16. Syracuse

Whenever Orangemen coach Jim Boeheim is left in charge of his infant son, he makes sure that all toys and food are placed to the right of six-month-old Jim Jr. "He would never admit it," says Juli Boeheim, "but he's trying to make sure our son doesn't turn out to be lefthanded."

While Boeheim may have a preference for righties, Syracuse center Etan Thomas, a righthander, has been working diligently this fall with assistant coach and resident big man guru Bernie Fine on developing some lefthanded post moves that could turn him into a more potent scorer. The shots that matter most, however, probably won't be the inside ones from Thomas. They'll be the outside ones from guard Jason Hart and forward Ryan Blackwell. If those go swish instead of clang, then the Orange—talented, deep and, in Boeheim's words, "as athletic as any Syracuse team since Coleman, Seikaly and that bunch"—will have the kind of balanced attack that could turn them into a Top 10 team.

The big question is: How will the shots be divided among the big three—all juniors, all team leaders? "It might be a problem if it was three guards," says Hart, a 6'1" point who may move to two guard from time to time if versatile 6'4" freshman Tony Bland is as good as advertised, and who, in fact, may move to the bench from time to time if promising sophomore Allen Griffin steps up. "But it's three different positions. It's going to be easy for everybody to get enough." Well, maybe. But the sometimes trigger-happy Hart shot only 36.6% from the floor last season (26.0% on three-pointers), while both Blackwell and Thomas need to develop take-charge, scorer's personalities.

Eric Williams, who will divide time at the power forward spot with another talented sophomore, Damone Brown, quit the team briefly last season because he was upset with his lack of PT. Williams, slimmed down to 243 pounds from the 268 he was packing last season, says he placed a photograph of Boeheim next to his bed this summer and stared at it every morning to remind himself to "prove what kind of player I can be." Boeheim might recognize that as kind of a lefthanded compliment.

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