Boeheim on Bourama: 'All I Can Tell You is He Cannot Play'
Though the Orange shot the ball at a much better clip than the Tar Heels Tuesday night, the battle of the boards made the difference in the 81-75 defeat for Syracuse. The 48 to 31 overall rebounding differential is jarring. Even though Quincy Guerrier came down with 11 rebounds before fouling out and Alan Griffin had seven himself, the Orange was crushed on the offensive glass 24 to 10, leading to easy buckets for a big North Carolina Team.
If Syracuse wants to have success in the ACC going forward, they must make outside shots and rebound the ball well. The Orange has shown the ability, even if in spurts, that they can win games shooting the ball from the perimeter. On the contrary, they have not shown the ability to win games after losing the rebounding battle, in fact, they have zero wins this season when such an occurrence takes place.
Coach Jim Boeheim tried his hand at sophomore center Jesse Edwards against the Tar Heels on Tuesday night, who played for seven minutes and did not perform up to Coach Boeheim’s expectations.
“No, he just didn’t compete on the boards,” coach Boeheim said of Edwards playing time and whether it will increase going forward. “He’s got to compete on the backboards, and he didn’t.”
As for center Bourama Sidibe, who last played in a game on Nov. 27 and the Orange badly missed vs. North Carolina, coach Boeheim seemed frustrated addressing the situation of the big man and his immediate future.
“He’s not playing”, coach Boeheim said in the press conference following the loss at North Carolina. “He cannot play. I am not a doctor, all I can tell you is he cannot play.”
With Sidibe’s on the court future with Syracuse hanging in the balance, the Orange need to find Guerrier and company help down low sooner rather than later if they want to make serious noise in the national polls this season.
But the task will be tougher than what some may expect, especially in a situation where Guerrier and forward Marek Dolezaj are in foul trouble.
“We don’t have a plan,” Boeheim said. "We don’t have anybody that can play that position. Frank (Anselem) is out for at least two more weeks. We are trying to develop Jesse in practice. Bol (Ajak) is too small, he can’t get it done out there. We’re still working with Jesse every day; we’re hoping he can give us some minutes in there. But he is really the only alternative right now.”
Syracuse fans should not be too disheartened even after the loss to the Tar Heels. The Orange nearly pulled out a victory after getting annihilated on the glass, a rarity in basketball…at any level. If Syracuse keeps up with the rest of the ACC until (hopefully) Sidibe or another centerpiece can step up for the Orange in the paint, the future is bright. But for now, all the Orange can do is give it everything it has with every one it has available.
“We just have to play with who we have, and that is what we are going to do,” Boeheim said.
