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Before Judah Mintz took charge of Syracuse’s offense, he made a play on the other end, tipping the ball away off an errant Georgetown pass that was intended for the corner. The tip went upcourt, and Mintz took off. He avoided one defender by pump-faking midair, hitting another as he finished on the right side of the basket. Mintz got a foul call as he sat on the floor, screaming and flexing. 

Mintz tried to create on his own in the following possession, attacking the lane from the left side of the basket as he had done countless times already in the half. But the shot clocked winded down and Mintz couldn’t get space for a shot off, pivoting and passing to Chris Bell instead. The dish reached Bell in time, who drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key.  

“He really played like a point guard tonight,” Boeheim said. “He can score if you need him to score, but he made some really good passes too.”

Mintz finished the afternoon with the first double-double of his collegiate career, tallying 10 assists and 16 points in Syracuse’s (6-4, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) 83-64 win over Georgetown (5-6, 0-0 Big East). He reached double-digit points for the seventh time this season and in the second-straight game following somewhat of a slump in three of the Orange’s last four games. Mintz also finished 10-for-11 from the charity stripe as well. 

“I think things are just coming together for me, just knowing what reads to make on how to pick apart a defense,” Mintz said. 

After setting a career-high 20 points against St. John’s, Mintz recorded a combined 25 points in three straight games — Boeheim said all freshmen slip at some point. He somewhat got back into his stride against Oakland and said postgame that he understood his role as a facilitator with the likes of Jesse Edwards and Joe Girard III on the team, who both notched 18 points.  

Whenever Mintz has struggled early or taken a shot that Boeheim didn’t like, Symir Torrence has gone in for him. Mintz missed from deep on SU’s first possession, and Torrence came in after two minutes. He found Benny Williams on the sideline less than two minutes after he came in, which were SU’s first points of the game.

Later, Torrence collected a long rebound near the 3-point line, launching SU into transition. He drew a defender towards him, passing to Edwards for the score. Torrence scored on his own too, spinning into the lane and turning around for a fadeaway jumper, bringing the Orange within three with 12 minutes left in the first. 

Boeheim said Torrence’s contribution allowed Mintz to get going once he went back into the game, which led to him leading Syracuse’s successful run at the end of the first half. 

“The first half run, that really changed the game for us,” Mintz said. “We showed that we could bounce back and be aggressive as the game went on.”

Mintz knew he could get downhill in both halves and embrace contact whenever he did. Georgetown’s defense focused on stopping Edwards and Girard, continuously freeing up lanes for Mintz to attack the basket. 

“He made his presence about getting to the basket. That’s what he does,” Boeheim said. 

Mintz said Georgetown’s Qudus Wahab and Akok Akok were good shot blockers, but he wasn’t worried about that. Mintz was only called for one offensive foul and took six trips to the charity stripe, three in each half. 

“I feel like we can take whoever. Whenever they give me a lane or an opportunity, I’m going to take it,” Mintz said. 

Most of his assists came from going into the lane and then kicking it out or setting up Edwards for an easy attempt inside. Roughly four minutes into the second half, John Bol Ajak and Edwards came up to give Mintz two options for screens at the top of the key. 

Mintz chose Edwards, dribbling to his right before beelining the basket after he reached the wing. Edwards immediately rolled, putting his hand up directly under the basket. Mintz lobbed it over the outstretched right hand of Wahab, leading to a two-handed slam. 

His impact on the defensive end was just as crucial as Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing said his athleticism allows him to get his hand into passing lanes that other players can’t reach. Mintz’s five steals were a career-high and a team-high, but he expected to have the most, since assistant coach Gerry McNamara pinned the job on him for leading the team in steals. 

Mintz added he understands the rotations in the zone at this point in the season, shifting from the regular man-to-man defense he was accustomed to playing in high school. 

The Hoyas got as close as seven to Syracuse’s lead in the second half, but the Orange went on a 12-3 run to end the game, kickstarted by two free throws from Mintz. With less than 90 seconds left, Primo Spears drove hard into the lane and tried to kick it out to the right wing. 

Mintz snagged the ball with his right hand, turning around to see if any Syracuse players were already on the fastbreak. He saw Chris Bell sprinting behind Joe Girard, heaving it without taking a single step to put the Orange up by 16.  

Published on December 10, 2022 at 5:53 pm

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