Scoop Jardine Leads Syracuse Past Georgetown

The Scoop Jardine that many of us had grown accustomed to watching last season finally reappeared in a Syracuse uniform after disappearing for much of January and February. Playing in front of 20,276 fans in the Verizon Center (the most ever for a Georgetown game), Scoop Jardine led the Orangemen to a 58-51 victory with 17 points and 7 assists, while turning the ball over just once in 34 minutes on the floor, spoiling "senior day" for the Georgetown seniors.

The Orangemen pushed their first half lead from 3 points to 10 points at the break behind unbelievable play from sophomore James Southerland. Southerland scored seven of Syracuse's final nine points of the half. James hadn't scored a single point since February 5th at South Florida, when he chipped in 2 points in one minute.

Southerland received 21 minutes, more than he's played in the last eight games combined (three of which he did not play a single minute), largely due to the fact C.J. Fair was limited to just 11 minutes of action. Fair, who has played more than 25 minutes in each of the last six games, rolled his ankle in first half action against Villanova on Monday night. Although he did return to the game and go on to play 30 minutes that night, it was very clear that Fair was still feeling the effects of that injury. C.J. Fair finished with 4 rebounds and zero points.

This was the first time this season that C.J. Fair appeared in a game and did not score a single point. Southerland, who scored 9 points in the first half, did not score in the second half.

Considering C.J. Fair's lack of availability, the Orangemen's defense looked in control much of the game, minus Georgetown's surge when they went on a 20-6 run to take their first lead of the game since 2-0. With the score 45-43 with ten minutes remaining in the game, Scoop Jardine played his best minutes down the stretch of any game in literally weeks, making clutch shots and knocking down a HUGE 3-pointer shot with 4:53 remaining to put Syracuse back up six points.

Rick Jackson, who will be playing in his final game in the Carrier Dome this coming Saturday, finished with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds. Fab Melo played his first significant minutes since missing practice prior to the Louisville game on February 12th. Melo played 7 minutes (more than his previous five games combined) and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound.

Kris Joseph was limited to just 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting in 31 minutes and pulled down only 2 rebounds. This was his lowest offensive output since scoring 2 points in 10 minutes against Cincinnati before leaving with a head injury in the first half.

The Syracuse Orangemen as a unit are peaking at exactly the right time of the year. After suffering four straight losses and losing six of eight games between January 17th and February 12th, Jim Boeheim's Orangemen have won 4 straight games. The last two victories coming in Philadelphia against #14/15 Villanova and in Washington D.C. against #11 Georgetown.

Next up on the schedule is Rick Jackson Night, the final home game of the season against the 7-21 (1-15 in Big East) DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday March 5th at 4:00PM. It's Senior Day in the Carrier Dome, and the Orangemen faithful will be paying homage to their lone upperclassman, Rick Jackson.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse and Villanova: We Meet Again

It's rematch time. Back on January 22nd Syracuse, then ranked #3 in the nation and sporting an 18-1 record hosted then #7 Villanova who came into the Dome with a 16-2 overall record. Syracuse would suffer their 2nd straight loss that afternoon, falling 83-72 in front of 33,736 fans, including yours truly.

Fast forward to today, Syracuse is currently ranked #17/20 in the nation and Villanova is clinging to a #14/15 spot in the polls (note: the new rankings have yet to be released at the time of this publication). Nova is coming off a nail biting victory at Depaul on Saturday, where we saw the Wildcats and Blue Demons head to overtime before Villanova pulled out a 77-75 victory over the Big East doormat. The Wildcats are currently 21-6 on the year, 9-5 in Big East play.

Syracuse is coming off an equally frustrating win against another one of the weaker Big East opponents. The Orangemen survived going to overtime with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (who entered the Dome with a 4-9 Big East conference record) and emerged victorious 84-80 behind strong games by Kris Joseph, Rick Jackson and C.J. Fair.

The last time these two teams met James Southerland and Dion Waiters received extended minutes, minutes that we have seen go to C.J. Fair recently. And he has not disappointed. Fair scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds against Rutgers on Saturday while playing 37 of a possible 45 minutes. Fair is averaging 12 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over his last four contests.

For the Wildcats, senior guard Corey Stokes has sat out the last three games with a big toe injury. Stokes is averaging 14.6 points per game and shoots 41.5% from behind the 3-point line. With Syracuse looking extremely vulnerable from 3-point range lately, it would be a tremendous loss for Nova to play without Stokes tonight at the Pavilion.

