Throughout the preseason, Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has repeatedly stated the sophomore class must have a breakout season.

Last year, the group of Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts, Louie McCroskey and Darryl Watkins over-hyped itself and didn’t come too close to meeting expectations.

But if the quartet plays anything like it did in Tuesday night’s 101-46 victory over Le Moyne at the Carrier Dome, Boeheim might not be able to help smiling at the group’s progress.

Roberts, McCroskey and Watkins each scored 12 points, while Nichols finished with seven.

‘Terrence looked really good early,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’s been really good in practice. The sophomores showed major improvement.’

Roberts, known as the most vocal of the group, played in control, something he rarely did last season. Instead of rushing shots and dunks, Roberts took his time and finished plays.

Though Watkins and McCroskey got off to slow starts – both looked sluggish when they took the court midway through the first half – the two emerged after halftime. Watkins played solidly down low, and McCroskey showed off his 3-point shot.

‘The game slowed down a little bit in the second half,’ McCroskey said. ‘I was open a few times and they found me.’

Junior forward Matt Gorman will redshirt this season, Boeheim said. Gorman sat on the bench but did not play against Le Moyne. He was the only Syracuse player to not see action.

Boeheim said it was difficult for Gorman to play in each of his first two seasons because he had Craig Forth and Jeremy McNeil in front of him.

Now, it looks like Gorman would get little playing time behind Hakim Warrick, Watkins and freshman Dayshawn Wright, who scored eight points in his collegiate debut.

‘If I’m behind Hakim, I’m not going to see much time,’ Gorman said. ‘I really wanted to play for the future.’

Boeheim said redshirting a player is fairly common. He did the same thing with Lazarus Sims in the 1991-1992 season.

‘He’s behind one of the best players in the country,’ Boeheim said. ‘The other two guys (Watkins and Wright) are a little more physical. Next year it’ll be a little different scenario for him.’

Exhibition games are usually common for one thing – experimental rules – and Tuesday was no different.

Three rules were in place, and the changes will continue until Syracuse starts the regular season.

The lane was expanded to a trapezoidal shape, the 3-point lane was extended to 20 feet, 6 inches and the paint also included a half-circle to separate offensive charges from blocking violations.

At several times during the game, players from both teams had to be reminded by the referees of the rule changes, specifically the expanded trapezoidal paint. A few players mistakenly lined up on the original spots during free-throw attempts before moving.

Despite the changes, Boeheim and the players didn’t think they affected the game at all.

‘They never really call the three seconds anyways,’ Boeheim said. ‘That’s an accidental call anyways.’

Former Syracuse football team quarterback Xzavier Gaines played three minutes at the end of the game with the rest of the Orange’s walk-ons.

Gaines, a junior, played with SU during its national championship run in 2002-03, but didn’t play with the team last season to concentrate on football.

After sinking to third on the depth chart behind Perry Patterson and Joe Fields this fall, Gaines left the football team in early October. He rejoined the basketball team a week later.

Gaines missed two 3-pointers against Le Moyne.

‘Basketball’s a little less demanding,’ Gaines said. ‘I know I have athletic, God-given talent. This way, I can focus a little more on what I’m trying to get done and graduate in May.’

Junior guard Billy Edelin sat on the bench wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, but did not play. … Freshman guard Trent Morgan was Le Moyne’s leading scorer with 15 points, all on 3-pointers. … Five Le Moyne fans sat in the upper deck of the Carrier Dome, each with a letter of D-A-R-K-O painted across his chest for senior Darko Sedlar.

Published on November 2, 2004 at 12:00 pm