Syracuse Basketball: Regular Season Awards for Orange

It's weird to see the Syracuse basketball team sitting out postseason play. It's championship week, the ACC tournament is underway and Syracuse is nowhere to be found. You probably know by now that Syracuse self-imposed a postseason ban for this year amid the NCAA investigation into the program.

But that shouldn't stop us from wrapping up the season, even if it was one to forget. Normally, we would hand out awards such as MVP, defensive player of the year and freshman of the year. But let's be honest, Rakeem Christmas probably would get all the hardware except for rookie of the year. The guy was one of the only reasons this season was worth following.

With that in mind, let's hand out a few obscure awards. We will take the time to acknowledge great performances and otherwise memorable moments from an altogether disappointing year for the Orange.

Best Individual Performance

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Sure, we aren't handing out standard awards, but we still have to take a moment to point out just how remarkable Rakeem Christmas' season was.

As we mentioned, Christmas was everything for the Orange this year. Christmas earned First-Team All-ACC and ACC Most Improved Player honors, and on this past Wednesday, USA Today named him a Second-Team All-American.

During a season of fine performances, Christmas' magnum opus had to be against Wake Forest. Christmas dropped a career-high 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 9-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line. He also scooped up nine rebounds. Christmas had help, but it was mainly because of him that the Orange held off the Demon Deacons 86-83 in overtime.

Syracuse especially needed Christmas because the Orange needed someone to match freshman Konstantinos Mitoglou, who was having an out-of-body experience. The Greek diaper dandy averaged 9.7 points per game on the season, but against Syracuse, he poured in 26 off the bench on 10-of-13 shooting including a 4-of-7 showing from deep.

But Christmas refused to be outdone, as he carried the Orange to victory. Not only did he put up ridiculous numbers, but Christmas played the entire 45 minutes. Christmas was the team's only viable center, so having him on the floor for the duration was key to the Orange's survival.

In a season marred by disappointment, Christmas was the lone bright spot. In fact, instead of remembering this year as the "Year of the NCAA Investigation", it should henceforth be remembered as the "Year of Rakeem Christmas."

Best Clutch Performance

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You would think that in the Orange's biggest win of the season, their best player would be the one to get them over the top. But in South Bend on a late February night, it was a seldom-used bench player who willed the Orange to a 65-60 victory.

That player was B.J. Johnson, who came off the pine to score 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Johnson hit two of the six threes he attempted and grabbed seven rebounds in his 29-minute relief appearance.

The most ice-cold aspect of Johnson's night, though, was the fact that he had a dunk and hit three free throws in the last 43 seconds to keep the Irish at bay. Johnson was a respectable 72 percent from the line on the season, but those pressure-packed freebies in a tough road environment had to have been nerve-wracking.

Trevor Cooney also stepped up and hit some big shots late, but it was Johnson's performance that most helped the Orange topple the Irish.

Honorable Mention: Cooney (same game) and Mike Gbinije's personal 6-0 run, including the game-winner, against Virginia Tech

Best Dunk

We've got to go all the way back to December to find the most impressive dunk thrown down by a Syracuse player this year. Michael Gbinije's putback against Long Beach State has to take the cake.

Gbinije's dunk had everything. He gets a running start from the three-point line to put it back. He almost jumps clean over the defender and gets his head to the rim. And after he throws it down, Gbinije sits on the defenders shoulder for a split second and hangs before dropping to the floor.

The dunk also woke the crowd up, who seemed comatose as the Orange were trailing at the time. It's always great to hear the fans erupt when something happens out of nowhere like that. Gbinije also probably woke his team up, as the Orange went on to an 85-67 win.

Best Jim Boeheim Moment

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

Nothing will ever top head coach Jim Boeheim's eruption last year at Cameron Indoor Stadium (although his "not 10 games" Gerry McNamara rant is up there). But Boeheim is always entertaining to watch on the court and listen to when he gets behind the microphone.

Boeheim didn't go off on the referees at all this year, but he gave plenty of memorable interviews. The best had to have been when he addressed Ron Patterson's shooting struggles (via Mike Waters of Syracuse.com).

At that point in the season, Patterson was shooting 16 percent from the land of plenty (he ended the year at a scorching 17.3 percent). When questioned about Patterson, Boeheim said, "I can shoot 15 percent right now. I'm 70 years old." 

Not only is it a funny line, but the thought of a 70-year-old Boeheim standing in the corner and hoisting threes during a Syracuse game puts it over the top.

Boeheim produced plenty of interview gold this year, including his sarcastic "I don't know how he could possibly struggle against Colgate" line (via Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com) when referring to Chris McCullough. But the simplicity and humor in the Patterson line has to put it at the top.

Best Heat Check

USA TODAY Sports

When a player is just feeling it from the floor and thinking he can hit anything, every shot is a "heat check" to see exactly how hot the shooter is. When Duke came to town on Valentine's Day, Michael Gbinije was in heat check mode against his former team.

Gbinije pretty much kept his team in it by himself, scoring 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting and a 5-of-8 showing from deep. Those five threes? They all came in the first half. He made all five in a row after missing his first attempt.

Duke adjusted at halftime and all but neutralized Gbinije in the second half, which helped the Blue Devils hold off the Orange. But Gbinije was feeling it in the first half and put on an offensive show (the complete opposite of Syracuse/Georgia Tech, all tapes of which have been destroyed).

Gbinije's was the Orange's second-best player all year. Should he return for his final season next year, he will be the focal point of the Orange offense.