The orange are at the 1/3 mark on the season

As the Holiday break approaches it could come at no better time for the orange. They struggled at the start of the season but to my surprise have been able to show some glimpses of hope.  Offensively this team has struggled, and has not looked like a top team that could compete in the NCAA tournament. The orange would shock the country as they would put up a 15 point lead on a number seven ranked Villanova team in the first half of play. Its not that I doubt the ability of the orange. Seeing them compete at a high level during this game showed me this team is still salvageable and isn't all garbage. To credit their defense, they  have consistently been able to hold teams to a decent percentage on offense. But as said a few weeks ago the problem i have with this team is not the defense its their offense. Trevor Cooney over the past few games has brought his field goal percentage up from 22 percent to 40 percent, which shows this team is finally hitting their stride finally. This should be a very exciting time for orange fans. Coming out of the holiday break the orange have a few easy games against long beach, Cornell, and Georgia tech. With the earlier loses in the season the orange have to make up toward the middle of the season and have to win out against un ranked opponents. This should be fairly easy but as we all know the orange lost the game for themselves against Villanova. As much as the refs were calling "baloney" calls at the end of the day it was their job to win the game. You don't let them out score you by 15 to send the game into over time especially because your team was getting called for the ridiculous fouls early. That was more on the coaches than it was on the players.

Are the orange really in trouble ....?

What is to say 8 games into the season? Is this orange  team similar to teams in past years or is this a year where the talent has dried up? Will Duke beat the Orange? The frustration in the mind of every orange fan is running high at this point. Will the offense ever show up to the game or better yet do the orange have offense? These are valid questions that need to be answered for every orange fan. Coach Boeheim is a hall a fame coach, and this will be his toughest task to date. This team to this point is broken. The way that the orange played against St Johns sunday was embarassing. The orange had no response to St.Johns ability to shoot excellent from the three point line. Along with this in the mix the orange shot terribly from the free throw line roughly shooting around 60% on the season. This will not get it done against opponents. Whats next for the orange.... I guess its time to just sit back and watch and see what Coach Boeheim can orchastrate on offense for the orange.

What the Orange need to do going into Madison Square Garden....

Yes, the Orange face their next opponent this Thursday.......... and boy will this be a tough one.


Why am I saying the Orange are facing a"tough" opponent so early. Here's the reason, following the game against Hampton, and the Orange only scoring 65 points that is definite reason for concern.
Rakheem Christmas would score 15 of those points.

The Orange will head into Madison Square Garden Thursday 2-0 on the season. Against the teams' previous opponent the Orange struggled a offensively. It was clear this team didn't know what they were doing. Kaleb Joseph played 34 minutes and only put 5 points going 1/2. That will not get it done against a Cal team who is averaging 92 points  a game. In another relation Trevor Cooney was also ineffective going 3/9 . For a guard who specializes in the three point shot it looked as if he was shooting anything but "down town". All in all Trevor Cooney is going to have to be a leader of this team. As a upper class man it is his job to teach the  younger guys in this team such as Kaleb Joseph.

On defense the teams was solid excuting the 2-3 zone very effectively. Rakheem Christmas lead those efforts having 16 boards and following behind him would be Trevor Cooney. As Rakheem Christmas lead on the boards he also lead in every aspect of the teams game. With his leadership the team will need key players such as Trevor Cooney and various other upper class man to step up. This can not be a one man show, he is going to need help. This will be very key in the teams game against Cal. What player will step up and assist Rakheem Christmas on both sides of the ball? I guess we will see Thursday.

What does it take........to win on opening night

If tonight hasn't proven that the orange are the team to beat in the ACC I don't know what will. The orange season began tonight strong and commanding as they would go on to beat Kennesaw State 89-42 .  Rakheem Christmas in this game stepped up as a leader in the teams season opener. This is his team and his time to shine.  The senior captain and only senior starter new that it was his time to step up. And he stepped up in a big way, crashing through the Owl defense and dominating the boards. This team would also show its future as well with some young talent stepping up in a big way. Chris McCollugh would also dominate the boards finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. In order for this team to beat a team such as a Louisville or Duke , freshman Chris McCullough and Kaleb Joseph are going to have to constantly put points on the board on a nightly bases. Rakheem Christmas has lost alot of help on offense with the lost of Tyler Ennis, C.J. Fair, and Jermani Grant, it is a understatement that the team is in a definite rebuilding phase. He can't carry this team the entire season by him self.  With the freshman stepping up in the teams' season opener, looks as if the future for this team is very bright.

Season is underway

Yes, believe it or not the Orange have already played their first exhibition game and it was a good one. They opened up their preseason/exhibition season against Carleton University, going on to beat the ravens 76-68. This is just the beginning for the orange as predicted they will be a top contender, in a ever getting competitive ACC conference. The ACC is the basketball conference of the NCAA and seems as if that wont be changing in the neat future. The SEC would argue that point as they do have the Kentucky Wildcats. This should make for a interesting season. ! Stay tuned !

Preseason Analysis

The orange's preseason is set to tip November 2nd. There are lots of expectations for this 2014-2015 orange basketball ball team. Looking at this team on paper they look to be a very strong team. Even having the potential to make it to the final four.

Fans might be upset about the ranking of number 24, but everything will settle out in the end. Who's is meant to go to the NCAA tournament will and everything will follow from their.

There are various teams that look to be stronger than the Orange on paper such as the Kentucky Wild Cats and the Wisconsin Badger's.  But having a team that has 11 NBA top recruits for this upcoming draft must be intimidating for coach Kaliper. How the team came together through out the NCAA tournament was nothing short of a miracle. Coach Kaliper is thanking not only him self but his players for not making him look to "bad".

The thought of every orange fan is "where are the Blue Devils ranked?"Which leads me to my next point. The orange have shown time and time again that Duke is a overrated opponent and that their a beat able team.  The ranking of third in the NCAA polling just proves how ridiculous and absurd these rankings are.

Being honest, the blue devils are a better team on paper but for now lets just act as if we are the better team.

Yes, the Blue Devils did pick up top recruits during the off season but they won't be the game changers. Will they even get playing time is a even bigger question?

Fast forward past Duke there is another team that is a concern for the orange. The Louisville Cardinals, year after year have proven to have a excellent basketball program similar to that of the orange, but why is there no rivalry between the cardinals. Maybe Lacrosse has something to do with that but either way the cardinals are still a growing concern for the orange.

The Duke games and the Louisville game will be a huge season indicator on how well the orange plan to do in this years NCAA tournament. If they have lost all three games then we know the orange is domed for the post season. If they have won both games, we have to except the fact we will have to play one if not both teams again to win "the crown".

The bottom line to this is , the orange were disrespected by their NCAA ranking, but will they actually prove the poll to be wrong or will they lie in their grave and except the title given to them.

This should operate as a chip on their back the entire season reminding them they have something to prove.

Preseason Preview

 Orange Madness was underway friday evening in the Carrier Dome as Orange fans were able to preview the players for the 2014-2015 season. This was similar around the NCAA as notable team Kentucky held Midnight Madness friday evening, even having guest raper Drake make an appearance. Aside from the start to the season Syracuse is facing some major NCAA violations and will appear in court later this month. The orange has been accused of various incidents across the board from eligibility violations to players failing the schools drug policy rules. This offense is labeled as a level one or level two offense and is expected to be ruled on by the end of November.

Based on these allegations, the orange is facing some difficult decisions. These decisions will not only effect Syracuse basketball but it will also effect all sports on campus. This makes for a very interested two months ahead as orange fans wait and ponder on the future of Syracuse sports.

Expectations for the 2014-2015 season

As the season draws near, what should be expected of this Syracuse basketball team for this season?This season there will be some new faces ,as  the commits of the 2014 class will take center stage and will make a names for themselves on the Orange roster. Chris McCullough will be a signed commit of the Syracuse basketball team 2014 -2015 class as he will play the power forward position for the orange. McCullough has a five star rating according to verbal Commits. com and is exactly what the orange will need this season along side Rakeem Christmas. The power hard grind of the orange will make them a definite tough contender in the ACC this season.  McCullough will also play along side freshman Kaleb Joseph. Joseph, similar to that of McCullough, is apart of the orange 2014 recruit class and will play the point guard position for the orange. The starting line up for the Orange is still in the works, as three key players in their success last season have moved on to bigger a better things, but this basketball team will still be very high in the power ranking for the coming season. As experience is in this teams favor.

Looking Ahead....

As the count down to the NCAA basketball season nears, the question of who will be on every teams roster is at the back of everyone's mind. Syracuse basketball would be no different, as the orange will have three key starters , gone this season. Much Anticipation of what this roster will look like for the 2014-2015 seasons lures on the fans mind. How will Tyler Ennis be replaced or will Jerami Grants athletic ability be duplicated by various young players on this roster. As these two former Syracuse stars make there move to their respective NBA teams ( Phoenix Suns and Phildelphia 76ers) what will happen with this roster?  With only two starters returning this season how will the Orange be able to overcome their inexperience . Players that will face the challenge of stepping up and becoming a leader, will be none other then Trevor Clooney and Rakeem Christmas. Being just a junior Clooney will have the daunting task of caring on the orange reputation of "EXCELLENT BASKETBALL" .  Will this team be able to keep up their  schools excellent reputation of sending star athletes on to the next level, in such a challenging basketball conference (ACC) or will they be another inexperienced young team?