Making a Run at the National Championship
Posted: 01/13/2010
After I had heard that Syracuse Basketball could have been ranked #2 in the country in the pre-season polls if it hadn't been for the departures of Eric Devendorf, Paul Harris, and Johnny Flynn, I was pissed. But now fifteen games into the season and the additions of Wesley Johnson and Brandon Triche to our team, I have to say I'm very excited. As a matter of fact, I think we have a great shot at winning the national championship this year. This Syracuse team exceeds my expectations beyond what I had expected for this year. Who knew how talented Wes was going to be and how well this Syracuse club would play together. 
For those of you who decided to continue living in what I call the snow belt, Syracuse as it's known, love the time of year when Syracuse basketball starts. We grew up watching all the Syracuse greats play at our beloved university. Yes, there have been many let downs with a lot of our teams. It always seemed when the going got good we would find a way to blow the big game. But as I look back on all those years, I am proud of the many final fours we made, even if we let Keith Smart sink that last second jumper for Indiana back in 87'. Or blowing a lead on Kentucky back in 96'. It all was worth it because in the 2002-2003 season we were blessed with a kid by the name of Carmelo Anthony who took our team all the way to the title. We got a healthy diet of top college basketball that year and it was well worth the wait.
Last year's club was pretty good too. I knew that they couldn't hold a candle to the Carmelo team, but I did think they had a lot of potential. After all, they did get to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA tournament. And I also knew if Devo, Harris, and Flynn had stayed one more year, along with the additions of Johnson and Triche, we would be unstoppable. But that never materialized and I was left thinking it would be another rebuilding year. The so called ESPN experts weren't giving SU hoops any respect before the season and Syracuse basketball wasn't expected to finish any better than 6th place in the conference. This is the reason I do not agree with all these ESPN guys and the Dick Vitale's of the world. Any given night any team can get served on their home floor.
Syrac
use went to the Garden in November and manhandled California and North Carolina. In December they traveled to Gator Nation and showed them how Big East basketball is played. Now we embark on full conference play and all the excitement begins with tournament talk and upsets in the making. Andy Rautins, the senior leader of the team, along with Wes, Arinze, Joseph, and Scoop will have their hands full at West Virginia and will probably get some fight against the hated Huskies, but in the end I believe our big Orange will be the conference champs. And when we enter the Garden for the Big East Tourney, all conference teams are on notice, even you Villanova, the Cuse is here and we want out title back. And from there teams like Kentucky, who have no experience in the NCAA tourney, Purdue, and Texas, better watch out because nobody outside the Big East can defend our 2-3 zone with accuracy and we're hungry for the national title. This is our year and Syracuse Basketball will be kings once again!
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