For players like Rick Jackson, who continued season-long consistency into SU’s annihilation of Colgate, there’s not a lot to take away, save the conclusion that he’s bringing it no matter what kind of team the Orange happen to be playing. His 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks were tremendous, leading the team in all three categories, but perhaps the most telling of Rick’s stats was that his 25 minutes played also led the team, meaning that we were treated to some long-due auditions for reserve playing time.

That doesn’t mean CJ Fair, Baye Moussa Keita and Dion Waiters are going to lose a lot of opportunities in the long haul. While each have earned their chances in more meaningful spots, there is still plenty that each can improve on. For someone who drives as much as Fair, he doesn’t shoot free throws particularly well. Keita has time to improve his offensive game, and Waiters is still learning how to thrive in the zone. Rather, this game was about getting Brandon Triche back on track and keeping James Southerland and Mookie Jones fresh until they’re needed.

The long three-point drought was bugging Brandon Triche. He hadn’t buried a triple in six games, and Triche has the kind of personality where his shortcomings really seem to get to him, as reflected in his decision-making and how one play affects the next. Last week, I wrote that his spurt of aggression as the team pulled away from Michigan State was something to monitor. Within the first 100 seconds of the Colgate game, he ended his 0-fer with a three and a resounding dunk, and finished the game with an efficient 14 points on 3-5 shooting beyond the arc and just one turnover in 17 minutes. We’ll have to wait until the competition gets more intense to see if this is more than just a flash, but it’s a step in the right direction for the sophomore.

Just six minutes into the game, Jim Boeheim went Mookie-deep into the bench, and Jones promptly stuck a three. I would say that in typical Mookie fashion, six of his eight shots were from beyond the arc, but I as recently informed that Saturday marked the first time all season that he put up a shot worth two points (the last time he shot a ball from inside the three-point line was January 13 of last season). His defense is notably improving, but it’s still at the point where if you’re turning to Mookie Jones to provide 17 minutes of all-around play against a decent team, you’re going to come away very disappointed.

That wasn’t quite the story with James Southerland. In a career-high 22 minutes of action, Southerland was very active. Seven points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists is the very definition of a stat-sheet stuffer, but the personal fouls column is one category he’d be smart to avoid. Southerland didn’t prove too much, apart from the fact that he could be helpful this season. The last three matchups of non-conference play is probably the most important stretch of Southerland’s early career.

Until the weekend, the team is buried in finals, as the college hoops schedule across the country dies down for a little while.

Thursday morning, I came across this piece on Syracuse.com, which has some insight into why the Orange are off to a 9-0 start, despite Fab Melo’s slow development, Scoop Jardine’s wild play and the lack of anything resembling decent shot selection in the halfcourt offense. Once the article crowned through my vaunted Twitter feed, let’s just say I didn’t need any coffee to wake me up.

Thanks to the innovation that sites like Fire Joe Morgan have provided, whenever a sports news outlet in a media market closely connected to a team spouts off something a little out of left field, it’s upon us Internet nerds to keep vigilant and restore order, as soon as we finish helping our parents with the dishes. Thanks go out to Jameson Fleming, who confirmed my suspicions about what’s going on with this year’s Orange as described in the article.

The post, which ran without a byline, has some valid points – SU has done a great job of holding onto the ball (only 11.8 turnovers per game) while forcing extra possessions from the opposition (15.1 opponent turnovers per contest). The team’s communication and activity within the zone defense has forced teams into putting up bad shots and a disproportionate amount of threes. Opponents’ 242 three-point attempts on the year are the most forced by all but two defenses in the country, and furthermore, teams are making just 28.1% of those attempts against the Orange, a rate better than 90% of D-I defenses. But there are two points which are at the very least shaky, and at worst, ill-informed. Here’s the first:

SU has shot poorly from the arc (29 percent), so what’s the alternative? Shoot 2’s. From two-point range, the team is shooting 50 percent.

The season may only be about six weeks old, and coming into the campaign, we knew perimeter shooting would be the team’s biggest question, but it’s already tiring to rehash the frustrations with SU’s performance from deep so far. But to imply that hitting half of its attempts from inside the arc wipes clean the slate of inefficiency from three point land is an ill-informed assumption.

Last season, the Orange connected on 57.1% of its attempts from inside the three-point line, better than every team in the country. The year before, they were fifth nationally (55.4%); in 2007-08, they were 22nd (53.3%). Having AO and Rick inside, along with monsters on the drive like Johnny Flynn and Eric Devendorf, will do that for a team, but 50% on twos is a very milquetoast clip – good for 121st in the country. On the way down to that point in the category, you’ll pass teams like Texas State, North Carolina A&T and – yes – DePaul. Towards the top, you have some of the best teams like Kansas, Arizona, the surprising Washington State, Ohio State and the like. SU hitting 50% of its two-point attempts isn’t a solution to the struggles from deep – it intensifies the shooting problem as a whole. Let’s move on:

SU isn’t making a high percentage of free throws (64.8), but it’s getting to the line 23.7 times per game while opponents are only getting 13.3 free-throw attempts. That reflects a willingness to take the ball to the basket.

There’s a few things at play here. The writer/researcher is partially correct – 64.8% from the line is mediocre, but the disparity in free throws attempted, on its own, doesn’t reflect a preference to drive towards the hoop. Here’s where the writer gropes around in the dark, but struggles to find the light switch. 23.7 free throw attempts per game puts SU at 93rd in the country, and in the bottom half of the Big East in that category – but plenty of teams can win without getting to the line 25 times per contest – it’s not a huge indicator of success.  The good stuff is in that +10 free throw attempt differential. The Orange is playing smart defense by not fouling (Melo notwithstanding), and the low rate at which opponents make it to the free throw line means that the zone is discouraging teams from driving into the lane to draw fouls.

On the other end, SU is attempting free throws at a so-so rate, but they haven’t converted those chances as consistently as they should. But because they’re keeping the other team from getting to the line, they’re able to outscore their opponents by over seven points a night from the stripe, despite missing over 35% of free throw attempts themselves.

Eventually, Syracuse has to start making shots from the floor as well as from the line. Hopefully, they get on the right track against 0-7 Colgate this weekend, but until then, they have one hell of a band-aid on the situation.

The Orange scored a December “statement” win at the Garden Tuesday night, topping #7 Michigan State 72-58 behind another great performance from Rick Jackson and smooth play from Scoop Jardine. The Orange shot 44.4% on the evening, which, despite the warm fuzzies that number gives us, probably isn’t a good habit for the team to to get into. On defense, Syracuse locked down, especially in the second half, holding the Spartans to just eight points over the last 8:16 of the game.

If the eight games before Tuesday night weren’t big enough to show Rick Jackson off to the rest of the country, SU’s best-kept secret is officially out in the open after the superb effort he gave in the Jimmy V Classic. Whether he beat a player to a spot, outmuscled opponents down low, or simply was in the right place at the right time, Jackson owned the paint whenever a shot went up at either end of the floor. DaShonte Riley is lost for the year and Fab Melo has been disappointing, but the Orange are still a major force on the defensive interior.

Not all the kudos for that goes to Jackson, though. Baye Moussa Keita had another great night defensively, adding three blocks, including one of the classic chasedown variety. In watching Keita’s surprising year, I’m reminded of Jackson’s freshman season, and the stats confirm that I haven’t completely lost it:

Rick Jackson, 2007-08: 3.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Baye Moussa Keita, 20010-11: 3.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.4 BPG

Jackson received less playing time due to being buried on the depth chart behind Donte Greene, Arinze Onuaku and Kristof Ongenaet, but when he got on the floor, he made the most of his chances, and I see the exact same thing in Keita. His stealthy defense is one of his best assets, and once he adds some muscle without sacrificing too much of the speed, he’s going to be a terror. In the first nine games of the season, Keita has provided a major lift.

Scoop Jardine, in leading SU with 19 points, still had a very up-and-down game of good transition play scattered with defensive lapses and a few bad shots. When Jackson makes his bunnies and Kris Joseph gets to the line the way he did, Scoop played with ease and control. But when Michigan State made a couple runs, he looked more rushed to make something happen on his own. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t.

Although Brandon Triche’s line doesn’t jump out in the box score, Tuesday’s game may turn out to be an important confidence builder. With about 11 minutes left in the second half, Triche had a shot blocked. While in other games, that may have held him back, he played tight defense on the next possession, helping to force a shot clock violation, and almost brought the crowd to its feet with a big jam a short time later, though it didn’t connect. It’s hard to feel good about someone who goes 1-7 from the floor, but Triche made some key free throws down the stretch, and the aforementioned sequence gives me some hope that he can finally get things going.

Until then, sit and enjoy the national writers as they come around on the Orange the way they’re coming around on the Big East as a whole in the “best conference in the country” talk.

Since SU started the season so sluggishly, there’s been talk among fans that Tuesday night’s game against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden will be any of the following things for the Orange: A serving of humble pie, the shot to the gut that brings the sunshine spewers down to Earth, the night when all those AP pollsters who have blindly put the ‘Cuse in the top ten all season long get their comeuppances.

While there’s no denying the Spartans’ talent and experience, I hope to talk some of you off that bridge, using this space as my megaphone.

First, if there’s a good time to face Tom Izzo’s squad, it’s before the calendar turns over. A team notorious for winning more as the season runs its course, Michigan State has lost at least two games in November and December in nine of the last ten seasons, including the current campaign. Even in winning efforts, they’ve looked highly vulnerable at times in the early going, just as Syracuse has. You can’t tell me that SU has little to no chance in their second home of beating a Michigan State team that, while very good, hasn’t taken care of business away from East Lansing.

Another element currently holding the Spartans back is the return of two players to regular play. Senior guard Kalin Lucas’ body has struggled to keep up with MSU’s intense travel schedule. Through just four weeks, the Spartans have played games on three straight days in Maui, traveled back to East Lansing, and then ventured out to Durham for last week’s game against Duke. Fortunately for Michigan State, fellow guard Korie Lucious has filled in efficiently, though the expectation is that Lucas will play against SU. Big man Derrick Nix, a role player off the bench, did not make the island trip due to “personal reasons” between him and Izzo, but is back in the fold.

For those of you who would prefer to simplify things by going on head-to-head history, SU has beaten Michigan State the last two times they’ve met. Basic enough, right? I generally would advise against this approach to predictions, since Hakim Warrick, Billy Edelin and Josh Pace led Syracuse in the teams’ last meeting.

Fast forward seven years, and this season, Michigan State’s outside threats are one of their top assets so far. Draymond Green, Lucas and Durrell Summers all shoot over 40% from three. Although SU has done a great job of forcing opponents to beat them with the three-pointer (a whopping 47% of Syracuse opponents’ shot attempts have come from behind the arc, a rate higher than every other team in the country), that may not be the best game plan on Tuesday. One thing to keep an eye on is how much the Spartans will lean on their outside firepower, and how closely SU’s guards keep watch on the perimeter as the game wears on.

As William and Mary did, also look for the Spartans to implement balls screens at the top of the zone, where Lucas will hope to get cleaner looks. You can also bet that a coach as experienced and successful as Izzo will try to get the ball into Green at the high post, which typically draws enough attention to free up opportunities for Sparty, particularly from outside.

In the paint, SU should continue to hold an advantage thanks to the outstanding play of Rick Jackson. Michigan State has a do-it-all forward in Green, but beyond him, the Spartans don’t have great inside players as much as they simply have big bodies. Also on the defensive end, the key for the Orange will be to continue to force turnovers. Ball-handling has been a sore spot for MSU, as they sport a gruesome turnover percentage of 25.8% (20% is average).

The key for the Orange in the team’s biggest challenge to date is improved decision-making from Scoop Jardine. Among SU’s regulars, he’s been dreadful, shooting it at a 32.3% clip. It’s not as if he’s getting open looks and missing with bad luck, he’s simply been playing out of control and trying to win games on his own. He can’t do that against one of the best teams from a stacked Big Ten.

Michigan State’s three-point threats can spell a long night for SU, just as any hot-shooting team can. What SU needs to do to stay in this game, much less come out on top, is exploit weaknesses down low and get better efficiency from its backcourt.

Saturday night, the Orange did little to alleviate the ongoing concerns surrounding its offensive firepower (or lack thereof). Kris Joseph, after appearing to have turned the corner with four straight games having scored at least 16 points, only totaled eight. Scoop Jardine continue to rush things on offense and is now 16-63 from the floor since his 27-point outburst against Detroit. Considering how much he handled the ball against the Wolfpack and how often he drove into NC State’s front line, it’s a wonder SU only had five turnovers. Brandon Triche is a player who can’t find consistency from one half to the next, let alone from one game to the next. I actually thought Brandon had a nice first half, putting up good shots with confidence, even if not all of them connected. Once something doesn’t go his way, though – a steal or some contact that isn’t called, for instance – it really eats him up and he becomes more passive as the game wears on. He was 0-3 in the second half and had just three points in the game’s last 30 minutes.

From a team perspective, the 2-16 mark SU sported from beyond the arc signified another troubling performance. With the Orange leading basically the entire first half while struggling to get the long ball working, I think it would’ve been a nice opportunity for Mookie Jones to contribute. I’ve been a big critic of Mookie’s since his identity as a one-trick pony became clear, but that one trick could have come in handy on Saturday. His defense is still not good enough where he can be on the court for more than a few minutes, but in a short stint, a three-pointer or two may have sparked SU to a point where the game isn’t nearly as close as it was. Alas, we’ll never know.

For all the problems SU is having with consistency on offense, two things kept the Orange on the winning side against NC State: keeping the ball in the team’s control and excellent defense. SU’s five turnovers, mentioned earlier in this post, are the fewest by an SU team since a matchup with Notre Dame in 2006. In such a close and low-scoring game, the refusal to give the Wolfpack extra possessions by turning the ball over was huge for the Orange, as Jim Boeheim admitted in the postgame presser.

Also playing a key role was the Syracuse defense, especially in the second half, as the Orange looked to close the game out. When NC State went up 56-51 with 9:24 left in the game, SU forced turnovers on three straight Wolfpack possessions and eight turnovers overall from that point forward. In addition, Sidney Lowe’s team scored only three points after taking that five-point lead. They paid a more attention to the sharpshooting Scott Wood and really got in his head – he was 0-5 from long range with three turnovers after making his last three with 9:46 remaining in the second half.

As a team, it’s optimal to hold your opponent to less than one point per possession, and the Orange have done that every game this season, with the exception of the back-and-forth Georgia Tech affair. If the offense continues to struggle, the defense has proven good enough to keep the team in games, but Michigan State is no Canisius.

The Orange may be starting to turn the corner offensively with their last two wins. Scoop Jardine  has turned in a couple of duds, but I’m pretty confident that Scoop’s wildness is something that can be tempered. Having been around for a few years, he knows that driving into three guys without any help and rushing bad shots in the halfcourt set are poor decisions, but given how desperate SU was for some scoring until as of late, he may have just tried to take it upon himself to create. It’s not his normal style of play, but you can’t fault him too much for trying to lift his team.

In the frontcourt, Rick Jackson has turned into a double-double machine, averaging more rebounds than all but two people in the entire country. While some may discount his performance due to the lack of quality big men in SU’s schedule to this point, that’s ultimately out of Jackson’s control. Against Cornell, Fab Melo easily had his best game of the young season, contributing eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks. As with Jackson, you have to consider the competition (though who am I to question Jim Boeheim’s mantra of “it’s how you play, not who you play?”), but with confidence having been such a struggle for the freshman, his night against the Big Red could end up impactful to his long-term development. Lastly, Kris Joseph has finally shaken off all the rust and is back to blossoming into the complete player Boeheim needs him to become.

In the Wolfpack team coming to ‘Cuse this weekend, SU has its best opponent to this point. They’re a solid ACC team, and while it may not have been a factor in Boeheim’s mind when they were scheduled, NC State will present a challenge that keeps the team from looking too far ahead to next week’s date with Michigan State.

In terms of personnel, the first thing to mention about NC State is that their best player, senior forward Tracy Smith, has missed his team’s last four games recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago. Averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game as a junior last season, his presence has been sorely missed in the Wolpack’s losses to Georgetown and Wisconsin, the latter of which was a 39-point shellacking, and in a pair of wins that were closer in margin than they otherwise would have been.

Smith won’t suit up against Syracuse, though highly-touted freshman CJ Leslie and sophomores Richard Howell and DeShawn Painter have helped mitigate the void. Still,  Jackson should have another successful outing, though it’s a bit of a shame that he’ll will have to wait a while longer to go up against a premier post man.

Like Syracuse, the aspect of NC State’s game that can be most improved is the perimeter. Forward Scott Wood has sunk 42.5% of his threes, but the rest of the team has struggled, dragging the team’s three-point percentage down to a lowly 30% clip. Provided Wood doesn’t put on an Oliver-esque performance, the Orange should be fine. The key for SU is to continue to get away from the mistakes that caused so much early-season upheaval and instill some confidence heading into Tuesday night’s game against Sparty.

In the past, player defections, attitude problems and injuries have prompted Jim Boeheim to shuffle his starting lineup earlier than he would have liked. Louie McCroskey, Josh Wright and Billy Edelin are just a few examples, and those are only from the last seven years. Shortly into the 2008-09 season, Boeheim relegated fan favorite Kritof Ongenaet to the bench not because of any of the above problems, but simply because playing Rick Jackson gave the Orange a post threat to complement Arinze Onuaku without a significant dropoff on the defensive end.

