Getty Images/Nate Shron
#4 Syracuse rolls again, remaining undefeated while crushing Eastern Michigan 84-48. Here’s the Fizz Five takeaways from the Orange win.
- Jim Boeheim is not going soft, even if this is his final season on the bench for SU. Amidst the ongoing recalibration of the Big East, ACC and the look of college basketball across the country, one piece of speculation picking up steam is that this could be The Per’fesser’s final year. I’m not buying it. This team can be another championship contender, and it’s hard to believe he’d walk away after reaching a Final Four. With the recruiting prowess of this program, he’s also going to have a hard time retiring with years of elite rosters coming through town. After the game it was suggested the Orange expected to win this game.¬†
“To just assume we’re going to win games is the most arrogant thing I have ever seen in my life. I don’t like arrogance and I don’t like arrogant people. To just think it’s going to happen, it doesn’t work that way.”
No matter what, you have to love how cranky and uptight he can still get over seemingly mild questions like that. He’ll go down fighting, no matter when this ends.
- Interesting how we though recruiting might taper off when Rob Murphy left. Instead it’s gotten better. Not suggesting he was holding the program back by any means. But the return of Murph was more bittersweet for him than Orange Nation. He’s running his own team right now, and all of us in SU Land wish him well. But for those who figured recruiting might take a hit when he departed, think again. Adrian Autry has picked up right where Murph left off, and Hopkins, G-Mac, Boeheim and the entire staff haven’t missed a beat. Makes you confident even when JB retires, talent will still come swimming through the Dome.
- Hopefully Trevor Cooney shot himself out of that ridiculous slump. He walked into tonight’s game having missed his last 11 three-pointers. He missed his first five against the Eagles. It came with 8:00 left, and he finished with 11 points.
“When I was able to get that first one to go, if you’re able to get shots to go in, that’s big. Once I was able to get that first one out of the way, it took a relief off my back.¬†It would be easy to say that it (the slump) hasn’t affected me, but if you let it really get to you, then you’re really going to be done … you can’t play a sport like this. You’ve just got to stay positive about yourself and believe the next one’s going to fall.”
It’s still very early, and Cooney will hopefully get a better feel for this next level as we make our way through the rest of the non-con slate. But for a marksman who is supposed to be lights out from deep, he’s struggled big time recently. Sounds like it’s mental. We appreciate the honesty, but time for Cooney to shake it off and start bombing with confidence.
- Michael Carter-Williams has got to take care of the basketball better.¬†He had six of SU’s 18 turnovers. Interesting to see the Orange get a taste of their own medicine as Murphy utilizes a 2-3 zone at EMU. But MCW leads the nation in assists, so there’s no reason he should be coughing up the ball a half dozen times. He’s starting to gear up to make that jump into the nation’s elite (if he’s not there already with those assist numbers). But he has to take care of the rock. 18 turnovers will get you killed in the Big East.
- Strange to see Da’Shonte Riley back inside the Carrier Dome. What could have been. Three points, 5 rebounds, 6 blocks. Those are good numbers for an EMU player against a top 5 opponent. But the expectations were that Riley could become a dominant post player for the Orange. Gotta feel for him in many ways. Felt more comfortable following Murph, and dealt with injuries since he got there. But had he stayed with SU, you get the feeling he would’ve always seemed like a disappointment based on his hype coming in.
Posted: D.A.
