One of the biggest question marks for the Syracuse men’s basketball team entering this season is who will earn the final starting position.

Sophomores Demetris Nichols and Louie McCroskey, along with freshman Josh Wright, are all vying for the final spot.

Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome, while Nichols started, Wright tried his best to earn the job. Gerry McNamara, Josh Pace, Hakim Warrick and Craig Forth rounded out the starting five.

Wright, from Utica, wowed the crowd of 9,468 with a variety of spins, quick passes and dances through the lane in the Orange’s 101-46 victory over Le Moyne in both teams’ exhibition opener.

‘That’s my game,’ Wright said of his crowd-pleasing moves. ‘That’s the way I play. I just wanted to go out and get a feel for things.’

Though Wright only scored two points, he showed signs of a true point guard – something Syracuse has lacked with the absence of Billy Edelin, who is eligible to play this semester but won’t until head coach Jim Boeheim deems him academically ready.

McNamara led SU in scoring with 14 points and seven assists. Four other SU players scored 12 points.

All preseason, Wright’s Syracuse teammates bragged about his lightning-fast speed. Last night, his quick first step blew by Dolphin defenders with ease, finding his teammates in the lane for easy scoring chances, contributing five assists. He only turned the ball over twice.

‘Josh Wright did some great things,’ Boeheim said. ‘He pushed the ball up court. But he made some overly complicated plays that he doesn’t need to make.’

If Boeheim picks Wright as the fifth starter, it would force McNamara back to the shooting guard position – a spot McNamara has rarely occupied during his time at Syracuse, but possibly his most natural position. Both Boeheim and McNamara said they’re comfortable with McNamara at either position.

McNamara ran the point during his freshman year while Billy Edelin served a suspension during the first semester. That year, Kueth Duany played shooting guard. Last season, Edelin began the year at point guard, but left the team midseason, forcing McNamara back to the point.

At the end of last season, McNamara wore down, playing the latter part of the season with an injured groin. While Nichols started in place of Edelin at the end of last season and has an advantage in experience, Wright provides added versatility.

‘Gerry’s such a good scorer, it’s hard for him to make plays and score,’ McCroskey said. ‘(With someone else at point guard), it would leave Gerry with one job to do – and that’s the job he does best – shoot the ball.’

Against Le Moyne, Wright proved himself capable of leading one of the nation’s top teams. Midway through the first half, on a fast break, Terrence Roberts flipped a pass across the lane to Wright, who promptly threw a neat pass back to Roberts for the score.

Moments later, Wright scooped up a loose ball on defense, dribbled the length of the court, crossed through the lane and dropped off a pass to Roberts for the finish. Wright’s fancy dribbling on that play drew a large applause from the crowd.

Just minutes later, Wright whipped a no-look pass through the lane, again finding Roberts, who fed freshman forward Dayshawn Wright for the score.

Josh Wright also tried his own McNamara imitation, lofting an alley-oop for Darryl Watkins, but Watkins couldn’t finish the play.

‘Josh is a tempo guy,’ McNamara said. ‘He can change the tempo and change the game around. He’s going to be a very good player in this league.’

And, surprisingly, Wright made plays mostly without SU’s starters on the court. It remains to be seen how well Wright and McNamara can play together because the two only shared the court for a few minutes.

Wright also refrained from shooting, attempting just two shots, both of which he missed. He said he’s not afraid to shoot, but in his first game, he wanted to involve his teammates more.

While Nichols got the start last night, it remains to be seen who will start in the end. Wright said he’s not thinking about starting. In fact, he’s tired of the question. McNamara said he’s comfortable at either position.

‘I’ve played the one and the two,’ McNamara said. ‘I don’t care. I played point and did well; (Wright) played the point and did well. I don’t care. I just want to be out on the court.’

Published on November 2, 2004 at 12:00 pm