Coach: Jim Boeheim

Syracuse fans were hoping for big things on the Hill, as Syracuse had an exciting freshman class including two McDonald’s All-Americans (Jonny Flynn and Donte' Greene) arriving, along with the return of a veteran backcourt of Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins. The likeable senior trio who formed the nucleus of the past three seasons (Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts) were gone, but fans had often felt they underachieved. Hopes were high with the new players.

Instead, it would become a season filled with numerous disappointments. During the summer, Rautins would tear his ACL while playing for the Canadian National Team, and would miss the entire 2007-2008 season. Sophomore reserve forward Devin Brennan-McBride would re-injure his shoulder in the preseason exhibition games, and would also miss the entire season.

Coach Jim Boeheim, however, had a lot of talent on hand, and a starting lineup of Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf in the backcourt, Paul Harris and Donte' Greene at forwards, and Arinze Onuaku at center was an impressive unit.

The season itself started out on a high note with the Orange beating Siena 97-89 behind a flashy scoring performance from Flynn, with 28 points. The Orange were running a fast pace offense, something they had not done since the 1980s. They also were struggling to learn to play defense, particularly having trouble with Boeheim’s 2-3 zone.

The Orange played in the preseason NIT Tournament, and faced Ohio State in the second round. The Buckeyes out muscled and out rebounded the Orange, giving the Orange a 79-65 loss. The Orange responded well with a solid beating of Washington two nights later.

The Orange would next loss to Massachusetts in the dome, 107-100, as the Minutemen set a Carrier Dome record for points by the opposition. Four Orangemen scored 20 or more points, but the lack of defense was apparent. The Orange would have another disappointing loss to Rhode Island 91-89, dropping their record to 6-3.

Syracuse would respond with a crushing 125-75 victory over East Tennessee State a week later. However, the win would be quite costly. Senior guard Josh Wright had quit the team during the week, dealing with several off the court problems and unhappy with his playing time. In the East Tennessee State game, Devendorf would tear his ACL, and he, like Rautins, would miss the rest of the season. The Orange, who had originally planned on five talented guards for the season, were now down to just two, both freshman, with Flynn and Scoop Jardine. More importantly, the team had no player on the roster with more than 1 year of Division I basketball experience.

Syracuse would win its next three non-conference games, and prepare for the Big East schedule with a 9-3 record. They started well, winning the first two at home. However, their inexperience showed as they were unprepared for the road games against Cincinnati and West Virginia, resulting in two lopsided losses.

After the Georgetown game, Scoop Jardine would get involved in some legal problems and was suspended for a few games, leaving the Orange with six scholarship players. Sophomore Paul Harris would move to the guard position, and junior college transfer Kris Ongenaet would move into the starting forward position.

Harris would thrive in the new position, and would improve offensively. Greene was leading the Orange in scoring, and Flynn was leading the team on the court. The Orange would then lose five of six games. The one win in that streak was an impressive 77-70 win over highly ranked Georgetown, with Onuaku getting the better of the Hoyas' Roy Hibbert. However, the fifth loss of that streak was the most devastating of the season. The Orange played an outstanding game for 35 minutes against Pittsburgh, and had a double digit lead with just over three minutes left in the game. Boeheim had Syracuse slow the game down to preserve the lead, and Syracuse got sloppy with the ball, carelessly turning the ball over. Even so, the Orange still had the lead as time was running out. On the inbounds play and the Orange up by one, Paul Harris was stripped of the ball under the Pitt basket, and the Panthers easily converted it for a layup. Syracuse was now behind, and were unable to make a desperation shot to end the game. The Orange were now 17-12, and chances for the NCAA tournament looked bleak.

The Orange would win their last two regular season games, including an impressive 87-72 victory over ranked Marquette, highlighed by Ongenaet stealing the ball, dribbling coast-to-coast and ending the play with a two handed dunk. They faced Villanova in the first round of the Big East tournament, and the Orange had a big lead at halftime. Unfortunately, things fell apart (again), as the Wildcats crushed Syracuse in the second half to easily win 82-63.

For the second year in a row, Syracuse would go to the NIT tournament, though this year there was no controversy as it was clear this was the tournament they belonged in. They won their first two tournament games over Robert Morris and Maryland, and then faced Massachusetts, their nemesis from earlier in the season. Syracuse once again had a large lead, as big as 22 points in the second half. However, they could not hold onto the lead, and UMass stormed back to take the lead and would hold on to win 81-77, ending what was one of the most frustrating seasons in Syracuse basketball history.

© RLYoung 2007, 2008