For the last three years, size had been anything but an issue for the Syracuse men’s basketball team.

During that time, 6-foot-11 center Darryl Watkins and 6-foot-9 forward Terrence Roberts patrolled the Carrier Dome paint for SU. The duo provided, if nothing else, a formidable presence down low and on the boards for the Orange.

Now with the departure of Roberts, Watkins and lanky, 6-foot-8 forward Demetris Nichols, the Orange frontcourt is suddenly thin. Redshirt sophomore Arinze Onuaku is penciled in as the starter at center and will be counted on heavily, but who will support Onuaku off the bench from SU’s crop of inexperienced big men is an issue SU head coach Jim Boeheim will have to address.

‘That’s a good question,’ Boeheim said at media day Oct. 12 when asked how he’ll handle his frontcourt personnel. ‘Arinze is obviously our only legitimate center.’

Onuaku will have to supply a lion’s share of the rebounds and blocks that his predecessors provided. Roberts and Watkins pulled down combined averages of 15.6 rebounds and scored 17 points per game last season.

It would be asking a lot from Onuaku, who missed all of last season due to a knee injury, to give that sort of production. In his freshman campaign, the center played in 29 games and averaged just 2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Still, Onuaku seems to be the least of Boeheim’s worries.

‘Arinze got enough playing time his first year to get a feel for the game and understand things,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’s used the year to get himself ready, and he’s done a very good job physically to get himself ready. He hasn’t wasted any time or sat around, and I think that’s important. I think he’ll be ready.’

The two alternatives to Onuaku at center are both largely unknowns. Sophomore Devin Brennan-McBride averaged just 3.8 minutes per game last year, and freshmen Sean Williams and Rick Jackson could be considered projects. Still, one will likely be counted on to provide a few minutes should Onuaku tire or get into foul trouble.

‘Devin and Sean are two key guys as we go through these first six weeks of practice to see how they develop and how much they can help us inside,’ Boeheim said.

There isn’t much more experience on the rest of the frontline. Freshman Donte Greene, listed at 6-foot-11, could challenge for a starting spot at forward. Yet despite his height, Greene is considered more of a perimeter player, and the lanky forward has admitted he needs to add weight to his frame to compete down low in the gritty Big East.

The other option is junior college transfer Kristof Ongenaet. The 6-foot-8 junior averaged 12 points and 11.7 rebounds for Cuesta (Calif.) Community College last season, and he is a player Boeheim said will ‘have a chance to really help us this year.’

With so many unknowns at the forward position, Onuaku said a possible solution could be a change in philosophy to a more guard-oriented mindset.

‘We’ve got a lot of talent, we can make up for (not having more depth at big man),’ Onuaku said. ‘I know you all remember Villanova when they had the four guards a couple years ago. It’s not about positions, it’s all about the talent, and we have a lot of chemistry on the team. I might be the only big man, but we’ve got a lot of people that can provide what we need in different areas.’

Just who will stake a claim to playing time in the Orange frontcourt will play itself out in the early weeks of the season. In the meantime, Boeheim will have to decipher ways to tinker with his lineup and get the most out of what has to be considered a thin area for his team.

‘I think there will be games that we won’t play with a center during stretches,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’ll either play three forwards and two guards or three guards and two forwards. … You do have guys that can play different positions and that’s good. Donte can line up at the four or the three, Ricky can, so we have some flexibility.’

Joseph visits SU

One of Syracuse’s three commitments from the 2008 class, Kris Joseph, was in attendance at Early Midnight Madness Friday night. Joseph, who is preparing for his senior year at Archbishop Carroll (D.C.) High School, took in the wild scene at Manley Field House, sitting courtside behind SU’s bench. Joseph committed to SU last April and is ranked as the 9th-best small forward in the nation by Scout.com.

Brandon Triche, a junior guard at nearby Jamesville-Dewitt High School, also showed up to witness the program’s first Midnight Madness in 13 years.

Published on October 22, 2007 at 12:00 pm