Scripted across Kris Joseph’s chest is a tattoo that reads ‘Grind Now Shine Later.’ He got this ink about a year and a half ago to serve as a permanent, and daily, reminder.

And not only for himself.

‘I feel like I live by that and everyone on this team should,’ Joseph said. ‘You work every day in practice to get to that national championship. That’s never going to stop.’

One game in, it looks like Syracuse’s best way to ‘shine later’ is to keep grinding on defense. SU’s active 2-3 zone pestered Albany on the perimeter all night in a 75-43 win, the 800th of head coach Jim Boeheim’s career. The celebration didn’t last too long, though. Tonight, the Orange (1-0) hosts Robert Morris at 7 p.m.

Players knew the key to rebounding from their embarrassing preseason loss to Le Moyne was defense – forcing turnovers that fuel the transition offense. Against Albany, the formula snowballed into a string of fast-break slams. Syracuse avoided any possible hangover from losing to their little brother down Euclid Avenue.

Joseph said Boeheim was ‘more demanding’ during practice after SU’s stunning 82-79 loss to Le Moyne. The urgency paid off Monday.

‘For the first game of the year, the one key thing was to be active on defense and I think we did that,’ Boeheim said.

In all, the Orange had 21 steals and scored 31 points off Albany’s 32 turnovers. In other words: three hours worth of waving arms, smothering traps and easy fastbreak finishes. To combat the loss of its three leading scorers, the Orange is running.

The personnel are in place to do so. What SU may lack in depth at guard, it compensates with long, athletic forwards like Wes Johnson, Mookie Jones, James Southerland and Joseph. As the sixth man, the 6-foot-7 Joseph invigorated the offense, throwing down thunderous dunks on the fastbreak.

His two jams in a one-minute span midway through the first half gave an instant emotional lift to the turnover-prone Orange. Albany called a timeout to slow the bleeding and Joseph raised his long wingspan into the air to recharge the crowd.

‘We get a steal and we’re gone, we’re breaking,’ Joseph said. ‘That leads to fastbreak points. A lot of teams won’t be able to guard that with a three and a four that can spring the lanes and get easy baskets.’

After averaging only 13 minutes per game last season, Joseph’s workload could easily double this winter. Even in a blowout, Joseph played 27 minutes Monday.

Each high-wire dunk further defined his role.

‘That’s what I try to do off the bench,’ he said. ‘I try to bring a spark to the game. Since I’m coming off the bench, I don’t want the team to lose anything. I have to bring who I’m subbing in for. I sub in for Rick (Jackson), I have to rebound and get easy baskets. That’s what I think I did. I played some defense and got around the court.’

His 12-point, five-rebound performance may have left fans wanting more – but not at Andy Rautins’ expense. The health of Syracuse’s sniper is the team’s biggest concern heading into tonight’s game. Early in the second half, Rautins crashed awkwardly on his left ankle. He grimaced and limped around the court briefly before heading to the locker room for the rest of the game.

Teammates aren’t worried.

‘Andy’s a warrior,’ point guard Scoop Jardine said. ‘He’ll come back.’

Robert Morris isn’t a pushover. Last year, the Colonials won the Northeast Conference championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to No. 2-seed Michigan State, 77-62. This year, Robert Morris will be leaning on its own end-to-end, full-court pressure to get back to the Big Dance.

Whichever the case, Syracuse has a better idea of what it needs to do to succeed this season. When Jonny Flynn ascended to the NBA Draft, the team’s identity left with him. Albeit against an inferior opponent, Syracuse progressed toward a new identity.

A blend of youth, experience and long players could make the Orange a dangerous defensive team.

‘This year, we should be better than ever defensively,’ point guard Brandon Triche said. ‘I think that’s going to win us games.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on November 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm