Notent Notables: Opener and Milestone

A few thoughts while I watch the TiVo'ed version of SU-Albany...

• Great night. First, our professor let us out early for the basketball game. That was slightly insane, since it was a graduate class. I was particularly pleased since I had forgotten that it was a 9pm game, not 7pm. I ended up catching all but the first 5 minutes. SU won easily. The best part was the brief ceremony to celebrate Boeheim reaching a big, round number of wins. There was a delightful video montage followed by pre-recorded messages from Coach K (I cheered loudest) and Detroit Mayor Dave "The Mayor" Bing. To top the night off, when I got home I found my signed copy of The Book of Basketball had arrived. Thanks Dan!
• While I was still getting my bearings, I had to ask my buddy Becker, "Who's number four?" Wesley Johnson just doesn't jump out at you at first glance. Suddenly our roster is filled with tall, wiry guys (KJ, Mookie, Frosh James Southerland). Except for a couple (wow!) dunks, Wes didn't really stand out all game. His line in the boxscore does, though: 12pts, 8reb, 4ast, 6stl. For his orange debut, 12 points is not bad. But if the Orange is going to be a great team this season, he'll have to score in the twenties regularly. No one else on the team is capable of being The Man.
• That said, I think we will win a portion of the games just from the play of the two bigs. A-O apparently didn't play all summer because of his bad knees, so he won't be into shape for another month. Rick Jackson, on the other hand, looks bigger and better than ever. I think it's safe to expect another leap from him this year (as many, including me, expected - but did not get - from A-O last year).
• Scoop Jackson's ceiling is Allen Griffin. That's a good thing. A capable, steady, good-handled PG who knows how to use his body when he attacks the rim. That's a guy you can win with in the Big East. He won't kill us.
• Brandon Triche, on the other hand, played like a Freshman. Note his 3 assists to 6 TOs compared to Scoop's 4 to 1. I'm a little surprised Boeheim is starting Brandon over Scoop. If those ratios continue, that will change. On the other hand, Boeheim wouldn't start Triche on potential alone, so stay tuned...
• Rautins went 0-6 from the field, then left the game in the 2nd half after twisting his ankle. He returned for the festivities wearing a walking boot. Perfect.
• I was delighted with Kris Joseph. He was flying around the court, picking up where he left off last season. He's going to be a great weapon off the bench.
• Becker predicted Mookie will transfer. That might be best for him. He got 11 minutes in the blowout, but went 0-6 from the field. You can sense his offensive game lurking, but it seems like he needs to play 25 minutes a game to really get it going. I don't think he's the kind of guy who can just play single-digit minutes a game and hit a couple threes. (Like Rautins in that way, perhaps.)
• DaShante Riley is tall. James Southland is lanky. Look for them in 2010-11. Especially Riley.
• SU will be 10-1 when they hit the Big East slate at Seton Hall on Dec. 29.
• Good news/bad news: that ridiculous stretch that every Big East team gets in conference happens at the end of the year for SU. That will give the team time to mature, but also could mean a slow finish to the end of the season, threatening tourney chances. I'll leave you with the last 7 games of the regular season:

UConn
Louisville
@Georgetown
@Providence
Villanova
St. John's
@Louisville