After an outstanding sophomore season at Syracuse that had many analysts talking about him as one of the best guards in the country, Dion Waiters decided the time was right to test his talents and make the jump to the NBA. The Philly native was a beast as a Sixth Man, averaging 12.6 points on nearly 48 percent shooting to help lead the Orange to the Elite 8 this season. Syracuse came up short in their bid for a National Championship, but Waiters’ stock continues to rise. Now as he gets prepared to be drafted into the NBA, Waiters will be giving us the inside scoop on his journey to the draft, how his life is changing and everything in-between… Read More »

Mike Woodson might say Linsanity is over, but whatever he’s got going works well for the Knicks. The Knicks won their third straight game under their new coach, blowing out the playoff-bound Pacers by nearly 20 points as Jeremy Lin went for 19 points. While Roy Hibbert went for 24 and 12 and was really the only Pacer who did anything outside of falling asleep, the Knicks got a balanced effort from everyone. No one really blew up and even Carmelo only scored 16 points. The Knicks just have their defense together and are finally willing to sacrifice for each other … Read More »

The first month of the college hoops season has already had enough defining moments to warrant the Luther Vandross treatment.

There was the poignant high of Coach K surpassing his mentor Bob Knight as the all-time leader in NCAA D-I coaching wins; the gut-wrenching (and ongoing) low of Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine throwing his program into scandal; the inspiring comeback stories of Arizona forward Kevin Parrom and Kansas forward Thomas Robinson; made-for-March upsets like UNLV over North Carolina, Presbyterian over Cincinnati, and Central Florida over UConn; and big-time matchups like Ohio State vs. Duke, Kentucky vs. Kansas, and Syracuse vs. Florida that were dipped in Tournament atmosphere.

This past weekend, though, gave us the most thrilling game, the highest display of talent, and the most grand exhibition of the best of college basketball, all wrapped in one 40-minute showcase in Lexington, Ky. Here is that game, plus the rest of the best and worst of the weekend: Read More »

*College basketball is here (unlike the NBA), and this year might be one of the best in recent memory. The powerhouse is back, while the Cinderellas believe. That’s a deadly combination. We know some of y’all have been asking for some previews. We have you covered – the top 16 teams in the nation will be previewed individually in the next few weeks. After we broke down Louisville and hated Duke yesterday, we’ll keep this going with No. 5-ranked Syracuse (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

After an efficient sophomore year in which he averaged 13.0 points on 45.5 percent shooting, including 47.4 percent from distance, Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom took his game a step further this season. By upping his scoring average by nearly three points and making big strides on the defensive end, he became an All-Big East Second Team selection and led Marquette to a 9-9 record in the toughest conference in America. Friday night, DJO poured in a game-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead his 11th-seeded Golden Eagles past 6th-seeded Xavier. On Sunday, DJO went for 17, including the game-winning triple with 25 seconds left, to lift Marquette to another upset over 3-seeded Syracuse, clinching the school’s first Sweet 16 birth since the Dwyane Wade era. Here are his words: Read More »

After an efficient sophomore year in which he averaged 13.0 points on 45.5 percent shooting, including 47.4 percent from distance, Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom took his game a step further this season. By upping his scoring average by nearly three points and making big strides on the defensive end, he became an All-Big East Second Team selection and led Marquette to a 9-9 record in the toughest conference in America. Friday night, DJO poured in a game-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting to lead his 11th-seeded Golden Eagles past 6th-seeded Xavier to set up a second-round matchup with conference foe Syracuse. Here are his words: Read More »

One of the common aspirations of any young ballplayer’s career is to play on one of the biggest stages in the game of basketball. Whether it is in the state championship, AAU tournament or the NBA Finals, one day we’ve all had the dream of hitting the game-winning shot after dropping 50 points on our opponents. For most of us, just emulating our favorite player’s moves that we see them pull off with the ease keeps the hope alive that we’ll one day be able to do the same. One of the deciding factors that give our idols these sometimes G.O.A.T.-like abilities can be isolated in my opinion: their shoes. We’re told about their tireless work ethic, killer instincts and hunger for more, but we rarely get to see any of those intangibles. We see the game-winning shot and the heat on their feet. Read More »

When the highlights of past Big East Championships run on ESPN and SNY, they are dominated by theatrics from Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Ben Gordon and Gerry McNamara. But what Kemba Walker has done over the last four days might be the most impressive Garden Championship Week performance of any. Read More »

Sure Knicks rookie Andy Rautins has only played three NBA games so far this year, but that was to be expected. Why? Because after being the starting shooting guard at Syracuse last season, where he finished his career second on the school’s all-time list with 282 career three-point field goals made, Rautins has had to make the transition to the point. We got up with Andy recently to chat about his rookie season and Syracuse hoops. Read More »

From Pearl Washington to Gerry McNamara, Syracuse has a rich tradition of point guards. After the latest great one, Jonny Flynn, moved on to the NBA in 2009, Brandon Triche was handed the keys to the palace. What he does with them could find the Orange celebrating their second national championship in 2010.

Coming off last Thursday’s win at Georgetown, the Orange (25-2, 12-2 Big East) are ranked in the Top-5 nationally. The freshman Triche has started every game, averaging 9.0 points and 3.1 assists, but his production and PT has been spotty over the last couple of weeks. Earlier in the season, Triche was featured in Dime #55: Read More »