Man, I Was Pumped about Syracuse—and Then Reality Set in

Wow, I said to myself. Syracuse had just beaten Richmond 76 to 71 in a spirited victory that felt like a Big East game.

Eric Devendorf scored 22 points, and Jonny Flynn put up 27 points (one shy of his personal record) in a come-from-behind win.

It was great. Syracuse was down by seven at the half. But at the time, I thought, this team with all of its weapons can come back easily.

And they did. Early in the second half, Devo scored 11 points to put the Orange up by six. Flynn scored 27, establishing himself as the leader for this team.

But when I was listening to Boeheim's press conference on suathletics.com, one reporter (or blogger) asked about a news report about Devo on WSYR, which has a radio and TV station in Syracuse.

My stomach turned over a thousand times. I wanted to puke.

I believe that everyone is innocent until proved guilty, but this report sounded a lot like a case that occurred over the spring/summer.

The only good thing I will say is that the DA in Syracuse refused to bring charges against Devo. He was accused of harassment for allegedly hitting a female student.

I have no proof anything happened, but it seems like SU basketball players have a way of getting into trouble.  Maybe they are just targets. I hope so, for the program's sake. I cannot take another year of this. From Billy Edelin to Scoop Jardine, it seems that Jimmy's kids seem to always find themselves in the thick of problems.

Boeheim said he would allow the case to go through the university judicial system and wouldn't comment until that process is done.

"I don't know if he did it or not," Boeheim said. "I was not there."

OK, we're done laying out situations. What is amazing is that Syracuse played the entire man-to-man in the second half. Yes, 20 minutes.

Is Jimmy abandoning the zone?

Devo will be key this year, which is why the WSYR report is so upsetting. But Devo seems unfazed.

Here is what he said in post-game comments on suathletics.com:

"I guess you could say I'm back, but I felt I never left," he said.

Next game is Friday in the Carrier Dome against Oakland University, which, like Devo, hails from Michigan.

"We've got to get a victory, definitely," Devo said.