With just minutes to go before the Syracuse Orange tipped off against Notre Dame, an announcement came out that certainly caught plenty of fans off guard.
The team announced its starting lineup via social
media, as per usual. What was different this time around: Sadiq White Jr. would take the court first at the four spot in place of Donnie Freeman, and not because of an injury or some other serious reason.
As for the players, they found out on game day, just hours before the rest of the fans did.
“Coach told me this morning, me and Donnie were interchanging reps in practice with the ones, and coaches call my number this morning, told me, ‘be ready,’” White Jr. said.
It was a gamble that certainly paid off for coach Adrian Autry and Syracuse.
The Orange defeated the Fighting Irish 86-72 and snapped a four-game losing streak. It was the fewest points Syracuse had allowed versus an opponent since playing Pittsburgh on January 10. It was also the team’s largest margin of victory against a conference opponent all year.
White Jr. played 19 minutes and finished with 5 points on 2/4 shooting, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. It was his most minutes played in a single game for the Orange since December.
He certainly got ‘Cuse going early, being directly responsible for two of the Orange’s first three baskets. In the upper-paint, White Jr. dished the ball out to J.J. Starling for a top of the key three. Shortly after, he converted a lob layup off a pass from the senior guard.
“My guys see me going as hard as I can. They gonna follow suit,” White Jr. said. “JJ, (he) followed suit today. He was a hound on defense. Nate Kingz was a hound on defense, blowing up all their ball screens, all their zooms and stuff like that. And our defense got our offense going, and that’s how we got to just play moving forward.”
After the much-needed win for the Orange, coach Autry dove more into why he opted to start with White Jr., then have the usual starter in Freeman come off the bench.
“Me and Donnie (Freeman), we talked and just thought, in this game, particularly, (and) for some reason, the matchups was a little bit better,” Autry said. “And then we talked, but he was ready to go.”
Autry said with the decision, it was nothing but “strategic game planning.” Then in a follow-up question, Autry emphasized Freeman didn’t push back against the move, praised his “great attitude” and said it simply: Freeman wants to win.
Freeman kept his response similar after the Orange victory.
“Any time I step on the floor I’m looking to be aggressive… I wanted to go in and play my game. I really didn’t get into the flow that I’m normally in, but I’m happy. This is part of basketball.”
Autry also pointed out the “boost” the team got once Freeman finally entered the game.
That boost most definitely happened for the Orange. After White Jr. played in the game’s first eight minutes, Freeman checked in. During his first three minutes on the court, Syracuse outscored Notre Dame 13-2. Freeman finished with 7 points on 1/4 shooting with 6 rebounds and 1 block in 22 minutes, the fewest he has played in a single game all season.
Those 7 points would be somewhat of a difference maker: the Orange’s non-starters outscored the Fighting Irish’s by eight.
One other way the decision impacted the Orange was all the different frontcourt pairings that ended up being used.
Autry started off with White Jr. and William Kyle. Freeman then saw some time with Kyle at the four, then as the center alongside Tyler Betsey. Kyle and Betsey were also together on the court in lineups with no Freeman or White Jr.
Going forward, when asked on if he plans to stick with this, Autry kept his response short: “not sure yet.”
It’s a decision many fans will be keeping an eye on with Syracuse back in the win column and set to hit the road for its next game, a tough matchup against No. 16 North Carolina.
