SYRACUSE MEN'S BASKETBALL 2007/08 SEASON SUMMARY
Just as soon as the Syracuse Orange's (21-14) season was looking up after getting by 10 seed Providence in the Round of 64, the draw seemed to open up for the Orange to advance to the Sweet 16 as the 2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers drop a close game to 15 seed UC-Irvine, although it wasn't as much of an upset as expected due to the key injuries to star junior forward Joe Alexander and guard Alex Ruoff. 3 seed UNC would be waiting in Sweet 16 for an epic matchup, unfortunately it all came crashing down as the 7th seeded Orange of the Midwest Region got upset and thoroughly outplayed by a senior-laden lineup by 15 seed UC-Irvine Anteaters in an 11 point loss that showed the team's glaring weaknesses, that have been popping up all season long.
Then again, the Big Dance was not looking less than a month prior as the team sat periously on the bubble at 16-11 (7-9). In the final 2 regular season games the Orange showed heart, with a 71-70 win at Seton Hall and a tough loss against 5th seed in nation Marquette 67-76. That left Syracuse ending conference play at 17-12 (8-10) and the 9 seed in the conference tourney. Surely the team would need at least 2 wins in the tourney to improve their at-large bid chances. The young Syracuse lineup did not disappoint as they won a sensational overtime affair over 8 seed Villanova 92-89. The game looked almost over in the 4th quarter with 'Nova up by 2 points with under 10 seconds to play. They inbounded the ball and freshman PG Jonny Flynn somehow got a hand on the ball and knocked it clear. Then from nowhere, sophomore forward Paul Harris pounced on the ball and drove it in for a game-tying dunk to send it into overtime. In a see-sawing overtime, it wasn't decided until freshman forward Donte Greene stepped up huge. Down 87-89 with only about 20 ticks left, he stepped up and with no hesitation hit a huge trifecta to put the Orange up 90-89. On the ensuing Wildcats' possession, Greene came out of nowhere and used his wingspan to block a Scottie Reynolds layup attempt. Jonny Flynn would seal the game with two free throws, as the Orange lived to fight another day.
After gathering momentum late in the Villanova game, the Orange would roll through the Big East conference tourney as they pick up the scalps of top seeds Marquette 66-64 and beat a very tough Georgetown team 60-57 to advance to the conference finals. Whilst they would lose to an inspired West Virginia outfit (playing without Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff) 73-83, the Orange, now sitting at a more respectable 20-13, had done enough in the conference tournament to be well and truly off the bubble and in the Tournament.
Overall, it was a relatively successful 2007/08 season for the Orange. With such a young and inexperienced lineup (no seniors and only one of top 7 players was a junior), there were the expected lumps on the way. At times, the team looked and played like a Top 10 team, at other times, they played like a bunch of unorganised kids. Outside of the last game of season, Syracuse finished the season strong and with no departures (Donte Greene elected not to test the NBA Draft waters) and a more experienced squad, with two to three recruits coming in to strengthen the depth and versatility of the squad, this team should compete for Big East honours with the likes of Georgetown, West Virginia and Villanova.
I have a feeling that Big East Freshman of the Year and member of the All-American Freshman and All-Big East Freshman 1st Teams and All-Big East 2nd Team, Donte Greene, will have a big say in how far this team goes.
With Greene goes this team, if he can be consistent that is. He will remain at Syracuse at least one more year. Lets not waste it.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers came out of the West Region to beat 3 seed North Carolina Tarheels of the Midwest Region in the Championship game.
The Volunteers earned their way to San Antonio by beating teams like Georgetown (Sweet 16), Arizona State (Elite Eight) and Notre Dame (Final Four) who somehow find a way to topple 1 seed Kansas (my favourite to win it all) in the Elite Eight.
The Tarheels earned their way to San Antonio by beating teams like Xavier (Round of 32), UC-Irvine (Sweet 16), Wisconsin (Elite Eight) and Michigan State (Final Four) who had previously toppled number 1 overall seed Marquette (they shouldn't have been though, KU should've been) in the Round of 32.
