MBB : Talk of allegations dies down; Carter-Williams gets minutes
Kris Joseph (left) and Fab Melo (right) vs. Marshall
Jim Boeheim’s press conference was solely about the game.
After Syracuse’s last three games in the Carrier Dome were overshadowed by the SU head coach’s comments and remarks about the sex abuse allegations surrounding former associate head coach Bernie Fine, this one was simply about Syracuse’s 62-56 win over Marshall on Tuesday night.
Back to basketball. At least for one night.
‘Just seemed like another game,’ SU forward Kris Joseph said. ‘Another game in the Dome. Another home game. And we won. So we just want to keep winning, keep protecting our home court.’
Not one mention of the allegations that have brought national media attention to SU surfaced during a nearly 11-minute presser.
Boeheim gave his opening statement about the game. He finished it by stating ‘questions,’ as he customarily does. The fury of probing and interrogative questions about Boeheim’s previous comments, or about Fine, never came.
To Syracuse’s players’ credit, even when the events circling the actual game took precedence in the media during previous contests, the Orange’s focus wasn’t altered.
‘I mean, we’re not distracted by it at all,’ guard Dion Waiters said. ‘We let them handle themselves, and it’s nothing we can do.’
The atmosphere on the court returned to normalcy as well. Before the Orange’s game against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 29, Boeheim received a standing ovation from the fans.
Friday’s game against No. 12 Florida was a marquee matchup, so there was focus on the game itself, but Boeheim used the press conference to atone for his previously made premature comments.
Tuesday’s game against an underrated Marshall opponent felt like any other game, in any other year. The 19,000-plus fans in attendance were there for just that. A breath of fresh air as the No. 3 team in the country remained undefeated.
‘We can go by and see and hear it, but it’s nothing we can do,’ Waiters said. ‘And (we) just continue to play basketball at the end of the day.’
Carter-Williams plays well in limited minutes
Boeheim knew heading into Syracuse’s matchup with Marshall that he wanted to get freshman Michael Carter-Williams some playing time. The freshman guard didn’t see any action in SU’s last game against Florida on Friday, and the Orange head coach wanted to make sure Carter-Williams got some experience Tuesday.
If Carter-Williams struggled when he went in, though, Boeheim said he probably wouldn’t have hesitated to sit him back down on the bench.
But those struggles never came from the freshman guard in Syracuse’s 62-56 win over Marshall Tuesday. He played 12 minutes — nine in the second half — and although he didn’t make a field goal, he also didn’t commit a single turnover. He filled in mostly for junior Brandon Triche, who played only five minutes after halftime.
‘We wanted to get Michael some time, and he did a good job for us,’ Boeheim said. ‘If he hadn’t, I probably would have gotten Brandon back in there. But I thought Michael gave us about eight or nine minutes where he got the ball to people, didn’t turn it over, got a couple nice assists and made his free throws.’
Carter-Williams finished the game with three points, two rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
His best stretch came near the seven-minute mark of the second half. He pulled in a rebound and led a fast break down the court before finding Scoop Jardine for a layup to stretch SU’s lead to 48-34. On the Orange’s next possession, the 6-foot-5 freshman stuffed a jumper, grabbed the loose ball and went coast-to-coast before getting fouled at the rim.
And after the game, Carter-Williams was pleased with his performance.
‘It was a confidence booster I think,’ Carter-Williams said. ‘I just went out there and tried to play my game like always. I’m trying to have coach have more trust in me so I can play more minutes. I just keep going out there and producing, making plays and doing the little things.’
Triche also thought the freshman played well filling in for him in the second half.
‘I think he did great, especially in the second half,’ Triche said. ‘I just want him to shoot the ball a little bit more. He had a few angles to the basket that he could have capitalized on and scored some field goals. But I think he did great as far as playing the point guard.’
Published on December 6, 2011 at 12:00 pm
