Steven Baker and Nick Mannion
Staff Writers
The college basketball season is already half way done and the Syracuse Men’s Basketball is off to a rocky beginning. In Syracuse’s first 22 games they have gone 5-4 in the ACC and 13-9 overall. Many students at Jamesville-DeWitt High School are disappointed with Syracuse’s players this season. “A lot of guys on the team haven’t lived up to my expectations,” said sophomore, and dedicated fan, Cece Hatem.
Syracuse is currently 0-5 on the road and 0-2 in neutral site games, but at home they are 13-2. “I think that we have to learn how to play on the road, if we do we will be unstoppable,” said sophomore Nolan Gibllin. The ‘Cuse currently have loses to Georgetown, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Connecticut, St. John’s, Boston College, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Notre Dame. Syracuse is also in the middle of the standings in the ACC. “The ACC is so good this year,” said senior Mikey Yonta. The ACC currently has six teams that are ranked in the top 25, and 14 of the 15 teams in the conference have a winning record.
The performance of many of the players on Syracuse this season has shocked many students. “I think (guard) Frank Howard and (forward) Tyler Roberson haven’t been that great,” said junior Markos Petkopoulos. Roberson is averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds per game. Howard is averaging 5 points and 5 assists per game. However, there are many students who are optimistic about Syracuse’s team this year. “Syracuse has some solid scorers,” said sophomore Haleigh Summers. Guard Andrew White is currently leading the team in points per game this year with 15.8. Along with White, forward Tyler Lydon is currently averaging 14.2 points per game.
The JD student body has a lot of Syracuse basketball fans. “My favorite player is Tyler Lydon,” said sophomore Jordan Archer. Lydon is currently averaging 14.2 points per game, and 7.7 rebounds per game, Lydon’s season high was against the Georgetown Hoyas, when he scored 29 points. Lydon is also currently projected as the number 23 NBA draft prospect, by Draft Express. “He would be a great fit in the NBA, but I hope he stays,” said freshman Will Davis.
Syracuse still has some tough games ahead of them. The Cuse’ still has three more games against ranked teams, Virginia (12), Louisville (13) and Duke on February 22 . Many J-DHS students think that SU could beat Duke, including junior Carlena Torrens and freshman Jason Pritts. Syracuse is 1-4 against ranked teams so far this year, with losses to North Carolina, Notre Dame, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, and a win against number 6, Florida State. The nine losses the Cuse’ currently have cannot bring their fans down, definitely not junior Anthony Ciccone. “I think Syracuse is going to have a strong finish this year,” said Ciccone.
