SB Nation - Arinze Onuaku

Jonny Who?: Syracuse 92, Oakland 60

Sean Keeley — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:18:12 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

Another blowout win, another new hero. This time? Freshman Brandon Triche, who scored 27 points in Syracuse's 92-60 win over Oakland.

Freshman guard Brandon Triche was a perfect 6- for-6 from three-point range, finishing with a game-high 27 points, as fifth- ranked Syracuse cruised to a resounding 92-60 win over Oakland at the Carrier Dome.

Wes Johnson registered a double-double for the Orange (12-0), scoring 19 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Rick Jackson contributed 14 points and five boards, while Mookie Jones scored 13 in the lopsided triumph.

It was just what the Orange needed on a night when Arinze Onuaku played an extremely limited role due to his injury. That he was well enough to play at all was a good sign for Cuse.

The Orange had 24 assists on the night, quite a number for an SU team. In fact, they're the No. 1 team in the nation when it comes to passing for scores.

The Orange leads the nation in assists per game at 22.5. It is producing 4.5 more assists per game than any other Big East team. And it is doing so with regularity. SU’s lowest assist total this season came against Cornell when the Orange collected 16.

"I think they’re all unselfish. I don’t think anybody is looking to just try to score," SU coach Jim Boeheim said. "I think they’re all good passers. Andy’s a very good passer; Brandon’s a good passer, Scoop. Our guards are good passers. They look to pass first.

"I think Eric (Devendorf) and Jonny (Flynn) were more offensive minded. They wanted to score. They were looking to score more. Our guards can score more. But they look to pass the ball. Wesley is obviously a very good scorer, but he looks to pass. He’s a good passer. Ricky and Arinze are very good passers. So I think it’s the tools they have. They’re all good passers."

Check out some more highlights and recaps from the game below.

Syracuse-Oakland Recap...Brent Axe

MOVIN' EAST: With conference play looming, Orange maintains undefeated mark in romp over Oakland...Daily Orange

Triche to Fizz: I Told Ya So...Orange Fizz

How we won: Never a doubt...Cuse Country

Triche Leads Gang Assault on Oakland...Three Idiots on Sports

No. 22 Syracuse Cruises Past Delaware State, 72-20...SUAthletics.com

Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche talk to the press after the Orange win over Oakland University.

Post-game locker room with Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche

Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim talks about the Orange win over Oakland University.

Coach Boeheim on the Orange win over Oakland, 92 – 60

Syracuse Welcomes The Oakland (Dome) Raiders

Sean Keeley — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:52:11 -0000

via media.syracuse.com

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Mentioned this yesterday but if you want to see a mid-major team that schedules like every week is championship week, look no further than the Oakland (Mich.) Grizzlies.

Last year, Oakland played at Oregon, at Syracuse, at Iowa and at Kansas State. In consecutive games. The Grizzlies went on to play Michigan and Michigan State last season.

Oakland (6-6) returns to the Carrier Dome again tonight. While most of Syracuse’s non-conference opponents point to the Orange as the season’s big game, the Grizzlies’ game against the 5th-ranked Orange is just another date on their schedule. This season, the Grizzlies have already faced Wisconsin, No. 1 ranked Kansas, No. 12 Michigan State, Memphis and Oregon.

They're battle-tested, if nothing else. And they probably stopped getting intimidated by large stadiums and raucous crowds a while ago. That's the bad news. The good news? It's not like they actually win any of those games. In fact they usually get blown out. So...that's good.

Syracuse takes on the Grizz tonight at 7pm as part of a Dome doubleheader with the women's team. SU is looking for their first 12-0 start since the 1999-00 campaign. The Orange lead the all-time series 1-0, an 86-66 win last year in the Dome.

The Orange will need a little good luck on their side, especially if Arinze Onuaku sits out to nurse that quad injury. He remains a gametime decision for the Orange. AO's absence would leave a big hole in the center of the court. SU has Rick Jackson, DaShonte Riley and others to fill in, but it's just not the same without the senior big-man.

The Grizz do feature some decent players, none more-so than Keith Benson. The 6-11, 225-pound center leads Oakland with 17.7 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 3.8 BPG. Like I said, NOT the best time to lose Arinze. Still, Jackson should be able to match Benson if it comes down to the two of them. He's averaging 16.6 points and 9.0 rebounds in Syracuse’s last three games.

Two Undefeated Syracuse Teams, One Dome To See Them In

Sean Keeley — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:41:05 -0000

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I don't know if there are other schools out there with still-undefeated men's and women's basketball programs. If there are others, it's not many. So let's take advantage of it while we can.

The 9-0 Syracuse Orange women's basketball team and 11-0 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team will both take to the Carrier Dome tomorrow in a double-header the likes of which these parts hasn't seen in, like, a long time...and stuff.

For the No. 22 women's team, they'll face off against 1-9 Delaware State at 2pm in an attempt to go 10-0 for the first time since 1974-75.

As for the gents, the No. 5 team in all the land will host the 6-6 Oakland Grizziles at 7pm. The Grizz have matched up with some solid opponents this season, losing to Kansas (89-59), Memphis (77-46) and Michigan State (88-57). Syracuse fans like to think this year's schedule is tougher than usual...we've got nothing on these guys.

SU doesn't know yet whether or not Arinze Onuaku will be joining them on the floor tomorrow night. AO sat out practice today with a "right quad strain" and is considered a game-time decision. Meanwhile Brandon Triche, another member of the suddenly walking-wounded, did practice on his injured ankle and will play tomorrow night for sure.

Cup Check Time: Syracuse Holds Off Bonnies 85-72

Sean Keeley — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:25:01 -0000

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It was a game with far more excitement than it had any right to have. An underdog sticking with the No. 5 team on its own court, heated words, a nut shot, an ejection and an injury. When it was all said and the done the Orange improved to 11-0 with a 85-72 win over St. Bonaventure (6-4).

Rick Jackson recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals and three blocks, as fifth-ranked Syracuse defeated St. Bonaventure, 85-72, at the Carrier Dome.

Wes Johnson totaled 17 points and 10 boards, while Kris Joseph also contributed 17 points for the Orange (11-0). Andy Rautins scored 11 points and dished out five assists in the win.

"I don't expect teams to be afraid of us anymore," Joseph said. "We are number five in the nation, but teams aren't going to be afraid. They want to beat us even more now than when we were unranked. Teams are going to come at us a lot harder so we are just going to come out with that in mind."

And it seems they'll use any trick in the book to do it, including groin punches.

The Bonnies were on offense and as center Andrew Nicholson moved through the lane, he delivered what Rautins described as a low blow to a sensitive part of Rautins’ anatomy.

Rautins crumpled to the Carrier Dome floor and immediately pointed toward Nicholson. Officials stopped play to congregate at the scorer’s table and watch what happened on a televised replay.

Moments later, Nicholson was ejected. He trotted down the tunnel that led to the St. Bonaventure locker room and spent the rest of the game there.

Rautins ended up missing both free throws. Well I would think so...that's the least of his worries in a moment like that. Nicholson still managed to lead the Bonnies in scoring despite the ejection.

Could have been worse I suppose, Nicholson could have messed up Andy's hair. Talk about a sensitive part of Andy's anatomy.

Andy did recover but one player who wasn't able to come back from his own injury was Arinze Onuaku. AO went to the bench only two minutes into the game where trainer Brad Pike worked on his leg. Arinze went to the locker room, returned briefly but did not play at all in the second half. The injury is being evaluated and we should know more today:

Onuaku was not in the Syracuse locker room when reporters were admitted. Brad Pike said he will evaluate Onuaku on Sunday. Pike did say that the damage was not to the tendon that has given Onuaku so much trouble.