This is a tremendous game for the Big East standings as well as the seeding for the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden. Syracuse has three games remaining and are currently in a log jam of teams jockeying for seeds 3 and 4 in the Big East. There are four Big East teams with 9 wins (Nova, Louisville, St. Johns and Syracuse) and three with 8 wins (Cincinnati, Connecticut and West Virginia). Throw in Notre Dame at 10-4 and Georgetown at 10-5 and the top tier of the Big East standings are still very much in reach for both Nova and Cuse, who have both struggled lately.

Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis from the game. Also be sure to follow us on twitter @CuseConnection for live, in game reaction and commentary throughout the course of the game. Tonight's game is at 7:00PM and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Overcomes Late Surge by Rutgers, Wins 84-80 in Overtime

With four games remaining in the Syracuse Orangemen regular season schedule, the most important thing for the Cuse to do is protect their home court down the stretch. That was in danger on Saturday afternoon as Syracuse hosted Rutgers in the Carrier Dome.

Tied 70-70 after regulation, you could not blamed if you had some concern heading into Overtime. Syracuse, who trailed 44-43 at halftime, was up 64-56 with 6:33 remaining in the ball game. From there, it was turnover after turnover and missed 3-pointer after missed 3-pointer for the Orangemen. We had all seen this script before.

Something about the last four or so minutes of each half is like kryptonite to Syracuse's offensive game plan. By the time there was 3:15 left on the game clock, Mike Poole knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights a 66-64 lead to cap a 10-0 run by Rutgers.

C.J. Fair would bang home another layup with 2:19 left in the game to tie the score at 66, however Syracuse would not make another field goal the rest of the way. Rick Jackson had a couple opportunities to give the Orangemen the lead in the waning seconds of regulation, however he went 1/2 from the foul line to tie the score at 70 with 7 seconds left on the clock.

A missed James Beatty 3-point attempt as the clock expired and the 21-6 Orangemen were heading to overtime on their home court against the 13-12 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

In overtime Kris Joseph knocked down a huge 3-pointer (he was 3 of 5 from behind the arc) that helped push Syracuse's lead to 4 points with just under three minutes remaining in the extra session. Rutgers answered back with a 3-pointer of their own (Scarlet Knights shot 9 of 23 from 3-point range, 39.1%), to cut the lead back to 1 point.

The Orangemen would make their foul shots down the stretch (except for Scoop Jardine who went 0-2 from the line with SU up by 4 with 44 seconds left) and were able to hold on for an 84-80 win.

Kris Joseph lead all scorers with 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Rick Jackson logged another double-double for the Cuse. Jackson finished with 18 points and 12 boards along with a ridiculous seven blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals.

C.J. Fair continued his hot play of late, playing 37 minutes and finishing with 17 points behind 6 of 8 shooting from the floor (5 of 6 from the foul line). Fair also grabbed 8 rebounds. Fab Melo played just 1 minute, picking up a foul within seconds of stepping on the floor, and did not see any action after that. It was his first action since sitting out the last two games due to missing practice following the loss to Georgetown on February 9th. Dion Waiters was also limited to 2 minutes of action.

Scoop Jardine, who broke out for 20 points against Louisville, had his second straight 9 point game, and shot 4 of 10 from the field. He was a very unpleasant 0-3 from the foul line, however. Brandon Triche, who has scored 20+ points his previous two games, finished with 17 points on 3 of 15 shooting from the floor.

Triche started out hot from the field, making his first two three point attempts, however he missed his next eight shots from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 9 for 9 from the foul line. He also pulled down 6 rebounds and had 4 assists for the Cuse.

Syracuse will travel to Philadelphia, PA on Monday (the home of Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine and Dion Waiters) to take on the now #14/15 Villanova Wildcats at 7PM on ESPN's Big Monday. Villanova also survived an overtime scare Saturday, defeating Big East basement Depaul 77-75 on the road.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen Empty Down the Stretch, Fall to Georgetown

It all started out so promising. The Orangemen defense held Georgetown to just 29 first half points and Syracuse had the lead at the break by two points. The Cuse continued to battle defensively in the second half and clung to a 4 point lead with 6:31 left in the ball game (53-49). Syracuse seemed to have the momentum, and with the hometown fans behind them, we hoped that Syracuse would keep fighting and gut out this victory against our arch-nemisis.

