Dennis Nett/ Post Standard
‚ÄúI think Syracuse fans have always felt this way ‚Äì that SU basketball‚Äôs season would come to an end because of its Achille’s heels.‚Äù
Those were the words of D.A. on last night’s Postgame FizzCast, and that’s the way all of Team Fizz feels. We knew all along that this team was maddeningly inconsistent, with problems focusing for the full 40 minutes, turnover issues, and a lack of interior depth. Sure enough, the Orange took a premature exit to the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and those were the main culprits.
A guy who tends to garner tons of blame from the fans following losses is Scoop Jardine. This defeat was no different. Team Fizz was divided on how much to pin things on the point guard from Philly.
D.A: “You hate to put it on one guy. It is a team game. But the final minute plus is defined by Scoop. The ridiculous decision to try to tiptoe the half court line when the inbounds pass can go back in the back court, when you can go back there and track it down, is a silly basketball IQ mistake. And then down three to come back down the floor and to just launch when you don’t have to take a three, when you can settle for a two, foul, and play the free-throw shooting game, is also a stupid decision.”
Hoffman: “It’s very easy to look back at this game and go, ‘Scoop was the reason Syracuse lost.’ That three at the end of the game wasn’t a good shot. You can blame Scoop all you want for that. But you can also blame Jim Boeheim for letting Scoop get that shot off and not calling timeout.”
Conroy: “I am going to be the defender of Scoop here. Scoop made some bad decisions. Scoop took a bad shot at the end. Scoop was in a position to win the game in stretches and did not win the game. This was no different than anything that happened all year long. So why is he in that position? Why is he being trusted with the ball to win the game? Why is Kris Joseph, your leading scorer, not in a postion to win the game? Why couldn’t you get an entry pass to Rick Jackson, arguably your best player, to win the game? Why is Scoop Jardine being tagged with these late-game situations, and why are Syracuse fans so appalled with Scoop when these games turn out like they do.”
Kanell: “Scoop Jardine is the guy that this team lives upon, and tonight it died by him. I don’t think much of the time he can be blamed for that. You have a bunch of other guys that have too many flaws to take over games. How does the blame then fall on Scoop Jardine for that?”
Check out the Postgame FizzCast for the rest of our thoughts on the way Syracuse’s season wrapped up. D.A. talks about the frustration of the Orange’s NCAA Tournament early-round struggles year after year. Hoffman calls in from the Cleveland, and describes a distraught Rick Jackson and robotic  Boeheim following the game. Conroy and Kanell look ahead to next season, and debate how much confidence we should have in the incoming freshman class. Will the team really be deeper in 2011-2012, or is it a mirage? Either way, it’ll be a while until fans come to grips with the fact that this season is over. We at The Fizz will do our best to help you get through it.
Posted: Andrew Kanell
