With the sound of his yell drowned out by the thunderous noise of the crowd, Rick Jackson released his hold on the rim. The Syracuse forward had forced a turnover and jammed home a putback on the ensuing fast break.

The Carrier Dome crowd was on its feet.

‘He’s the heart and soul of this team,’ SU guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘He’s our senior, he’s our leader, and we’re going to follow him.’

Moments earlier, with Syracuse attempting to separate itself in the second half against Canisius, Jackson emphatically put back another dunk over 7-foot-3 Marial Dhal. It, too, brought the SU bench and the rest of the Dome jumping to its feet.

After what Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim described as a first half of ‘missed opportunities’ for Jackson, the Orange’s lone senior dominated inside during SU’s second half separation from Canisius. Whether it was a big dunk, controlling the boards or finding a cutting teammate with a pass to the basket, Jackson was the inside compliment to the backcourt duo of Jardine and Brandon Triche.

The Philadelphia native finished with 17 points, a career-high 13 boards, four blocked shots, three assists and a pair of steals while leading SU to an 86-67 win Sunday over the Golden Griffins.

‘He kind of started off slow, but he picked it up,’ Jardine said. ‘He’s finally able to play his game and do the things that he can do. … This year, he’s playing free. He’s in a lot better shape, and he’s becoming the beast that I know he can be.’

After the game, Jackson cracked a smile when reporters hovered around his locker. This is why he put in so much work this summer. For games like this. Teammates raved during the preseason about the 30 pounds Jackson shed during the offseason. They gushed about the extended range on his jump shot. Until Sunday, it was all just talk.

Against the Golden Griffins, Jackson flew up and down the court on the break. He was active inside defensively, and he was able to do things that even he didn’t think he could do a year ago.

‘When you lose that much weight, you move better, you feel mobile,’ Jackson said. ‘I don’t get as tired as I used to, and Coach can leave me in longer. Losing weight was key.’

With SU leading by just three at the intermission, Triche and Jardine jump-started Syracuse in the second half. The two pushed the break and made key shots down the stretch. But it was Jackson who took care of the dirty work down low.

When defenders left him alone to shoot open 12- to 15-foot jumpers, Jackson gladly unveiled the stroke he had been working on all summer.

‘I’m sure people are thinking that he can’t make that shot,’ Boeheim said. ‘He hasn’t been able to, but he made two. … He played at a high level in the second half.’

During pickup games this summer, that jump shot is what Jardine remembers winning games for Jackson. It’s something he has honed and something he’ll rely on this year. With so many unproved freshmen, Boeheim reiterated Sunday that it will be especially important for the veterans to carry the load for SU this season.

With Jackson running the floor, being more active and hitting jump shots, perhaps the only thing left is for him to continually perform at a high level night in and night out this season. With a cast of young big men, he’ll be relied upon to do that more than ever.

But if Sunday’s performance is any indication, Jackson has evolved as a player with a variety of abilities. The jump shot. The agility. The mobility. It’s all there.

‘Those are some things he added during the summer,’ Triche said. ‘Other than losing weight, he’s added other dimensions to his game. Whatever it took to get better, he did it.’

aljohn@syr.edu

Published on November 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm