First off, I'd like to mention that no one cares about the NIT. No one cares whether you're the 66th best team in the country - no, really. It helps teams get experience I guess, but watching reject teams beat up on each other in a reject tournament is pretty lame.
However, I found myself paying attention Syracuse tonight, as they underachieved all year even with a dynamic trio of Flynn/Greene/Harris, who had been known for blowing leads quite frequently. (See 7 point lead on Georgetown under 4 to play. See up 9 on Pitt with 3 to play, somehow managing to lose by 5. See first round of Big East Tournament up 9 with minute left in first half, getting outscored 55-35 in second half.) Well, up 22 with 14 minutes left to play they somehow, someway, manage to totally beat themselves and allow UMass to come back in a hurry and lose by 4. Quite a fitting end to the season for a team as erratic as they have been all year, when it should have never been that way.
I understand that they have little depth and little scoring outside of their top 4, and were unfortunate to have Devendorf go down, but there is no reason why this team shouldn't have been in the NCAA Tournament.
Jonny Flynn, a freshman, was impressive all year as he could hurt you from outside, creating off the dribble, and has great court vision in finding his teammates.
Paul Harris is a guy with incredible athleticism who was put back at his natural spot this year (Small Forward), where he could use his versatility and uncanny rebounding sense to hurt you. A guy with his athleticism and ability to hit mid-range jumpers, there's no reason why he shouldn't be getting more shots than he has, like he did near the end of the season. I love Harris and all the things he can do, and see little limitations in his game.
Donte Greene is a future lottery pick if he sticks around another year, and a first rounder most likely if he heads out this year. That's about all that needs to be said, but Boeheim was never able to or didn't realize how to control Greene. He often settled for outside shots, rather than using his size, his length, and his superior athleticism to create big time mismatches for opposing teams. It was frustrating watching a guy with his talent seemingly never knowing what he's doing out on the court and watching Boeheim never adjusting to Greene's strengths.
Arinze Onuaku is a guy who I'll admit I don't enough or much about. I do know that he thrived off of his teammates ability to get him the ball around the rim for easy lay-ins or garbage points. He plays mostly with his back to the basket and loves the hook shot. Even with his limited size of 6'9" at the 5, he seemed to be Syracuse's unsung hero for the season, and their most consistent performer, putting up 12.5 and 8.1 a game along with 64% from the field. Look out for this guy in the coming years, as he had to bounce back quickly after missing all of last season due to rehab for surgery he had on his left knee.
This team, in my opinion, probably had top 5 talent in the Big East, yet somehow Boeheim could never get them all on the same page and to perform consistently. This seems to have been a pattern with Boeheim's teams though, as a year almost never goes by without hearing about Syracuse's bubble hopes. I've always been a believer that Jim Boeheim is an overrated coach. The 2-3 zone in itself is overrated, and believe it's way past its time - basically an excuse to run a lazy man-to-man (except when used to throw different looks at offenses at various times). There's a reason he didn't have a great amount of success until Carmelo Anthony put the team on his back and single-handedly won the title for his team (apologies to McNamara and Warrick, but it's the truth).
Every year Boeheim's teams are plagued by inconsistency and a failure to get the most out of players as talented as he gets year in and year out. Ironically though, he's been lauded for his ability to get the most out of his teams - when they're less talented. These types of coaches are interesting to watch, because you never quite know what they're doing or why they can't get it done with higher talents (ie Tubby Smith). Maybe it's his stubbornness with the outdated 2-3 zone. Maybe it's his stubbornness in his entire system and the fact that he won't willingly change anything to adjust to guys like Harris. I don't know what it is, but it's mind-boggling.
The guy is a very good coach, no doubt. He's consistently produced solid teams and has won big many times, especially his '03 team (who not surprisingly was the most talented team of his time at Syracuse). But if I'm a Syracuse fan, I'm frustrated at how similar and monotonous his teams have gotten over recent years, and am concerned as to when it will change. Will he just wait for his next Carmelo to really get something done? Who knows, but for now, he has to convince Greene, Flynn, and Harris to come back next year in order to have a shot next year.
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