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Syracuse, NY – Kadary Richmond was the only positive result in the first half of Syracuse’s game at Duke on Monday night.
Syracuse had lost 52-34 at the break, but Richmond, the 6-foot-5 rookie, came off the bench to score 13 points on a variety of twisting and flipping moves to the basket.
Joe Girard, on the other hand, personified most of Syracuse’s struggles in the first half. The second-year guard couldn’t buy a basket, missing all four of his shots. He looked slow and drew the wrath of SU coach Jim Boeheim with a mind-boggling turnout on the sideline.
So when the second half started, Richmond also started.
It was a rare move from Boeheim, who typically hands over the same five players who started the game on the pitch for the start of the second half.
“In the first half he was 0 to 4 and he turned it around trying to dribble and dribble him out of bounds,” Boeheim said, referring to Girard. “Kadary comes in and gets 12 points (sic). Obviously, this is not a difficult decision. Even if I had started Joe, I would have played Kadary most of the second half. I thought it might give us a boost to start the second half. ”
While Richmond provided the silver lining in an otherwise dark first half, there was no spark big enough to make a difference in the second half.
Duke (11-8 overall, 9-6 ACC) held Syracuse (13-7, 7-6) at bay and ended with an 85-71 victory over Orange at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Richmond finished the game with 15 points, one short of the season 16 record he scored against Niagara on December 3. Richmond went 6 for 11 from the field including a rare 3 point. Richmond is now 4 for 16 on a 3-point range this season. He also had five rebounds, three assists and one steal against the Blue Devils.
Boeheim said Richmond took advantage of the openings created as Duke stayed on the Syracuse shooters.
“I think one of the things that happens when he walks in is that they’re so worried about Buddy, Alan, and Quincy (that they) don’t really help him,” Boeheim said. “The big guy (Duke’s 7-foot center, Mark Williams) was out of play and (Richmond) came in and got four layups, five layups and then he hit a three. ”
In the second half, Duke adjusted to Richmond. At this point in his career, Richmond hasn’t figured out how to cope with the adjustments.
“The second half, they saw it coming,” Boeheim said. “They stayed behind. They gave him so much penetration and when he got there the fat guy was there. So he got up in the air and couldn’t finish.
“They just adjusted to him,” added the SU coach. “In these situations he has to get in the way and find people. Make better decisions. ”
Girard finished the game with zero points in 18 minutes. It was the end of a disconcerting season for the keeper, who averaged 12.4 points per game as a rookie.
Girard has been great or miserable this season, especially last month. There was no middleman.
On January 19, Girard scored 23 points against Miami. In the three games that followed, he averaged 6.0 points and went 7 for 22 on the field.
Girard came out of the mini-crisis with 19 points in a loss to Clemson. He made seven of 13 shots that day.
Then he only managed six points against NC State. He rebounded with 16 points on a 7 for 13 shot against Boston College.
But in SU’s last two games against Notre Dame and Duke, Girard totaled five points on a 2 for 10 shot.
“Joe had a hard time,” Boeheim said. “He had some very good games. He didn’t have all OK matches. He was bad or he was good. Two or three of the last four games have been bad. ”
So Boeheim has two guards who can play the point. One learns to face adversity. The other is to learn to manage the attention of the defense after having had some success.
Boeheim has said on several occasions this season that the Orange need their three guards – Girard, Richmond and shooting goaltender Buddy Boeheim – to play well to win.
On Monday, Buddy Boeheim scored 21 points, making five of his nine 3-pointers. Richmond was productive for the half.
“He’s learning,” Jim Boeheim said of the first year. “He’s a very good player, that’s what I’ve always said. In the second half, he did not score because they took away his drive. He will learn. He has to learn how to handle that and when to play a play. ”
And Girard had a bad game.
“He just didn’t play well,” said Boeheim. “This is what is happening. The statistics are there. He didn’t play well. ”
This combination was not enough to beat Duke on Monday. It probably won’t be enough to beat any of the quality teams remaining on the Syracuse schedule.
Contact Mike Waters anytime: Email | Twitter
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