WHAT’S SHAKIN’

Rain Date

From downtown rooftops to urban back yards, the Save the Rain effort is spreading like an Antarctic glacier. Since the initiative really got going in late 2009 under a court order, it has seen 50 distinct green infrastructure projects implemented, all with the goal of retuning rainwater and snowmelt to the ground instead of the sewer system. On Wednesday, Nov. 16, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney invites the community to celebrate in that success.

“Fifty is a big number,” said Mahoney, “and I was hesitant to make the commitment that we would be able to do 50 public works projects in one year. It required the city to change a lot of the way things are done.” All 50 projects are within city limits, and standard operating procedure dictates a series of hoops needing to be jumped through in order to get just one project approved. Mahoney said she approached the Common Council and Mayor Stephanie Miner with an unusual request.

“I asked the mayor if we could present all 50 projects to the Common Council as a whole. The Council and mayor’s office have been very helpful in getting us to meet that goal. Keep in mind, though, that 50 projects will get us to about 20 percent of what we’re required to do. We still have a long ways to go, but still 2011 was very successful for us.”

One of the large projects involved the installation of a green roof atop the Monroe Building, 333 E. Onondaga St. Building owner Jeff DeRoberts, a local general practice attorney, learned about grant money available through Save the Rain to pay for the improvement.

“We had an engineer look at our roof,” he explained. “It fit the criteria because we have a ledge around the roof, so there is easy access, it’s easy to maintain and it’s flat. It was ideal for a green roof.” The project, which covers 5,000 square feet of the building’s top and took place in July, started with a “green” membrane atop the existing roof surface, covered by soil, and then plantings.

Those plants, grown specifically for rooftop installation, came from Motherplants in Ithaca. “The owner has developed a niche in the Northeast,” DeRoberts said, “growing specially formulated plants that grow in low soil. There’s only two to four inches of soil due to weight restrictions, and these plants are restricted in how big they get. Obviously we can’t plant oak trees.”

The green portion of the new roof cost $99,000, DeRoberts said, and the grant money covered that. “The biggest expense is the green membrane that the soils and plants sit on,” he noted. “I got quotes from three different manufacturers and the one we went with was the cheapest.”

While the building wasn’t in need of a new roof, DeRoberts was intrigued by the green angle of the project, especially since the building’s Columbus Circle home routinely floods after a heavy rain. “Every spring at least once or twice, Columbus Circle gets flooded,” he said. “Heavy rains combined with the storm sewers that back up cause flooding in my basement nearly every spring. So, not only does this green roof eliminate the amount of water going into the street’s storm sewers, but I also paid for some additional sewer work in the basement.”

Of course, the city is swimming in inadequate storm sewers that overflow after a heavy rain and lead directly to Onondaga Lake—the very body of water the county is under orders to clean up. That’s why part of the Save the Rain project also included handing out rain barrels to city residents throughout 2011.

While the rain barrels aren’t counted among the 50 municipal projects, their introduction has been so successful that Mahoney said that initiative will roll over to 2012. “We will continue to hold the rain barrel classes, as long as the residents live in the areas targeted under the consent order, and they attend the class to learn how to use the barrel, they can get one.”

MacGarrett Becker is one such resident. He attended a paint-your-own rain barrel workshop at the Westcott Community Center in late May, and used the accumulated water all summer. “I felt like it was the right thing for the environment and a way to save water that was just running off my roof so I could use it to beautify my property,” he said. “We also follow our dog around, cleaning up after him, to prevent brown spots in the grass.”

After a summer with plentiful rain that kept the barrel amply supplied, Becker has emptied, broken down, dried and stored the vessel for the winter, following Save the Rain’s suggestions. “The guidelines say early May to mid-October,” he noted, adding that decorating his own barrel with an aquarium scene gave him a greater sense of pride in the effort.

“It’s not just a big ugly barrel in my back yard,” he said. “It’s a little piece of art.”

And while he’s experienced a slight decrease in his water bill, that wasn’t the reason he took a barrel home. “I just feel better about returning the water to the earth and not turning on the tap.”

The public is invited to celebrate the milestone Wednesday, Nov. 16, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Palace Theater, 2384 James St. There you can mingle with like-minded citizens as well as design professionals and Save the Rain representatives. Admission is free, while beverages will be available for purchase. RSVPs are requested to savetherain.eventbrite.com or by calling 443-3507.

“Since 1999, when I first held public office,” Mahoney said, “I’ve been looking to other communities for ways to do things, and now, with the Save the Rain project, to think that the rest of the country is looking to us makes me very proud.”

—Molly English-Bowers

Net Assessment

Funny thing about men’s college basketball preseason polls and rankings: They don’t mean a thing. And the regular season? Well, you can debate how much that means, too.

Take last season, for example. The eventual national champion Connecticut Huskies were picked to finish 10th in the 16-team Big East Conference in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Huskies responded to that slap in the face by finishing the regular season in ninth place in the league with a 9-9 record.

Now, UConn’s regular-season record says a lot about the strength of the Big East. But it also says a lot about the difference between college football, where polls mean everything, and college basketball, where you have to be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament and then hot enough to win it. (The Huskies won the Big East Tournament with four wins in four days and never stopped winning.)

All of which brings us to the 2011-2012 Syracuse University basketball team. With the loss of only one player (albeit a great one in forward/center Rick Jackson), and with an influx of three top freshmen, the expectations are sky high for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim’s squad that finished 27-8 last year and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Orange, which opens its regular season against Fordham on Saturday, Nov. 12, 4 p.m., at the Carrier Dome, is ranked No. 5 in the country in both the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches and AP polls. SU also tied UConn for first place in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll.

So in addition to positioning itself for the NCAA Tournament and hoping the ball bounces its way in March, the Orange’s 2011-2012 season will be about managing those lofty expectations. “It’s not actually pressure because our ultimate goal is to win a national championship,” junior guard Brandon Triche said. “Our goal is not to be the No. 4 team or be the No. 1 team in the country {in the polls}.

“Just to go off last year; Connecticut wasn’t the No. 1 team. They finished ninth in the Big East and won the national championship,” Triche continued. “I’m sure they were not saying to themselves, ‘Man, I wish we were No. 1.’ I think the pressure is on us as far as what we create for ourselves—knowing that we are capable of winning.”

Forward Kris Joseph, one of the Orange’s three seniors, said the way for SU to avoid crumbling under the weight of the high expectations is to stick together. “We have to become one. All 10 guys, all 20 guys {including walk-ons},” Joseph said. “From the people who play to the people who don’t, to the ones who help us in practice. We all have to come together because everyone on this team plays an important role.”

With that in mind, here are five questions about the Orange that will determine if the team meets its preseason expectations:

1. How will SU replace Rick Jackson’s rebounding, inside scoring and leadership?

The 6-foot-9 Jackson led the Big East in rebounding (10.3 per game), field goal percentage (.588) and blocks (86). He averaged 35.6 minutes per game and was SU’s primary low-post scorer (13.1 point per game). He often played center when freshmen centers Fab Melo and Baye Keita were in foul trouble or overmatched, and he was the team’s leader-by-example.

That’s a lot to replace. Fortunately, the Orange won’t need one player to do it all. The 7-0 Melo and 6-10 Keita are each a year older and a year stronger. In SU’s first exhibition contest on Nov. 1 against Division II Cal State-Los Angeles, Melo, Keita and freshman power forward Rakeem Christmas combined for 21 points and 23 rebounds.

“Rebound. Yes, rebound,” Melo said when asked if that would be his No. 1 mission this season. “We should get some points out of the centers, me and Baye, and Rakeem, and I think that’s going to help the team.”

The 6-7 Joseph and 6-8 sophomore forward C.J. Fair should get their share of points and rebounds in the paint, too. Joseph averaged 8.0 rebounds per game in SU’s four postseason games

after averaging 4.8 per game during the regular season. Redshirt senior point guard Scoop Jardine, Joseph and Triche, a three-year starter, are expected to fill the leadership void.

“The most important thing I want to do with this team is to be a consistent leader in practice, off the court and on the court,” Jardine said. “That’s the thing that is going to help this team. That’s the thing I think we’re missing: a great leader. We need to continue to leave our egos at the door, to sacrifice for the big goal, and that’s winning a championship.”

2. Are seniors Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine capable of getting better?

Big East coaches think so; Joseph was named to the Preseason All-Big East first team, while Jardine received a secondteam nod. After last season, Joseph was picked for the third team and Jardine was an honorable mention selection.

Joseph, who has been battling knee injuries, led the Orange in scoring (14.3 ppg) and improved his 3-point shooting percentage from 22 to 36.6. Jardine led the Big East in assists (205), averaged 12.5 points per game and shot 36 percent from 3-point range.

Still, there’s a sense they’re capable of more because they both go through prolonged stretches of inconsistent play. “Both guys played tremendously two years ago {off the bench} and they had really good years last year {as starters},” Boeheim said. “That leads to expectations for them to have very good years this year because that is what they have been doing. I think they will be focused and ready to go.”

3. Are sophomores Fab Melo and Baye Keita ready to handle the center position on a fulltime basis?

The safety net, Jackson, is gone. And 7-footer DaShonte Riley, who redshirted last season because of a foot injury, transferred to Eastern Michigan. Melo, the 2010-2011 Big East preseason rookie of the year, was a colossal disappointment last season (2.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg). But it’s important to remember that he had played just one year of high school basketball in the United States after moving from Brazil, and he just wasn’t ready for the speed and physical nature of the Big East.

Keita, who’s from Senegal, started the last 10 games when Melo faltered but played more minutes off the bench than as a starter. He averaged 2.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and was hampered in conference play by his thin 6-10 frame and an injured hand.

Boeheim, who’s now in his 36th year as SU’s coach, said centers make their biggest improvements from their freshmen to sophomore years, and he expects Melo and Keita to do the same.

“We’ve had some really good freshmen centers—Arinze {Onuaku}, Etan Thomas, Danny Schayes—that didn’t always play that much as freshmen. We have had several guys like that,” Boeheim said. “{Melo and Keita} got an opportunity and I think they really took advantage of that and I think they know how difficult it is and what they have to do to be successful.”

4. How much will freshmen Rakeem Christmas, Michael Carter-Williams and Trevor Cooney contribute?

Christmas, who joins Jackson, Jardine and sophomore guard Dion Waiters in the pipeline from Philadelphia, is a McDonald’s All-American whose rebounding and shot blocking are ahead of his offensive game. He started at power forward in the first exhibition and scored five points with six rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes against Cal State-Los Angeles.

Christmas’ amount of playing time will most likely be determined by the offensive improvement of Melo and Keita. If they’re scoring enough in the low-post, SU can afford to carry Christmas’ lower offensive production.

Carter-Williams, a 6-5 combo guard from St. Andrews School in Barrington, R.I., and Cooney, a 6-4 shooting guard from Wilmington, Del., will have to get in line behind starting guards Jardine and Triche, Waiters, and perhaps senior Mookie Jones. We’ll find out soon if the Orange is going to redshirt one of the freshmen guards, with Cooney being the likely candidate.

“I think Michael can play and I think Rakeem {Christmas} helps us. He can rebound the ball and I think he will get better as the season goes along, as will Michael,” Boeheim said. “They are two outstanding players and they have a great situation where they can learn about the game but still get to contribute.”

5. How will Boeheim find playing time for all 12 of his scholarship players?

Depth can be a blessing or a curse, if too many players are unhappy with their situation. Over the years, Boeheim has generally preferred to use only seven or eight players. But that started to change last season and he’ll likely go nine or 10 deep this year, too.

Waiters and Fair will provide the offensive spark off the bench, and they’ll join Keita as the top reserves. The two veterans who will need to prove they deserve more playing time are Jones and sophomore forward James Southerland, a pair of 3-point specialists who haven’t done other things well enough to merit more time on the floor.

“I think this year we probably have the opportunity to have the most depth that we’ve ever had,” Boeheim said. “I think five or six days a week you are getting the kind of competition in practice that is going to make you a better player. I think that really makes your team better.”

Bonus Question: Will SU’s impending move to the Atlantic Coast Conference have any impact on this year’s team?

No. “We know right now, this year, we are in the Big East, and we are going to play, concentrate and focus on that,” Boeheim said. “That’s the only thing we are thinking about. Anything else would not be helpful.”

—Matt Michael