From there, the Orangemen's collective basketball intelligence and talent decided to pack it in and call it a night. Syracuse would not make another shot from the field for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, Georgetown scored 15 points in that span and pulled away for a 64-56 Big East victory in front of 26,904 in the Carrier Dome. The Cuse were outscored 15-3 in the final 6 minutes and change to hand Georgetown the victory.

Rick Jackson was unfortunately victimized by Nate Lubick and Julian Vaughn, who both took two of the biggest flops in Syracuse-Georgetown history to draw fouls on Rick Jackson. To add insult to injury, with 14:40 left to play Jackson was called for an off the ball foul in the offensive zone for his 4th foul of the game and earned himself a seat on the bench for much of the remainder of the game.

Big East officials chose this game as the first game all season for Rick Jackson to be in foul trouble, with three highly questionable calls all on the offensive end of the court. Rick Jackson barely brushed up against his man to call that 4th foul while he was boxing out and establishing position in the middle of the paint. That essentially took him out for the remainder of the game and that call was an absolute DISGRACE.

However the Orangemen would keep chopping at Georgetown and did not quit once Jackson took his 4th foul. Syracuse managed to build a four point lead after being down 3 points when Rick Jackson exited the game with great effort from C.J. Fair, Baye Moussa Keita and Kris Joseph. But when the game mattered down the stretch, the Orangemen would come up empty on nearly every possession.

Rick Jackson finished the night with 4 points on 1 of 6 shooting and 8 rebounds (7 in the first half). He also blocked 3 shots and had 1 steal in addition to his 4 fouls. There were a few times in the first half Rick Jackson streaked through the paint with a step on his man, although the guards failed to find him.

At one point with under 4 minutes to go in the 1st half Jackson ran alone through the paint and Dion Waiters instead threw the ball around the perimeter to Kris Joseph who ended up taking a charge. Jackson turned to Waiters and emphatically informed him of his availability down low.

Freshman C.J. Fair had another tremendous outing, shooting 6 of 9 from the floor for 12 points and finishing with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Baye Moussa Keita pitched in a season high 5 blocks and notched 4 points and 4 rebounds for the Cuse.

Kris Joseph had a seemingly good game, scoring a team high 14 points, but a closer look at his numbers paints a very different picture. Joseph was 4 of 10 from the field overall, and 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Joseph made his first two 3-pointers of the game, so he missed his final 5 shots in a row from beyond the arc.

Furthermore, since he only took 10 shots from the floor, that means he only took 3 shots that weren't 3's in the 40 minutes he played. Two out of three is much better statistics than two out of seven. Perhaps Kris Joseph can stop throwing the ball up from 3 and create some shots for himself that don't result in an offensive charge call (he was called for three charges)? That is what we are missing from Kris Joseph! At least his free throw shooting was acceptable, 4 of 5 from the charity stripe, however his 1 rebound in 40 minutes simply will not get it done for the Orangemen.

The loss drops the #12/13 Syracuse Orangemen to 20-5 on the year, a very respectable mark, and 7-5 in the Big East, not as good. As of right now, Syracuse has lost five of their last seven Big East games and face a match up against Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals on Saturday at 12:00. Georgetown's win improves their record to 19-5 on the year, and 8-4 in Big East play. This is Georgetown's first win in the Carrier Dome since the 2001-02 season.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Pittsburgh Hands Syracuse First Loss of the Season

The opening 8 minutes inside the Petersen Events Center last night were something out of a horror movie if you're a Syracuse fan. As Pittsburgh made basket after basket and Syracuse missed shot after shot and carelessly turned the ball over the crowd only grew louder and louder as Syracuse fans everywhere were left saying "the horror, the horror!" When the dust had settled the Pittsburgh Panthers had jumped out to a 19-0 lead on the #3 Syracuse Orangemen.

Then a spark went off, and at the 11:56 mark Scoop Jardine finally hit a 3-pointer to put the Cuse on the board. That bucket sparked a 17-0 run for the Orangemen to miraculously push the score to 19-17 with 6:08 left in the first half. Even Dick Vitale, who has been saying the same four phrases since 1985, was left speechless at the Orangemen's dramatic turn around.

James Southerland drilled a three pointer with 34 seconds left in the first half to cut the lead to 1 point, however with 3 seconds left in the half Ashton Gibbs knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to put Pittsburgh back up 4 points at the break. It was that kind of night.

The Orangemen and the Panthers would trade blows to open the 2nd half, and with 13:52 on the game clock James Southerland swished a 3-pointer to tie the game 41-41. The Orangemen were in business. The Cuse had clawed back, overcame a 19-0 run and the most hostile building in the nation and had evened the scored early in the second half.

