Standing courtside minutes before an NBA exhibition game, Terrence Roberts soaked in the new epicenter of his basketball universe. He stared at the 20,315 fans packing the Carrier Dome. He watched the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons glide across Jim Boeheim Court.

Then, he gazed up at the Dome’s video board and realized something wasn’t quite right. Those 20,000 sets of eyes weren’t on him.

‘Damn,’ Roberts said. ‘I can’t wait until all these people are watching my face up there.’

For Roberts and two other members of the Syracuse basketball team’s freshman class, the wait is almost over. On Tuesday night, Roberts, Demetris Nichols and Darryl Watkins will make their SU debuts in an exhibition against Nike Elite at 7.

Louie McCroskey, the fourth member of SU’s recruiting class, hasn’t been practicing with the Orangemen due to an academic issue.

‘We’ve been waiting to play in college for so long,’ Nichols said. ‘I mean, since we were really little this is what we’ve been dreaming about. We’ve just been waiting for the first taste.’

Chances are, Nichols never fantasized about facing a roster of college basketball retreads, which is what Nike Elite offers. Still, getting their first action in the Dome in front of thousands is invaluable for SU’s close-knit freshmen.

Last year, Carmelo Anthony – then a curiosity rather than a paragon – springboarded his historic season by scoring 37 points against Nike Elite in his first performance in a Syracuse jersey.

Roberts, always cocksure, feels this year’s group could repeat Anthony’s success.

‘I think that all of us freshmen are game ready,’ Roberts said. ‘We’re all ready to play and eager to play. This is a real special group, man. People are going to learn that fast.’

Indeed, all four recruits, including McCroskey, are ranked among the nation’s top-50 freshmen. Several recruiting gurus ranked SU’s recruiting class in the top 10.

Since arriving on the Hill, SU’s Frosh Four has done little to dispel their lofty rating. Watkins, a 6-foot-11 center and deft low-post passer, has shown a soft touch from 15 feet. Roberts, playing with a bandaged left hand, punctuates dunks off of teammates’ misses with a savage scream. Nichols routinely stays after practice with junior Hakim Warrick to shoot hundreds of jumpers.

Better yet for SU, the four became inseparable the minute they met. Early in the school year, the four dominated pick-up courts at Flanagan Gymnasium together.

‘We all believe in each other,’ Roberts said. ‘We’re all there for each other. We’re like brothers. We’re like family. If any of us need anything, we’re all going to be there for each other.’

While Roberts and company could be as talented as last year’s group, there’s one major difference. Anthony, along with Gerry McNamara, had been guaranteed spots in the starting five as freshmen by head coach Jim Boeheim. This season’s class needs to prove itself in its first several games to earn floor time.

‘We all have so much to prove,’ Roberts said. ‘Nothing’s set. We’ve got to prove ourselves to teammates, coaches, even the fans. We’ve got to come out firing.’

Said Boeheim: ‘Last year, Carmelo had an open spot. Gerry had an open spot. These guys don’t have that. They’re going to have to play their way in there. That’s one thing that’s going to be interesting to watch.’

Even with the loss of starters Anthony and the graduated Kueth Duany, Syracuse is still the defending national champion. No matter how talented their freshmen are, the Orangemen’s lineup will be tough to crack.

On SU’s first day of practice, Boeheim refrained from predicting how his first-year group would blend in to the Orangemen’s rotation.

‘We have some very good freshmen that we think can contribute,’ Boeheim said. ‘I really have no idea right now, because I haven’t seen how they practice. In a couple weeks, I’ll have a better idea of how they’ll fit in.’

After two weeks of practice, Boeheim was asked again how his freshmen were fitting in.

His response: ‘We’ll find that out Tuesday.’

Published on November 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm