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Thank Gerry and Hak, Blame Billy

By FuzzyOrange19, Section College
Posted on Mon Mar 21 2005 at 6:40 PM EST
More on: (all tags)

By Sean Quinn

Looking for someone to aim your anger and cast your finger towards for Syracuse's first round upset?  Don't dare flap your fingers at Hakim Warrick for his 10 turnovers.  And don't you even think about directing your blame at Gerry McNamara for his 4-18 shooting performance.  Don't blame anyone who was suited up for the loss to Vermont on Friday.  Blame Billy.

Edelin only started three times this year for the Orange and played in just 20 out of 34 games.  This is nothing new, however, as Edelin sat out the first 12 games of his freshman season and then left the team in early February last year.  In all, Edelin has been absent for 40 percent of Syracuse games during his career.  That's an astonishing number for a guy who is supposed to be the leader of your team, the floor general, the point guard.

This isn't a kid who is a role player or a reserve, he is a difference maker.  Edelin adds a whole other dimension to Boeheim's offense.  He can be a scorer, as he averaged almost 14 points per game during his sophomore year.  He can be a passer.  Without Edelin at the point during the 2003 National Championship, Gerry McNamara doesn't get the ball to drain six three-pointers in the first half.  He was even a catalyst this year for the Orange when he saw substantial playing time.  He played the point against West Virginia earlier this season, contributing 12 points and seven assists, and it was able to free up McNamara who had 18 points, including five threes.  He played well against Villanova, arguably Syracuse's best game of the season and McNamara again benefited, dropping 18 for the second time.  Both the Mountaineers and the Wildcats are in the Sweet 16 now.  The Orange can compete and dominate quality opponents with Edelin running the show.

With Edelin at the point, McNamara is able to run around without the ball and get open.  Like most perimeter shooters, it is more difficult to create your own shots, McNamara is at his best when he is able to spot up and shoot.  His game is diminished when he has to create and force outside shots for himself.  Without a solid point guard to get McNamara the ball, he struggles, as the whole nation saw against Vermont.

So don't blame Gerry, it's not his fault.  He isn't a point guard, he's a shooting guard.  Unfortunately for Syracuse, he had to play both of those positions simultaneously this year.  

Blame Billy Edelin.  He let his teammates down.  If he was running the point, the inside-outside threat of McNamara and Warrick would be one of the best in college basketball history.  Teams are able to cheat, however, when McNamara is at the point.  He's much less lethal creating his own shot, rather than catching and shooting.  Edelin could have gotten the ball to Warrick down low, then he could have kicked it out to Gerry for an open shot.  Or Edelin could have drove and kicked it out to Gerry for an open shot.  The inside-outside threat only works when you have a point guard who can distribute the ball.  

Case and point, Duke.  The inside-outside combination of J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams works because Duke has two guards who can play the point.  They are in the Sweet 16, Syracuse is not.  

Billy Edelin is the difference between Syracuse, one of the front-runners, and Syracuse, one and done in the NCAA Tournament.

Josh Pace and Hakim Warrick aren't preparing for Duke right now because of Billy Edelin.  Their college careers are over because of Billy Edelin.  It's that simple.  Billy Edelin has let his teammates down in the past and he did it again this season.  It doesn't matter that Edelin has more personal dilemmas than a panel of guest on The Jerry Springer Show.  We won't buy that excuse anymore, not after three years of consistently being inconsistent.  It's time to point the fingers and shake the fists at Edelin, and it's time for him to walk away from this program.  It's a program for players like Hakim Warrick and Josh Pace, not quitters like Billy Edelin.