Freshman basketball player Louie McCroskey will not practice with the Syracuse team for an undisclosed amount of time due to an academic issue, according to an department of athletics release.

McCroskey, a guard from St. Raymond High School in the Bronx, refused to comment on the suspension.

In workouts and scrimmages over the last two months, McCroskey impressed teammates with a deadly outside jumper and a quick first step.

‘Louie might be the most game-ready freshman we have,’ said SU guard Josh Pace. ‘He’s going to contribute right away.’

A month into the fall semester, McCroskey also thought he had a good handle on his class work.

‘Sure, school’s hard,’ McCroskey said then. ‘But I’ve made a good adjustment. It’s all about managing your time. You’ve got so many things to juggle – classes, practices, workouts, lifting weights, everything. You just have to plan out a schedule. It takes some time to get used to, but I feel comfortable where I’m at.’

Syracuse’s three other scholarship freshmen – also McCroskey’s three closest friends – didn’t seem too worried about McCroskey, either.

‘All four of us should be in good shape,’ said forward Terrence Roberts. ‘If anybody took a while to catch on to the academic side, it would be me. I kind of struggled at first. Everyone else just jumped right in.’

Published on October 19, 2003 at 12:00 pm