments, just as 6-7 forward Demetris Nichols from Barrington, R.I., and 6-4 guard Louie McCroskey from the Bronx, have done for next year. "We haven’t had a team this big since [Derrick] Coleman was here. We’ll start 7-foot, 6-9, 6-8," Boeheim said. But let’s start with last season, when a Boeheim-coached team missed the NCAA tournament for only the third time when eligible. A late skid -- eight losses in their last 12 regular-season games and a first-round rout in the Big East Tournament -- did the Orangemen in. "We have enough talent now. Sometimes last year I didn’t think we had enough," Boehim said. "We may have overachieved early and probably underachieved late, but a 20-win season was probably all you could hope for last year." A laundry list of problems contributed to the sub-par season. First, Williams had to miss two early games to serve a suspension after a driving-while-ability-impaired charge. Then Edelin, slated to start in place of Allen Griffin, was suspended by the university for one year after two female students accused him of sexual assault in August. No criminal charges were ever filed. "This is the most difficult time that we've had in our basketball program," Boeheim told the Syracuse Post-Standard in mid-October after an Appeals and Chancellor’s Review Board upheld the initial ousting by a Judicial Board. He questioned the qualifications of the students and faculty who make up the various boards. "I've been at the university for 25 years. There's no way I feel I'm qualified to sit on a panel and judge something that happens between two people. It's a classic case of somebody says one thing and somebody says something else," Boeheim told the paper. The absence of the 6-4 Edelin, a playmaker who would have expertly set up shooters Shumpert and Williams, severely squeezed the Orange. It meant Williams was forced to play out of position at times at the point. Eventually, the sophomore Thues settled in there. He was a great defender (who tied a school record with 101 steals) but an offensive liability. With Edelin’s arrival, Thues knew it was time to go back home to Detroit. Edelin, a Silver Spring, Md., native who also starred at DeMatha Catholic, stayed in Syracuse and did 100 hours of community service instead of transferring and starting anew. He endured more personal setback when the house where he lived burned down. "He went through a tough year, but he hung in there and I give him a lot of credit," Boeheim said. "But there’s no question he might be a little rusty at the beginning." Edelin averaged 21.2 points, 8.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds at Oak Hill. Boeheim thinks Edelin can be a leader right away. "We didn’t have that last year and I think we’ll have a couple of guys who are used to making plays," Boeheim said. "A leader can just be a guy who makes plays." After Konecny left, backup center Jeremy McNeil missed two games while considering a transfer in late January because of a lack of playing time. The 6-8, 257-pound center gave SU more of a physical presence than Forth (4.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg, .443 FG, .630 FT), averaging 14.7 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. But McNeil (.687 FG, .360 FT) returned and should be a valuable asset again. Shumpert (20.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.9, .378 3PT) also went into a shooting slump in late January after a corneal abrasion in his eye flared up. He ended up finishing strong and closed his career as the sixth leading scorer in school history and No. 1 in 3-point shots. He led the Orange in scoring in seven of the last eight games (22 overall), including a brilliant 36-point night in a 66-65 overtime win over Butler in the NIT first round. "He had a tremendous year, a great career," Boeheim said. "We’re just a bigger, more physical team this year. I think guys like Craig and Hakim and Josh Pace weren’t quite ready last year and I think they are more this year. They’ve been through it." Forth, a very good passer and short-range shooter, has added 15 pounds of muscle and showed flashes of the aggressiveness he needs to be a low-post force. The long-armed Warrick (6.1 ppg, 4.8 ppg, .553 FG) threw down some entertaining windmill dunks last year and his game grew even more over the summer. A quick leaper who made 19 starts, Warrick added 205 pounds (up from 185) and during the summer played with a team of college all-stars -- it included Connecticut’s Ben Gordon, Missouri’s Rickey Paulding, Arizona’s Channing Frye and Dennis Latimore and Pittsburgh’s Toree Morris -- on a five-game tour of Turkey. Warrick averaged 12 pounds and 10 rebounds, numbers that were even better than his 8.8 points and 7.1 rebounds the final 11 games of the season. "I really like the way he’s playing," Boeheim said. The 6-5 Pace (4.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg) is the other returnee who should see significant time. A good slasher and defender, he can play guard or small forward. His versatility, along with Duany’s, should be helpful. Duany (12.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) could start in the backcourt or at small forward. A streaky shooter, he can convert when open. Without Williams, who had his share of ups and downs in three years (two starting), Duany is the locker-room spokesman. Williams (15.9 ppg) would have been the go-to guy, but he was suspended for academic reasons in July and transferred to Iona for his final season. His absence makes SU much more inexperienced, but it’s not all bad. Williams also had charges dismissed last summer after he was accused of punching a woman in a bar. She happened to be the same person who wore the "Otto the Orange" mascot outfit. "I think he would have fit in well with this group," Boeheim said. "The other side of the coin is it gives Kueth more time in the backcourt and Pace more of an opportunity. It hurts to lose talent like that, but we’ve got some guys who are pretty good players." Anthony is very good and should be in the running for Big East Rookie of the Year. The McDonald’s and USA Today first-team All-American averaged 21.7 points and 7.4 rebounds. With a body that’s strong enough already to handle the Big East, Anthony flirted with the idea of going on to the NBA but made his SAT qualifying score just before the draft. He was one of 12 players chosen to USA Basketball’s Junior National team last summer that won bronze at the Men’s Junior World Championships in Venzuela. He averaged a team-high 15.6 points despite playing just 22 minutes. "He has people who can help him with us, so he doesn’t have to do it all," Boeheim said. Gorman made the final 16 of the Junior World team but not the last cut to 12 players. "He’s way ahead of schedule," Boeheim said. Gorman, who hails from Watertown, which is about an hour north of Syracuse, has good strength and a solid mid-range jumper. Speaking of jumpers, McNamara’s is dynamite. The Pennsylvania Player of the Year is 6-2 and can play both guard positions. He averaged 21.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 4.7 steals for Bishop Hannan in Scranton, which was state runner-up twice with McNamara in the lineup. He racked up 55 points in state playoff game once. "He’s the best shooter we’ve had in a long time," Boeheim said. "He can shoot the ball with anyone we’ve had here." The pieces are in place for Syracuse to soar once again. If Anthony decides to stay in college for more than one year, and the big men make their usual development under assistant Bernie Fine, next season the Orangemen could have what it takes to think Final Four. Right now, though, Syracuse will undergo its share of growing pains. But the Orangemen will go through them together and learn together. Duany is much better suited to lead this group than Williams, who was an explosive scorer but at times could have been called "DeChuck" instead of DeShaun. Traditionally, Boeheim’s early season schedule of cupcakes is well-chronicled by critics. Not so this year, so he’ll soon know what this club has. SU opens against defending NIT champion Memphis at Madison Square Garden, then plays Valparaiso in its home opener. Valpo has been an NCAA tournament team seven of the last eight years. Georgia Tech, Missouri and Michigan State are also on the non-conference schedule and the four Big East crossovers are against Connecticut, St. John’s, Boston College and Miami—all NCAA clubs a year ago. Leadership is a big question mark and so is outside shooting, so McNamara and Duany must make shots. If the freshmen are as good as advertised, watch out. This team has the type of horses to rebound and run and the potential Syracuse hasn’t had in years. As they learn, the Orangemen could be fun to watch. "We have the talent, it’s matter of how mature we are, how mature we play," Boeheim said.
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