Syracuse

Donte Greene: NBA Draft Profile

Jeff Fox — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:40:58 -0700

Donte Greene

Class: Freshman

Position: SF/PF

Height: 6’11”

Weight: 226 lbs

Accolades: Honorable Mention All-Freshman – CHN (08), Second Team All-Big East (08), Big East All-Rookie Team (08), USA Under-19 National Team (07), McDonald’s All-American – high school (07), First Team All-American – Parade – high school (07), Second Team All-USA Today – high school (07), USA Under-18 National Team (06).

Scouting Report: An athletic forward with great size for the wing spot.

Strengths: Great size for the small forward position. Great shooting touch. Can hit shots over defenders. Shooting range goes out beyond the three-point arc – hit almost three three-pointers a game his freshman season. Versatile scorer – three-pointers, fast-breaks, one-on-one moves. Can get out and run the floor. Very good rebounder. Good vertical. Can be an explosive scorer – fourteen 20 plus point games his freshman year.

Weaknesses: Doesn’t have an above-average wingspan. Can he guard NBA small forwards or power forwards? Played mostly zone defense at Syracuse. Needs to work on his ball-handling. Inexperienced – only one year of college. Needs to cut down on turnovers – had more turnovers than assists this year. Shoots way too many three-pointers – almost eight a game. Needs to get stronger and bigger. His three-point accuracy (less than 35%) needs to improve. Inconsistent.

Projected 2008 Draft Range: Late lottery to late first round pick.

Consensus: There aren’t too many guys with Donte’ Greene’s size, athleticism and shooting range so NBA teams will be intrigued by him. But his draft stock is all over the board and he could use at least another year in college to get his body ready for the pros and to improve his consistency.

Stats: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=36582

CHN's Six-Star Ranking System

= Superstar/All-NBA Potential

= Potential NBA All-Star

= Consistent NBA Starter

= 6th Man/Fringe Starter

= Career Reserve

= Fringe NBA Player/12th Man

0 stars = Life in the Minor Leagues

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Today's Game Predictions: NIT & CBI

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:26:02 -0700

UMASS (23-10) at Syracuse (21-13)

7:00 PM ESPN

This is a rematch of an early-season game in which UMASS beat Syracuse by 7 at the Carrier Dome. Despite that result, Syracuse is somehow favored by 7 points this time around. Why? The Orange are the same mediocre team they were then, they still make the same poor decisions down the stretch, and Donte Greene still loves to miss three-pointers. Was it the 6 point win over Robert Morris that wows the bettors.. or is it the fact Maryland actually led 54-53 with 12 minutes to go last time out. It might be too much to ask UMASS to win on the road here, but I like the road dog against the spread.

Prediction: Syracuse

Florida (23-11) at Arizona State (21-12)

9:00 PM ESPN

For some reason, the line here is closer than the above game with ASU only favored by 3.5 points. Yet Florida is a very poor road team (their best win was against Georgia), while ASU is tough to beat at home (only one Non-Top 25 home loss to Cal). I'm not a big Sun Devils fan by any means, but I don't think the Gators have much of a shot.

Prediction: Arizona State

Tulsa (22-13) at Bradley (19-15)

9:00 PM ESPN

Tulsa is probably the hottest team left in the CBI, but they haven't won a true road game since facing East Carolina back on February 13th. Bradley overcame a 13 point half-time deficit to beat Ohio in the quarterfinals.. but you have to question a team that can get in such a hole against such a mediocre team. Still, I'll go with the home team solely due to the home-court advantage as Tulsa only has 3 true road wins all season.

Prediction: Bradley

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 108-66)

March 24th - Dayton at Illinois State (3-0)

March 23rd - Davidson vs Georgetown (2-1)

March 21st - Davidson vs Gonzaga (0-3)

March 19th - New Mexico at California (1-2)

March 18th - Mt St Mary's vs Coppin State (2-1)

March 14th - Kansas vs Texas (2-1)

March 14th - St. Joseph's vs Temple (1-2)

March 13th - Ohio State vs Michigan State (2-1)

March 12th - Arizona State at USC (2-1)

March 12th - Syracuse vs Villanova (2-1)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

2008 NIT Capsule: Syracuse

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:47:02 -0700

Syracuse Orange

Big East (19-13, 9-9)

Big Wins: 2/2 at Villanova (87-73), 2/16 Georgetown (77-70), 3/8 Marquette (87-72)

Bad Losses: 12/8 Rhode Island (89-91), 1/9 at Cincinnati (66-74), 2/13 at South Florida (78-89)

Coach: Jim Boeheim

Probable Starters:

Jonny Flynn, Freshman, Guard, 15.9 ppg, 5.2 apg

Paul Harris, Sophomore, Forward, 14.5 ppg, 3.3 apg, 8.1 rpg

Donte Greene, Freshman, Forward, 17.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg

Kris Ongenaet, Junior, Forward, 4.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Arinze Onuaku, Junior, Forward, 4.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Scoop Jardine, Freshman, Guard, 4.9 ppg, 2.3 apg

Rick Jackson, Freshman, Forward, 3.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

There is plenty of young talent at Syracuse and one thing they can do very well is score. Four players average over a dozen points per game and none have burst onto the scene more than Donte Greene. The 6-11 freshman can, and will, score from anywhere. He probably takes a few too many three’s, but he hits 2.5 per contest. Despite the youth and scoring prowess, Greene does not look past his rebounding duties and averages 7.3 boards per game.

Fellow freshman Jonny Flynn does a solid job running the point and using his quickness to get to the basket. Paul Harris is a superb athlete and one of the best slashers in the game. He also leads the team in rebounding on top of his 14.5 points per game. The true post presence for the Orange is Arinze Onuaku. The junior shoots over 64 percent from the floor and is an efficient scorer and rebounder.

Why They Can Disappoint:

When Eric Devendorf went down with an injury it made the three-point shooting nearly disappear. It also led to a lack of experience and depth. Syracuse will only use seven players most of the time and five of them are first year players. Not surprisingly that lack of experience has led to a big turnover problem and a lot of those are mental freshmen mistakes. That is good news if the freshmen can start to play like sophomores in March, but it is bad news if you want Coach Jim Boeheim to not pull out his hair.

Who To Watch:

Five players average over 30 minutes per game and it seems like Flynn never leaves the floor. The other three rarely eclipse the 20 minute mark, but Syracuse still needs them to fill in during important stretches of the game. The most important might be part-time starter Kris Ongenaet. He will not score, but he is a solid rebounder and will do the dirty work in the paint. Rick Jackson, another freshman, is the only forward on the bench when Ongenaet starts and he will have to step up and replace the starters when foul trouble becomes an issue, which happens quite a bit to Onuaku and Greene.

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In or Out: CHN Bubble Predictions

CHN — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:20:17 -0700

Much to Joe Lunardi's chagrin.. everyone thinks they're a bracketologist this time of year. So we asked 7 CHN writers which bubble teams will end up in the field or out.

	JB	RC	JF	RJ	SS	JT	JW
Arizona St	Out	In	In	In	Out	Out	In
Dayton	Out	In	Out	Out	In	Out	Out
Illinois St	Out	Out	In	In	Out	In	In
Ohio St	In	Out	In	In	In	In	In
Oregon	Out	In	Out	Out	In	In	Out
Syracuse	In	In	Out	Out	Out	Out	Out
UAB	Out	Out	In	Out	Out	In	Out
Villanova	Out	Out	Out	In	In	Out	Out

Our Consensus:

Arizona State - In
Dayton - Out
Illinois State - In
Ohio State - In
Oregon - Out
Syracuse - Out
UAB - Out
Villanova - Out

Our Guarantees:

Jason Brubaker's Guarantee: I'll 100% guarantee Syracuse will make the Tournament this year, for two reasons. They've shown they have the talent to beat good teams (Georgetown, marquette), and there's no way the committee wants to listen to another off-season of pleading from Jim Boeheim to expand the field to 128 teams.

Rob Carpentier's Guarantee: The Pac-10 will get 7 teams in because Oregon will beat Washington State, ASU will beat USC and Arizona will win two.

Jeff Fox's Guarantee: Dayton will not make the NCAA tournament - 7th place in the A-10 doesn't cut it, plus they peaked too early - the tournament committee likes teams that get hot late.

Raphielle Johnson's Guarantee: I guarantee that Oregon will be left out of the tournament due to early losses to Nebraska and Oakland. (and that Boeheim will rant about the system when he's once again sent to the NIT)

Shawn Siegels's Guarantee: Its a moral certainty that UAB will not make it.. they haven't won a Top 50 game all year and won't do so in the CUSA tournament.

Jon Teitel's Guarantee: I'm 100% certain that the loser of the Big East Tournament 1st round game between Villanova and Syracuse will not make it, as no conference is getting 9 teams into the NCAA Tournament this year.

Joel Welser's Guarantee: Jim Boeheim will be mad, but losses to Cincinnati and South Florida have doomed the Orange.

Today's Game Predictions: Syracuse vs Villanova

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:12:17 -0700

Syracuse (19-12) at Villanova (19-11)

Noon ESPN

Depending on your opinion, this game might feature two NCAA Tournament teams or none. I'm not sure which view is correct, but I know whoever wins today's game will get a major boost. The bettors favor Villanova, even though Madison square Garden has long been a home away from home for Syracuse. This to me is the ultimate pick'em game.. the teams had the same conference record, a similar overall record, a similar RPI, and they split their regular season meetings. I like the Cuse though.. simply because they have more firepower, and there's always the chance Greene or Flynn catches fire.

Prediction: Syracuse

Mount Saint Mary's (17-14) at Sacred Heart (18-13)

7:00 PM ESPN2

While home-court advantage will be a big deal in the game below, this game isn't necessarily a lock for Sacred Heart despite the venue. The Pioneers are only 8-5 at home on the year, while MSM is a decent 8-7 on the road. I actually like the Mountaineers here, as they've been playing the better basketball in recent weeks. They've won 7 of 8 games and destroyed favorite Robert Morris last time out.

Prediction: Mount Saint Mary's

Northern Arizona (21-11) at Portland State (22-9)

9:00 PM ESPN2

As we've seen in other leagues (MAAC, HL, WCC), it's very helpful to host a conference championship game. Thus you have to favor Portland State in the Big Sky title game.. perhaps by more than the 4.5 point spread. After all, PSU did beat NAU twice already this season, and it wasn't even close in the Rose city. If the Vikings do win, it would be quite an accomplishment for a program that won just 10 games two years ago, but has steadily improved.

Prediction: Portland State

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions, 91-53)

March 11th - IUPUI at Oral Roberts (3-0)

March 10th - Gonzaga at San Diego (1-2)

March 9th - Florida at Kentucky (1-2)

March 8th - UNC at Duke (2-1)

March 5th - Tennessee at Florida (2-1)

March 4th - UNLV at New Mexico (3-0)

March 3rd - Texas Tech at Kansas (3-0)

March 2nd - Clemson at Maryland (1-2)

Cheerleader of the Day: Syracuse

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:45:49 -0700

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, along with our Picture of the Day, we'll be featuring a Cheerleader of the Day. We'll be mixing up the schools & cheerleader so check back daily!

Syracuse

- Check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- Also check out the Picture of the Day!

Buzzer Beater: The Weekend Review

Jason Brubaker — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:35:23 -0800

- The NIT would like to officially welcome Syracuse to the mix, after a bizarre late-game collapse against Pitt on Saturday. The Orange may have been done in by a no-call when Paul Harris was stripped of the ball underneath the basket, but bad calls don't explain blowing an 11-point lead in the final three minutes. Barring a surprise run through the Big East Tournament, the Orange, now7-9 in the conference, are likely on the wrong side of the bubble for the second straight year.

- Maryland also didn’t do themselves any favors after inexplicably blowing a 20-point second half lead and falling at home to Clemson. The Terps may need a win or two in the ACC Tourney to feel good about their chances after this latest setback.

- Hats off to Boston College's Tyrese Rice. In case you spent the weekend in a cave, the junior point guard poured in a career-high 34 points against #2 North Carolina...in the first half. Rice's amazing display included eight three-pointers, and he actually led the entire Tar Heels team until five minutes remained in the first half. Slowed considerably in the second half, Rice would still finish the game with 46 points. UNC's depth enabled them to escape with a win, but Rice's shooting display won't soon be forgotten.

- Congratulations to Cornell, who earned their first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1988 with a 86-53 win over Harvard. Like many Ivy League teams, the Big Red won't razzle-dazzle you, but they will play sound, fundamental basketball and won't beat themselves. And for those who think this just means they'll be served up on a platter to the likes of UCLA or Memphis, keep in mind that Cornell gave Duke all they wanted in a January match-up at Cameron, eventually falling short 81-67.

- Question for Kansas State players and coaches: I know basketball is a team game, and one man can't beat five....but is there a reason Michael Beasley doesn't touch the ball on every possession? The super-frosh is shooting 55% from the field, averaging 26+ points per game...yet there were stretches of five or six possessions against Kansas where he didn't even see the ball. Granted, that may not have affected the outcome against a fired-up KU squad, but if I'm a guard for K-State, my first, second and third options are to get the ball to #30 - period.

- Brook Lopez of Stanford is quietly becoming one of the best big men in college basketball. The seven-foot sophomore poured in 25 points in a big win over Washington State Saturday, as the Cardinal improved to 24-4 on the season. Stanford, now winners of six of their last seven, is looking like a team no one will want to play in the tournament.

- Big ups to Texas Tech's Alan Voskuil and Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace, who both nailed crucial free throws in victories on Saturday. Wallace calmly nailed three with less than three seconds left to tie the game at Marquette, a game the Hoyas would win in overtime. Meanwhile, Voskuil went 10-10 from the line, including six in the final minutes, as the Red Raiders stunned Texas 83-80.

- Can anyone figure out Texas A&M? The Aggies were pounded by Oklahoma on Saturday, 64-37, just four days after laying a 44-point beatdown (in which they scored 98 points) on Texas Tech. The Aggies, up and down all year, will still be dancing this year, but who knows how long they'll stick around?

- Louisville continues to impress, winning their ninth game in a row with a victory over Villanova. Included in that stretch are wins over Georgetown, Pitt, Marquette and Notre Dame. The Cards are peaking at just the right time, and appear to have the ingredients for a deep tourney run.

- Joey Dorsey...please just play basketball. The talented but fiery Memphis big man had to be restrained before the game at Southern Miss after jawing with some players during warm-ups..yet another incident in a career full of them. Dorsey is a fantastic rebounder and defender, but his lack of self-control might be the biggest factor in determining how far the Tigers go this year.

- And finally, congratulation to Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who earned his 800th career victory over N.C. State on Saturday. The Devils overcame a 13-point second half deficit with timely shooting to get Coach K to the vaunted mark. There are plenty of Duke haters out there, but there's no denying that Coach K is one of the best ever to walk the sidelines.

Poll: Will Syracuse (16-9, 6-6) Make the NCAA Tournament?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:21:54 -0800

Games of the Night: Duke at North Carolina

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:51:25 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

#2 Duke (19-1) at #3 North Carolina (21-1)

9:00 PM ESPN

For a complete & lengthy preview of tonight's game, check out CHN's Game of the Week by Jeff Borzello (who favors Duke). He pretty much covers it all.

Prediction: North Carolina

#19 Connecticut (16-5) at Syracuse (16-7)

7:00 PM ESPN

Overshadowed by Duke/UNC is a quality Big East showdown between the league's most consistently good programs. Both teams head to the Carrier Dome on winning streaks, UCONN's won 5 while Syracuse has won 3 in row. UCONN's streak is more impressive considering the quality of opponent and the suspensions of Dyson and Wiggins. Dyson's still out, which is fine because the Huskies have done just fine without him. Despite his great size, Donte Greene seems content to chuck up threes, so unless the Syracuse freshman gets hot (or smart) for the first time in 2008, I like UCONN.

Prediction: NC State

#21 Notre Dame (16-4) at Seton Hall (15-7)

7:30 PM

An important game for the Hall, who are quietly making a push for the NCAA Tournament after a relatively mediocre non-conference schedule. The Pirates have won 5 of 6 games, and 4 home games in a row. Notre Dame finally won a road game against Villanova 10 days back, but that win doesn't look as good now since Nova is collapsing. I like the Hall to win a close one, especially against the line where they're 1.5 point underdogs.

Prediction: Seton Hall

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

February 5th - Florida at Tennessee (2-1)

February 4th - Gonzaga at SMC (1-2)

January 30th - Indiana at Wisconsin (1-2)

January 29th - VCU at George Mason (2-1)

January 28th - Louisville at UCONN (1-2)

January 27th - Duke at Maryland (2-1)

January 26th - Georgetown at West Virginia (3-0)

January 24rd - Dayton at Xavier (2-1)

January 22nd - Akron at Kent State (2-1)

January 21st - Drake at Creighton (1-2)

January 20th - Texas at Oklahoma State (3-0)

January 19th - Marquette at UCONN (2-1)

January 18th - Illinois State at Drake (2-1)

January 17th - Vanderbilt at Tennessee (2-1)

January 14th - Georgetown at Pittsburgh (2-1)

January 12th - Stanford at Oregon (3-0)

January 9th - Rhode Island at Dayton (2-1)

January 8th - Florida at Alabama (2-1)

January 7th - Robert Morris at Boston College (1-2)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)

Syracuse Guard Devendorf Done For Season

Jeff Borzello — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:45:44 -0800

Syracuse junior guard Eric Devendorf will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, the university announced yesterday. The injury occurred when Devendorf landed awkwardly on his left leg after making a pass during the second half against East Tennessee State on Saturday. "You can't afford to lose guys like Eric," Boeheim said following Saturday's game." He's a tremendous player. There's nothing you can do. You try to make it up as best as you can." Devendorf is the second Orange guard to tear his ACL this season; fellow starter Andy Rautins tore his in August. Along with the loss of guard Josh Wright -- who didn't attend practice last week and of whom Boeheim said: "I assume he's not going to play basketball any more this year" -- Syracuse is down to just seven scholarship players. Devendorf averaged 17.0 points and 3.9 assists per game.