Marek Dolezaj’s Syracuse teammates have said throughout the season that when Dolezaj has the ball, they know to be ready. No matter how difficult the passing angle, the Slovakian sophomore might find them.

That was the case Saturday in Syracuse’s (13-5, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) win over Pittsburgh. Dolezaj racked up a season-high of five assists, all in the second half. He was most dangerous when positioned at the left elbow, and after the game, Dolezaj’s distribution led one teammate to compare him to an all-time great.

“He’s like Magic Johnson, honestly,” SU sophomore Oshae Brissett said. “He sees the floor. I don’t know how he does it. He knows where everybody is.”

Dolezaj doesn’t think much of his passing. To him, when a teammate is open, it’s his job to deliver the basketball on time and on target. Dolezaj practically shrugged when asked about his inch-perfect bounce pass to Brissett for a slam on the fast break — the play of the game against Clemson on Jan. 9.

He finished with four assists against the Tigers’ man-to-man defense, and when Pittsburgh played a similar brand of over-pursuing man-to-man, Dolezaj took advantage again. Three times, he picked out cutters from the left elbow, each of whom began their move when Dolezaj caught the ball.

“Marek made a couple good pressure passes, backdoor, to give us the lead,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said.

Here’s a look at all five of Dolezaj’s season-high assists against Pitt and how they happened. (Embeds via watchESPN)

Assist No. 1: Frank Howard 3-pointer

Dolezaj’s first assist starts with the same action that three of his others will: a catch above the left elbow. But this time, Dolezaj turns into a ball handler before a passer. With the shot clock winding down, Paschal Chukwu comes to set a screen for Dolezaj, who gets an edge driving right into the lane and seemingly would have to shoot himself with less than five seconds on the clock.

As Dolezaj drives, SU point guard Frank Howard slides from the left corner up toward the left wing. His motion could’ve been for defensive balance off a potential miss more than anything else. But as Howard’s defender, Xavier Johnson, gets sucked in watching Dolezaj, Howard frees up.

Dolezaj never looked directly at Howard until he was releasing his over-the-head fling to the senior. But as Brissett said, Dolezaj knew Howard was there. The point guard’s catch doesn’t appear totally clean — either Johnson got a slight piece of the ball, or Howard was surprised he’d been passed to in this spot. Either way, Dolezaj set up a basket to put SU up seven early in the second half.

Assist No. 2: Tyus Battle backdoor layup

The second assist for Dolezaj was his most common on Saturday: the backdoor pass. The Slovakian started the play on the left block and flashed out toward the elbow and eventually outside the arc, where Howard lobbed a simple pass in. Then, Howard looks to cut off of Dolezaj’s right hip, as if for a handoff.

That cut by Howard is key, because the nearby Pitt defenders all watch him, in case they’ll have to cut off a drive after the potential handoff. Dolezaj never looks at Howard, though. He’s watching and waiting for Tyus Battle, positioned in the left corner, to slide backdoor.

Battle appears to wait about two beats, and his defender slightly shifts to deny the pass to the corner. That movement outward is all Battle needs to take off behind the defense and Dolezaj to find him for a layup to put Syracuse up double-digits.

“It’s a hard pass, that little soft pass over the top, no centers can make that play, so they were really hard plays to make,” Boeheim said.

Assist No. 3: Elijah Hughes backdoor dunk

Just like the previous play, Dolezaj begins near the block before cycling up above the elbow. This time, Battle delivers the pass and Elijah Hughes waits in the left corner. Battle doesn’t take the Howard route off Dolezaj’s hip, though, instead opting to cut in the opposite direction away from the ball.

Unlike the dish to Battle, Dolezaj throws a pump-faked pass into this routine. That seems to be Hughes’ cue to take off, as Pitt’s Trey McGowens had strayed too far outside. Again, Dolezaj throws the ball over the head of his own defender, whose arms are down, and Hughes has a wide open lane for a dunk. Since Dolezaj had motioned outside the paint at the start of the play, no Pitt defenders remained inside to stop it.

Not pictured, as Hughes ran back down the floor, he pointed a finger toward Dolezaj, acknowledging the assist.

Assist No. 4: Buddy Boeheim 3-pointer

With Pittsburgh attempted to cut into a big deficit, the Panthers pressed for much of the last 10 minutes. That meant open spaces if the Orange could take advantage. On this play, Dolezaj had just helped Battle move the ball over half-court and taken a position up at the top of the key. With Pitt still recovering from its full-court pressure, Battle’s pass in to Dolezaj creates an SU advantage.

On Dolezaj’s catch, the Panthers have three players behind the ball, and Syracuse has a brief three-on-two opportunity. The inside-most Pittsburgh defender has no choice but to deny Brissett cutting to the basket. That’s where Dolezaj looks first, but when he sees a defender go with Brissett, he looks off that option, knowing he’s got a teammate open.

That open teammate is Buddy Boeheim on the left wing. He’d already made two 3s in the game, and he didn’t let Dolezaj’s pass go to waste, knocking down a third-straight. It was a simple pass from Dolezaj, but it was the right decision to put Syracuse up 18.

Assist No. 5: Tyus Battle backdoor and-1

The end result is the same, but Dolezaj’s final assist develops a bit differently than the first four. Buddy has the ball on the right wing about halfway through an offensive possession and chooses to dribble toward the middle. Dolezaj had been waiting in the lane, but on the drive, he sees his chance to again flash toward the left elbow. Buddy picks him out with a simple bounce pass.

Once Dolezaj catches, it’s only Battle and his defender in the left corner who are below the free throw line. The other eight players are nowhere near the rim. Howard slides down toward Battle, as if to set a screen, and Battle’s defender anticipates that and moves to beat it over the top. But at the same time, Battle heads backdoor and Dolezaj finds him again. This time, SU’s scoring leader finishes through contact for an and-1.

As Battle heads toward the foul line, he smiles and offers his hand to Dolezaj, who’s bobbing his head. They high five, both smiling, because SU’s fourth ACC victory was no longer in doubt.

Published on January 21, 2019 at 9:56 pm

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