It’s a problem over which Jim Boeheim is not all too distraught. Syracuse has six starters, but not enough room to accommodate them all.

Three of the positions are set in stone and are unlikely to change all season – center Darryl Watkins, Terrence Roberts at power forward and Demetris Nichols, the other forward. In fact, the three started at their respective positions in all 35 games last season.

But then comes the backcourt. Eric Devendorf, incumbent starter at shooting guard, is expected to return to that spot. The only position in flux is that left by Gerry McNamara, point guard.

As far as Boeheim goes, it’s a non-issue.

‘I would think that we could play as we get into practice and the season, I’m sure that we could play without a point guard,’ Boeheim said. ‘We have guys who can handle the ball. I’m not as concerned about that.’

Still, SU has to have someone bring the ball up the court. Boeheim at least conceded this.

‘I think that we have enough guys who can handle the ball,’ Boeheim said. ‘We may not have a traditional point guard on the court at all times, but that’s not a major concern of mine.’

Devendorf is a scorer, with notoriously shaky ball-handling skills. Josh Wright, the only true point guard on the roster, can handle the ball, but his jump shot is often criticized. Freshman Paul Harris is the X-factor, but he’s said point guard isn’t exactly his strongest position.

‘If that’s what (Boeheim) wants me to do, then that’s what I got to do: work on my point guard skills,’ Harris said.

While many expect one of the nation’s top freshmen to start from day one, Boeheim could be thinking otherwise.

Last season Devendorf didn’t start until the sixth game of the season, a 96-77 win over Siena on Nov. 25. SU had lost its two previous games. Louie McCroskey started the first five games for the Orange at shooting guard before Devendorf took over.

McCroskey transferred to Marist during the summer.

Boeheim may employ similar tactics to this year’s team in relation to Harris. Wright averaged 12.9 minutes per game in 2005-06 and did not start a game. But he was the primary replacement for an injured McNamara during the season.

Wright played 30 minutes in the Orange’s first-round NCAA tournament loss to Texas A&M. He scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting.

‘I think that Josh Wright has showed signs of being able to run a basketball team and do the things you need to do as a point guard,’ Boeheim said. ‘I think that’s important.’

However, Devendorf was looking forward to playing alongside Harris-and the potential the two have together.

‘That could be one of the top 10 backcourts in the country,’ Devendorf said, in reference to Harris and himself. ‘The talent we got on this team in the backcourt is crazy. I’m just looking forward to it.’

Onuaku needs surgery

The one piece of bad news for the Orange that emerged from Media Day was the status of forward-center Arinze Onuaku’s knee. The sophomore will require surgery to repair a torn quadriceps tendon in his left knee.

SU may decide to seek a medical redshirt for Onuaku. His timetable for return is unknown at this point, but Boeheim seemed certain he would miss at least all of non-conference play.

The injury depletes an already thin corps in the front lines. Onuaku was the primary reserve at center last season, which leaves Boeheim to decide between contingency plans to replace Watkins in case of foul trouble or simply for a rest.

‘I think we’ll play Terrence,’ Boeheim said. ‘Terrence has played inside at five, and Matt (Gorman) can certainly play there, too. We have the makeup to have a very good small unit that we can play together. Even though we’d be small size-wise, we have guys who can certainly rebound and play inside if they had to.’

The small lineup Boeheim referenced could include 6-foot-8 Nichols seeing time at power forward. In addition, freshman center Devin Brennan-McBride could see an increased role in out-of-conference play.

‘It could help (Brennan-McBride),’ Boeheim said. ‘It could help him. We only have 10 players, so that’s something that could be a factor. And when Arinze comes back – if he does come back – we’ll know the answer to that. We won’t know the answer to that for at least a couple of months.’

This and that

PinnacleSports.com, the largest sports betting site on the Internet, lists Syracuse as a 50-1 long shot at winning the national championship. Defending champion Florida is this year’s favorite at 5-1 odds. … Walk-ons Todd Burach and Jake Presutti sported new numbers Friday at Media Day. Burach was wearing No. 12 and Presutti No. 32 after freshmen Harris (No. 11) and Mike Jones (No. 5) took their previous digits, respectively. … Just 14 days remain until SU’s first exhibition game vs. Bryant, Nov. 1.

Published on October 16, 2006 at 12:00 pm