Unfortunately, those good vibrations only lasted 16 seconds, because Travon Woodall came down the court for Pittsburgh and knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to give Pittsburgh a 44-41 lead. Just like that, the wind was right back out of the Cuse's sails.

That 3-pointer with 13:36 remaining was the ball game, as Syracuse was never able to mount another run inside the Petersen Events Center. Final score 74-66 Pittsburgh. Syracuse was denied matching the best start in school history, and with the loss are 18-1 on the season, 5-1 in Big East play. This was Pittsburgh's 5th straight win over Syracuse, and 13th win in the last 16 contests.

In the absence of Kris Joseph, James Southerland got the start. Southerland played 38 minutes and shot 3 of 8 from the field for 8 points. Unfortunately he only grabbed 1 rebound all game. Fab Melo, Baye Moussa Keita, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche all combined for ZERO rebounds for Syracuse, who were out-rebounded 41-27 by Pittsburgh.

Rick Jackson was the usual rock for the Orangemen that he's been all season. He had a team high 11 rebounds and 10 points while notching his 12th double-double of the season. Jackson also picked up 2 assists 3 steals 3 blocks and turned the ball over just once while staying out of foul trouble all night.

C.J. Fair came in off the bench for the Orangemen and played 36 extremely strong minutes, leading Syracuse in scoring with 16 points and pulled down 9 rebounds (5 on the offensive glass) while blocking 2 shots. Fair was extremely impressive while Syracuse mounted a 17-0 run in the 1st half, as was freshman Dion Waiters who played 25 minutes.

Waiters scored 9 points and had 6 rebounds 3 assists 2 steals while making 1 turnover, and was a big spark for Syracuse off the bench while the other two guards, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche struggled. Jardine was 4 of 13 from the floor, and all 4 of his made shots were 3-pointers. Triche wasn't much better, shooting 4 of 9 from the floor. When Syracuse needed both players to step up with Kris Joseph out, neither responded as Orangemen fans would have hoped, but thankfully Syracuse had C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters ready to play off the bench.

In one miraculous statistic, Syracuse only turned the ball over seven times to Pittsburgh's twelve. So that's one bright spot. Another is the way Syracuse fought to get back into the game after they were seemingly run out of the gym in the games opening 8 minutes.

The Orangemen could have just packed it in, however they dug deep and found a way to score points while clamping down on defense on the other end. Syracuse held Pittsburgh off the scoreboard for nearly 6 minutes after allowing 19 unanswered points. That is definitely something to hang their hats on. As was the play from C.J. Fair.

The #3 Syracuse Orangemen return to the court on Saturday at 12:00PM when they take on the #7 Villanova Wildcats in the Carrier Dome on ESPN. If you don't already have tickets you might want to get on that, as ticket sales have already passed the 31,000 mark. If you are going to the game, I know it's early, but please make some noise.

The Cuse Connection will be making their first visit to the Carrier Dome this season for the game, and will be tweeting live all weekend from Marshall St. and the Carrier Dome. Be sure to follow us on twitter @CuseConnection to stay up to the minute with all the action.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen Defeat Iona 83-77

The #5 Syracuse Orangemen Basketball team defeated the Iona Gaels 83-77 Saturday night in the Carrier Dome in front of 18,871 fans. Kris Joseph lead the Orangemen with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor. Joseph shot 2 of 3 from 3-point range and also grabbed 7 rebounds and dished 4 assists to go along with zero turnovers.

Brandon Triche held on to his shooting touch he found a week ago against Colgate and contributed 14 points and 7 assists for Syracuse on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor. Syracuse got further production from the guard position, as Scoop Jardine added 11 points and freshman Dion Waiters scored 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 15 minutes. Dion Waiters scored many of his points on the fast break, and his speed on the court was the catalyst of his performance. He also grabbed two steals for the Cuse.

Fab Melo, nursing an tear in his right calf muscle, managed to start Saturday night after sitting out practice much of the week leading up to the game. He played 5 minutes and scored 2 points while grabbing 1 rebound. In his absence Baye Moussa Keita played 26 minutes hauling in 3 rebounds and scoring 2 points for the Cuse.

If Fab Melo is nursing an injury as serious as a calf tear, one that Boeheim said that Fab Melo may have to learn to live with this season, then why force him into the game against non-conference teams if he's only going to play 5 minutes? Let him sit and rest his leg, and at the same time he will watch and learn from the sidelines. Playing five injured minutes isn't doing any good for anyone. I'm never one to question Jim Boeheim, but I don't know how much sense it makes putting him in the game, especially if he's just going to play five minutes.

C.J. Fair, who scored 6 points in 14 minutes and grabbed 4 rebounds, rolled his ankle in the first half of the game. He did not practice yesterday [Sunday] and Jim Boeheim said he will be out for the game tonight [Monday] against Morgan State barring any miracle healing.

With Fair seemingly unavailable for the game tonight, Syracuse fans will turn to the "Mookie Jones-James Southerland Watch" to see who picks up his minutes. If Saturday night is any indication, Southerland is the leading candidate. Mookie Jones did not get off the bench, while James Southerland played 10 minutes shooting 3 of 5 from the field and 1 of 2 from 3-point range. Southerland finished with 7 points and 2 rebounds on the night.

Michael Glover was an absolute beast for Iona all night. The one-time Seton Hall player turned junior college transfer shot 9 of 11 from the floor and grabbed 16 rebounds on his way to a game-high 25 points. He was seemingly unstoppable along the baseline, an area where Syracuse's defense must improve. Glover was also 7 of 12 from the charity stripe.

The win pushes Syracuse's record to a perfect 11-0, and their next game comes tonight in the Carrier Dome against Morgan State (4-4). The game will be televised live on the Big East Network, SNY.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Ithaca is Gorges, Fab Melo is Mildly Attractive

Yes, Syracuse Basketball finally got an easy one on Tuesday against Cornell, dominating the first half and cruising through the second to take the game 78-58. Rick Jackson led the way (as usual) with 17 and 13, his sixth double-double in seven games. Kris Joseph put up his third straight quality game, with 16 points including 2-4 from beyond the arc. That early season 14% is inching up to respectability. But the story from Tuesday's game is not Joseph and Jackson, its the balanced offensive attack and contributions from unexpected sources.

Fab Melo absolutely shocked the Dome, contributing 8 points, 7 boards and 4 blocks. He made mistakes and looked a step behind at times, but it was a huge, huge improvement over the first six games. Further surprises include Dion Waiters and Brandon Triche, who may be responding to some healthy competition for playing time. Waiters is earning more and more, with 11 points (3-4 from 3) and 4 assists. In addition, his active defense on the perimeter continues to impress. Triche struggled early but made some plays in the second half to turn in a respectable game. Is he feeling the heat?

It was a nice, easy win for the Orangemen. Maybe a little too easy. Cornell shot only 33% for the game, a product of good defense no doubt, but they missed many open looks. The Big Red handed the Cuse this one on a silver platter. Hey, at least we accepted their offering with alley-oops and thunderous dunks. Oh, and if you've got a link to C.J. Fair absolute posterization midway through the second half, leave it in the comments. Dunk of the year, baby!

UPDATE: the dunk in question, below

Syracuse Handles Kutztown With Ease

In the first exhibition game of the 2010/2011 season the Syracuse Orangemen defeated the Kutztown Golden Bears 96-60 with 7,371 fans at the Carrier Dome. Kris Joseph and C.J. Fair each scored 14 points to lead the Orangemen and James Southerland grabbed a team high 11 rebounds.

Syracuse fans who were able to watch the game caught their first glimpse of the "fab four" freshman and were not disappointed. Fab Melo recorded his first block in the games opening minutes and seconds later stole the ball at the top of the 3 point line and ran it to the house for a break away dunk. Melo looked like the prospect we have been hearing about for nearly a year, running the floor extremely well, making good passes, and finishing around the rim. Fab Melo finished 4-5 from the floor for 9 points. He also contributed 4 blocks, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 turnovers in 23 minutes of action.

The freshman who shined the brightest on this night was C.J. Fair. C.J. Fair came in off the bench and his ability to finish and be in the right place at the right time were extremely evident. He lead the team in scoring (along with Kris Joseph) with 14 points on the evening and a few emphatic dunks. He converted a Fab Melo rebound for a big slam in the first half and finished 5-7 from the field along with a perfect 4-4 from the foul line. Fair also grabbed 6 rebounds, 4 of them on the offensive glass in 18 minutes on he floor.

