Syracuse lost the opening tip on Wednesday, and for the fourth-straight game, Marek Dolezaj opened the contest in the center of SU’s 2-3 zone. Preparing to play Clemson, Dolezaj noticed that Tigers’ big Elijah Thomas tended to take a pound dribble before attacking the rim.

So when Thomas caught on the offensive left block and took one strong dribble with both hands, Dolezaj reacted. Thomas lowered his shoulder into Dolezaj’s chest, and the SU starting center hit the ground. Charge. Syracuse ball.

“I tried to take a charge to slow him in the beginning,” Dolezaj said. “I think he was a little bit out of his game.”

Dolezaj continued his playmaking for Syracuse (11-4, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) in the Orange’s 61-53 win over Clemson (10-5, 0-2) in the Carrier Dome. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, two blocks, two steals and two made 3s. In what Dolezaj called his best game this season, he sparked SU in all facets of the game to help the Orange earn their second-straight conference win.

“I think this was the best he’s been,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “I think he’s getting better. He’s a good player.”

SU’s Slovakian forward provided offense down the stretch a season ago, but he started this campaign as a role player. Boeheim inserted Dolezaj into the starting lineup against Arkansas State on Dec. 22 in hopes of jumpstarting a sometimes stagnant offense. It also was a vote of confidence in Dolezaj’s improved perimeter shot.

That was on display right away Wednesday, as Dolezaj caught the ball near the top of the key and knocked down a 3 for his first bucket. The same player who’d hit 2-of-9 from deep all of last season has shot 6 for 12 this year.

A few trips down the floor later, a Clemson defender overplayed a pass to Dolezaj beyond the right elbow, and Dolezaj took advantage by driving down the lane, going up off one foot and hitting a runner off the glass.

“We want him to be aggressive, shoot the ball, make the 5s try to play him,” SU guard Tyus Battle said. “It’s hard to guard a 5 that can shoot the ball, can go by you and stuff like that, so that’s what we want Marek to do.”

On the other end of the floor, Dolezaj faced a sturdy test in Thomas, who’s listed at 245 pounds to Dolezaj’s 180. Just last Saturday, Boeheim said Dolezaj weighs “nothing.” The SU sophomore referred to Thomas as “huge.”

And while Thomas muscled his way to a few buckets inside the paint, Dolezaj caused him problems beyond the initial charge. SU’s forward-turned-center looked to front Thomas to negate the size advantage, and he knocked away multiple entry-pass attempts. Dolezaj also maneuvered around Thomas on two separate occasions to block Clemson shot attempts near the rim.

“We tried to go over (Thomas) and don’t give him the ball, because if he gets the ball, he’ll back it over and just score the basket,” Dolezaj said. “We had to just guard him, and I think we did a really good job, me and Bourama (Sidibe).”

After the game, Dolezaj remarked that he felt his strongest attribute is his passing. And while he knocked down shots, eventually hitting a second 3, and kept Thomas in check, it was his distribution that made the difference for the Orange on Wednesday.

Midway through the first half, Dolezaj reached in to knock the ball away and get his first steal. He led the Orange fastbreak himself with Oshae Brissett flying up the left wing. While Brissett peeled off toward the 3-point arc, Dolezaj’s eyes and ensuing ball placement suggested the 6-foot-8 forward should attack the rim. With a bounce pass headed toward the baseline, Brissett sliced through to grab it and finish with a two-handed slam.

Minutes later, Dolezaj set up a handoff for Frank Howard and then boxed out Howard’s defender to create an open jumper. Then, Dolezaj lobbed an entry pass into Brissett over a fronting defender to create an and-1 for the Canadian. Dolezaj also sent Elijah Hughes a backdoor pass for an eventual trip to the foul line.

“He’s a player,” Hughes said. “I’m not really surprised. This is what he does. He does this in practices. He’s a player. He’s not just a defensive glue guy. I expect that from him.”

Syracuse didn’t play its 7-foot-2, former starting center Paschal Chukwu on Wednesday. Boeheim said it wasn’t injury-related. Instead, Dolezaj created a “matchup problem” for Clemson, Battle said. Thomas was forced to guard Dolezaj at the 3-point line. Clemson’s defenders, who frequently overplay their men, were vulnerable to Dolezaj’s backdoor passing, Battle said. Dolezaj parlayed those advantages into a season-high 30 minutes.

When Boeheim inserted Dolezaj into the starting lineup, SU’s head coach expected Dolezaj to add a dimension to Syracuse’s offense. It mattered against a Clemson defense that forced ball movement. It’ll matter going forward against ACC teams with supreme athleticism, like Duke, and stellar man-to-man defense, like Virginia.

But after Wednesday’s game, Dolezaj wasn’t thinking about future opponents. Instead, he joked.

Asked how he handled Thomas, Dolezaj replied, “Quickness, little bit of muscles, just a little bit.”

“You outmuscled Elijah Thomas?” a reporter responded.

“Yeah, just a little bit, yeah yeah,” Dolezaj said before pausing. He then laughed and quickly corrected himself. “No no no.”

It was fine, though. Dolezaj had outplayed him.

Published on January 9, 2019 at 11:49 pm

Contact Billy: [email protected] | @Wheyen3