Good news for now, good news for later

I hope you enjoyed my Big East conference preview/Home Alone appreciation from yesterday. Last night I watched the last 30 minutes as I was falling asleep. Tonight maybe I'll throw on Home Alone 2, one of the great sequels of all time; anytime you can take the exact same plot and move it from an almost-anonymous suburb to New York City, that's a recipe for greatness.

Speaking of "recipes for greatness," overall you had to love what you saw from the Orange last night, especially KJ. So the Friars made a little bit of a run late. So what? We're in conference play. Recent squads might have blown that lead but Providence barely cut it to a one-possession game. Nice closing from the Orange. And this is EXACTLY what I've been waiting for from Kris Joseph. You watch - he was holding back during the non-conference season while Boeheim tinkered with the rotation, but now he's going to explode in conference. He's averaging 14.9 right now...I'll bet that creeps over 16 by February. His 3-point shooting in the last two games is exciting, and as Mike Waters reported today, there is reason to think it could last; KJ's been working with a Big Ball (just what it sounds like) in practice. All SU really needs is for opponents to respect KJ's range. If he knocks down 1-2 per game...wow. The floor will really open up. That will help him accomplish the task I really want to see from him - getting to the foul line. He did that 10 times last night. One other thing to watch - the television broadcasters (sorry, I'm forgetting who called the game on ESPNU) pointed out that KJ often prefers to finish with his right hand even when he drives left. Room for improvement there. Otherwise, I'd put him against almost anyone in the nation at attacking the hoop right now.

2011 recruit Michael Carter-Williams seems to bring the same thing to the table. ESPN Insider just published a promising post about his recent performance. Carter-Williams put up 28 points at a mini tournament, out-dueling two other blue chip prospects. He's a 6'5" lanky shooting guard with a PG's handle who will slot in nicely next to Dion Waiters in the long run. It sounds like he plays defense too. Good times. Go Orange.

"This is it. Don't get scared now!" - Big East Preview

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all watched A Christmas Story at least once this season. In our house, it's a Christmas Eve tradition.

The title quote of this post is from another family-favorite Christmas movie: Home Alone. Unlike timeless classics like A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone hasn't had the same cultural resonance. But personally, it's a favorite and another yearly must-view. No matter how old I get, there is so much to appreciate. From the slapstick humor to the quotability to the unparalleled performances of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

(Seriously, for a very cheesy kid flick, they were on their games. Pesci was just scary enough to frighten child-viewers, but not so scary he'd give nightmares. Stern was perfectly cast, and played his Kramer-before-Seinfeld-exploded character off of Pesci's sinister performance. Plus, Daniel Stern is one of the most underrated actors of the last century. See: Rookie of the Year.)

When it came out in 1990 it was an overnight sensation, launching the film careers of most of the Caulkin family. (Kieran even had a small role as Fuller, Kevin McCallister's pepsi-guzzling, bed-wetting cousin.) Did director Chris Columbus and writer John Hughes really think Home Alone would be one of their best selling films of all-time? Look at these ridiculous numbers:

• $285 million box office (domestic + foreign)
• The #1 film of 1990.
  
• The 37th best-grossing film of all-time (adjusted for inflation).
• The 14th best PG film of all-time.
  
• 12 consecutive weekends at #1 is fourth most all-time, behind Titanic, Beverly Hills Cop, and Tootsie.

Seriously, did Columbus and Hughes expect that? Did it come out of nowhere? Someone should write a dissertation on Home Alone. Failing that, I'll just speculate. My guess is, with the film in the can for $18 million, the filmmakers suspected they had something really good, but they couldn't have been sure. Is it going to be one of the biggest films of the year? Quite possibly. Is it going to be the biggest film of the year? Probably not. Is it going to bomb? There's a chance.

* * *

Hours before Syracuse opens it's Big East slate against Providence, that's exactly how I feel about this Orange team. There is a very good chance it is one of the top 10 or 15 teams in the country. It might be worse. It might even be much worse. And, after the opening weekend (non-conference schedule), I'm starting to believe there is a chance it could be the best. These last four opponents were pretty weak, of course. But Syracuse finally started to put up more points. They did it with outstanding transition offense. With the athletes on the court and the turnover-forcing defense, SU's transition scoring will be the difference this season.

In honor of my second favorite Christmas movie, here are SU's Big East opponents broken down by the Home Alone quotation that best corresponds. My predicted result is also noted.

[By the way, I can pretty much quote this whole movie as it's playing, but it's a little tricky noting the discrepancies between the final result and the screenplay I found online. I've actually caught a couple changes, but I'm sorry if I misquote any of these scenes. Apologies especially to the performers, who may or may not be reading this.]

Dec 28 Providence (W)

Harry - "I think we're getting scared by a kindergartener!"

You don't have to wait until 2011. Tonight's home game against 11-2 Providence will reveal a lot about whether the Orange are for real. If they are, this should be a blowout. If it's close, it will be time to revise expectations.

Jan 1 Notre Dame (W)

Check-out Woman - "Are you here all by yourself?"
Kevin - "Ma'am, I'm 8-years-old. You think I would be here...alone? I don't think so!"

The Irish have put up some impressive stats so far this year. Nationally, they're 16th in points-per-game, 8th in rebounding, and 9th in assists. But they think they're going to come into the dome in between home games against the Hoyas and the Huskies and beat the Orange? I don't think so!

Jan 8 @Seton Hall (W), Jan 12 @St. John's (W)

Marv - "He's a kid. Kid's are stupid."

Harry and Marv's biggest mistake? Bad game management! After their initial failure at the kitchen door, they split up, each fending for himself in Kevin's house of horrors. Once they reunite, they fail to work together as a team, blindly stumbling into more and more traps. Luckily, Boeheim is much smarter. Why do you think SU is always strong in the 2nd half? He'll make mincemeat of these early road games.

Jan 15 Cincinnati (W)

Kevin - "You guys give up yet? Or are you thirsty for more?"

Cincy gets crushed in the dome just before the Big East schedule starts to really kick in.

Jan 17 @Pitt (L)

Buzz - "Kevin! What did you do to my room?"

Kevin waltzed into Buzz's room thinking he could take anything he wanted. Alas, Buzz's cry at the end of the film suggests Kevin is going to receive a beating for his impudence. This could very well be a battle between undefeated teams. Alas, Pittsburgh has always been a tough place for the Orange to play.

Jan 22 Villanova (W), February 9 Georgetown (L)

Kevin - "This is my house. I have to defend it."

Other than Seton Hall, these are the two teams Syracuse plays a home-and-home with this season. It's so important to hold serve in these games, but easier said then done.

Jan 25 Seton Hall (W), Feb 19 Rutgers (W), Mar 5 DePaul (W)

Johnny - "Hey, I tell you what I'm going to do, snakes. I'm gonna give you to the count of ten to git your ugly no good yellow keister off my property before I pump your guts full of lead."
Snakes - "All right, Johnny. I'm sorry. I'm going."
Johnny - "One ... two ... ten!"
[Guns down Snakes]
Johnny - "Keep the change ya filthy animal!"

Syracuse is going to massacre these guys in the dome. Rutgers is actually 9-2 right now, but unless they get really hot from outside they won't be able to score against the Orange. They're very small and will have trouble rebounding or getting much offense in the paint.

Feb 12 @Louisville (L)

Mrs. McCallister - "KEVIN!!"

They turned off the coffee. They locked the doors. They set the timers on the lights... But the McCallisters forgot their youngest son. I hope the Orange don't forget how Louisville manhandled them in two meetings last season, but I'm afraid they will.

Jan 29 @Marquette (L)

Harry - "What happened to the kid?"
Marv - "Maybe he committed suicide."

Watch out! It's a trap! Marquette's only losses so far have come against Duke (lost by 5), Gonzaga (3), and Wisconsin (5). They'll have played five ranked Big East teams by the time they face Syracuse, and may be desperate for a key win. Meanwhile, Syracuse could be caught looking ahead to the UConn game. BOOM! Paint can to the head.

Feb 2 @UConn (W)

Buzz - "You ever heard of the South Bend Shovel Slayer?"

The Old Man looked pretty scary, but we found out he was just a lonely old guy with a heart of gold. UConn's 15-point defeat against Pittsburgh last night might suggest the Huskies aren't as tough as their early success implied.

Feb 5 @USF (W)

Kevin - [sadly] "I made my family disappear."
[Thinks back to family saying bad things about him]
Megan - "Kevin, you're completely helpless!"
Buzz - "Kevin, I'm going to feed you to my tarantula."
Jeff - "Kevin, you are such a disease!"
Mom - "There are 15 people in this house and you're the only one who has to make trouble."
Uncle Frank - "Look what you did, you little jerk!"
Kevin - [gleefully] "I made my family disappear!"

I love Uncle Frank's over-the-top reaction to the mess in the kitchen. Classic John Hughes! Actually, Home Alone is the ultimate Hughes family. After dominating the 1980s with films about teenagers figuring out their own problems amidst ineffective or absent parents, Hughes puts an even younger child in a totally parent-less situation against two violent criminals!

SU makes USF disappear, by the way.

Feb 14 West Virginia (W)

Linnie McCallister - "Kevin, you're what the French call 'les incompentents.'"

Will this be the year that Coach Bobbie Huggins remembers that Syracuse plays a 2-3 zone and game plans accordingly? He doesn't have Da'Sean Butler around anymore to cover up his ineptitude.

Feb 21 @Villanova (L), Feb 26 @Georgetown (L)

Marv - "What are we gonna do to him, Harry?"
Harry - "We'll do exactly what he did to us: we're gonna burn his head with a blowtorch!"
Marv - "And smash his face with an iron!"
Harry - "How about we slap him in the face with a paint can?"
Marv - "Or shove a nail through his foot!"
Harry - "First thing I'm gonna do is to bite off every one of these little fingers, one at a time..."

The scariest part of the season gets the scariest part of the movie. I mean, Harry literally has Kevin's finger in his mouth when the Old Man bashes him from behind! If Kevin doesn't reach out to his neighbor earlier in the film, this movie could have taken a VERY dark turn! Not that it isn't a dark film; I'm probably not the first person to point out the disturbing similarities between Kevin McCallister and the psychopath from Saw.

These games could be two crucial late season resume-builders for a 1-seed bid. Can we win two straight road games against potentially top ten teams? Can we win one? The one thing we have going for us is experience. Speaking of which, it just goes to show you how college basketball has changed in the last 20 years that despite losing three starters in two consecutive seasons, Syracuse is considered "experienced" in both of them.


Final record: 12-6 in conference, 25-6 overall

Quick Preview: Drexel v. Syracuse

I can't believe Clyde "The Glide" has a college named after him!

Thanks to their win over Louisville, Drexel comes into the dome with a 31 RPI based on ESPN's calculations. They're also 5th in the nation in rebounding at 43.0 rpg. SU is 31st with 41.6. Not so bold prediction: SU wins that stat. So I'm not too worried about the game tonight, although (second not so bold prediction), I think the game will be closer than the Morgan State blowout.

I was wondering how often Syracuse entered the Big East season undefeated (knock on wood). Do you realize that since 1980, last year was the ONLY season SU went undefeated in its non-conference schedule? And that's not counting its loss to LeMoyne! I am totally baffled about this team. Not that I subscribe to the theory that losing helps a team grow, but I don't think I'll fully understand this team until the Orange lose a couple games. It won't happen tonight, but the Big East season starts on Tuesday. Until then, Merry Christmas and go Orange!

Who's The Guy? - Top Teams in the NCAA

I'm thinking about running with this "The Guy" theme through the season, checking in on top teams with brief posts like this...

I just saw this story by Andy Katz about Marcus Denmon carrying Missouri to a tough win over Vandy. That's enough for me to update my list of The Guys for the top teams in the nation. In my season preview I suggested Missouri, lacking a clear Alpha Dog, was a pretender in the top 10. But now I'm willing to update their The Guy from "???????? or Marcus Denmon" to a firm "Marcus Denmon." I've always liked their coach, Mike Anderson, from his days running his mentor, Nolan Richardson's 40-minutes of hell style at UAB.

Meanwhile, Georgetown had crept into the top 10 mainly on the merit of their OT win over Mizzou. The Guy on the Hoyas is Austin Freeman, a great shooter and scorer who is in his senior year. Against Missouri, Freeman had 31, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. But he can cool off, and his 1-for-5 3-pt shooting hurt the Hoyas in their upset loss against Temple this week.

Finally, Tennessee is creeping towards the top 10. They've beaten Villanova and play Pittsburgh tomorrow (Dec 11). Who's The Guy? Freshman power forward Tobias Harris's 16.7 ppg leads the team in scoring. He's shooting a nice 53% from the field, including an impressively efficient 6 of 8 from deep. I haven't seen the Vols play, but if he's got respectable range, he might be The Guy. For now, junior guard Scotty Hopson is scoring almost as many points as Harris. But keep an eye on the freshman; the Vols will be more dangerous as Harris improves.

You can't spell "Head Coach Jim Boeheim" without "D"

Emphatic win over #8 Michigan State in the Garden tonight, 72-58. It was ugly at times on offense, but Syracuse was brilliant on defense. Izzo is a great coach, and the Spartans had the right idea with their offensive passing against the zone. Draymond Green is a scary player for the Orange - a strong, versatile, triple threat (pass, shoot, drive) from the high paint. But it wasn't enough. Syracuse led almost the entire way and ran away with the game late.

Michigan State never got it going on offense, and while they did miss some open shots, credit the Boeheim zone. Waiters has already picked up the freneticism from Scoop and Trisch required on the Orange perimeter. Fair is fine, but veterans KJ and Ricky are fantastic on the wings - absolutely devastating. Melo is tall and learning, and Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "ball lighting") is going to be a force.

***Interlude***

Three blocks for Ball Lightning tonight!! Let's just take a minute to imagine how good he is going to be in the center of that zone in a couple years. Are you ready for the best defensive SU center since Etan Thomas? And Feb Melo is supposed to be the better player! Speaking of Etan Thomas, this is a great montage of his blocks for 3 reasons: 1.) Saul Smith gets stuffed in the middle of the video; 2.) Lots of Raferty; 3.) Let it run to the end and then see what video comes up next. Trust me.

Anyway...Baye Moussa Keita as a senior! Wow.

***End Interlude***

Turnovers and rebounds killed the Spartans. Granted, Michigan State has been struggling with ball possession. But Tom Izzo teams are supposed to own the boards. Not tonight. 31-26 advantage to the long, tall Orange.

I mean... Rick Jackson. Ricky freakin Jackson. 17-16 against Michigan State! Put an asterisk on that one. Seriously. Click on Ricky's game log. Scroll down to the Michigan State line. Take out a sharpie. And draw a star on your laptop screen. Absolutely brilliant.

As for KJ, having written a season preview calling for him to do more on offense, this wasn't a great match-up for him. Michigan State is an excellent defensive team, and they played great defense tonight. It is extremely difficult to take their defenders off the dribble from the perimeter, because they move their feet and help. The result was too many out-of-control drives from the Orange. Syracuse was best on offense when it drove to pass, not to shoot. Their passing must improve. All that said, I'd like to see KJ at least touch the ball on a higher percentage of possessions. His key stat- 8 for 9 from the free throw line. I'd like to see him take 10+ FTs per game.

It was defense that won the game for the Orange, as it will be in most games this year. The bigger concerns - the reasons I was certain SU would lose tonight - are still there. Our half-court offense is not great. 11 assists to 11 turnovers is ugly. 2 for 10 3-pt shooting is a problem; a problem that could be solved with more Mookie or Southerland. But Boeheim knows that trade-off isn't worth it. We could play either of those guys twenty minutes a game and get 2-3 threes from them, but they'll give those points back on defense.

Four easy games coming up before the Big East season gets under way. These should be blowouts. Maybe that is just what the offense needs to find the extra gear it has been lacking.

I hate to end on a down note though, and we should be giddy about this win. Michigan State is a great team with a lot of talent. And this will be a great win for our tourney resume in March. Go Orange.

Identity Crisis: SU Season Preview 2010-11

You gotta know who you are.

When it comes to the offensive end of the basketball court at any level, a team needs to know who it is. What are our strengths? What are our weaknesses? And, most importantly, who is The Guy? You don't need a "The Guy" on defense. That end of the court relies on team effort and good coaching, especially the Boeheim 2-3 zone. Sometimes, it almost feels like Boeheim is manipulating that thing with a video game controller. But on offense, there is only so much a coach can do. Ultimately, players make plays, and The Guy has to emerge who is going to make The Play. Furthermore, the coach can't just say, "You're the guy." I mean, he can say it. But that doesn't make it true. The Guy just is, no matter what anybody says.

Take the Heat. Who is The Guy? LeBron? Wade? Nobody knows. In time, LeBron might assert himself, but until then they have an identity crisis. Bill Simmons was the lone voice crying out in the wilderness, foreseeing this problem as soon as James signed with the Heat. It's one of his primary theories about basketball. As he says, who is the Alpha Dog?

The Guy doesn't have to be The Guy every night. He just has to be The Guy that everyone expects to be The Guy every night. There were a lot of SU games last year when Wes Johnson wasn't the best player on the court. But everyone knew he was the best player on the team. If Rautins or A-O or KJ went off, that didn't change the identity of the team, or the fact that Wes was The Guy. Wes wasn't always a particularly assertive scorer, but that worked well because the Orange had so many weapons. He wasn't particularly vocal as a leader, but that worked well with the personality of the team. Wes was just The Guy.

It's hard to explain but you know what I mean, right? And you can also probably guess my problem with this year's Orange - we don't know who The Guy is.

Based on my minimal knowledge of the 2010-11 NCAA season to date, here are The Guys on the AP top 11 teams (These go to 11 because Baylor might be really good):

1. Duke - Nolan Smith (Though Kyrie Irving is ridiculous and might take the torch by the end of the year)
2. Ohio State - Jared Sullinger (5th-year senior Lighty is the leader, but Sullinger is The Guy)
3. Pittsburgh - Ashton Gibbs
4. Kansas - M. Morris (To be precise, Marcus not Markieff)
5. Kansas State - Jacob Pullen
6. Michigan State - Kalin Lucas
7. Connecticut - Kemba Walker
8. Syracuse - ????????
9. Missouri - ???????? or Marcus Denmon
10. Kensucky - Terrance Jones
11. Baylor - LaceDarius Dunn

Kensucky lost its second game today, but Terrance Jones is a Freshman so they'll have some stumbles early. Looking closer, here are the only teams on that list who haven't beaten a ranked team yet:
Kansas (play their 1st ranked opponent, Memphis, on Tuesday)
Syracuse (play their 1st ranked opponent, Mich State, on Tuesday)
Missouri (lost to Georgetown)
Baylor (play their 1st ranked opponent, Gonzaga, on Dec 18)

Right now, I think Missouri and Syracuse are the pretenders on that list. As you probably heard, Boeheim agrees with me about Syracuse.

How can we get better? Ricky is playing awesome (more on him later), but its almost impossible for a post player to be The Guy. Generally, perimeter players have a much greater influence on the offense and, specifically, the Orange free-wheeling offense uses post players like Rick as complements to the backcourt. Scoop might think he's The Guy (more on him later), but he's the only one who thinks that. Brandon Triche...no. One of these Freshmen could grow into the part, but so far we have seen no evidence that will happen. That leaves Kris Joseph. To paraphrase Dennis Green, KJ needs to be who we thought he was.

Kris Joseph: Hoping for More
Last year I was comparing KJ favorably to Wes Johnson. Wes always had the better shot, but KJ can attack the basket as well as any swing-man in college. He was an incredible weapon on last year's loaded team, deservedly winning the Big East's sixth-man of the year award. The consensus was he would slot into Wes's position on the starting lineup. So far, for all his skill and explosiveness, he is falling short. He's averaging 14.6 ppg. That has to be closer to 17. Here are his point totals on the season: 14, 10, 3, 18, 22, 16, 8. Unimpressive. He's shooting 45.6% this year, down from 49.0% last year. He's getting half a rebound and half a steal less than last year. He's only playing 27.6 minutes per game, the same as last year, which tells you what Boeheim thinks about KJ's performance. (For comparison, Wes played 35 mpg last year and averaged 16.5 ppg.) The one mildly bright spot: he's shooting 33% from 3-pt range and has hit 9 total, as many as he hit all last year.

KJ must play better on offense. He has to be the guy opponents fear, because there is no one else (well, except Ricky...we'll get to him, I promise).

Scoop Jardine: Hoping for Less
Scoop is a lovable guy. He's a great leader and a critical piece of this young team. He fills up the box score and is capable of 20+ points on occasion. Despite all he brings to the table, some fans are starting to turn against Scoop. He's got a great handle, but his decision-making with the ball is shaky at times. The NC State game was typical. He finished with only one turnover, but if you watched the game it felt like more. If PGs have a dial that can be set somewhere between "get a shot" and "make a pass," Scoop's has to be tweaked just a bit more towards setting up his teammates. Actually, 11.0 ppg is just about right. But there should be a fourth player cracking double-digits. Perhaps the slow start of the Freshmen deserves some of the blame, but right now I miss Andy Rautins a lot more on the offensive end than I thought I would.

Ricky Jackson: Absolute Stud
Whatever happens with the rest of the squad, this team is going to be top-25 and a tough out in the tourney because of Ricky. Double-zero looks brilliant right now. His streak of 6-straight double-doubles ended tonight, but I guarantee you he betters that number this season. Dropping 25 pounds made him faster, but he hasn't lost the strength. I want him to get the ball more on offense, even against taller defenders. His 12.7 ppg should be closer to 15. An NBA team is going to draft him late this year, or sign him undrafted and have a very nice role player deep on their bench. I love Ricky, and you should too. Make sure you enjoy his senior season because he is a delight.

Still, he can't be The Guy. He has to be fed the ball in the post to go to work. He can't set himself up. It takes a Blake Griffin-type post player for The Guy to be a power forward/center. Ricky isn't good enough to score 20+ ppg. (I'm sorry, Ricky. I promise it will be the last negative thing I say about you, for the rest of your life.)

Brandon Triche: Whatever
Apologies to JD High School, but at this point I get little-to-no excitement from Triche. Granted, he's off to a cold start from 3-point range - that has to get better, and I suspect it will. But I've found I don't expect anything from him, and I'm never surprised. He's had one game in double-digits: 16 against Canisius. I'd almost rather Boeheim start Dion Waiters over Triche right now. He's averaging 3.3 TO per game. Yikes. He's just a sophomore, so he could make a leap this year but... ugh.

Mookie Jones and James Southerland: Up to Boeheim
Every year we think Boeheim will go 10-deep with his bench. Every year, when he doesn't go deep, it's the most common complaint local fans raise. I'd love to see more of Jones or Southerland or both, because we sure could use a great shooter. But I'm going to have to trust Jim. He's won a lot of games, more than you and me combined.

The Freshmen: Upside
To quote Judge Smails, "Well...? We're waiting!!!" They've shown flashes of brilliance. Even Fab Melo (let's call him "New Melo" on the Sauna, shall we?) is starting to make some plays. Waiters looks good with the potential to be great. C.J. Fair looks good with the potential to be exciting. Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "pleasant surprise") has been unexpectedly impressive. If someone had said one of the Freshmen bigs would have 6.1 RPG and 1.4 BPG through seven games, you and 99.9% of the world would have said it would be New Melo. You and 99.8% of the world would have been wrong (+/- .1%). So, okay, they all might be good. But let's be honest, Syracuse's pre-season ranking (and, thus, their current ranking) was based on the premise that Waiters and Melo and maybe Fair would be contributing in a big way. So far that is not the case. One and done? Not for any of the four, from what we've seen so far. Not even Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "one and done").

Prognosis: Negative
We're left with a good-but-not-great team. The most telling stat is our points per game: 70.6. That would be a nice total for a mid-major team that wants to play slow and efficient. Like... say... 2009-10 Butler, who averaged 70.1 by blowing out lesser teams and grinding out low scoring against more talented opponents (as we know all too well). Last year Syracuse scored 81.5 per game. That was a bit of an anomaly; the Orange passed as good as any Boeheim team ever, and shot extremely efficiently from the field. This year's defense has a chance to be as good as last year's if not better because of the ridiculous height and length SU can throw at opponents. So 70 points a game is going to win a lot of games. But it is not going to beat elite teams. For example, Syracuse is going to lose to Michigan State on Tuesday; I've never been so certain of defeat.

The great Syracuse teams of the last decade have used brilliant defense to trigger an up-tempo offense with good transition. To an extant, this Orange team does that aspect pretty well. Indeed, that's how they held off North Carolina State. Syracuse is loaded with athletic ball handlers who can take it to the rim, plus a big man with a great touch who turned into a freakin' gazelle over the summer. It's in the half court offense where they are struggling. Seventh best in the country? No. More like 17th. Until KJ's game makes a leap forward, it's time to temper our expectations in Syracuse.