One after another, the questions about Bernie Fine poured in. Sitting on a stool in front of his locker following a blowout win over Colgate, Scoop Jardine faced roughly 15 inquiries in a row about the Syracuse associate head coach and the allegations of molestation against him.

Eventually, the topic reigned supreme in Jardine’s thought process. So much so that when he was finally questioned about the game against the Raiders, Jardine didn’t even realize.

When asked about the effectiveness of the press, the fifth-year senior simply assumed the reporter was talking about the media and not the stifling SU defense that forced 26 turnovers in a 92-47 win.

‘Oh, the press? Man I’m cool,’ Jardine said. ‘Ask questions about Colgate, Virignia Tech. I don’t know nothing, so all I can give you is about Colgate.’

Despite countless assurances that the players are focused solely on basketball, Jardine’s quick lapse proves the whirlwind of negative attention on the Syracuse program lurks at least in the back of everyone’s mind. With that added weight, the Orange (4-0) is in New York City this week for the conclusion of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. In the basketball and media capital of the world, SU must attempt to block out the ongoing saga that is the alleged Bernie Fine sex abuse scandal as it looks to remain undefeated in the young season.

On Wednesday, No. 5 Syracuse takes on Virginia Tech (3-0) at 9:30 p.m. The Orange will play again on Friday against either Oklahoma State (3-0) or Stanford (4-0), who play each other in the first semifinal Wednesday night.

As the news of the renewed allegations by Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, two former SU ball boys, broke on ESPN Thursday afternoon and evening, hordes of media descended upon Syracuse.

Head coach Jim Boeheim closed practice on Friday, and curtains were put up on the windows of the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center to prevent anyone from getting a look at the Orange’s practice.

Jardine said the players had to enter and exit the building through the back doors, a procedure that would be repeated for access to the Carrier Dome against Colgate a day later.

‘We really couldn’t block out what was going on. It was all over the TVs and all over everywhere,’ Jardine said after the game.

It’s doubtful the continuous questioning and attention will decrease let alone cease during the next few days in New York. But at least Syracuse is able to play in Madison Square Garden, the ‘Mecca of basketball,’ as sophomore guard Dion Waiters put it.

There, Syracuse is in pursuit of the NIT Season Tip-Off title. A win would make this the second consecutive season in which the Orange has won a tournament to open the season, after winning the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. last year.

And after four straight games in the Carrier Dome on a campus suddenly the hotspot of the second alleged sex abuse scandal to hit college sports in the last month, the change of scenery is welcomed.

‘Finally,’ sophomore center Baye Moussa Keita said after the game. ‘We’ve been playing at the Dome, which is our home, but after the Dome the Garden is our second place. That’s good to change that up a little bit.’

Junior guard Brandon Triche assured the media after the game against Colgate that the allegations surrounding Fine and resulting frenzy will be ‘easy for us to get over.’

But this week’s trip to New York will certainly put that on the line. In his post game press conference after the win over Colgate, Boeheim said there are 22 hours in a day that the players and coaches have to do what they need to do. And it’s only about two hours each day that they must all focus on nothing but basketball.

The ability to put everything behind them will certainly be tested this week, as the pack of media makes camp at Madison Square Garden and the investigation continues back in Syracuse.

‘The main thing was just to be there for Coach Fine and try to be there as much as we can,’ Jardine said after the game. ‘But what he would want us to do is focus on basketball and continue to play the game that we love to do.

‘And that will take a lot from what’s going on, because when you’re playing basketball it’s all you think about.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on November 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13