Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMBB | Greene discovers inside game, scores 15 of 20 in 2nd half
By John Clayton and Matt Gelb
Posted: 12/6/07, 2:00 AM EST Section: Sports
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Wednesday night provided a bit of redemption for Donte Greene.
Four days after his first poor performance of the season - a nine-point, 1-for-12 showing against Tulane - the freshman rebounded with a stellar performance in a 70-68 win over Virginia. Greene's 20 points were a team-best to go along with 10 rebounds. More importantly, Greene made his shots when they counted most.
Fifteen of the freshman's points came in a second half in which Greene hit 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
"He made a couple real good plays down the stretch," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.
The biggest of Greene's shots came at the 5:01 mark, when Greene's 3-pointer from the corner gave the Orange a 63-61 lead it wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game. Boeheim went as far as to call Greene's shot the difference in the game.
"The corner was wide open with Donte standing there," junior Eric Devendorf said. "He made some crucial 3's down the stretch."
Throughout the game, Greene said he tried to set up those 3-point opportunities by working his inside game, something he hadn't done in previous contests. He flashed a jump hook inside and seemed to make an effort to spend more time as a post target.
"I definitely tried to go more inside, show them I'm not really a jump shooter," Greene said. "Most of my offense has come from jump shooting because they've just given me that."
With the UVa zone collapsing, Greene was able to burn the Cavaliers from deep, too. The result was a performance that better reinforced Greene's 18.9 point per game average coming in and once again left an opposing coach scratching his head wondering how to handle Greene.
"When we collapsed and were a little slow to our rotations, we were 4 or 5 feet late," Virginia head coach Dave Leitao said. "It meant he got an open shot."
To foul or not to foul
For the second time this season, Boeheim ordered his team to foul Virginia late in the game to avoid a potential desperation 3-point heave to tie the game.
With 1.2 seconds left on the clock and SU ahead, 70-67, Eric Devendorf fouled Sean Singletary well behind the 3-point line before he could get a shot off.
Boeheim has changed his strategy. He used to not foul the opponent and instead defend a final shot. Now he's done it twice this season, the other time coming against St. Joseph's. Syracuse won that game, 72-69.
"The last 20 times I've watched that happen - a lot of times I've watched NBA games - like 80 percent of the time I've seen teams come down, shoot and make it," Boeheim said. "With one, two, three seconds to go, we've got a bigger team, we should be able to get the rebound; of course, it can bounce crazy, and I've seen teams lose that way. But I didn't want them to get a good look. I didn't use to do that. We just changed that."
Devendorf definitely agreed about the need to foul, even if it was his fifth.
"I had to! I couldn't have let him get a clean shot, he would have made that," Devendorf said. "Sean Singletary would have made that shot. I had to foul him. Arinze did a great job getting the rebound to seal the game."
Boeheim criticizes Wright
Senior point guard Josh Wright played two minutes. Jim Boeheim needed just about that much time to tear apart his performance.
After entering the game at the 8:41 mark of the first half, Wright stole an inbounds pass to assist on a Devendorf layup. But on the other end of the floor, Wright leaped in front of a Virginia pass but couldn't catch the ball, which went off his hands and out of bounds.
"He just does things that continue to amaze me," Boeheim said. "The ball was thrown to him, and he just can't catch it. He just…I don't know. Things happened that he does, they just shake me up. I just can't understand that. I don't want you to make a lot of 3's, but if the ball is thrown to you, just catch it. Especially when the other team throws it to you."
Four days after his first poor performance of the season - a nine-point, 1-for-12 showing against Tulane - the freshman rebounded with a stellar performance in a 70-68 win over Virginia. Greene's 20 points were a team-best to go along with 10 rebounds. More importantly, Greene made his shots when they counted most.
Fifteen of the freshman's points came in a second half in which Greene hit 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
"He made a couple real good plays down the stretch," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.
The biggest of Greene's shots came at the 5:01 mark, when Greene's 3-pointer from the corner gave the Orange a 63-61 lead it wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game. Boeheim went as far as to call Greene's shot the difference in the game.
"The corner was wide open with Donte standing there," junior Eric Devendorf said. "He made some crucial 3's down the stretch."
Throughout the game, Greene said he tried to set up those 3-point opportunities by working his inside game, something he hadn't done in previous contests. He flashed a jump hook inside and seemed to make an effort to spend more time as a post target.
"I definitely tried to go more inside, show them I'm not really a jump shooter," Greene said. "Most of my offense has come from jump shooting because they've just given me that."
With the UVa zone collapsing, Greene was able to burn the Cavaliers from deep, too. The result was a performance that better reinforced Greene's 18.9 point per game average coming in and once again left an opposing coach scratching his head wondering how to handle Greene.
"When we collapsed and were a little slow to our rotations, we were 4 or 5 feet late," Virginia head coach Dave Leitao said. "It meant he got an open shot."
To foul or not to foul
For the second time this season, Boeheim ordered his team to foul Virginia late in the game to avoid a potential desperation 3-point heave to tie the game.With 1.2 seconds left on the clock and SU ahead, 70-67, Eric Devendorf fouled Sean Singletary well behind the 3-point line before he could get a shot off.
Boeheim has changed his strategy. He used to not foul the opponent and instead defend a final shot. Now he's done it twice this season, the other time coming against St. Joseph's. Syracuse won that game, 72-69.
"The last 20 times I've watched that happen - a lot of times I've watched NBA games - like 80 percent of the time I've seen teams come down, shoot and make it," Boeheim said. "With one, two, three seconds to go, we've got a bigger team, we should be able to get the rebound; of course, it can bounce crazy, and I've seen teams lose that way. But I didn't want them to get a good look. I didn't use to do that. We just changed that."
Devendorf definitely agreed about the need to foul, even if it was his fifth.
"I had to! I couldn't have let him get a clean shot, he would have made that," Devendorf said. "Sean Singletary would have made that shot. I had to foul him. Arinze did a great job getting the rebound to seal the game."
Boeheim criticizes Wright
Senior point guard Josh Wright played two minutes. Jim Boeheim needed just about that much time to tear apart his performance.
After entering the game at the 8:41 mark of the first half, Wright stole an inbounds pass to assist on a Devendorf layup. But on the other end of the floor, Wright leaped in front of a Virginia pass but couldn't catch the ball, which went off his hands and out of bounds.
"He just does things that continue to amaze me," Boeheim said. "The ball was thrown to him, and he just can't catch it. He just…I don't know. Things happened that he does, they just shake me up. I just can't understand that. I don't want you to make a lot of 3's, but if the ball is thrown to you, just catch it. Especially when the other team throws it to you."
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