By Sean Quinn
Gerry McNamara hit six threes in the first half of the 2003 National Championship game against Kansas. He was a freshman. Saturday against Connecticut, the junior guard looked like he couldn’t throw a ball into the ocean, let alone the basket, shooting 2-10 from beyond the arc. McNamara should have played better, but it’s not entirely his fault.
McNamara is by no means J.J. Redick, but he should be shooting better from the outside than his season average of just under 35 percent. McNamara does have a good stroke and people shouldn’t forget that, he showed it with a four game stretch in January when he hit a combined 20 threes. These are Redick-esque numbers, but unlike Redick, Gerry doesn’t have a consistent point guard to get him the ball. Redick, and most perimeter shooters, are most effective when catching and shooting. Redick has Sean Dockery and Daniel Ewing to get him the ball off screens and in the motion offense. McNamara, however, hasn’t had a consistent point guard to dish him the ball, he has had to create shots for himself. This hurts his shooting and the Syracuse offense, and it showed on Saturday.
With McNamara at the point, Syracuse becomes half the basketball team. What makes them so tough to match up with, is their inside-outside game of Hakim Warrick and McNamara. With Gerry becoming a ball distributor, not just a shooter and scorer, he isn’t going to be as available on the perimeter. This makes Syracuse much less potent offensively, just if Redick were to run the point for Coach K. With Shelden Williams on the inside and a point guard to distribute the ball, Redick can run amuck on the perimeter looking for an open look. McNamara doesn’t have that luxury.
This has been the problem all year long, however, and Coach Boeheim doesn’t seem to have the answer. Freshman Josh Wright has earned playing time during the latter part of the Big East season, but it’s now March and Wright is no where near ready to handle running the show for one of the latest members of the 700-win club. Demetris Nichols and Louie McCroskey have shown signs that they can hit shots and score for the Orange, as McCroskey scored 18 against Pittsburgh at the Carrier Dome. They are strictly two guards, however, they can’t run the point. That leaves Billy Edelin as the final option.
Edelin ran the point during the Orange’s march to the title in 2003. He leads the team in assists when he gets playing time. When he plays the point, as he did in the West Virginia game, the whole team benefits. Edelin had 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.
So what seems to be the problem? Well, Edelin has more personal dilemmas than an hour full of callers on the Dr. Laura radio show. He has missed more than half of his games since he has been at Syracuse and has been absent in the past three games this season. Nobody is allowed to comment on his absences or why he is letting his team, his coach, and Syracuse fans down.
The Billy Edelin situation is out of control. Jim Boeheim thought he would have Edelin at this point in the season, but it just isn’t going to happen. Without Edelin to take pressure off McNamara, Syracuse is no better than a Sweet 16 team.
Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara aren’t enough. Josh Pace has helped out, playing the best year of his life, but it is still not enough. They are last in the Big East in free throw shooting. They are last in the Big East in three point field goal percentage. And they don’t have a point guard who can give the ball to McNamara. It’s time to mark the Orange red even before the brackets come out.