The conventional wisdom in college basketball is to go with seniors in any game of consequence, particularly when freshmen form the core group of the old-timers’ opposition.
Syracuse’s insouciant freshmen blew up conventional wisdom Monday night, holding off senior-dominated Kansas 81-78 and rewarding coach Jim Boeheim with his first NCAA tournament title in 27 years as the Orangemen’s coach … by an eyelash.
Freshman Gerry McNamara’s sensational first-half shooting staked the Syracuse to a lead that reached 18 points before the intermission. The pugnacious point guard from Scranton, Pa., hit 6-of-8 three-pointers, only to go scoreless in the second half.
“With Gerry, if he makes that first one, he thinks he’s going to make them all,” Boeheim said. “Of course, if he misses that first one he still thinks he’s going to make ’em all, so it doesn’t matter.”
Fellow freshman Carmelo Anthony seemed to have a hand in everything Syracuse did, finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award. Though he missed a one-and-one free-throw opportunity that would have given the Orange some breathing room with under a minute left, Anthony otherwise displayed a sense of timing that was as impressive as his stats.
Kansas resorted to a zone defense, then a desperation press in an effort to cut into that 18-point deficit, and had an opportunity to get it under 10 after Anthony committed a pointless intentional foul on Keith Langford less than a minute before halftime. Langford made one free throw for 50-40.
With Kansas partisans in the Superdome crowd of 54,524 in full roar, Anthony calmly weaved his way through the Jayhawks’ press, stopped near the top of the key and feathered in a three-pointer that restored the Orange’s 13-point lead.
In the second half, with Kansas making a maniacal run to get back in it, the 18-year-old hit two free throws to stretch a three-point lead to 57-52. Moments later, Kansas was back within 64-61 and looking for a tie when Anthony swiped a Jayhawk pass and took it the other way, burying another three-pointer for a 67-61 lead that held up all night … by an eyelash.
“He might be the best player we played against all year,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said. “He is so gifted. Big players make big plays, and that play was huge.”
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Some of Anthony’s most important contributions were rather subtle. Small forward Langford’s drives to the bucket were Kansas’ most effective weapon against the Syracuse zone, but Langford got himself in foul trouble trying to guard Anthony and played only 23 minutes.
“That was the key to the game,” Boeheim said. “Langford was killing us, but you can’t kill a team from the bench. It’s happened all year. You can’t guard Carmelo without getting into foul trouble.”
When Langford left, Nick Collison took over the Carmelo watch. Collison, the Jayhawks’ senior All-American, was every bit the “warrior” Williams said he was, finishing with 19 points and a remarkable 21 rebounds and keeping his team in the game through force of his will. But he wore himself down trying to stay with Anthony, fouling out in the final minute and missing seven of 10 free throws and turning the ball over five times before he left.
“Nick doesn’t have the foot speed to stay with Carmelo,” Williams said, “But my God, he’s a warrior.”
Collison and fellow senior Kirk Hinrich, who shot 6-for-20 on a sore ankle, were freshmen when Williams resisted North Carolina’s overtures three years ago. Williams went to school there and learned his trade as a 10-year assistant to the sainted Dean Smith, but he cited his loyalty to his players, Collison and Hinrich in particular, in staying put.
Now the two graduating seniors are NBA-bound, and Williams could have left with a spotlessly clean conscience if his parting gift to Kansas had been a national championship.
Instead, he’s 0-for-4 in Final Fours and 0-for-2 in title games, but there’s no doubt he’ll be asked now that the Carolina job is open again.
Boeheim, a Syracuse fixture for nearly 40 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach, isn’t going anywhere, but he has a similar investment in his players.
“I’ve had a great run–I could retire a happy man without winning another game, but I know how it is with these kids,” he said. “I was in the locker room after we lost in ’87 and ’96 and they were devastated. They’re like your children, and when something happens to your child you feel worse than if it happened to you.”
And when something good happens, you’re every bit as happy.