New York's Leading Export

Syracuse 55, Marquette 39

The Rivalry Is Officialy Closed

Trevor Cooney

Jeremy Ryan:

Trevor played 15 minutes and was probably the player of the game. He ignited a stagnant Orange offense in the first half and pretty much kept them in the game when only Southerland could do a damn thing. He was 4-6 from the floor, 2-3 from three, and had four rebounds (more than Triche, Southerland, Christmas, or Grant). He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He saved a cat from a tree. He brought Lil’ Wayne back from the dead. He was so good Catholics are demanding a papal re-vote. I’d go to the church of Pope Trevor I. I think you would too.

900 wins!

Jim Boeheim's historic 900th win comes in front of his friend and former teammate, Dave Bing

 

Boeheim and Fine in plaid, 1978

First practice

Brandon Triche guards Trevor Cooney

More Dennis Nett photos here.

Arne Duncan's graduation rate scandal

Duncan ignores kids, consults with Sharpton

In the midst of Syracuse University Basketball's NCAA Tournament run, Barry Obama's "secretary of education," Arne Duncan, decided to attack the Orange and Coach Jim Boeheim:

Pittsburgh – After his team’s victory over UNC Asheville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim took on another opponent.

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Duncan singled out Boeheim on Wednesday in a conference call with news reporters about the graduation rates of NCAA basketball tournament teams.

Yes, so-called "educator" Duncan thought he could piggyback on the Tournament's publicity.

A story with Duncan’s comments ran in Thursday’s editions of USA Today and was accompanied by a column that chastised Syracuse for the academic performance within its men’s basketball program.

Coach Boeheim dosen't need our help to reject Duncan's forced shot.  In the post-Ashville press conference, the Coach explained:

Boeheim had one final jab left for Duncan, who played at Harvard.

“I don't think Harvard was punished when Bill Gates left early,’’ Boeheim said. “I don't think they were. I don't think he did too badly. We've also had five or six guys who left early, went to the NBA, played, and came back and graduated. We helped them graduate. We have two or three right now that are very close to graduating who are done playing with their NBA careers.

“So education is paramount to me,’’ he continued. “We want every guy to graduate, and we work very hard on that. So I think it's fair to say that I'm upset right now.’’

The bigger question here is: who is this annoying Duncan and why does have have anything to do with our children's education?  It turns out Duncan was raised among the swells in Chicago's exclusive Hyde Park neighborhood, the same side of the tracks where unrepentant terrorist William Ayers launched Four Dollar Barry's political career.

Duncan played basketball at Harvard University and had a brief professional hardwood career in Australia.  His time after returning to Chicago seems to have found Duncan involved in various non-profits, but Arne had never taught school for a single day at any level when second generation Chicago Democrat machine Mayor Richard M. Daley made him head of Chicago's failing public school system in 2001.  Even fellow Democrats recognize the destruction that Duncan left behind in the Windy City's schools.  New Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Obama chief of staff, has it in for Arne:

Rahm is still steaming about the contracts negotiated by Daley and Arne Duncan—who was then running CPS and is now the nation’s education secretary—which gave teachers hefty pay increases and a shorter school year. “I know what the teachers got, and I know what the politicians got,” he says, meaning no strike. “But I don’t know what the kids got.”

The Chicago public school system operates seven community colleges.  As head of Chicago's schools, Duncan was responsible for those seven institutions.  What about the graduation rate at Duncan's own legacy college system - why, it's seven percent!

If low graduation and student transfer rates at City Colleges of Chicago don’t start improving, the system’s leaders could lose their jobs. That’s because the formal job responsibilities of the chancellor, presidents and even trustees include graduation rate goals.

Cheryl L. Hyman, chancellor of City Colleges, began a “reinvention” of the system soon after her arrival in 2010. While the seven-college system has long welcomed urban, lower-income students who have few higher education options, Hyman argues that it hasn't done enough to help students graduate and get jobs...

“You cannot continue with a 7 percent graduation rate,” said Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s mayor, at news conference last summer. “We owe the taxpayers – and most importantly the students – a better community college system.”

In light of the fact that non-educator Duncan is an expert on college graduation rates, we demand he abandon his war on success and resign from the federal government.  Seven Percent Arne needs to return to Chicago to deal with the disaster he left behind.

34-3

What distractions?  Best record in team history:  34-3.

You borrowed half a million to send Barry to the game

Flagrant foul!

 

Now that we're in the Elite Eight, let's take a minute to look back at beginning of the NCAA Tournament.

Recall that Barry Obama and some British character flew from Washington, DC to Dayton, OH to take in one of the pre-bracket play-in games.  Nice work if you can get it, but if you went to Dayton, you'd need to fill your minivan with $4.00 gas and drive for hours.  Did Barry pop for his Dayton junket?  No, no, no - your yet-unborn grandchildren did.  Let's let another Brit lay it out.

President Obama adds $478,000 to the US national debt with Ohio basketball jaunt.

$478,000 – that’s the cost for the use of Air Force One for two 80 minute flights for the US President and the British Prime Minister to Dayton, Ohio, and back to Washington, DC, last night at a cost of $179,750 per flight hour. When you factor in the additional expense of Marine One helicopter flights from the White House to Andrews Air Force base in Maryland, as well as security on the ground in Ohio, White House advance teams, and Air Force cargo planes to carry the presidential motorcade, the total figure is far greater.

In an age of austerity, this is a significant amount of taxpayers’ money to spend on attending a college basketball game between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky, especially when tens of millions of Americans are unemployed and facing financial hardship.

SU - Buckeyes, Saturday @ 7:05, on CBS.

