PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Jeremy McNeil is used to taking the blame for losses like these. After Syracuse falls, head coach Jim Boeheim often points to McNeil first. Sometimes, the center was too inactive on offense, other times too slow on defense.

Once last year, Boeheim even said: “It’s tough, because with Jeremy out there, it’s like we’re playing four-on-five on offense.”

McNeil’s spent the better part of four years taking up residence in Boeheim’s doghouse. So when the SU center got his first peek outside after last night’s 68-65 loss to Rutgers, it felt pretty good.

“Usually, I’m the one who blows (the game),” McNeil said. “But Coach actually thought I did real good tonight. I can’t really remember the last time that happened.”

In fact, Boeheim credited McNeil with keeping Syracuse in the game. The junior scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked seven shots in 24 minutes.

When Syracuse went to a full-court press late, McNeil guarded the basket flawlessly. He swatted away four would-be layups in the last 12 minutes, allowing Syracuse to make a 12-point comeback and briefly take the lead.

“Jeremy was simply tremendous in the back of the defense,” Boeheim said. “He single-handedly kept us in it. He played a fantastic game. Really, tremendous defensively.”

His offense wasn’t bad, either. Rutgers chose to double-team Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony, which often left McNeil open under the basket. Five times, McNeil had easy opportunities within three feet of the rim, and he converted them all.

Still, it seemed the highlight of McNeil’s night came after the game and in the locker room. When told of Boeheim’s public praise and given a stat sheet, McNeil’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Damn, I was real good this game,” he said. “This is the best game I’ve had since I’ve been at Syracuse. If we had won, this would be my best moment. That’s the only thing that didn’t go right for me.”

Actually, one other thing went wrong, too, and it left McNeil wearing a large wrap on his right wrist after the game. After one of his late blocks, McNeil rocked his hand on the rim and came down holding his right arm. He left the game for two minutes but re-entered.

“It’s not serious,” McNeil said. “I know it will be fine. I’ll be back right away, and I’ll be more confident than ever. I needed this game. I needed something like this to get me going. I wasn’t playing good before, I wasn’t doing nothing. Now, I feel like I’m ready to knock some people.”

“He played great,” said center Craig Forth, who had eight points and five boards. “Confidence is huge for him. He’ll get going high now, and that will carry him. Sometimes, he just gets a little bit down on himself.”

Three-plus years in the doghouse can do that to you. It can also tempt you to transfer, which McNeil nearly did last year.

Early last season, he left the team for a few days and went home to Texas to seek counsel from his family. A few days later, he begged his way back onto the team.

“I’ve never been happier to be here,” McNeil said last night. “My game’s feeling good, and we’ve got a real good team. You have a game like this, and it can turn stuff around. This is what I needed. Now I’m going to keep playing like this.”

Published on January 29, 2003 at 12:00 pm