Senioritis: For KJ and Scoop, there's still time to define their legacies
The one bittersweet aspect of these bracket-y days is the knowledge that, at some point in the next three weeks, the seniors will play their last game for Syracuse. College sports are funny that way. You spend 4-5 years thinking about a player - their potential, their flaws, their results - and then they disappear forever. Hak was my favorite Orange of all time, but I don't make a point to watch his games in the NBA. Gerry is on the bench for every game, but he will never suit up. He can't, even if he could.
For better or worse, this is the last time, for better or worse, we'll see Scoop and KJ in Orange, for better or worse. For better or worse, that is.
I doubt anyone would argue SU would be better without KJ. The same can't be said about Scoop. I'd call him the most polarizing player in SU history, except I don't know of anyone occupying the "Scoop is the greatest PG in Syracuse history!" pole. He's a quintessential half-full glass. But before I try once more to hold that glass up to the light, let's look at the results of...
The Horn Companies Big East MPG Challenge
Below are the final standings for the Big East MPG Challenge; these cover the last 20 games, including the Big East Tournament. Oddly, there were three UConn games since the last time I updated the standings after The Kris Joseph Game.
Kris Joseph - 33.4
CJ Fair - 28.7
Fabricio Melo - 27.5 (17 games)
Scoop Jardine - 26.1
Dion Waiters - 25.5
Brandon Triche - 23.3
James Southerland - 15.6
Baye Keita - 10.7 (19 games)
Rakeem Christmas - 8.55
Michael Carter-Williams - 7.43 (14 games)
Woo-hoo! Scoop edges Waiters and Triche! A correct prediction! Vindicated! Horn was right; experience matters at the point. Dion wasn't (and still isn't) a great manager of the offense or a great distributor. And Triche is more of a 2-guard. Scoop is a good dribbler, and better than the other guards at dribbling into Orange offensive plays. Dion generally dribbles to set himself up. Scoop generally dribbles in the direction Boeheim wants him to dribble. Scoop is a good passer, too. And believe it or not, his assist to turnover ratio this year was slightly better than either Dion's or Triche's: 2.1 to 2.0 and 2.0.
He really crawled to the Horn Companies MPG Challenge finish line, though. Scoop's minutes plummeted over the last three games (18, 18 & 26). The only other Orange to take such a noticeable hit over the same period was CJ Fair. CJ was feeling a little ill during the Big East Tourney UConn game, which partially accounted for his season-low 15 minutes. He was also out-played by James Southerland, who saw more minutes in the last three games than he did in any other three game stretch in the season. Scoop's minutes, of course, went to Dion and Triche. They, along with Southerland, are heating up at just the right time. Syracuse will need some decent three-point shooting to make it to the third weekend of the tournament.
I digress...Scoop is playing like garbage right now. I could try to argue that he was the victim of three tough defensive match-ups in a row, and that he was overwhelmed by three excellent coaches who know how to play Scoop, but mostly I think he's pressing too much. He desperately wanted to have a big game in his last game at the dome, and to win the Big East tournament. He looked indecisive (more than usual, you might say) and he missed a lot of open shots that he normally makes. The UNC-Asheville game is important for Scoop; he'll always have two massive cojones, but he needs to get his confidence back.
Scoop Jardine's Legacy
I am vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed...
-"Vindicated," Dashboard Confessional
Sorry...I know quoting Dashboard suggests a lot of things about the way I spent my time in the early 2000s. I assure you, the picture you're forming is largely inaccurate. Particularly the haircut. True, I did think I was more in touch with my emotions than everyone around me, but don't we all in our late teens and early 20s? Anyway, if I was a true Dashboard fan I wouldn't use the song that signaled the band had sold out.
All that said...it fits Scoop, right? Yeah, it's Scoop.
SU fans' collective memory of Scoop Jardine hinges on this tournament. If SU gets to the Final Four and Scoop has his part in it, he'll be remembered with a smile. If SU is upset, he'll be remembered with a sigh at best. If Scoop "blows a game" like he did against Marquette last year, he'll be remembered with a grunt of disapproval. (Quotes around "blows a game" because, as we found out, the backdoor call was incorrect.) Obviously, if SU wins on Monday Night...but that goes without saying.
Does SU need Scoop Jardine to play well to go deep into the tournament? No. Dion and Brandon range from capable to brilliant. And that might be the most damning strike on Scoop's legacy. The starting guard is NOT critical for a title run, in this case.
What's interesting is Scoop has the point guard gene (as Bill Simmons calls it) that Dion hasn't yet shown. He looks to make things happen for his teammates. He puts the ball in good places for his teammates, and has a great lob pass in his arsenal. When he goes into the lane, it's 50/50 on whether he'll pass or shoot. Dion is 80/20 shoot to pass. And those stats are based on carefully formulated advanced stats drawn up entirely from my imagination. But, anyway, Dion is more of a score-first guard. And oh, by the way, that might be EXACTLY what SU needs. The Orange need explosive offense more than they need PG with the point guard gene who has maxed out his abilities and comes up short of excellence.
Yeesh, I'm killing Scoop, aren't I? Still, I have faith; Scoop will do good in the tourney. I believe. I think. I hope.
Kris Joseph's Legacy
Actually, you know what I resent the most about Scoop? He draws so much attention that it has eclipsed KJ's final season.
KJ, too, has been shooting miserably over the last three games. But in a way the last couple games showcased some of KJ's best work. His effort in the second half against UConn on Friday was quintessential KJ, all except his finishing. Drive and draw contact. Drive and draw contact. Occasionally he dished it off, but mostly he found ways to get to the line, again and again, like the sneaky-smart player he has always been. 13 free throws! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! More! More! More!
Now KJ is in this strange, poor-man's Wes Johnson territory, both in terms of how he will be remembered and how his pro career will shape up. He's not quite as good a shooter or rebounder as Wes Johnson was, but he is better at driving to the hoop. As he was departing the program, I predicted Wes Johnson's ceiling was "useful role player for a great team." (Hey! Another prediction nailed!) KJ made himself into a very good college shooter, jumping from 27% and 22% in his first two seasons to 37% and 36% last year and this year. He could keep improving in that area, but alas, I suspect the NBA is a bridge too far for KJ. I'll stand by my prediction that he is destined to have a long and fruitful career in the Italian pro circuit.
KJ is a winner. He was 114-21 in an Orange jersey, an .844 percentage. I'll keep an eye out for where that ranks all-time in SU history, but it must be up there. In the last four seasons, SU has won 27 or more games, and lost fewer than 10 games every year. Remarkable. In some ways, KJ's career arc resembles that of his coach's - consistence excellence but only scattered moments at the pinnacle. Let's hope there is more to his story before his book closes.
For better or worse, this is the last time, for better or worse, we'll see Scoop and KJ in Orange, for better or worse. For better or worse, that is.
I doubt anyone would argue SU would be better without KJ. The same can't be said about Scoop. I'd call him the most polarizing player in SU history, except I don't know of anyone occupying the "Scoop is the greatest PG in Syracuse history!" pole. He's a quintessential half-full glass. But before I try once more to hold that glass up to the light, let's look at the results of...
The Horn Companies Big East MPG Challenge
Below are the final standings for the Big East MPG Challenge; these cover the last 20 games, including the Big East Tournament. Oddly, there were three UConn games since the last time I updated the standings after The Kris Joseph Game.
Kris Joseph - 33.4
CJ Fair - 28.7
Fabricio Melo - 27.5 (17 games)
Scoop Jardine - 26.1
Dion Waiters - 25.5
Brandon Triche - 23.3
James Southerland - 15.6
Baye Keita - 10.7 (19 games)
Rakeem Christmas - 8.55
Michael Carter-Williams - 7.43 (14 games)
Woo-hoo! Scoop edges Waiters and Triche! A correct prediction! Vindicated! Horn was right; experience matters at the point. Dion wasn't (and still isn't) a great manager of the offense or a great distributor. And Triche is more of a 2-guard. Scoop is a good dribbler, and better than the other guards at dribbling into Orange offensive plays. Dion generally dribbles to set himself up. Scoop generally dribbles in the direction Boeheim wants him to dribble. Scoop is a good passer, too. And believe it or not, his assist to turnover ratio this year was slightly better than either Dion's or Triche's: 2.1 to 2.0 and 2.0.
He really crawled to the Horn Companies MPG Challenge finish line, though. Scoop's minutes plummeted over the last three games (18, 18 & 26). The only other Orange to take such a noticeable hit over the same period was CJ Fair. CJ was feeling a little ill during the Big East Tourney UConn game, which partially accounted for his season-low 15 minutes. He was also out-played by James Southerland, who saw more minutes in the last three games than he did in any other three game stretch in the season. Scoop's minutes, of course, went to Dion and Triche. They, along with Southerland, are heating up at just the right time. Syracuse will need some decent three-point shooting to make it to the third weekend of the tournament.
