With this year’s Syracuse University basketball team, you can’t expect much but the fluctuating unexpected.

Three of the core players from last year’s squad have moved on: one (Jonny Flynn) is rocking and rolling in the NBA, while the other two (Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf) are reading about that former Orangeman point guard rocking and rolling in the NBA, right after circling the want ads. This year, two of the starting five are rookies—Brandon Triche and Wes Johnson—while another prime-time player in head coach Jim Boeheim’s rotation, Scoop Jardine, was injured all of last year and is re-acclimating himself to the system.

How all of these new pieces fall into place is anyone’s guess. If the team lines up the way it did during the Nov. 3 loss against Division II Le Moyne, the National Invitation Tournament might be a long shot. But if the team that showed up against Robert Morris University at the Carrier Dome on Nov. 11 keeps appearing, a high seed in the NCAA Tournament will be a sure shot.

The Orange beat Robert Morris 100-60, and looked like an unstoppable force—quite the opposite from the Le Moyne game, which some of the SU players are still bitter about. “A loss like that leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” said Jardine, who finished with six points and nine assists, after the Robert Morris game. “I don’t know about the other guys, but if everybody felt the way I felt, they wouldn’t want to feel that way again.” 

While returning senior shooting guard Andy Rautins has reclaimed his role in the offense, freshman point guard Triche brings a new dimension to the team. Triche might not be faster than Flynn, but he’s stronger and drives to the hoop with the same reckless abandon as Jonny. And at 6-feet-4, he stands about a half-foot taller than his predecessor, and that elongated whirling wingspan makes it that much more visually obstructive for the opponent he’s guarding to find an open teammate or shot. And he knows that ability and focus can take his team a long way.

“It was the {28} turnovers and the way we played defense,” said Triche of why he thought the Orange cruised to victory. “We’re playing better defense than we ever did last year {as a first-year player this year, Triche must have been carefully studying last year’s team to make that statement, or has over-indulged playing EA Sports’ NCAA Basketball ’09 on X-Box} and getting our hands on a lot of basketballs and rebounding better, and that’s the key to our season.”    

The Orange’s smothering defense and constant double-teaming caused many bad shots and turnovers, which ultimately led to 25 easy fast break points. But the rotation in and out of the zone was a thing of beauty.

“We’ve been really active and trapping the ball more than we have in the past,” said Boeheim. “We are a little bigger so the traps are more effective. I thought the other night {against Albany on Nov. 9} we had a tremendous defensive game but we really struggled on offense. Tonight, we had a really good defensive game but played really well offensively.”    

That’s to say the least. The Orange shot 58 percent from the field and hit 13 three-pointers as a team, and they seemed to score at will. “We moved the ball—Scoop and Brandon had 13 assists in the first half—and they just really looked for people and got people open,” continued Boeheim. “Whatever defense they played we attacked it and got good shots every time down. I think what we’re doing offensively is that the big guys are scoring down low and {the other team is} going to have to help in there, and when they help we can get some good looks from the perimeter.”

Unquestionably, the X factor on this year’s team is junior small forward Johnson, who transferred from Iowa State last season but had to sit out the year per NCAA mandates. At 6-feet-7, Johnson has the wingspan of a 7-footer and there’s really no weakness in his game. He can shoot short or long, dribble and pass and provides several highlight-reel dunks per game. His style of play is very similar to former UNLV standout Shawn Marion, a four-time NBA all-star who now balls with the Dallas Mavericks. Marion earned the nickname “The Matrix” for his all-encompassing repertoire, and Johnson just might be the sequel—and whether or not part two is better remains to be seen, but he has the right script to work with.

Up next for the Orange is California, currently ranked No. 13, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m., in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, to be televised on ESPN. Depending on the outcome of the game, the competition gets no easier as they’ll face either No. 6 North Carolina or No. 16 Ohio State. The final round takes place on Friday, Nov. 20, also on ESPN, with the consolation game beginning at 5 p.m. and the championship game to immediately follow.

“I think it’s one of the better tournaments we’ve ever played in,” said Boeheim. “I think the four teams all could be ranked in the top 10 to 15 teams in the country so it’ll be a great test for us. This whole pre-Big East season is in line to get us ready and there’s going to be a lot of difficult games in there and hopefully by the time we get to the conference we’ll be a better team. But we’re a lot better than we were last Wednesday {referring to the Le Moyne game}.”

After the tournament, the Orange return home to battle Cornell University on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $20 ($10 ages 12 and younger), and can be purchased at the gate or by calling (800) DOME-TIX.