Premier Freshman Across the Country

by James Finneral

The 2014 NBA Draft will be stocked with great talent due to the amazing group of college players likely to declare for the draft. The main focus this year are the freshman across the country. Their high school class was named one of the best in ages. Many of these freshman are living up to the hype and are some of the star players in the nation already. Here are some profiles of a few of them.

Andrew Wiggins, Kansas:
Coming out of high school Wiggins was regarded as the closest thing to LeBron James. Obviously it is going to take a lot of work to live up to that standard, but that shows just how much potential Wiggins has. At Kansas this year he is playing solid basketball despite the teams disappointing season for the Jayhawks thus far. He is averaging 15 points a game as well as 5 rebounds. These are solid numbers in a tough Big 12 division, but people seem to be a bit let down by him possibly because of the amazing play by Jabari Parker from Duke. Wiggins has amazing NBA potential and is projected to go number 1 in the draft according to ESPN. He just has to tone out the critics and continue to play his game.

Jabari Parker, Duke:
In any other high school class Jabari Parker would have been the number one recruit in the country and he is proving that in college right now. Despite his struggles lately Parker is being known as one of the star players around the country pouring in 20 points a game as well as 8 rebounds in a solid Atlantic Coast Conference. With all the hype around Wiggins, Parker has been overlooked a little but he is definitely drawing some attention to himself as he is projected to go 2nd overall in this years NBA Draft. Parker is a problem to cover down low at 6'8" and 235, but he also has a very smooth outside jump shot which will definitely serve him well at the next level. Watching him play this year is going to be fun and he will most likely head to the NBA next year. At this point in the year I consider him the best freshman player in the country.

Julius Randle, Kentucky:
Julius Randle is one of the most exciting players to watch in the entire country. Coming out of high school he was the number 3 ranked player in the country behind Wiggins and Parker. Although Kentucky's record thus far has not lived up to their expectations, Randle has still had an exceptional season. He is averaging nearly 17 points and 11 rebounds and bringing an unmatched energy and physicality to the floor for the Wildcats. As a big man he does a tremendous job handling the basketball. Some people are doubting that he can play power forward in the NBA, but at 6'9" 250 he will do just fine. Randle is a sure fire top 5 draft pick this year. He will be a leader for this young Kentucky team and really only needs one year of college before he is ready for the NBA.

Aaron Gordon, Arizona:
Some refer to him as the younger more athletic version of Blake Griffin which is certainly a fitting title for Arizona forward Aaron Gordon. The freshman is a key component to the success of the number 1 ranked Wildcats. So far this season Gordon is averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds with some spectacular superstar highlights. His incredible leaping ability already standing at 6'9"gives him crazy potential to be a force down low even at the next level. He is projected #7 on ESPN's mock draft which is a fair spot for him. Look for Aaron Gordon to continue to have a great season and then make an impact in the NBA.

Tyler Ennis, Syracuse:
The biggest surprise freshman stud is none other than Syracuse University's, Tyler Ennis. Ennis has done an amazing job replacing Michael Carter-Williams and facilitating for the Orange. He is averaging 11 points along with 6 assists. Although Ennis has put up some impressive stats he has played a big role in some of the Orange's toughest games facing Villanova and Indiana. Despite his great season, people are still wondering if he will declare for this years draft. Since he is not a physical freak like the previous mentioned players, it might be a good idea for Ennis to stay another year at Cuse and develop his body and game. That is probably mainly because I am selfish and want him to stay, but he could really develop over the next few years.

Other Notable Freshman to Keep an Eye On
Joel Embiid, Kansas
Andrew Harrison, Kentucky
Jabari Bird, California
James Young, Kentucky
Wayne Selden, Kansas
Zach LaVine, UCLA
Noah Vonleh, Indiana
Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington
Jordan Mickey, LSU

Some of these guys will be better than others at the next level, but they all have limitless potential.

#2 Syracuse Rolls Against Virginia Tech

by James Finneral

Syracuse took a road trip down to Virginia to play the Hokies of Virginia Tech. They are not known as one of the elite teams across the country, but they were able to defeat Miami who nearly beat Syracuse. As the game began the Orange were calm and control of the game. In the first half they hit many jump shots with two early threes from Trevor Cooney and some nice takes by Jerami Grant. The 2-3 was not stifling, but it did hold Virginia Tech to 29 points in the first half as they lead 35-29. The second half was pretty similar and Syracuse's consistent efforts drove them to victory. Grant had an absolute monster block to go along with his 12 points and 10 rebounds. C.J. Fair played another very solid game dropping 17 points and 6 rebounds. Tyler Ennis continued his impressive freshman campaign with 13 and 7 dimes and Michael Gbinije poured in a solid 8 points off the bench. Overall this game was not very exciting which was to be expected. The one main area of concern for the Orange is their poor foul shot percentage shooting a measly 54% at the line against Virginia Tech. With some of the challenging games on their schedule those foul shots will become a lot more important and may be the difference between winning and losing. They are home against a very strong North Carolina team lead by the tremendous guard-forward duo of Marcus Paige and James Michael-McAdoo.

Player of the game and X Factor for the Orange, Jerami Grant

#2 Syracuse Triumphs in A Huge Victory Over #8 Villanova

by James Finneral

On December 28th 2013 Syracuse faced their largest test of the year against the #8 Villanova Wildcats. The Carrier Dome was a sea of orange ready to cheer on New York's college. Coming into the game Syracuse had their work cut out for them facing out against a very physical Wildcat team with the likes of JaVaughn Pinkston and James Bell. From the start it seemed like Villanova had the Orange all figured out as they jumped to a 25-7 lead early on. An insane turn of events occurred as the first half progressed as Syracuse held Nova to their 25 points until they took the lead from them. Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney were the main contributors to the insane run. The first half came to an end with Syracuse leading 38-34. It was much of the same in the second half. Syracuse maintained control of the game with big time plays by C.J. Fair and outside shooting from Cooney. The Cuse defense was in lockdown mode in the second half holding Villanova to 28. The game concluded with a 78-62 victory for the Orange. The victory showed how resilient this team is. Being down by nearly 20 to start the game and then they are able to come back and nearly win by 20. When you are watching them play now and they are losing reflect back to this game and never count them out no matter how bad it seems. Cooney lead the way in scoring with 21 points alongside 3 steals. Tyler Ennis played very well with 20 points and 4 rebounds and C.J. Fair played his game with 17 points and 6 boards. Jerami Grant also had a notable performance with 11 points and 6 rebounds. This win finally shows that Syracuse can defeat a top 25 ranked team. This is a great win for the Orange, but they have many more challenging games coming up.

Trevor Cooney, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

  

#2 Syracuse Fends off St. Johns in a Close One

by James Finneral

The Orange took the stage at Madison Square Garden ready to face off against the St. Johns Red Storm. Coming into the game Syracuse knew there was one main guy they needed to stop and that was D'angelo Harrison, a scoring guard for St. Johns averaging 19 points coming into the game. At the beginning Syracuse came out with some fire with two quick buckets from DeJuan Coleman followed by some scoring from C.J Fair and Tyler Ennis. Heading into halftime Cuse was ahead 39-27. In the second half Harrison took over scoring the first 7 points for St. Johns and bringing the Storm back into the ball game. Jerami Grant was a big part of the Orange success in the middle of the second half with his scoring, rebounding and his shot altering defense. Down the stretch it was the two stars that lead the way. Tyler Ennis and C.J Fair scored all of the Orange buckets from the 7 minute mark and on. Despite the effort from St. Johns outscoring Syracuse by 7 in the second half it was not enough to take them down and Syracuse finished the game winning by a score of 68-63. C.J Fair finished with another very nice showing scoring 21 points with 5 rebounds. Tyler Ennis had the largest impact on the game with his 21 and 6 assists scoring 15 points in the first half to give Cuse that nice cushion. Jerami Grant had a large effect on the game with his 14 points off the bench and one momentum changing two handed block to close out the game. To be honest I am a little surprised at how successful this team has been so far taking down quality teams such as California, Minnesota, Baylor, Indiana and now St. Johns. They face their toughest task yet on December 28th against #8 Villanova. The one thing I stress about with this team is that they have not yet played a top 10 team and that will change very soon.

MVP of the Game: Tyler Ennis, pg

Syracuse Orange 2013 Maui Invitational Champions

by James Finneral

What a great way for the Orange to kick off their season by taking home the hardware at the 2013 Maui Invitational. They are undefeated in the two times they have taken part in the tournament.

#8 Syracuse vs. Minnesota

Minnesota was the first test for Syracuse in the Maui Invitational. They are a well disciplined team with the back court leadership of Austin and Andre Hollins. They came out with fire power with three point shooting from Trevor Cooney and buckets from C.J Fair. Despite their efforts they only lead by three points at the half. Fair took over in the second half, taking it strong to the hoop and drawing fouls. In the end Syracuse grinded it out taking the victory by a final score of 75-67. Fair logged a double-double in the victory with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

#8 Syracuse vs. California

California was the next team they played. The Golden Bears were searching for revenge after the Orange eliminated them from the NCAA Tournament last year. Once again they had there work cut out for them facing the back court of Jabari Bird and Austin Cobbs for California. Both teams had successful first half's on the offensive end a lot of offensive rebounding for California and Syracuse was knocking down jumpers. The first half concluded with the game tied at 41 a piece. It was Tyler Ennis' game in the second half. Using more of the scoring point guard approach by taking it to the rack and shooting with confidence. Once Cuse jumped out to a good lead and California big man, David Kravish got into foul trouble it was all over. With 28 points from Ennis in the game Syracuse rolled to a 92-81 victory. Trevor Cooney also had a very notable performance dropping 23 points.

