The Syracuse men’s basketball team opened the night commemorated as champions. But the Orangemen started the game looking like rookies.

The trick-free Harlem Globetrotters dismantled SU last night, overpowering the younger and smaller Orangemen, 83-70, before 20,773 at the Carrier Dome.

‘This was a very good test for us against a very good team,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I’ve seen tapes on (the Globetrotters), and this is the best I’ve seen them play.’

Last night may have been the worst SU has played since before its championship run, which was honored last night with the banner presentation

In the first half, bad passes, sloppy defense and missed shots victimized Syracuse. At the 10:38 mark, SU was shooting 33 percent compared to 53 percent for the Globetrotters, and trailed, 21-17.

Bad luck also plagued Syracuse. With 2:01 left in the first half, SU forward Hakim Warrick was fouled. Instead of walking to the free-throw line, Warrick spun around and limped downcourt, favoring his left ankle. After stumbling into the locker room, Warrick didn’t return.

SU’s other big men, senior Jeremy McNeil and junior Craig Forth, failed to produce. In a combined 33 minutes, the duo shot 1 of 4, scored two points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Forth, who with 4:17 left in the first half missed two point-blank shots, played less than five minutes in the second half.

‘I was very disappointed with the inside presence and play,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t think we can be very successful if they play (33) minutes and get two points. If Hakim wasn’t injured, we’d probably play no centers in the second half. And we may do that in the regular season.’

The most glaring problem was SU’s inability to replace Warrick. Sophomore guard Gerry McNamara, SU’s top outside-scoring threat, couldn’t carry the scoring burden. McNamara scored 11 points in 35 minutes, leaving guards Billy Edelin and Josh Pace to sift through the lane looking for lay-ups.

‘We didn’t have the perimeter shooting and we had to work so hard to get inside,’ Boeheim said. ‘(Gerry’s) got to go by people and make some penetration.’

Freshman Terrence Roberts played for Warrick after the injury. Roberts scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds in 30 minutes. Though Boeheim praised Roberts after the game, Roberts was disappointed with himself.

‘With the minutes I got tonight, I’ve got to produce better,’ Roberts said, who at times battled the 6-foot-10, 320-pound Ron Rollerson for rebounds. ‘Seven rebounds in 30 minutes is terrible. I should have 15 at least. I feel like I got bullied out there. And that’s not me. I’m not soft.’

The biggest reason the Globetrotters bullied SU is because of their size. The Globetrotters held a size advantage at every position except one – Gerry McNamara, at 6 feet, 2 inches, towered over the Globetrotters’ starting point guard, 5-foot-11 Darrick Martin.

Off the bench, the Globetrotters played Cedric Ceballos, who not only stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall, but also played 14 years in the NBA.

In the first half, during which the Globetrotters bolted to a 50-33 lead, Syracuse showcased its bench players. Sophomore Matt Gorman and freshmen Darryl Watkins and Demetris Nichols saw action while starters sat the bench.

Boeheim said SU still needs time to master the fundamentals of the system. The 2-3 zone, he said, failed to execute. The team missed too many opportunities. And, most glaring, the centers failed to play as well as they should.

With two weeks off before Syracuse’s first regular-season game, Boeheim hopes the problems can be corrected.

‘We had enough opportunities to score points that we can’t miss,’ Boeheim said. ‘You’re talking six or seven lay-ups. We’re not gonna be good enough to get by like that. If we learned anything, it’s that this is not last year’s team.’

Published on November 11, 2003 at 12:00 pm