LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In Syracuse’s biggest game of the season thus far, freshman Jerami Grant played a season-high 35 minutes. The 6-foot-8 swingman, who has gone from little-used reserve to key contributor with James Southerland ineligible, rose to the occasion as he has all season.

Grant was a consistent presence inside for Syracuse, providing some stability with Rakeem Christmas, DaJuan Coleman and Baye Moussa Keita rotating throughout Syracuse’s matchup with No. 1 Louisville on Saturday. Grant finished with 10 points and five rebounds in a 70-68 win over the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.

Grant proved he was capable of filling in for Southerland, the team’s second-leading scorer, when he scored a career-high 13 points last Saturday against Villanova. But his performance on the road in the matchup between the top two teams in the Big East was perhaps more impressive.

“He played great tonight,” SU guard Michael Carter-Williams said. “He’s young and for him to step up into a role and take James’ place the way he’s playing is great.

“We’re going to need him to play great and he’s a great player, he’s athletic and he made some big shots for us.”

Grant scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, helping the Orange climb back into the game with each field goal. He knocked down a pair of free throws to register Syracuse’s first two points out of halftime.

Nearly seven minutes into the half, he hit a jump shot to cut Louisville’s lead to 49-46. The shot, though routine at first glance, stood out to Boeheim after the big win.

“He made a foul-line jump shot, and you couldn’t do that before,” Boeheim said. “He made athletic plays in practice, but dunks don’t count when you get into games.

“Most games you don’t get too many dunks.”

Grant’s development from an athletic dunker to a dangerous offensive threat hasn’t been easy, and the freshman’s still got a long way to go until he’s a polished all-around player. But he’s already made great strides in his game since the season began.

Boeheim credited assistant coach Adrian Autry for working with him to improve his shooting ability – both in the offense and at the free-throw line. Grant is 7-for-8 from the line in the last two games, a marked improvement from his 47-percent mark on the entire season.

“He’s worked hard and he’s gotten better,” Boeheim said. “He’s going to be a big-time player. He’s the most live athlete I think I’ve ever had.”

And as he showed Saturday, he’s more than a spectacular athlete with limitless potential for the future. This Syracuse team needs him to contribute now.

And that’s exactly what he’s doing.

“That’s what he’s going to do,” said guard Brandon Triche. “It’s not really him stepping up, it’s him being the player that he is.”

Published on January 19, 2013 at 11:18 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu