Syracuse had its chance.

Despite the ugly shooting performance, the game was the Orange’s to take. It held a one-point edge over Rutgers on Feb. 6 with four minutes left, despite shooting less than 30 percent from the field. The opportunity for the win was still there — until Syracuse gave it away.

Four straight possessions resulted in four straight turnovers. Before SU could recover, the Scarlet Knights built a five-point lead with one minute left.

And soon enough, the chance for an ugly — but quality — win turned into a disheartening loss.

Turnovers have been a major problem for the Orange (16-7, 4-6 Big East) throughout this season. SU currently ranks last in the Big East and 258th in the country with 19.6 giveaways per game. Head coach Quentin Hillsman and his players said it is a product of the offensive system, players adjusting to new positions and bad decision-making by ball handlers.

SU will look to heal the turnover problem when Villanova (8-15, 0-10 Big East) visits the Carrier Dome on Saturday at 1 p.m.

‘When you turn the ball over, you’re not going to win basketball games,’ Hillsman said. ‘That’s just pretty basic. You’ve got to take care of the ball, you’ve got to get shots, and you’ve got to get possessions in order to win basketball games.’

Even when Syracuse does get victories, it still has to overcome plenty of giveaways. The Orange has coughed the ball up an average of 22.5 times in losses, but the 18.3 average in wins is not significantly better. In fact, it wouldn’t even put the team in the top 150 in the country for turnovers per game.

The main culprits have been senior guards Erica Morrow and Tasha Harris, who both average 3.0 per game, and junior guard Iasia Hemingway, who has 3.2 per game.

Morrow and Harris have both been starters since their first year at SU and are the team’s primary ball handlers. Hemingway also gets a touch at the high post nearly every time down the court. Hillsman said that’s probably why they have the most turnovers on the team.

‘Those three players touch the ball a lot,’ he said. ‘And obviously, when they turn the ball over, we have less success.’

Another contributor to the turnover problem has been Harris and Morrow adjusting to their new roles. In their first three years, Harris played primarily point guard and Morrow shooting guard. They now split time at those positions.

Morrow said she has been playing shooting guard since she was 10, so it has been difficult for her at times.

‘Teams have done a lot of different things with us this year,’ she said. ‘It’s kind of like having a freshman at point guard because I’ve never done this before.’

Harris agreed the new position has played a role in her career-high turnover average this season. But she also offered a simpler explanation to the team’s giveaway problem.

‘Bad decision-making,’ she said. ‘That’s all it pretty much is. Not making good decisions whether you’re in half court or someone’s pressing you. You just have to make good decisions.’

What makes it even more difficult is that there is no tangible cure to stop turnovers. It’s not like free-throw shooting or ball handling or footwork. It’s a mental facet of the game that can’t be taught in a simple drill or practice.

And for Syracuse, it’s a recurring problem the Orange has yet to solve.

‘It’s not a drill thing, it’s a decision-making thing,’ Hillsman said. ‘We’ve got to come down the court and make the proper plays. … They’ve got to do a better job of making quicker decisions and making the proper decisions.

‘I don’t think there’s anything but basic decision-making.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

 

Published on February 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm