Orange happy to see Triche return to early season ways

BUFFALO — Brandon Triche's first year at Syracuse has been a series of peaks and valleys.

The freshman guard from Jamesville scored in double figures five of his first seven games and established himself as one of the best freshmen in the Big East Conference.

SU coach Jim Boeheim showed so much confidence in the bulky 6-foot-4 rookie that he awarded Triche the starting point guard spot early in the preseason and has stuck with him as a starter the entire season.

But as most freshmen do, Triche has run into some rough patches. Through the second half of the season, his minutes have diminished as his production fell.

Triche had not scored in double digits since a Feb. 2 game against Providence, and his confidence seemed to wane with his performance.

And with Scoop Jardine playing ever-increasing important minutes as the season progressed, Triche was relegated to the role of spectator more often than not.

That's why Friday night's performance against Vermont in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional vs. Vermont was so important to Triche.

His numbers weren't that impressive, 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, all from 3-point range. But the fact that Triche was contributing again to the SU offense was of huge importance not only to him, but the whole team.

"It was great to see him make some shots and have a smile on his face again," said backcourt mate Andy Rautins. "Brandon is a key part of our team, and we need him to play well to succeed."

Triche said he's never gotten down on himself despite his late-season struggles.

"It's a process, and I know that," said the 2009 New York State Player of the year at Jamesville-DeWitt High School. "You know coming in everything isn't going to go your way. It's what you do to keep moving forward that determines how you are going to handle failure."

SU coach Jim Boeheim said Triche is dealing with the process that all freshmen go through.

"He started the season just playing and not thinking a lot," he said. "But lately, he's been thinking instead of reacting. Tonight he just took the shot and let it fly."

BOEHEIM, FEW BUDDIES

Jim Boeheim and Gonzaga coach Mark Few, adversaries today, are very good friends off the court.

Boeheim and his wife, Julie, got Few and his wife, Macy, involved in the Coaches vs. Cancer project several years ago. They've become coastal buddies.

"I respect not only what he's done on the court, but off," Few said. "He has probably meant more to college basketball than anybody through his work with USA Basketball teams, NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) and Coaches vs. Cancer. When you think of Syracuse, you think of Jim Boeheim."

Few has attended the Boeheim's annual "BasketBall" for cancer, and the Boeheims have journeyed to the Spokane, Wash., area to help Few with his golf tournament for Coaches vs. Cancer.

"I have the utmost respect for what Mark has done for the Gonzaga program," Boeheim said. "The only thing I dislike about him is he kills me when we go fishing. As a fisherman, I have a handicap of about 22 and he's a plus 4."

"Jim's actually a fun guy to be around," Few said. "But don't tell anybody that."

CANADIANS GALORE

There are six Canadian citizens on the Gonzaga and Syracuse rosters.

Gonzaga has four, including starting center Robert Sacre. SU has two in Kris Joseph and Andy Rautins, whose father, Leo, was born in Canada and attended SU.

Boeheim said the foreign influence can be felt all over college basketball.

"It's not just Canada, but Europe and the Far East as well," Boeheim said. "In Canada, especially, there are better coaches, more AAU teams and more kids involved in basketball. When we first went there (to recruit), you could hardly find an outdoor basketball court. Just ice rinks."

Said Gonzaga's Few: "There is so much intermixing with AAU Tournaments today that you see Canadian players all over in places like Las Vegas, Orlando, Kansas City and Dallas. Their youth basketball is so much better than 10 years ago, and they have a lot more kids looking to win a college scholarship in the U.S."

Rautins has played for his father on the Canadian national team for three summers. He said basketball will never rival hockey in popularity, but it's becoming the in thing to do.

"There are so many more opportunities for Canadian players, especially in the states," Rautins said. "And if you are good, recruiters will find you."