Hey, thanks to reader Pat who e-mailed me saying he still has his "Real Men Wear Orange" shirt from his freshman year at SU in 1999. In my entry about the "Real Teams Aren't Fruit" t-shirts, I said they were introduced in the 2003 season. That was just the first time I had ever heard of or seen them. Sorry for the mistake and thank you Pat.

Posted by at 06:38 PM on November 15, 2005
Comment | Send-to-Friend

Finally, SU basketball season is on its way. After a pitiful football season (which, unfortunately still has three games to go), the kids on The Hill need something to cheer for. As has been the case for about five or six years now, Syracuse is a basketball school -- no doubt about it. A national championship and multiple runs in the NCAA tournament, excluding last year's first-round exit, will do that for a program. Plus, Jim Boeheim is coaching as well as ever, getting some great recruits for the future also.
I was lucky enough to check out Big East men's basketball Media Day down in New York City this week. All the talk is about the new teams coming into the conference, but this is a Syracuse blog after all, so let's talk Orange.
Gerry McNamara was named co-preseason player of the year for the conference with UConn's Rudy Gay.

It'll be interesting to see if McNamara lives up to the hype. He's a great shooter and one tough player, for sure, but he's been the second banana his entire career. As a freshman he enjoyed open looks based on Carmelo Anthony. The last two seasons, he's had Hakim Warrick as a running mate to take pressure off him. This year, it's just him. Sure, the talented junior class will now start to emerge, but there are no Carmelos or Hakims on this team. If you ask me, McNamara won't be player of the year when this season's over. But he'll definitely be more fun to watch than Perry Patterson, Joe Fields and Co. on the football field, I'll tell you that much.

Some other observations from Media Day:
-I think every team had its players dress up in suits except Syracuse, who sent McNamara in his basketball warmups. SU did the same thing last year; don't know if that's them trying to distinguish themselves but in my opinion, there's nothing like a sharp suit when you're in public like that.

-There's just something about Rick Pitino, whose Louisville team is in the conference right now. He commands a room, has that Italian charm that just has everyone gravtitating to him. Plus he wore a pink tie with sky blue ponies patterned on it. Any man with the gaul to pull that off is OK in my book.

-Some players were just completely shell-shocked. These country kids coming from Cincinnati and Marquette and South Florida were hilarious to talk to since most of them had never been somewhere like New York before. http://www.dailyorange.com/media/paper522/news/2005/10/27/Sports/Big-East.Basketball.Midwestern.Additions.To.Big.East.Marvel.At.New.York.City.Ex-1035580.shtml That's the notebook I wrote for The Daily Orange about Media Day, check it out to see what some of these guys had to say. It was really a good time. Anyway, as the season progresses we'll talk some more basketball. For now, keep cringing at football and counting down the days.

-Mike

*Photo courtesy BigEast.org

Posted by at 07:11 PM on October 29, 2005
Comment | Send-to-Friend