Syracuse basketball center Paschal Chukwu has been banished to the shadow realm by Jim Boeheim for his recent play. Will he ever return?
First off, many of you Syracuse basketball fans may be asking yourselves, what is the Shadow Realm?
"“The Shadow Realm is a euphemistic expression specifically designed by 4Kids for the English dubbed version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime franchise.”"
In other words it is an alternate dimension where you’re taken from reality and banished to never be heard from again. Well if you watched the most recent Syracuse game, you might have noticed a certain 7-foot-2 giant was an absentee in the game vs Clemson.
Well we’ve recently learned that is because Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has sent Orange center Paschal Chukwu into the Shadow Realm.
Chukwu was straight up benched in this pivotal ACC clash vs Clemson and we learned after the game that it wasn’t due to injury.
Upon further questioning Boeheim revealed that part of the decision was matchup based. While Chukwu certainly is large, he’s not very agile, which means Clemson’s star center Elijah Thomas would’ve been camped under the lane clogging things up.
Boeheim wanted him to clear out of there so Syracuse could get some penetration. It worked. The combination of Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe played exceptionally well and made Boeheim look like a genius.
On a quick side tangent, it’s ironic that one of the big bad guys in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise is also named “Marik”, his full name is Marik Ishtar and he’s known for sending fools to the Shadow Realm. Did Dolezaj do the same thing in Syracuse?
Syracuse does happen to be on a four game winning streak and what is the constant during that streak? Dolezaj starting at center. Coincidence? I think not.
While the other center making contributions is Sidibe. I think he’s also been in the Shadow Realm too, although I’ve heard a rumor that he made a brief escape last season at Pitt dropping 18 points and collecting 16 boards, but we haven’t heard from him since.
I spoke with him after the Clemson game and he said he’s not 100 percent healthy, but felt like an energizer bunny in the first half and he looked the part. Bourama collected three blocks, got some fast breaks going and really picked up the energy of the group.
Let’s be honest with ourselves though, when we look at the starting lineup there’s a few players who will rarely ever come out: Tyus Battle, Frank Howard, Oshae Brissett, and Elijah Hughes. That’s four of the five spots you’re allowed to have at any one time on the basketball court.
Which means the other centers on the team all have to split the remaining scraps. One question I’ve been asked a lot this week, can Paschal escape the Shadow Realm?
Of course he can, I’ve seen others do it in the Yu-Gi-Oh tv show before, so anything is possible. The season is way too long for Paschal to be banished for the entire season, despite his recent lackluster play, he’s going to get another opportunity to prove himself.
But he’ll be on a short leash, if he continues to struggle getting the ball in the hoop, I fear this Shadow Realm vacation may turn more permanent as the season wears on.