Syracuse Tries To Bounce Back After LeMoyne Loss
-Their first three games on the season are against Caldwell College, Southern Connecticut State and Queens College. Never heard of these teams? That’s because they’re the Division II schedule for the LeMoyne Dolphins, the local rival that always played Syracuse in preseason exhibition games and stunned the #25 Orange 82-79 on Tuesday night, becoming the talk of the College Basketball world in the process.

The Orange reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in March before losing to Blake Griffin’s OU Sooners, and lost three of their key players from that team including Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf and sixth overall pick Jonny Flynn. So this year’s team led by returning seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins, joined by Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson (who scored 34 in LeMoyneGate) and frosh PG Brandon Triche, got off to a disastrous start with the loss to a team that has always been viewed as a tune-up game before the real season starts.

But the color orange that usually reigns over the Syracuse campus was eclipsed by a sea of red flags that came up after the loss. The team’s defense is clearly subpar after the loss, and the team does not have that disciplined look a Jim Boeheim team has yet. So how does Boeheim react to a loss like this?

“A whole lot of wind sprints and F-Bombs.” said Peter Casey, the official microblogger for the St. John’s Red Storm and overall basketball expert to SprungOnSports, also pointing out that the loss would be one of ”Boeheim’s teaching moment.” It doesn’t get much worse than that loss in an exhibition game, and Casey thinks that the ‘Cuse will learn from the loss.

Some of these collegiate athletes were heavily recruited, and may not feel that they have to earn their way onto the court. A loss to a Division II team could change all that. “(It) gets their attention at next practice.” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla told SprungOnSports via a Twitter direct message. If the newer players weren’t taking the game or their responsibilities on the court or to the team seriously, this definitely comes as quite the wakeup call. Syracuse begins their season at home on Monday night against Albany followed the next day by a home tilt with Robert Morris.

Selfishness In Jordan’s DNA
-Freshman G Marcus Jordan may barely even see the court for the UCF Knights this season, but his actions are already costing the team. After saying he would only wear Air Jordans because of his mildly famous father Michael and their family’s special connection to the shoes, Adidas has called off their apparal agreement with the college which paid UCF to wear their equipment they provided on and off the field, with players and coaches decked out in Adidas gear. They were in the final year of a five-year contract, which Marcus Jordan violated when he wore the Air Jordans in an exhibition game.

“The University of Central Florida has chosen not to deliver on their contractual commitment to adidas,” adidas spokeswoman Andrea Corso wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “As a result we have chosen not to continue our relationship with them moving forward.”

If Jordan can’t even wear the same shoes as the rest of his Knights teammates, how can the program expect him to be a team player on the court? His father Michael showed his true colors a month ago at his Hall of Fame speech. He showed that he still holds tons of grudges against the people who he thought slighted him in his life, and he spent most of his speech belittling any and every person that doubted him along the way, rather than taking the opportunity on the stage in Springfield to thank all the people who were so instrumental in helping him become one of the greatest players in NBA history. If that’s not being ungrateful or selfish, I don’t know what is.

It certainly seems like he passed on these awful character traits to his son Marcus. If Marcus can’t even wear the same shoes as everyone else on the team, it will probably be difficult for him to grasp the team concept. His Airness had the talent to make his severe character flaws be a nonissue in his basketball life (his civilian life after he retired is another story) but Marcus does not have that luxury. Costing your university a whole lot of money and an Adidas contract is as selfish as it gets. But this should really come as no surprise given his DNA. As they say, the apple never falls far from the tree.