By Jonah Bronstein
Greater Niagara Newspapers
BUFFALO —
Imagine how memorable this weekend would’ve been. How the electric atmosphere that always engulfs HSBC Arena when the NCAA tournament comes to town would’ve been amplified if local superstars Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris were performing in the main event.
The Niagara Falls natives were the two top players for a Syracuse squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 last March. When it was believed they would both return to college for one more year, the Orange were installed as one of the favorites for this year’s national championship. It didn’t take an expert bracektologist to predict Syracuse would be opening the 2010 NCAA tournament here in Western New York.
But by April, Flynn had come to realize that it was time to cash in his rising NBA draft stock. Shortly thereafter, the Orange issued an awkward press release that said Harris and another top player, Eric Devendorf, would also be leaving the program. Harris initially said he was surprised by the announcement, but once it was out there, he embraced the opportunity to pursue his professional career.
Flynn was drafted sixth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and despite an up-and-down rookie season, is regarded as one of the best young point guards in the NBA. Harris was invited to participate in the Utah Jazz training camp, but badly injured his ankle playing pickup games with Jazz players prior to the first practice. He wound up being the eighth overall pick in the NBA Developmental League draft, but the ankle injury never recovered, and its unclear when and where Harris will play next.
Meanwhile, the Orange were peeled off the preseason rankings, written off as a team in transition, lacking the requisite returning talent to be among the nation’s best.
Jim Boeheim knew better. Days after Flynn declared for the draft, the Syracuse coach told ESPN’s Andy Katz that the Orange could possibly be better in 2010, despite what seemed to be major losses. He mentioned the talented transfer addition, Wesley Johnson, who would come in and replace Harris at small forward, and the combination of incoming freshman Brandon Johnson and redshirting sophomore Scoop Jardine that would fill in for Flynn at the point.
Boeheim is now the lead candidate for national coach of the year after leading the Orange to a 28-4 record, a regular season Big East championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament that put them here in a building that will be bubbling with Syracuse supporters for the first- and second-round games.
The fourth-winningest coach in NCAA history could also be recognized for realizing what no national writer did before the season: even with less overall talent, the Orange returned a roster better suited for Boeheim’s signature 2-3 zone, and the offensive possessions that once ended with Flynn, Harris or Devendorf taking — and often making — difficult shots, would now go to less-heralded, but more efficient, scorers.
“People for some reason think that team wasn’t very good last year,” Boeheim said Thursday. “It was pretty good. The league was tougher. The thing that makes us a little better this year, I think our defense has been better.
“... Offensively, we were just as good last year. I think our defense is better. And the reason it’s better is Wesley is bigger up front and Andy is bigger in the backcourt. And Brandon and Scoop are bigger. So we have more size. That’s the big thing with our defense. And I think size does matter in our defense.”
Syracuse’s two biggest players, 6-9 center Arinze Onuaku and 6-9 forward Rick Jackson, both played major minutes last year, but improved this season. In the case of Onuaku, the fifth-year senior was healthier throughout this season before aggravating the quadriceps injury that debilitated him a year ago in last weekend’s Big East tournament.
Andy Rautins, a sharp shooter who was last year’s sixth man, said the chemistry has been better on this year’s squad.
“Certainly it hurts to lose your top three scorers,” said Rautins, another fifth-year senior. “But at the same time, it made us into a better team. We have a lot of chemistry this year. Everybody is always on the same page regardless of what five guys are on the floor. I think we’re a very unselfish team. That’s what has made us so successful.”
Syracuse was certainly more successful in the regular season. The postseason has so far been a different story. After making a valiant run to the Big East championship game last season, the Orange were eliminated in the first round this season. The 2009 team won twice to get to the Sweet 16 before losing to higher-seeded Oklahoma. The current crop will have to win both games here in Buffalo to match that, and will need to advance to the Final Four to justify its No. 1 seed.
For at least the first two games, Syracuse will have to overcome Onuaku’s absence, testing a bench that rarely went more than two-deep all season. There’s also the matter of Brandon Triche’s late season swoon.
When it’s all said and done, the Orange may wish they still had Flynn and Harris.
GAME NIGHT
No. 1 Syracuse (28-4) vs. No. 16 Vermont (25-9)
n WHAT: NCAA tournament first-round game
n WHEN: Approx. 9:40 p.m.
n WHERE: HSBC Arena
n TV: CBS
n NOTES: Syracuse center Arinze Onuaku will not play because of a quadriceps injury sustained March 11, and is doubtful to play Sunday, coach Jim Boeheim said. ... Sophomore forward Kris Joseph, the Big East Sixth Man Award winner, will replace Onuaku in the lineup, giving the Orange a smaller, quicker lineup. “We played that lineup 60 or 70 percent of the time this year,” Boeheim said. “We think it’s an effective lineup.” ... Led by borderline NBA prospect Marqus Blakely, Vermont won the America East championship. The Catamounts beat UB by one point at Alumni Arena earlier this year. ... As a No. 12 seed in 2005, Vermont upset No. 5 Syracuse. ... No. 1 seeds are 100-0 all-time in the NCAA tournament’s first round.
