NEW YORK CITY – When Jay Wright was informed Syracuse had been picked eighth in the annual Big East preseason coaches’ poll, the Villanova head coach couldn’t believe it.

‘What! Syracuse!?’ Wright said. ‘I’m shocked. I think I would have put them fourth. … They’re eighth, that’s going to be incentive for those boys, I’ll tell you that.’

The Big East conference is being boasted as one of the best in nation this season. No official national polls have been released yet, but early prognosticators have predicted the Big East could have as many as eight teams in the preseason Top 25. That means Syracuse, the team with the most Big East wins in the history of the conference, is a sleeper.

‘The way the conference is, some teams have to be ranked low,’ SU guard Jonny Flynn said. ‘There can’t be all 16 teams ranked in the Top 5. Some teams have to be ranked lower, and it’s a little added motivation.’

In 2006, SU was picked to finish third. Last year, despite reeling in the second-best recruiting class in the nation, according to Scout.com, the Orange dropped two spots to fifth. This year it dropped three more spots.

When ranking the teams in the preseason, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said coaches like to see returning starters. He said SU might be as high as third if it still had Donte Greene, who bolted for the NBA this spring. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino added that NCAA Tournament selections from the prior year factor into the coaches’ picks.

Like Wright, though, Pitino wasn’t buying into the Orange’s middling rank.

‘I wouldn’t put too much stock into it,’ Pitino said. ‘You’ve got the great backcourt. You’ve got (Eric) Devendorf and (Andy) Rautins coming back. How do you rate them eight? Honestly, how do you not rate them three?’

Then again, Syracuse’s rank is more likely a reflection of the conference’s strength than a slight to the Orange itself. No conference has ever had nine teams selected to the NCAA Tournament. There’s a chance the Big East could challenge that mark this season.

‘There’s no difference between three and four and seven and eight in this league,’ Boeheim said. ‘I’m not sure there’s any difference between one and two and seven and eight this year. I just think it’s very, very close. … I wouldn’t be shocked to see someone picked second finish eighth and someone picked tenth finish fourth or third.’

The votes echoed Boeheim’s thoughts. Only 14 points separated the No. 5 Wildcats and the No. 8 Orange. Seven points separated the sixth and eight spots. Connecticut received the most first-place votes (nine) and also landed the top spot in the preseason rankings. Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Villanova rounded out the Top 5.

‘If people are calling them a sleeper, they’re not paying attention,’ said Len Elmore, former Maryland center and current ESPN broadcaster. ‘When you’ve got guys like (Arinze) Onuaku in the middle and obviously Flynn at the point. (Those are) two very important positions in college basketball.’

Scary team or not, the votes didn’t correlate to what some coaches or experts say Syracuse should be. But for a team trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years, the lack of pressure could be a good thing.

‘It’s always good to be under the radar, there’s no pressure, you don’t have a target on your back,’ Flynn said. ‘That’s when you come out and surprise people.’

It’s exactly what SU is looking to do, even if preseason rankings mean little in the long run.

Still, come Selection Sunday, the Orange hopes it will have moved up a few spots.

‘It doesn’t matter where we’re ranked, though,’ Rautins said. ‘We are going to put in the work and show people where we belong at the top of the Big East.’

SU lands third commit for 2010

Syracuse locked up its third commit for the 2010 class in Senegal-native and current Oak Hill Academy (Va.) forward Baye Moussa Keita, Scout.com reported. The 6-foot-11, 205-pound Keita came to the United States earlier this year. He marks the third 2010 recruit for Syracuse, joining Dion Waiters of Life Center Academy (N.J.) and Baltimore City College’s C.J. Fair. The Orange has two prospects secured for next year’s class, Jamesville-DeWitt’s Brandon Triche and James Southerland of Notre Dame Prep (Mass.).

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on October 22, 2008 at 12:00 pm