It’s Time To Officially Hit The Panic Button On SU Hoops

It’s sad to say but folks it may be time to break the glass and slam the panic button. Neil Adler tells us why we should start worrying.

I love my Syracuse Orange. Always have, always will. You will not find a more die-hard alum, particularly as it pertains to our basketball team.

And, in recent weeks, I’ve urged caution and patience – even as the losses started to pile up – because SU Hoops has a ton of new faces this year. The squad just needs more time to gel, I’ve argued.

That still may prove true. Plenty of contests remain on the schedule. Ample opportunities to get some signature wins.

But … my optimistic outlook for the Orange is starting to diminish. Fast.

Here’s why: Syracuse fell to former Big East rival Georgetown on Saturday afternoon, 78-71, at the Carrier Dome, ‘Cuse’s first setback at home in seven tries.

It’s not just that SU (6-4) suffered a defeat to a somewhat average Hoyas (7-4) outfit. It’s how our boys lost.

I could sit here, rehash statistics and provide re-caps all day long, but honestly I’m too frustrated.

Let me simply spell it out for you: both programs had 25 attempts from the free-throw line. Georgetown made 22. Syracuse hit 14. A differential of eight, in a game decided by seven.

For some reason, year after year, the Orange is underwhelming from the charity stripe. I honestly have no idea why. But it’s annoying – and costly – to leave that many points on the table.

Beyond that, other than sophomore Tyler Lydon absolutely crushing it today (a career-high 29 points on 12-of-13 shooting), our team, well, kinda stunk.

Graduate transfers Andrew White III and John Gillon both scored in double-figures, but their shooting percentages proved dreadful. Gillon and sophomore Frank Howard, SU’s point guards, played pretty woefully. Too much dribbling, too many turnovers, not getting the ball into the paint enough, and not finishing in transition.

Head coach Jim Boeheim destroyed his point-guard play in his post-game presser. I’ll spare you the details.

More than anything else, Syracuse’s lack of energy, enthusiasm and spark are such a let-down. Georgetown wanted the game more, and they deserved to win. The Hoyas manhandled the Orange on the glass, hit their free throws down the stretch, had some critical offensive rebounds, and some timely made baskets. They gutted out a victory.

Besides having many new pieces and not performing as a cohesive unit, I don’t see our guys getting pumped up, high-fiving each other often, encouraging teammates, and making sure the crowd is involved. Lydon did this a few times against Georgetown, but that’s about it.

This is a terrible shame, especially on a snowy afternoon in Central New York when SU legend Pearl Washington, who passed away in April at the way-too-young age of 52, received a touching tribute at halftime. His #31 became a permanent part of Jim Boeheim Court.

Instead of a day when former Syracuse stars, fans and the greater ‘Cuse community could come together to honor Washington, and cap it off with a win over the Hoyas, SU’s current roster employed little emotion. No passion. No togetherness.

Most importantly, no sense of urgency. And, boy oh boy, do they need that now. The best the Orange can finish in the non-conference slate is 9-4, assuming that they defeat Eastern Michigan, St. John’s and Cornell. St. John’s killed SU a year ago. Just saying.

Then, ACC play begins. Syracuse would need to go, at a minimum, 11-7 to reach 20 wins on the year. Anything less, and I don’t see how ‘Cuse gets into the Big Dance, unless it captures the conference tournament title.

Look, if this squad turns things around, then who knows. Maybe another deep March run is possible. But the out-of-conference resume is plain awful. Getting killed by South Carolina and Wisconsin, and not beating Georgetown at home or UConn at Madison Square Garden (when we blew a big second-half lead). Monmouth is the premier victory at this juncture. Yikes.

Judging by the clear fact that SU cannot keep up with the tougher competition, the ACC seems

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downright scary. How is the Orange going to fare against the likes of Duke, UNC, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, etc.?

I really wanted a “W” versus the Hoyas on Pearl Washington Day. I wanted us to make Pearl proud. It didn’t work out that way. If Boeheim, his staff and the players can somehow right the ship, then perhaps the 2016-17 campaign isn’t entirely a bust.

We’ve got a long way to go. Chances for marquee, resume-building wins are plentiful. However, this team has to show more emotion. Have a fire lit under them. Act with a sense of urgency. Frankly, play a whole lot better. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’re NIT-bound.

Quite a far cry from when Boeheim said a while back that this might amount to his deepest, perhaps his finest, squad in years.

The potential and talent are there.

But, in the end, as we’re witnessing, potential and talent only get you so far.