Fourteen men — although some of them, because of age, barely qualify as such — move toward center court as practice winds down.

They come from different directions, drifting toward the forming mass of Syracuse basketball players as if being pulled by some gravitational force. They extend their arms, forming a bond, and shout, ‘Big East Champs!’

Then they break away, smiling and joking.

For a moment, 14 Orangemen became a single entity, with one clearly identified purpose. Fourteen men. One goal.

‘This year, there’s such a high magnitude (of chemistry) that I love coming to practice every day,’ sophomore center Craig Forth said. ‘Last year, the basketball wasn’t fun. This year, it’s fun. But I’m going to stop comparing this year to last year. This year, I’m having so much fun, I don’t even want to think about last year.’

Who could blame him? Last year, 14 men had 14 different goals. There was less determination and purpose, less joking and bonding.

It seemed Syracuse forgot basketball is supposed to be fun. After SU lost eight of its last 12 regular-season games, fell in the first round of the Big East tournament and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, it became impossible to remember.

But since the start of last season, half the roster has been gutted. And the new Orangemen seem to have found a new concept — team.

This year, players gravitate toward each other. Those who wouldn’t have (think DeShaun Williams) were allowed to drift away.

‘We just lost our chemistry at the end of last year,’ said Kueth Duany, who as the lone senior may be the sun that holds Syracuse’s solar system in place. ‘Teams just played us different, and we didn’t play as well as we did early in the year. Chemistry probably had something do with that.’

Actually, it has everything to do with that. At times last season, the tension and concern in the SU locker room was almost tangible. This year, at least in the preseason, the Orangemen have relaxed and learned to shield themselves from distractions that could pull them apart.

Perhaps that comes with experience. Take Forth, for example. Last year, he slammed himself after losses, putting Syracuse’s problems on his freshman shoulders.

This offseason, he made those shoulders 25 pounds bigger, and he plans on lightening the load they’ll carry.

‘I’m not being as hard on myself as I was last season because I think my confidence is a lot higher,’ Forth said. ‘I fit in on this team better. That helps a lot. My ability has gotten better over the summer. So the confidence is there. That’s real high.’

Said Boeheim: ‘He’s got to relax and not be as hard on himself and let the game come to him. If he takes it a bit easier, he’ll be fine.’

Fellow sophomores Josh Pace and Hakim Warrick have learned similar lessons.

‘Right now, there’s not any pressure,’ Pace said. ‘We’ve just got to go out and play Syracuse basketball.’

All three sophomores have felt the pressure of fickle Syracuse fans, who Forth said turned on the Orangemen last season. Forth has stopped flipping on sports-talk radio and logging on to Internet chat rooms.

Instead, the Orangemen listen to each other, reinforcing the bonds that have brought them together. And that will make this season distinct from the last one.

‘We’ve got a much better team than last year,’ Forth said. ‘We’ve got a lot to prove from last year. The only difference is, we’re not thinking about last year.’

Published on November 13, 2002 at 12:00 pm