At the end of the day it was three-pointers that helped the Orange pull away and quell the Bonnies' attack. It seemed like any time St. Bonaventure got close, someone was stepping up with a killer three to squash them.

Syracuse took over the game with a 21-4 run that spanned the halftime break. Syracuse freshman Brandon Triche highlighted the spurt with consecutive 3-pointers that gave the Orange a 51-39 advantage at the 15:36 mark of the second half.

...The Orange eventually extended its lead to 16 points. When St. Bonaventure closed to within nine points with just under 10 minutes remaining, Syracuse senior Andy Rautins drained back-to-back 3-pointers for a 69-54 lead.

Looks like the little Rautins (whom I like to call Ed & Hardy) are going to be just fine.

Here's Andy, Wes & KrisJo discussing the game as well as The Nutshot Felt 'Round The Dome:

Syracuse vs. St. Bonaventure basketball: Players Johnson, Joseph and Rautins

Jim Boeheim talks about the team beating St. Bonaventure.

Syracuse vs. St. Bonaventure basketball: Coach Jim Boeheim

The Hardest Working Arinze In The Business

Sean Keeley — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:02:44 -0000

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Malign Arinze Onuaku for his poor free-throw shooting all you like. (Seriously, please do). But Arinze is scoring a-plenty in other ways. So much so that he crossed the 1,000-point threshold last week against St. Francis.

Arinze Onuaku is as consistent as a clock, as methodical as a metronome, as flashy as a hard hat.

Onuaku, Syracuse University’s senior center, reached the 1,000-point mark in the Orange’s game against No. 10 Florida last Thursday. He became just the 52nd player in Syracuse history to score 1,000 points.

AO isn't flashy and he certainly doesn't smile very often. Possibly ever. But he does the work as SU's best big man in a long time. Not too shabby for a guy who missed an entire season with a knee injury (required for all SU basketball stars).

In the past 20 years, 24 players have reached the 1,000-point mark at Syracuse. Of those two dozen, only three were true centers — Otis Hill (1,416 points) and Etan Thomas (1,340).

"Over the years, the guards do most of the scoring," said Onuaku. "You have to have the mentality that if you get the ball in scoring position, you have to take advantage of that and you’re going to score."

AO is Syracuse’s career leader in field-goal percentage (64.3%). Of course, he's also the leader in worst free-throw percentage of all time as well (38.7% heading into season). SU fans have come to terms with AO's inability to score when no one is guarding him because he's become so adept at scoring when someone is.

Mike Waters on SU center Arinze Onuaku breaking the 1,000 point barrier.

ESPN Hearts Syracuse

Sean Keeley — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:37:47 -0000

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If you've been looking for the kiss of death now that Syracuse basketball is getting more hype than Balloon Boy, look no further than the fact that ESPN has officially taken hold of the reigns on the SU Bandwagon.

First up, Joe Lunardi has updated his Bracketology and look who went from 10-seed from 1-seed. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the fact that he has us playing the winner of the opening-round game means we're his top overall team. Oh boy. Though the fact that we're in the West Region instead of the East leads to believe that's not true. What the hell do I know... (Ed. Note - East Regional in Syracuse, so we can't play there. Got it!)

And then of course, there's the piece de resistance in knowing that any college basketball topic is mainstream...Dick Vitale's interns are writing about it.

Syracuse has demonstrated that it will be legit power in the Big East this season.

Let's go learn something from Dick.

Think about it, the Orange were picked sixth in the Big East preseason poll after losing Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf. Jim Boeheim has a team that has physicality in Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, and versatility in All-Marco Polo Wesley Johnson.

Think about it? Think about what? This sentence is not an answer to a question you posed in the first one. It's a statement of facts following a separate statement of fact. There is nothing to think about nor did you imply that I needed to think about anything. ARGGGGG.

The former Iowa State star has been a prime-time performer (PTP'er) and combined with outstanding guard play from three-point shooting wiz Andy Rautins and solid point guard ability from Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, they have proven they can compete with the best.

