One prepared for a collection of basketball vagabonds. The other sat on the brink of playing in one of the most hyped basketball showdowns in years.

That didn’t mean that Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony couldn’t chat before their games last night. Anthony called Warrick before the Syracuse men’s basketball team faced Nike Elite. Meanwhile, the current Denver Nugget readied for a game against the Indiana Pacers and tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James.

‘I told him I was going to have a big game,’ Warrick said. ‘He had a game that was big, too. It was strange not having him there.’

In its 94-82 exhibition win over Nike Elite last night in front of 7,971 in the Carrier Dome, the Syracuse men’s basketball team showed how it plans on playing without Anthony. The Orangemen proved that, to replace Anthony, it’s going to take more than one player. Or, for that matter, more than one lineup.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim shifted players in and out, experimenting with different combinations. With a bevy of players who can play a number of positions, Syracuse used the exhibition to explore different options.

‘Coach has got something on his hands this year,’ Warrick said. ‘He can really pick and choose the lineups.’

Eight Orangemen played more than 15 minutes. Warrick played several minutes at small forward. Demetris Nichols, a 6-foot-8 freshman, saw time at shooting guard. At one point, the shortest Orangeman on the court was 6-foot-5 Josh Pace.

Warrick, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, showed his versatility early. Less than two minutes into the game, Warrick received a pass at the top of the key. Without hesitation, he squared to the basket and drilled a 3-pointer, a shot he wouldn’t have dreamed of taking last season.

Switching positions caused a problem defensively for Warrick, though. Used to playing power forward instead of small forward, he drifted away from the perimeter, leaving Nike Elite’s 3-point shooters open. After Waylan White buried a 3 as Warrick stayed in the post too long, Boeheim screamed, ‘listen!’

‘Defensively, he got lost,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’s not used to being on the perimeter. He got caught being back inside.’

Indeed, SU began its title defense very non-defensively. Nike Elite took advantage of SU’s slow perimeter rotation all game, making 9 of 20 3-point attempts. At one point, after Jeff Boschee drilled a 3, Boeheim rose from the bench and screamed for a timeout.

When Syracuse finally adjusted and began pestering Nike’s outside shooters, its guards drove to the basket.

‘We let a lot of guys by us,’ Boeheim said. ‘I didn’t think our perimeter guarding was good. That’s something we’ve got a lot to work on.’

‘Thank goodness we have tomorrow off,’ SU guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘Come Thursday, it’s going to be serious when it comes to defense.’

With its versatile offense though, Syracuse made sure the outcome was never in question. McNamara drained three 3-pointers in a 47-second span. After the final three, which gave SU a 36-26 lead, the Dome crowd erupted and McNamara turned his palms skyward.

McNamara, like Warrick, flourished in a new position on offense. He moved to shooting guard, while Billy Edelin played point guard.

With Edelin and McNamara, the guard rotation may already be finalized. But with seven contributors measuring taller than 6 feet 8 inches, Boeheim still needs to settle his varied rotation in the post.

‘We’ve got a lot of guys at the same position,’ Boeheim said. ‘That presents some problems. You can’t play everybody at the same position.’

Published on November 4, 2003 at 12:00 pm