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Orangemen Don Their Game FacesTheplayers on the Syracuse University men’s basketball team are carrying the weight of two burdens this season. One—the burden of high expectations—they happily embrace. The other one, not so much.
That’s the burden of all of the drama surrounding former associate head coach Bernie Fine, whom the university fired Nov. 27 amid growing accusations of child molestation against Fine. The story has had a new twist or turn almost daily, and the players have been left to face repeated questions about Fine and how the ordeal has affected the team.
So far, the Orange players have expertly handled both burdens. SU entered the season ranked No. 5 in the country and picked by many national college basketball experts to reach the Final Four. Before the Dec. 6 game against Marshall at the Carrier Dome, SU was 8-0 overall and 5-0 since the university originally placed Fine on administrative leave Nov. 17 after two former ball boys accused him of sexual abuse.
Included in that 5-0 record were wins over Virginia Tech and Stanford in the NIT Tip-Off at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and a 72-68 victory over No. 10 Florida on Friday, Dec. 2, at the Carrier Dome.
“I think that they’ve focused in on the game, I really do,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said after the Florida game. “I don’t see a distraction. I mean, we could have lost two of the last four games. We could have lost in New York {to Stanford} and we could have lost this game, and I don’t see any distractions, I really don’t. They’re playing, they’re focused on the game.”
Just moments before that comment in his post-game news conference, Boeheim apologized for initially questioning the motives of Fine’s accusers. Boeheim said his initial comments were made out of loyalty to Fine. But he said he had spent time with officials at the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse and pledged to get more involved in raising awareness of the troubles experienced by child abuse victims.
Following the first game after Fine had been fired, Boeheim sparred with the media about what he knows and didn’t know about Fine. After that game, and again after the Florida game, the media poured into the Orange locker room and asked the players about Boeheim’s comments, Fine and how much the crisis has been distracting the team.
To the players’ credit, they didn’t hide or sneak out before the media arrived (the locker room isn’t opened until Boeheim is finished with his news conference). Taking their cue from senior leaders Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph, the Orange players patiently and thoughtfully answered all of the questions thrown their way. They might not have liked it, but they handled it in a way that could teach professional players a lesson.
“At the end of the day, I really don’t like answering those questions because it has nothing to do with me or with the rest of the guys on the team,” Joseph said. “If it did, then we could definitely answer those questions. But since it doesn’t, I don’t even like answering those questions. We’re here to play basketball, we’re winning games, we’re happy and we don’t have anything else to concern ourselves about.”
The slogan for this year’s team—it’s all over the promotional materials—is “Family: It Runs Deep.” Jardine, a fifthyear senior, described Boeheim as the team’s “father” and said it’s important that the players stick together as what has become a federal investigation into Fine plays out.
“We’re all on the same page, and the thing about it, we’ve got the right guys, veteran guys,” Jardine said. “Myself, Kris and Brandon {Triche}, Mookie Jones and James Southerland, we all have been here and been through tough things here. We’re all helping each other, and that’s what great teams do: come together. We all know how it goes; we know how the media is going to take things. We’ve just got to come together and be together as one.”
Life has gone on. Former SU standout Gerry McNamara has been elevated from graduate manager to assistant coach to fill the coaching void. Assistant coach Mike Hopkins has been working with the SU post players, which was Fine’s primary assignment.
By plowing ahead and focusing on the games, the players don’t have to think too much about the conflict between the coach they know and the allegations they’re reading and seeing in the news. “It’s just hard to believe, I guess, because at the end of the day Coach Fine was always going to be someone I would be able to call and ask for advice,” Joseph noted. “Despite anything that’s being said, Coach Fine has been great to me personally for four years.”
In the first game after Fine was placed on administrative leave, the team left the seat to the right of Boeheim open in tribute to Fine. Sophomore center Fab Melo, who said he considers Fine a father figure, suggested the SU players tap the vacant seat when they exited the game. The seat is no longer left open.
“I don’t see any distractions; just thinking about basketball right now,” Melo said.
“That’s the only thing I can think about.”
Orange Slices: Jardine, whose play down the stretch carried the Orange past Florida, became the 56th player in SU history with 1,000 career points.
… The Dome crowd of 24,459 for the Gators was the largest on-campus crowd of the college season so far.
—Matt Michael
Gutter Ball For Football Orange
Needing a win to qualify for a bowl game, the Syracuse University football team fell behind Pittsburgh 10-0 on Saturday, Dec. 3, and never caught up in a 33- 20 defeat that put the final touch on SU’s mind-numbing collapse.
After winning five of its first seven games, the Orange dropped its final five to finish 5-7 overall and 1-6 (and in last place) in the Big East Conference. SU was looking to make a second consecutive bowl appearance for the first time since 1999.
“We had an opportunity to get some things done this season,” Orange coach Doug Marrone said after the game. “It’s a shame that we weren’t able to accomplish that. Obviously, we have a lot of work ahead of us and we have to start that tomorrow.”
Once again, mistakes and penalties doomed SU. The Orange surrendered 95 yards because of 10 penalties, including four personal fouls, and it committed six turnovers that resulted in 20 Pitt points. The Panthers recovered a SU fumble on the opening kickoff and clinched the win with a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception.
“No one was talking and there were a lot of tears,” SU senior defensive end Chandler Jones said when asked about the mood in the locker room. “We just needed one win and we went out and lost five in a row. It’s very tragic and we’re going to have to see what we did wrong to get things right.”
SU senior running back Antwon Bailey became the 15th player in SU history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,051), and several Orange players set school records; senior tight end Nick Provo broke the all-time record for career receptions by a tight end (92); junior wide receiver Alec Lemon set the single-season receptions record (68); and senior quarterback Ryan Nassib set an Orange mark for passing yards in a season (2,685).
—Matt Michael
Calendar Whirl
Even during the current recession, various organizations and businesses have originated new programs and products. Locally, the Syracuse Cultural Workers (SCW), best known for publishing and distributing its Peace Calendar across the country, have introduced a brand-new calendar, “Murals of New York City 2012,” which documents the Groundswell Community Mural Project.
The new item, a 14-by-8-inch wall calendar, features photos of murals in the Sunset Park and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods of Brooklyn, on a corridor wall within a correctional facility at Rikers Island, and at other New York City sites. Most of the murals were painted on outdoor structures, on concrete, brick, stucco and cinder-block surfaces. Themes for the murals range from green spaces in cities to alternatives to violence, from neighborhood empowerment to the significance of individual choices.
“Each year, as we do research on the Peace Calendar, we become aware of a variety of community groups,” said Donna Tarbania, SCW’s associate publisher. “We were impressed by Groundswell’s commitment to public art and youth employment. We saw their work and ours as very compatible.”
Certainly the Cultural Workers had the resources to produce a calendar: graphic artists, a long-term relationship with Midstate Printing in Syracuse, the capacity to send an SCW staffer, Allison Gates, to New York City to take many photos of Groundswell-created murals. “We were able to leverage what we already had in place,” said Tarbania.
Once Gates completed her photo assignments, she and other SCW staff reviewed the images and began a series of back-and-forth conversations with Groundswell. Those consultations ultimately led to the selection of the images that appear in “Murals of New York City 2012.”
Sharon Polli, of Groundswell, said the calendar’s debut came at a fortuitous time, as the Brooklyn-based group was celebrating its 15th anniversary. Throughout its history, Groundswell has produced many murals, with each project built on a similar strategy. The organization chooses visual artists to serve as lead artist for a particular mural, recruits community groups as sponsors, hires youth to help with painting and other tasks. Indeed, Groundswell employs about 800 youth per year. They are involved not only with murals like those depicted in the calendar but also those created inside schools.
And when 2011 winds down, SCW will evaluate sales of the calendar, which had an initial press run of 5,000. Unlike the Peace Calendar, sold in food co-ops, independent bookstores and other venues across the United States, “Murals of New York City 2012” will likely appeal to a regional audience. SCW has distributed copies of the calendar to Brooklyn bookstores and Groundswell supporters and has also done a mailing targeted to people living in New York City. If the new product sells well, SCW will consider public-art calendars for other cities, possibly Philadelphia or Los Angeles.
“We’re pleased with how this calendar turned out,” said Tarbania. “At the same time, it’s a pilot project, and we will have to look at sales.”
Finally, she noted that SCW continues to assess its products. As in the past, the Peace Calendar, now in its 41st year, and the Women Artists Datebook, in its 19th year, are the best-selling items by far. “Sales of our fundamental products, the Peace Calendar and the datebook, have held pretty steady even during the last few years,” Tarbania said. “There has been a fall-off in sales of holiday cards and in the average amount for orders placed with us.”
“Murals of New York City 2012” is available for $14.95 plus shipping at the SCW website, syracuseculturalworkers.com, or by visiting their store at 400 Lodi St. For more information, call (800) 949-5139.
—Carl Mellor
Harboring Ambitions?
You might just be breaking out the snow shovel, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about sunscreen. The 25th edition of Oswego Harborfest is set for July 26 to 29, and fest officials are opening the doors for performer applications. All genres are welcome at the traditionally eclectic festival, providing an opportunity for a diverse set of performers to showcase their talent. The 2011 festival featured acts local, regional and national, including the Canadian boys of Barenaked Ladies.
Those interested in applying for a spot can obtain a performer application by visiting the Harborfest website at www. oswegoharborfest.com (click “Applications”) or at the Harborfest office, 41 Lake St., Oswego.
Applicants need only send a clearly labeled CD and press or information kit. There is no fee to submit. Performers will be notified of acceptance in early spring 2012. All applications are due by Jan. 12 and will not be returned.
For more information, contact Barbara Manwaring at bmanwaring@oswego harborfest.com or by calling 343-6858.
—Jessica Novak
Ribbon-cutting ceremonies aren’t the most exciting events, but what they celebrate can be lively news indeed. In the case of the SRC Arena & Event Center, officially opened Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Onondaga Community College, the 6,500-seat, multiuse space has already been identified as a player in the crowded events, concert and convention business. The 60,000-squarefoot facility, done in a blue-and-gray palette, opens Saturday, Dec. 10, with a concert by Branford Marsalis and continues the weekend with a visit from the Purple One. . .no, not Prince, but Barney the Dinosaur.
But in addition to special events, the SRC Arena—so-named because the North Syracuse research and development company donated $1 million for naming rights—contains meeting space, a 200meter track, three courts for use by basketball, volleyball and tennis teams, and several concession stands. Its location, front and center on the OCC campus, means that the community college can hold commencement ceremonies on Onondaga Hill for the first time in its 39 years, on May 19.
While the $12 million facility, under construction since June 2010, will allow OCC to compete with the OnCenter complex and the State Fairgrounds for lucrative convention, special event and concert business, its primary audience will be the college’s students and staff. Connected via a doorway is the college’s 5,000square-foot health center, operated by the Southwest YMCA. Fitness equipment occupies space across a corridor from OCC’s original gymnasium, retained while the entire structure was built around it. Also part of the “plex,” as general manager Stephen Hyman called it, is the outdoor Murphy Field.
Hyman came to Syracuse from Grand Forks, N.D., where he managed the Alerus Center, similar in use but much larger than the SRC Arena. That center seated 16,000 for University of North Dakota football games and 22,000 for concerts. Originally from New Jersey, he also managed facilities in Iowa and the Chicago area. At OCC he will oversee four full-time employees responsible for event coordination and sales.
In addition to this weekend’s opening events, on Dec. 17, Elisabeth von Trapp and the Empire Brass will perform “The Sound of Christmas.” Looking into 2012, the arena will play host to events formerly held at the Onondaga County War Memorial, the Pirro Convention Center and even the State Fairgrounds. “We are trying to be chameleon-like as possible,” Hyman said of the facility that has applied for LEED silver-level certification (the second level of a four-tier rating), “because of the variety of needs out there. Would you rather attend the Gem and Mineral Show in a un-air-conditioned building in July, or come here? Further, 90 percent to 95 percent of the touring concert business can use this building.”
One big advantage SRC Arena has over downtown facilities, and even the State Fairgrounds on a busy weekend, is ample, affordable parking. While the parking garage across State Street from the OnCenter often charges $12 per event, OCC’s fee is a more reasonable $5. Also, Hyman noted, SRC Arena has purchased the equipment needed by most promoters, thereby saving those folks rental fees for risers, lighting, amps and the like. A 10-by-20-foot video board dominates the eastern wall, another amenity lacking in other facilities.
“We intend to fill a niche that hasn’t been filled,” Hyman said. “We don’t want to lose business to entities in the city.” At the same time, SRC Arena is being marketed throughout upstate New York, hoping to fill a void from Geneva to Albany. “While our main mission is to serve the campus,” he noted, “we’ll also host our share of consumer shows and even the region’s largest garage sale, with 300 individual sales all under our roof.”
But perhaps the best feature of SRC Arena, built by LeChase Construction, based in Rochester but with offices in Syracuse, is the restroom ratio. “There are twice as many women’s bathrooms as men’s,” Hyman noted slyly. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for womankind.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet inaugurates the SRC Arena on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $20, $30 and $40. Barney Live in Concert—Birthday Bash closes its 13month tour on Sunday, Dec. 11, 1 and 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and $20, with a limited number of $30 and $55 seats available. Purchase them at srcarena.com.
—Molly English-Bowers
