A Team Without Stars

It’s time to begin posting regularly about this year’s basketball team. And let’s start by counting all the good things we can take away from Saturday’s game. It was a road win; it was a road win against a conference rival; they beat not just Louisville, but Louisville and Pitino; they beat a ranked team on the road (great for the RPI); and lastly, the Cuse beat the number one team in the nation, in their own house.  (Somehow, that win didn’t move the Orange up in the RPI rankings; they still sit at number 11. I don’t really care how high they go in January, but I don’t quite figure how beating number one on the road didn’t change their standing.)

 

Saturday’s win was even sweeter when you consider the following: Cuse won without James Southerland, their sixth man, who has already been voted national player of the week one time, after the Arkansas game; they lost the turnover battle; and Carter-Williams had a terrible first half, committing six turnovers and barely scoring. So it’s not like they needed their best game of the season in order to beat Lousiville.  Best of all, though, was that they didn’t wilt; when they were behind at the end, when all twenty-two thousand fans were going bonkers, and the rafters were shaking, the Orange were calmer and more collected than Louisville over the final two minutes. Carter-Williams especially redeemed himself, and made a series of really big plays down the stretch.

 

The other thing worth mentioning is that this is a team without stars. It’s maybe even a team without a single future NBA starter. Triche may have a chance at playing in the league, especially if he continues to hit threes; same for CJ Fair if his jumper becomes more consistent; Carter-Williams might play at that level if his game continues to improve (but see Jonny Flynn, who played so well for the Orange, but had a very disappointing and brief NBA career), and the one guy who I think has the best chance at making it in the NBA – DaJuan Coleman – the immovable object  -- who, incidentally, has a nice touch around the basket. In 2007, when the Celtics won the title, they claimed their go-to guy was whoever was open. Cuse reminds me of that; each night, their star is the guy who is hitting shots. One night Southerland, the next night Fair, and on Saturday afternoon, it was Brandon Triche. The good news, of course, is that there is no one guy on whom the opposition can focus. The bad news, however, is that there is no one guy on whom the team can rely. There is no Carmelo Anthony, who can put the team on his back, and carry them along, when everyone else gets cold. Think of the Ohio State loss in last year’s tourney. Particularly in the second half, the Orange needed that go-to guy, someone who could put the ball in the hoop, or draw a foul, when the rest of the offense was as cold as ice.

 

Lastly, although they won without Southerland on Saturday, I think they need him in March. I hope this is not the third time in the last four years that a team with championship potential gets hobbled by the loss of a key player. For now though, let’s enjoy the big win against number one ranked Louisville – Go Orange.