In 38 years of coaching, Jim Boeheim said freshman guard Ron Patterson may be the most inconsistent outside shooter he’s ever had.

“Some days he shoots it really good in practice, and some days he can’t hit the rim,” Boeheim said “He makes a nice 3 over there and the next one’s lucky if it’s still in the (Carrier) Dome.”

But in No. 4 Syracuse’s 93-65 win over Binghamton on Saturday, Patterson and the rest of the freshmen not named Tyler Ennis got their first chance in three weeks to find some consistency. Patterson finished with 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, but cleaned up three of those misses on the offensive glass, while Tyler Roberson had his best performance of the year with six points and five rebounds.

B.J. Johnson continued to struggle, missing all five of his shot attempts, but Patterson and Roberson showed signs of progress.

“It’s hard because you’re coming from high school where you’re the man and then you come to college and you’ve got to wait your turn,” C.J. Fair said. “I was the last one off the bench my first game. I almost wanted to cry. But when the opportunity comes, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Patterson and Roberson definitely did.

In the final 3:14 of the first half, Patterson was relentless on the offensive boards.

After missing his initial layup, he followed his shot twice, before banking it in left-handed while getting fouled.

Patterson missed the ensuing free throw, but grabbed the rebound and the possession ultimately ended with a Fair 3-pointer.

“Ron’s been working really hard in practice,” Ennis said. “He’s been playing well, he was just waiting for his chance to get out there and show what he has.”

Two minutes later, Patterson corralled a Johnson miss, but was unable to connect on the putback. However, he cycled around the key and Ennis found him for a corner triple.

“I told him at halftime, I hope his arm’s not sore,” Boeheim joked.

Roberson finished just 1-of-4, but he looked considerably better than the seemingly lost freshman that took the court at the start of the season.

No missed dunks, no egregious defensive lapses – though Roberson did foul out – and no chewing out from Boeheim. Just a smile and pat on the butt when he came off the court in the game’s final minutes.

With 7:04 left in regulation, Roberson threw down a vicious reverse slam dunk. It was a flash of the potential held by the No. 55 recruit in the Class of 2013, who teammates agreed was having a hard time getting used to coming off the bench earlier this year.

“I thought Tyler was aggressive,” Boeheim said. “A couple bad fouls, but when you’re pressing there’s going to be some of those.”

It’s hard to see either Patterson or Roberson getting significant minutes barring injuries or foul trouble, but both proved their worth against the Bearcats.

“When their sophomore year comes, they’re going to be looked upon to produce a lot,” Fair said. “You don’t want their sophomore year to be like getting their feet wet. So now’s a good time to let them adjust.”

Published on December 8, 2013 at 12:32 am

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