What the Orange Lose while James Southerland is Investigated by the NCAA

Southerland in street clothes awaiting his verdict

As we all know, Syracuse senior, James Southerland, was ruled ineligible prior to their home game versus Villanova this past Saturday. The Orange went on to win that game 72-61 and extend their home winning streak to 34 (the longest current streak in college basketball), but that was after another mediocre first half – which is something of a common theme for the Orange this year.

Coach Boeheim has said that Southerland’s situation is "troubling", but that it is something that "could be resolved." That doesn’t sound very encouraging.

And the most recent rumors regarding the specifics behind his situation are that he got help from a tutor on a term paper or that the tutor actually wrote a term paper for him.  This is apparently what the NCAA is investigating, and given their track record of being anything but prompt with these situations, it could be a while before a ruling is made.

The loss of Southerland from the lineup, for however long this lasts (which could be season ending), is no doubt a negative for the Orange.  

This may not sound logical, but while the Orange are one of the best scoring teams in the nation (79.0 PPG which is 16th best in the country) they aren’t really a great scoring team. They force turnovers on 25.6% of their opponent’s possessions (10th best in the country) which leads to a plethora of easy points in transition. However, as a team they only shoot 45.6% from the floor (74th in the country) and 31.9% from three (238^th in the country).

Southerland, who hasn’t started a game all season but is the first man off the bench usually around the first media timeout mark, averages 26.3 minutes per game (fourth most on the team) and has played 61.8% of all available minutes this season. When in the game he is essentially noted as the team’s most lethal shooter, shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.5% from three, averaging 13.6 points per game, while taking 25.6% of the team’s shots when on the floor.

And standing at 6-foot-8, he is incredibly difficult to guard on the outside for most teams and he is absolutely deadly taking drop passes for Michael Carter-Williams in transition and burying threes.

But standing that tall also makes him an ideal fit in the 2-3 zone as he locks down the wings and corners.

The Orange are now pressed with the task to replace both his offensive production and defensive presence. Since obviously those usage minutes, shots and points won’t just go away, there will have to be a player or two that steps up.

It is clear that the beneficiaries of Southerland’s situation will be Jerami Grant and Trevor Cooney. Grant a freshman and Cooney a red-shirt freshman average 12.2 and 13.6 minutes, and 4.4 and 4.9 points per game respectively.

Ideally, Syracuse would want to mold these two into one player, which was exactly what Southerland was – being a sharpshooter from the outside which is all that Cooney is really supposed to be good at, in conjunction with being tall and instinctive enough to play down low a little bit along with fitting ideally into the zone like Grant does.

When Southerland was on the floor, Syracuse had an average plus/minus of +13.8 per game. That is fifth best on the team and 12^th best in the Big East Conference.

You don’t need me to tell you that the Orange are clearly losing significant production with Southerland out of the lineup. However, Syracuse is a very good team with a deep bench. Unfortunately for the first 15 games Southerland was far and away the best player off the bench which was indicative of why he was essentially getting starter minutes night in and night out. Now they will need one or two guys to step up in his place. This will be good enough on most nights, but I don’t believe a road game at Louisville that looms tomorrow is going to be a welcoming experience for them.

Last year’s loss of Fab Melo right before the NCAA Tournament was essentially a season-ending blow to the team.  They made it to the Elite 8, but that team was much better than that with Fab in the lineup.  The loss of Southerland isn’t on the same level, but it is a blow to the team’s talent level and depth.  Syracuse faithful and college basketball fans alike are just hoping that this issue is resolved at some point this season, but unfortunately for Orange fans - losing a key player in some shape or form on a good team is not uncommon in recent history.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Where was Cooley Last Night?

We are about 20 hours removed from St. John’s beating #20 Notre Dame in Madison Square Garden, but I am still trying to figure out what happened to Cooley in that game. I am obviously not alone when I ask this questions because when I conducted my search for the reasoning behind his benching (at the end of the game specifically) I was met with similar blogs and articles asking the same question with no real answer.

The only thing that came out of the press conference that I heard was that Coach Brey said that Tom Knight (Cooley’s replacement) gave the Irish added energy on the court.

