Syracuse's Howard to miss Tuesday's game vs Clemson

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Syracuse freshman Frank Howard will miss his second straight game when the Orange hosts Clemson on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Howard, a 6-foot-4 freshman, sat out Syracuse's 64-51 loss to Miami on Saturday with an undisclosed illness. He made the trip with the team to Miami, but watched from the bench in street clothes.

Howard did not practice on Monday and after the Orange's workout at the Carrier Dome said he wouldn't be available for Tuesday's game against Clemson.

"I just have to take a step back and give myself a chance to get better,'' Howard said. He said SU's training staff has identified his illness, but he said the matter was private. He is not contagious.

"I should be back within a week or two,'' Howard said. "I want to make sure that I come back ready. I'm just making sure that I get fluids and rest.''

Howard is averaging just 1.7 points per game, but he does have 16 assists and just three turnovers this season.

"Frank had started to play really good, especially defensively,'' SU head coach designate Mike Hopkins said. "He's a creative ball-handler, who can create for other guys.''

Hopkins said with Howard out that sophomore Kaleb Joseph would get most of the playing time off the bench.

"I think we'll be fine,'' Hopkins said. "I have a lot of confidence in KJ. He's played in a lot of games. He had a lot of real good games and he had a good practice (Monday).''

Joseph started all but one game for Syracuse last season. In SU's lone meeting with Clemson, Joseph had 12 points in a 66-53 road loss.

"I think KJ played well against them last year,'' Hopkins said. "He made some nice shots. He might get some shots against them (Tuesday) depending on how they play.''

With Howard out, Syracuse will suit up just eight scholarship players against Clemson.

Syracuse is 10-5 on the season and 0-2 in the ACC. Both of SU's ACC losses have come on the road. Clemson is 8-6 and coming off a home win over Florida State.

 

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After a tough two-game ACC road trip, the Syracuse basketball team returns home to face 8-6 Clemson in the Carrier Dome tomorrow night at 8 pm.

Back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and Miami have put a sour taste in fans mouths to start ACC conference play. Thankfully, Syracuse gets an easier game at home against Clemson to try and right the ship.

After a blistering start to the season, Syracuse has crashed down to earth and pretty much completely imploded. They?re getting out-rebounded, out-hustled, and out-played on an almost nightly basis. Something needs to change, and fast.

Cue the Clemson game, an opportunity for Syracuse basketball to get back on track and start to hopefully make a push for the NCAA tournament. I realize that the current outlook is bleak, but keep in mind that Syracuse still has 11 winnable conference games on the slate. If they can manage 11-7 and 21-12 overall, they at least have a shot of making the big dance.

It all starts with Clemson tomorrow. Let?s take a look at the Clemson game and figure out the five keys to the game for Syracuse and what they will need to do to pull out a much needed victory. First off is an issue that has plagued Syracuse ever since the end of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament: inconsistent shooting.


More Than One Player Needs to be Hot

Since the B4A tourney, Syracuse is a pedestrian 31% from beyond the arc. For a team that takes over 20 3-pointers a game and has 4 major threats from the outside, that number is incredibly bad.

A big reason for that is the complete lack of inside game for SU. Even if guys like Dajuan Coleman or Tyler Roberson get the ball in the post, they?re just as likely to hurl the ball off the backboard or commit an offensive foul as they are to score. In fact, the former is far more likely than the latter.

That lack of inside scoring has allowed teams to hound our outside shooters and cut off the open looks.

Against Clemson, we need to have more than one guy who gets hot from the field. Ideally, we need to have either Coleman or Roberson start making some shots down low to open things up on the perimeter. Roberson has shown flashes of that ability, but has been inconsistent. Coleman just hasn?t developed into the big man we all wanted, but could still have some influence if he can get some offensive rebounds and get easy buckets.

Regardless of who steps up, it needs to be more than just one or two guys. Richardson pretty much carried us against Miami, but no one else could hit the broad side of a barn. We need other guys to step up and make shots.

Tyler Lydon Needs to Shoot More

Speaking of other guys stepping up, Tyler Lydon needs to be one of those guys. He?s proven throughout the year that he has an incredibly high basketball IQ and combines that with some outstanding athleticism and a gorgeous shooting stroke.

So why isn?t he shooting it more?

Part of the problem is simply that he doesn?t get the ball enough in good positions. Far too often he?s just camped outside on the perimeter as part of the stagnant, pick-and-roll offense that SU uses on every single possession.

After a while, teams figure out exactly what we?re going to do (since it never changes) and understand how to beat it. It puts Lydon in the awkward position of getting the ball with a defender usually draped all over him.

The offense needs to start using more off the ball screens, as well as some high/low post action to free him up. If he actually starts the play on the interior or in different positions all over the court, he?ll have a much easier time of getting free as the defense will be forced to locate him constantly.

Regardless of how it?s done, he needs to get more shots, because he?s a very good shooter.