After the first quarter of Syracuse’s now-annual preseason intrasquad scrimmage, SU head coach Jim Boeheim walked to the other side of the court to chat with senior center Paschal Chukwu. Orange associate head coach Adrian Autry, who headed the team opposite Boeheim, stood for most of the scrimmage and hollered observations from the sideline. At halftime, assistant coach Gerry McNamara gestured near the corner 3-point line, a clipboard in hand, and spoke with freshman Buddy Boeheim.

The once-pep-rally-esque event held a couple of Fridays before the start of the regular season featured musical performances, team dances and slam-dunk contests. Not anymore.

Here are three takeaways from the Orange vs. White scrimmage.

Jalen Carey’s early exit

At the start of the third quarter, the Carrier Dome fell silent. The music stopped, fans hushed and several players huddled around freshman point guard Jalen Carey. In a seemingly relaxed scrimmage environment, Carey was hurt and on the ground. He pounded the court in frustration. He walked to the bench with the help of Brad Pike, Syracuse’s associate athletic director for sports medicine.

Carey suffered a left ankle sprain, also known as a twisted or rolled ankle, an SU Athletics spokesman said. There is no general time frame for ankle sprains, as they range widely depending on the severity, according to WebMD. The healing timetable often ranges from a couple of days to a few weeks. Pike gave Carey ice to put on his ankle.

A freshman guard from New York, New York, Carey had been seeing a heightened load in practice because last season’s starting point guard, senior Frank Howard, sustained a leg injury last month and has not practiced since. Howard is expected to return to practice in about three weeks, Boeheim said Friday.

Buddy Boeheim’s stroke

The son of head coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy Boeheim offered an early display of his shooting prowess. He almost took the first shot of the scrimmage from the right wing, with junior guard Tyus Battle on him tight. But Boeheim pump-faked and didn’t knock down his first triple until later in the quarter, where he was able to put in two. 

Despite several misses, two things became clear: Boeheim’s not afraid to pull-up off the dribble and he has a quick, fluid release.

At halftime, Boeheim beat Elijah Hughes 15-8 in a 60-second 3-point contest. In the next round, Boeheim made 16 3-pointers, tying him with Oshae Brissett. They went to a tiebreaker: half-court shots. Boeheim made his first attempt from the “S” logo at center court, generating the loudest cheers of the night.

On Friday afternoon, Jim Boeheim said his son had been shooting well in practice thus far. There was little doubt, Syracuse players said Friday, about his ability to knock down open shots: He shot 55.9 percent at Peach Jam in summer 2017, a showing that put him on the radar and eventually landed him at Syracuse. He shot just shy of 50 percent during his last two years of high school. All of which points to what his role this season will be: centered on 3-point shooting.

The starting four

Four of Syracuse’s five returning starters — excluding Howard — unofficially debuted their 2018-19 seasons Friday night. This was their first time playing in the public eye since their loss to Duke at the Sweet Sixteen in Omaha, Nebraska. Brissett, Battle and forward Marek Dolezaj all chipped in on the scoreboard, and Chukwu blocked two of Carey’s layup attempts. East Carolina transfer Elijah Hughes, who sat out last year due to NCAA rules, offered a smooth stroke and court awareness. Several times, the forward drove and dished to teammates cutting toward the basket for easy points.

“Thank you all for coming,” Jim Boeheim said at the conclusion of the scrimmage. “See you all in a couple of weeks.”

Published on October 12, 2018 at 9:05 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21