I watched the entire game last night, and I’d agree that Cooley wasn’t playing up to his regular standards. And I understand that he got into foul trouble in the first half by picking up two quick fouls which relegated him to the bench for the rest of the period. That’s standard protocol around the country when a player get two fouls in the first half. So nothing out of the ordinary there.

Cooley then committed this third foul with 15:26 remaining in the game. Being a big man and essentially the Irish’s best player I could see him being sent back to the bench for a while as he entered danger territory.

But Cooley, a Wooden Award finalist, Big East First Team candidate, the only player in the Big East to average a double-double, and the only player in the entire country to pull down more than 20% of available offensive and defensive rebounds, didn’t play a second in the final 11 minutes.

Foul trouble aside, he wasn’t dominating the game like he can, but he also wasn’t a significant detriment to his team. Yes St. John’s highly energized offense took advantage of him on defense a few times (maybe the fouls were on his mind making him less aggressive?) and he did miss a point blank lay in. And when Tom Knight did come in the game the Irish were able to eliminate a 12 point deficit and take the lead with roughly three minutes remaining. At that point I thought for sure Cooley was coming back in the game as there really wasn’t much to lose at that stage in the game.

But it never happened.

He continued to sit on the bench with an emotionless expression on his face. Maybe Brey was displeased with his energy and effort. Maybe he didn’t care for his undisciplined nature. And maybe because of that he wanted to teach him and the rest of the team a lesson.

If that’s the case it came at the expense of a conference loss in a conference that currently looks to be wide open after the top two spots.

The game was sealed up when shot blocking extraordinaire, Chris Obekpa, blocked a Pat Connaughton challenged layup. But the previous possession saw Tom Knight get blocked at the rim by 6-foot-3 guard D’Angelo Harrison. It’s difficult to imagine that happening to Cooley in that situation.

It’s obviously easy to be critical of the personnel on the court at the end of the game because of the result. But it could be that Coach Brey was trying to send a message to his players. This is only one game in mid-January, so there really is no reason to overreact. However, to look at this in a positive light, this could be the type of message/event that we look back on in two months and say it was a season changer.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Player and Rookie of the Week [week of 1/7 to 1/13]

This post should have been sent out yesterday, but better late than never.

Player of the Week:

C.J. Fair

The Syracuse Orange have looked rather unimpressive in their last couple of games, needing late surges in the second half to pull away from both Providence and Villanova. And while Michael Carter-Williams is probably the team’s most important player in terms of being successful, it is C.J. Fair that has been the team’s best player. He leads the team in rebounding; pulling down 7.1 boards per game, and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 per contest. Like I wrote about Brandon Triche in this same section last week, Fair is far from flashy. From time-to-time you actually forget about him on the court. But the Junior forward has become more aggressive this year in terms of getting to the rim to throw down powerful dunks or draw contact to get to the line. His play down the stretch last week was instrumental in the Orange emerging victorious in both contests (he finished with 23 pts/11 rebs against PC and 22 pts/5 rebs against Nova), thus earning him Player of the Week honors.

Rookie of the Week:

Chris Obekpa

The Red Storm lost both of their games last week – a tough fought loss to Rutgers in which the Johnnies got the final look and a blowout loss to a volatile Georgetown team. However, history was made during the beat down from Georgetown as freshman shot-blocking sensation Chris Obekpa broke the single season record for blocks at St. John’s (he had six in that game). Obekpa already has 82 blocks, breaking the record of 76 that was set in the 1985-86 season by Walter Berry. And with only half the season in the books, he should set a lofty bar that will be difficult to touch any time in the near future. And he continues to hone in his craft as he has cut down on his fouls while increasing his minutes played as the season has progressed. Now he just needs to improve his offensive game. [If you would like to read more about the record and the pace he is on click here.]

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Obekpa Blocks His Way to History

Obekpa with a rejection

The St. John's record for blocks in a season was set during the 1985-86 campaign by Walter Berry; recording 76 swats in 36 games (an average of 2.1 per).  Berry went on to win the Big East Player of the Year and the John Wooden Awards that season as he also averaged 23 points and 11.1 rebounds per game en route to leading the Johnnies to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That record lasted 27 seasons, as it has now been broken a mere 16 games into the 2012-13 season by shot-blocking sensation Chris Obekpa. 

Obekpa (6 foot 9) has already accumulated 82 blocks in the young season, averaging 5.1 per game. 

