After spending a year awaiting a decision on whether he’d be reinstated at Syracuse, point guard Billy Edelin is back in limbo.

As opposed to last season, when Edelin was suspended from the university after two female students accused him of rape and sexual harassment, this year’s issue is less serious. Still, it has SU officials scouring through the fine print of the NCAA rulebook.

An internal investigation is currently working to decide if Edelin must miss between three and seven games this basketball season because of his participation in a recreational league during his absence from school.

When the investigation — which men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim said will conclude within a week or two — is done, SU will report the results to the NCAA.

Syracuse Director of Athletics Jake Crouthamel deferred all questions on the matter to Boeheim.

The NCAA excludes college athletes from participating in any non-school-sanctioned competition during the academic year. Boeheim is still uncertain if Edelin, who was not enrolled last year, was subject to the NCAA rule.

‘There’s no way Billy could have known the rule, there’s no way any athlete could have known the rule,’ Boeheim said. ‘I didn’t even know the rule.’

Even after some investigation, there is still uncertainty about the rule’s interpretations. How competitive must a game be for it to count as a violation? How competitive were Edelin’s pick-up games?

‘There’s a lot of gray area,’ Boeheim said. ‘It’s a tough rule.’

It’s also a temporary roadblock for a player attempting to re-establish his routine as a basketball player — one who is expected to start at point guard this season for the Orangemen.

Edelin participated in the rec games to stay in shape during a year when he was allowed no contact with the team.

‘If I wasn’t allowed to come on campus, what else was I supposed to do?’ Edelin said. ‘I feel that I’ve done everything right and I wouldn’t have done anything to miss any games, but that thing is out of my hands at this point.’

Syracuse coaches, though, are glad that Edelin is still in their hands.

The 6-foot-4 guard could have started his second freshman season elsewhere, perhaps dodging the reputation which — deserved or not — precedes him for the time being. Instead, Edelin decided to remain with the Orangemen.

And once the NCAA case is decided, Edelin will come back to the Carrier Dome, one year belated.

‘I really try not to think too much about it, but I just hope (the reception) will be positive,’ Edelin said. ‘I know that on road games, it might be a lot to handle.

‘Everyone’s pretty much been all nice. The fans have been good so far, the students have been good. There have been some people on the quad who might have just read stories in the paper and they give some funny looks. They might say, ‘There goes the guy who did, whatever…’ Somebody’s always going to judge you from what they know. But if I went to another school, it would have been the same situation.’

Now, Edelin is in a unique situation. Officially, he’s a freshman, yet coaches are asking him to assume the leadership role of an upperclassman.

‘Coaches tell me that they want me to be a leader right along with Kueth (Duany),’ Edelin said. ‘I think we have a lot of talented players, but I can still be a leader. When I was at DeMatha (High School), we had Keith Bogans and Joe Forte, some of the top-ranked players in all of the country, but being a point guard, you still have to be a leader.’

Now, the only question is when he gets to start.

***

Time away

Syracuse began its official practices Saturday, but center Jeremy McNeil was not with the team. He was still in San Antonio, where his mother died a week earlier at age 43.

McNeil remains in Texas with his family.

‘I think he’ll be back by the end of the week,’ assistant coach Troy Weaver said, ‘but nothing’s certain yet.’

Weaver traveled to Texas with Boeheim, assistant coach Bernie Fine and Duany for the funeral.

‘He and Kueth are very close,’ Weaver said. ‘Plus Kueth, as a senior, kind of felt it was the right thing to do for him to go down there.’

***

This and that

At Monday’s practice, Syracuse blue-chip freshman Carmelo Anthony displayed the talents that made him one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation. During one drill, Anthony drove to the hoop for a layup, only to windmill his arm backwards while in midair, switching to an up-and-under attempt. The ball rimmed out, but Anthony’s creativity still drew some attention. ‘I have never seen a move like that in my life,’ assistant coach Mike Hopkins told Anthony.

Published on October 15, 2002 at 12:00 pm