Kris Joseph will happily take time to teach the hand gesture he does after scintillating plays. Just ask him.

The sophomore forward will demonstrate the correct way to bend fingers and form a makeshift ‘1-6-0’ that he might throw up, say, after a dunk against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden that rivets the crowd.

He raises his pinky finger into the air to make the 1. At the same time, he raises his ring finger while connecting his index and middle finger to his thumb creating a circle for the 6 and the 0.

‘In Montreal, there was a bus that went around my whole neighborhood,’ said Joseph, referring to his hometown. ‘Where I’m from, it’s called Uptown, and instead of saying uptown, we used to say 1-6-0. We were young, and my group of friends and I used to call that because of the bus that went around.’

With increased playing time this season, Joseph has had plenty of chances to connect to his friends at home – and is making the most of the opportunity. Joseph will have his next opportunity to contribute when No. 7 Syracuse plays No. 10 Florida today in the Big East/SEC Invitational at 9 p.m. at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

Joseph is averaging 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game this season.

‘We think that both Scoop (Jardine) and Kris are good enough to be out there all the time,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said about his top two reserves following Syracuse’s 101-55 win over Maine Saturday. ‘And we think they are starters, and we expect them to play like starters.’

Joseph described his freshman year as ‘up and down.’ He said he wasn’t mentally or physically ready for college basketball, or Big East play for that matter, and he knew he had to work over the summer to hang with the big boys.

Joseph averaged just 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds over 34 games last year, with his highest point total coming against Oakland in the third game of the season.

During the summer, he worked out with Director of Strength & Conditioning Ryan Cabiles at 6 a.m. before heading to shoot around with Jardine and walk-on Nick Resavy. There were also pool workouts with Coordinator of Player Development/Asst. Strength & Conditioning Lazarus Sims, alongside Arinze Onuaku and Wes Johnson. The pool workouts were to condition his body to be ready for 40 minutes of play.

‘It was a whole process for the whole summer while I was up here to commit myself to doing these things,’ Joseph said. ‘So I could get better this year.’

The work is evidently paying off. Joseph is the first forward to come off the bench to spell starters Johnson, Onuaku and Rick Jackson. He is averaging 25.3 minutes this season as the Orange has rolled to an undefeated start. In Syracuse’s win over then-No. 6 North Carolina, Joseph played 30 minutes and scored 12 points.

Joseph said he has improved his slashing and passing this year, which has come as a result of his condition. He said last year he would get tired faster and be a step slower, while this year, he has been at the same level, or a level ahead, of the defense. He has been particularly effective cutting to the hoop before kicking the ball out to a wide open shooter on the wings for a 3-pointer.

‘I think he learned his role last year and him coming in knowing what he had to do, we lost those guys, so I think he’s a boost for us,’ Johnson said. ‘He’s coming off (the bench) and giving us a spark. I think that’s the role he’s playing in, and he’s helping us. He knows he has to step up.’

Joseph’s progression could play a key role for the Orange down the stretch, allowing the starters to rest more and have fresher legs as the postseason tournaments creep up in March. But for now, he’s just having fun. He’s playing plenty and getting a chance to show love to his hometown boys by flashing the 1-6-0.

‘It’s just for anybody at home watching the game, I never forget about them,’ Joseph said. ‘I want them to know I’m still thinking about them and stuff like that.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on December 9, 2009 at 12:00 pm