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November 7, 2013
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2013-14 basketball season preview
Legendary company
Duke transfer Michael Gbinije
plays to live both his anD
his brother’s DreaM. paGe 5
hall of faMe heaD coaches are the faces of what coulD be the Greatest conference. paGe 12
syracuse will lean on poiseD freshMan
point GuarD tyler ennis as it enters
the acc. paGe 3
syracuse Moves on froM the biG east anD to a loaDeD atlantic coast conference
Hungry Chuck’sGraduation Batch 4 YearsAged
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3 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
SMOOTH OPERATOR
TYLER ENNIS brings his calm demeanor to SU this
season as the Orange’s starting point guard. He has
big shoes to fill now that Michael Carter-Williams has moved on to the NBA. Head
coach Jim Boeheim said Ennis will take on significant
minutes for SU.
POINT GUARD ENNIS BRINGS POISE, QUIET CONFIDENCE AS ORANGE’S FRESHMAN LEADER
part 4 of 4
freshFACES
SEE ENNIS PAGE 17
(top) photo illustration by spencer bodian | asst. photo editor
(bottom) ziniu chen | staff photographer
By Stephen BaileyASST. SPORTS EDITOR
T hroughout Tyler Ennis’ childhood, his father — and often his coach — Tony McIntyre would ask him the same series of ques-tions.
Do you even like basketball? Are you sure? Why don’t you show it on the court?
For years, McIntyre failed to see the competi-tive fire in his son’s game. Tyler would play up on his older brother’s teams. Dylan, two years ahead of Tyler, and Brandon, four ahead, were fiercer on the court.
McIntyre wondered if Tyler felt pressured to play the sport that controlled the family’s every-
day life. It wasn’t that Tyler was passive. He was outgoing off the court, just not exclamatory on it. There was never any yelling. There was never frustration after a mistake or celebration after a success.
So McIntyre would ask his son those questions. On the court after games. In the car on their way home. At the dinner table later that night.
The questions baffled Tyler because there were never any questions in his mind.
Only an answer: “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”“I just played and that’s how I always was. It helps me in pressure
situations and keeping guys in control and things like that. My dad always wondered why. I don’t know why.”
Tyler is preparing to be only the fifth freshman to run the point for Jim Boeheim in the last three decades. But he’s far from an ordinary freshman — preposterous passing ability and catlike vision aside.
He’s as prepared a freshman Boeheim said he has ever had — more poised than former Duke superstar Jay Williams, according to Mark Taylor, who coached both in high school.
“I don’t really look at myself as a freshman,” Tyler said.Not many people do — mostly because he doesn’t look like one. The
calm command and unwavering nerve he brings as the Orange’s court general is a sharp contrast from the animated reactions of Michael Carter-Williams last season.
“He’s going to have good games. He’s going to have average games,” McIntyre said. “I’ve never seen him play a bad game.”
Now at Syracuse, the university he once called his “dream school,” he’ll look to lead the Orange to its first national championship since 2003.
“I know a lot of people are expecting a big year, expecting a lot,” Tyler said, “but that comes with what I wanted. I wanted a big role as a freshman and I got it. I know high expectations come with that.
“Now I have to produce.”•••
Suzette Ennis loved to shoot homemade videos of her children when they were young.
Many times when she was focusing on another sibling, Tyler would jump in front of the camera and break in: This is Tyler TV and we’re doing a show on Dylan Ennis.
“He actually liked being on the camera,” Suzette said.Even as a kid, Tyler’s personality off the court contrasted that on it. In
the house rambunctious battles with his brothers in NBA Live would spill out onto the street in front of their house where they would play basketball.
He was the kid brother, but he wasn’t the shy kid brother.“He was always the kid they would push around on the street when he
was 4 or 5 years old,” McIntyre said. “They would always be like, ‘You can’t play. And he said, ‘Well I’m going to play.’”
But on the court, he was stoic. The chatterbox Dylan roughhoused with around the house was sometimes emotionless on the court. For a while it was concerning for the family, but over time Dylan began to see it as a strength.
“I think that’s what I like most about him. You can’t tell that he’s down.
“Tyler has got the most poise of anybody I’ve ever coached. He just stays so calm no matter what the situation.”
Mark TaylorST. BENEDICT’S HEAD COACH
contentsUp for re-election“Dunk City” took the country by storm during last season’s NCAA Tournament. Now Florida Gulf Coast is back with a new head coach. Page 6
Get bigSU forwards Rakeem Christmas and DaJuan Coleman spent the offseason working to add an offensive arsenal to their raw defensive talent. Page 7
Ray of sunshineMaryland forward Jake Layman is finally in a starring role and ready to shine for the Terrapins. Page 8
New facesA new conference brings new competi-tion for Syracuse — some of the best players in the nation. Page 9
The best of all timeThe Atlantic Coast Conference’s new look sets it up to be one of the most impressive leagues in NCAA history. Page 12
How it standsSyracuse is among the favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference in its first season in the new league. Page 15
Days go byFreshman forwards Bria and Briana Day bring size and athleticism to Syracuse as the Orange transitions to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Page 16
Editor’s note:
This 2013-14 Basketball Season Preview provides a look at the Orange as it heads into a new conference. In this issue, you will find a profile on Syracuse’s freshman starting point guard, Tyler Ennis, a story about Duke transfer Michael Gbinije’s relationship with his brother and a look at what SU’s big men are doing to improve offensively. The spread of this issue also takes a peek inside the Atlantic Coast Conference and its quest to be the best league ever with the help of three Hall of Fame head coaches. With these stories and more, this guide provides an all-encompassing analysis of Syracuse’s upcoming season in its new home.
Sincerely,
David WilsonSpORTS EDiTOR
4 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o mb a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f s y r a c u s e , n e w y o r k
The Daily Orange is published weekdays during the Syr-acuse University academic year by The Daily Orange Corp., 744 Ostrom Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210. All con-tents Copyright 2013 by The Daily Orange Corp. and may not be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Orange is distributed on and around campus with the first two copies complimentary. Each additional copy costs $1. The Daily Orange is in no way a subsidiary or associ-ated with Syracuse University.
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EDITORIAL 315 443 9798 BUSINESS 315 443 2315 GENERAL FAX 315 443 3689 ADVERTISING 315 443 9794 CLASSIFIED ADS 315 443 2869
Maddy Berner MANAGiNG EDiTOR
Casey Fabris EDiTOR iN ChiEF
front cover photo illustration from left to right:courtesy of duke photography | duke sports information; daily orange file photo; courtesy of unc athletics communications
Sports Editor David Wilsonpresentation Director Lizzie Hartphoto Editor Chase GaewskiAsst. Sports Editor Stephen BaileyAsst. Sports Editor Trevor HassAsst. photo Editor Sam MallerDesign Editor Lindsay DawsonAsst. Copy Editor Phil D’AbbraccioAsst. Copy Editor Jesse Dougherty
General Manager Peter WaackiT Director Mike EscalanteiT Support Lars NielseniT Support Matthew HawkinsBusiness intern Tim BennettAdvertising Design Manager Abby LeggeAdvertising Manager William LeonardAdvertising Representative Mike FriedmanAdvertising Representative Carolina GarciaAdvertising Representative Gonzalo GarciaAdvertising Representative Emily MyersAdvertising Representative Elaina PowlessAdvertising Representative Ada TuremisAdvertising Representative Paula VallinaAdvertising Designer Olivia AccardoAdvertising Designer Andi BurgerAdvertising intern Lidia MedinaAdvertising Copywriter Sarah CooksonCirculation Manager Jared CucinottaStudent Circulation Manager Michael Hu
“It’s a blessing to have the best conference yet again.”
Jabari ParkDUkE FREShMAN FORwARD
“I think we’ll be the best of all time hands down because we have three powerhouses from other conferences. We didn’t get the bottom half of that league — we got three of the top four and the No. 1 team comes next year.”
Ian MillerFLORiDA STATE GUARD
By Trevor HassAsst. sports Editor
M ichael and Brandon Gbinije are com-plete opposites.
That’s according to their mother Yvette, the woman who’s guided them toward adulthood.
Michael stands at 6 feet 7 inches, while Brandon is 5 feet 9 inches. Michael is the classic extrovert, always out and about meeting new people. Brandon prefers to stay at home and inside.
Michael plays on the Syracuse basketball team. Brandon is a freshman at Richard Bland College in Petersburg, Va., and lives with their parents.
Their differences stick out right away, but they also bring them together. It’s what makes them so inseparable. It’s why every time Michael steps on the court, he has Brandon in mind. This year, as he plays backup point guard and sometimes shooting guard for Syracuse after transferring from Duke, he’ll be doing it all for Brandon.
After all, he’s his best friend. They’re both each other’s inspiration. Michael knows Brandon doesn’t have the physical ability he does, so he plays for Brandon. To make his brother proud.
“That’s my favorite human being in the world,” Michael said with a grin.
Michael wears No. 0 in honor of Brandon. Bran-don’s favorite superstar when he was a child was Gilbert Arenas, who goes by the moniker “Agent Zero.” When Michael played at Duke, Brandon loved watching Austin Rivers, who donned No. 0, as well.
Michael also wears the No. 0 because he is out of chances. After barely seeing the floor at Duke, he knows this is his last opportunity. Brandon would love to play Division I basketball, so Michael has to live the dream for him.
“I know he wants to accomplish some goals that I have accomplished, but he just can’t,” Michael said. “He just doesn’t have the ability. Sometimes I wish I could give him the experience, so that’s why I do what I do.”
Michael was 2 years old when Brandon was born. They immediately became incredibly close.
As children, they would read the “Cat in the Hat” together. Brandon even dressed up as the Cat from the book for Halloween one year.
They both spray-painted their hair green for “Crazy Hair Day” in elementary school — the Den-nis Rodman look, Brandon called it.
And as they grew older together, they became pranksters.
Michael smiled while talking about the time he and Brandon tied their dad’s shoes together when he was asleep. He and Brandon dressed up in costumes to freak out their chihuahua Tyga sometimes, too.
“We watch a lot of comedy movies,” Michael said. “A lot of ‘Step Brothers,’ Will Ferrell, ‘Jack-ass.’ All that good stuff.”
Michael listens as Brandon reels off his list of impressions. One of his favorites is John Wall, where he speaks rapidly and in clichés and changes the inflection of his voice to sound like the Wash-ington Wizards point guard.
“He sometimes looks to me for jokes,” Brandon said. “Sometimes I give him jokes. Sometimes most of them are not funny, but I try.”
But even more so, the brothers have bonded
The Devil wears orangeBefore coming to syracuse, forward Michael Gbinije came off the bench for new Atlantic Coast Conference rival duke. He got on the court sparingly with the Blue devils before transferring.
MPG 5.8PPG 1.7RPG 0.8APG 0.2FG& .5503P% .400
5 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
Duke Transfer Michael gbinije joins su, keeping special bonD wiTh broTher branDon
gbinijebrothers
see gbinje page 22
(top) ziniu chen | staff photographer(bottom and top right) photos courtesy of the gbinije family
(above) michael and brandon gbinije spray-painted their hair for “Crazy Hair day” at school. Brandon called it the “dennis rodman look.” in the top-right photo, Michael sleeps in a car seat with a ball.
By Josh HyberStaff Writer
A t Florida Gulf Coast’s Midnight Madness event, Chase Fieler’s moniker became offi-cial. The Eagles introduced him as “the
mayor of Dunk City.” In last season’s NCAA Tournament, Fieler, sec-
retary of dunk Brett Comer and cabinet members Sherwood Brown and Bernard Thompson captivated the nation as the No. 15 seed in the South Region, upsetting No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State en route to the Sweet 16.
Now the Cinderella Eagles are known throughout the land, and will enter this season with eyes fixated on their glass sneakers and little-known town of Fort Myers, Fla. With the return of mayor Fieler, Comer and the addition of head coach Joe Dooley from Kansas, Florida Gulf Coast is out to prove it can once again attend the grand ball.
“Far and away, nothing we do locally to drive the economy and interest in Fort Myers can compete with that kind of national notoriety,” said Randy Henderson, the actual mayor of Fort Myers, in an email. “Enrollment in the school spiked and contin-ues. People love Fort Myers.”
In 1983, there was Jim Valvano, North Carolina State and the “Cardiac Cats”. In 1988, there was Kansas’ “Danny and the Miracles.” In 2013, it was “Dunk City” and Florida Gulf Coast, a small school on Florida’s western shore that earned full Division I postseason eligibility only two years ago.
But on Nov. 13, in its second game of the season, FGCU upset Miami (Fla.).
“After that game, it really gave us the confidence
dunk party ‘Mayor’ fieler, fgcu are back for another terM
6 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o mb a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
see fgcu page 11
photo courtesy of mitchell leff
chase fieler throws down a dunk over San Diego State. in last year’s NCaa tournament, florida Gulf Coast played the part of the “Cinderella” team and made a run to the Sweet 16, stunning Georgetown and ruining brackets everywhere.
7 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
Position: Forward
Height: 6-9
Weight: 250
Class: Junior
Hometown: Philadelphia
High School: Academy of the New Church
RAKEEM CHRISTMAS#25
Position: Forward
Height: 6-9
Weight: 280
Class: Sophomore
Hometown: Jamesville, N.Y.
High School: Jamesville-DeWitt
DAJUAN COLEMAN#32
By Phil D’AbbraccioASST. COPY EDITOR
T he lack of offense from Syracuse’s big men was a theme throughout most of last season, but the deficiency was at
its worst against Louisville on March 2.Rakeem Christmas, DaJuan Coleman and
Baye Moussa Keita combined for two points. Each attempted one field goal, and Christmas was the only one to convert his. On the other end of the court, Louisville big man Gorgui Dieng dominated the inside with 11 points and 14 rebounds, powering the Cardinals to a five-point victory in a low-scoring Carrier Dome battle.
Syracuse’s big men know how to anchor the middle of head coach Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone. They know how to crash the boards and they know how to grab rebounds. But if they can assert themselves in SU’s offense, it would
serve as a much-needed boost to the rest of the team as it transitions into the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“I think there’s going to be some opportuni-ties there for them to score and I think we’ll have good balance,” Boeheim said, “because I think we have guys that can shoot and score at the forward and guard positions.
The Orange lost three of its top four scorers from last season, who averaged a combined 38.8 points per game — slightly less than three times the offensive production the big men mustered.
In their absences, much of the weight of putting the ball in the basket will be on the shoulders of SU senior C.J. Fair, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.
He’s confident that the big men can help pick up some of that slack.
“Last year, the inside wasn’t really our strong suit, but I think this year, it’s going to be much stronger,” Fair said. “You can tell they worked on their game a lot and improved this year. They’re not scared to miss a shot.”
Last year, Syracuse’s guards and small
forwards accounted for 83.3 percent of SU’s scoring output. Christmas, Coleman and Keita collectively averaged just more than 13 points per game.
“I think this year, we definitely came back bigger and stronger,” Coleman said. “Defi-nitely more offense-minded this year, and just can’t wait for the season to start.
“If we need a basket down low, I think I can step in and do that.”
As soon as last year’s Final Four run came to an end, the big men — labeled by many as the team’s weakest position — fired up their preparation for what they hope is a comeback season.
Coleman, Christmas and Keita reported for duty at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basket-ball Center five days a week throughout the offseason. Once the basketballs come out, the on-court drills begin.
They practice three simple post moves: stationary hook shots, hook shots off a drop step and up-and-unders. Hold the ball high in the air, don’t hesitate and go up strong to the
rim. Take your six shots and rotate.“Just doing everything to perfection.
We don’t do more than three moves. We try to perfect three moves and then move on,” Christmas said. “We do it every day. It’s like daily vitamins for us.”
Outside of the key, the big men work on coming off screens and knocking down 15-17- foot jumpers, which assistant coach Mike Hopkins said will help develop their shooting stroke at the free-throw line.
After putting in an hour and a half on the court, the big men head to the work-out room, where they spend another hour and a half enhancing their physiques with weightlifting and running.
And all that sweating has paid off. Coleman said he is entering this season
10-15 pounds lighter. The knee that side-lined him for eight games last year is now at 100 percent.
His trimmed frame, assistant coach Adri-an Autry said, will be the first thing people notice about Coleman this season. His slim-mer build and work ethic have translated to the low post, where he’s refined his skills, Autry said.
The sophomore has improved his use of both hands to finish at the rim, Autry said, and is shooting the ball 15-17 feet away from the hoop.
“He’s getting more confident and com-fortable with what we’re doing and under-standing schemes,” Autry said. “I think the biggest thing is getting that year under his belt, getting himself in condition.”
On the other hand is Christmas, who has always had a reputation for being an imposing, shot-blocking defensive presence near the rim.
He backed that up as a freshman two years ago in the NCAA Tournament. With starting
“But they’re really effective when they can put that other guy right in the paint underneath the basket, where all they have to do is what? Turn, face and finish.”
Mike HopkinsSU ASSISTANT COACH
SEE BIG MEN PAGE 19
FORWARDS CHRISTMAS, COLEMAN SPEND OFFSEASON IMPROVING OFFENSIVE GAME
(top) sam maller | asst. photo editor (bottom) ryan maccammon | staff photographer
Position: Center
Height: 6-10
Weight: 220
Class: Senior
Hometown: Saint Louis, Senegal
High School: Oak Hill Academy
BAYE MOUSSA KEITA#12
BIG MENON CAMPUS
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photo courtesy of maryland athleticsJAKE LAYMAN steps into a full-time starting role for Maryland this season after starting 17 games with the Terps last season. He has a lot of experience with tough competition, which has prepared him for the additional minutes.
LAYMAN’SBy Jesse Dougherty
ASST. COPY EDITOR
C laire and Tim Layman tried to convince their son Jake to focus on their respective sports.
Tim played baseball at Maine and Claire played basketball there, too. They knew their son had the ability to play either game at a high level. It was only a matter of time until he chose one.
“She coached me a lot and was a big part of my bas-ketball world,” Jake Layman said, “and then there was my dad saying I should play baseball.”
Layman said he didn’t need to make a decision while growing up. Baseball and basketball were played in different seasons.
“But as I got older,” Layman said, “I realized basket-ball was my calling.”
Layman’s decision led him to run alongside some of the country’s best players in his age group, something a bat and glove could have never done.
Entering his second year with Maryland, Layman is wading into the prime of his collegiate career. After averaging 5.5 points and starting 17 games last season, the sophomore forward will have an increased role with the Terrapins this season and is certain his familiarity with high-level competition has prepared him for it.
“My confidence level is as high as it’s ever been right now,” Layman said, “and I’m feeling good about it.”
It was just an intra-squad scrimmage, but the U-17 Bos-ton Amateur Basketball Club was playing at full speed.
A consensus top AAU team in the country, BABC was playing in a tournament in Los Angeles and tuning up before the start. Playing defense in the half court, Layman was reminded of how good the team was.
When a guard drove into the lane, Layman stepped up to stop the penetration. The guard dished the ball and when Layman turned, another teammate, Nerlens Noel, dunked over him.
“Yeah, he just dunked on me,” Layman said laugh-ing. “We had a really good team.”
When Layman was a sophomore in high school, his mother Claire, a pragmatist, wanted to gauge how good her son was. She went to Leo Papile, the coach and founder of BABC and former senior director of basket-ball operations with the Boston Celtics, to see if there was a spot on his team.
Impressed, Papile made Layman a role player on a star-studded squad.
“His mom wanted to know if her son could really play and he could,” Papile said. “He started out on the bottom of the pile.”
That team ended up winning the 10th-grade national championship. By the end of the year, Layman was in the rotation off the bench.
With his sights set on playing Division I basketball, Layman embraced the role. While he shined at King Philip Regional (Mass.) High School, it was with Papile and BABC where he made his name.
MARYLAND FORWARD PREPARES FOR BIGGER ROLE AS STARTER
TURN
SEE LAYMAN PAGE 18
“His mom wanted to know if her son could really play, and he could. He started out on the bottom of the pile.”
Leo PapileBABC HEAD COACH
ACC PLAYERS 9 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m
b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 49
TO WATCH
JAMES MICHAEL MCADOO
After underachieving as a freshman, the forward had a strong sophomore campaign. He could’ve been a lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, but opted to return to Chapel Hill, N.C., to lead the Tar Heels. He was one of the top players in the nation coming out of high school, and is poised to cash in on his enormous potential.
AKIL MITCHELLPF, Virginia
Joe Harris gets credit for the Cava-liers’ success, but Mitchell is a crucial piece. He chipped in 13.1 points per game and led UVA with 8.9 rebounds. Mitchell gives the Cavaliers a bruising inside presence to compete with the best.
JABARI PARKERSF, Duke
The freshman small forward garnered preseason ACC Player of the Year votes before even taking the floor for the Blue Devils. In any year without Andrew Wiggins, Parker would be the most exciting new face in the country. Even so, he’ll be one of the top attrac-tions in the nation and a contender for the No. 1 overall draft pick.
OLIVIER HANLANPG, Boston College
The Eagles were one of the youngest teams in the country last year and struggled, but Hanlan was an immedi-ate star. The point guard averaged 15.4 points per game last season, but just 2.3 assists en route to winning ACC Rookie of the Year. That number figures to jump as his young team-mates come along.
JAKE LAYMAN
The sharpshooting small forward seems to be headed for a breakout year. Layman had his biggest games against Duke and other top-tier com-petition. He’s been the star for the Terrapins in the preseason and contin-ues to develop his all-around game.
JERIAN GRANTG, Notre Dame
The brother of Syracuse’s Grant, Jerian Grant is the conference’s consummate combo guard. Grant was one of the best guards in the Big East last season and will be the focal point of a Fighting Irish offense that loses Jack Cooley.
— Compiled by David Wilson, sports editor, [email protected], @DBWilson2
F, North Carolina
SF, Maryland
ConferenCe vs. conference
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Teams: 15
New teams: 3
Top 25 teams:
Hall of Fame coaches: 3
National championships: 16
Most recent national champion: 2013
Largest arena: KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
Preseason favorite: Duke
Preseason Player of the Year: C.J. Fair, SF, Syracuse
Preseason Rookie of the Year: Jabari Parker, SF, Duke
No. 1-overall NBA Draft picks: 12
Most recent No. 1 pick: Kyrie Irvin, Duke
Teams 15 10
New Teams 3 5
Top 25 Teams 5 3
Hall of fame coacHes 3 2
NaTioNal cHampioNs 16 8
mosT receNT NaTioNal cHampioN 2013 2010
largesT areNa KFC Yum! Center Carrier Dome (22,090) (35,012)
preseasoN favoriTe Duke Louisville
preseasoN player of THe year C.J. Fair Russ Smith SF, Syracuse G, Louisville
preseasoN rookie of THe year Jabari Parker Keith Frazier SF, Duke S. Methodist, G
No. 1-overall NBa DrafT picks 12 6
mosT receNT No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving Derrick Rose
atlantic coast conference
american athletic conference
that we could play with one of the elite teams in the country,” Fieler said.
The Eagles went on to win the conference championship and earned themselves an auto-matic bid to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round matchup against No. 2-seed Georgetown.
“When we saw that matchup, we kind of got wide eyed,” Comer said, “because we knew we could really go up against them and win the game.”
The origin of the “Dunk City” motto is unclear. Some players first heard it on ESPN. Others say they saw it on Twitter. But against Georgetown, “Dunk City” won, and won in “Dunk City” fashion.
With the Eagles leading 65-58 with 2:03 left in regulation and the Hoyas pressing, Fieler threw an underneath-the-basket inbounds pass to Thompson. Thompson made a quick pass to Comer, who was waiting just outside the 3-point line on the right side.
Racing from end to end on the left side of the court was Fieler, who soared through the air and caught a pass from Comer with his right hand cocked behind his head. Fieler threw it down with authority and officially earned his mayoral title after the game.
“That’s something we’ve done in practice and we’d done throughout the entire season,” Fieler said. “I don’t think we really knew how big of a deal it was and how much it meant to the nation until the timeout when the stadium was going craz.”
The dunk put the finishing touches on a win and put “Dunk City” on the map. In Western Florida, there was pandemonium.
“You would walk into a gym and all every-body was talking about was FGCU and ‘Dunk
City’ making it to the Sweet 16,” said Eagles freshman guard Armand Shoon, who attended Westwood Christian High School in Miami. “I definitely wanted to be a part of an up-and-coming program.”
But in the Sweet 16, the Eagles lost to Florida. A month later, head coach Andy Enfield depart-ed for Southern California. Two weeks later, the school announced the hiring of Dooley, an
assistant from Kansas. Dooley doesn’t mind the up-tempo style, and
said the team can probably average more points by rebounding and cutting down on turnovers.
“It doesn’t need to be remade,” he said, “it just needs to be refined.”
FGCU doesn’t plan on doing any renaming either, just building on last season.
“At this point, we have to build a legacy,” Fieler said. “Not just a one and done, or just one or two years. We have to keep winning.”
As for Mayor Henderson, he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with Fieler, the mayor of “Dunk City.”
“I will be tutoring Chase in the ways of Mayorhood,” he said. “He will be reciprocating by helping me improve my game. I love basket-ball. It’s a win-win.”
11 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
fgcuf r o m p a g e 6
Teams 15 10
New Teams 3 5
Top 25 Teams 5 3
Hall of fame coacHes 3 2
NaTioNal cHampioNs 16 8
mosT receNT NaTioNal cHampioN 2013 2010
largesT areNa KFC Yum! Center Carrier Dome (22,090) (35,012)
preseasoN favoriTe Duke Louisville
preseasoN player of THe year C.J. Fair Russ Smith SF, Syracuse G, Louisville
preseasoN rookie of THe year Jabari Parker Keith Frazier SF, Duke S. Methodist, G
No. 1-overall NBa DrafT picks 12 6
mosT receNT No. 1 pick Kyrie Irving Derrick Rose
“It doesn’t need to be remade,” he said, “it just needs to be refined.”
Joe Dooley FLoRIDa GuLF CoaSt heaD CoaCh
three wise men
acc footprint(From north to south)Syracuse
Boston College
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Duke
Wake Forest
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Clemson
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Miami (Fla.)
By David WilsonSPorTS EDiTor
A ll Eric Atkins could do was shake his head.
The Notre Dame guard was sitting at a table tucked away in the corner of the ball-room at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Charlotte, N.C., running through a mental list of Atlantic Coast Conference coaches at media day in mid-October.
There are the Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzews-ki, Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim. There’s his own coach Mike Brey. Oh, and Jim Larranaga of George Mason fame. And, of course, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon. Plus Rick Pitino coming next year.
“Wow. Yeah — wow,” Atkins said. He stutters and stumbles over the names of the legendary coaches. “Wow. I didn’t think about all the coaches. I think about all the teams.”
Those men are the faces of a conference that has a chance to be the best of all time. From the top — with teams like Syracuse and Duke with coaches like Boeheim and Krzyzewski — to the bottom, the ACC has formed the nation’s premier super conference.
ACC schools have combined for 331 all-time
NCAA Tournament bids — almost 100 ahead of the next most successful conference. Only Virginia Tech and Miami (Fla.), who won the conference last year, haven’t reached 10 or more Tournaments. Five of the 15 schools have a national title to their name and have accounted for 13 total championships.
The notion that Syracuse and Pittsburgh sacrificed basketball for football in their move to the ACC is no more.
“The only thing that our fans will miss,” Boeheim said, “is the Big East Tournament.”
On July 1, after almost two years of anticipa-tion, the Orange finally joined the ACC. Boeheim took to New York City with Brey, Larry Fitzger-ald and ACC commissioner John Swofford to usher in a new forward-thinking era of college athletics — but, most notably, college basketball.
Syracuse and Pittsburgh bolted south because of football, but basketball is the sport that defines the new-look ACC. Syracuse-Clem-son football was packed, but the Duke basketball game sold out in less than two hours.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Florida State guard Ian Miller said. “Before they came it was
always a great opportunity, but now that we’re the No. 1 conference, hands down, in America, every night we’re going to have to compete harder and they just make it that much more sweeter if you win.
“History is going to be made this year.”It’s a misconception, Boeheim says, that he
was against the move to the ACC. Sure, he will miss the old Big East — a league that he watched become one of the first great conferences — but realignment diluted it anyway. When Louisville comes to the ACC next year, the conference will be made up of more former Big East teams than original ACC schools.
He would like the conference to keep roots in New York, but that’s more because of the fans and good of the league than it is for his own personal gain.
Boeheim recalls one particular Big East Tournament. Although he can’t remember the exact year, it was one of his first experiences at the event. He walked out onto the court and looked into the crowd to see 10 or so of the top recruits in the nation.
“There’s more exposure,” Boeheim said. “I
think it’s good for the league. I think there’s obvi-ously a lot more recruits in Washington and New York than there are in Greensboro.”
New York has produced more NBAers than any state but California, but states down the eastern seaboard — like Maryland, North Caro-lina, Florida and Georgia — aren’t far behind.
Swofford likes to talk about “conference foot-print” and says that his league’s is the largest. It stretches through the South, like it always has, but with the addition of New York, it now dips into the Northeast not only for television, but also in terms of recruiting.
So Swofford hasn’t shot down the notion of the ACC Tournament spending time in New York.
“You have to understand,” he said, “that NYC is a permanent part of our footprint.”
FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton takes a seat where Atkins started the day. A hand-ful of hours have passed, but the questions haven’t changed.
How good can this conference be? What about all these coaches?
“You’ve got to look at the big picture of what’s happening in the ACC,” Hamilton said, captivat-
ing the attention of the handful of reporters seated around him. Most reporters are seated by Krzyzewski, but Hamilton has his own insight.
“Even though I hear bits and pieces, we have put together the greatest collection of successful, traditional, winning basketball programs ever assembled in the history of college basketball.”
The ACC now features three of the five win-ningest programs in college basketball history and Hamilton rattles them off from memory. North Carolina is No. 3. Duke is No. 4. Syracuse is No. 5.
He keeps going. Notre Dame is No. 9. North Carolina State is No. 25. Pittsburgh No. 45. These are the teams that make up college basketball’s upper echelon.
Two years ago, though, Hamilton’s Seminoles found a way to win the conference. Last year it was Miami. The talent from the top trickles down as teams are forced to compete with top-tier competition.
“The traditional rich teams have helped bring the other teams up,” Hamilton said. “Now I’m not real sure if it’s going to be as much of a difference between the top and the bottom from
year to year. I think there’s an explosion getting ready to happen that’s a bigger story than the three Hall of Fame coaches.”
But those three — and the one coming next year — are impossible to ignore. They form a tight-knit fraternity — Boeheim and Krzyzewski are especially close — and ambassadors for the nation’s top conference. In fact, it was Krzyze-wski who first publicly proclaimed how great the league had a chance to be.
But it’s away from the powers — away from Tobacco Road or the Carrier Dome — where the effects are most prominent. Syracuse, Duke and North Carolina will be good wherever they play.
Hamilton has seen it firsthand. Great teams make a great league, but a great league simply makes everyone better.
“The success that we’ve had in putting togeth-er this collection of schools and coaches, along with the talent level that exists, is amazing. There’s no other way to describe it,” Hamilton said. “This is something new and unique that I don’t think anybody understands the gravity of what’s happening.”
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4 national champion-ships
11 Final Fours
13 ACC Tournament championships
12 ACC regular season titles
8 NCAA championship appearances
13 Elite Eights
2-time Basketball Times National Coach of the Year
3-time Naismith College Coach of the Year
1991 NABC Coach of the Year
5-time ACC Coach of the Year
2001 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
2006 College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
2 national championships
7 Final Fours
2 ACC Tournament championships
6 ACC regular season titles
3 Big 12 Tournament championships
4 Big 12 regular sea-son titles
1 Big Eight Tourna-ment championship
5 Big East regular season titles
2-time AP Coach of the Year
1997 Naismith Col-lege Coach of the Year
2-time Henry iba Award winner
2003 John r. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award winner
2-time ACC Coach of the Year
KrzyzewsKiDuke
957-297
1 national championship
4 Final Fours
5 Big East Tournament championships
9 Big East regular sea-son titles
2010 FiBA Basketball World Cup gold medal
Three-time FiBA World Championship medalist
2007 FiBA Americas Championship gold medal
2 olympic gold medals
4-time Big East Coach of the Year
2006 John r. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award
2000 Clair Bee Coach of the Year
2005 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
2006 College Bas-ketball Hall of Fame inductee
boeheimSyracuse
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williAmsNorth Carolina
700-180
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Jim Boeheimroy WilliamsMike Krzyzewski
#winningA leAgue of its ownwith addition of new schools, atlantic coast conference could be greatest of all time
ziniu chen | staff photographerHeading into its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Syracuse was picked to finish second in the preseason ACC poll. The conference is being recognized by its players and coaches as the strongest in the nation.
Win No. 903With Bob Knight calling the game courtside, Krzyzews-ki passed his mentor with a 74-69 win over Michigan State at Madison Square Garden. Krzyzewski began as a guard at Army under Knight and later served as an assistant on his staff.
Win No. 470Williams’ defining win came when North Carolina fended off illinois 75-70 to claim the national championship. Sean May scored 26 points as the Tar Heels edged the illini in thrilling fashion. Williams went on to win another championship in 2009.
Win No. 880Boeheim passes Dean Smith for most career wins by a head coach at a single school. Kris Joseph made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to beat Georgetown 64-61 in overtime.
POSITION BY
BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS
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POSITION
MEN’S
PHIL D’ABBRACCIO JOSH HYBER AUSTIN MIRMINA
WOMEN’S
DAVID WILSON TREVOR HASS STEPHEN BAILEY
29-2 (16-2 ACC)
TOURNAMENT FINISH: Elite Eight
Syracuse takes the ACC by storm in its first season. The Orange has C.J. Fair — and an equally gifted small forward in Jerami Grant. As he makes a big leap, big men Rakeem Christmas and DaJuan Coleman follow suit to give SU as strong a frontcourt as there is.
28-3 (15-3 ACC)
TOURNAMENT FINISH: Final Four
Syracuse will go as far as its guards take it. Jim Boeheim said freshman Tyler Ennis will play 38 minutes per game this year. To reach Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this March, the Orange will need production during every one of them.
28-3 (16-2 ACC)
TOURNAMENT FINISH: Elite Eight
The Orange has the best frontcourt in the nation with seniors C.J. Fair and Baye Moussa Keita leading the way. Trevor Cooney and Michael Gbinije are the X-factors. Their ability to knock down contested jumpers will determine how far SU goes in the tournament.
POINT GUARD
SHOOTING GUARD
It’s all on Tyler Ennis to follow up Michael Carter-Williams’ break-out season. The freshman will dive right into the starting role and take the reins of Syracuse’s offense. Behind Ennis, Michael Gbinije will also see time at point guard.
The two-guard is the most open position for the Orange. Trevor Cooney could solidify his likely starting role by consistently hitting 3-pointers, just like the five he drilled at Orange Madness. The 6-foot-7 Michael Gbinije offers length at the top of the 2-3 zone.
SMALL FORWARDS
C.J. Fair is Syracuse’s go-to scorer. The preseason Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, Fair scored at least 10 points in 33 of the Orange’s 40 games. Outside of Fair, Jerami Grant will see an increased role from last season.
POWER FORWARDS
This is where it gets interesting. Syracuse will have to develop a balance at the four. Combinations including wings C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant, but the Orange also hopes to play big men Rakeem Christmas and DaJuan Coleman simultaneously.
CENTER
DaJuan Coleman, Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita should each be more of an imposing figure defensively and on the glass, but their offense remains a question mark.
18-11
NCAA TOURNAMENT: None
The team is coming off of one of its best seasons in program history, reaching the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed, but with the loss of its top three scorers and top three rebounders, the Orange will need a true team effort to in its first year in the ACC.
20-9
NCAA TOURNAMENT: First round
Syracuse loses most of its stars from last season’s NCAA tournament team, but sophomores Brittney Sykes and Brianna Butler are poised for a leap. Freshmen Bria and Briana Day will be the ones that have to try and replace Kayla Alexander.
20-9NCAA TOURNAMENT: First Round
Quentin Hillsman has built a quality pro-gram through his recruiting. The Orange bring in another top-ranked recruiting class to make up for the losses of Elas-hier Hall, Kayla Alexander and Carmen Tyson-Thomas.
ACC PRESEASON15 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m
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POLL
3UNC
NOTRE DAME 5
PITTSBURGH 6
MARYLAND 7
BOSTON COLLEGE 8
FLORIDA STATE 9
NC STATE 10
GEORGIA TECH 11
MIAMI 12
WAKE FOREST 13
CLEMSON 14
VIRGINIA TECH 15
1DUKE 2SYRACUSE
4VIRGINIA
Led by the highly touted Jabari Parker, the Blue Devils bring back three of the four guards from last year’s rotation.
Freshman Tyler Ennis will be thrust into a leadership role as the starting point guard.
Freshman big men Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks will see minutes right away.
Seniors Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell return after averaging double figures last season.
Notre Dame returns four starters, but will need to fill the void left by Jack Cooley.
6-foot-9 senior forward Talib Zanna will lead the Panthers on offense and defense.
The Terps bring back Dez Wells and Jake Layman to head UMD’s offensive attack.
Olivier Hanlan was a consistent force as a freshma. He’ll anchor the Eagles’ core.
Until Jameis Winston throws on a basket-ball jersey, this team will be mediocre.
The Wolfpack lost most of its rotation, including C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell.
With a daunting start, the Yellow Jackets will be buried in the ACC standings early.
Miami returns no one from its NCAA Tour-nament No. 2-seed team last season.
Chris Paul ain’t walking through that door.
This is where ACC teams get their revenge after football season.
Somewhere, Erick Green smiles upon the program that let him score so many points.
Duke and Syracuse are the favorites in the preseason ACC media poll.
—Compiled by Jesse Dougherty, asst. copy editor, [email protected]
By Sam BlumSTAFF WRITER
B ria and Briana Day are one in the same. They look the same. They both stand 6 feet, 4 inches. They
both have the same slight southern accent.Though the identical twins are often inter-
changeable, the two tallest Syracuse basket-ball players have no trouble standing out in a crowd.
When they walk into the Carmelo K. Anthony Center for practice together, they smile as they tower above their teammates.
Inseparable growing up, not going to college together, not practicing together and not taking the court together were never an option.
“Yeah,” Briana said defiantly. “There was never any question.”
This season, Bria and Briana will fulfill the inevitable when they take the court in Syracuse orange together for the first time.
The journey to opening night started in middle school when Bria’s English teacher and the school’s basketball coach suggested the two join the team. Standing at 6 feet, 2
inches at the time, there wasn’t much debate. There was only one problem: They were bad.
They were tall but unskilled, and didn’t know the rules.
When the girls played on their seventh grade team, their mother Katherine approached an AAU coach, Ty Cox, who was in attendance watching his own daughter play the game. She asked if he could teach her daughters to play.
“They weren’t very good at all,” Cox said.
“They were tall and everyone expected them to be good, and it was tough for them. They were truly athletic. They could run. They could jump. But they didn’t know the game, and they really were not good.”
So he took them under his wing. First he taught them dribbling. Next were layups. Then passing. They were starting to get bet-ter, and the future looked bright.
But heading into eighth grade, they were faced with a choice. They had to either pursue basketball full time, or continue participating
in track and field. Cox said their track and field coach said the girls had to choose one or the other in the hopes that they’d drop basketball.
“But they chose basketball.” Cox said. “That’s when they really started playing bas-ketball seriously.”
In high school, they only got better. With more talent and a chance to get two athletes in a package deal, college coaches were relent-less in their pursuit of the Day sisters.
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ALL DAY FRESHMAN SISTERS BRIA, BRIANA FILL FRONTCOURT VOID LEFT BY ALEXANDER
ON THE TRAILSyracuse has landed three top-100 recruits in each of the past two seasons after grabbing just two total in the two seasons before.
Rank Player
201357 Briana Day
73 Tasia Butler
92 Alexis Peterson
201214 Brianna Butler
31 Brittney Sykes
74 Cornelia Fondren
201165 Tiffany Jones
201027 Rachel Coffey
spencer bodian | asst. photo editor(LEFT) BRIA AND BRIANA DAY once committed to North Carolina, but further eval-uation led the towering sisters to SU, where they willl be called upon right away.
SEE DAY PAGE 19
“When you can get two post players, it’s a luxury. They’re in a role where they can step in and help us right away.”
Quentin HillsmanSYRACUSE HEAD COACH
spencer bodian | asst. photo editor(FROM LEFT) BRIANA AND BRIA DAY, in addition to being twins, are freshman forwards from Raleigh, N.C. The two sisters originally committed to play college basket-ball elsewhere, but instead brought their 6-foot-4 frames to Syracuse, where the Orange hopes to utilize their size and athleticisi, as the progra, transitions into the ACC.
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ENNISF R O M P A G E 3
MINUTES PER GAME POINTS PER GAME
ASSISTS PER GAME TURNOVERS PER GAME
Four freshmen have run point for Jim Boeheim in the last 30 years. Two are currently on Boeheim’s coaching staff. Here’s a look at how they stack up:
GOTTA BE FRESH
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
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0
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Jonny Flynn
2007-08
Flynn was the highest-scoring freshman in the quartet, averaging more than 39 minutes in Big East play.
Gerry McNamara
2002-03
Known for his shooting, McNamara committed the fewest turnovers in lead-ing Syracuse to a national championship.
Adrian Autry
1990-91
Autry was named to the All-Big East first team when Syracuse won the Big East regular season title.
Pearl Washington
1983-84
Washington was likely the greatest playmaker of the group, coming to SU as the most highly recruited player in the nation.
35.5 35.3 33.2 34.0 15.7 13.3 9.7 14.4
5.3 4.2 5.3 6.2 2.7 2.4 3.6 3.5
You can’t tell that he’s mad,” Dylan said.Tyler played up on Dylan and Brandon’s
teams from age 4 all the way until high school. Always a point guard for his father’s CIA
Bounce program — an AAU team — Tyler gained confidence playing with his brothers.
From the beginning, he carved out a role as a distributor and ball-handler.
“We would really push each other, beat each other up to the point where we made sure we got a lot out of it and made sure we got better that day,” Brandon said.
•••There was a time when Tyler would come home from practice with hair long enough to braid and scratches up and down his arms.
That was back when basketball was only his second-best sport.
From age 4 until the end of sixth grade, Tyler was a better box lacrosse defender than point guard.
“He was actually amazing at it,” McIntyre said. “I think that helped him, too, with his emotions.”
Lacrosse helped him gain the confidence to hang with his brothers and other players their age, Dylan and his parents agreed. But rather than the 6-foot-2 point guard he is now, Tyler was one of the biggest players on the lacrosse field.
From a physicality perspective, lacrosse pre-pared Tyler to challenge big men at the rim. To absorb contact, and still finish his shots.
But from a tactical perspective, box lacrosse is similar to basketball. Reading screen-and-roll plays and zone rotations carried over to the basketball court, where Tyler thrived in pick-and-rolls.
They’re still his favorite play to this day.“I think that’s what’s made him a better bas-
ketball player in terms of coming off screen-and-rolls,” McIntyre said. “Because in lacrosse, if you put your head down, you’re getting killed.”
There came a point, though, when Tyler’s lacrosse career had run its course. Entering middle school, that’s when the basketball domi-
nance began.“I remember thinking, ‘He wasn’t the little
Tyler who I used to beat up,’” Brandon said. “I’ve really got to play him now.”
•••Five hundred ninety-eight.
That was St. Benedict’s ranking after Tyler’s first year at the school. After head coach Roshown McLeod resigned in April 2011 following a 13-12 campaign. After all the non-seniors split for greener pawstures.
Other prep schools swarmed to Tyler. He could have gone anywhere, St. Benedict’s assistant coach Bob Farrell said.
But two years later, Tyler would lead the Gray Bees to the national championship game.
It all started with a trip to Newark Liberty International Airport in spring 2011 when newly hired head coach Mark Taylor picked him up.
“He was unsure what he was going to do,” Taylor said. “He really didn’t know. But I gave him a lot of credit just getting on the plane, coming down and talking.”
Taylor and Farrell had only spoken with him over the phone at this point, but they knew the program’s immediate success hung in the balance of that conversation.
“If you commit to us, we’re going to com-mit to you,” Taylor told Tyler. “This is your team. We’ll build the pieces, but we’ve got to have a point guard that has the ability and the IQ that you have, and everything else will fall into place.”
He stayed.St. Benedict’s won a school-record 35
games en route to the No. 2 ranking in New Jersey that year, as Tyler was named Gato-rade New Jersey Player of the Year.
As a senior he led the Gray Bees to the No. 2 national ranking and just seconds from a national title.
When he didn’t make the McDonald’s All-American team, Tyler dropped a school-record 53 points on Eastern (N.J.). When highly acclaimed Princeton Day Academy star Aquille Carr talked smack to him on the court, Tyler scored 10 straight points on “the Crimestopper.”
Tyler helped the Gray Bees snap No. 1 Find-lay Prep’s 54-game winning streak, then St.
Anthony’s 83-game streak.“He’s a true gamer,” Farrell said. “If you’ve
got to send somebody to hit free throws in the last few seconds or take that last shot, Tyler would be my guy.”
•••Tyler was Farrell’s guy off the court, too. The strict Monday-to-Friday confines of St. Benedict’s were often difficult for Tyler. He would complain about the living situations, Bob’s wife Michelle Farrell said, like being unable to have food in his room.
But more than anything, he just needed a change of environment from Newark.
So on weekends without basketball games, he stayed at the Farrell’s home in Point Pleasant Beach. He became part of the fam-ily, walking or biking to the nearby Jersey Shore regularly with the Farrell’s son Matt, and attended family dinners on Sunday — the quiet Canadian surrounded by as many as 20 boisterous Italians.
“I remember the first time he came and my husband introduced me to him,” Michelle said, “he talked so quiet I couldn’t under-stand him.
“He had to repeat himself, and I finally just said, ‘If you want to stay here, you’re definitely going to have to speak up because nobody can hear you.’”
Gradually, Tyler became comfortable there. He learned Michelle would take care of his laundry for him and cook him pork roll, egg and cheeses on a hearty bagel each morning.
The bedroom he slept in each weekend became Tyler’s room, and the family sup-port from the Farrells allowed him to stay focused on basketball and maintaining his control on the court.
“He was part of the family,” Michelle said. “That was just another one of my kids out there.”
•••C.J. Fair, Jerami Grant, Rakeem Christmas and Michael Gbinije all agreed: They haven’t seen Tyler get frustrated on the court once.
Through two months of practice, a four-game homecoming exhibition tour to Canada, Orange Madness and SU’s two scrimmages, Tyler has fit the bill as a smooth operator.
“The only time he gets frustrated is when I take the towel from him while he’s in the shower,” Gbinije said before cracking a smile.
Tyler said he’s comfortable with the weight placed on his shoulders. He wants it there.
Seemingly, Boeheim does, too. Before the season he said that Tyler would play 38 min-utes per game this year.
More than the 35.3 per game that Gerry McNamara played as a freshman in SU’s 2003 championship season and the 35.5 that Jonny Flynn played as a freshman five years later.
That confidence shone through in Boeheim’s press conference after SU’s 79-41 win over Holy Family last Friday.
When asked about his assessment of Tyler’s performance, Boeheim merely shrugged.
“He was fine. I don’t even think about him.”[email protected]
@Stephen_Bailey1
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That was where he honed his physical gifts and discovered his natural scoring touch. At the time, Layman was 6 feet 8 inches and 205 pounds, but he was still growing throughout high school and had to deliberately refine his skills to keep up with his physical development.
And when he did that, he earned a spot on another loaded roster — the U.S. U-18 national team.
In the summer before his freshman season at Maryland, Layman traveled with that team to the FIBA U-18 championship in Brazil.
Led by Florida head coach Billy Donovan, the United States earned a gold medal after a 5-0 finish. Layman, once again, came off the bench. He played 12.2 minutes per game and averaged 7.6 points, the fifth most on the team.
“There was a ton of great players that I had all heard of before,” Layman said, “and playing with them that summer prepared me for anything I’d face at the next level.”
A week before the 2013 season opened, Papile created a hypothetical situation where he pondered Layman’s NBA potential. If Layman were European, Papile said, he would have been drafted in the first round right out of high school.
In his freshman season, he was only overtly impressive in flashes. But he worked all summer on his shooting stroke and ball handling, hoping to become more than just the role player he’s always been.
“He was a little rocky last year, but when he heated up, he really could stroke it in games,” Maryland guard Nick Faust said dur-ing the Atlantic Coast Conference media day. “(Now) he’s just been stroking. So we just try to get him off screens and let him shoot.”
Outside of high school basketball, Lay-man was always a bench player. It didn’t mat-ter that some of the nation’s best programs wanted him. He played sparingly for the U.S. U18 team and never started for BABC.
But now he’s nestling into a starting role with the Terrapins, and there’s no question that he chose the right sport.
“Jake’s best days are ahead of him,” Papile said. “Here’s a guy with a sparkling basket-ball resume. Maryland has something going for it with him.”
@dougherty_jesse
LAYMANF R O M P A G E 8
Best coaches
NAME TEAM WITH LAYMAN CURRENT TEAM Billy Donovan U.S. U-18 National team head coach Florida head coach
Leo Papile BABC head coach BABC head coach
Mark Few U.S. U-18 National team assistant Gonzaga head coach
Shaka Smart U.S. U-18 National team assistant VCU head coach
Best players
NAME TEAM WITH LAYMAN CURRENT TEAM
Marcus Smart U.S. U-18 National team Oklahoma State Nerlens Noel BABC Philadelphia 76ers
Julius Randle U.S. U-18 National team Kentucky Jerami Grant U.S. U-18 National team Syracuse
Jake Layman has had the opportunity to play with some great players and coaches throughout his basketball career. Here are the top five of each.
IN GOOD COMPANY
JAKE LAYMAN’S FIELD GOALS MADE LAST SEASON
35
39
Total: 74
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center Fab Melo out, Christmas filled in admi-rably during the Orange’s journey to the Elite Eight, posting 18 rebounds in SU’s first two tournament matchups.
