Author: JD Raucci
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Biggest Question Syracuse Fans Need Fran Brown to Answer in His First Season
The excitement around Syracuse football couldn’t be much higher since Fran Brown arrived as the program’s new head coach. Brown’s prowess as an elite recruiter has immediately paid dividends both in the transfer portal and with the Orange’s 2024 recruiting class. But there are still questions that Brown will have to answer during the 2024…
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Syracuse Picks Up First Commitment in Class of 2021
For the past week and change, the entire sports world has been put on hold as global efforts to contain COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus continue to persist. We haven‚Äôt seen a live sporting event in quite some time and nobody is really sure when the next one is coming. While the on-field/on-court product has…
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Syracuse Basketball Top 5 Series: Player Performances
Basketball is a team sport, there‚Äôs no doubt about it, but quite often what makes the game so much fun to watch and be a part of are the individual athletes. It‚Äôs the guys who give their everything on the floor every single night not only for the love of the game but for the…
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Syracuse’s Nightmare ACC Tournament Draw
The mission and objective were simple: win the Saturday‚Äôs regular season finale against Miami and lock up the five-seed in the ACC Tournament. Lose and fall to the six-seed and make things 1,000x harder on yourselves in Greensboro.¬† Seems easy, right? Apparently not because in very Syracuse-esque fashion, the Orange dropped that critical final game…
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The Recruiting Power of Dior Johnson
When you think of some of the elite recruiters in college basketball, your mind probably goes to the likes of John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski or Bill Self. Five to ten years ago, you may have also thought of Jim Boeheim, but his self-admitted struggles with picking up a really quality big man over the last…
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Syracuse’s Defense is the Worst It’s Been in Years
Jim Boeheim has been saying it all season long, but even more so during an ugly 1-5 stretch. After the loss to Duke: ¬† ‚ÄúWe‚Äôve got to score a lot of points against them. They‚Äôre going to score a lot of points because we can‚Äôt stop them.‚Äù After coming up just short to No. 8…
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Three Things to Know About Florida State
With the effects of Tuesday night‚Äôs devastating loss to NC State in the rearview mirror, Syracuse now turns its attention to one of the toughest teams it will face all year. The Orange head to Tallahassee, FL for a date with the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles on Saturday.¬† The ‚ÄòNoles are coming off a…
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Sun Devil to Syracuse: Who is New Defensive Coordinator Tony White?
The question of who was going to replace Brian Ward as Syracuse‚Äôs next defensive coordinator was seemingly answered weeks ago.¬† The Orange seemingly made a splash when they hired Zach Arnett away from San Diego State as the young DC was set to bring his unique 3-3-5 scheme to Central New York. But, as we…
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Syracuse Seems to Be Lacking This Key Element
As the season has progressed a few flaws have emerged for Syracuse basketball.¬† At the beginning of the season, it was an over-reliance on the three-ball to win games. That seemingly has been fixed with terrible shooting performances transforming into wins against Pitt (5-21) and Virginia Tech (6-24).¬† The more the season has gone on,…
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HEARTBREAK: Syracuse’s Winning Streak Ends in Road Loss to Clemson
The start was less than desirable and so was the finish. In between there were some moments of brilliance from SU‚Äôs two-headed monster and a few brief moments of some gutsy down-the-stretch play from a pair of freshmen, but in the end Syracuse‚Äôs five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt with a 71-70 loss…
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The Key to It All: Marek Dolezaj
Let‚Äôs go back in time for just a moment. It‚Äôs just about three weeks ago. Syracuse is coming off its third ACC home loss of the season against Virginia Tech and nothing seems to be going right for the Orange. To be honest, if you had asked SU fans if they thought the Orange had…
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Leader in the Clubhouse: Elijah Hughes is on Another Level
We‚Äôve talked a lot about how good Elijah Hughes is here at Orange Fizz. He‚Äôs Syracuse‚Äôs best and most important player. He‚Äôs a potential ACC Player of the Year candidate. After Wednesday night‚Äôs gritty win over Notre Dame in which he led all scorers with 26 points, he‚Äôs also the conference‚Äôs leading scorer at 19.7…