Dion Waiters struggled a little at times during the first exhibition game of his college career. Waiters shot just 3-9 from the floor and finished with 6 points. He was 0-4 from behind the arc and grabbed 3 rebounds in 18 minutes of action. While he didn't look as polished as Fair did during this contest, its just one exhibition game. Jim Boeheim called Waiters one of the best freshman guards he's seen on campus and Boeheim doesn't just hand out comments for no reason. Expect a big bounce back game when Syracuse takes the floor in their final exhibition game against LeMoyne next week.

The final freshman, Baye Moussa Keita, contributed a solid 15 minutes of action in his first college contest. Keita was 3-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the charity stripe to finish with 8 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds, 5 of them on the offensive glass. Keita was able to get his hands on a lot of loose balls however he did not always come down in possession of the rock. He needs to continue to work on his strength if he wants to win the battles inside once Big East play begins. Keita also had 4 blocks and seemed to be in sync with the rest of his teammates. If he can just hold onto the ball when he goes up for the rebound every time he will be a fine sub off the bench for the Orangemen this season.

Another extremely impressive part of this game was Syracuse's shooting from the free throw line. Syracuse, a historically poor free throw shooting team, managed to be a perfect 13-13 from the foul line. Not sure where that came from but we are all extremely happy to see it! The Orangemen's three point shooting however was not as impressive. Syracuse also forced Kutztown into 24 turnovers and recorded 11 blocks on defense.

The team finished just 5 of 29 from behind the arc and a mere 2 for 18 in the second half. Kris Joseph was 1-4 from 3, Scoop Jardine finished 0-3, Brandon Triche was 2-4, Waiters finished 0-4 from behind the arc, C.J. Fair missed his lone 3-pt attempt and Mookie Jones shot just 2-7 from 3 point land. [Griffin Hoffmann Syracuse bench player was also 0-1 from 3.]

Speaking of Mookie Jones, he was 3-9 from the floor [2-7 from 3] in 17 minutes of action. Jones finished with 10 points grabbed 1 rebound and two steals with just 1 turnover. Unfortunately, he still has an extremely quick trigger when he gets the ball on the perimeter and doesn't look to run the offense enough. He still has to work on his game if he wants to get solid minutes once the regular season begins.

Syracuse's Box Score:

The Orangemen take on the LeMoyne Dolphins in the Carrier Dome Tuesday November 9th in their final exhibition tune-up before they open the season November 12th versus Northern Iowa.

kris joseph photo courtesy of syracuse.com

C.J. Fair: The Next Josh Pace?

Freshman C.J. Fair is a very talented forward prospect out of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland I am beginning to detect a lot of similarities between Fair and former Syracuse Orangemen spark plug Josh Pace.

For starters and the most obvious similarity is that both players are natural lefties. Cuse fans will never forget how every opponent knew the left-handed runner in the lane was coming, yet they were unable to stop it. Many referred to the left-handed shot in the lane to be "ugly," but everyone knew it as one word, effective.

Josh Pace stood 6'6" tall and weighed about 190 during his time at on the hill. C.J. Fair comes in an inch taller and 6-10 pounds heavier giving them very close frames on the court. Much like Pace, Fair has very active hands on defense and creates a lot of turnovers. He also attacked the boards at the high school level and cuse fans are hoping to see more of the same out of Fair in college.

Ultimately, Josh Pace will be remembered for being a tremendous role player. Coaches always preach "play within yourself" and Pace exemplified that. Orangehoops.org describes Pace's game as "if you needed a loose ball pick up, or a key offensive rebound, or a guy to drive the lane, he was often able to deliver." That is exactly the kind of player Jim Boeheim will be looking for coming off the bench this season for the Orangemen.

One area C.J. Fair excels in that Pace couldn't is his shooting ability. Pace wasn't much of a shooter, particularly from the the foul line. Pace shot 50.6% from the foul line during his time at Syracuse and Orangemen fans will surely expect more than that from Fair. C.J. also has a 15-17 foot jumper that Pace never had in his repertoire.

C.J. Fair may grow into a starter and a consistent scorer for the Orangemen in the coming years, but this season Syracuse will need a Josh Pace effort out of Fair off the bench. Much like the role Pace played in the championship season of 2003. If Syracuse was down in the second half and needed a spark, there was Pace and his trusty lefty runner.

Jim Boeheim was asked who he thought the most under appreciated player at Syracuse was during his tenure thus far. His answer? Josh Pace. If Syracuse needs a spark off the bench this season, we will look to C.J. Fair and hopefully, like Pace, he will deliver.

CJ Fair photo courtesy of suathletics.com, pace picture courtesy of orangehoops.org