Before Carmelo Anthony, Billy Edelin and Gerry McNamara had carried book bags on their shoulders around the Syracuse campus, SU fans began expecting them to carry the men’s basketball team.

Even the newest Orangemen occasionally appear to float along with the hype. They began their first intrasquad scrimmage by chanting ‘Final Four’ and ended the final practice before their initial exhibition by screaming ‘Big East Champs!’

‘People are excited,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘They should be excited. But there’s a difference between people being excited about watching guys play and thinking they’re going to win 30 games.’

Anthony, Edelin and McNamara highlight the most talented freshman class to enter Syracuse since Billy Owens arrived on the Hill in 1988. Matt Gorman rounds out SU’s 2002-03 freshmen.

The Orangemen’s youth is a familiar trait in the Big East, where, over the past nine years, 13 of 14 teams have started two freshmen. But only one team, Georgetown in 2001, made the NCAA Tournament. The trend has become more prevalent recently, with 11 Big East teams starting two freshmen at some point in the past four years.

Recognition and success are familiar to SU’s top three freshman.

Anthony was rated the nation’s best high-schooler. Edelin was ranked No. 38 in 2001 but missed last season with a suspension. He was a third-team Parade All-American in 2000, and McNamara was a fourth-team All American last year.

The group’s high school numbers are eye-popping. Anthony averaged 22 points a game at Oak Hill Academy, Edelin chipped in 21 at Oak Hill in 2000-01 and McNamara scored 24 for Bishop Hannan High (Pa.).

But none of the three will dominate like they did in high school.

‘There’s nothing you can do about it,’ Boeheim said. ‘You can’t speed up time. These guys have some hard lessons in front of them. But they have plenty of talent, hopefully that’s enough to get us through some of the lessons.’

Despite the accolades and expectations, the freshman trio has yet to play a regular-season college contest.

It shows, too.

Anthony is built like an oak tree, but with his penchant for wearing his jersey backwards, he looks like he’s barely learned to dress himself. On Nov. 2, Anthony giggled his way through pregame introductions at the team’s intrasquad scrimmage, like a kindergartener snickering at a bathroom joke.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, he’s a freshman.

But Syracuse coaches expect a lot out of Anthony, and they should. Last year, Memphis freshman guard Dajuan Wagner was the top-rated high-schooler to opt for college.

He didn’t disappoint, leading the Tigers with 21.2 points per game. But his team missed the NCAA Tournament.

Most other freshmen last year failed to reach Wagner’s plateau.

In his office, Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins holds a list of last year’s top 100 players and how they fared in their first seasons.

Only 17 played more than 25 minutes, a target that coaches will likely force on Edelin or McNamara — and certainly on Anthony.

History won’t be on their side. In the Big East, freshman-laden teams often have struggled.

In 1996-97, Connecticut finished 18-15 and made the NIT with a core of players that would later win a national championship. In his sophomore year, Troy Bell won a Big East championship with Boston College, but as a freshman, he finished 11-19.

Syracuse coaches said the most challenging adjustment for their freshman will come on defense.

Rather than relying on superior speed, quickness and wingspan, SU’s freshmen will tackle opponents with equal physical abilities.

‘Carmelo really needs to work on his defense,’ Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith said. ‘When he feels he’s playing an inferior opponent, he tends to ease off. In college, you can’t do that. You can’t just trade baskets.’

Two of last year’s newcomers, Craig Forth and Hakim Warrick, also struggled on defense. The pair was repeatedly outmuscled, allowing opponents rebounding advantages and open shots.

‘You look around, and you see a lot of young players really don’t want to get down and play defense,’ Warrick said. ‘We’ve got to take more pride in our defense.’

Edelin and McNamara, though, have more than just defensive demons to face. Last year, Chris Thomas (Notre Dame) and T.J. Ford (Texas) excelled as freshman point guards. But each had an experienced supporting cast.

