PHOENIX – As badly as Gerry McNamara wanted to run to his locker room stall, hide and start trying to make the sting go away, he stopped for Hakim Warrick. At the foul line, he waited for Warrick, where the two cornerstones of the Syracuse men’s basketball season shared a quick embrace.

Heads hung and tears fell. Warrick walked off the floor bawling, gazing at America West Arena’s ceiling. Craig Forth stared blankly at the scoreboard in disbelief one last time before ducking off the court.

Of course, the Syracuse men’s basketball couldn’t help but feel a pall as it relinquished its crown as college basketball’s national champions. As the Orangemen walked off the court, their season and title defense over after an 80-71 loss to Alabama, they couldn’t help feel like their hearts had been ripped out.

But eventually, and hopefully sooner rather than later, Syracuse will realize that they should have walked off the America West Arena court last night with chins up and eyes glistening with pride, not tears.

‘Maybe a month from now, we’ll look back on it and we can be proud,’ Warrick said, ‘about not quitting and getting back to the Sweet 16.’

Syracuse couldn’t recapture its championship, couldn’t fire up its magic carpet for a couple more rides, couldn’t reach its lofty goal of a repeat.

But that doesn’t mean it failed. This season, SU could have quit, could have listened to the countless prognosticators – including this one – that declared SU a one-hit wonder. The Orangemen lost a point guard, lost their swagger but never lost hope, never stopped believing that they didn’t need Carmelo Anthony to succeed.

‘This team accomplished just as much if not more than last year’s team, given what we had,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I am just as proud of this year’s team, if not prouder.’

Compared to last year, this season’s accomplishments seem miniscule. But they shouldn’t have been dismissed or overlooked. Syracuse won 13 games in a row at one point and won 23 games overall.

But that’s not the most impressive part. Syracuse’s success this season doesn’t lie in its individual achievements or win-loss record. It lies in the Orangemen’s resolve and perseverance.

If you’ve forgotten, this was a team that lost by 20 at home. It lost by 28 to Connecticut. It was down by more than 20 against Seton Hall. It lost Anthony. It lost Kueth Duany. It lost, at midseason, Billy Edelin, its starting point guard. It lost four of five games and stared the National Invitational Tournament in the face.

‘For this team to make the Sweet 16 is tremendous,’ Boeheim said. ‘This team had a tremendous season. I’m proud of them.’

Last night was just one game, as ugly as it was. SU’s season as defending champs needs to be judged not as it ended but as a body of work. To endure the loss of Edelin and its roughest patch in more than a year, so many players had to give themselves gut checks.

Josh Pace, with no jump shot, had to become a primary scoring option – and he did. Three freshmen had to grow up. McNamara and Warrick, if possible, had to take even more of the offense on their shoulders.

They did. Somehow, the Orangemen found a way to turn their season around. McNamara threw – not shot – in a game-winner at Georgetown. SU had to play like the Packers to beat Pittsburgh on the Panthers’ home floor.

‘I’ll tell you, I’m not really sure how we won the games we won at the end of the season,’ Boeheim said. ‘This team worked hard. They had a lot of heart.’

Last night’s loss, no matter how ugly, can’t erase all the Orangemen accomplished. When confronted with a vast challenge, they responded.

‘We could have easily gone the other way and spiraled down,’ Pace said. ‘There were some positives. We got to the Sweet 16, but I don’t think that was enough. What else can you do?’

For this year’s Orangemen, not much. Despite what Pace thought, SU did all that can be asked of a team. It stretched its potential as far as possible – and probably farther. The Orangemen did more than enough this season.

That season ended last night, and Syracuse walked off the floor looking like a loser. For that moment, maybe that’s what the Orangemen were. For now and for the record, that couldn’t be more false.

Adam Kilgore is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at adkilgor@syr.edu.

Published on March 25, 2004 at 12:00 pm