Championship Game #8 Syracuse vs. #18 Baylor

This was quite a finals matchup to see who would take home the championship. Baylor's front court consisting of Cory Jefferson and big time prospect Isaiah Austin. However the Bear's back court is not really as good as Trevor Cooney and Tyler Ennis which ended up giving them a huge advantage in the game. Cuse played very well in the first half having an easy time converting on offense. At half time they were up 38-30. The second half was not a great team effort. C.J Fair was the soul reason they held onto the lead scoring 14 points in the second half finishing with 24. They lost the battle in the second half by one point, but thanks to the tremendous effort by Fair down the stretch they were able to hold on and win 74-67. Fair was awarded the MVP for the tournament making his campaign even better for the Wooden Award this year.

This was an excellent way to kick off the season. They will face much better teams in the ACC, but they did beat some high quality teams and got the chemistry kick started. This team is looking very good with a balanced backcourt nice athleticism in the front court and a star player in C.J Fair. We will see how the rest of the season plays out, but it was a nice run in Maui.

C.J Fair, MVP of the Maui Invitational

Why the Orange May Be Off to a Quick Start in the 2013-2014 Season

by James Finneral

Who's ready to kick off a fresh season of college basketball? I know I am.

The Syracuse Orange had a depressing end to their season last year losing to the Michigan Wolverines in the Final Four. Although there was a sense of disappointment, Syracuse went above and beyond just about everybody's expectations as many people thought they would be upset  early on in the tournament.

Last year is over and this season is a clean slate for the Orangemen to fill with a load of victories. Syracuse lost their starting point guard, Michael Carter-Williams, three point shooting forward, James Southerland, and the senior leadership of Brandon Triche. This is quite a loss, but they are still in very great shape because C.J. Far decided to return for his senior year. The 6'6" small forward lead the team in both scoring and rebounding with 14.5 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. He never received the attention he truly deserved because of the incredible NBA talent of Carter-Williams, but Fair should be prime for an excellent senior season. They also have a very fresh recruiting class coming in with the likes of five star point guard, Tyler Ennis, Tyler Roberson, skinny but shifty, B.J. Johnson, and Brewster Academy guard, Ron Patterson. More notable returns include Jerami Grant who showed a lot of potential last year as well as Rakeem Christmas.

With all this talent Syracuse can definitely have a successful season. I think they will get off to a quick start because they are playing in the Maui Invitational this year. This year in the tournament there are some quality teams, but the Orange seem to be the clear favorite to win. Gonzaga, Baylor, California, and Minnesota are other high quality teams in the tournament. If one team will give them trouble it will be Minnesota, but even they are missing some of their crucial components from last year.

Winning any tournament will boost up a team's spirits. If Syracuse can win the Maui Invitational it will give them the confidence to take down some of the tough opponents in the ACC such as Duke, Pitt, and UNC. The start of their season could very well set the tone for another great run.

C.J. Fair, forward for Syracuse

Kaleb Joseph Commits to Syracuse

by James Finneral

On his visit to Syracuse University this weekend 6'3" point guard Kaleb Joseph verbally committed to Syracuse University. Joseph is currently attending Cushing Academy where they won the NEPSAC AA Championship. Before hand Joseph only had Providence, West Virginia, and Syracuse on his list of choices. Out of those choices the Syracuse program has been more successful over the years especially with head coach, Jim Boeheim still commanding the Orange. Syracuse has a pretty bright future ahead this is already their second commitment for the class of 2014. Along with Joseph they also have 6'10" big man Chris McCullough who is currently ranked 7th in the nation. This one two punch combination gives the Orange the #4 recruiting class for this year. Kaleb Joseph is ranked 51st overall in the nation for his class. He is a great addition to the Orange team because of his physicality and athleticism at the point guard position. Joseph is developing each and every month. If he can get his body ready for the college level over this next year, he will be a force for the Orange. Syracuse was able to steal an amazing prospect this week who has potential to even go to the NBA.

Kaleb Joseph, Cushing Academy Point Guard, and Syracuse Commit