Dec. 18, 2004 – Bruiser Flint never saw it coming.

The affable coach of the Drexel men’s basketball team thought he had a game plan that would at least limit Syracuse and its trio of stars. It worked, too, except for one, large wrinkle. A 6-foot-10 wrinkle, to be exact.

Sophomore center Darryl Watkins victimized Drexel in SU’s 74-54 victory in front of 16,840 fans in the Carrier Dome on Saturday. He had a career-high 14 points, 13 rebounds and 33 minutes. Meanwhile SU’s trio of Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Josh Pace were held to 41 combined points.

‘I wasn’t planning for (Watkins),’ Flint said. ‘Sometimes you have to pick your poison. I didn’t think he could do those things, but he did.’

Drexel played close with Syracuse, despite being significantly shorter. Of the six Drexel players who logged major minutes, only one was taller than 6 feet 6 inches. Drexel started three players who were 6 feet 2 inches or shorter. Syracuse countered with a tall lineup at times that included Watkins, 6-foot-9 forward Terrence Roberts, 6-foot-5 guard Louie McCroskey, 6-foot-4 guard Billy Edelin and the 6-foot-8 Warrick.

‘We’re small,’ Flint said. ‘We’re real small.’

Syracuse consistently outjumped Drexel players, shooting over them in the paint and bouncing over them for rebounds. SU didn’t attempt a shot longer than 15 feet until Warrick hit a 3-pointer with 14:43 left in the first half.

Watkins entered the game a minute later and immediately made a presence for the Orange (9-1). He often found himself the beneficiary of McNamara and Warrick double-teams. With 11:35 left in the first half, Watkins found himself open for a 17-foot jump shot. By the time he shot it, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was halfway out of his seat, ready to admonish the center for a poor shot selection. Then the ball fell through the net, and Boeheim sat back down.

If Watkins had missed that shot, he most likely would have been yanked from the game. Instead, he finished with his best game in a Syracuse uniform.

‘That’s just the minutes I’m getting,’ Watkins said when asked about his career-high performance. ‘If you get me the minutes, I can produce.’

SU’s players said Watkins found open holes in Drexel’s 2-3 zone. When the Dragons (3-4) went to double-team SU’s stars, Watkins found himself wide open for lay-ups or putbacks.

 

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‘I’m going to draw attention. Hak’s going to draw attention,’ said McNamara, who finished with a season-low six points. ‘(Watkins) is starting to realize that and he’s playing great.’

After the game, McNamara said he just felt off. His only baskets came on two 3-pointers in the second half. He was held scoreless for the first half.

‘I just didn’t have it tonight,’ McNamara said. ‘Sometimes you just don’t have it. It was in the legs, it was in the chest.

‘Just because I didn’t play particularly well, that’s not gonna take that (win) away from my team.’

Most of the game, McNamara was guarded by Drexel’s Bashir Mason, who was a teammate of Roberts and Watkins in high school AAU ball. Mason even attends the same church in New Jersey as Roberts.

Mason spent most of the night jawing with McNamara and seemed to take SU’s top shooter off his game. But McNamara discounted that and said the off-night had more to do with his own play than any defensive pressure.

Boeheim agreed and said it was more of the schemes that Drexel used. The Dragons were quick to double McNamara off screens, forcing him to dribble instead of conceding an open shot. Still, Boeheim praised his effort.

‘Gerry’s going to be a factor whether he scores or not,’ Boeheim said. ‘That’s why (Watkins) got open.’

Another possible factor for Watkins’ top performance was the absence of sophomore forward Demetris Nichols. Nichols, a usual starter, sat out with a bad back. Boeheim said he hopes to have him back against Cornell on Monday, but he’s not sure if that will happen.

With Nichols’ spot open, Watkins was one of the first SU players off the bench, subbing in for starting center Craig Forth.

Forth played only seven minutes and only one in the second half.

‘(Watkins) just played better,’ Boeheim said. ‘The better guys play more minutes.’

Published on December 29, 2004 at 12:00 pm