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.

Though the Carrier Dome surface will be different Saturday, SU hoops is back at the Dome, if only for one night until next week. As someone who endured the first three years of the Robinson era from ground zero, I’m just as excited as the next guy that Doug Marrone is leading SU football back to relevance in a hurry; It just doesn’t take away from my giddiness over the opening tip, even if it’s an exhibition game.

Tuesday night, SU coasted to a 96-60 victory over Kutztown to start the exhibition season. Jim Boeheim’s comments about the rotation going ten deep held true for the night, as all ten scholarship players posted between 15 and 23 minutes of court time. While you should be wary about drawing absolute conclusions in these outings due to the competition on the other bench, a few things jump out:

Mookie Jones: 17 minutes, 10 points, 3-9 shooting (2-7 3PT), two steals. Despite limited playing time, Mookie shot the ball more than any player not named Kris Joseph, but how surprised can you be? Of course, if I have to criticize him, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the two steals, though that statistic is somewhat flawed, as some thefts are just a matter of being in the right place at the right time when someone else strips the ball. Reports indicate that he played better in the second half than he did in the first, so maybe that’s something for him to build on.

After turning in a nice night on defense – 11 rebounds, two blocks and four steals – James Southerland is calling for consideration for a coveted rotation role off the bench, but C.J. Fair might have something to say about that. The Baltimore native led the team with 14 points, made his first 5 shots, sunk all four free throw of his attempts and pulled down four rebounds. A nice opening for the freshman.

In a wide mismatch in talent and size, Fab Melo registered four blocks and scored nine while also showing his rawness, committing five of SU’s 15 turnovers and being whistled for four fouls. He may not be dominant right out of the gate, but it’s going to be a delight watching him evolve game-by-game into a post force.

Brandon Triche put together a nifty little line which included seven assists, zero turnovers in 22 minutes of action. Scoop Jardine may be the starting point guard, but I think the team will be in good hands when he needs a breather. Elsewhere in the backcourt, Dion Waiters tried to make a strong impression out of the gate, but maybe tried too hard, going 3-9 from the floor. He’s certainly not gunshy, though he and the coaching staff have nothing but time to help rein in his shot selection.

I think we’re a long way from figuring out which candidate will assert himself as a consistent long-range threat . It’s one of the biggest questions surrounding the Orange, and the team’s ugly 5-29 performance from beyond the arc Tuesday night did nothing to make me feel otherwise. If you want to cherry-pick, Kris Joseph, Triche and Jardine combined to go 3-11 from the perimeter, but they aren’t the only possibilities.

Lastly, I was impressed by SU’s flawless 13-13 performance from the line. Nerves, crowd noise and all those things being equal, no matter who you play, the free throw is still shot from 15 feet without a defender in your face. It’s probably the most meaningful thing you can take away from an exhibition game (for what exhibition games are worth).

Next Tuesday comes the long-awaited revenge game against Le Moyne, the final exhibition matchup before Northern Iowa comes to town three days later.

Seven months and seven days after the final horn sounded in Salt Lake City to send SU home, we’re finally set for the 2010-11 season to get underway. For fans and followers, it’s the first chance to see Kris Joseph as THE man, to get the first look at Fab Melo patrolling the paint 14 months after committing to Syracuse and several accolades in the meantime; to see how the guard rotation of Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters will shake out, and to see the green flag wave on the race for 7th man between Mookie Jones, James Southerland and darkhorse freshman CJ Fair.

It may be an exhibition game, but if I learned anything from last season, it’s that even though preseason games like tonight’s tilt against Kutztown won’t count in the standings, they’re still important to the development of the team.

Usually, exhibition games present the opportunity for a coach to bring in a former player or assistant getting his feet wet in coaching with a small program like Kutztown, based 220 miles from Syracuse. However, there aren’t any such connections to be found between the Orange and the Golden Bears – but there is one player worth pointing out to ‘Cuse fans: Devon McBride (who wears 44 on his jersey – it’s like he wants the pain to rain down on him Tuesday night), not to be confused with former Syracuse “center” Devin Brennan-McBride, whose pinnacle as a member of the Orange came when he could be accurately described as Matt Gorman’s backup in 2006-07.

Man, those days were rough.

As for the Golden Bears, they’ve been picked to finish third in Division-II’s Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference’s (PSAC) East Division, if you care about that sort of thing. Kutztown will rely on junior guard Julius Gray and junior Eric Brennan (that’s right – a Brennan AND a McBride) to outperform last season’s 23-8 record, which ended in a first-round loss in the D-II Tournament.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. EST.

Whether you can believe it or not, we’re just four days away from exhibition basketball at the Carrier Dome as the Orange revs up for the 2010-11 season. SU lost Andy Rautins, Wes Johnson and Arinze Onuaku last season, easily the three most beloved players to leave Syracuse since Gerry McNamara graduated. As all three were starters last season, this season will have a very different look in terms of personnel. I’ve divided the roster into guards and forwards, so today will be a primer of sorts for the guards, and on Monday, I’ll address the forwards.

SU had a very efficient defense last season, ranking 36th in the nation and first in the Big East in defensive points per possession, a stat that neutralizes the varying paces of play that you find across college basketball to give an average number of points that a team gives up when they’re on the defensive end*. Part of that performance should be credited to the bigs for forcing the opposition to change their angles toward the basket and generally playing their men tight when in their area of the zone. Part of it, though, should be credited to the guard play for forcing trap situations and invading passing lanes.

Quick aside: You can find an excellent explanation of points per possession and other tempo-neutralized stats here. I think tempo-free stats are basketball’s version of SABRmetrics in terms of being a collective tool (giggle giggle) that separates the good teams from the great ones, and also helps identify the teams that the national media should talk about but probably won’t. Read the rest of this entry »