SU ready to play

Centers Keita (front) and Christmas practice yesterday

Top seed Syracuse University takes on UNC-Ashville in the opening round of the NCCA Tournamant this afternoon at 3:10.  Despite what you may have heard, the Orange will not be playing without a center.  Big men Baye Keita and Rakeem Christmas will be available to what is still the deepest team in the nation.   

Coach Boeheim reminds us:

"I think these guys didn't (accomplish a 31-2 record) with one player, they did it with 10 players," said Boeheim. "And now, they have nine left and I expect them to be fully ready to play tomorrow."

 Update: SU 72, Ashville 65.

SU-UConn, Round 3

After practice in NYC, yesterday

After UConn's surprising overtime victory over West Virginia yesterday, the Orange will take on the Huskies, for the third time this year, at noon today.

Update:  SU 58, UConn 55.   Next up: Cincinnati, tomorrow at 7:00.

30-1

SU-Louisville attendance:  33,205

Syracuse University, Big East regular season champion, finishes best regular season ever: 30-1. 

SI discovers SU

Winning at Louisville

This week's Sports Illustrated takes a break from Linsanity to look at Upstate New York's most successful organization, currently 26-1.  Michael Rosenberg covers everything from Melo to Bernie, so read the whole thing.  

From Coach Jim Boeheim:

Within the construct of the games, Boeheim is in complete control. Most college coaches call timeout, then huddle with their assistants to talk strategy before addressing the players. Boeheim leaves his assistants' brains unpicked.

"My job is to coach the game," he says. "To press if we're going to press, or change our zone, or trap in our zone, or which plays we're going to run, or who we're going to go to. That's my job. I've been doing this 36 years. Why would I want an assistant telling me what plays to run?"

Unpicked, indeed.  Keep up the good work.

20-0 tonight?

Jason Hart

Central New York's most successful organization, Syracuse Univerity's men's basketball team, currently ranked #1 in the nation for the sixth consecutive week, has tied the team's record for its best season starting record at 19-0.  SU's 1999-2000 team also opened at 19-0.  That team featured 4-year starter Jason Hart at point guard, and included players like Etan Thomas, Ryan Blackwell, Allen Griffin and Preston Shumpert.

The Orangemen have the opportunity to set a new opening record tonight when struggling Pittsburg visits the Carrier Dome at 7:30 for ESPN's Big Monday.  Immediately following that broadcast, ESPN will cover one of the nation's other two undefeateds, #3 Baylor, which visits Kansas.

The third undefeated Division 1 program, Murray State, narrowly escaped Tennesse Tech on Saturday.

Update:  Final score SU 71, Pitt 63

19-0 on Saturday

SU #1 in both polls

Undefeated Orange voted #1 in both ESPN and AP Polls:

Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orange have emerged from a pack of previously unbeatens and a season of unprecedented controversy to become the No. 1 team in the country.

Syracuse gained a near-unanimous vote at the top of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll released Monday.

Coach Boeheim explains one of the advantages of youth:

It's a great thing about kids, that older people tend to get caught up or get unfocused, get caught up more in outside influences and can't separate them. Kids aren't like that. They focus on what they control and go forward. It's a good thing about being young.

It's finals week on the hill, so no action until Saturday: a road test at NC State.

SU 84, Eastern Michigan 48

Baye Keita rebounds

Former Syracuse assistant coach Rob Murphy, now in his first year as a head coach, received warm greetings as he returned to the Carrier Dome with his Eastern Michigan team.  SU was not distracted, winning 84-48.

Orange #3 in Coaches' Poll, #4 in AP.  #10 Florida visits the Dome on Friday at 7:00, ESPN.

Murphy greets EM team, April 2011

Big East Player of the Week

Kris Joseph.

Go Orange!

Basketball season underway

Scoop!

Central New York's leading export:  SU 78, Fordham 53.

Maggie's is Orange

SU beats UConn, 2004

At Maggie's Farm, SU alumn Bulldog analyzes SU's Big East to ACC transition, including the traditional Keith Smart reference. 

First practice!

 

Mike Waters in the Post Standard:

It's unbelievable to watch a second unit that consists of Dion Waiters, Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. Fair, James Southerland and Baye Moussa Keita. Seriously! Those five plus Trevor Cooney and Mookie Jones could finish in the top of the half of the Big East.

SU leaves Big East

SU-Villanova, March 5, 2006

It looks like a done deal.  Syracuse University, founding member of the Big East Conference, will join legendary basketball programs like Duke and North Carolina in the ACC.  Bud Poliquin faces the inevitable facts:

Indeed, something is going on. Syracuse, nestled only a couple of hours from the Canadian border, is about to defect to a league filled with clubs from Florida and Georgia, from South Carolina and North Carolina, from Virginia and Maryland. That Massachusetts (Boston College) and, reportedly, Pennsylvania (fellow projected ACC newbie Pittsburgh) will also be represented merely softens, rather than removes, the geographical absurdity of the Orange heading south.

Orange basketball fans need to realize that the decision is all about football money.  SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross confirms to Poliquin:

And why? Because football, the perceived god of each aspiring athletic department, demands that all kneel before its massive altar. Because football, and the money it can command from all those networks with all those wheelbarrows filled with money, is as golden as a goose can get.

“This isn’t about good, bad or ugly,” Gross insisted. “It’s what’s necessary. TV has gotten complicated and sophisticated. The dollars have gotten really, really large. Everybody is trying to make sure they have the resources to run their programs.

Paul Harris at Seton Hall, March 6, 2008

Former SU teamates to face off?

April 7, 2003

As the NBA lockout continues, NCAA championship winning teammates Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick are looking to set up exhibition game.

"I was trying to do a Philly and Baltimore game a while ago," Warrick told ESPN. "Then when I saw Drew League vs. Goodman League and Team Melo vs. Goodman [last Tuesday night], I was like, 'Man, let me go ahead and set this up.'