By Friday, it will have been 15 days of wall-to-wall coverage. Spanning four games, a national holiday and a trip to New York City, the dark cloud hovering over the Syracuse men’s basketball program is unrelenting.

The No. 4 team in the nation, undefeated at 7-0, continues to play second fiddle to the sex abuse scandal surrounding its former associate head coach, Bernie Fine.

‘The only thing we can do is just go out there and play basketball and get them to talk about us and not this,’ sophomore guard Dion Waiters said. ‘And that’s what we’re trying to do. You know it’s going to be around for a while. The only thing we can do is continue to keep winning and get back focused on the Syracuse basketball team.’

On Friday, Syracuse hosts No. 10 Florida (5-1) in a matchup of top-10 teams that will be Syracuse’s biggest game of the season so far. But in the wake of Fine’s dismissal from the university following allegations of molestation by three individuals, the Orange’s on-court performance is continually overlooked. Head coach Jim Boeheim and the players insist they are not distracted by the hoopla and hysteria of the situation, but Friday’s game in Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. with the Gators will be a much more difficult test than any other Syracuse has faced this season.

Boeheim ended an intense 20-minute press conference following Tuesday’s win over Eastern Michigan and former SU assistant coach Rob Murphy by addressing the idea of possible distractions going forward.

And much like he did following the Orange’s blowout win over Colgate on Nov. 19 — two days after the original news broke on ESPN — Boeheim continued to assert that the whirlwind going on outside the program has no bearing on his team’s preparation.

‘The last thing I’d like to cover, because I’ve heard this a lot — the players will not be distracted,’ Boeheim said. ‘We may not win every game. If we lose a game, it’s not going to be because they’re distracted. They’re going to play. We’ll keep them focused.

‘I think people talk about focus, whether it’s this or distractions — whatever it is. Those are excuses. We do not make excuses.’

The allegations and ensuing investigation of Fine come during a season in which Boeheim has arguably one of his most talented teams ever during his 36-year tenure. He’s acknowledged that it’s definitely one of his deepest teams, with nine players averaging more than 13 minutes per game, and the team has its sights set on winning a national championship.

Yet the undefeated start, NIT Season Tip-Off title and scoring margin of plus-26.1 points are overlooked. The focus has turned away from the high level of basketball played by the Orange and landed on stomach-turning allegations of sexual abuse against a man who has been a staple in the SU program since the 1970s.

‘I think it’s unfortunate more than anything, to happen to a program like us,’ SU guard Brandon Triche said. ‘Just for the type of media attention we’re getting, it’s tough. But we just have to stay focused and focus on basketball.’

Despite all the assurances from Boeheim and his players that concentration won’t be inhibited, it’s difficult to imagine that the swarm of media isn’t on anyone’s mind.

After the game against Colgate, Triche and Scoop Jardine both talked about having to use alternate entrances to the Carrier Dome and Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center to avoid the press. And with Tuesday’s game playing host to what seemed like double the amount of media, Boeheim and the players were questioned relentlessly about the situation with Fine.

For Waiters, it has become old hat.

‘You could see it on TV so much now, the only thing you could say is like, ‘What’s new?” Waiters said. ‘We’re just focusing on this game by game and going out and trying to play hard and get better as a group.’

Friday’s game against the Gators isn’t a contest SU can skate through. It’s not Colgate or Manhattan or Fordham. Florida is a team with legitimate talent, led by a stellar backcourt of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton.

It’s a game that a lack of focus — if in fact there is one — will doom the Orange. And should SU lose, the deluge of questions about distractions will pour in once again.

‘It’s been crazy, but at the end of the day, the only thing we can focus on is basketball,’ Waiters said. ‘Like coach Boeheim said, it’s about us as a team. It’s times like this that we can bring it together and have each others’ backs. That’s what we try to do.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

 

Published on November 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13