Long Island Calling

UPDATED- The deju vu continues.  Bounced out in the first game today against Nova. Ugghhhh… Jim Boeheim and the team better get used to seeing this banner:

And this year when we don’t make the big dance, Jimbo should keep his mouth shut.  Last year he had a legitimate argument.  This year he’s got nothing.

The upside- at least in the NIT, the frosh can get some more experience under their belts.  That can never hurt in the long run.

Sigh.

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Same place, different year. Being an SU alum and megafan of the b-ball team has not been easy these past couple of years since Melo took us to the promised land. I got a taste and now I want back. As Rick James said “Championships are a hell of a drug”…or something like that.

Anyway, this is how it’s been since that great season:

2003-2004- No Melo, but still a solid team with Hakim, Pace and co. We lost to a respectable Alabama team in the Sweet Sixteen. Upsetting, but you know how hard it is to repeat.

2004-2005- This one broke my heart Fredo. Warrick’s final year. 27 wins and Big East Championship title. So what happens? They lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney to f***kin Vermont. That killed me! Forget what Boheim said the other week about the Pitt game. The Vermont loss was one of the worst since the Keith Smart’s shot in 87′ and the Spider’s win in 91′. When those happened, I was a kid who didn’t follow the team. This one though, I saw and it was worse than watching this year’s Oscar’s.

2005-2006- Scrantonicity! G-MAC personally tears a hole through the Garden and takes a mediocre SU team to ultimate victory in the Big East. Too bad he was playing with an injured groin the whole time, which caught up to him and the rest of the team in the first round of the NCAA tourney where we lost to Texas A&M.

2006-2007- The great white hope graduated and ultimately, another up and down year, with rising stars Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris working the Seniors who never really blew up- Roberts and Watkins. Demetrius, however, was the solo bright spot on the team and averaged 18 points a game. By the end of the year, we were on the bubble and then it popped. We did not get bid to the big dance and instead got sent to the Not Invited Tournament, where we played with the enthusiasm of Britney Spears‘ discipline coach. Clemson beat us in the quarterfinals.

2007-2008- Deju vu. While this year has also been a roller coaster ride, there is a considerable silver lining. We have some awesome new freshman, include co-Big East rookie of the year Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene. They ended up getting a lot more playing time due to the injury loss of Devendorf and Rautins, while guys like center Onuaku and juco transfer Ongenaet have really stepped up their game. But once again, the team finds itself on the bubble, after one too many avoidable losses, including the earlier mentioned meltdown vs. Pitt and the mystifying loss to South Florida, who’s Big East record was so bad that they didn’t even make the tournament this year.

So tomorrow it begins, the Big East Tournament. And guess which team is kicking the whole thing off:

If SU can least get to the Semis, they may have shot at the NCAA Tournament. If they make it to (or somehow win) the final game, we are in. But first up is Nova’. Not as much fun watching them lose as it is to watch the Philadelphia Eagles tank or SU beating Uconn, but a win would no doubt be enjoyable.

Let the games begin!