Joseph

No, not that Joseph. I'm not talking Genesis here; I'm talking basketball. And more specifically, I'm talking about Kris Joseph, who came off the bench last night, and along with Wes Johnson, sparked Cuse's second half run against Seton Hall.

It was the first conference game, a road game against the Seton Hall team that took sixth ranked and undefeated West Virginia to overtime last weekend. There are no easy road games in Big East play. And even though the Orange had dominated North Carolina, and beaten Florida in Tampa (supposedly a neutral court, but clearly a Gator crowd), no one knew how the undefeated Orange would match up in conference play. There are few easy baskets in Big East play, and everyone pounds the boards. Plus, through a dozen non-conference games, Cuse hadn't had a close finish. How would they respond if they found themselves up by only a basket? Would they hit foul shots when the game was on the line?

Keeping with the theme of recent posts, here's what I didn't like last night: mostly, I didn't like the twenty turnovers, many of them unforced, when the Orange threw the ball away on fast breaks, or tried to force it inside against a defense packed in to clog the lane. I wasn't wild about the outside shooting; if they're going to be successful in conference play, at least one guy should be hitting from the outside every night. Otherwise AO and Jackson will get smothered every time they touch the ball. And it was clear that Triche had freshman butterflies, and reverted to the tentative play that we all saw at the start of the season.

I also didn't like the many defensive lapses in the first half. For the first time this year, the Orange were giving up easy hoops, over and over. In fact, if I remember right, at one point Seton Hall ran off eleven points in only a minute and a half. I had figured that the defense would be the key to success in conference play, and was discouraged to see Seton Hall put up 43 first half points, many on uncontested layups, or put-backs.

But here's what I did like. For the first time all season, the Cuse fought back from a double digit deficit. If you recall, in that season I hesitate to discuss so often, but somehow can't keep from mentioning, the Orange came from behind more than a dozen times. Even in the last game of the season, at home, in front of a record crowd, and against an unranked and unheralded Rutgers team, they had to fight back from a twelve point deficit. All that playing from behind helped out when they later staked Oklahoma State to a seventeen point lead in the second round. But enough about the past. Last night, Cuse fought back from 12 down in the first half, tying the score just before half-time. And then again, from six down in the second half. The second half comeback was the run alluded to earlier, where Joseph and Johnson put up fifteen unanswered points, and turned the game around.

I also liked how the defensive intensity stepped up in the second half. After surrendering 43 points in the first twenty minutes, Cuse allowed only thirty after halftime. With the way this team is capable of scoring, if they can hold opponents to sixty points, they'll give themselves a good chance of winning. Even on nights when no one is shooting well.

And of course, I liked the play of Wes Johnson. Against a physical Seton Hall team that manged to pull down 23 offensive boards, Johnson had 19 rebounds, allowing the Orange to end up even with the Hall under the boards. I'm not sure Johnson will be able to put this team on his back, on nights when no one else can score or rebound, but Johnson and someone else, anyone else, ought to keep this team competitive on most nights.

And last night, the someone else was Kris Joseph, who for the second straight game, came off the bench, yet still managed to end up the second leading scorer. Last year, Joseph showed promise at times, but never seemed to play with enough confidence or assertiveness. He always looked tentative taking the ball to the basket, and although he got his minutes, he never made much of an impression. But somehow, between last March and this November, Kris Joseph found his game. He gets out on the break, and has had his share of highlight dunks. He takes the ball to the basket; he rebounds; and he plays pretty solid D on the wing of the 2-3.

So last night, when Triche could do little right, Jardine ran the point most of the night. And when Rick Jackson couldn't seem to find the basket, Joseph came in and scored sixteen points, missing a single field goal, and even more importantly, only a single foul shot all night. The team shot 73% from the stripe, largely because the bench went 12 for 13. So that means that right now the team is seven deep, with any of those seven capable of leading the team in scoring. And with Joseph leading the way, last night's bench scored thirty of the team's eighty points in the first conference game. If that level of bench contribution keeps up, it will be harder for teams to shut the Orange down. And while they won't score eighty or more points every game, they still retain that potential. After all, the team put up eighty points with only three three-pointers.

And one last thing I liked was how Cuse won a close game. For the first time all year, they were pushed late in the second half, in fact right up until the final minutes. For the first time all year, they went to the free throw line when it really mattered. I was nervous when they were winning every game by almost twenty points, because I knew that wouldn't last in conference play.

Another big test this Saturday, with Pittsburgh coming to the dome. Pitt isn't quite the same this year, but even with some big names gone, I expect they'll still be banging the hell out of everyone under the boards, and not giving the Orange any easy baskets. There won't be any nights off from now on, no easy games. Marquette almost knocked off West Virginia last night. And late flash here-- Cincy beat tenth ranked UConn with two free throws in the final second. But with Kris Joseph stepping up like he has the last couple games; with a team seven or eight deep; it looks like the Orange will be able to give anyone a game this year.