Orange Fizz: Syracuse Orange Sports Blog, Recruiting and Podcasts.


	Team Fizz Bios: Meet the Team Orange Feedback: Email the Fizz Fizz Archives: Browse the Fizz Files		Missed a day of juice? Search the Orange Fizz archives here! Custom Search That Still Counts as a Win, Right? 1.30.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Famous last words: *"The inevitable DePaul annihilation is next."* Orange Fizz, 1/29/10. Uh boy. Orange Fizz this morning. "There, of course, are two things that scare any SU fan today; 1) A potential Syracuse letdown 2) DePaul's 108-69 win over Syracuse on March 2, 2006, which is still the worst loss in Jim Boeheim's coaching tenure." The 59-57 win over DePaul felt more like a loss, with the miserable Blue Demons holding possession for three potential game-tying shots before hoisting up a three-point prayer. But, "survive and advance" is the theme in the Big East - just like when it counts in March. Plus, the Orange zoomed ahead of the Demons when it counted, finally committing to aggressive defense to take the lead midway through the second-half. While Syracuse is certainly not immune to a letdown after the Georgetown thrashing, one thing was particularly glaring: Andy Rautins' decision-making in the crunch. If he's the supposed veteran leader of this team, how with a chance to put the Demons away do you A) throw a cross-court pass into the teeth of the defense, while careening into the paint (luckily being tipped out of bounds) and B) on SU's final possession - out of a timeout - hoisting a contested three, despite being up by two, with nine full seconds left on the shot clock? The Fizz finds it hard to believe that's what Boeheim was looking for, up by a basket, out of timeout. (Sigh) 21-1 still sounds pretty good. Even a nail-biter against DePaul counts in the win column. * * * Fresh FizzCast: Listen here as Team Fizz dissects the thumping of Georgetown and how it may define this season. Should we be talking National Championship already? And how you can tell The Per'fesser already knows how special this team is. Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Second City, Second Class. 1.30.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK By approximately 4:00p this afternoon, Syracuse should have strolled into Allstate Arena in the 'burbs of Chicago and performed another pulmonary embalism on DePaul's down and out Demons. On paper, it's not a fair fight. The Orange are a Top-3 team, the Demons have one Big East win. Jim Boeheim is a Hall-of-Fame coach. DePaul is led by an interim zombie after firing hapless Jerry Wainwright three weeks ago. There, of course, are two things that scare any SU fan today; 1) A potential Syracuse letdown 2) DePaul's 108-69 win over Syracuse on March 2, 2006, which is still the worst loss in Jim Boeheim's coaching tenure. No one truly expects either one of these things, primarily because the Demons suck so bad. Like really bad. So bad, in fact, that just a decade ago Quentin Richardson was ballin' at DePaul - and today you could argue the program should be demoted to the Horizon League. Kids might not remember Mark Aguirre (pictured), but this dude killed. He was on the cover of SI as a Demon back in the early '80s. He was devastating in college - and had a terrific NBA career with Dallas and Detroit. How did DePaul lose itself? Terrific piece by Jon Greenberg earlier this month at ESPN.com: "DePaul has regressed tremendously as the last two coaches failed to harness the steady talent that comes from the Chicagoland area, from the northernmost suburbs to northwest Indiana. Who should come in and save the Blue Demons from the stifling mediocrity that has pushed the program below Southern Illinois and Northwestern -- not to mention Illinois and the rest of the Big Ten. This... isn't officially rock bottom. That low probably came when Joey Meyer's final team in 1997 went 3-23, but this is close, only because Blue Demons basketball has become a non-entity both in the city and nationally. It wasn't ready to enter the bloated Big East, and without immediate action and a lot of luck, it will take years to catch up. Let's face it, when you talk about Chicago sports, DePaul basketball is about as relevant as the Blackhawks in the halls of Morgan Park High School." Sorry DePaul, for today - let's keep it that way. * * * Fresh FizzCast: Listen here as Team Fizz dissects the thumping of Georgetown and how it may define this season. Should we be talking National Championship already? And how you can tell The Per'fesser already knows how special this team is. Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? So Nice of You to Join, SI. 1.29.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK So, guess who finally got its act together? Our friends at Sports Illustrated. Kentucky's loss is Syracuse's gain. After the Wildcats upset in South Carolina this week, the Orange seize the top spot in SI's weekly power rankings for the first time this season. Not that we're looking for the immaterial support within SI's newsroom. Heavens knows this is a publication that picked North Carolina (13-7, 2-3, 10th in the ACC) and Washington (3-5, 13-7, 8th in the Pac-10) as preseason Top-10 squads. But a quick look back at the College Hoops Preview Issue shows the publication rated the Orange 35th in the nation, *"Heavy losses are partially off-set by hyped Iowa State transfer F Wes Johnson and freshman PG Brandon Triche (a Jonny Flynn type)."* Look, none of us could envision this dizzying fever dream of a season. Top-5 rankings? Number-one seed conversations in January? Thrashings of bitter rivals on national television? It's almost too good to be true. But Luke Winn's reasoning behind vaulting the Orange to the top spot sounds all-too familiar to the rest of us. "Save for its loss to Pitt, Syracuse has played exceptionally well in games against potential NCAA tournament teams, rather than just scraping out victories. The Orange beat Cal by 22, North Carolina by 16, Cornell (the team that nearly knocked off Kansas) by 15, Memphis (another team that nearly upset KU) by 17, Florida by 12, Georgetown by 17 - and in their marquee road game, held a double-digit lead over West Virginia before giving up a late run and winning by one. The Orange have been the most consistently impressive team on big stages, and that bodes well for their NCAA-title chances. Syracuse has a slightly better resume of true- and semi-road wins - at tourney-bound West Virginia and Florida (in Tampa), as well as at Seton Hall and Notre Dame. Kansas' road-win resume only includes one team in SI.com 's projected bracket (Temple), and so does Villanova's (Maryland)." All solid rationale, but also a resume the rest of us in Orange Nation already knew. SU fans have had to swallow the constant cynicism from national pundits that the 'Cuse just wasn't as good as its record indicated. "Yeah, but let's see if they can succeed away from the Dome. Yeah, but can the Orange win a true-road game? Yeah, but how about against ranked competition?" Each and every time Syracuse has risen to the challenge, taken said challenge outside, beaten the living snot out of it and mounted it on the wall for Doug Gottlieb to stare at. The inevitable DePaul annihilation is next. See ya same time next week, SI? * * * Fresh FizzCast: Listen here as Team Fizz dissects the thumping of Georgetown and how it may define this season. Should we be talking National Championship already? And how you can tell The Per'fesser already knows how special this team is. Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Harriott Hotel. 1.28.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK It's now all but a done deal that Roger Harriott will become the next running backs coach at Syracuse. He was most recently the head football coach and athletic director at University High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Harriott: *"Talk about a quick decision. They offered and it was something I simply could not pass up. A great move for the entire family."* We're flattered that you too enjoy the meals in the Manley football cafeteria and lots of snow. However The Fizz is more concerned with what's going to happen on the field - so lets take a look at the past to get a gauge for the future. Harriott has a history that is perfect for the Doug Marrone "plan." Friend of The Fizz Larry Bluestein wrote back in August, *"University School is the most unique situation around. From the day Harriott and the program started, this has been a winning situation -- all the way around."* He's a culture changer - helping kids who excelled in the arts not only paint pictures, but drawing up great plays on the field together too! Harriott's quoted in the high school's brochure: *"Once I'm able to impress respect upon my kids, I penetrate them with love and the ability to take ownership of the opportunity presented to them."* Umm, probably a poor choice of words when discussing kids, but we'll just Astroglide over that one. Kids who obviously respect him just happen to include highly touted Orange recruits Max Beaulieu and Brice Hawkes. Both are already enrolled in classes on The Hill according to the University Directory. Reruiting is all about pipelines - and this potential hire would keep the tap running on a major one right into the heart of the Florida prep scene. In his college days, Harriott was a player at Boston University when the school decided to shut the football program down back in 1997. He organized a protest with his teammates calling themselves University X. *"They stripped us of our identity. They took the university away from us, so we formed our own identity."* Re-establishing an identity is exactly what Syracuse football is trying to do. Ridding the Dome of the Groobers stench and installing a winning culture is what's happening right now. Harriott seems to be the next perfect piece to the puzzle. * * * Fresh FizzCast: Listen here as Team Fizz dissects the thumping of Georgetown and how it may define this season. Should we be talking National Championship already? And how you can tell The Per'fesser already knows how special this team is. Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Marrone Squeezing More Florida Orange. 1.28.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK The Fizz has recently detailed the renewed emphasis on Florida recruiting by Doug Marrone and co. While Groobers simply figured he could tap into the bountiful pipeline that was Delaware, the evolution of the Big East has turned toward the Sunshine State. West Virginia with Doc Holliday was outstanding in FLA. Greg Schiano has made it a Rutgers priority. Pitt has walked in and nabbed impact players as well. One or two playmakers from Florida can be the difference in a conference like the Big East which relies so heavily upon kids from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Take advantage of their speed and athleticism with the controlled conditions and fast track of the Dome. Marrone's approach is paying huge dividends. Miramar (FL) safety Keondrick Lyn originally committed to Northern Illinois, now he's making a switch and heading to Syracuse. He played in the Nike Miami-Dade/Broward All-Star Game and played a vital role for the Patriots during the 6A state title run. "Everything on the visit went so well. The campus, coaching staff and what they have to offer in the classroom. When I went to a basketball game on campus in Syracuse, I was sold on the college atmosphere. It was everything you dreamed that a college would like." Exactly. College should be about 30,000 people at basketball games, a Top-5 ranking and beer sold on campus. Marrone is also adding faucets to the Florida pipeline (smart move). Roger Harriott is the new running backs coach. Harriott starred at Ft. Lauderdale powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas and had built The University School's program into a budding 2B power. *"They offered and it was something I simply could not pass up. A great move for the entire family. Leaving was never an option, but to coach at a school like Syracuse is a life-changing decision."* Just so happens (cough) Harriott was in the middle of SU's recruitment of two standouts. Stud defensive lineman Max Beaulieu and defensive back Brice Hawkes are both University School kids. They committed to Syracuse earlier in the winter. Marrone's Marauders will have a distinct Sunshine State vibe to them. Sure beats Deleware. Photo credit: Scout.com * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Orange Fever Hits Jason Stark. 1.27.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK After the delirium of the Georgetown slaughter, it's hard to gauge just how intense the spread of Orange Insanity is. A #4 ranking. A #1 RPI. A potential #1 seed. And a blitzkrieg of your most hated rival, who was ranked #12 but looked like innocent bystanders on national television. Well, ratchet up the Terror Level to orange. The Fizz's Twitter page is now being followed by Jayson Stark, ESPN baseball insider. Oh yeah, mark it down. January 27, 2010. When the universe flipped on its axis. Wait, Jayson freaking Stark is following us, but you're not? Well, guess why he's on ESPN and you're hung over in your room on South after doing a Beast Ice keg stand on a Tuesday night? Of course, it's possible Michael Kim hacked into Stark's twitter account and started following ridiculous college sports and recruiting blogs across the Big East (Kim is sneaky like that). But the word on the Marshall Street pavement is that Jayson's daughter attends SU. Smart dad. So, in keeping up with what is already a historic season on The Hill, Jayson is getting the inside dirt on Syracuse hoops. (He should, since he's paying $40k a year.) See, this is why this man has 18,000 followers and is breaking The Marco Scutaro Sweepstakes news. Because he never sleeps. He's in on everything, including SU hoops. Jayson Stark has Orange Fever. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Big Dawgs and the Outlier. 1.27.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Not that it's rational, but this time of year people have started talking about tournament seeding. Right now, the Ted Objective Onus Leader method for determining seeding (TOOL for short) has the 4 number one's as such: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, and Villanova. Never mind that Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology has the exact same thing. Total coincidence. Kinda. All that being said, it's interesting to see how these teams got there. Everyone knocks recruiting as such a fickle thing, but let's use the current number ones as a lens for this obsession with high school boys. (Editor's Note: That's gross) Top overall seed: Kentucky Coach: John Calipari's penchant for nabbing impact guards is unparalleled the last three seasons. Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans were both top-five picks, leading to the latest in that department. Recruiting breakdown: Despite their first loss last night, the Wildcats aren't nearly this powerful without John Wall. The prized recruit and future number-one lottery pick followed coach Cal to Lexington, where the Wildcats have ascended back to the college basketball throne. Kansas: Coach: Bill Self does pretty well for himself. As scared as KU fans may have been when Roy Williams bounced for UNC, Self picked the slack up, getting together a team that won the title two years ago and is in position to do it again. Recruiting Breakdown: Xavier Henry is the easy target here. The freshman wing is doing it all for the Jayhawks, and he was a McDonald's All-American, just like his teammates Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins. These three blue-chippers have made Self's team what some call the favorite to win it all. Villanova: Coach: Jay Wright's dynamic Wildcats have made the Big East a much more crowded conference then it already was. His recruiting has gained serious momentum as The Fizz detailed, picking up Jayvaughn Pinkston after UT ditched him for Tobias Harris. Recruiting Breakdown: Scottie Reynolds is an interesting case study on the pinball situation of college coaches. Reynolds was one of the best players in Virginia basketball history, originally committed to Oklahoma to play for Kelvin Sampson. But when the disgraced Sampson left to coach Indiana, Reynolds opted to go with Wright over at 'Nova. Well, we know how things turned out for Sampson. Scottie doesn't know though! Syracuse: Coach: I'll spare you. We all know. Recruiting breakdown: This is where SU becomes the outliers in the standard deviation of Final Four teams. Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf were the touted recruits. They are gone now. SU has done its bidding through hard-earned experience (Onuaku, Rautins, Jackson, Jardine) and one hell of a transfer (Johnson) who had to get himself recruited. It's a team of role players, with a star who takes 11 shots a game. There's a lot of season to go, but SU certainly is different among the current elite. Be sure to check back with The Fizz for more analysis by the TOOL. Wait a second... * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Larger Than Life. 1.26.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK Let's say it: This SU Basketball team is for real, that the Top-5 ranking and national hype is deserved. With oversized cutouts of The Per'fesser and Wes Johnson rolling through the crowd, the Orange proved how larger than life this season has felt, with the dominating 73-56 win over Georgetown. The fans are taking it to the next level as well; the 26,000 plus who rocked the Dome actually made it feel like the Loud House for the first time this season. Speaking of oversized, how about the arrogance of Georgetown's fans? Hopefully last night's demolition brings delusional Hoya Fans back to reality. "You're welcome for the 14-0 lead. We're about to start playing now. Let's chat when we're up by 20 in a few minutes? Thanks." And let the national pundits begin poking and prodding Syracuse like a prospect at the NFL scouting combine. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports makes comparisons to Kentucky and their quick return to prominence. ESPN's Andy Katz says SU is one of just a handful of teams in title contention, calling the win "unselfish." As you'll hear on the latest FizzCast, Team Fizz breaks down why it's important for this Orange squad to stay grounded - even if giant renditions of their visage are floating around the student section. When things are going poorly, no player will ever admit to hearing what the crowd has to say. But when they're going well? The Fizz caught up with Kris Joseph, who says he wants his dome floating around the Dome: *"I asked Wes, 'When are our fans gonna give us a few cutouts? Next thing ya know we see Boeheim up there and I'm going, 'There go Boehiem with the cardboard cutout, man!'"* There's always the standard talk of trying to stay focused and worrying only about the next opponent. But there's also a lighthearted nature in the locker room as well. Championship teams have that vibe for one reason: They have confidence they're better than everyone else. Why wouldn't this Orange team feel good right now? How many other teams can boast seven starters? More from Joseph: *"I feel like Scoop can start. I feel like I can start. As it is now we're coming off the bench and just trying to help our team."* Even the usually caustic Boeheim couldn't help but joke around after the win last night. The only thing that can derail this team right now is something from within. I'm ready to declare the Pitt loss a fluke. DePaul is four days away which can seem like an eternity, but as Jay-Z says, "On To the Next One". Photo credits: Syracuse Post-Standard, syracuse.com * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Your Mother is a Hoya. 1.25.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK The Big East is a deadly gauntlet (especially for DePaul, which actually has passed away as a basketball program since joining our fair conference. Somewhere Mark Aguirre weeps). As Orange Nation, we bicker with Louisville, alley-fight with Pitt, duel with Villanova. But only two dates on the calendar really make the skin crawl like spending a night on the futon at the Teke house. When Calhoun-Bot 3000 brings Storrs Community College to the Dome... and tonight. The idiocy of Husky fans is aggravating, but laughable. Students who apply to UMass use UConn as a safety school. I mean, Khalid El-Amin was accepted there while impregnating both women and meat-lover's pizzas. Huskies are the Milwaukee's Best Ice-swilling mouth-breathers in their dad's '97 Ford F-150 listening to Andrew WK. The Hoyas are more insufferable, however, because of their false sense of superiority. As for academics, get over yourselves. You're not Duke. You're not an Ivy. Hell, you're not even American University. Your claim to fame is "St. Elmo's Fire," and I'm not even sure any of them even went to GU. The basketball arrogance is equally as stupefying. You guys were good like 30 years ago. Patrick Ewing ushered in the golden era of Hoyas Hoops. Guess what? He's a freaking ten-year NBA assistant coach now. Like, he played in the NBA Finals just after the Jonas Brothers were born. He wore short shorts. He visited Ronald Reagan in the White House. Wes Johnson was born two years after Ewing graduated. I mean, give it up already. You know who else was really good back during the Hoya Paranoia days? Houston. Yeah, that Houston. That's a long freaking time to hold onto this delusional notion that you're a basketball power. Syracuse was pretty damn good back in the day as well. But we don't trot out Billy Owens before every Seton Hall game. We've moved on. You know, to more recent Final Fours and championships. Like in the last twenty years. It's like Notre Dame fans telling us how many National titles they won in the 1940s. That's great. You were awesome before television was invented. Congratulations. Check out this Georgetown blog. "We thought it would be a good time to stop and give our readers a little bit of background on the Global Phenomenon that has become this blog. In addition, we have amassed a GLOBAL following, with loyal Hoya fans across the whole wide world logging in from every corner of the planet (special casual shout-out to our reader from Gabrone, Botswana)." Wow, that's weird. I'm pretty sure I live on the same globe. I'm aware of the iPhone. The smart car. Miley Cyrus. I've never heard of the "Casual Hoya" blog. But hell, if they're a global phenomenon... You know how you get hits from Botswana? You get people plucking away on their keyboards for the first time in some grass skirt, randomly punching in numbers and letters. We could brag about our one hit from Iceland two years ago or that "reader" in Mongolia. But you know what? We don't take ourselves that seriously. We know some sheep herder in Katmandu is not checking out Syracuse's RPI and where Josh Selby's gonna land. We know he probably is looking for the recipe for carbonated goat's milk with citrus extracts to cure his club foot and Google search accidentally brought up The Fizz. Whatever. I guess we should just keep talking about Reggie Williams and David Wingate and all those wins back when Wham! was cool and just how smart everyone at Georgetown is, even though every one of them got denied from all the Ivies they applied to. Orange Nation, get through your day by using the hysterical Hoya Suxa flowchart and digging up Google images of Georgetown's denim-inspired basketball shorts in the late-90s. Georgetown delusion. A global phenomenon. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: Business is A-Boomin'. 1.25.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Lt. Aldo Raine of "Inglourious Basterds" had a simple message to his foes: *"We in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'."* Well, after a win over Marquette in front of a class of 2011 stud, the Per'fesser might have a line of his own for Buzz Williams, JT 3, Jay Wright, and anyone else who wants to wander up to CNY. *"We in the recruit nabbin' business. And coaches, we're kicking your ass at it."* The Post Standard's Mike Waters tweeted that recruit Trevor Cooney attended the game on Saturday. The Fizz caught up Cooney for an October FizzCast: *"If I was to have a list, maybe (Syracuse) would be at the top of the list, but as of right now I really don't have a list."* Top-5 ranking? Check. Win over gritty Marquette team? Check. 27,000+ in the Dome? Check. How couldn't the Orange have vaulted to the top of his list? Now comes the opportunity for a real recruiting tour-de force. Beat Georgetown, most hated rival and Big East contender, on ESPN, in front of another packed Dome. Even for those recruits not sitting courtside at the Dome, everyone watching the World Wide Leader will see what's going on. The Fizz will be along press row tonight, getting a free meal via the media spread, and I suppose doing duties for WAER. Look for tweets from the official Fizz Twitter page. It's a good time to be an SU fan, and just as solid to be Mike Hopkins or Rob Murphy on the trail. Business is a-boomin'. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Road Kill: Golden Eagle. 1.24.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK The Orange continues to roll, this time splattering the Marquette front court in a 76-71 win at the Dome. How about these numbers for one of the more dominating insides ever to play for The Per'fesser: Syracuse more than doubled up Marquette in rebounding with a 46-21. The Orange outscored the Eagles in the paint 56-22. The Eagles Jimmy Butler could walk into Faegan's and punch a hole through any Sig Ep frat boy. He's 6'6", 215. Yet Butler was outmuscled in the lane by 6-9, 261-pound Arinze Onuaku and 6-9, 240-pound Rick Jackson. Butler was priceless after the game. "I mean, I'm height-big, but I'm not going to say I'm weight-big. They were just big. You know they're big when they're giving Lazar (Hayward) problems down there. You can definitely tell when you've got two guys like that in the paint challenging your shots and having to guard them on the defensive end. It's really hard." Butler sounds like a possum that just got drilled by a semi on I-81. That type of production (and matchup problem) from the front court, combined with the commitment to defense has set this Syracuse team apart from its predecessors. Boeheim has always been blessed with athletic, explosive wing players. But how many Orange squads used brute force as their go-to move? You might have to go back to the Coleman/Seikaly days to find an SU team that thrived because of their interior play. Once again, the Orange couldn't quite close. A 17-point second-half lead was eventually pared to four. Like The Fizz documented last week with late errors in Morgnantown, you can't help but worry this team will have a nine-point lead over Texas in the Elite 8 and then watch the Longhorns come streaking back to win. But with the number-one ranking in the RPI and just one loss through late January, typical Syracuse paranoia will have to wait for another day. Photo credit: Associated Press * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Real Story Behind Wes. 1.22.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Just looks wrong, doesn't it? Wes Johnson, Syracuse's unexpected leader this year, donning an Iowa State uniform two seasons ago in Ames. Probably seems like a lifetime ago to Wes - and an entirely different planet to Orange Nation. But with a young man leading the team in both points and rebounds (17-9), SU fans are wondering how they had the fortune of picking up a potential NBA lottery pick midway through his college career? The soybean fields of rural Iowa may not be the mecca of college hoops, but apparently it wasn't necessarily tied to campus life or the smaller stage of ISU. It had primarily to do with the system. While Iowa State declined to speak to The Fizz for this story, a source close to Wes' situation told us it came down to the 'Cuse's style of play. "At Iowa State they were running almost 100 different plays. Every time Wes came out of a timeout, he had about 4,000 things he needed to think about. Screen here, roll there, cut here, look for this guy. You know how many plays Syracuse runs? Like 5. Maybe 10. Kids don't want to be bogged down thinking out there - and then getting cussed out if they don't pick it up. I think that's what has made Boeheim so successful for so many years. Keeping it simple. I think he was frustrated by the whole situation up there. Kids just want to play. And Boeheim was gonna let Wes play. That was the difference." Sometimes the Orange can look like an exasperatingly undisciplined outfit. As The Fizz noted, poor decisions and fundamental misreads pockmarked the final minutes of the tight win in West Virginia. But if the unstructured style of The Per'fesser's coaching continues to lead legitimate Final Four contenders, land Top-10 recruiting classes and game-changers like Johnson, who's to argue? * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Doug Gottlieb is Wrong. 1.21.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK Is it some type of bizarro world out there in college basketball? DePaul (yeah, the guys who hadn't won a Big East game in almost two years) finally gets a conference victory? It took a buzzer beater over Marquette to do it, but hey, props to the Demons. Pittsburgh finally fell from the mountaintop of the Big East, losing to Georgetown and snapping a 31 home-game winning streak. And maybe the most crazy thing of all, is that there has been zero debate about whether Syracuse should play a 2-3 zone or man-to-man this season. Why? That's why. Life is sweet for the Orange; but there's always that one guy - the bully on the playground or drunk guy at the Jersey Shore - who wants to instigate and start trouble. In our case, it happens to be Doug Gottlieb. Shocking, we know. His argument is a flawed one. He begins by singing the praises of the experience of Arinze Onuaku, Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins. But then when it's time to talk about the 'Cuse as a one-seed, he brings it back to the 2-3 zone. Before we get to some of the choice quotes, we should note Gottlieb cites the Le Moyne loss while failing to mention it didn't actually count. "My only caution is because they're reliant on that 2-3 zone, almost exclusively - my only hesitance in saying they're the outright number-one is matchup wise. They match up against a Texas, I'm not sure you can run that type of 2-3 zone because they can shoot you out of it." "When you can only play one defense and its a zone, you're gonna give up some open shots." According to kenpom.com, Syracuse ranks 18th in the country in scoring defense. The only other team in the Big East better than SU? UConn. And The Fizz detailed what type of shape they Huskies are in. Doug Gottlieb is wrong. Yes he's wrong in many more ways than we're talking about here, but he's particularly wrong about the SU defense. Guess he forgot 2003. And all of The Per'fesser's tournament appearances. Winning big is possible with the zone and the Orange is proving it this year. It's just a mentality on the defensive end that's setting it apart. So don't allow Doug to get under your skin Orange Nation, trying to ignite the annual defensive debate because it's no good for anyone. Marquette here we come. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Fabulous Life. 1.21.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK It's hard to imagine life getting much better for Orange hoops fan these days. A legit Top-5 team. A newfound leader in Wes Johnson who seemingly materialized out of the ether wearing SU Nike kicks. A squad that is utterly likable in every way after years of cheering through gritted teeth for guys like The Real Slim Devo and Paul Harris Inc. So, how can we top that? Welcome to the Fabulous Life. As in Fab Melo. The incoming recruiting class is stacked, with explosive scoring coming in talented kids like C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters. Mike Hopkins and Rob Murphy are throwing 7s and 11s at the craps table like Zack Galifinakas in "The Hangover." But no recruit dazzles the senses and raises the bar of expectations quite like Brazilian big-man Fab Melo. The Fizz was all over his decision back in August and Orange Nation is salivating over his potential. Recruiting reports are often teeming with hyperbole, every kid will be the next campus legend. But there is no exaggeration that Fab may become the best SU big man since Derrick Coleman and the the first go-to scoring center since Rony Seikaly. Why? Because SU's recent history at the position has been dreadful for the better part of two decades. Our buddies over at the awesome KU site The Shiver (which is like The Fizz's '03 Final Four doppleganger) caught up with Fab after a recent tournament. What was the deciding factor in picking Syracuse? *"The coaches and the style of play. It was between Syracuse and Louisville. They play zone, I played zone in Brazil. It's a really hard conference to play in but I'm working hard."* Good kid. This ride is just starting boys and girls. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Growth Plates are Open. 1.20.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Do you know who Bob McKenney is? You should. He's the CNY answer to the Baltimore/D.C. pipeline. McKenney has churned out SU recruits as well anyone since he got going as head coach at Jamesville-Dewitt High School. In fact, his run of three state championships this decade has produced plenty of talent from D-1 through D-3. Luckily, the Orange has benefited from the two biggest fish, Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche. The next in this pipeline?. Dajuan Coleman. The Fizz first alerted Orange Nation to Coleman after his freshman year back in August, when we told you "Syracuse is perceived to be the leader for his services because they are the hometown school. Coleman said he enjoys a strong relationship with head coach Jim Boeheim and associate head coach Mike Hopkins." Team Fizz mused about his potential in this week's FizzCast, as he pulled down 35 points and 20 rebounds in a tournament last weekend. And while we try to avoid as much cradle-robbing as possible here on The Fizz, this kid is anything but child-like. Just a sophomore, he stands at 6'9", 280 pounds listed in the class of 2012. We've spoken with coach McKenney, and everytime Coleman's name comes up, the same phrase comes up. *"The growth plates are open,"* is a phrase that's just downright scary for a kid who's 16 years old and this big. Coleman is in SU's backyard, while Villanova, UConn, Rutgers, and Oklahoma are already at the fence door. If history repeats itself, then coach Murphy and Hopkins will be turning the heat up on yet another prized recruit from J.D. in the coming year. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? This Old Doghouse. 1.19.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK So ol' Jim Calhoun is taking some time off, huh? The indestructible cyborg which just happens to be the head coach of the Huskies has finally succumbed to some faulty wiring? "Dr. Peter Schulman, the coach's primary-care physician, said in a statement he advised Calhoun to take time off 'to address some temporary medical issues, none of which involve any previous medical conditions that he has dealt.'" Save it, Jim. We've been down this road before. How many times can we all be duped into thinking you'll finally walk away? Will it be after prostate cancer in '03? How about skin cancer in '08? What happened to that charity bike race where you hit the pothole, flipped, cracked three ribs... and finished the race? Try again, Storrs Community College. We're all onto you. Here was The Fizz's thoughts from that bike rally fiasco. "Jim Calhoun will never die. He will continue to haunt that sideline until the next millenium, a Freddy Krueger of college basketball. Calhoun stalks the sideline like a Boston-born Emperor of the Sith, replete with the same scowl and beedy-rat-eyes for the last twenty-five years. In fact, it's possible that Calhoun, via his ever-ticking ticker and medicinal innovation, is our modern-day Machiavelli (well, other than Tupac). One day, in the early 2130's, when Calhoun has finally succumbed to the frailties of coaching into his 200s, his cyborg/hologram doppleganger will lead UConn to another National Championship at the Planet Zyphon 2.3 Final Four. And yes, even in his afterlife, he will be cutting down nets as we in Orange Nation grit our teeth." So count The Fizz as disbelievers, cynics of the highest order. Jim-tron 3000 is probably just bailing on another second-round exit Huskies squad (which just lost three straight) to jaunt back to Planet Zyphon 2.3 to figure out how Scott Brown won Massachusetts and what century health care reform will finally happen. And if this really is the end of the road for a Hall-of-Fame coach? The Fizz will party like its 2129. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Knock Out Punch. 1.19.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK The march to madness, the fight for the Final Four, the trot to the tournament (too much?)... it's on! With the physically impressive road win over Notre Dame last night, the Orange finished up 3-0 on its most grueling road trip of the entire season. Even lithe Andy Rautins brought the bang to this brawl, knocking out Tory Jackson with a wicked elbow and setting a dominating tone for the Orange. As The Fizz has documented in victories over Rutgers, West Virginia, and now the Fighting Irish, SU won't face tougher test of games away from the Dome all season. ESPN's Andy Katz is lining up as one of the first to try and jinx Syracuse for March by saying the Orange could be a one-seed. However, last night's Texas loss at K-State should make Orange Nation a bit more comfortable. You're next Kentucky! Mike Waters says the Orange won't be adding any more players to the class of 2010, but with the way the team is playing now, how can they not stir interest in some still undecided big dogs? Josh Selby may have floated on, but the rumors of Shaq Thomas off the radar? Let's not count him out just yet. ZagsBlog took an in depth look at him and other Fizz sources say there's been nothing to indicate that Thomas is off the table for the Orange either. Even as is stands, NorthStar Basketball has Syracuse with the 4th-ranked recruiting class for 2010. Now if only the Orange could get some respect from guys like Gary Parrish of CBS Sports who puts SU 6th behind Duke. Seriously? There's no better formula for success than to keep winning. We'll leave that up to the Per'fesser. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Wheels on Boeheim's Bus... 1.18.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Nothing like a little road trip to gain some exposure on the national scene, eh? The Big East scheduling this year has allowed Jim Boeheim, Mike Hopkins, and Rob Murphy to get near a few recruiting hotbeds in mere a five day stretch. SU's trip from Rutgers, to West Virginia, and now Notre Dame has seen the team make stops at two of its more active recruiting grounds, and a shot at forging a new path. The New Jersey/ New York Metropolitan area has been a target for as long as Syracuse has been playing basketball. Playing at the RAC gives prep kids in the area a chance to see in person the Orange that they glimpse on SNY and Sportscenter. It's never a bad thing to make the rounds at a place you know is going to get you signings; especially when the coach at the school you're playing may be slipping, as The Fizz pointed out last week. West Virginia isn't the gold mine that New Jersey is; simple fact is there aren't many Jerry West's in them thar hills. However, jaunts south and east yield Maryland and Virginia, which of course, lead to the fertile DC area. Carmelo Anthony, Donte Greene, the current Josh Selby anyone? Playing Notre Dame in South Bend hasn't been kind to the 'Cuse (it hasn't won at the Joyce center since 2006) but always nice to poke your head in the area, especially with the way high school basketball is in Indiana. SU has never done too well in this state, but the potential is right there: Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Josh McRoberts all hale from the region. And coach Rob Murphy's connections in that area (western Great Lakes) could be tapped, despite it's traditional stance as a Big 10 hot bed. But if the conference's expansion talks heat up, it's nice to be locked and loaded, instead of a complete stranger. For now, though? A sweep on the road would suffice. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? This Man is Not Liked in New England. 1.17.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Syracuse football is still without its play-caller. And the newest name to pop up is making waves in New England. For all the wrong reasons. Last month, Doug Marrone waved goodbye to his first-year offensive coordinator Rob Spence. As The Fizz documented, "Ironically, the Pelham, NY native and Iona graduate seemed much more at home in his straw fedora and shades, implementing a high-powered offense down among the mangroves and pulled-pork of South Carolina. At Clemson, Spence oversaw one of the most versatile attacks in the ACC. This season with the Orange? SU's offense looked as sluggish as Otto the morning after Flip Night at Faegan's. Five times SU was held under two touchdowns and the three-game losing streak against Cincinnati, Pitt and Louisville in which the Orange scored a measly 26 points summoned the grim reaper." We might be closer to discovering Spence's replacement. But his name surely won't inspire parades down Erie Blvd. It's Bill O'Brien, a guy Marrone worked with at Georgia Tech prior to taking over as quarterbacks coach for the Patriots. This season, after Josh McDaniels departed for Denver, O'Brien took over as play-caller in New England. The results were mixed, at best. At times, the Pats attack was impressive. Tom Brady put up 4,500 yards and 28 TDs. Wes Welker was a machine before his torn ACL, grabbing 123 receptions in just over 13 games. Randy Moss once again was a dynamic downfield threat (when he broke a sweat), being named to yet another Pro Bowl. They exploded for 59 points in the snow against the Titans in a defining offensive performance. But more often than not, the Pats attack was inconsistent and frustrating. O'Brien never found the fluidity with the offense that his predecessors, McDaniels and Charlie Weis, did. Opposing defenses found it easier and easier to stop the one-dimensional attack as the season progressed. In a home playoff game, the Ravens absolutely annihilated the Patriots offense, harassing Brady into a miserable day and forcing four turnovers. The Ravens put up 24 points before the Pats even sniffed the red zone. Needless to say, Pats fans wouldn't be broken-hearted if O'Brien left. Just a sampling from the messageboard PatsFans.com: Only a rumor, but I'm hearing Doug Marrone at Syracuse is interested in hiring Bill O'Brien. Can we send some letters of recommendation? I'd be okay with that... How about a petition? Conan O'Brien is being lined up as Bill O'Brien's replacement. Is this a joke? Do teams just blindly see the word Patriots beside a coaches name and think they're amazing? SShhhhh.... they might hear you and think twice before they take him off our hands. Hot damn, I'll help him pack and drive him to the airport. Best news of the offseason. Marrone might be hesitant to put too much on his plate in Year Two of his regime. But it's becoming clear. The best play-caller for Syracuse is already on staff. It's you, Doug. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Coal Mine Rescue. 1.16.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK I've never been inside a coal mine. But I don't imagine I would enjoy it very much. I would imagine I'd be clawing at the walls to get the hell out of there. I'd be turning frantic and gasping for air amongst the black-sooted mountain folk. Well, that's also how every Syracuse trip to Morgantown feels. I mean, of course this guy pictured goes to West Virginia. And of course he's front and center in the student section. And of course ESPN features him during a cutaway shot. He's bearded and burly, gross, borderline psychotic. And wearing a leather bracelet. Encapsulating WVU perfectly. A win is a win is a win, and adding another Top-10 victory to the resume is never something to sneeze at. But this probably should've been a lot easier. The 72-71 Orange victory was highlighted by some tremendous personal efforts (thank you Brandon Triche), but many more brain locks. Andy Rautins sliding mindlessly into the knee caps of a Mountaineer player for a loose ball he had about a 4% chance of grabbing, which ended in his fifth foul? Wes Johnson attempting a pass under his own basket instead of just holding onto the ball and waiting to be fouled? Scoop Jardine's inane foul on a three-point attempt with just seconds left to play? The Mountaineers shot out of their minds in the final minutes while carving away at the double-digit deficit. Which is the sort of coal smoke-induced light-headedness that happens when you spend time in Morgantown. The Orange made it out alive, but with The Per'fesser's and Orange Nation's sanity in tatters. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Where's Doug? 1.15.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Saturday, November 28th, 2009 is an important date. Sure, it's the day SU football got dropped by UConn. But for the state of the program, this moment is a little more significant than just another Randy Edsall smirk. 11/28/09 is also the last time anybody has seen Doug Marrone. Since then, no press conferences, no face time, no appearances. Naturally, football writers, talk shows and television stations have called SU Athletics to see if they can talk to the man in charge, especially with the Tennessee rumors buzzing through message boards. All of them get a very polite *"Coach Marrone is on the road recruiting and isn't available for media requests,"* from a university spokesperson. Every time. Since the season ended. It took until the UT rumors became too much to ignore for him to come out of the woodwork, and even then, he waited for the usually sluggish Friday presses. It's good that we have Bud Poliquin around to provide proof of life with our sophomore coach. This feels less like a jaunt through Central New York and more like an expedition to Antarctica. Maybe there can be a coach Marrone "Where's Waldo," with overhead maps in Florida, New Jersey, downstate New York and Pennsylvania. However, there are two things we've learned from this disappearance, and to some degree, a reemergence to clear the air. 1) He's dedicated to the job. Marrone has talked about his 20-hour work days in the early days of his hire. He has been adamant about his loyalty and ambition for the school and the program. 2) He realizes the weight and damage of his name in the rumor mill could dissuade recruits, and although it's a distraction from the day's work, he had to squash the speculation. 3) He's tired. Mentally and physically. He's exhausted of all the Tennessee questions, from friends, family and strangers alike. Unfortunately it doesn't mean they will end until the coaching carousel finally stops. Coach, here's an Ambien. Keep up the good work. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: Putrid in Piscataway. 1.14.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK The Fizz was present at the RAC for last night's SU 81-65 win over Rutgers. The situation is not a pretty one. I started chatting up an usher about some of the recent articles of fans and boosters calling for basketball coach Fred Hill's job. His response? *"I think it's time to get rid of him now."* Ouch. Then there's this New York Post story about the game: *"Under coach Fred Hill Jr., the Rutgers basketball program has plummeted to depths it had not seen in two decades; its once-rabid fan base going from apathetic to embarrassed."* Yeah, you could say things haven't been so great for Fred Hill - a long time assistant at places like Marquette, Seton Hall, Villanova and Fairleigh Dickinson. He's had his highs and his lows this season, but mostly lows. His grasp on the New Jersey area is solid and nabbing RU's first McDonald's All-American in sophomore Mike Rosario is proof. But the clock is ticking. Former player J.R. Inman gave some advice to Rosario on his Facebook page a few days ago. *"Man dude, do yourself a favor and continue to put up them numbers and at the end of the season either transfer or enter the draft. Fred can't do anything but hold you back."* And star player Gregory Echenique just announced that he'll be transferring to (drumroll please) Creighton. Under Hill, Rutgers has gone 8-44 in the Big East over the last three years and is 0-4 to start this year's conference slate. How do you deal with the adversity Coach? "We've hit a setback. But if you hit a brick wall, are you going to find a way around it, go over it or run through it? I don't know if we're going to go around it, over it or through it, but we're going to get there." What about building a bomb shelter underneath it? If anything, this only bodes well for Orange recruiting because a lack of stability (and winning) in a Rutgers program combined with a (presumably) new head coach in the near future will make it even harder to bring in decent prospects from the NYC-Metro area. Send 'em up I-81! Right now it sounds like Fred Hill is to Rutgers Basketball as Groobers was to SU Football. Not. Good. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Thanks For Nothing, Heels. 1.14.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK A sea of Orange did the Tar Heels in again last night. Unfortunately, this is not helping our Orange. Suddenly mediocre North Carolina got shelled in Clemson, 83-64 - the worst loss in Roy Williams' tenure at Chapel Hill. The Heels are sure to fall from their #12 ranking soon. It's UNC's fifth loss already and another of the embarrassing variety. "UNC (12-5, 1-1 ACC) saw its 10-game winning streak over the Tigers crushed because it couldn't hold onto the ball (tying a season-high with 26 turnovers); couldn't keep up with Clemson's lightning, pressing, pace; couldn't slow Tigers point guard Demontez Stitt and couldn't get much output from big men Deon Thompson and Ed Davis." Syracuse made short work of Rutgers, but with all due respect to Pauly D and J-Woww, the hopes of a high-seeding come March is not dependent on what happens in New Jersey. The 'Cuse is a Top-5 team and rated fourth in the country by the KenPom.com rankings (a much more accurate depiction of where SU could be seeded). But with Carolina now 0-3 in true road games this season, having also lost at Kentucky and College of Charleston, and to Texas in Dallas - one of SU's signature wins is looking worse by the night. From the Charlotte News-Observer: "If the Tar Heels don't improve from here, they will be a .500 ACC team that will likely exit by the first weekend of the NCAA tournament." 'You're just not very good!' a delighted Clemson fan yelled at the Tar Heels in the second half." And that's not very good for Syracuse. Photo credit: Rob Willett/ News-Observer * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Lane Kiffin Way-Back Machine. 1.13.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK As the Knoxville national nightmare continues to flame on in the mountains of Tennessee, it's worth remembering that Orange Nation could've found itself in much of the same position. While it seems probable a certain ex-USC Associate A.D. had the fawn eyes for Lane Kiffin, who knows how much (if any) mutual interest there was for a program just a smidge less prestigious than UT. But let's take you back, Fizz-style, to what we wrote on this website a mere 13 months ago: "It remains murky whether Gross ever truly pursued him for the Orange job. Likely, Dr. Doom knew he had no support (or credibility) to go down this road again; west-coast coordinator, fired from the pro ranks, zero east coast ties. The Fizz is convicted in its analysis: Lane Kiffin would not have worked at Syracuse. There would have been immediate skepticism from an already tortured fan base, plus if a school like UT was willing to hand him a job, he would've had one foot out the door from Day One. But damn, would've been nice to have Layla around the Dome. Imagine a one-two punch of Julie Boeheim and Layla Kiffin? Syracuse sporting social events would've turned into hottie central (and who would've ever imagined that sentence being written?). Visualize Julie taking Layla shopping at Kay's in the Carousel, house-hunting in Manlius, out for a "Sex in the Salt City" double-martini lunch at Armory." And a little over a year later, we feel like the Otto the Nostrad-orange. If the Lane-ster left UT in 14 months, how long would he have lasted on The Hill? Through the non-conference games? Get over yourselves Vols fans. You slept with the devil and got singed by the fire. Put some cream on it and let us know how 4th place in the SEC East tastes. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: SU Behind on Selby. 1.13.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK As mentioned here at The Fizz last month, Josh Selby had a much anticipated visit to Arizona this weekend. The Fizz spoke to Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star, who's been all over the Selby buzz. Selby got in to Arizona late Saturday night. "He attended the game on Sudnay afternoon and seemed to be really watching it pretty intently." "Mo Mo Jones, one of the players here who had played some AAU ball with him, a kid from New York, actually made a couple of gestures to him in the stands during the game, like come play here with me." Not unlike Tobias Harris, Selby has been using his parents as a filter for visits and interviews. Josh has his mother doing the screening and Pascoe says she even shagged three-pointers for him in Arizona. So after his decommitment from Tennessee, where is he headed next? Brace yourselves, Orange fans. "They've got Kansas and Kentucky for sure, Connecticut is a maybe like the last week in February. And she said Syracuse they were still talking to and Indiana they were still talking to and they're not sure about that." According to Pascoe, Arizona is well behind Kansas and Kentucky, but in the picture. The Orange (yes, despite that Camp Melo jersey you see) and Hoosiers are clearly lagging behind, but after so much trial and error, they aren't rushing things. "They're taking it very slowly, and they've only got so much time because now he's in his high school season so it's possible that he's gonna go down to the wire in April or May, it wouldn't surprise me and maybe take a couple spring visits." It's not time to panic, but the 'Cuse needs to get moving if it wants this top guard in the class of 2010. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Defining 'Stat Games' with Rob Moore. 1.12.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Former Orange wideout Rob Moore is the new wide receivers coach on Doug Marrone's staff. (Why do we feel a Three Idiots post coming on the Top-50 SU WRs of the late-1980s? Much love.) Moore holds one of The Fizz's favorite quotes of all-time while discussing the recent football pratfall. "I remember when Rutgers was a 'stat game' for us. It was like, 'I'm only playing 2 1/2 quarters today, so I better get the ball early.' You know what I mean? Well, I was back in Syracuse a couple of years ago and they played Rutgers and got beat 40-something-to-7, or whatever it was. It was shocking to see that." "Stat game." God, that's great. Rutgers was such a bunch of clowns, Marvin Graves, Kirby Dar-Dar, Rob Moore and Rob Burnett used to just approach the Knights like it was Game 16 of your Madden season. Run deep posts and shotgun formations and blitz nine men on every down to get those 5,000 yards passing, 25 TD catches and 30 sacks. Bad. Ass. The fact that the Orange has been Rutgers' "stat game" makes The Fizz wanna pour the wing grease at Varsity all over Schiano's head. Fizz note: Moore's hiring is historic. He becomes the first ever member of the SU staff with his own Starting Lineup figure. Which basically means it had to happen. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: Orange Smoke at AFCA. 1.12.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK The bowl season is officially over (Syracuse's season ended just a tad earlier than that), so we've hit a transition period in recruiting. Coaches can begin hosting prospects on campus again this Friday, and begin visiting them at home on the 17th. This all coincides with the American Football Coaches Association Convention taking place in Orlando where SU just may be looking to fill two vacancies on its coaching staff. With all of the coaches in America mixing and mingling in Orlando, expect news regarding the vacancies that SU still has to fill (wide receivers/ offensive coordinator). Check out the schedule for the AFCA convention, which has a *"Syracuse University Staff Meeting Private Function"* on Monday morning from 9-11a. In an convention itinerary which also includes a presentation on NAIA ticket sales, the time and place is certainly interesting. One would assume the Orange power brokers will be discussing the staff's open positions with hundreds of coaching candidates teeming throughout the hallways. Where there's orange smoke... This is the perfect time for SU to pick an offensive coordinator and propel your recruiting push before the spring game. The class is already close to max, but there may still be some available bodies. Plus at AFCA, you can find great tools like the "Coach's Office 3-D Animation" which looks like a slight upgrade from Madden '97. We learned this season that Cincinnati already does this type of prep, with the help of a guy at EA Sports named Rob Moore. Not the one you're thinking of, but according to FootballScoop.com, which has been all over the coaching rumors this week, former SU player Rob Moore is in the running for the Syracuse wide receivers coaching job. Now if he could also beat Marrone in Madden on SEGA Genesis, Moore could really vault his candidacy. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? USF Girls Rocking Less. 1.11.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK This is one of The Fizz's favorite images. Our road trip to Tampa for the USF-SU football tilt in '08 displayed for us the classic sports characteristics of any school in Florida. Prioritize football. Ignore basketball. Tailgate in the sun. Wear tight-fitting t-shirts. Today, USF Girls rock just a little less. The 82-65 Syracuse win over the Bulls at the Dome was about as ho-hum as it gets. Been there, done that. The Bulls have sent DePaul's Jerry Wainright boxes of Gulf Coast clementines every year as a thank you for so solidly taking up residence in the basement of the Big East. But USF's hoops outfit is pretty darned uncompetitive itself. Here are some notes from the South Florida official release: -The Bulls are 0-5 at the Carrier Dome all-time. -USF is 2-34 in BIG EAST road games. The Bulls' last road BIG EAST win was Jan. 10, 2009 at DePaul (thanks Jerry). -USF is also 9-81 against ranked teams overall and 3-19 since joining the BIG EAST Conference. Today, Bulls fan is still sorting through the Jim Leavitt-firing mess. Via his lawyer, Leavitt says he wants his job back, which for all intents and purposes is impossible. While plenty of USF fans and alumni would be thrilled with his return, the scorched Earth which stands between Leavitt and the athletic department is untenable. *For Orange Nation, there is also a worrisome reality in the Leavitt firing. USF has always had the location, facilities and academic mediocrity to become the* football behemoth of the Big East. It's an enormous, sprawling state school with impossibly low acceptance standards. USF sits in the heart of one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in America. The Bulls play in an NFL stadium and regularly draw 50,000 fans. USF's administration has put a huge value on football, since watching donations and financial support boom with the rise of the program. Leavitt built the program floorboard by floorboard, winning some recruiting battles over the in-state Big Three and pushing the Bulls to a perennial bowl team. But there's always been the uneasy feeling that USF could be so much more. In a weakened football conference, with all the advantages USF holds, it's arguable Leavitt has actually held them back in some regards. Leavitt has been known as a workaholic and good football mind, but with a few too many personal idiosyncrasies to ever reach the next level. How come the Bulls haven't vaulted themselves into the annual preseason Top-10 discussion? Never played in a BCS bowl game? Never even won the Big East? Under Leavitt, USF was a very good team who often beat Syracuse. But without him, the Bulls may very well become the conference's singular power.** * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: The Waiting Game. 1.9.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK Nobody likes to wait. We all hate the doctor's office, the DMV, and traffic jams equally. So why has waiting in college recruiting become a good thing? "I think that there are fewer kids committing early than we saw a few years ago. I think the other piece to it is that kids also wanna go see where the opportunity exists but I think kids wanna see where they're really wanted too. "A lot of times the reason for a commitment is a pre-existing relationship between someone connected to the kid whether it's the high school coach, the AAU coach and the college coach. "I think by letting it play out, you get to really develop as a player, you let the school see your development and then you find out if it's a good fit," says Adam Finkelstein of the New England Recruiting Report in a recent FizzCast. And he's right on. As The Fizz chronicled the Tobias Harris saga, it was a melodramatic (and aggravating) countdown until the day he would end up becoming Bruce Pearl's next weapon on the court. Now for guys like Josh Selby, it's a matter of focusing on the high school season and taking things slow. You get to develop as a player - but more importantly, you allow things to play out for the schools you're looking at playing for next year. If you were looking to go to Notre Dame last year as a forward, you might have thought about it because Luke Harangody appeared to be on his way to the NBA. But he came back. Scratch South Bend off the list if you didn't want to wait around a year. Most coaches know whether or not you're their type of player after seeing you play once or twice. But it's in the recruit's hands as to where they ultimately end up. So in that case, we can keep on waiting - as long as there aren't any forms for us to fill out. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Burnett to Fizz: Groobers' Teams Quit. 1.8.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK If you could chisel a Syracuse football player out of bedrock, you'd try to carve Rob Burnett. Long Island guy. Played in the glory years of SU football. NFL vet. Super Bowl champion. Tough as nails on the field, articulate and warm off it. Burnett spent over a decade in the league, with the Browns, Ravens and Dolphins. Earned a ring as part of one of the most dominating defenses of all-time in the 2000 Ravens. Is now a member of the Baltimore broadcast team. With Patriots-Ravens scheduled for Sunday, he dropped by my show for a breakdown. I always try to find some time to talk Orange football with him, because he's passionate and remains involved with the athletic department. His love for SU football is still there. And as it was for all of us, the Groobers Error was a nightmare for him. *"If you look in the years past, I was almost unable to watch because I believed this team quit. They had that attitude, it was a West Coast, laissez-faire attitude. That's no longer."* Powered by The Fizz How would he grade out Marrone's first year? "Outstanding. This is what we wanted, this is what we needed, this is what we lost as far as the program's concerned. Bottom line: these guys fought. This is gonna be a tough, hard-nosed team. Doug's gonna be prepared every week. This team's gonna fight to the end. That's all really you can ask. Recruiting going's well." Predictions on when we can see SU on the national radar again? *"We expect to see the Orange creep their way into the Top-20 in the next 2-3 years, I guarantee you."* * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: Another Crack at Florida. 1.8.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Defensive lineman Derrick Jackson was one of the loose ends snipped by Doug Marrone at the end of this season. His position coach was also the first vacancy filled in the winter search for new blood. In fact, The Fizz spotted Jackson at the YMCA this past week, and we're pretty sure he ran into defensive coordinator Scott Shafer. Awkward. Taking over the duties of the D-Line is Jimmy Brumbaugh, an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech. But there's another reason JB was nabbed by Doug Marrone. His connection to the Sunshine State. Brumbaugh is Gainesville native, with connections to a bunch of schools in the SEC. He also has been through the battles on the field, playing defensive tackle for Auburn in the late-90s. Florida has been Paradise Lost over the last five years. Currently Marrone, as we mentioned here at The Fizz, is dealing with the loss of Stan Drayton to UF. But while Drayton is gone, Brumbaugh's connections should make him a solid replacement. As the Orange continues to hammer the recruiting trail down south into the 2010 dead period, having someone who grew up in Florida is paramount. Remember how Miami got good in the 1980's? Using local ties to the fertile Florida prep fields. SU won't be reeling them in like The U in its heyday, but having some type of pipeline of Sunshine State players is a game-changer in the Big East (see Schiano, Greg). * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Day SU Hoops Changed. 1.7.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Good news: Syracuse pulled away for a 74-57 win over Memphis last night. Better news: No one was happy about it. Boehiem: *"It's hard to explain how poorly we played tonight. We won the game. I really don't even care about that. We were just very poor."* Andy Rautins: *"Like Coach said, there's not a lot of good things you can take out of this game."* More gems from The Per'fesser: "It looked like we were throwing it to the other team most of the time on purpose. I know they had a different color jersey on, so it couldn't have been that. "Right now, we're not a good basketball team. We're not playing like a good basketball team and I don't think we have been for the last three or four games." Now that's just good eatin'. After a 17-point bounce-back win on national television, hearing Boeheim whine and complain about this team and its quality of basketball is the head coach making sure a team, as The Fizz pointed out last month, is handling its shocking prosperity appropriately. Not surprisingly, the key to last night's Orange win (and all 14 of them this season) has been its defensive intensity. The 2-3 suffocated the Tigers into worse than 38% shooting in the second half and 2-13 from beyond the arc. The genesis of this team's commitment to defense dates back to the exhibition season, before the ill-fated game against Le Moyne. A source close to the team tells The Fizz, the Orange players begged Boehiem to allow them to play man-to-man against the Dolphins. The Per'fesser knew better. This team's bread-and-butter would have to be the 2-3, primarily because of the length it has at every position and specifically in the front court. But the brash and overconfident players felt they could beat lowly Le Moyne by playing man, the freedom to play less structured defensively and potentially more aggressively on the offensive end. We all know what happened next. LeMoyne gets the historic victory. The Orange was humbled. And Boeheim had his teaching tool. It's no coincidence that this team has played a sturdy and committed 2-3 since the start of the season. Nov. 4, 2009: The night this SU hoops season was born. Photo credit: Kevin Rivoli/ AP/ commercialappeal.com * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: Stan the Man. 1.6.10 Posted: Ted Conroy - PERMALINK Stan Drayton was damn f'ing good at his job. That job? Officially, it was running backs coach, but he was pretty good in the recruiting biz too. So losing him back to the University of Florida is no fun. Before the 'Cuse, Drayton had built quite the resume before heading to The Hill. He was named a Top-25 recruiter when the Gators nabbed the top class in the country, with him as their backs coach. And of course, recruiting Florida is paramount. The Fizz chronicled the 'Cuse's recent reestablishment in the Sunshine State. We aren't the only ones to have noticed Drayton's apparent influence, as our good friends over at Nunes last month mentioned Drayton's influence as well. As a coach he wasn't bad either. He tutored Brian Westbrook at Villanova, who ended up being alright. We saw the sudden growth of Delone Carter into a 1,000 yard back (not bad for a player who spent time in the previous regime's doghouse and had trouble staying healthy). The Orange has some retooling to do. We told you that Doc Holliday's departure from West Virginia was supposed to open a door on the recruiting trail. Now the 'Cuse has to fill another position. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Fizz First: SU in on Senator Derrick Wilson. 1.5.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK The Fizz picked the brain of one recruiting expert, Alex Schwartz, last week about the Orange radar, and today we track down yet another. Adam Finkelstein of the New England Basketball Recruiting Report gave me the lowdown on class of 2011 guard Derrick Wilson, an SU prospect. As of right now, the only lock for SU's 2011 class is Michael Carter-Williams (who dropped by the FizzCast), after committing verbally in November. Finkelstein says MCW injured himself in the first game of the season, but should be back for a tournament at defending national champ Findlay Prep this week. Finkelstein says Wilson, a 6'1" 185 lb. guard is, "A power guard. He looks like a running back. He's very powerful physically. From a scout's take he's got both mass and definition. Where he's cut up but he still has the upper body size to overpower any other guard." "Over the course of his career, he's also become a lot more skilled. Last year we saw him start to shoot the three point shot with a lot more consistency. Now he's learned how to create space and score in that mid range area, he's got a step back jumper. He's really a complete player now. He's definitely a scorer." Scorer? Check. Sounds like guys Jim Boeheim has recruited in the past. On top of that, Finkelstein says he is one of the top football players in the area as well, but that basketball is where his future lies. "I don't think there's any question about that. From what I understand he'd really prefer to play basketball even year round. Basketball is obviously his biggest passion and undoubtedly what he will pursue at the next level." So he's got that going for him - which is nice. And going to the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT (near the New York border) seems to have its perks for Wilson too. "Hotchkiss is also one of the premier academic schools in the country, really. They've been able to really coexist in two very different worlds the last few years. Where in one breath you're talking about them with some of the biggest basketball powerhouse programs in the country, and on the other hand they're also educating future senators." Now that we know that, it's not surprising how many schools Wilson's got chasing him. He's got offers from Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Boston College and a few others. The brains start to show when schools like Duke, Stanford and yes, even Georgetown get involved. On top of what he can do on the court, his exposure is off the charts. He's playing at a prep school which allows him to travel during the school year, and plays AAU ball with the New York Gauchos - one of, if not the best AAU program in New York State. So when we say keep an eye out for Derrick Wilson, we mean it. He could be your Senator someday. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Curious Case of Shaq Thomas. 1.4.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK As documented consistently here at The Fizz over the past few months, Mike Hopkins and Rob Murphy are throwing 7s and 11s at a furious rate on the prep craps table. Next year's class appears to be one of the most talented (and highest ranked) in school history. Plus, the Orange is at very least still on the radar for Josh Selby and Brandon Knight. But one recruit that still has everyone guessing is the nomadic Shaquille Thomas out of NIA Prep in Newark. Shaq is on his fourth high school in four years and is the nephew of... wait for it... Villanova star and NBA veteran Tim Thomas. Alex Schwartz, one of the foremost authorities on the Northeast prep scene, tells The Fizz: "Shaq was originally class of 2010. He's a 6'6" wing. He had sort of committed to Syracuse at one point. He had called the SU coaches wanting to commit, from what I read they did not take his commitment until Tim said it was ok. His academic situation is a little up in the air because he's a transfer." **Listen to The FizzCast with Schwartz The collateral damage USC is experiencing after the O.J. Mayo disaster would make any program a little hesitant to take on a kid who's transfered as many times in the last four years as Arinze Onuaku has made free throws. Uncle Tim's involvement is interesting, as well. It's one thing to lean on a trusted family member who has been through the rigors of high-stakes recruitment. But according to one recount of the story, Hopkins wouldn't accept Shaq's commitment until everyone knew that Tim was cool with it. Hopefully Tim's just being protective of his nephew. Nothing wrong with that. You just wonder how much guidance a young man is getting when he's being pulled out of schools every 10 months. From Zag's Blog: "He called Syracuse associate head coach Mike Hopkins on Tuesday to say he wanted to commit, but Hopkins told Thomas he had to clear it first with Tim and Dorothy Thomas and his coaches." Back to Schwartz: "He's got a lot of talent. He's an amazing athlete. He's a kid I think Syracuse is really interested in. There's definitely mutual interest there. He can really play."** So who else is in on the newest baby Shaq? "He got offered by Seton Hall back when he was a freshman. Being from New Jersey, Rutgers wants to keep him in state. St. John's is gonna be involved. I think schools are still waiting on him because of his academic situation." Sounds like Shaq may be an incredible talent, but he has a battalion of red flags following his march. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Taj Mahal-coholic. 1.3.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK 2010 has claimed another Syracuse victim. Just hours after both the men and women suffered their first defeats of the season, news broke that Taj Smith was nailed on DUI. The Colts wideout was pulled over by Indianapolis police at 3:24 a.m. on New Year's night. "An officer witnessed him driving erratically. After pulling Smith's car over, the officer said Smith, 26, had glassy eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. Police said Smith failed a field sobriety and breath test and was arrested and preliminarily charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated." Athletes being pulled over for drunken antics behind the wheel barely makes us flinch anymore (especially after the Donte Stallworth tragedy earlier this year). But Taj's brief fit of idiot-itus leaves even the most loyal Orange fan scratching its head. You're a practice squad wideout tenuously holding onto a position with one of the premier franchises in the NFL (and one that famously suffers few fools). It's not like you're an indispensable star or even financially stable enough to recover from losing your job and latch on somewhere else. Plus, it's New Year's, so you probably have a pretty good idea you're gonna end up loose. Five-oh is on high-alert everywhere on New Year's Eve. And the league itself (to prevent as many PR-disasters as possible) offers courtesy car services for every player 24/365. Let's hope this is merely a wake-up call for Taj. It's also unfair to unload on Smith for a transgression half the Bengals have been arrested for. But it's at very best a bonehead move for Taj and a reminder the first 72 hours of 2010 have been unkind to the Orange. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Not So Happy New Year. 1.2.10 Posted: D.A. - PERMALINK Well, this year sucks. The Orange was a big, fat undefeated kind-of thing back in the good ol' days of '09. Two days in this new calendar and already there's a blemish on the schedule. The 5th-ranked 'Cuse has no one to blame but itself in the 82-72 home loss at the hands of Pitt. Jamie Dixon's Panthers do what they normally do against the Orange: play stellar defense, force turnovers and play a frenetic tempo that's impossible for SU to catch up to. The Orange tossed up bad shots throughout the final thirty of game time, the prime culprits being Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche. The two combined for 1-11 shooting from beyond the arc. Hey guys, feel free to dish when you're colder than a basement party on Ostrom. Not all that surprising, though. Even the most optimistic (and delusional) pockets of Orange Nation couldn't believe SU would remain unscathed for long in the rough-and-tumble Big East. Tough part is that the first loss happens at home. Would've liked to keep the Dome dominance alive until at least February. Alas, silver linings are what we do. The best start ever for Syracuse and The Per'fesser? The '99-'00 edition which went 19-0. That team ended up losing to the ever-annoying Flintstones and eventual National Champion Michigan State in the Sweet 16. Here's hoping this Orange squad has a pinch more pixie dust in March than the '99-'00 team. We'll trade the losses now for a little luck then. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? The Best of Both Worlds. 1.1.10 Posted: Mike Couzens - PERMALINK There's only one school in the nation with an undefeated men's and women's basketball team. And presumedly it's your favorite school (or else you really hate this site). With the guys at 13-0 and the ladies at 12-0, the Orange has started off the season on both ends in a fashion that hasn't ever truly been seen on the Hill. The men still have a way to go if they want to compete with the '99-'00 record of 19 straight wins to start the season. The women, however, are already off to their best start ever. The 1974-1975 team began the season 10-0... and finished that way. That was the length of their entire season. These could be two of the most impressive squads ever fielded by either coach. More depth, more scoring, and a renewed overall team attitude from both teams have been huge in the efforts so far. The women's team even wears "Shut It Down" t-shirts while warming up for their games. One reason for concern could be the slow starts both teams have had coming off winter breaks. The men kept it too close for comfort against Seton Hall on Tuesday night. The women had cruised through every game on the slate until last time out when they actually trailed at the half for the first time all season. I talked to men's assistant Rob Murphy and women's star Erica Morrow yesterday and both told me the same thing: We're all human. Making a return from the winter break isn't easy when you've been home stuffing your face, wrapping presents and seeing your family. Remember, it's always about the quality wins on the schedule, not the quantity of the wins. I spoke to women's coach Quentin Hillsman after the game and he put it bluntly, "At the end of the day if you don't win 10 or 12 conference games it doesn't matter who you beat in the non-league. I'm not confused about that. We have to win 10, 11, 12 conference games to get in the NCAA Tournament and I know that." The Big East is the best conference in college basketball for both men and women, so the Orange will begin to have its postseason fate determined as the clock strikes 2010. * * * Fizz Nation Check List: Become a friend of The Fizz on Facebook. Subscribe for free to The FizzCast on iTunes. Follow The Fizz on Twitter for constant news, podcasts and blog posts. Now was that so hard? Read The Fizz from December. Relive your holiday season. Custom Search