At Syracuse’s preseason basketball media day, head coach Jim Boeheim spoke about the need of his junior class to fill the void left by the outgoing senior class. Boeheim said Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts, Darryl Watkins and Louie McCroskey had to be second and third scoring options to Gerry McNamara.

During SU’s final exhibition game Thursday night, Nichols answered the call. In a 94-54 defeat of LeMoyne at the Carrier Dome, the junior forward scored 23 points and was 4 for 7 from the 3-point line. In what would be a career game for Nichols, he found his confidence from beyond the arc, sinking his last three 3’s.

‘When Demetris gets his balance, he can make that shot,’ Boeheim said. ‘Gerry didn’t have to get 26 or 28 (points) and that’s good.’

Boeheim started the four juniors against LeMoyne as he did against Saint Rose on Tuesday. Nichols was part of the starting lineup at the beginning of last season but was on a short leash when he struggled early in the year.

Against the Dolphins, he air-balled his first 3-point attempt a minute and 20 seconds into the game and missed a long jumper two minutes later. But as a veteran on the team, he had the opportunity to work his problems out.

‘I think that that was a bad shot,’ Nichols said of his first attempt. ‘Coach talked to me about it and told me to get on balance. I feel confident.’

At 15:15 of the first half, Nichols netted his first points of the game, putting in a rebound on a McNamara-missed 3. It put the Orange up 5-0 and Nichols on a roll. Two minutes later, he swished his first 3 on a feed from McNamara to extend the lead to double digits.

‘(Nichols is) a good shooter, and our guys found him good shots,’ Boeheim said. ‘I thought Louie and Gerry did a good job finding spots. That’s what he needs – someone to help him.’

McNamara finished with nine assists and McCroskey with six. Five of their combined 15 assists came on Nichols’ scoring plays. But they weren’t all on 3-point attempts. At 18:39 of the second half, Nichols finished a McNamara pass in the corner with a thunderous one-handed slam.

Nichols looked comfortable exploiting the defense down low and the crowd of 8,531 was appreciative of his play, showered with promotional T-shirts for each of his bombs.

‘(Nichols’) confidence is definitely increasing to another level at every practice,’ McCroskey said. ‘He just doesn’t believe he’s gonna miss. It’s our job to find him and if he keeps making them, we will.’

It was easy for the juniors to get down on themselves if they were pulled from a game last season. This year they have more confidence knowing they are the leaders for the Orange, McCroskey said.

Though it was an exhibition game against LeMoyne, Nichols said he is more confident this season and that Orange fans can expect similar performances once the season begins.

He was visibly excited when he hit his last 3 of the game with four minutes remaining to put the Orange up, 90-47. It was his third swish in a row from beyond the arc.

”D’ works on his shot constantly,’ McCroskey said. ‘All of us do, but that’s his game. He’s a prototype for the NBA – he’s 6-(foot)-8, and he can shoot the ball.’

Published on November 5, 2005 at 12:00 pm