Again, freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph looked on from the Syracuse bench as his teammates battled an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent to the finish.

After playing 14 minutes of the first half of the Orange’s 86-83 overtime win against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, Joseph subbed out at the 16:13 mark of the second half and never stepped back onto the court.

Ron Patterson — a sophomore guard who regularly replaces Joseph to increase activity atop SU’s 2-3 zone — played 28 total minutes in the freshman’s place. But this time, running Patterson with Syracuse’s four other starters was an offensive-minded change.

“Kaleb has to be a little more aggressive,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “He’s going in circles out there. He’s got to go to the basket and try to get something. He’s going sideways all the time now, and he’s a better player than that.”

In the Orange’s (13-4, 4-0 ACC) first game without freshman forward Chris McCullough, Boeheim played just seven players and stuck with a lineup of Patterson, Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, Tyler Roberson and Rakeem Christmas for the last 21:13 of game time. That group left Joseph on the bench, and it was Patterson’s aggression going to the rim that led Boeheim to run him in Joseph’s spot.

Boeheim said after the win that Joseph is capable of being the player that collected 10 points and 10 assists, his only career double-double, in the Orange’s loss to then-No. 7 Villanova on Dec. 20, 2014. That player wasn’t on the court Tuesday, but will have a chance to peek out of Joseph’s first-year shell when SU travels to Clemson (9-7, 1-3) for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday.

“He wants to me to take more shots,” Joseph said of Boeheim’s criticism. “So that’s what I’m going to try and do.”

At the end of the first half, just before Demon Deacons guard Codi Miller-McIntyre’s 3 from near half court gave WFU a one-point lead heading into the break, Joseph was aggressive to a fault.

He dribbled up top as the first-half clock wound down, then knifed into the paint where two Wake Forest forwards awaited. He moved sideways, as Boeheim said he is doing too often, and ended up throwing the ball right into outstretched arms before dribbling aimlessly into the right corner where he heaved a desperation 3.

It was blocked, and four minutes into the second half Joseph’s line closed at four points, three rebounds, two assists and one turnover.

“You have to remember he’s a freshman,” Cooney said. “We’ve been spoiled here and we’ve had one-and-dones and things like that. But he has to realize the process. I sat out my whole entire freshman year.

“… Kaleb’s good. And he’s going to be really, really good. He just has to keep fighting.”

Patterson wasn’t dazzling in place of Joseph, but was effective driving baseline and creating opportunities for his teammates. Boeheim noted that Patterson’s contributions didn’t show up in the final box score, but that he made a number of plays that “led to something else.”

Joseph’s replacement is drawing more praise than him, and the competition for who earns Boeheim’s full trust in the lineup with Cooney and Gbinije is still high up in the air.

“Coach just wants me to be more aggressive,” Joseph said after the Wake Forest game. “He wants me to try and make more plays, get in the lanes and create opportunities for myself and other guys.”

Published on January 15, 2015 at 12:10 am

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse