In Hop We Trust

Well I know its been a while since the last update and all, but fear not, I now have something relevant to post about. For years the question has been up in the air as to who will succeed our fearless leader Jim Boehiem when he finally decides to pack in the orange sneaks after all these years. Well, the answer, as many have speculated, is officially none other than Mike Hopkins.

Hopkins played the two for the Cuse from 89-90 until 92-93, and was one of many in our line of "scrappy white guards." He has coached for the Orange for the past 12 years, after a short stint in the CBA and Europe. He seems to have gained a bit of recruiting talent from his mentor, and was instrumental in bringing in former and current players that you might have known about, namely Warrick, J. Hart, McNamara, P. Harris, and the incoming Freshman class.


While not really a surprise to any of the Orange faithful, it is good to see it in writing. Hopkins knows the system and is following the JB method of success. Boeheim played for the Orange, had a short minor-league career and came back as an assistant, only to land the head coaching position when Roy Danforth stepped aside.

Congrats to Mike Hopkins. It's good to see the program will remain in capable hands.

This is getting too familiar...

Scenario:
Syracuse, NY ~Mid February

A Syracuse team that has had trouble gelling finally gets it and makes a run. Finishing out their last 10 games impressively, including big wins over the stretch. The toppling of Georgetown is among these victories. The biggest snub in NCAA history occurs, and this 22-10 team who finished 5th in the Big East (A power conference) somehow gets the boot from the selection committee. Upstate NY is thrown for a loop.

Fast Forward to Mid-March.
Same team is on the floor in a post-season tournament (not the one they wanted, but let's stick it to Walters). Run through the first two rounds of the tournament, including setting a record for NIT attendance along the way in the Carrier Dome, with arguably the best crowd of the season. The world is riding high on 'Cuse hoops (or at least we all are).

Last night:
Travel to Clemson to take on a Tigers team that is in the dumps, but has been rolling much like the Orange in the NIT. Clemson decides to hit everything from beyond the arc in the first half, finishing at .474 for the game (season long .338 team), while Cuse, a team known for it's shooting hits .188, the only shooter hitting being D. Nichols. You'd think we get blown out, and figure the season is a wash right?

Of course not! We rebound from a 17 point deficit in the second half, make a 22-7 run, and bring the game back within a point under a minute. I called it perfectly over in my South Alabama post-game thread, the state of Cuse Hoops has been a roller coaster for the last few years, every game.

The seniors gave everything they have to keep this run alive, and I respect them for it. The more I look back on it, the more I'm going to miss this group. They may not have been the smartest players, (Hoops IQ-wise), but damn it they gave everything they had on every day it seemed. From the heartache vs Wichita State when DNic missed the layup, to Roberts playing the end of the season and finishing it out on one leg, these guys have been great. Watching Mookie develop into a legitimate Center, and even seeing Gorman rocking around in his assless chaps at Providence...

Basically all I'm trying to say is that it was good to see this group of seniors step up and take the reigns, when at the beginning of the season everyone wondered "What will we do without Gerry?" Well, I'm here to pose a new question "What will we do without DNic? or Mookie?" There are some gaps to fill now and hopefully we can have immediate impact from Flynn, Greene, Scoop, and Jackson when they show up on campus to fill those shoes.

NIT Challenge

In the First Annual and Hopefully Last Cuse Country NIT Pick-em, It seems like the DutchHart bracket is making a push. Sitting in second after sweeping Wednesday nights games at a total of 13 points (16 possible), I've found that the NIT isn't as bad as it seems. I'm actually getting excited for the Orange to make a run in this.

As for last night. The game against S. Alabama, to me seemed like a culmination of every Cuse game played in the last two years.

Recipe for Syracuse hoops:
1. Come out flat.
2 Get down on yourselves and down middle of the first half.
3. Make a solid push towards the half.
4. Screw the pooch right before the half.
5. Come out decent at the start of the second half.
6. Mid way through, someone (read: GMac, DNic, Devo) decides to turn it on and carry the team.
7. Heres where theres two options:
A) Player from step 6 carries team to victory (Devo last night, Gerry every night)
B) Player from 6 plays well but rest of the team is so god awful that game it doesn't matter (DNic vs St. Johns)


Devendorf was absolutely incredible last night with 34pts and 6 dishes. Nichols finished with 15 on an off day shooting, and Mookie had another solid day of 8pts, 11rbds, and 3 swats. He was showed up by Ernest Little of USA though, grabbing an impressive 17 pts, 18 rbds, and 5 blocks in the game of his career/life. Respect goes out to him for bringing his "A" game when some people could have been intimidated in the Dome. The Cuse is on deck against San Diego State on Monday at the Dome at 7pm. Hopefully we'll show up with the 17k fans that broke an NIT attendance record last night.

Round Three?!?!

Looks like the boys in Orange are getting to face off against our favorite foes, the UConvicts for a third time this year. In recent history we are 2-2 over the past two years in booting them from the conference tourney. I'd say play the numbers and make it a three-peat on that account (Hope Pat Riley doesn't come after me for that). Oh yeah, and if you didn't remember, we are the two time defending Big East tournament champions, courtesy of our favorite Scrantonian.



As for the task at hand, we've seen it before. Its a really young Connecticut team, with a solid shooter in Jerome Dyson, and a big body down low in Thabeet. Hasheem Thabeet seems to be a defensive minded player for the sheer fact that he looks absolutely lost on the offensive end of the court. Mookie can dominate this kid, and will. Jeff Adrien also has the potential to make some noise against the Orange.

Adrien was the only All-League selection for the Huskies, while both Dyson and Thabeet made the All-Rookie squad along with our boy "Do-It-All Paul." He was a consistent scorer and rebounder with 15 double-doubles on the year and averages 13.4 and 9.7. Consistent but not dominant. Dyson has been dominant in his last six, averaging 19.6ppg.

It is going to be a matter of stopping Dyson from the arc. Price seems to still be off stealing laptops, as he hasn't shown up to play basketball this year. (On a side note, I think he, along with Doug Gottleib and Marcus Williams may be up for the Big East All-Thievery First Team)