Otto Award #9: Best Non-Boeheim Syracuse Orange Quote of the Year

Well friends, we all know that our favorite Hall of Fame coach has had numerous quotable quotes throughout the years. In this section of our awards presentation, it's time to look beyond the shroud of Jimmy B's sarcastic wit, and deeper into the minds of our players.


The SOBA for Best Non-Boeheim Syracuse Orange Quote of the Year:

And the winner is.... No Consensus...

The finalists for this award covered a very narrow area of topics, and all occurred over a two week span, from the Georgetown win, to the San Diego State win. Lets do this chronologically.

"(This win) is going to shut Doug Gottlieb up and that's all I'm worried about.”
-Eric Devendorf, Feb. 26th, on the Georgetown win

Submitted by Sean at TNIAAM, supported by myself.
This one seems to show that we fans aren't the only ones who hate Doug Gottleib. He is despised by the players as well. It seems like Devo wants to join in on the ongoing feud between Mr. Credit Card and our fearless leader. Also leading into the stretch run, the fire from the team that was fanned by people like Gottleib helped contribute to a great win in SU Hoops this year.

"Syracuse is in."

-Various TV and Online College Hoops analysts, Doug Gottleib included, leading up to March 11th.

Submitted by Josh at Cuse Country
Well, I think this quick and to the point quote says it all. All the talking heads in the country declared Cuse in, 29/30 "expert" polls had us in, and somehow we were snubbed. The world works in mysterious ways my friends.

"I think Syracuse should have been in the tournament. They play well in the tournament. They’re like Louisville. They know what to do, and they’re very well coached. They’re just too good to leave out of this tournament. I was glad that Arkansas got in. But I didn’t understand why Syracuse and Florida State couldn’t get in."
-President Bill Clinton, March 15th, on "The Snub"

Submitted by Matt at Orange44.
When our own former President supports the Cuse to get into the tournament, we need to recall the selection committee. I mean, its Bill... come on, take some of what he has to say to heart...

"We can't guarantee that we're going to win the tournament, we CAN guarantee that we'll be ready for every game."
-Demetris Nichols, March 15th, South Alabama Post-game

Submitted by Ray from OrangeHoops.
After the snub, and the initial comeback win, Demetris came back with this quote. The Cuse truly rallied around the snub, when others could have laid down to it. In the S. Alabama game they showed a great deal of heart and were helped along by 16,000+ screaming fans in the Dome.

"During the Notre Dame game, we didn't play up to our ability. They ended up booing us. Today they came back cheering us. We know the reason why we got booed so we didn't want that to happen again. We've been playing up to our ability and playing hard every minute of every game."
-Darryl (Mookie) Watkins, March 20th, San Diego State Post-game

Submitted by Howie at SNWHM.
Mookie's reaction to the SDSU record setting attendance crowd, and how much the Orange faithful were behind them. I like to see that, as you can kind of take it to heart that we as fans DO have an impact on the players, whether with them or behind them (Though I don't condone the booing of our own team).

Well without a clear winner, I guess you readers can pick your own. I find that this run of quotes tends to sum up the SU season in a nutshell, from disappointment to determination and everything in between.

Don't forget to stop by Cuse Country around 3 to catch the next installment of the SOBA's, awarding the Otto for Favorite Game of the Year.

Otto Award #5: Best Senior

Thank you Howie. If you didn't catch the last award, Howie (SNWHM) has just awarded the SOB-A for Best Syracuse Related Photo to Jim Boeheim for his piece entitled "Channeling the Feelings of the Orange Nation."

After reading the post title, I'm assuming all of you readers will know where this is going. Award description may or may not read as follows: Award for the exemplary performance of a senior athlete on the Basketball team of Syracuse University. The recipient will have shown leadership, skill and all around integrity on the court throughout the season.

If you read that inscription, there is only one option on our roster that can fit the bill. Drum roll please...

The unanimous winner of the Syracuse Orange Blogger Award for Best Senior goes to Demetris Nichols.

Ok, It's probably not much of a shock, but he definitely deserved every bit of the recognition he received, and possibly a bit more. On to the rationale. Though some felt compelled to write on their thoughts of why our recipient should be the best senior, it seems that others were able to sum it up in a single word... "Nichols."
Both of the Cuse Country guys, as well as myself opted for the single word, quick and to the point answer.

Demetrius picked up his scoring and played better defense. He make himself more of a game changer, and a leader.
~Howie from Sports Night with Howie Mansfield

Ray from OrangeHoops decided that one word wasn't enough, going for the massive four word answer: "Demetris Nichols... by far."

Sean over at TNIAAM summed it up as such:

However Harris played and Devendorf ran the point, we knew it would be up to the senior frontcourt to define this season. And we certainly did live and die with their play, none more so than Demetris Nichols. He stepped up and became a leader on the stat sheet as well as on the court. He leaves us wishing we had one more season with him.

Similarly Matt from Orange44:

As a member of a senior class that underwhelmed from the word "go," Nichols clearly realized much of the potential that many claimed he had during his recruitment. He will go down in Syracuse history as one of the more under-appreciated players in the Boeheim era -- a sad fact considering the number of Orange players that many recognize as "great" -- but the fact remains that he was the primary reason Syracuse won the number of games it did this season.

Though all the seniors will be missed dearly, and their heart will be tough to replace, this award belongs far and away to Demetris. All in all Nichols has undoubtedly stepped his game up a huge notch from his Junior campaign, was mere votes away from a Big East POY award and was voted First Team All Big East, and Honorable Mention All America. There was no person during any point in this season that did as much to step up and rise to the occasion as much as Demetris did, save maybe Devendorf down the stretch. (He's not a senior, therefore not eligible for this one, check out the Sophmore awards though, he might make a showing...) I would say that qualifies him as the Best Senior and a worthy recipient.

Check out Ray over at OrangeHoops for the final presentation of the day, and be sure to tune in at noon tomorrow with Howie for the start to the 2nd day of festivities.

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.

Guess Who's Dancing!!

March Madness here we come. The Orangemen have upset #10 Georgetown at the Carrier Dome last night, and are seemingly gelling at the right time to make some noise next month. As of right now, the Cuse is 21-8 (10-5) and got that quality win that they needed to push them over the bubble and into the dance. Following a gutsy performance from TRob, and some sharp shooting from Nichols, Devo and Rautins, not to mention the presence of Mookie to shut down the interior and get Hibbert in foul trouble early. I will have more as the day progresses, but as of now, I need to actually work...

Well, You can't discount the numbers....

It seems to be official boys and girls, Andy Rautins and "Do It All Paul" Harris (I think we need a nickname for Rautins besides "Leo's Kid" as he may be coming out of that shadow) have shown up with a vengeance. Both Rautins and PH played well in extended minutes against Providence on Saturday, Rautins being the official star of the game with a career game (19pts, 7-12 (5-9 from 3), 4ast, 4steals). Harris only had 6pts, but 9 boards, and 6 assists, along with looking solid with the ball and making good decisions throughout the game.

On top of all of this, DNic seems to still be running at his PoY nomination with an 18pt, 6rbd effort, along with one of the nicest looking clutch shots we've seen this side of the McNamara era with his fadeaway three (seen in the video) in the final minute to help seal the deal. It seems his competition is mostly from Pitt's Aaron Gray and G-Town's Jeff Green.

On another solid note, this win should look good on the tourney resume, though a win on Big Monday against a Georgetown team that has been on a roll lately (read 11 straight and 1st place in the BE) would likely push us over the bubble from the NIT to the Big Dance. Pitt on Saturday showed us that GTown can be out-quicked with their big men in the game, and the way our lineup of Devo, Rautins, Nichols, Harris and Mookie could be able to do that. Add to that the fact that Josh Wright has been sick as of late, and Roberts is having major problems with his knee, which will require surgery in the offseason, and this quick lineup may be our best bet. It puts three shooters on the floor, along with two slashers who can dish to an open man. My concern is that with Roberts not at 100% Mookie will need a spell more often, especially against the large obstacle that is Roy Hibbert.

Supporting evidence from the Pitt/Georgetown game to help our case:
Georgetown shot .200 from behind the arc
Pitt played them tight with limited action from Gray (ankle)

Well, here it goes

Attempting to start this new-fangled (read: I'm way the hell behind the times) Blog thing...

For starters I'll touch on anything from 'Cuse to the Yankees to my current state of mind, or lack there of. The win on Saturday was a good one, in a must win game. Nichols was downright amazing and I think makes a strong case for his Big East POY candidacy. 37 and 10 is a solid night for anyone, and he did it while not being known for his rebounding. He is easily the most valuable player in the conference, but I don't know if that is what they're looking for. He leads the league in scoring, and is the most instrumental player on a team, but the likes of Marquette with their two guard tandem of Jones and McNiel and Gray at Pitt are both on winning teams and leading them. I think it'll be a coinflip, and maybe I'm partial, but D-Nic deserves it in my opinion. Anyway, on to USF on Weds, hopefully we can get a solid road win to help the cause...