The Cinderella story of the Tournament had to be 7 seed of the East region, Davidson. They had qualified into the Big Dance on an at-large bid after being stunned in their conference tourney final, with an impressive resume that included wins over UNC and at UCLA. As the bracket opened up for them, Davidson danced all the way to the Elite Eight behind stellar play of sophomore guard Stephen Curry. Unfortunately Michigan State was too tough for them in the end, as they fell one game short of a historic trip for the program to the Final Four.
NIT TOURNAMENT
UCLA, probably the team who had the most grievance with missing out on the NCAA Tournament after a 9-9 record in the tough PAC-10 Conference, didn't let it bother them as they ran the table all the way to Madison Square Garden, as they won another trophy for their collection (although not the one they wanted) by beating upstart New Orleans, who beat some pretty good schools on their way to the Finals.
STAYING OR GOING?
F- Richard Hendrix, Jr (Alabama) - Going
G- Jeryd Bayless, Fr (Arizona) - Staying
G- Chase Budinger, Soph (Arizona) - Staying
G- Stephen Curry, Soph (Davidson) - Staying
F- Marreese Speights, Soph (Florida) - Staying
G- Eric Gordon, Fr (Indiana) - Going
F- Michael Beasley, Fr (KSU) - Going
F- Bill Walker, Fr (KSU) - Staying
F- Darrell Arthur, Soph (KU) - Staying
G- Mario Chalmers, Jr (KU) - Going
F- Brandon Rush, Jr (KU) - Going
F- Anthony Randolph, Fr (LSU) - Staying
G- Dominic James, Jr (Marquette) - Staying
G- Jerel McNeal, Jr (Marquette) - Going
F- Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jr (Memphis) - Going
G- Derrick Rose, Fr (Memphis) - Going
F- JJ Hickson, Fr (NC State) - Staying
C- JaVale McGee, Soph (Nevada) - Staying
C- Kosta Koufos, Fr (Ohio State) - Staying
C- Brook Lopez, Soph (Stanford) - Going
C- Robin Lopez, Soph (Stanford) - Staying
F- Donte Greene, Fr (Syracuse) - Staying
G- DJ Augustin (Texas), Soph - Staying
C- DeAndre Jordan, Fr (Texas A&M) - Staying
G- Darren Collison, Jr (UCLA) - Staying
F- Kevin Love, Fr (UCLA) - Going
G- Russell Westbrook, Soph (UCLA) - Staying
F- Tyler Hansbrough, Jr (UNC) - Going
G- Ty Lawson, Soph (UNC) - Going
G- Wayne Ellington, Soph (UNC) - Staying
G- OJ Mayo, Fr (USC) - Staying
F- Joe Alexander, Jr (WVU) - Going
For me, I guess the most surprising decisions were from OJ Mayo and Jeryd Bayless. Although Mayo led USC to a losing season, which didn't help his stock, so he is returning to hopefully lead USC back to the Big Dance. As for Bayless, he lost most of the season to an ACL injury, so he had no choice but to come back and rehab that knee and try again next year.
AWARDS
Player of the Year: F- Tyler Hansbrough, Jr (UNC) - averaged 25 & 9
Freshman of the Year: F- Michael Beasley, Fr (KSU) - averaged 20 & 10
All-American 1st Team:
F- Tyler Hansbrough, Jr (UNC)
F- Martin Zeno, Sr (TTU) - I was like wtf?!?
C- Brook Lopez, Soph (Stanford)
G- Chris Lofton, Sr (Tennessee) - I think it was him, maybe he was All 2nd Team
G- Derrick Rose, Fr (Memphis)
All-American Freshman 1st Team:
F- Michael Beasley, Fr (KSU)
F- Donte Greene, Fr (Syracuse)
C- Kevin Love, Fr (UCLA)
G- OJ Mayo, Fr (USC) - It might have been Eric Gordon (IU) instead, one or the other
G- Derrick Rose, Fr (Memphis)
Coach of the Year: Roy Williams (UNC)
Anyways, that is all. Season over. See you next time.
------------------
Just a side note, I've now just started my Knicks' Association. Boy do they suck. It's going to be a long season. Btw, draft class importing isn't accurate to real life, so guys like Beasley and Rose might not be in lottery, but such is life I guess. It's not perfect, but it'll have to do. Once I get past first year of draft classes, it probably won't bother me.