Spring Break
The Daily OrangeBerman: Little success after national titles burden SU, Maryland
By Zach Berman
Posted: 3/19/08, 10:29 PM EST Section: Sports
The NCAA Tournament will captivate the nation's attention for the next three weeks, and Syracuse won't be involved for the second season in a row.
Many of the elite programs of college basketball will advance beyond this weekend. Syracuse hasn't done this in five years.
An entire class of students has arrived at Syracuse and will graduate in May without ever seeing an NCAA Tournament victory. This never happened since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The recent struggles reflect not just fan despair, but of a slip in the program's prestige.
This is not an obituary of the program, which will certainly be among the top teams in the preseason rankings next season if everyone returns from what was a young and inexperienced squad. Instead, it is representative of the burden of winning a national title. When Hakim Warrick blocked Michael Lee's potential game-winner to secure SU's first national title in 2003, the excitement for the program increased, and the expectations rose in result. This came from the outside, but it isn't unreasonable to expect the five years following a national championship to be better than the five years before a national championship.
This has not been the case for Syracuse, nor tonight's opponent, Maryland, which won the national title in 2002. Tonight's game will be billed as two powerhouse programs. But when the numbers are dissected, that power is more a figment of reputation than of production.
In the five seasons prior to the national championship in 2003, Syracuse was 121-48, 5-4 in the NCAA Tournament with one NIT appearance. In the five years since the national title, Syracuse is 117-51 with a 2-3 record in the NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances.
Part of this can be contributed to Carmelo Anthony's one-and-done stint, yet the national championship was supposed to incite recruiting. Syracuse recruits higher-rated players than before, yet the effectiveness hasn't transpired. The most frustrating case was in 2004, when the Orange's two-man class was Josh Wright and Dayshawn Wright, a pair of four-star recruits who contributed little and did not last until their senior seasons at SU.
Many of the elite programs of college basketball will advance beyond this weekend. Syracuse hasn't done this in five years.
An entire class of students has arrived at Syracuse and will graduate in May without ever seeing an NCAA Tournament victory. This never happened since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The recent struggles reflect not just fan despair, but of a slip in the program's prestige.
This is not an obituary of the program, which will certainly be among the top teams in the preseason rankings next season if everyone returns from what was a young and inexperienced squad. Instead, it is representative of the burden of winning a national title. When Hakim Warrick blocked Michael Lee's potential game-winner to secure SU's first national title in 2003, the excitement for the program increased, and the expectations rose in result. This came from the outside, but it isn't unreasonable to expect the five years following a national championship to be better than the five years before a national championship.
This has not been the case for Syracuse, nor tonight's opponent, Maryland, which won the national title in 2002. Tonight's game will be billed as two powerhouse programs. But when the numbers are dissected, that power is more a figment of reputation than of production.
In the five seasons prior to the national championship in 2003, Syracuse was 121-48, 5-4 in the NCAA Tournament with one NIT appearance. In the five years since the national title, Syracuse is 117-51 with a 2-3 record in the NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances.
Part of this can be contributed to Carmelo Anthony's one-and-done stint, yet the national championship was supposed to incite recruiting. Syracuse recruits higher-rated players than before, yet the effectiveness hasn't transpired. The most frustrating case was in 2004, when the Orange's two-man class was Josh Wright and Dayshawn Wright, a pair of four-star recruits who contributed little and did not last until their senior seasons at SU.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
S. Grzelak
posted 3/20/08 @ 9:47 AM EST
Well written article that could be supplemented with two key points.
First, the NCAA tournament has clearly moved from representing the BEST 64-65 teams to one that has remained loyal to smaller, less talented conference winners. (Continued…)
Marc LeVine
posted 3/21/08 @ 11:48 AM EST
Problem with an article like this is that it often comes back to haunt the writer in the future.
I remember reading an article about the Boston Red Sox back in '86, after the Mets beat them in the World Series. (Continued…)
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