The slight frame and calm mannerisms are only a cover for the fighting spirit within.

Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr, whose playing weight never exceeded 170 pounds, has a competitive fire that’s yet to be extinguished. Not even after a 26-year basketball odyssey that included two stops in Syracuse.

Orr recently passed through the Carrier Dome when Syracuse hosted the Pirates on Jan. 8. Tonight, the Orangemen visit New Jersey for another matchup with Seton Hall (12-13, 5-7 Big East) at 7:30 at Continental Airlines Arena.

Syracuse (19-7, 8-4) was the first stop on Orr’s basketball tour. He joined the team as a freshman in 1976, the same year SU named Jim Boeheim head coach.

“He was one of our first recruits,” Boeheim said. “And he was one of our unbelievable players.”

So unbelievable that the Indiana Pacers drafted Orr with the 28th pick in the 1980 NBA draft. Orr spent eight years in the NBA. Fittingly, he spent six with the New York Knicks, whose team colors happen to be blue and orange.

But after his time in the NBA, Orr had to wait until 1996 to once again don SU’s team colors. He joined the team as an assistant coach after previous stints at Providence and Xavier. Orr finally made the jump to head coaching in 2000, when he landed a job at Siena and promptly guided the Saints to a 20-11 record.

While Siena excelled under Orr, Seton Hall’s 2000-01 season was marred by in-fighting and intrigue, much of it revolving around Eddie Griffin. The star forward eventually bolted for the NBA draft but not before punching teammate Ty Shine in the face.

In the wake of the disaster, marked by a 5-11 conference record, coach Tommy Amaker moved on to Michigan. The Seton Hall basketball puzzle was spilled on the floor, and Orr was hired to put the pieces back together.

“There were so many distractions, and that team was so pulled apart,” Boeheim said. “But they just had to be put back together, and I think he has done that. I talk to him quite a bit. He’s hanging in there. It’s tough when you take over a program like he did.”

“The season is a marathon,” Orr said. “You’ve got to keep the team focused. You’ve got to keep them up, especially in this market. You can’t lose the focus of your players and your team. Every game is a challenge in this league. That makes it enjoyable. That makes you at your best.”

When SU played Seton Hall last month, it was Syracuse that was at its best. The Orangemen shot 61 percent from the field and outrebounded the Pirates 32-25. Four of Syracuse’s five starters scored in double figures, led by Preston Shumpert’s 19.

“It seemed like all of our shots were falling,” SU guard James Thues said after that game. “We just found the open guys and moved the ball around on offense.”

The Orangemen’s latest offensive effort against Notre Dame on Sunday was far less impressive; they shot 44 percent in a 68-65 win.

SU can’t afford to get caught looking ahead to Sunday’s matchup against Georgetown at the Carrier Dome. A win against the Pirates and a Pittsburgh loss to Rutgers would put the Orangemen just one game behind first-place Pitt in the Big East West.

Seton Hall guards Andre Barrett and Darius Lane make the Pirates more dangerous than their sixth-place spot in the Big East West leads on. The tandem averages 16.3 and 12.6 points, respectively.

Combine that with Orr’s likely adrenaline rush, and tonight’s game could be more competitive than a casual observer might think.

“I just think about as a player how competitive he was and how hard he played,” Boeheim said.

Published on February 20, 2002 at 12:00 pm