With his face covered in a protective plastic mask and curly hair flopping out of his head band, Brycen Goodine pogoed to the rim and sank a layup while drawing a foul. 

The play, a rather meaningless basket at the end of a 76-50 rout over Boston College on Wednesday night, held more significance to the freshman who’s been battling to return to the court since breaking his nose in practice before Syracuse played Notre Dame on Jan. 4. 

“It finally felt good because I put a lot of work in my own time,” Goodine said. “So it  was frustrating when I was missing shots I could make.”

Goodine’s five points tied his total for the month of December which was spread across two appearances. Goodine was one of several players that saw increased minutes during Wednesday’s 26-point rout for a Syracuse (10-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) team that calls to the bench less than every team in the country outside of Hofstra. But from the common bench contributors like Quincy Guerrier and Howard Washington to the rarities like Goodine and Jesse Edwards, increased minutes garnered inconsistent results against Boston College (9-8, 3-3). 

“It was a good opportunity to get Howard going,” Boeheim said. “Brycen, who’s had a lot of trouble with that nose and faceguard, made a couple of good plays. It was an opportunity to get those guys a little time.”

Edwards ran onto the court following a Bourama Sidibe foul midway through the first half. Within a minute and a half, he’d committed a foul of his own. Then, a Boston College defender hit a floater while running right at Edwards. Edwards then lost the battle for a rebound on the defensive glass to a Boston College player and then fouled that same opponent as he went up for a putback. 

Six minutes into the freshman center’s chance at meaningful playing time, Boeheim had seen enough. Boeheim said that Edwards can’t put the ball on the floor near the hoop like he did on the offensive end against Boston College. He needs to rebound better, stronger and distribute the ball out to the guards, not lose possession.

“Practice is where for me it’s going to be happening the most this year because I just got to develop,” Edwards said. “So when I get out there, I take full advantage of it.”

When asked how far Edwards is from helping the team Boeheim smirked.

“I can’t even talk about that,” he said. 

Around the same time Edwards worsened his case for more playing time, Howard Washington helped spark an SU run. The junior guard subbed in after a Joe Girard III turnover and helped the Orange run in transition. On one play he darted across the middle of the Boston College defense and dumped the ball off for an easy Marek Dolezaj layup. On another play, he snatched the ball from an Eagles player, started a fast break and dished an assist on a Buddy Boeheim 3-pointer. 

Washington finished with two points and a pair of turnovers in the second half, which didn’t leave him unscathed from Boeheim’s postgame remarks in otherwise positive review for Syracuse’s backup point guard. 

“Howard was very productive in the first half,” Boeheim said. “The second half he made a couple bad turnovers but you know he came back and got a steal.” 

Guerrier and Goodine both listened to advice from coaches on their strengths to varying success. Goodine said coaches told him to drive more and that’s the area he’s worked on the most in practice. Against BC, he scored twice by attacking the hoop, including a nifty reverse layup following a pump fake. 

Goodine’s sudden effectiveness also came in part due to his new mask. He’s wearing a custom-fit mask now that fits tighter to his face with less bulky padding. He said he couldn’t see with the prior mask and therefore couldn’t play in games. 

Guerrier didn’t have the same fortune fulfilling his role. Syracuse wants him to be physical down low and dominate the boards. A five-rebound performance isn’t enough, Guerrier said, and he’d hope to be closer to eight boards per night. 

Boeheim agreed, noting that Guerrier needs to seize loose balls more around the hoop. But like all his young players, Guerrier’s improving, and that’s where this young Syracuse stands, hoping that some good and some bad eventually grows into more of the former and less of the latter. 

“We got to work on those things everyday…It’s a good group,” Boeheim said. “They’re trying to get better and we’ll see.”

Published on January 15, 2020 at 10:38 pm

Contact Josh: jlschafe@syr.edu | @Schafer_44