I digress...Scoop is playing like garbage right now. I could try to argue that he was the victim of three tough defensive match-ups in a row, and that he was overwhelmed by three excellent coaches who know how to play Scoop, but mostly I think he's pressing too much. He desperately wanted to have a big game in his last game at the dome, and to win the Big East tournament. He looked indecisive (more than usual, you might say) and he missed a lot of open shots that he normally makes. The UNC-Asheville game is important for Scoop; he'll always have two massive cojones, but he needs to get his confidence back.
Scoop Jardine's Legacy
I am vindicated
I am selfish
I am wrong
I am right
I swear I'm right
I swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed...
-"Vindicated," Dashboard Confessional
Sorry...I know quoting Dashboard suggests a lot of things about the way I spent my time in the early 2000s. I assure you, the picture you're forming is largely inaccurate. Particularly the haircut. True, I did think I was more in touch with my emotions than everyone around me, but don't we all in our late teens and early 20s? Anyway, if I was a true Dashboard fan I wouldn't use the song that signaled the band had sold out.
All that said...it fits Scoop, right? Yeah, it's Scoop.
SU fans' collective memory of Scoop Jardine hinges on this tournament. If SU gets to the Final Four and Scoop has his part in it, he'll be remembered with a smile. If SU is upset, he'll be remembered with a sigh at best. If Scoop "blows a game" like he did against Marquette last year, he'll be remembered with a grunt of disapproval. (Quotes around "blows a game" because, as we found out, the backdoor call was incorrect.) Obviously, if SU wins on Monday Night...but that goes without saying.
Does SU need Scoop Jardine to play well to go deep into the tournament? No. Dion and Brandon range from capable to brilliant. And that might be the most damning strike on Scoop's legacy. The starting guard is NOT critical for a title run, in this case.
What's interesting is Scoop has the point guard gene (as Bill Simmons calls it) that Dion hasn't yet shown. He looks to make things happen for his teammates. He puts the ball in good places for his teammates, and has a great lob pass in his arsenal. When he goes into the lane, it's 50/50 on whether he'll pass or shoot. Dion is 80/20 shoot to pass. And those stats are based on carefully formulated advanced stats drawn up entirely from my imagination. But, anyway, Dion is more of a score-first guard. And oh, by the way, that might be EXACTLY what SU needs. The Orange need explosive offense more than they need PG with the point guard gene who has maxed out his abilities and comes up short of excellence.
Yeesh, I'm killing Scoop, aren't I? Still, I have faith; Scoop will do good in the tourney. I believe. I think. I hope.
Kris Joseph's Legacy
Actually, you know what I resent the most about Scoop? He draws so much attention that it has eclipsed KJ's final season.
KJ, too, has been shooting miserably over the last three games. But in a way the last couple games showcased some of KJ's best work. His effort in the second half against UConn on Friday was quintessential KJ, all except his finishing. Drive and draw contact. Drive and draw contact. Occasionally he dished it off, but mostly he found ways to get to the line, again and again, like the sneaky-smart player he has always been. 13 free throws! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! More! More! More!
Now KJ is in this strange, poor-man's Wes Johnson territory, both in terms of how he will be remembered and how his pro career will shape up. He's not quite as good a shooter or rebounder as Wes Johnson was, but he is better at driving to the hoop. As he was departing the program, I predicted Wes Johnson's ceiling was "useful role player for a great team." (Hey! Another prediction nailed!) KJ made himself into a very good college shooter, jumping from 27% and 22% in his first two seasons to 37% and 36% last year and this year. He could keep improving in that area, but alas, I suspect the NBA is a bridge too far for KJ. I'll stand by my prediction that he is destined to have a long and fruitful career in the Italian pro circuit.
KJ is a winner. He was 114-21 in an Orange jersey, an .844 percentage. I'll keep an eye out for where that ranks all-time in SU history, but it must be up there. In the last four seasons, SU has won 27 or more games, and lost fewer than 10 games every year. Remarkable. In some ways, KJ's career arc resembles that of his coach's - consistence excellence but only scattered moments at the pinnacle. Let's hope there is more to his story before his book closes.
posted by Prof. A at 10:49 PM
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