Last season and into the early part of this year, a cold Jim Boeheim stare would make James Thues crumble.

The coach would stomp his feet and yell, and Thues, embarrassed, would go into a shell, refusing to shoot even if left wide open.

So, when 29,215 stunned faces glared at Thues in what had to be the most humiliating moment of his athletic life yesterday afternoon, it seemed logical that Thues would break again.

After all, it’s not often that the largest on-campus crowd of the college basketball season watches a starting guard push a crucial free throw so far left that it misses both the rim and the backboard.

But this produced an altogether different reaction. Thues shrugged, smiled and glanced to the bench to give an I-know-I-can-do-this look to his head coach. Then he sunk the next free throw and knocked down two three-pointers in the next three minutes to bolster his team-best and career-high point total to 17 — an effort that singlehandedly kept the Orangemen close in a 75-69 loss to Georgetown.

“The airball was kind of funny,” said Thues, who made 4 of 5 three-pointers and dished four assists. “It didn’t really bother me because I knew that the next one was going in.”

And the next one and the next one. With his team down six and three minutes on the clock, Thues abandoned his usual passing duties and faded to the press table side of the Carrier Dome. Though the normally-quiet Thues didn’t call for the ball, his eyes did. When Preston Shumpert passed to him, Thues swished the triple and put his team within one shot.

Forty seconds later, Thues created his own opportunity with offensive assertiveness he never would have dared a year ago. Dribbling to the right of two Georgetown defenders, he unleashed a quick three-pointer.

“James made a couple huge shots that got us back in the game,” Boeheim said. “He had his best game. He really played tremendous. He made a couple huge shots late.”

But, for Thues’ confidence, the early baskets were the big ones. Out of options less than eight minutes into the game, Thues hit a long three with the shot clock running down.

With confidence in his stroke, Thues cut into a 10-point Hoya lead midway through the second half with another three, this time a knuckleball attempt from in front of the Orangemen bench.

Thues, who usually makes a three-pointer once every two games, went on to hit his first four.

“He’s become more confident in himself,” said DeShaun Williams, who made only three of his 10 three-point attempts. “I got more confidence in him, and the team has more confidence in him. I told him to keep shooting. That’s what keeps his confidence going.”

“I’ve always been confident in my shot, but the first three went down, and I figured ‘Why not? I’ll just keep shooting,’ ” Thues said. “I found some open spots.”

Which might start to disappear given Thues’ shooting display yesterday. Teams usually leave Thues open on the three-point arc, instead backing away to respect his quickness. But if Thues continues to hit long shots, defenders will be forced to guard him outside.

“I hope teams don’t step out on me now,” he said. “I hope they keep thinking I can’t shoot or that I could only shoot for one game. If they don’t think I can shoot, that’s better for me.

“But either way, I’m going to shoot the open shot whenever I get a look, because I know that I’m going to make it.”

Published on February 24, 2002 at 12:00 pm