Flynn leads Syracuse into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 in what might be his final games for the Orange
Jonny on the spot for Syracuse
onny Flynn already has given people a memory to replay with him in the years to come: The Game. Six overtimes. Sixty-seven minutes played. Thirty- four points. Eleven assists. And not even a hint of fatigue. Syracuse University upsets Connecticut, preventing the Huskies from getting a likely No. 1 seed overall in the NCAA tournament. But if Flynn has his way, he will create more shining moments over the next few weeks.
“In a situation like this, you don’t want to lose because it’s tournament play,” Flynn said.
“There’s not a next game because if you lose, you’re out. You’re going to do whatever you can to prevent yourself from losing the game.”
He’s leading the 26-9 Orange into March Madness for the first time since 2006, this time as a
No. 3 seed against Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the South Regional in Miami on Friday.
His iron man reputation aside, the sophomore point guard from Niagara Falls High School has matured into a player who can do more than just log heavy minutes. Despite being on the losing end of the Big East Tournament title game against Louisville, Flynn was still named the tournament’s most valuable player.
“He was phenomenal down here,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim following the Big East Tournament. “You can’t even describe how he played down here. He played as good as you can play the game.”
Flynn has certainly upped the ante the last two weeks and he’s done it on the game’s biggest stage, Madison Square Garden, leaving many figuring he’s playing his final games in a Syracuse uniform.
Boeheim has sent many guards to the NBA –Pearl Washington and Sherman Douglas come to mind – and Flynn is arguably the best. Are we witnessing the last of Flynn in Central New York?
“It’s definitely intriguing,” Flynn said. “Growing up as a kid that’s all you ever want to be: playing in the NBA. But right now I love Syracuse and I love playing for Syracuse and I love the Syracuse community so that’s all I can say about that.”
Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose team has been burned by Flynn more than once, has plenty to say about the guard, calling him “special.”
“He has the ability to totally control the game,” Thompson said.
That’s a big reason why some people consider Syracuse a sleeper threat to reach the Final Four.
“There are a lot of teams that have trouble guarding Jonny Flynn,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “I think he’s as talented a point guard as there is in college basketball.”
Flynn had a solid season as a freshman in 2007-08, earning Big East Rookie of the Year honors along with Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, but this year he took his game up a notch.
He has been glad to assume the role of quarterback, but the Orange still considers him its go-to guy. He has come through at several crucial junctures during a season that includes victories over Florida and tournament-bound Kansas.
He leads the Orange in points (17.5) and assists (6.7) and has scored in double figures in all but two games this season. He reached the 1,000-point mark in 61 games, faster than any Syracuse player since Lawrence Moten did it in 55 in 1993.
In the eight games since the Orange’s last regular-season loss, on Feb. 22 to Villanova, Flynn is averaging 18.5 points and 8.5 assists.
“We know he’s a great basketball player,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “He’s one of the premier point guards in the country.”
Flynn’s play has Orange fans excited about the NCAAs because quality guard play is so huge in determining who will win the national championship. The Orange hasn’t been to the tournament since 2006 and hasn’t won a game in the tournament since 2005. There was a stretch this season in which it appeared Syracuse was going to miss out on the NCAAs once again. Syracuse started the season 16-1 but by Feb. 22 it was 19-8 and 7-7 in the Big East.
“The games that we lost were against some of the top 12 teams in the country so maybe at that point in time we were one of the top 12 teams in the country,” Flynn said. “That doesn’t mean we weren’t a good team, but it means they were better than us on that day. It’s hard going through those bumps and bruises during the season like that.”
Flynn said the team never lost confidence and playing in the rugged Big East will only enhance its chances in March.
“In the Big East, you play so many different styles,” he said. “You have your scrappy team in Villanova, your pressure team in Louisville and your big bruising teams in Pittsburgh and Connecticut, so in the NCAA tournament there isn’t a team you’re going to play against that we haven’t already seen in the conference play.”
And that gives him a chance to create more shining moments.
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