Balancing the search of the optimal rotation with the need to develop younger players  is a goal of every coach in America in the non-conference portion of the season, though a lucky few have the recipe perfected from the first day of practice. In comparing Dion Waiters’ performance this season with Brandon Triche, it’s getting harder to believe with each passing game that Syracuse’s best chance to be successful involves Triche playing 25 or more minutes per game, as has been the case in all seven games this season.

In fairness, when you take a look at the season Triche has had, nothing jumps out that calls for his role to be sharply reduced. He’s a year up on Waiters in the experience column (for what that’s worth), he contributes modest scoring output, dives for loose balls and dishes out his fair share of assists. On defense, his length and size has been an important asset to the early season success SU has had in limiting their opponents to less than 60 points per game on just 36% shooting. He has that familial connection to the spectacular teams of the late 80′s and is a local player, which endears him easily to the Syracuse purists out there. There’s plenty to like about the guy.

But when Boeheim points to Waiters and he scores a quick 12 points in less than five minutes as he did against Georgia Tech in Atlantic City and keeps control of the ball despite his preference to run and get into the lane at will, the difference in play between the two guards becomes hard to ignore. In addition, Waiters gives SU a legit three-point threat in the backcourt who can also tread water defensively as he grasps the nuances of playing the front of the zone.

Tuesday against Cornell, Waiters played a season-high 20 minutes, while Triche played a personal season-low 23. The sophomore posted more turnovers against the Big Red (six) than Waiters has all season (five).  It’s no secret that Boeheim’s been loyal to Triche from day one, naming him the starter as soon as Johnny Flynn got both feet out the door. However, the Professor has also called him out publicly on more than one occasion as someone who hasn’t been as assertive and confident as he needs to be in the early going. In Waiters, who came to SU accustomed to staying on the floor as much as humanly possible, you have a player with intrinsic motivation to shine and the talent to elevate his role. Complimentary players throughout the years have rightfully stated that they’ll embrace such a role if it helps the team win, gets them to where they want to be in the end and all the other factory-produced quips they’re trained to say. Just seven games in, we’ve learned that Dion Waiters is not that kind of player. It kills him to come off the bench.

I’ve mentioned in this space before that who starts and who doesn’t isn’t nearly as important as simply maximizing the overall distribution of playing time for the best players. Anyone who watched Craig Forth patrol the paint for the Orange can attest to that, as can those who fell in love with Kristof Ongenaet’s defensive intensity. We’re even going through that process with Fab Melo’s development at present. Still, there is something to be gained for helping your team get off to a good start, as was the case in the aforementioned Ongenaet-Jackson switch. It’s becoming clear that Waiters can ignite that spark in a way that Triche hasn’t.

NC State and Michigan State are already less than a week away. The closing gap in playing time between the guards is something to keep a very close eye on in those games and beyond, and with Triche struggling to find his niche in the offense and Boeheim starting to lose patience, Waiters is getting his window.

The 2009-10 season was an unforgettable one for Steve Donahue’s Cornell squad. On their way to a Sweet 16 berth, including a tournament game in Syracuse, the Big Red beat Alabama, UMass, Temple, Wisconsin, St. John’s and put a scare into Kansas on the Jayhawks’ home floor.

Once the season ended, however, things changed in a way that is to be expected from successful teams from non-Power Six conferences: The robust senior class led by Ryan Witman, Louis Dale and Jeff Foote graduated. Donahue made a major leap to helm the program at Boston College. Back in Ithaca, in stepped Bill Courtney from Virginia Tech and several players began the transition from bench player to starter. This team is night and day from last season’s squad.

At 2-4, Cornell has lost some close games and gutted out a couple decent, but no one they have played to this point has the firepower of their tough schedule from last season. Despite the non-con sluggishness by SU, Tuesday night’s game against the Orange presents one of the toughest challenges the Big Red will face all season, the other being upstart Minnesota later this week.

Like last season, this edition of Cornell is more comfortable in a game at a slow-to-moderate pace, not forcing themselves into a track meet. They average around 70 possessions in each of their last four games, a rate that keeps them fresh on defense, where they have allowed just 66 points per game. They’ve also let up less than one point per defensive possession in all but one contest so far (a loss to Seton Hall).

