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Eddie Lampkin Jr. didn’t see a wide-open Elijah Moore on the weak side following a crucial offensive rebound. Syracuse trailed Youngstown State 87-86 in double overtime, and Lampkin needed to make a play. Initially, his head was toward the top of the key before whipping it around to the wing, where Moore begged for the ball with both hands raised.

Guarded by 7-foot-3 Gabe Dynes, Lampkin still couldn’t see much. Though he noticed the rest of Youngstown State’s defenders bunched in his vicinity. Feeling the eyes of the defense, Lampkin launched a cross-court feed. It wasn’t that Lampkin knew Moore would be there. He just felt he would.

Moore corralled the high feed, set himself with one dribble and drained his first 3-pointer of the game. It was Lampkin’s career-high seventh assist. One that helped put Syracuse up for good in a marathon of a game.

“That’s kind of just who Eddie is,” Moore said postgame. “He’s not really a selfish guy. He wants to help his team and sometimes he has to be aggressive, but other times he’s looking to make the pass.”

There wasn’t anything complicated about Lampkin’s pass. It was simple. He made the right read at the right moment. Lampkin’s composure was a common theme in Syracuse’s (3-0, Atlantic Coast Conference) 104-95 win over Youngstown State (1-2, 0-0 Horizon League). The Colorado transfer nearly recorded a triple-double, totaling 20 points and 12 rebounds to go along with his career-high assist total. His flashy passes and bruising post play got Syracuse out of trouble, as it survived for the third straight game.

Syracuse looked to be in trouble for large portions of Saturday’s game. Despite close scares against Le Moyne and Colgate, it looked like the Orange were going to drop their first game of the season.

They trailed 38-31 at halftime and Lampkin had totaled just six points. J.J. Starling carried SU through the second half, scoring 31 after the break. After the first overtime — where Syracuse blew an eight-point lead — Starling grew tired. Despite his career night, the shooting guard deferred to Lampkin, and he finished what Starling started.

Following Moore’s triple, Donnie Freeman swatted away a Ty Harper layup. Chris Bell picked up the loose ball and Lampkin sprinted ahead with nobody in front of him. Lampkin calmly laid the ball in to put the Orange up four.

“He’s generating a lot of offense for us when our offense is not playing well right now,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said post game. “He’s the reason why we’re still scoring 80 and 100 points.”

Following two Harper free throws, Lampkin went right back to work on the other end. Guarded by Dynes, Lampkin knew he had an advantage. Though Dynes stood four inches taller than him, Lampkin had the strength with a 40-pound advantage. He bodied past Dynes, laying the ball up and in to make it 93-89. Lampkin lowered his hand to the floor, signaling that Dynes was too little.

Once again, Youngstown State answered, cutting SU’s lead back to two. The Orange fed the hot hand. Lampkin received the ball on the wing and waited for Bell to clear out. The plan was straightforward again: go at Dynes. Lampkin bullied his counterpart, easily depositing another two.

“This is my sh*t. This is my sh*t,” Lampkin repeated emphatically as he sprinted back on defense. Indeed it was. Lampkin scored or assisted on 10 of Syracuse’s 18 points in overtime, helping the Orange hang on.

Lampkin finished the game using his brute force. Though it isn’t always the case. He has a flashy side to him. His 6-foot-11, 265 pound frame doesn’t warrant point-guard-esque passes, but that’s just what he does.

The Orange trailed 34-27 with 2:55 remaining in the first half. Lampkin backed down his defender at the baseline. As soon as the double came, Lampkin tossed a behind-the-back feed to Petar Majstorovic for an easy two. It was Lampkin’s lone first-half assist.

In the second half, Lampkin started to get more of a feel on offense. He picked up a loose ball and easily found Freeman under the basket for a dunk. The next time down the floor, Lampkin drew a double on a post-up. Freeman cut on the backside. Once again, Lampkin flipped the ball behind his back as Freeman scored two. At that point, Syracuse trailed 46-41.

“I’d say it’s like art, but I just say I’m just comfortable. It’s more reading whatever they give you,” Lampkin said of his behind-the-back dimes. “I don’t have to force a shot up, just if I can pass it behind my back, or I can pass it to the side, but I can pass it straight, just do whatever that defense gives me.”

Autry joked that as long as Lampkin makes them, he’s fine with the flashy dishes. Though Lampkin added that the second-year head coach gets on him for holding onto the ball too long. Lampkin’s counter to Autry’s critique is that he trusts himself to make the right read, even if he has to be fancy.

His teammates seem to agree. Bell said the center’s wild dishes match his personality. Freeman added that playing with a big man with Lampkin’s passing ability makes everyone’s life easier. The formula isn’t that complicated. If you’re open, Lampkin will find you. His four assists across the final 30 minutes proved that. He’d only accumulated at least four assists four times in his career — all of which came last season with Colorado.

His style is unorthodox. It’s not akin to that of someone his size. He attracts constant double teams since he can bull over defenders when guarded one-one-one. But when help comes, his vision allows him to be one step ahead.

When Syracuse needed buckets in double overtime, the ball was in Lampkin’s hands. His offense prevented a disastrous result for the Orange. And while Syracuse still doesn’t have a true identity three games in, it might’ve found the solution to some of its early season problems. Give the ball to Lampkin and get out of his way.

“They just trusted me, really. I was playing more off the split, but on the weak side with no help, and I was just like, ‘they can’t double me,’” Lampkin said. “I just felt like it was the time just to attack. And that’s what was open.”

Published on November 16, 2024 at 8:33 pm

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