But he hasn’t been well known for his offen-sive abilities. Until now.
Fair has noticed a considerable change in Christmas’ poise, and Autry raved about how much effort Christmas has devoted to developing a jump hook.
The big men competed with each other for playing time last year, but a major theme throughout SU’s offseason has been Christmas and Coleman learning to play on the court together, Hopkins said.
“When they’re in the game together, they’ve got to be able to impose their size and their will and their athleticism,” Hop-kins said, “and really get some easy put-backs for that lineup to be fairly effective.
“But they’re really effective when they can put that other guy right in the paint underneath the basket, where all they have to do is what? Turn, face and finish.”
That combination so far, Coleman said, has featured him at the five and Christmas playing the four. That’s where they played in SU’s season-opening scrimmage against Holy Family last Friday.
The duo has started to establish high-to-low post chemistry, Coleman said, and the SU coaching staff expects that connection to strengthen with time.
Hopkins pointed to Syracuse’s trip to Canada this summer as the epitome of how powerfully the Orange’s big men can dictate the team’s success. Engaged in a “dogfight” against the University of Ottawa on Aug. 24, Syracuse led by just six at halftime.
But out of the break, Coleman spearhead-ed a 22-2 run with eight points en route to his dominant 26-point performance. When Coleman headed to the bench, Christmas stepped up to hit two jumpers and put the game further out of reach.
Christmas finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in what ended up being a 23-point
victory for the Orange.Now the real deal waits ahead, and Syra-
cuse’s big men welcome the challenge.“We’ve been getting prepared for this
and we’re ready,” Christmas said. “This year, we want to come in, get the ball and just go after it.”
BIG MENF R O M P A G E 7
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LONGEST SCORELESS DROUGHTS
Christmas ColemanKeita
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The remaining 27 games
AVERAGE POINTS PER GAME
13 noncon-ference games
18.9
8.3
15
10
5
0SU’s 10 losses
SU’s 30 wins
7.6
13.1
DAY SISTERSF R O M P A G E 1 6
“It was stressful,” Bria said. “They’d call very, very early, like 8 o’clock, and I’d just want to sleep.”
But no matter how much they wanted their sleep or privacy, they’d always entertain the calls. They listened to everyone, even though they had their minds on one school.
When it came time to make the decision, the choice was easy.
North Carolina. Having grown up in Raleigh, N.C., they were fans of the Tar Heel program. The choice made sense.
Not long after they made their decision, Briana decided she wanted to de-commit. But Bria and their mother Katherine want-ed them to stick with their decision to play at UNC. So Briana recommitted.
But eventually, their interest in UNC waned and they opened themselves back up to recruitment.
“Bria started to see different things, Bri-ana started focusing on different things,” Cox said. “And they just felt that maybe they could look at different options.”
So the sisters went into Cox’s office and laid out all of their college prospects.
“We kind of created a spreadsheet to look at all of the schools that were interested,” he said. “We listed the pros the cons, the
roster, players at their positions, tradition, winning, where they were going to study and the coaches’ contract situation.”
They calculated just about everything. And the answer was Syracuse. In the end, it was the weather on their visit that sealed the deal.
“When we first came here we thought it was going to be cold,” Bria said. “But it was actually really hot the day we came. It was 94 degrees, I remember it perfectly.”
But now, as the winter rears its frigid head, basketball season begins and another chapter is written in the Day sisters’ story.
With the graduation of all-time leading scorer Kayla Alexander, Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman said he will be calling Bria and Briana’s numbers early and often this season.
“When you can get two post players, it’s a luxury,” Hillsman said. “They’re in a role where they can step in and help us right away.”
And just like everything they’ve always done, it will be together. From not being able to dribble a basketball, to playing in one of the top Division I conferences, Bria and Briana have always been a package deal.
“Everything they say is in unison,” Hill-sman said. “But it’s good they’re very close, they have a good bond.
“They’ll have a great career here.” [email protected]
Syracuse’s big men were inconsistent last year, but when they were good, they were difference-makers.
men’s basketball
Schedule2 0 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m
b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
vs. CornellNov. 8 vs. Cornell, 7 p.m., ACC Regional
Sports Network
vs. FordhamNov. 12 vs. Fordham, 7:30 p.m., ESPN3
vs. ColgateNov. 16 vs. Colgate, 4:30 p.m., ACC Regional
Sports Network
vs. st. FranCis BrooklynNov. 18 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.,
ESPN3 (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
vs. minnesota
Nov. 25 vs. Minnesota at Lahaina Civic Center, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 (EA Sports Maui
Invitational)
vs. arkansas/CaliForniaNov. 26 vs. Arkansas/California at Lahaina
Civic Center 2/7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
vs. tBdNov. 27 vs. TBD at Lahaina Civic Center
5/10 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 (EA Sports Maui Invitational)
vs. indianaDec. 3 vs. Indiana, 7:15 p.m., ESPN (ACC/Big
Ten Challenge)
vs. BinghamtonDec. 7 vs. Binghamton, 7 p.m., ESPN3
at st. John’sDec. 15 at St. John’s, noon, Fox Sports 1
vs. high PointDec. 20 vs. High Point, 7 p.m., ESPN3
vs. villanovaDec. 28 vs. Villanova, 2 p.m., CBS
vs. eastern miChiganDec. 31 vs. Eastern Michigan, 3 p.m., ESPNU
vs. miamiJan. 4 vs. Miami, 2 p.m., ACC Network *
at virginia teChJan. 7 at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network *
vs. north CarolinaJan. 11 vs. North Carolina, noon, ESPN *
at Boston CollegeJan. 13 at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU *
vs. PittsBurghJan. 18 vs. Pittsburgh, 4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 *
at miamiJan. 25 at Miami, 1 p.m., CBS *
at Wake ForestJan. 29 at Wake Forest, 9 p.m., Raycom Sports Network *
vs. duke Feb. 1 vs. Duke, 6:30 p.m., ESPN *
vs. notre dameFeb. 3 vs. Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ESPN *
vs. ClemsonFeb. 9 vs. Clemson, 6 p.m. *
at PittsBurghFeb. 12 at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 *
vs. north CarolinaFeb. 15 vs. North Carolina State, 3 p.m., ACC Network *
vs. Boston CollegeFeb. 19 vs. Boston College, 7 p.m., ESPN *
at dukeFeb. 22 at Duke, 6 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 *
SU gets its first Cameron Indoor Stadium experience when it travels down to Durham, N.C.
at marylandFeb. 24 at Maryland, 7 p.m., ESPN *
at virginiaMarch 1 at Virginia, 4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 *
vs. georgia teChMarch 4 vs. Georgia Tech, 7 p.m. *
at FloridaMarch 9 at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACC Net-work *
Golden opportunitySyracuse’s first major test of the season comes in Maui, Hawaii, against Minnesota. The Orange won’t get a chance against Rick Pitino this season, but his son, Richard Pitino, leads Andre Hollins, Austin Hol-lins and the Golden Gophers against SU.
Rematch Syracuse will be faced with a rematch of some sort. A test against Tyrone Wallace and California is more intriguing, though, as an NCAA Tour-nament rematch.
indiana overturnIndiana 2012-13PG Yogi Ferrell SO
SG Troy Williams FR
SF Will Sheehey SR
PF Jeremy Hollowell SO
C Noah Vonleh FR
Indiana 2013-14PG Yogi Ferrell FR
SG Jordan Hulls SR
SF Victor Oladipo JR
PF Christian Watford SR
C Cody Zeller SO
Hoosier daddy A rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 comes to the Carrier Dome. The Hoosiers take a major step back without Jordan Hulls, Victor Oladipo or Cody Zeller, but fresh-man forward Noah Vonleh has a chance to be an immediate star.
Garden party Syracuse keeps its rivalry with the Red Storm alive at Madison Square Garden. SJU was inexpe-rienced last year, but return Chris Obepka, Jakarr Sampson and D’Angelo Harrison.
Short lived Syracuse gets its first and only ACC meeting with the Terrapins in College Park, Md. UMD had an up-and-down season, but as small forwards Jake Layman and Dez Wells become more familiar with head coach Mark Turgeon’s system the young Terps will keep improving.
Brotherly love Grant brothers Jerami and Jerian get another chance to meet when the Fighting Irish come to the Dome to carry on some Big East tradition.
Welcome to the ACC The Orange gets its first test with a traditional Atlantic Coast Confer-ence power. Forward James Michael McAdoo leads the Tar Heels into the Carrier dome, but wing P.J. Hairston’s status is in question. Big man Joel James gives UNC a potentially stiff inside presence, too.
largest dome CroWdsOppOnent W/L Date ScOre attenDanceGeorgetown L 2/23/13 57-46 35,012
Villanova W 2/27/10 95-77 34.616
Villanova L 1/22/11 83-72 33.736
Villanova L 6/6/06 92-82 33,633
Connecticut W 2/11/12 85-67 33,430
cameron indoor stadium courtesy of duke photography |
duke sports information
ryan maccammon | staff photographer
2013- 2014
basketball ROsteRs
2 1 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
Men’s
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. HometoWN/HigH sCHool0 Michael Gbinije F 6-7 200 So. Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep
2 B.J. Johnson F 6-7 185 Fr. Philadelphia, Pa./Lower Merion
3 Jerami Grant F 6-8 210 So. Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic
4 Nolan Hart G 5-10 152 Sr. Albany, N.Y./Albany Academy
5 C.J. Fair F 6-8 215 Sr. Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College H.S./ Brewster Academy
10 Trevor Cooney G 6-4 195 R-So. Wilmington, Del./Sanford School
11 Tyler Ennis G 6-2 180 Fr. Brampton, Ontario/St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.)
12 Baye Moussa Keita C 6-10 220 Sr. Saint Louis, Senegal/Oak Hill Academy
21 Tyler Roberson F 6-8 212 Fr. Union, N.J./Roselle Catholic
23 Russ DeRemer G 6-5 203 Sr. Wrentham, Mass./Xaverian Brothers/St. Andrew’s/Worcester Academy
25 Rakeem Christmas F 6-9 250 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa./Academy of the New Church
32 Dajuan Coleman F 6-9 280 So. Jamesville, N.Y./Jamesville-Dewitt
33 Albert Nassar F 6-6 195 Jr. Stuart, Fla./South Fork
34 Ron Patterson G 6-2 200 Fr. Broad Ripple, Ind./Broad Ripple/Brewster Academy
35 Chinonso Obokoh C 6-10 210 Fr. Rochester, N.Y./Bishop Kearney
wOMen’s
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. HometoWN/HigH sCHool 1 Alexis Peterson G 5-7 Fr. Columbus, Ohio/Northland H.S.2 Tasia Butler G 6-1 Fr. Waldorf, Md./North Point H.S.3 Rachel Coffey G 5-7 Sr. Kingston, N.Y./Kingston H.S.4 La’Shay Shaft G 5-7 Sr. Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College H.S.5 Maggie Morrison G 5-8 Jr. Millersville, Md./Archbishop Spalding 10 Isabella Slim G 6-0 Fr. Amsterdam, Netherlands/CTO Amsterdam 11 Cornelia Fondren G 5-8 So. Memphis, Tenn./Overton H.S.13 Brianna Butler G 5-11 So. King of Prussia, Pa./Nazareth (N.Y.) Regional H.S.20 Brittney Sykes G 5-9 So. Newark, N.J./University H.S.22 Taylor Ford F 6-0 So. Bronx, N.Y./Nazareth Regional High School32 Tiara Butler G 5-10 R-Jr. Waldorf, Md./North Point H.S.33 Phylesha Bullard G 5-11 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills H.S.34 Shakeya Leary C 6-3 R-Sr. Brooklyn, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum H.S.50 Briana Day F 6-4 Fr. Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook H.S.55 Bria Day F 6-4 Fr. Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook H.S.
spencer bodian | asst. photo editor
through basketball.Brandon remembers when they watched
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant go back and forthat the Wizards-Lakers game. Jordan fin-ished with 25 points and Bryant dropped 27 as the Wizards beat the Lakers 100-99.
Brandon was “totally excited and proud” when his Wizards won.
He said Michael has beaten him 148 out of 150 times in games of 21. They’ll go out and play in their driveway on their NBA-style hoop. And nearly every time, Michael will win. But he’s always supportive afterward.
While the pranks and laughs have contin-ued throughout the years, Brandon followed every step of Michael’s basketball journey as it
became more and more serious.He went to every one of Michael’s basketball
games at Benedictine College Preparatory in Richmond, Va. As Michael honed his game and quickly became one of the smoothest, most dom-inant players in Virginia, Brandon watched from the stands and cheered.
Michael’s high school coach Sean McAloon reminisced about how after every game, Bran-don would walk over to Michael and congratu-
late him, win or lose. McAloon said Brandon was Michael’s biggest supporter.
After talking to his brother, Brandon would walk over to McAloon and congratulate him, too. Win or loss.
“Great game, Coach. Great game.” Michael never dwelled on bad games because
of Brandon’s unwavering support. He was just fortunate to have the chance to play.
“He can see what his brother has gone through,” said Yvette Gbinije, the boys’ mother. “I think that humbles him more. He’s really proud of him.”
Michael’s high school assistant coach Mike Strickland recalls during Michael’s senior sea-son that he would always ask if Brandon could join in pick-up games. Even though Brandon wasn’t close to the other players physically, Michael would always include him.
When Michael went to college, though, it became more difficult to keep in touch. They don’t see each other nearly as much as they used to. Brandon is majoring in engineering, but also wants to go into the medical field. And on top of that, he’s interested in directing films.
He plans to make a live-action drama of the movie “Balto,” a dog that helped save children in Alaska in 1925. Brandon’s pos-sibilities are endless.
Michael’s transition to college wasn’t quite as seamless. A lack of playing time, coupled with difficulty adjusting to the culture, sparked an unexpected transfer.
Not even Mom knew he was going to transfer. She knew it was a possibility, but was shocked when she heard the news.
“Actually, he really didn’t say much to us because he knew how we would react,” Yvette Gbinije said. “We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know what to say.”
After sitting out due to eligibility rules last season, Michael’s busy trying to fit in at Syra-cuse and get accustomed to his role on a new team once again.
But now he’s an integral part of a national championship contender, not simply a bench-dweller. He’s never run point before and strug-gled bringing the ball up in the preseason.
His mom said he loves it, though, and is eager for the challenge.
For the kid who gracefully and coolly thrashed high school competition and then sat on the bench at Duke, he’ll have a chance to shine once again with Syracuse. Backup point guard is the Orange’s Achilles’ heel, and Michael will be expected to fill that void.
No matter how well or how poorly he plays at point guard, Michael knows Brandon will be proud of him. Although their time together has dwindled, it makes seeing each other that much more special.
Whenever Michael returns home, they always greet each other the same way: a hug fol-lowed by a high five. Sometimes Brandon is so excited to see Michael that when they play fight, Brandon hits him as hard as he can. So hard it actually hurts, Michael said.
“We talk a little bit, then hit the games,” Brandon said. “Video games, board games, you name it.”
Uno, checkers, Scrabble, “NBA 2K.” Michael usually takes Brandon in checkers, but Bran-don has his number in Scrabble.
The next time they’ll see each other is dur-ing Thanksgiving Break, when the Gbinijes head to Maui, Hawaii, to see Michael play.
For the rest of his playing career at Syra-cuse, and maybe even in the NBA, Michael will always have a No. 1 fan. Something — someone — to play for and keep him motivated.
“Everything’s a struggle (for Brandon), but he just keeps going,” said Yvette Gbinije. “That’s why I think Michael looks at him as his inspiration.”
@TrevorHass
2 2s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o mb a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
gbinijef r o m p a g e 5
“Yeah, it’s going to be awesome. New conference is going to be a different style of play to go against. Seems pretty cool.”
Steven Ross sophomore, undecided
“Super pumped. I feel like it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing the energy around campus.”
Sarah Grabmanfreshman television, radio and film major
text by jesse dougherty | asst. copy editor photos by spencer bodian | asst. photo editor
Are you excited for Syracuse to be in the ACC? Why?
“Yes, because it’s a new conference and new teams. Duke’s going to be insane. I have my season tickets all lined up.”
Matt Foxfreshman engineering and computer science major
“Yeah definitely, we’re going get better competition, which is going to be cool.”
Mason Paulsophomore advertising major
“Yes, especially because they’re going to play Maryland, which is my hometown. I’m excited for Syracuse to beat them.”
Cora Lightfootsenior public health major
“Yeah, I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to the new challenges.”
Conor Cumminssophomore secondary education major
“Yes, apparently there are better teams than in the Big East.”
Allison Cataniajunior information management
and technology major
“Always bleeding Orange always.”Gabriela Carrero
junior international relations major
2 3 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m b a s k e t b a l l gu i de 2 0 13 - 2 0 1 4
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