The key for SU is to get Cornell running more than they want to with defensive pressure to create turnovers and easy transition opportunities. The Orange will also be able to get ahead by cleaning up on the glass like they should (the Big Red averages a measly 28.5 rebounds per game). However, SU must balance their comfort running with smart decisions from Scoop Jardine, who runs the backcourt. Scoop has shot just 8-37 in his last three games; while SU is trying to find scoring consistency, I’m fairly confident that Jardine putting up 12 shots a game isn’t going to improve the team in the long run. Brandon Triche also needs to continue to be assertive. Against Georgia Tech, he posted his highest scoring total since his 16-point game against Canisius, which came on the heels of Jim Boeheim calling for him to be more aggressive.

In the frontcourt, look for Kris Joseph to become more consistent when matched against undersized 6’4 senior Max Groebe. In the paint, Rick Jackson should have a field day with Adam Wire, who hardly qualifies as a forward checking in at 6’5. While bigger opponents will eventually mitigate Baye Moussa Keita’s effectiveness, Tuesday will not be one of those times. The mismatches across the paint way so heavily in SU’s favor that even Fab Melo should be able to make some kind of positive impact.

After a short absence, I’m back with my belly still in slight recovery mode from Thanksgiving. I hope everyone’s holiday was enjoyable. The Orange definitely helped make mine enjoyable, coming back from Atlantic City with two wins.

After another cold shooting performance on Friday in the just-enough win against Michigan, Syracuse persevered through the ridiculous individual shooting performance that they run into every so often. Saturday night, the role of Kyle McAlarney, Kyle Kuric, Mike Marra or any of a host of piping hot shooters one could insert was played by Brian Oliver. Even when the ‘Cuse paid more attention to Oliver and stretched out the zone, his shots still fell. Once he hit the bench with mild foul trouble, the scales tilted back to normalcy.

The back line was terrific in collapsing on drives and altering shots when the Yellow Jackets’ perimeter game finally cooled off. Georgia Tech shot just 42% in the second half (2-13 on threes), while the Orange offense accelerated to a 61% clip thanks to a transition offense that forced Ga. Tech out of their comfort zone, drawing easy baskets and many a trip to the stripe. Saturday night also gave us a hint about where things stand in the rotation, with SU playing a Power Six conference close in a neutral (ok, semi-home…) environment.

Mookie Jones and James Southerland, after being given a handful of chances to state their cases, didn’t sniff the court. The best eight players at this point – or at least the eight players Jim Boeheim is most comfortable with in a close game – appear to be the five starters (more on a couple of them later), plus Dion Waiters, Baye Moussa Keita and CJ Fair from the bench. The three freshmen shared the court for a good chunk of time and their performance was one that inspires confidence in Boeheim calling their numbers, and confidence in those who follow the team that things could be pretty nice for the next few years.

Waiters provided instant offense with both his driving ability as well as his range, scoring nine points in under five minutes in the first half. Keita, after being so overlooked coming into the fold, has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and Fair has displayed a high basketball IQ and is getting it done above the rim. Fair’s 22 minutes were the most he’s played all season. Keita is especially noteworthy because his playing time can be attributed to an interesting combination of circumstances – DaShonte Riley’s surgery and Fab Melo’s struggles.

While we know that Riley won’t be a factor this season, SU fans are hoping that Melo can become one sooner rather than later. Unfortunately for him and fans alike, things haven’t gone nearly as they were foreseen three weeks ago. He’s seen the court for just 26 minutes in his last three games after averaging about 15 in his first three. Early in the first half against Georgia Tech, with SU on defense, a pass zipped across the lane with nary an arm leaving Melo’s side to disrupt it, and Boeheim gave a quick hook. It’s evident that he’s lost, and the Professor has a seat next to him at the ready from which to bestow his infinite wisdom on the young Brazilian. But it won’t come easy

Although I predicted that Melo could struggle in the early going, there signs of improvement in this short span of time have been hard to come by, and that’s what has me slightly concerned.  If Melo is still struggling in a month, Rick Jackson has a game where he gets into foul trouble early and the 6’10/250-lb. guys of the conference are phasing out Keita, SU has no reliable option down low. The worst part may be that that’s not all that unrealistic a scenario to imagine.

Lastly, I was very excited by the emergence of Kris Joseph and his confidence. He was outstanding in the second half as SU went on a 20-4 run to extend the lead into double digits. He’s also starting to show some consistency in his jump shot, canning a few treys. In the offseason, his jump shot was a big question mark in his pursuit to become an all-around scoring threat. Now that he’s shown it off, the question now becomes whether he can do it on a consistent basis.

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