It’s inevitable really. At several points during the season, Syracuse men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim elects to publicly admonish players who aren’t performing well.

Two years ago, Kueth Duany was a popular choice. Last year, Craig Forth received his share of Boeheim’s criticism.

And after Saturday’s 78-56 victory over Siena, Boeheim took his first shots of this season. This time, SU’s four sophomores – especially forwards Demetris Nichols and Terrence Roberts – received a lashing at Boeheim’s postgame press conference.

Boeheim gave a simple message: If the Orange hopes to live up to its potential this season, SU must get more than two points between Roberts and Nichols and a stronger effort from fellow sophomores Louie McCroskey and Darryl Watkins. Against the Saints, Syracuse turned in a three-man show with Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Josh Pace accounting for 55 of SU’s 78 points.Boeheim hopes his four sophomores pick up their play when the Orange returns to action tonight against St. Bonaventure in the Carrier Dome at 7.

‘Some of the sophomores made really poor decisions,’ Boeheim said after the Siena game. ‘Demetris and Terrence made some very poor decisions. Gerry and Hakim can carry us only so far.’

Last year, a lack of depth was one of SU’s biggest problems. This year, though, Syracuse expected its depth to be a strength. The four sophomores who struggled so mightily as freshmen a year ago have shown flashes of potential this year.

But against Siena, all that potential seemed buried. The quartet combined for just 14 points. Neither Nichols nor Roberts hit a field goal all game. As a starter, Nichols’ poor performance was especially problematic.

Both Nichols and McCroskey have shown the ability to shoot the long jumper this season. It’s something SU needs as the season moves on to take some pressure off McNamara.

‘I just had a bad game,’ Nichols said. ‘You’re gonna have bad games.’

And Nichols has had his share of good games in the early part of the season. His 14-point effort in a Nov. 19 victory over Princeton helped the Orange avoid an upset loss. His bull’s-eye shot provides a tough shooting force, and his gangly arms provide SU a strong presence in the zone.

Roberts also had some big games. Against Princeton, the 6-foot-9 forward scored eight points to go along with six rebounds.

Despite their strong performances at times, Boeheim will undoubtedly be looking for greater consistency in the next few weeks. Last year, Boeheim used a short bench for most of the season. In all likelihood, should the sophomores continue to struggle, Boeheim won’t hesitate to sit them.

Perhaps more importantly, if Nichols and Roberts struggled against winless Siena, how will they perform against Big East powerhouses like Connecticut and Pittsburgh?

‘I just think they’re going to have games like this,’ Pace said. ‘After the game, you’ve got to stay focused. Everybody can’t be consistent right away.’

But SU certainly needs more consistency behind Warrick, McNamara and Pace than it has been getting.

‘We’re not the team we need to be,’ Boeheim said. ‘At this stage, we’ve got to get more balance. Two or three guys aren’t going to be able to do it. Demetris and Terrence have got to play better.’

Published on November 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm