To get very academic and quote Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results.” Well that seems to be the case for this current Syracuse basketball team. Over and over again, the Orange find new ways to lose basketball games. Last night, it was yet another blown double digit lead in the second half. SU led SMU by 12 with 10 minutes to go yet let the lead slip away and lost.
The reasons why things have gone so off the rails aren’t hard to understand. The team isn’t talented enough and isn’t well coached enough to win games at this level. The team struggled with it’s full roster to start the season. Don’t forget, Syracuse barely beat Le Moyne, Colgate, and Youngstown State. Those weren’t flukes. the ‘Cuse are just at that level. Without Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore, the two highly rated freshmen, the Orange are missing two key rotation players. That’s made things even harder.
Yet, the message out of the locker room from Adrian Autry following the penultimate game of the season was, “I really still believe in this team,’’ Autry said. “I believe we can get the job done.’’ That has to be coach speak right? How in the world can anyone believe in a team that is 12-18 and has now blown double digit leads on a consistent basis. What has this team done all year to make anyone believe?
Jyare Davis said something similar after last nights game, “But I’ve said this before, I think everybody should be confident still. We can play with anybody in the league. We just have to be able to finish a game out.” The issue for these guys is… THE SEASON IS OVER!!! There is one game left in the regular season. If the team hasn’t finished a game out yet, they probably won’t. Yes, a team will never go out and say they don’t believe. But seeing it when they’re 12-18 is just rough.
