When Jim Boeheim decided to start Marek Dolezaj over Paschal Chukwu at center, he wasn’t trying to send a message. Two-straight losses meant Boeheim wanted to find something different. He figured Dolezaj would provide movement to the Orange offense that Chukwu doesn’t.

“(Chukwu) wasn’t playing good (earlier this season) and we want to win,” SU’s head coach said postgame.

Boeheim got what he wanted, as Syracuse (8-4) beat Arkansas State (5-7) on Saturday in the Carrier Dome, 82-52. But it might not have come as he expected, as Chukwu racked up 13 rebounds and two blocks off the bench. Dolezaj, meanwhile, finished with two points in 16 minutes. As SU seeks the interior presence it’s so sorely lacked for most of the season, Chukwu’s reaction to his benching is a positive sign for the Orange with one nonconference game remaining.

“Today I just saw an opportunity,” Chukwu said. “I just went for every rebound.”

The expectation that Dolezaj would provide additional movement was correct. He led multiple fastbreaks before passing the ball off for SU, something the 7-foot-2 Chukwu would never do. The 6-foot-10 Slovakian threaded a bounce pass to a backdoor-cutting Elijah Hughes for a first-half slam, as well.

“I know the coaches trust me and he’ll start me,” Dolezaj said. “… When the coach tells me go play center, go play point guard, I will do that.”

Boeheim even put Bourama Sidibe in first, before subbing Chukwu on with 10:17 until halftime. The center made his impact felt quickly, with an offensive board and two free throws a minute into his time on the floor. Chukwu dominated the offensive glass all game, grabbing six boards on that end of the floor.

On one rebound in particular, Chukwu grabbed it but his follow attempt floated over the rim and eventually was knocked out of bounds by Chukwu, himself. Frank Howard tried two alley-oop lobs to Chukwu, but neither ended in baskets.

Chukwu finished with four points, all from the foul line, with both trips to the line coming off offensive boards.

“The way he rebounded the ball was tremendous,” Hughes said, “and we needed every rebound that he got today.”

As usual, it was at the defensive end that Chukwu made the largest impact. He grabbed seven defensive rebounds and blocked two shots. That doesn’t count the numerous shots he altered, forcing Arkansas State’s smaller guards to fling up floaters or fadeaways from further from the basket than they would’ve liked.

Boeheim chose to start Chukwu in the second half, abandoning the Dolezaj experiment. He kept playing Chukwu while he was going well. And he played a influential part in SU’s dominant second-half defense, as the Red Wolves shot 5-for-25 from the floor, scoring 16 points in the last 20 minutes.

“One of them was a bank (shot), and the other one a 3 was at the end of the game,” Boeheim said. “You can’t play better defense than that.”

Chukwu said the benching didn’t upset him, because he’d been told ahead of time that  Dolezaj in the starting five. But he did have to adjust to the game flow after watching first. Whatever changes Chukwu had to make, they worked out for him and for the Orange.

“I’m not used to it, but I still try to take advantage of it,” Chukwu said of coming off the bench. “…I think it really helped me a lot.”

Chukwu’s performance meant a difference in his head coach’s postgame routine, as well. After Syracuse’s first 11 games, it wasn’t uncommon for Boeheim to walk to the postgame podium and berate his centers.

“Terrible.”

“Awful.”

“Horrible.”

Saturday, Boeheim had a different way of describing how Chukwu played: “Difference-maker.”

 

Published on December 22, 2018 at 5:50 pm

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