Michael Carter-Williams hands out 13 assists in Syracuse rout

colgate2
Carter-Williams passed the ball well on Sunday

Former Syracuse guard Sherman Douglas holds the school record for assists in a game with 22.

For now, at least.

Michael Carter-Williams briefly flirted with surpassing that record on Sunday afternoon, assisting on SU’s first nine baskets of the game in an 87-51 rout over the Raiders.

colgate2
Carter-Williams passed the ball well on Sunday

“That,” Carter-Williams said, “would be a nice record to break.”

In only 28 minutes, Carter-Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 8 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and four steals. Perhaps even more impressive was that the sophomore committed just a single turnover.

» Related: What we learned from SU’s win

Afterward, Carter-Williams was asked if he was happier with his assist or turnover numbers.

“Probably the one turnover,” Carter-Williams said. “I’ve had a few that I haven’t been too proud of. And I wasn’t happy about the one turnover, either. I was trying to limit those turnovers.”

His teammates were the beneficiaries, specifically forward James Southerland. The senior forward finished with 18 points, many of them with the help of Carter-Williams.

“He’s doing a good job looking for teammates. I’ve seen a big in him difference within the past couple of games,” Southerland said. “He could score as much as he wants, but it’s good he’s looking for his teammates.”

Perhaps Carter-Williams could’ve even gotten closer to Douglas’ record if a few more baskets would’ve gone down.

“He’s really playing as well as any point guard we’ve had in a long time,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “I think he could have had 17 or 18 assists easy here tonight just like the last game – he could have had another five or six. We’re missing open shots, we have to start making some of those.”

» Related: Carter-Williams is SU’s new floor general

Carter-Williams said he didn’t make a conscious decision to become a pure distributor today. He was merely taking what the defense was giving him.

There will be plenty of other times in future games when Carter-Williams will call his own number.

“There will be games when I will be more aggressive, when I think my team needs it,” Carter-Williams said. “Teams are going to recognize that when I go in the lane, I like to pass it out. So that’s when I have to be more aggressive getting to the rim.”

Until then, Carter-Williams is content with showcasing his ability to find the open man.

“My teammates were knocking down shots and they made it look easy for me,” Carter-Williams said. “So I tried to make it easy for them.”

For more Syracuse coverage, Like our Facebook page and follow us @TheJuiceOnline.

Avatar photo
About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.