In a word? Yes. The Orange are overrated and have been on the verge of being exposed all season long. After just the second game of the season, Jim Boeheim called this team the “most overrated team that I’ve ever had.” That means something when it comes from Boeheim, who is in his 35th season coaching the Orange. He’s not going to get an argument from me.
This was what was expected out of Syracuse from the outset. They shot 50%, Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph led the way, they got contributions from rookies off the bench, and Fab Melo is slowly coming into form. Unfortunately, it took them seven games to get to this point and still couldn’t string together two good halves of basketball. But the end result was the same with Syracuse improving to 7-0 after beating Cornell, 78-58.
At the beginning of each college basketball season, fans and critics get a taste of tournament basketball in November. For most teams, this opportunity provides an early checkpoint to see not only how far a team has progressed since the dog days of summer lifting, but more importantly, in what areas they need to improve before conference play commences.
Lackluster first half performance. Offensive struggles. Much better second half performance. Another ugly win. Syracuse managed to pull out a 53-50 win over Michigan to advance to the finals of the Legends Classic. But it’s just a matter of time before this Syracuse team disappoints and drops a few games.
Nothing in sports is as exciting and mysterious as a highly touted group of freshmen basketball players. Football players take too long to adjust and pro basketball rookies are all known quantities who can’t dominate in a league with that many superstars. Freshman cagers, though, they can bring it. Is there going to be a John Wall this year? A Kevin Durant? A Carmelo? Who’s bringing in the most five-stars?
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