End of an Era

So, the big question in college basketball yesterday, "Can Syracuse sustain their Big East Tournament run through the NCAA's?" was answered with a resounding "No." They made a decent run at it, but Gerry McNamara didn't have any legs left, and went without a field goal for the first time in his career. Terrence Roberts played well, but he and Darryl "Flippers for Hands" Watkins were overmatched on the glass, and A&M pretty much controlled the game from start to finish.

I feel terrible for McNamara, as he really couldn't play, and is kind of down on himself:

"I feel great about it," McNamara said in a postgame interview, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Because of me, we lost. Fantastic. Great feeling."

All I can say is, dude, it's not your fault. It's Eric "Poor Impulse Control" Devendorf's. (More after the cut.)

Syracuse made a good rally in the late going, and cut it to four (55-51) on a three by Devendorf with just under two minutes to play. On the insuing play, they got Texas A&M to turn the ball over, and Devendorf got the ball out on the break... where he pulled up for another three, with no rebounders in position, and missed it badly. The Aggies got the ball, the fouling began, and the rally was dead.

OK, that's being a little harsh on Devendorf, but it was an awfully boneheaded shot. Granted, it's typical of college basketball these days, but the smart play is still to hold the ball out, and run a real play. Yeah, the three would've been a dagger at that point, but keeping the ball was even more important. You can always get that shot-- no need to take it on a breakaway.

Anyway, with the loss, the Gerry McNamara era at Syracuse comes to an end. It's sad to see him leave on such a lackluster performance, but a few years from now, all anybody will remember is his heroics at Madison Square Garden, which were really the stuff of collegiate legend. I doubt he's going to have a professional career of any note, but I'd be absolutely stunned if he doesn't go into coaching at some point (I've been to Scranton, PA-- while he's the undisputed king of that city, there's not much there to rule...). Whatever he does in the future, I wish him well. It's been fun watching him play these past four years.

As for the rest of the team, well, once again, it looks fairly disastrous for the Orangemen-- their best guard is leaving, and their returning players have all underachieved in one way or another (though, to be fair, they played well last night). The amazing thing about Jim Boeheim's career, though, is that it looks like this all the time. I've lost count of the number of times I've looked at a departing class, and said, "Well, they're going to suck next year..." only to have Boeheim do some smoke-and-mirrors trick, and wind up with another 20-win season. Which is why he's in the Hall of Fame, and I'm a jerk with a website...

So, who knows? One way or another, we'll find out next year...