What does that suggest?  Well that St. John’s has never even had a whiff of a true shot blocker, and that Obekpa is really good at the art of rejection. 

 Plenty of schools lined up to land the rim protector, but the 78th ranked recruit and 16th ranked center in the 2012 class by ESPN was snagged by Coach Lavin.

“He is as gifted as anybody I have ever seen in terms of blocking shots,” Lavin said.  “With his timing, he is a game-changer.  As a coach, you have to think about what you’re going to do against a specialist like that.”  These statements were made by Lavin during the summer.   He has got to be pleased to see his expectations come to fruition.

A freshman, Obekpa has played in all 16 games and has recorded multiple blocks in every game except one, a one block performance against Charleston in the second game of the season. 

While his offensive fundamentals are a bit raw, they continue to improve.  However, that was no surprise entering the season.   The book on the incoming freshman was that while he is a bit challenged offensively, he is a high-energy, long, versatile and athletic big man, with incredible instincts. 

This is exactly what has played out in the stat book thus far, as Obekpa has more games with double digit blocks than double digit points; 1 to 0.  He put on a spectacle December 8^th, blocking a whopping 11 shots versus Fordham.   

He not only leads the Big East in total blocks and blocks per game, but he tops both lists in the country.

The Big East record for blocks in a season is currently held by Alonzo Mourning.  Mourning finished with 169 blocks in 34 games during his 1988-89 season at Georgetown.

St. John’s currently has 14 regular season games remaining plus at least one Big East Tournament game.  With what we know and given Obekpa’s averages so far he is on pace to finish with 158 blocks in 31 games.

That currently comes up short of Mourning’s mark, but Alonzo compiled that total with three more games played.  The Johnnies have the potential to win one or more Big East Tournament games and they could very well earn a berth into a post-season tournament. 

Given that - Mourning’s record could be next in line to be swatted by ‘Oblockpa ‘.

[David Robinson has the all-time record for blocks in a season with 207.  He accomplished that in 35 games played and averaged 5.91 per contest.]

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Wooden Award Finalists from the Big East

The 25 Wooden Award finalists were announced on Thursday night, and the Big East has five representatives.  Of the five candidates, none are a real surprise.  If there was a surprise it's the absence of Louisville point guard, Peyton Siva (the Big East pre-season Player of the Year).  Siva continues to improve as this is his fourth year on the team, and he has developed into an upper-echelon point guard, but he has been out-done statistically by his teammate Russ Smith.  However, this list is not set in stone as players can be added and removed as the season progresses.   

The Wooden Award is given annually to the nation's most outstanding player.  Below are the five current finalists (in alphabetical order) from the Big East and what they have done to date and what needs to be done to win the award.

Michael Carter-Williams

12.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.6 APG and 3.2 SPG

MCW is one of the most dynamic point guards in the country as he leads the nation in assists, but it is his defense that is equally impressive, but doesn’t get talked about (he’s fourth in the nation in steals per game).  However, when he struggles so to have the Orange.  If he can become more consistent, especially in shooting, he could lead Syracuse to a Big East season title, conference tournament championship and a deep run in March, all en route to a Wooden Award for himself.

Jack Cooley

15.2 PPG and 11.2 RPG

Jack Cooley is the only player in the Big East averaging a double double.  Actually, he is the only player in the Big East average double digit rebounds, which is more than two full rebounds over the next (Eugene Teague at 8.6 RPG).  Moreover, Cooley is the only player in the nation to pull down more than 20% each of available offensive and defensive rebounds.  Don’t expect this pace to cool down any time soon, but it will likely take some monster games in the Big East tournament for Cooley to get some serious looks at the Wooden Award.

Sean Kilpatrick

17.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 APG and shooting 34% from 3

Kilpatrick has struggled a bit recently, but when he gets hot, he’s as hot as they get.  While he did have an 8-12 game from 3 earlier in the season, it is imperative for him to think ‘get to the basket’ first for Cincinnati to have success.  In the three games that the Bearcats have lost Kilpatrick got to the line a total of three times.  He will have to turn up his points per game (which means becoming more of a slasher!) and hit a couple game winning shots if he is to win the Wooden Award.

Otto Porter

12.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 2.8 APG

Porter’s numbers don’t blow you away, but when you watch the Hoyas play (which can be painful at times) you see how important he is to the team’s success.  First and foremost, Porter needs to get Georgetown back on the right track, but if he’s going to be considered a serious contender for the Wooden Award he will have to start taking over games, which he is more than capable of, and score more.

Russ Smith

19.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG and 2.6 SPG

Oh has Russ Smith been playing extra Russdiculous this year.  He may be the most fun player in the country to watch for combined pure entertainment value and actual basketball skill.  And this year he has cut down on the amount of negative ridiculousness that he has pulled in the past.  But in all seriousness – he is one of the favorites in the nation to win the Wooden Award and he just has to keep doing what he is doing.   

Players who could make their way into the discussion:

Peyton Siva – great point guard who is likely the most important piece on one of the best teams in the country.

Gorgui Dieng – if he hadn’t missed a month due to a broken wrist, he would have made the finalist list, guaranteed.

C.J. Fair – the more aggressive he gets, the better chance he has to become one of the best wing players in the nation.

Tray Woodall – the Pitt Panthers aren’t really being talked about right now, but when they do gain some recognition the conversation will start with Woodall.

Shabazz Napier – Uconn isn’t eligible for any post season play, but that hasn’t stopped Shabazz from being one of the most electrifying scorers in the college basketball.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Chane Behanan to Miss 7-10 Days with High Ankle Sprain

Louisville forward, Chane Behanan, is expected to be sidelined for 7-10 days after spraining his ankle in practice on Monday.

The 7-10 day timetable is important because in 11 days (Saturday, January 19^th) the Louisville Cardinals host the #7 Syracuse Orange at the Yum! Center.

The Cardinals play three games in between now and then – at Seton Hall tomorrow night (which he has already been ruled out for), home for South Florida on Saturday, and at Connecticut next Monday.

All of those games fall short of the expected timeframe, but even so – there is no way he is touching the court with the monster match-up with the Orange looming.  Ankle injuries can be tricky, but the Cards staff will be doing everything in their power to get Behanan as close to 100% as possible for the highly anticipated match-up; a game (while early in the season) that could decide the Big East regular season title.

Behanan has been a significant contributor for Louisville - averaging 26.4 minutes, 11.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac

Cincinnati on a Slide

Both Cincinnati and Notre Dame made nine 3-pointers, but the Irish did it by taking five less.  Notre Dame got off to a slow start, only scoring 11 points in the first 13 minutes of the game, but they closed the first half hot – scoring 21 in the final seven minutes.  They did this by cycling the ball beautifully, and converting six consecutive wide-open 3s.  All while Cincinnati had yet another dismal first half trying to get the ball to go through the net.  This was their seventh straight game that they failed to eclipse 30 points before the break.

Once Notre Dame got the Bearcats to spread-out and discontinue their help defense after hitting that barrage of 3s,   they attacked them with pick n rolls and slashes for the entirety of the second half.

Cincinnati went down by as much as 11 in the early going of the second half, but they quickly went on a run to take a two point, 47-45 lead with over 12 minutes remaining in the game.  

The Bearcats actually out-rebounded the Irish by eight (27 to 19), but obviously that didn’t make a difference in the game.  The difference in this game, as it has been for a few games now for Cincy, is that they lack scorers on the floor.  The ESPN crew pointed this out during the game – Cincinnati does not have more than three players on the court at a given time that are legitimate scoring threats.  The Irish were then able to focus on those three players, force them to take tough contested shots, or watch the other players chuck bricks off the rim.  While on the other end of the court Notre Dame had five scoring threats on the floor at all times, allowing them to work the ball (and burn clock) and find good looks all night. 

Cincinnati started the season 12-0, but they were barely tested.  New Mexico came to their place and squeaked out a close one, but the Bearcats bounced back nicely by winning their Big East opener on the road at Pittsburgh (never an easy place to play).  However, they have since dropped back-to-back games at home, and three of their last four.  They now go on the road to Rutgers and DePaul before getting Marquette at home, then back on the road to Syracuse.  Winning on the road in the Big East is never an easy task and five of their next seven are away from home. Also, their schedule is back-loaded, meaning every single game they 'should' win, now needs to be must wins.  This was a team that was coasting along through late December, now they can ill-afford to drop too many more, if any, if they want to compete for the conference title.  

Twitter:  @shane_t_mac