‘We have to get back to those days’
Andy Rautins can’t escape the expectations. Not around campus, where the fans never let him forget Syracuse’s recent scuffles. Not in the Carrier Dome, where he is routinely greeted by trophies and mementos of the Orange’s achievements. Not even in his own home, where his father, Leo, has stories to tell about the two NCAA Tournament games he won playing for the Orangemen.
Wherever Rautins goes, the painful reality is always there: Syracuse hasn’t graced the NCAA Tournament in two seasons, only the second time that’s happened in head coach Jim Boeheim’s 32 seasons.
‘You see it in the Dome every day,’ Rautins said. ‘The posters hanging on the wall, the memorabilia and whatnot of past champions, so it definitely wears on our minds.
‘We should be back there, and we have the talent and the ability to do it this year.’
The euphoric glory of that 2003 national championship still envelops the Syracuse basketball program like an omnipotent fog. It clouds the players, the coaches, the fans, who can’t help but think back to that magical April night in New Orleans, when Syracuse earned its place atop the college basketball map. It hovers over the city, close enough to be remembered, too far away to still glimmer. Even the overwhelming excitement of a long overdue title loses its luster after half a decade.
From national champions to, five years later, missing two straight NCAA Tournaments. That’s why this season is so important. Because Syracuse hasn’t missed the Tournament three straight seasons since the Nixon administration. Because SU is on the verge of becoming synonymous with another set of initials: NIT. Because how much longer can the disappointments go on before they start to take their toll?
So the pressure is on this group to return prominence to a proud program desperate for a turnaround. These players, laden with talent, understand what’s at stake. And with graduation and the NBA looming for several of the Orange’s stars, the time to restore the winning tradition is right now.
‘I think about that every day when I go into the gym to work out,’ SU point guard Jonny Flynn said. ‘Every day when I talk to the news reporters, I always think about how it used to be, how it could get back to those days.
‘We have to get back to those days.’
The rest of the team understands it, too. It realizes the history at Syracuse and the expectations. Just reaching the NCAA Tournament is not good enough without winning a game or two. Not making it all is a sacrilege, especially twice in a row.
When the Orange failed to make the Dance last year, it ensured that an entire class of SU students would never experience a Tournament victory. That had never happened since the NCAA expanded the field to 64 teams in 1985. Syracuse runs the risk of being associated with its recent struggles instead of its storied past.
So do the players, especially the sophomores and juniors who have yet to hear ‘Syracuse’ called on Selection Sunday. For many, like forward Paul Harris, playing for a national championship is the main reason why they chose Syracuse in the first place. Harris said when he committed to SU, it was ‘unthinkable’ he would go two years without reaching the Tournament.
‘I’m starving for it, seriously,’ Harris said after a long pause and deep sigh. ‘I have no words to say about how much I want to get in the Tournament to showcase our real talent.’
But getting there will not be easy. Not in the 2008-09 edition of the Big East, perhaps the deepest and toughest conference in recent memory. Making the NCAA Tournament may be more challenging for Syracuse than winning a game there, considering the competition the Orange will face in the regular season.
Three Big East teams are ranked in the preseason Top 5, seven in the Top 25. At Big East media day at Madison Square Garden last month, the looming question was whether 10 of the conference’s 16 teams could make the NCAA Tournament. The record for most teams from one conference in the Big Dance is eight, set by the Big East in 2006 and 2008.
Syracuse was picked to finish eighth by the rest of the Big East coaches, which would likely be good enough to secure the Orange a Tournament bid – if, of course, the season was played on paper. With so much talent in the league, Boeheim isn’t taking much stock in a preseason poll.
‘There’s no difference between three and four and seven and eight in this league,’ Boeheim said at Big East media day. ‘I’m not sure there’s any difference between one and two and seven and eight this year. I just think it’s very, very close. … I wouldn’t be shocked to see someone picked second finish eighth and someone picked 10th finish fourth or third.’
The quality of the league may be a reason why Syracuse has failed to build on its national title. Few Big East teams, even the elite programs, have been able to sustain continued success, especially since the conference expanded to 16 teams in 2005. Pittsburgh has the longest stretch of reaching the NCAA’s, with seven consecutive Tournament bids. Villanova is the only other team to reach the Tournament more than three straight seasons.
To be fair, Syracuse has won at least 21 games each of the past five seasons. But even the smallest regression can send a team spiraling down the Big East standings.
‘There are too many good teams, too many good programs,’ Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. ‘When you take a step back, you could get in, in the past, and now you can’t because there are too many good teams.’
Syracuse’s step back came with the departures of Hakim Warrick in 2005 and Gerry McNamara in 2006. Warrick and McNamara were rocks for SU, both veterans with big-game experience. They were part of the 2003 national title team and led Syracuse to the NCAA Tournament again the next two seasons.
The Orange replaced the two stars with talented freshmen, first with Harris, then with Flynn and Donte Greene, who left after his freshman season for the NBA. The newcomers had ability, but lacked the experience of Warrick and McNamara. It didn’t help that veteran guards Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins missed last season with injuries.
‘That’s what so unique about this league,’ Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. ‘You lose two quality starters like that, you can just drop. You can drop to the bottom half of the league. They replaced those guys with outstanding players. They were just young.’
This year’s team does not have that excuse. Devendorf and Rautins are both healthy and ready to bring their experience and leadership. Harris is a junior, hungry for a chance to play deep into March. Flynn, last year’s star, is a year older and primed to become one of the best point guards in the nation.
No excuses will be good enough this season. The talent appears to be there, even against the fierce competition in the Big East.
Now, the Syracuse players have the daunting task of ending this sour stretch. The players sound ready.
‘We know how important and big our name is,’ junior center Arinze Onuaku said. ‘Getting back to the Tournament is our No. 1 goal. It has to be our No. 1 goal.’
Published on November 12, 2008 at 12:00 pm
