Rick Jackson wants some help. Fifteen rebounds. Seven offensive, eight defensive. Look down the Syracuse stat sheet, and no one even comes close to Jackson’s output.

‘I mean, help would be nice,’ Jackson said. ‘A little help would be nice. But what can you do? Guys rely on me to be that great rebounder and go out and get every rebound.’

In Saturday’s 83-72 loss to Villanova, Syracuse relied on Jackson to grab rebounds, much like it has all season. And he delivered. Problem is, no other Syracuse players delivered.

Not Kris Joseph. Not James Southerland. Not C.J. Fair. Not SU’s two freshman centers, Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita. And in several key situations, Jackson was on an island down low. SU head coach Jim Boeheim praised Jackson’s rebounding efforts after the game. But only Jackson.

‘Rick is doing a good job,’ Boeheim said. ‘We had a few good defensive possessions where our four-man just didn’t get a rebound. Rick did a good job.’

But Boeheim wasn’t so kind to other SU forwards who manned the wings down low in his 2-3 zone. Specifically, Fair and Southerland were his targets.

Fair grabbed only one rebound in 10 minutes of action after having nine in a season-high 36 minutes Monday at Pittsburgh. And in 16 minutes, Southerland didn’t have a single board. Twenty-six minutes and only one rebound from two wing players in the zone.

‘That’s just not going to get it done for us,’ Boeheim said. ‘James has played (54) minutes (in the last two games combined) with one rebound. That’s just not getting it done.’

Boeheim even went as far as to say that the two are ‘probably not quite ready for this level of game.’

And inside the middle of SU’s zone, Melo and Moussa Keita kept struggling. Boeheim put Jackson in the middle for some of the game, but Jackson said he does his best rebounding work from his usual forward position.

Melo logged eight minutes after getting just two in Pittsburgh. He had two defensive rebounds. And in 13 minutes, Moussa Keita grabbed four.

SU’s inability to control the glass in several key spots led to crucial offensive rebounds and second-chance points for Villanova. And those kept Syracuse from mounting a lengthy rally to come back from a double-digit second-half deficit.

‘Just because you can jump doesn’t mean you can rebound,’ Boeheim said. ‘There were two or three bad (Villanova) possessions where, if we got the rebound, we would have had a legitimate chance to get back in the game.’

Joseph back

Scoop Jardine watched from the bench as Kris Joseph tried to lead Syracuse back from a late double-digit deficit. He had a clear view of Joseph willing his way to the basket and of Joseph’s steal and dunk to bring the Orange within four at 69-65.

Jardine, SU’s starting point guard, had been benched in favor of freshman Dion Waiters because of his poor play. And as he watched Joseph take over, Jardine knew how important it was to have Joseph back from a concussion he suffered against Cincinnati last Saturday.

‘He brought it today,’ Jardine said. ‘We needed every point he had. We would’ve gotten blown out by 30 if we didn’t have him. I’m really happy to have him back.’

In his return to the court, Joseph led the Orange with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. He shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Sixteen of those 23 points came as SU tried to mount a second-half rally, but Joseph’s contributions alone were not enough. After the game, Joseph said he had no hesitation to be physical and drive to the basket after the concussion. In fact, Joseph said Jardine gave him some inspiration before the game.

‘Scoop came to me, and he said, ‘Nobody on this team can guard you. So just take them to the basket,” Joseph said. ‘He told me it’s my world. After that, I had a lot more confidence in myself.’

Joseph said he felt good after the game. And Boeheim felt good about having his star back in the lineup as well.

‘Offensively, he had a good game,’ Boeheim said. ‘In the second half, he got open shots, knocked them down and got to the basket. I thought he had a really good offensive game.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on January 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm