Andy Rautins has already pulled DaShonte Riley aside for a chat. The season depends on it. If Syracuse is going to make a run at a national title, Rautins knows that it’ll need the seven-foot freshman to grow up. Fast.
 
‘I think he’ll be well prepared,’ Rautins said. ‘He’s a smart kid that is athletic too, so he can certainly help us.’
 
The Orange will need it. A dose of bad news sprinkled on Syracuse’s parade Sunday. Arinze Onuaku, who suffered a right knee injury against Georgetown on Thursday, hasn’t healed as quickly as expected. Head coach Jim Boeheim said he doesn’t expect Onuaku to play this coming weekend in Buffalo.
 
No. 1 Orange will play No. 16 Vermont on Friday at the HSBC Arena.
 
‘It’d be hard for him to play on Friday if he can’t get to practice by Wednesday,’ Boeheim said. ‘That’s where he is. It’s disappointing.’
 
The contingency plans are underway. If Onuaku can’t go, swingman Kris Joseph will start and Riley will enter the rotation, Boeheim said. Syracuse will play small ball, looking to turn the game into a track meet any chance it gets. Boeheim said Syracuse has used such a smaller lineup about 60 percent of the time this season. In that sense, Onuaku’s absence isn’t a radical change.
 
‘We’d like to have Kris coming off the bench, but he gives us a little bit more mobility,’ Boeheim said. ‘We can get up and down a little bit better.’
 
Onuaku injured his knee when he landed awkwardly trying to block a shot on Georgetown’s Greg Monroe in Thursday’s Big East Quarterfinal. The pain is coming from his ‘quad area,’ he said. After an MRI Friday, the team announced that it expected Onuaku to return to practice Monday. But not now. Onuaku will miss SU’s practice on Monday and Tuesday, continuing to work with SU’s trainers.
 
This weekend is still a target date. Though it’s unlikely he’ll play, he’s trying to stay upbeat, trying to find a way to prolong his college career.
 
‘We are taking it day-by-day and it has been getting better so I am hoping for the best,’ Onuaku said.

So Rautins told Riley to go harder this week at practice. He has already broken down the 2-3 zone for him and detailed what to do in certain screen-and-roll situations. Riley struggled in his brief cameo appearance in Georgetown on Feb. 18. In five minutes, he didn’t record a single point or a rebound while getting pummeled by Monroe underneath.
 
Since then, Boeheim has seen improvement.
 
‘DaShonte has been playing better in practice,’ Boeheim said. ‘This week, he knows he’s going to play so he’ll get some practice time, get some attention. It’s a little easier for him that we do play zone to step in there. He doesn’t really hurt us on offense. He’s a very good passer. I think he can give us a few good minutes.’
 
As Boeheim said, maybe the next 72 hours will bring new developments. Maybe Onuaku is able to give Syracuse 10-15 minutes. For now, it’s unlikely. After crashing on the knees that have given him trouble throughout college, Onuaku’s return does not appear imminent.
 
All season, Syracuse has soldiered on without a key contributor here or there. And players like Wes Johnson are trying to stay positive.
 
‘We’ve played without him in some of the games, so it’s not going to be too different for us,’ Johnson said. ‘If he’s able to play, he’s able to play. But we don’t know yet.’
 
thdunne@syr.edu