Tribute to the Syracuse Orange Season

This was a season, and a team that I will not forget in a very long time. Their season was filled with many ups and many downs, but in the end they are still known as one of the elite programs in mens division one basketball. Jim Boeheim can add one more Final 4 to his list but in the end they were not able to get that title. Some may consider this team inconsistent, I consider them resilient a team that can lose 5 out of 9 games in a stretch getting embarrassed by Georgetown twice and then make a run to the finals of the Big East Tournament defeating Pitt and Georgetown to get there and then make a run to the Final Four defeating California, Indiana and Marquette to get there. This team has nothing to be ashamed of they are a great team that everyone thought was bad.

Offensive MVP: The 2012-2013 Syracuse Orange offensive most valuable player is C.J Fair the junior  most people like Billy Adie may know him as the guy with the headband. C.J's amazing athleticism lead to many amazing plays. He could go up and get you an offensive rebound, he could shoot the ball from mid range and a little bit from three point range, and he could come out with an amazing dunk or spinning layup that most players at his level can not do. This talent made him the leading scorer for Syracuse with 14.5 points. He was probably Syracuse's most consistent player especially on offense and that is why he deserves this title.

Defensive MVP: The defensive MVP for Syracuse this year is Michael Carter-Williams. This man had an excellent season especially for a sophomore. Carter-Williams lead the team in steals with 2.8 per game and the teams third leading re bounder with 4.9 per game as a point guard. This young man is very gifted and he has earned the right to be the defensive MVP.



Unsung Hero: The unsung hero for Syracuse is the backup center, Baye Keita. With a shaky starting center in Rakeem Christmas the Orange needed Keita to step up in crucial games. Over the course of the Big East Tournament Christmas fouled out in the majority of the games leaving Keita as the only option. He filled in for Christmas and played much better than him. Keita could have been the driving force that almost won Syracuse the Big East Tournament. His momentum carried over into the tournament and played a pivotal role in their success. This guy stepped up when no body though he would.






Overall MVP: The most valuable player on the Syracuse Orange for 2012-2013 is Michael Carter Williams. There is some controversy over who this should go to, but Triche is flat out worse than Carter -Williams, Southerland didn't even play the whole season because of his academic issues not that he would have won it. C.J Fair was the runner up although he was more consistent, Michael Carter-Williams made his team better he was the conductor of the offense and the best player on the defensive side of the ball. He brought an unmatched energy to the floor and it was because of him that they beat Indiana and Marquette and when he did not perform like against Michigan they crumbled and could not
pick up the slack. This guy was the leader of the team and has a bright future ahead of him whether he stays or goes.



Honorable Mentions: The honorable mentions go to the two seniors on the starting five, Brandon Triche and James Southerland. These guys were the two best three point shooters on the team but more importantly they brought a lot of leadership and guided the team when they needed help. One of them has a good chance of going to the NBA but the other one not so much.



Overall it was a great season and I am very glad that I covered it. I will be writing occasional entries on recruiting and what to expect for next year, but thank you all for sticking with me for the season.

GO ORANGE!

Syracuse Dominates Marquette on Both Ends of the Floor Leading Them to the Final Four

Saturday March 30th 4:30 PM ET Verizon Center, Washington D.C: Everything was going well for Syracuse as nothing went Marquette's way leading the Orange to a 55-39 victory. After the game concluded Marquette coach Buzz Williams said, "They beat us from start to finish. We collectively tried  everything we knew to try."The Golden Eagles tried just about every trick in the book to find the weakness in the Syracuse 2-3 zone. It started with a little run for Syracuse at the begining of the game consisting of a couple of three point jumpers and trips to the foul line. Davonte Gardner for Marquette was playing tough but the Orange defense was at a whole different level negating any chance Gardner had at an offensive rebound or a loose ball. Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche shut down Vander Blue who has been playing some of the best basketball in the tournament. At the end of the first half Syracuse only had 24 points but their defense was so good that they held Marquette to 18 points in the first half. The domination continued in the second half with Syracuse pouring on the points and stil in lockdown mode on defense. Vander Blue and Davante Gardner were the only players that were contributing offensively. Syracuse ended up destroying the Golden Eagles. It was an overall solid effort for Cuse with C.J Fair scoring 13 points with 6 rebounds, James Southerland with 16, and Michael Carter-Williams continues his amazing run in the tournament scoring 12 points, snatching 8 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. This is the first Final Four for Syracuse in the past decade in their run they defeated some great teams such as California, Indiana and lastly Marquette. They play Michigan for the right to go to the championship game. The Wolverines are a very good team who are very well coached but if Cuse keeps their defense up I do not see how anyone could beat them.

Final Four