I love that in this paragraph he goes to the trouble of denoting what PTP'er stands for just after calling someone All-Marco Polo in the previous sentane and providing no frame of reference for that at all. Not that I don't know what he means because it's been burrowed into my skull ad nauseum, but either this is written for Vitale Junkies (ugh) or its not.

Am I being harsh on Dick? Absolutely. But tell me what you learned there? Anything? Was that worth spending the time to read? No, right? That's pretty much the same feeling you have when you listen to Vitale call a game too, isn't it?

Hate Hate Hate Hate Hate...

Terrier-orized: No. 7 Syracuse 75, St. Francis 51

Sean Keeley — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:56:47 -0000

via media.syracuse.com

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For a clear, concise explanation of what happened today when the Syracuse Orange took on the St. Francis Terriers, let's turn to SU guard Scoop Jardine:

cuse win over the st. fraincs i think that there name...anyway they had slow start didnt play well but rebound themselves won by +20 and cont..to move on......scoop jardine played 19 min score only three points with 9 asst. and 2 steals.....9 asst. n 19 min hmmmm think about it...need i say jason kid...hmmm think about it....go scoop

You need not say Jason Kid. It's understood. Or is it Jason, kid.

For a less direct explanation of Syracuse's 75-51 win over the Terriers... (boxscore)

Arinze Onuaku scored 14 points and Wes Johnson added 12 with nine rebounds and four blocks, as seventh-ranked Syracuse defeated St. Francis-NY, 75-51, at the Carrier Dome.

Rick Jackson totaled 11 points, six boards and three assists for the Orange, who are off to their first 10-0 start since 1999-2000, when the program won its first 19 games. Mookie Jones contributed 10 points for the victors.

"We played well together," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "We had 24 assists again tonight -- everyone has been very unselfish, looking for each other. We work hard and we are getting better, we just have to keep improving."

According to Jim Boeheim, Syracuse is "getting better." Fear things, rest of the nation.

Mookie Jones got 21 minute of action and scored ten points, perhaps that will date him for a little while as he continues to wrestle with the playing time blues.

"I wish I knew my role,’’ Jones said. "I’m always ready. I really don’t know my role. I hope we find it by the time the Big East gets here. I just want to contribute. It’s kind of hard. You sit down one game and then you come in the next game.’’

"It’s depressing down there just sitting,’’ Jones said. "It’s a long game. You learn a lot from sitting down. You cheer the team on and all that. But when you know you’re a good player and you work hard every day, you give 100 percent everyday, it’s hard to sit down.’’

With the schedule about to get much tougher and Boeheim's rotation about to get even smaller in the coming weeks, expect Mookie's displeasure to rise. Ah, youth...so unable to see the forest for the trees.

Syracuse vs. Florida A Lesson In Bodily Function

Sean Keeley — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:22:06 -0000

For Florida players, you have to imagine that the challenge of going up against Syracuse's talent was a daunting one. Especially once you stepped on the court and saw just how imposing and powerful Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku truly are. It's the kind of thing that would figuratively make one poop their pants. Or perhaps, literally...

That's a curious stain in an even more curious place on the backside of Florida's Dan Werner. It could be shadow, I suppose. Then again...

Yeah...I'm pretty sure he pooped his pants.

Alas, Florida wasn't the only team on hand last night attempting to evacuate the body in moments of desperation. Not even living legends are immune to the urges of man. Like, say, having a good pick.

The folks on the Kentucky board swear Jimmy takes a taste but after reviewing the footage I can conclusively say that Jimmy does not, I repeat, DOES NOT sample his own goods. But he does save that hand and whatever might be on it for usage later on...

It's no Stinkpalm, but it's close.

H/T: actioncuse

Handy Syracuse Basketball Stat Update

Sean Keeley — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:05:13 -0000

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A quick look at various stats and notes showcasing where the Orange stand individually.

Andy Rautins is currently averaging four steals per game, tied for second in the nation and tops in the Big East.
Arinze Onuaku is tied for fifth in the nation with a .709 FG%. He leads the Big East in that category.
Scoop Jardine is second in the Big East with 5.9 assists/game, Andy Rautins is tied for fourth with 5.0.
Rick Jackson is fifth in the Big East with 2.4 blocked shots per game.
Wes Johnson is seventh in the Big East in scoring (18.4 PPG), third in FG% (.598), third in steals (2.3), ninth in blocks (1.9), tied for eighth in total rebounds (52) and second in three-point field goal % (.552).
Mookie Jones leads the nation in forlorn, post-game social media diatribes (1.3 FPGSMDPG).
Wes Johnson leads the nation in Making Fans Say "Holy F***balls!" Per Dunk % (.725)
James Southerland is tied for seventh in the nation in times he last name has been misspelled by bloggers (a.k.a. Sutherland) (245).
Brandon Triche is tied for third in the Big East in Number Of Mean Mugging Self Portraits On Facebook Profile (11)
Brandon Reese is sixth in the Big East in Excited Bench High-Five % (.842)
Andy Rautins is second in the nation in Instances Of Writhing On The Floor Grimacing While Holding On To Ankle That Is Held Together By Polly-O String Cheese & Wishes (0.89/Game)
Rob Murphy leads all Big East coaches in Shutting It Down Percentage (.929)
Wes Johnson leads the nation in being better than everyone else at everything (1.000 %)

Syracuse Doesn't Want To Fall Into The Corn-hole

Sean Keeley — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:34:24 -0000

Arinze, KrisJo, Andy, Wes & Brandon talk about the week that was and tonight's Cornell game.

The Syracuse Basketball Team

Arinze Onuaku is EXCITED about Syracuse basketball!!! Can you feel it? Though obviously this is the best part of the video:

Loving this whole Andy The Leader thing. "I'd rather be unranked." Mr. Senior is not buying into his own hype...good stuff. And hopefully the rest of the team is feeling the same way as Cornell comes to town this evening.

The name of the game will be shutting down Cornell's outside shooters, specifically senior Ryan Wittman. Wittman's 33 against the Orange last year were the most any player scored against SU in regulation. But Wittman isn't the only weapon in the Big Red arsenal, they've got a whole bunch of talented players:

Point guard Louis Dale, a two-time first team All-Ivy performer and 2007-08 Ivy player of the year, returns to Cornell for his final season. Ryan Wittman, the sweet shooting wing player, joins Dale as a two-time first-team All-Ivy honoree. Foote, the 7-foot center, is the reigning All-Ivy defensive player of the year. Dale, Wittman, Foote and fellow seniors Alex Tyler and Geoff Reeves form the nucleus of a mid-major team seeking major college basketball respect.

What Cornell lacks in athleticism or talent they make up for in chemistry and senior leadership. Ask Wittman and he'll tell you "This is the best (team) I’ve been on here. We’ve got loads of experience and a ton of depth. We’re really familiar with each other and really excited for this year." So...you know.

Cornell coach Steve Donahue praises what he's seen from the Orange so far, saying this year's squad "plays together better than any team, offensively and defensively, that (Boeheim's) ever had since I've been here." He doles out the big praise especially for Wes Johnson, who gets the ultimate Cuse comparison:

"Wes Johnson, to me, looks like a lottery pick type of kid," Donahue said. "I think he's someone that gives Syracuse something that Carmelo Anthony gave them, an inside-outside guy. Can he be as good as Carmelo Anthony? Well, he's older and he's long and athletic and he really shoots it."

Last year the Big Red gave the Orange a game. SU had to rally from 16 points down in order to win. If the Orange let Wittman and his pals shoot lights out again, they could find themselves in the same hole. The target is officially on Syracuse's back now, let's see how they play when they're expected to win.