Big East point guards with inexperienced teammates have struggled. And this year at SU, seven of nine scholarship players are underclassmen.

‘It’s like romper room,’ Hopkins said.

Last year, West Virginia freshman Jonathan Hargett averaged 14 points and five assists, but the Mountaineers finished 8-20. This summer, Hargett was declared ineligible for violating NCAA rules.

In 2000-01, St. John’s point guard Omar Cook averaged 15.3 points and finished second in the country, averaging 8.7 assists. Cook jumped to the NBA after the season in which his team finished 14-15.

Seton Hall point guard Andre Barrett averaged 10 points and five assists his freshman year (2000-01) and played alongside Eddie Griffin, the nation’s top-rated high-schooler. The Pirates finished 16-15.

Edelin said he isn’t concerned by the trend.

‘The game is different now,’ Edelin said. ‘Nowadays, if you show promise you can leave early. That’s lowered the maturity level of the game. A lot of teams are playing a lot younger.’

Still, Syracuse coaches insist a successful season doesn’t rest in the hands of McNamara, Edelin or even Anthony, dubbed by some as SU’s savior. Instead, Syracuse aims to rely on its older players to slowly break in the newcomers and replace the production of departed senior Preston Shumpert and DeShaun Williams, who transferred to Iona after being declared academically ineligible for the fall semester.

‘We don’t need just one guy to score a lot of points,’ SU assistant coach Bernie Fine said. ‘We need a lot of guys to improve their games. Remember, we didn’t just lose Preston, we also lost DeShaun.’

Of the 13 Big East teams who have started at least two freshman in a season over the last nine years, the three most successful — Rutgers, Syracuse and Georgetown — had veteran players lead their teams in scoring.

But on Nov. 5, in SU’s first exhibition game, Anthony dominated, pouring in 37 points. Senior Kueth Duany, one of the Orangemen’s other main scoring threats, appeared content to let Anthony run the show.

‘We need other people to score, too,’ Anthony said. ‘I’m not going to score 37 every night. I’ll have big nights, Kueth will have big nights.’

When considering the difficulties of youth, Seton Hall’s 2000-01 squad springs to memory. The similarities between those Pirates and this year’s Orangemen are striking. One of the top high school point guards (Barrett) plus the nation’s best incoming freshman (Griffin) were due to land the Pirates among the nation’s elite.

Instead, a fight between Griffin and junior Ty Shine tore Seton Hall apart.

‘There’s a lesson to be learned from Seton Hall,’ Boeheim said. ‘They had those two, an NBA center (Samuel Dalembert), a bunch of good players, and didn’t finish with a winning (conference) record. They were excited at Seton Hall. It takes time. It’s not going to happen this week or next week.’

Assistant coach Fine thinks about another team. He remembers the 1994-95 St. John’s team. Felipe Lopez was labeled as SJU’s savior and played alongside Zendon Hamilton. In the pair’s freshman year, St. John’s finished 14-14.

Although Boeheim tempers the expectations heaped upon his freshmen, he still retains high hopes for the season.

‘We’re not going to address the youth issue,’ Boeheim said. ‘Our freshmen are more mature than most.”

Indeed, at Oak Hill, Anthony and Edelin played the nation’s top private schools, scrimmaged junior colleges and small universities and practiced with a number of future college athletes, as well as current Cleveland Cavalier DeSagana Diop.

McNamara won a state title at Bishop Hannan.

‘We try to send guys in like sophomores, well almost sophomores,’ said Smith, Oak Hill’s head coach. ‘They’ve played the best in high school. It’s not college, but it’s close.’

But close might not be enough.

“Freshmen can’t be expected to carry the load,” Fine said.

Maybe so. But Anthony, Edelin and McNamara know they’ll get plenty of late-game minutes.

‘I want that shot,’ Anthony said. ‘I’m always going to want to win the game or lose the game.’

Published on November 13, 2002 at 12:00 pm