Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said before the season the Orange could play without a true point guard after graduating its four-year starter at the position, Gerry McNamara.

But game No. 1 without one didn’t go so well.

SU shot 29-of-72 and committed 24 turnovers. It turned out to be what Boeheim called ‘the worst offensive performance in 20 days.’

Clearly, Syracuse will have to lower those numbers as the season wears on. Whether a point guard emerges or not, based on their performances against Bryant, Eric Devendorf and Josh Wright are two of the top candidates to handle much of the ball-handling duties. Wright started at point guard Wednesday and shot 0-of-6 with eight assists and two turnovers.

But Boeheim said not to hold your breath on a definite point guard.

‘The point guard position is the most important position,’ Boeheim said. ‘We had Gerry for four years at the point. That’s not going to be replaced today, tomorrow or anytime soon.’

But players in the locker room pledged that what fans saw at the Carrier Dome did not reflect what’s been going on in the caverns of Manley Field House since pre-season practices started Oct. 14.

‘We had a tough night all together as a team,’ said Devendorf, who led SU with 30 points. ‘Josh has played tremendous in practice. It wasn’t his night but that happens sometimes. We’ll have shots that aren’t falling. Tonight was one of those nights. We’ll go on to the next game.’

It certainly wasn’t one of those off nights for Devendorf, though. He shot 8-of-15, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range and 8-of-11 at the free-throw line. He played both halves consistently as he notched 15 points in the first half.

The performance outmatches his 22-point performance against Notre Dame on Jan. 11, though the milestone has to take into account SU faced Bryant, a Division II team, in an exhibition game.

Devendorf showed a knack for the 3-point shot last year as well, shooting 37.6 percent. But as of right now, he’s played alongside different combinations with Wright, Nichols, Paul Harris and Andy Rautins. Devendorf’s knack for driving to the basket was in part a result of the coverage McNamara drew.

Devendorf continued that style Wednesday even without the Bulldog defense focusing on one player. He started off that 3-point shooting ability after he rebounded a Terrence Roberts miss. He passed to Nichols, who then found Devendorf sprinting for the right corner. He sank it in at the 17:43 mark.

Bryant’s zone defense propelled Devendorf to continue to shoot. Despite the career high, Boeheim limited his praise to Devendorf to just a few words. That’s because Devendorf’s performance couldn’t rise above the attention of the overall sloppiness SU displayed.

Wright, on the other hand, pledged he could’ve made 15 assists were it not for his sloppy passes. He flashed playmaking abilities his freshman and sophomore years but carelessness often got the best of him. That seemed to be the same case on Wednesday.

‘I blame this performance on myself for the team,’ Wright said. ‘I came out today and I was focused and ready to play. It didn’t pan out the way I wanted to be. I’ll pan this out on myself but I’ll get better though.’

It often becomes the mantra of early season games. But Devendorf acknowledged that these games benefit the guards more than the forwards given the smaller-sized lineups SU will face.

It’ll give them more opportunities to make up for off shooting nights like Wednesday. It will help them limit the turnovers. And it will give them more opportunities to become comfortable on sharing the point guard role-a position that is long from being determined.

‘I really couldn’t tell you,’ Devendorf said. ‘I don’t know what Coach (Boeheim) is thinking with that. Coach keeps it to himself and he doesn’t let you know that much. I don’t know what he’s thinking at all.’

Published on November 1, 2006 at 12:00 pm