Menu
Wesley Cheng Home
  • Home
    • Environment
    • Literature
    • Movie Review
    • Philosophy
    • Politics
    • Racism
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Television
    • Theater
  • About Me
  • Resume
  • Contact
Wesley Cheng Home

Triche eases into starting role

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Wes

Louis Dale was helpless.

The 2007-08 Ivy League Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American feebly chased Syracuse guard Brandon Triche as the true freshman barreled down the lane toward the hoop at the Jim Boeheim Court.

With a step on Dale, Triche was met in the lane by 2008-09 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Foote, a towering 7-foot, 265 pound center along with another Cornell defender. Triche split the help and, while reducing the rest of the Big Red to spectators, gracefully kissed the ball off the backboard and through the basket while drawing contact from Dale for a conventional 3-point play.

Dale, a senior, could only throw his hands up in disgust as Triche added three of his team-high 21 points that night en route to a 88-73 victory on Nov. 24. What was more frustrating for Dale was that with Triche manning the top of the Syracuse 2-3 zone, Dale was held to just three points on 1-for-6 shooting and five turnovers.

“One of the main focal points of my game was just being strong,” Triche said. “I work out every day just to be that way.”

Syracuse fans, meet your new starting point guard.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
It was a reluctant introduction given the Orange’s offeseason. During the summer, Syracuse saw Jonny Flynn declare early for the NBA draft before being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Flynn wasn’t the only one to leave as fellow starters Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris left to begin professional careers as well.

Still, the loss of Devendorf and Harris didn’t hurt so much given the Orange’s depth. Senior guard Andy Rautins had started for a piece of the 2007-08 season and junior transfer Wesley Johnson had already made a name for himself at Iowa State.

The real concern for head coach Jim Boeheim was the Orange’s ability to replace Flynn’s team-leading 17.4 points and 6.7 assists per game.

“In college basketball you always have to be prepared to lose key guys,” Boeheim said. “You’re going to lose guys, whether they’re good or if they’re seniors.”

Enter Triche, a 6-foot-4, 198 pound playmaker who just graduated from nearby Jamesville-Dewitt High School. The nephew of former Syracuse star Howie Triche, the freshman won the starting point guard job out of summer camp.

Besides Triche, Boeheim had redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine, who had missed all of last year with a stress fracture in his leg. In his freshman year, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Jardine played in 33 games as Flynn’s backup, averaging 5.5 points and 2.5 assists.

Needless to say, Syracuse didn’t have tremendous experience at point, but that didn’t particularly concern Boeheim.

“They’re inexperienced players, but, we’ve had inexperienced point guards in the past that have adjusted and played well,” Boeheim said. “What they need to do is get the ball to people. We have guys that have proven they can score at this level and we don’t need our point guard to score as much as our point guards have scored in the past.”

GROWING PAINS
Triche did little to ease the worries in his first regular season game against Albany. Triche played 25 minutes and committed six turnovers.

“I told him the other day that I wanted him to be aggressive and go to the basket, but I didn’t want him to run over five guys,” Boeheim said. “He’ll learn from that.”

Indeed, he did.

Just 10 days later in Syracuse’s semifinal matchup against then-No. 12 California, Triche and Jardine combined for 31 points, seven assists and three turnovers. Three of Triche’s points game during a crucial 15-4 run early in the second half, as Triche drove to the lane and converted a 3-point play that sealed a Syracuse win.

“[That was] a huge play to start the second half,” Boeheim said. “He is a freshman, got in the lane and made a play. He is a very good player.”

One night later, Triche added 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field in Syracuse’s 87-71 drubbing of then-No. 6 North Carolina. And it was Triche who was once again one of the catalysts of the upset, as his 2-point jumper started a 22-1 Syracuse run that broke open the game for Syracuse.

“We tell him he’s not a freshman,” Johnson said. “He’s not playing like it.”

JONNY WHO?
Now that enough of the season has passed, it’s clear that Syracuse will be operating as a two-headed point guard with Triche and Jardine the rest of the way.

The two have been interchangeable thus far, and are quickly making Syracuse fans forget about their last point guard.

“Last season, they had one point guard,” Triche said. “[Scoop and I are] trying to be as productive together as they were last season at the position.”

Statistically, Syracuse has actually been more productive with Triche and Jardine than it was with Flynn.

As of November 28, Triche was averaging 11.2 points and 2.7 assists while Jardine was averaging 9.7 points and 5.5 assists. So combined, the two have given Syracuse 21.9 points and 8.2 assists in essentially the same amount of time that it took Flynn to get his 17.4 points and 6.7 assists per game.

Of course, even with the statistics, no one would say that Syracuse is better off offensively without Flynn. On the other hand, defensively, the 6-foot-2 Jardine and the 6-foot-4 Triche are longer than the 6-foot Flynn (who in reality is probably closer to 5-foot-10).

Against the Golden Bears, Triche and Jardine forced the California guards into a combined 11 turnovers and the following game, the North Carolina guards combined for eight.

“It all starts with our defense,” Boeheim said. When we are active on defense we are a better team.”

And while Boeheim is not ready to anoint Triche and Jardine the next Gerry McNamara or Jason Hart, there is certainly more than enough reason to be optimistic.

“They are guards, they will get better,” Boeheim said. “We will get better. We have to get a lot better but we will get there.”

This article was originally published in the November 2009 edition of The Juice.

  • Basketball
  • Brandon Triche
  • Syracuse
  • Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Archives

    • August 2024
    • April 2024
    • January 2024
    • June 2023
    • February 2023
    • December 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • February 2022
    • November 2021
    • July 2021
    • May 2021
    • November 2020
    • September 2020
    • December 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • April 2019
    • November 2015
    • July 2015
    • September 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • October 2013
    • May 2013
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • February 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • February 2011
    • August 2010
    • May 2010
    • March 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • March 2009
    • January 2009
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • April 2008
    • February 2008
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • September 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
    • December 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • December 2003
    • November 2003
    • October 2003
    • September 2003
    • August 2003
    • April 2003
    • March 2003
    • February 2003
    • January 2003
    • December 2002
    • November 2002
    • October 2002
    • September 2002
    • July 2002
    • May 2002
    • April 2002
    ©2025 Wesley Cheng Home | Powered by Superb Themes