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How Two Orange Bench Pieces Have Played Themselves into Bigger Minutes
With 16:32 remaining in the first half of SU‚Äôs matchup with Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Orange trailed 11-4 and had just allowed its third triple of the game thanks to poor defensive rotation. Jim Boeheim called for a timeout and gave Bourama Sidibe one of the most intense talking-tos we‚Äôve seen in quite some…
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Syracuse’s Two-Headed Monster That Nobody is Talking About
We knew coming into the season that Elijah Hughes was going to be the go-to-guy for Syracuse basketball. We knew that game in and game out, his performances were going to be critical to the Orange‚Äôs success. Play well and SU had a shot, play poorly and things could go badly very, very quickly. He‚Äôs…
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Getting to Know Syracuse’s New Coordinators
Despite finishing on a massive upswing with a show-stealing win against Wake Forest, the 2019 season was one to forget for Syracuse football. Both the offense and defense were middling at best and often times the defense was downright abysmal. In fact, the defense was so bad that Dino Babers elected to make a change…
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Three Things to Know About Notre Dame
After a fairly disappointing run through non-conference play, there are quite a few questions that still need to be answered for Syracuse basketball. There were some highlights in the non-con, most especially Elijah Hughes emerging as a legitimate ACC Player of the Year candidate, but many are hoping that ACC play is where this historically…
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Three Former Syracuse Stars Named to NFL 100 All-Time Team
As a part of its 100th anniversary this year, the NFL has spent the last few weeks putting together its #NFL100 All-Time Team. The league has gone position by position, selecting 100 of the greatest players and 10 of the greatest coaches in NFL history. From Johnny Unitas to Tom Brady, from Elroy Hirsch to…
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Three Things to Know about North Florida
Despite being back above .500 after Thursday‚Äôs win over Oakland, there isn‚Äôt a ton to be excited about with this Syracuse basketball team. Jim Boeheim is upset with the fans. SU can‚Äôt defend anybody worth their salt on the interior. Heck, even the guy that was supposed to be a possible one-and-done candidate has been…
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Syracuse Lands 17th Recruit in 2020 Cycle
With the early national signing period starting on Wednesday, it looked like Syracuse football was going to be stuck on 16 recruits for the 2020 cycle. SU picked up a big-time late pledge from Florida wideout Damien Alford but it looked like that was where the commitments would stop, at least ahead of Wednesday. That…
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Three Young Standouts Named Freshmen All-Americans
When we take a look back at the 2019 season for Syracuse football, it‚Äôs likely going to be remembered as one of the more disappointing seasons in quite some time that just so happened to finish with one of the most exciting endings possible. It‚Äôs a bit difficult to reflect on the season that was…
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Syracuse’s Offensive Achilles Heel
After the program‚Äôs second straight 0-2 flop in New York City, there aren‚Äôt a whole lot of positive thoughts surrounding Syracuse basketball. The Orange are off to their worst start since the 1996-1997 season and have still yet to beat a Power 5 opponent. Neither game at Barclays Center this past week was particularly close…
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Sterling Hofrichter’s Chance at Hardware
In a season filled with so much disappointment and what-could-have-been talk, there‚Äôs always been one positive that you can take away from each and every game for Syracuse football: Sterling Hofrichter. Week in and week out, the three-time captain has been the Orange‚Äôs best player whenever he takes the field. Because of Syracuse‚Äôs lackluster offensive…
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Orange in the NBA: Month 1 Roundup
As of Friday, we‚Äôre officially one month through the NBA season. We‚Äôve already seen a lot go down, from the Warriors shocking fall from grace, to LeBron putting up MVP numbers in year 17 to Luka Doncic asserting himself as one of the league‚Äôs elite players. It‚Äôs been a fun ride so far, but what…
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How Syracuse Football and Basketball are Responding to #NotAgainSU
The #NotAgainSU movement has gripped not only the Central New York community but the national news landscape for the better part of the last week. Numerous bias incidents fueled by racist and anti-Semitic language and symbols have been reported across the Syracuse University Campus. These incidents plus a lack of response by the University have…
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Your Complete Guide to Saturday’s Football/Basketball Doubleheader
We‚Äôre smack dab in the middle of not only the most tumultuous but also one of the most fun times of the year. It‚Äôs the crossover between football and basketball season at Syracuse and even though things are on a big-time down turn for Dino Babers and company and it‚Äôs been a bit of an…
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Three Reasons Colgate Poses a Serious Challenge for Syracuse
It‚Äôs hard to understate just how poorly Syracuse basketball played in its season opener against Virginia last Wednesday. The Orange shot just 24% from the floor and 17% from three in the worst offensive performance the Dome has ever seen from an SU team. That‚Äôs not to mention it was also the worst offensive performance…
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Syracuse Offers Four-Star Western New York Standout
It‚Äôs a little tough to think of many positives for SU basketball after Wednesday‚Äôs season-opening loss to Virginia. Any time you only score 34 points in a home game, even if it‚Äôs against a historically great defense, not many people are going to walk away terribly pleased. But have no fear, Fizz Nation, because a…
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Syracuse Picks Up Huge Defensive End Commit in Class of 2020
On a day that featured one of the worst performances for Syracuse football in the last decade, it didn‚Äôt seem like there was any way for the program to salvage some level of positivity away from the weekend. Not only was the game itself embarrassing, but it also put SU in a position where it…
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Syracuse’s Freshmen Are the Key to the 2019-20 Season
Quincy Guerrier, Brycen Goodine, Joe Girard III, Jesse Edwards and John Bol Ajak make up the largest incoming freshman class for Syracuse since 2013 when Tyler Ennis, B.J. Johnson, Chinonso Obokoh, Ron Patterson and Tyler Roberson started their careers in Central New York. Despite the extensive research into their games, their skills, their weaknesses, the…
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Tough Road Ahead Spells Trouble for Syracuse’s Bowl Chances
Let‚Äôs just come right out and say it. Saturday‚Äôs 35-17 loss to Florida State was nothing short of demoralizing and debilitating. Not only was it the Orange‚Äôs third straight loss since the bye week, but it also kept SU as the only winless team in the ACC. Dino Babers and company have still yet to…
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Kadary Richmond Saga Continues, Four-Star Guard Sets Official Visit Date
On Friday, October 11th, all of the focus surrounding Syracuse basketball was centered on the Melo Center. Both the men‚Äôs and women‚Äôs teams were hosting media day and media members and fans alike were getting their first look and listen into what the Orange have in store for the 2019-20 season. At least that was…
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Why Marek Dolezaj Could Be Poised for a Breakout Season
He‚Äôs a fan favorite. He‚Äôs the glue guy. He‚Äôs the one that does the little things that don‚Äôt show up in the box score. When he first committed to Syracuse back in May of 2017, nobody thought much of the skinny kid from Slovakia. SU was his only offer and the only school he visited…
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Three Things You Need to Know About NC State
The bye week has come and gone for Syracuse. The Orange have had their time to rest. They‚Äôve had their time to heal and they‚Äôve had their time to improve. And that‚Äôs a really, really good thing, not only for SU‚Äôs psyche, but also because the heart of the season is on the way and…
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Bye Week Defensive/Special Report Card for Syracuse Football
The unit that was supposed to be the strength of the team. The unit that returned some of the most formidable young secondary talent in the country. The unit that was supposed to have a pair of pass rushers that unleashed almost certain havoc on a weekly basis. That‚Äôs how the SU defense was billed…
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Three Things We Learned from Western Michigan
Was it perfect? No. Was it pretty? No. Was it what it needed to be to start getting back on the right track? Yes. The Maryland loss was ugly. The Clemson loss was disappointing. A lot hinged on this past weekend‚Äôs matchup with Western Michigan and while it answered some questions, some others have been…
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Missed Opportunities, Mistakes, Anemic Offense Doom Syracuse in 41-6 Loss to Clemson
When you‚Äôve got the defending national champion and consensus No. 1 team in the country at your place and they‚Äôre four-touchdown favorites, you‚Äôve got to play a near perfect game to beat them. You cannot beat yourselves and you cannot make mistakes. Syracuse beat themselves and made mistakes in an ugly 41-6 loss to Clemson…
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