Syracuse, NY – Ryan Blackwell didn’t shred words.
The Boeheim Army coach, who knew his team’s 8v48 shooting performance from the 3-point line in two The Basketball Tournament games this week, was concerned about the lack of points and shots for that in Syracuse resident team:
“It’s amazing, to be honest,” he said.
On Saturday, Boeheim’s army battled a Sideline Cancer team that didn’t score the ball much better for a goal.
The team total was 20 out of 66. It was 4 out of 21 from the 3-point line. The 65:48 loss to Sideline Cancer, a team that will play Overseas Elite in their last four games on Sunday, has resulted in a total of 24 points in the past two quarters.
Box Score
“We had no flow, no rhythm,” said Blackwell. “People tried to do it themselves instead of trusting the next man.”
Blackwell refused to apologize, but wondered how his team could have done if the pandemic hadn’t canceled the team’s usual training camp before the tournament. Some teams at TBT chose to quarantine before the tournament and took their risk with Covid 19 tests that could eliminate the entire group if a player tested positive.
Boeheim’s army, aware of a possible positive test, decided to come to Columbus and instead practice at the Columbus Convention Center for the first time. Blackwell said Thursday’s training went well. The team worked hard, he said. Boys put down gunshots.
That clearly didn’t happen on Saturday. Side cancer prevented Boeheim’s army player from reaching the edge with her dribbles and did not get the team on the free throw line. (Boeheim’s army only made seven free throws.)
Blackwell admitted that Sideline Cancer played a sticky defense. But his team, he said, hadn’t done enough to get these defenders to work.
“Too much one-to-one basketball,” said Blackwell. “The teams that win play together. You are so selfless. It is frustrating.”
Despite the disappointment in performance, Blackwell appreciated his time in the TBT bubble. Basketball was played on national television. And he and Boeheim’s army were part of it.
“It is unfortunate that we lost,” he said, “but given the circumstances and the current world, we are just happy to be playing sports again, being on TV and doing what we like to do.”
Donna Ditota is a reporter for the Syracuse Post Standard and syracuse.com. Do you have a comment or idea for a story? Reach them out [email protected].
